omnibus crime bill

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

Jack Harris was the New Democrat selected to respond on Tuesday to the Justice Minister’s final tabling of the omnibus crime bill. As the opposition member responding to a minister, Mr. Harris was not subject to the normal time limits placed on speeches in the House. And so he spoke—with a few brief interruptions—for three hours. The resulting speech numbers no less than 21,631 words.

A former Progressive Conservative MP and Justice Department advisor says the government’s crime legislation will lead to worsening conditions in prisons.

Why isn’t Canada embracing tracking technologies rather than lockups?

Provincial governments helped create the problems Ottawa’s tough-on-crime approach will exacerbate

The Conservatives have invoked time allocation on C-19, the bill that eliminates the long-gun registry. Of the ten government bills debated in the House since Parliament reconvened in June, the Harper government has now invoked time allocation on five of them: C-3 (budget implementation), C-10 (the omnibus crime bill), C-13 (budget implementation), C-18 (Canadian Wheat Board) and C-19.