Omnibus Crime Bill

Opposing the concepts behind the Omnibus Crime Bill is pointless. There is no doubt the legislation, whatever it says, can be passed.

Accordingly, the best thing to do now is to read the legislation as proposed and to make suggestions to make it work as well as it can.

For example, it seems pretty clear that significant mandatory sentences are going to be imposed on people growing marijuana. The idea is that this will deter drug dealers. The legislation will pass but perhaps careful review and comment can ensure it only affects those commercially growing.

Similarly, police are going to get the right to read otherwise private emails. Since the main focus of this is supposed to be terrorism and child pornography (both dreadful offences worthy of investigation) perhaps comment and review might lead to a limit so that police can use the power to review emails only if they have some grounds to think such crimes are involved.

Good faith discussion and review can help and it's all that can be done. Preserving Canadians' liberty is a worthy goal.

So, when the proposals come out, let's all read them carefully and see how they can be narrowed, focused and improved.
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Tories to move quickly on election promise to pass crime bills all at once

GLORIA GALLOWAY
OTTAWA - Globe and Mail Update
The majority Conservative government is promising to move quickly to implement the slate of law-and-order legislation that died when the election was called in March.
...
There were at least 10 bills addressing justice and public-safety issues that the government had introduced but not managed pass into law before the writ was dropped. Some of them were in their second and third incarnations after dying during earlier prorogations and the 2008 election called by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Mr. Harper promised during the election campaign that those bills would be bundled into one piece of omnibus legislation that would become law within 100 sitting days of Parliament.

It is unknown which of the unpassed bills will be included. They are a varied lot with wide-ranging ambitions.

One would impose mandatory minimum sentences for a slate of drug crimes, one would prevent judged from imposing house arrest for a number of serious property and personal crimes, three would increase the ability of police to conduct electronic surveillance. One would allow Canadian victims of terrorism to sue terrorists and the foreign states that harbour them.

Some of them are controversial for the number of increased number of people they would put behind bars at a time when crime rates are dropping. The government acknowledges that billions of dollars of prison expansion will be needed to house all of the additional convicts.