NDP Against the Drug War

Join End Prohibition!

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 9:08pm

Want to End the War on Marijuana? Join the NDP!

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 10:10pm
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EndProhibition

On marijuana

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Sat, 01/28/2012 - 10:47am

By: Aaron Wherry, Macleans

Six of the eight NDP leadership candidates respond to a survey on drug policy. All six seem to support some kind of decriminalization around marijuana and three (Niki Ashton, Peggy Nash and Romeo Saganash) seem open to pursuing a regulatory approach. Here is how Mr. Saganash explains his position. Read more »

Canadians finally getting it: crime is on the decline

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Sat, 01/28/2012 - 1:52am

By: KIRK MAKIN, Globe and Mail

Canadians are finally getting the message that crime rates are falling.

New poll results show the public is abandoning a stubborn belief that crime is on the rise, bringing public opinion into alignment with a 20-year trend of declining crime rates.

The long-standing disconnect between public fears and reality has confounded criminologists and fuelled federal get-tough policies.

However, the Environics Focus Canada poll – obtained by The Globe and Mail and scheduled for release Thursday – shakes conventional wisdom even more by finding growing support for the use of crime prevention rather than punishment. Read more »

Ottawa has ‘no cheque’ to help provinces foot crime bill

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Sat, 01/28/2012 - 1:44am

The Canadian Press, Published Globe and Mail

Provinces hoping to get some signal that Ottawa is considering their calls to foot the costs of implementing the omnibus crime bill were disappointed on Thursday after a meeting of justice ministers in Charlottetown.

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson told his provincial counterparts that Ottawa has already committed to increase transfer payments by $2.4-billion.

Earlier this week, the Ontario government said the legislation would add more than $1-billion in increased police and court costs, and reiterated its calls for Ottawa to pay.

During a news conference wrapping up the three-day meeting, Mr. Nicholson made it clear Ontario wouldn’t get what it was asking for. Read more »

Corrections union opposes Bill C-10

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 1:13am

CBC News

The corrections officers’ union voiced its opposition to the much-discussed omnibus crime legislation Bill C-10, which they say puts more people in jail, without addressing inmate mental issues.

The president of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) spoke Thursday at a gathering to coincide with the third day of justice ministers meetings in Charlottetown.

The NUPGE said one in three prisoners have mental health issues, which they say endangers corrections officers and prisoners themselves.

The union said the problem will just get worse when C-10 becomes law. Read more »

Provinces and Ottawa remain deadlocked over cost of federal crime bill

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 12:33am

By Bradley Bouzane, National Post

Federal justice and public safety ministers on Thursday touted the progress they made over three days of meetings with provincial and territorial representatives, but danced around the total cost of new federal crime legislation that is expected to place a heavy financial burden on the provinces.

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said amendments to the Criminal Code will be explored to crack down on more serious offences — including home invasions and knife crimes — but would not specify how much cost will be associated with Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act. Read more »

Crime Bill may jam city's new jail

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 12:29am

BY SARAH SACHELI, THE WINDSOR STAR

Despite building two new jails in the province, including one in Windsor, there won't be enough cells in Ontario for inmates convicted under the federal government's new crime bill, Ontario's Community Safety and Correctional Minister told The Star Wednesday.

Madeleine Meilleur said she planned to make a pitch to the federal government later in the day for $1 billion - the estimated cost of another jail that could house 1,000 inmates. She said the province should not be burdened with the costly consequences of the Safe Streets and Communities Act, commonly referred to as Bill C-10.

The bill, expected to become law in March, will set new mandatory minimum sentences for things like weapons offences and drug possession. Read more »

Inmate population growth slower than predicted

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:57pm

BY JEFF DAVIS, POSTMEDIA NEWS

OTTAWA — Canada's prison population is not growing as fast as expected in the wake of Tory tough-on-crime legislation, prompting Corrections Canada to abort plans to hire 4,000 new prison guards.

According to the most recent data, Canada's federal prison population stood at 14,893 at the end of 2011, significantly fewer than the 17,189 prisoners Corrections Canada predicted would be locked up by then.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said he never believed predictions that the prison population would grow significantly when the government passed legislation that increased mandatory minimum sentences and repealed the two-for-one time served provisions.

Toews said he now feels vindicated. Read more »

NDP Leadership Candidates' Responses to End Prohibition Survey

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:26pm

End Prohibition is a national group of New Democrats working to end the prohibition on marijuana and stop Canada's failed war on drugs.

Founded in 2004, our group now has over 1200 members nationwide and we’ve had a presence at over two dozen provincial and federal NDP conventions across Canada.

Over the past decade, resolutions supporting drug policy reform have been passed by the NDP provincially in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the Yukon.

As NDP Leader, Jack Layton said he was in favour of reforming our country’s cannabis laws, and creating a legal environment where adults can enjoy cannabis without having to worry about being criminalized. Read more »

Justice ministers discuss crime bill

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 9:26pm

CBC News

The country's justice ministers began a three-day meeting in Charlottetown Tuesday with the federal government's new crime bill and their concerns about associated costs at the top of the agenda.

Ottawa's Safe Streets and Communities bill, also known as Bill C-10, would result in several changes, including mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes, the elimination of double credit for time served, and changes to young offender laws.

P.E.I.'s Justice Minister Janice Sherry is worried about how much the bill would cost Island taxpayers.

"Certainly it has an impact on legal aid, it has an impact on the Crown, it has an impact on the courts, and of course it has an impact on our citizens," she said. Read more »

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