Ignatieff: This Bill Isn’t Tough On Crime, It’s Dumb On Crime

The political reality is such, fear trumps facts, at least that is the entire thrust of the Conservative "tough on crime" agenda. I will give the government credit, they have continually cornered the opposition, leveraging the superficial optics to force bad bills through Parliament. The Liberals have been guilty of cowering, primarily because "soft on criminals" is an electoral killer, the Conservatives know it and this fact has allowed embarrassing bullying in the past. With the backdrop in mind, I have to say how proud I am to be a Liberal today, we have taken a stand that has inherent risk, but is ABSOLUTELY the proper, mature, responsible position:

The Liberal Party of Canada announced today that it will oppose Bill S-10 over concerns that the bill disproportionately targets youth and would cause an explosion of costs to build new mega-prisons.

“This bill isn’t tough on crime, it’s dumb on crime,” said Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. “We’re all in favour of cracking down on serious criminals, but this bill doesn’t distinguish between massive grow-ops and a first-time offender with a small amount.

“What’s more, the Conservatives won’t tell us what the fiscal implications of this bill are. How many billions will it cost? How many mega-prisons will have to be built? For these reasons, we just can’t support it,” he said.

The government is hiding the numbers, as I said earlier this raises serious red flags, speaks volumes about actual cost. However, more importantly from this quarter, the Liberals are finally standing up for common sense on the crime front. This bill doesn’t distinguish, it lumps the casual with the true criminals, it’s a poorly written, blanket, piece of legislative garbage. The Liberals have offered amendments to go after the real targets, but the government has refused. There is no spirit of co-operation, it’s just the typical ram through and force the opposition to blink. Enough!

I appreciate the risk the Liberals have taken, you can instanteously think of several soundbite counters that can warp what this stance really means. That said, it makes it easier to support a party which is prepared to take that risk, particularly given past capitulations. This stance is another signal to the Canadian people that the Liberals actually do stand for things, pander is replaced by principles in some regards. I see today’s decision as a show of strength, another sign of an evolution into a true alternative to this government.

I think this party is finally, finally, finding its voice and the opposition to this nonsensical bill and the accompanying stonewall, is something I can surely get behind in a committed way. If you want people to believe in you, you have to give them something to believe in! A good day to be sure. 

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