The omnibus crime bill could give police officers a pass on appearing in court to be cross-examined. To criminal lawyers it’s a ‘shocking’ development.
As promised, the Conservative government in Ottawa has transformed the country’s legal landscape within the first 100 sitting days of its majority mandate. Last night, the Harper Tories finally passed Bill C-1o, otherwise known as the omnibus crime bill, with its laundry list of legal changes the Conservatives had failed to push through Parliament during their years in minority government. These include mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug offenders, harsher penalties for violent crimes and sexual assault, and a provision allowing victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators more easily.
The Tory crime bill will allow lawsuits to be brought against countries that engage in and support terrorism, like Hezbollah in Lebanon
Why isn’t Canada embracing tracking technologies rather than lockups?
“The door was closed,” says Fournier
Gets house arrest instead of jail
Ottawa must pick up the tab for increased costs, premiers say