Instead of Getting Tough on Crime we Need to Get Tough on Harper. OUT!

There was a great op-ed piece in the Ottawa Citizen about the Reform Conservatives new so-called law and order initiative. The whole thing is ridiculous and based on ideology, not sound reasoning.

Canada's crime rate is the lowest in 25 years, so where is the evidence that we need tougher laws? I think like journalist Murray Dobbin points out, it's all part of Harper's vision for Canada.

Ideological pandering
The Ottawa Citizen
November 16, 2009

Many people think Canada's justice system is on the right track. The problem is none of them are members of the federal Conservative government.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper thinks that the country's justice system is broken, that it is so soft on crime that it is failing to protect the public, which is why he has promoted a tough-on-crime agenda. But, to a great extent, this view of Canada's justice system is unsupported by evidence. Professional criminologists are eft wondering how much of the government's rhetoric reflects an ideological predisposition ....

Harper's former chief of staff, Ian Brodie, hit the nail on the head in the MacLean's article, stating that it "... was a good thing for us politically, in that sociologists, criminologists and defence lawyers were and are all held in lower repute than Conservative politicians by the voting public. Politically it helped us tremendously to be attacked by this coalition of university types.” A coalition of university types? Wow. So glad something this important is all about discrediting 'university types'.

Blogger Jeff Jedras, brought up something else that was quite interesting. For all their rhetoric, they've cut the budget of the department that investigates 'white collar crime'.

Once again, the gap between Conservative rhetoric and Conservative reality is gaping. This time, white-collar and financial crime is in thespotlight.

The Conservative
rhetoric:
Today, the Conservative government announced new legislation to crack down on white-collar crime.Our government understands that those who are defrauded by white-collar criminals have been victimized just as much as a person who has been mugged....The Conservative government will always work for the safety of Canadians, their families, and their savings.

And the Conservative reality: Canada's financial transactions watchdog says its services are in greater demand than ever, yet the federal government has cut its budget by eight per cent in the last two years.