Protecting families and communities
January 04, 2012

As we look ahead to all that 2012 holds for us, I wanted to follow through on my promise to continue to update you on some of the things I have been working on, on your behalf.  In my 2011 Year End Report (available at www.leonbenoit.ca), I outlined some of the major accomplishments which stood out for me, however there were too many to cover fully and I wanted to address some of the key topics which will continue to be priorities for us over the coming months and years.

Over the years I have sent numerous surveys and questionnaires throughout my riding and there has been consistent wide-spread support of our Government’s policies which protect society from dangerous offenders who do not choose to abide by the rule of law. And certainly, during recent election campaigns, Canadians made it clear they wanted a change from the previous government’s soft-on-crime legacy.  Our Conservative Government has delivered.

WE’RE TAKING ACTION TO SCRAP THE LONG-GUN REGISTRY BY:

  • standing up for farmers, hunters and sport shooters;
  • focusing our resources on criminals, to prevent actual gun crimes; and
  • ending the wasteful and ineffective registry, which never worked, once and for all.

WE ARE TAKING ACTION TO PROTECT FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES BY:

  • investing in youth crime prevention programs;
  • engaging in efforts to prevent human smugglers from abusing Canada’s immigration system;
  • allowing courts to consider the impact on a victim of fraud, given the victim’s particular circumstances, including his/her age, health and financial situation, in determining a fair sentence;
  • passing ‘Mega-trials’ legislation to help ensure complex cases involving activities such as drug trafficking, white-collar crime, terrorism or organized crime can be heard more swiftly and effectively;
  • supporting the Federal Victims’ Ombudsman to promote access to justice and participation by victims in the justice system; and
  • reintroducing a bill to define self-defence and citizen’s arrest.

WITH THE SAFE STREETS AND COMMUNITIES ACT WE RE-INTRODUCED ESSENTIAL REFORMS, INCLUDING;

  • the Protecting Children from Sexual Predators Act (former Bill C-54);
  • the Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act (former Bill S-10);
  • Sébastien’s Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders) (former Bill C-4);
  • the Ending House Arrest for Property and Other Serious Crimes by Serious and Violent Offenders Act (former Bill C-16);
  • the Increasing Offender Accountability Act (former Bill C-39);
  • the Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act (former Bill C-23B);
  • the Keeping Canadians Safe (International Transfer of Offenders) Act (former Bill C-5);
  • the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and related amendments to the State Immunity Act (former Bill S-7); and
  • the Preventing the Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act (former Bill C-56).

WE’RE TAKING ACTION TO STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUSTICE BY:

  • announcing sanctions against the Syrian regime for their disregard of human rights;
  • extending Canada’s mission to protect innocent civilians in Libya through the NATO mission;
  • expanding the “Wanted by the CBSA” list, a comprehensive tally of individuals who have criminal convictions in Canada and have attempted to remain in the shadows of our legal system; and
  • becoming the first country to sign the Ottawa Protocol, combating anti-Semitism.

 

WE’RE TAKING ACTION TO PREVENT CRIME AND HELP AT-RISK YOUTH:

I do want to take the opportunity to also point out that, contrary to what many in the media have outlined, our Government’s approach to crime is not focussed solely on “building more prisons” – it is extremely multi-faceted.

While we do indeed have policies which are tough on crime, they are also compassionate for victims, focussing on prevention, treatment and enforcement. We are working with key partners, including the CCSA (Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse), the provinces, territories, communities, stakeholders, community groups and law enforcement agencies to implement a truly national anti-drug strategy to preventing, treating and combating the harmful effects of illicit drugs. In fact, Budget 2007 provided $10 million to implement a national prevention campaign aimed at youth and their parents. The objective of the campaign is to help decrease the prevalence of drug use among youth by:

  • raising awareness and knowledge about drugs and their negative effects; and
  • giving parents the tools they need to talk to their children about drug use.
  • $161 million to hire and train 1,000 more RCMP officers;
  • $37 million for the RCMP to expand its national training academy;
  • $26 million to give victims a more effective voice; and
  • $20 million for communities to prevent youth crime.

Our Government is doing everything we can to keep cutting costs across the board, so that Canadians will pay less tax. However, it is also essential to keep Canadians and their communities safe, so we will continue with our tough-on-crime agenda.

I encourage all constituents to participate in one or more of the townhalls I will be hosting at the end of January. I welcome your feedback about what is working, what could be improved, and suggestions about cost-neutral or non-spending steps the federal government might undertake to help create jobs and promote economic growth. Once the dates, locations and times have been confirmed the information will be posted on my website at www.leonbenoit.ca.

Happy New Year!