Greens: Time to Address the Real Issues in Crime

OTTAWA – A report issued by Statistics Canada on April 21 indicates that the government and opposition parties have been mis-focused in their “get tough on crime” agenda.  According to the new police-reported Crime Severity Index, both the volume and the severity of crime in Canada had been dropping for a decade prior to the election of the Conservative government. 

“This report strongly emphasizes what the Green Party has been saying for years – the superficial measures of lengthier sentencing are rooted in fear-mongering and are ineffective,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of Canada’s Greens.  “Crime rates are tied into much deeper societal factors such as the age of the population, income and wealth, housing affordability, and health.  It is time the opposition parties stood up to the government and called attention to their superficial criminal justice measures.  Canadians deserve better from their political parties.” 

Reports continue to indicate that Canada is soft on white-collar crime and lags behind the US in the prosecution of corporate criminals.

The Green Party highlights some key actions that are needed to further lower crime rates:

•    Amend the laws to provide for stiffer sentencing and full restitution in white-collar crimes.  It is important that the sentences fit the severity of the crimes. 
•    Provide federal prosecutors with enough resources to build up the necessary legal teams to conduct effective and timely prosecutions of commercial fraudsters.  Economic criminal investigations are often quite complex and require highly specialized legal teams and sophisticated information management. 
•    Allow for greater freedom in the issuing of subpoenas that would require witnesses to give a sworn statement during white-collar criminal investigations.
•    Ensure that there is stable funding in place for Victim-Offender Mediation as well as programs that hold offenders accountable upon release.  Currently, many violent offenders are released with little or no community support. 
•    Increase funding for and promote the use of restorative justice programs for first time non-violent offenders, in which wrongdoers make reparation to victims and their community.

“Canada is widely understood to be soft on white-collar crime.  We have a two-tiered justice system where people with money can work the system for their own advantage,” said Jared Giesbrecht, Justice Critic for the Green Party.  “Clamping down to protect our investments and businesses will ensure that we secure not only the confidence of investors, but the revenues needed to support our social programs.  Embezzlement, tax evasion, and fraud drain significant resources from the public purse and cannot be tolerated by a responsible government.” 

“The Green Party continues to address the root problems in our society and take a more integrated approach to governmental action,” said Mr. Giesbrecht.  “We are a practical party that avoids over-the-top rhetoric and excessive partisanship in order to focus upon tackling the important challenges we face as Canadians.”

- 30 -


Contact:
Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
613-562-4916 ext. 244
(c) 613-614-4916
michael.bernard@greenparty.ca