Jack Layton has a chance to follow through on a Christmas promise
Justice Minister Vic Toews has introduced legislation that would see people convicted of three violent crimes be designated dangerous offenders and go to jail for life. Jack Layton and the NDP are accusing Toews and the Conservatives of posturing. To me, it seems like they are fulfilling a promise. Posturing is when you say you will do something in the hope of earning some praise, but with no intention of following through with it. Sort of like what the NDP is doing in criticizing this bill.
From the National Post:
Justice Minister Vic Toews, saying he needs to protect law-abiding citizens from sexual predators and violent thugs, has brought in legislation to make it easier to lock them up and throw away the key.
But almost as soon as he tabled the bill Tuesday, his opponents accused him of playing politics with the law, undermining the Charter of Rights and pandering to mob rule.
Under the legislation, anyone convicted of three serious violent or sexual offences would have to convince a judge why he or she shouldn’t be classified as a dangerous offender - a category that carries an indeterminate prison term under the Criminal Code.
In effect, the bill reverses the normal burden of proof for sentencing. It is currently up to the Crown to prove that anyone should be considered a danger to society.
Among those claiming that Toews and the Conservatives are pandering to the mob is NDP MP Joe Comartin:
NDP justice critic Joe Comartin called the bill “a bit of an overkill” and said he has serious doubts that it would stand up to a legal challenge under the Charter.
“This is political posturing,” said Comartin, predicting the bill has little chance of passing the Commons before next spring, when another federal election is widely expected.
Which takes me back to some other posturing last Christmas:
NDP Leader Jack Layton, who is the MP for the riding where Creba's family resides, said tougher border controls, sentences and anti-gang measures will help cleanse Canada's biggest city of gun violence.
He said the "evil men" behind the shootings should serve long and hard time in prison.
"We all have to make that commitment to Canadians, to the families, that we will come together in Parliament and act on all these issues immediately. And that's certainly a commitment I'm prepared to make today," Layton said during a campaign stop in Toronto.
Jack Layton was speaking about the murder of Jane Creba who was caught in a gang-related crossfire:
Jane Creba, the bright and athletic 15-year-old killed in the Boxing Day shootings on Yonge Street, wandered into the midst of the gunfire that suddenly erupted.
She was shopping with her 18-year-old sister, Alison, on the east side of the street, near Sam the Record Man, when she decided to skip across to the other side where the Foot Locker sporting goods store is located.
She walked smack into the crossfire of the gun battle, The Globe and Mail has learned, and took one bullet to the upper torso.
Six more people were wounded in the violence that erupted that day.
Of course, Jack Layton being Jack Layton, also demanded more playgrounds and other community programs. Nevertheless, it certainly sounds like Toews' proposed legislation constitutes tougher sentencing, and also counts as an anti-gang measure, since it follows that gang members are likely to be repeat offenders.
Indeed, the prime suspect in the Creba murder was just such a repeat offender:
The weapon is a nine-millimetre Ruger, taken from 20-year-old Andre Thompson and a 17-year-old who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Thompson was recently released on probation after serving 30 days for a convenience store robbery.
The P-series Ruger, of which 4 variants fire 9mm rounds, is a rugged pistol designed for continous firing without damaging the construction or jamming. Just the kind of weapon you'd want to have if you plan to empty a clip into crowd, hoping to hit one or two targets darting in and among the innocent shoppers.
The new legislation might not have saved Creba -- we don't know very much about Thompson's background to know if he had already hit the three-strike limit prior to Boxing Day, but with the robbery, the possession of a firearm while on probation, and the gunfight itself, Thompson looks like a candidate to be put away forever.
Last Christmas, in the midst of an election, Jack Layton and the NDP seemed happy enough to promise to help that happen.
Now is their chance to follow through on that promise. If Jack Layton and the NDP don't, then we'll know who is posturing and who is trying to get the job done.
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Comments
Jack! Layton is a champagne socialist that will pander to any crowd as long as it advances his career.I would like to see him look into the face of that girls mother and explain why the murdering half-wit that gunned down her daughter shouldn't spend the rest of his life in jail.
He is a gutless non entity on the political scene who gets way more coverage than his 4th party status should allow.
Posted by: kursk at October 18, 2006 01:24 AM
Jack Layton has a knee jerk reaction to almost everything the other partys propose. Typical of jerks!
Posted by: Black bear at October 18, 2006 09:49 AM
When the opposition doesn't have a leg to stand on, I wish they would simply shut up instead of insulting the electorate with their cheap attempts to score political points...
Posted by: at October 18, 2006 10:19 AM
Heard on the radio this morning that the Liberal Attorney General for Ontario fully supports the bill. I hope the CPC throws this in the face of Graham and Cotler when they start huffing and puffing about criminal rights.
Posted by: Rob at October 18, 2006 11:05 AM
Part of the problem with this country's governing system is that to a lot of our air-head representatives the term 'opposition' means that they must oppose everything that the governing party proposes. They have failed to realize that once the enter the 'House' they are part of the government. No matter what part of the 'House' they sit in they are part of the system that governs. As such they are under the obligation to support legislation that will benefit the electorate that elected them. Until our political science students and lawyers that form the bulk of our governing system understand this basic we will continue to have self-inflated morons who are only adept at putting their feet in their mouths.
Posted by: Antenor at October 18, 2006 11:50 AM
Antenor hit the nail on the head. Problem is, if politicians actually did this, then party politics would be obsolete. Heaven forbid! The whip would be retired and the public might actually be represented fairly. What kind of a democracy would ever allow that to happen? Oh wait, that is how it is suppose to work... how did we go so far off course?
Posted by: TABaker at October 18, 2006 11:50 PM
I agree.
We have become the proverbial ship without a rutter. And our government system is still screaming orders to turn, but no one is listening anymore.
Time to set the plate of bacbacon down and fix the system before it fixes Canadians permanently.
Posted by: missing link at October 19, 2006 12:11 AM
Jack Layton is a mini buffoon and a clown. Who would take him and his ilk seriously?
The bloody socialist's raison d'etre is for the criminals. They get all worried they might get harsh punishment, like do the crime, do the time. They want them coddled in rehab. In their pea-brained thinking the victims can deal with their own trauma.
Layton has no scruples, he's shooting off at the mouth to appeal to his Toronto base.
He holds about as much power as a fart in a windstorm, which he is.
Posted by: Biddy at October 19, 2006 11:13 AM
Just in case we were not already convinced that Jack Layton can talk out of both orifices, Steve gives us this clear example that even a Layton cultist could see.
I respect the Left, at least I used to. I forgave them their untenable idealism and their deficient pragmatism. I did so because I believed that their heart was in the right place. But after years of inept leadership, Jack Layton was able to hijack the NDP into his very own cult of righteous indignation and pompous yammering and shameless doublespeak. What’s ‘wrong’ is strictly audience-dependant. And they know all about what’s wrong but have no idea how to fix it. Is it any wonder that Layton started in Toronto?
http://gargoylerants.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Gargoyle at October 19, 2006 01:46 PM
"Justice Minister Vic Toews has introduced legislation that would see people convicted of three violent crimes be designated dangerous offenders and go to jail for life."
Actually, I believe Vic Toews legislation would see people convicted of three sex related or violent crimes, have reverse onus placed upon them to prove to the court why they should not be labelled a dangerous offender and sentenced to an indeterminate sentence for a minimum of seven years.
I think this is great legislation.
Jack Layton is an consumate ass. I know, I know. That's just plain name calling. But there's not much left, is there!
Posted by: Brian at October 20, 2006 07:47 AM
 
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