Zach LarkinsMAYBE THERE'S HOPE
I read a rather interesting article today involving the extradition of prisoners between Canada and the USA.
It seems our government has said no to a number of extraditions even after they've been approved by the authorities in the States. The latest, biggest case that comes to mind is that of Conrad Black. Convicted of 4 out of 13 charges levelled against him, and facing serious time in an American prison, it is presumed that Black will apply to serve his sentence in Canada.
This will be hard to do as Black renounced his citizenship in order to gain a seat in the British House of Lords. I won't go into the politics behind this, but suffice it to say that he is no longer a Canadian citizen. Now, suddenly, he wants it back and if sentenced to do time, wants to do it in Canada. Why? Because he knows he'll do about a third of the actual sentence that is handed down in a country club prison.
Our Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, seems to have had about enough of this nonsense. While the number of extraditions has never been what one may consider outrageous, it has been enough for the Tories to sit up and take notice. The Conservative Party ran on a platform of cracking down on crime and they are showing they're serious about it. Under the former Liberal government, there were about 38 prisoner transfers approved per year. This year, as of June, 12 transfers, already approved by the US were turned down while two were approved. Quite a difference.
Day has written of his disgust of transfers involving convicted drug dealers, saying, "BC dope dealers busted in the US are demanding to be transferred back to cosier Canadian jails and reduced prison times. Memo to drug dealer: I'm no dope. Enjoy the US."
Of course, the liberal defence lawyers are all up in arms over this. They cite statistics showing that criminals brought back to Canada are better controlled because they are under surveillence while in prison and can be better gauged as to whether or not they continue to be a potential threat to society. A 2005 internal report on the corrections agency says that "the alternative is that the offender is deported back to Canada at the end of his sentence without correctional supervision/jurisdiction and without the benefit of programming and a gradual structured release into the community." What nonsense.
Currently, prisoners are opting to serve their full sentence, knowing that they will not be subjected to reporting to parole officers or having to follow any probation rules. Under our former Liberal government, between 1997 and 2005, not one prisoner transfer was denied. In 2006, the year the Conservatives took power, 5 transfer requests were denied even though they were approved by US authorities.
It is a shame that the US might have to house our lawbreakers, but on the other hand, the laws broken were broken in the US, not here. Conrad Black is facing consecutive life sentences for his crimes. If he is returned to Canada, he faces a possible 18 months in prison, sentences to run concurrently. Who wouldn't want a deal like that? The Tories 'get tough on crime' slate is a welcome change to what we've seen in the last few years and hopefully it grows.
For too long, we've put the rights of the convicted before the rights of the victims and if the liberal left says the laws we have on the books at present are sufficient, then maybe having the feds step in to enforce them will give some of our judges, and more importantly, our criminals, a much needed wake up call.
Sources: Richard Foot CanWest News Neglecting Convicts
It seems our government has said no to a number of extraditions even after they've been approved by the authorities in the States. The latest, biggest case that comes to mind is that of Conrad Black. Convicted of 4 out of 13 charges levelled against him, and facing serious time in an American prison, it is presumed that Black will apply to serve his sentence in Canada.
This will be hard to do as Black renounced his citizenship in order to gain a seat in the British House of Lords. I won't go into the politics behind this, but suffice it to say that he is no longer a Canadian citizen. Now, suddenly, he wants it back and if sentenced to do time, wants to do it in Canada. Why? Because he knows he'll do about a third of the actual sentence that is handed down in a country club prison.
Our Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, seems to have had about enough of this nonsense. While the number of extraditions has never been what one may consider outrageous, it has been enough for the Tories to sit up and take notice. The Conservative Party ran on a platform of cracking down on crime and they are showing they're serious about it. Under the former Liberal government, there were about 38 prisoner transfers approved per year. This year, as of June, 12 transfers, already approved by the US were turned down while two were approved. Quite a difference.
Day has written of his disgust of transfers involving convicted drug dealers, saying, "BC dope dealers busted in the US are demanding to be transferred back to cosier Canadian jails and reduced prison times. Memo to drug dealer: I'm no dope. Enjoy the US."
Of course, the liberal defence lawyers are all up in arms over this. They cite statistics showing that criminals brought back to Canada are better controlled because they are under surveillence while in prison and can be better gauged as to whether or not they continue to be a potential threat to society. A 2005 internal report on the corrections agency says that "the alternative is that the offender is deported back to Canada at the end of his sentence without correctional supervision/jurisdiction and without the benefit of programming and a gradual structured release into the community." What nonsense.
Currently, prisoners are opting to serve their full sentence, knowing that they will not be subjected to reporting to parole officers or having to follow any probation rules. Under our former Liberal government, between 1997 and 2005, not one prisoner transfer was denied. In 2006, the year the Conservatives took power, 5 transfer requests were denied even though they were approved by US authorities.
It is a shame that the US might have to house our lawbreakers, but on the other hand, the laws broken were broken in the US, not here. Conrad Black is facing consecutive life sentences for his crimes. If he is returned to Canada, he faces a possible 18 months in prison, sentences to run concurrently. Who wouldn't want a deal like that? The Tories 'get tough on crime' slate is a welcome change to what we've seen in the last few years and hopefully it grows.
For too long, we've put the rights of the convicted before the rights of the victims and if the liberal left says the laws we have on the books at present are sufficient, then maybe having the feds step in to enforce them will give some of our judges, and more importantly, our criminals, a much needed wake up call.
Sources: Richard Foot CanWest News Neglecting Convicts
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