2 weeks Ago
Poilievre’s pledge to use notwithstanding clause a ‘dangerous sign’: legal expert , April 14 Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s “tough on crime” crusade sounds bold until you unpack it. He promises the “biggest crime crackdown in Canadian history” while vowing to sidestep Supreme Court rulings. Breaking laws to punish lawbreakers? The irony’s lost on him, but voters shouldn’t miss it.
His plan — recycled “three strikes” rules and stacked life sentences — ignores evidence and our courts, which have struck down such measures as cruel. History backs this up: the U.S.
crammed 2.3 million people into prisons in the ‘80s and ‘90s, yet crime only dropped when social factors shifted. Canada’s own 1990s tough-on-crime stint spiked incarceration to 130 per 100,000, but real gains came from social programs, not punishment.
Look at Scandinavia: less jail, more rehabilitation, better results. Threatening the notwithstanding clause to force these flawed policies through just exposes their clash with Charter Rights. For a self-styled freedom fighter, Poilievre’s quick to embrace government overreach when it suits him.
Poilievre the Punisher isn’t forging a safer future — he’s peddling vengeance dressed as policy. These ideas failed before; they’ll fail again. Canadians deserve solutions that work, not a rerun of bad history.
Tony D’Andrea, Toronto Reversing decision on consecutive sentences to be commended Removing consecutive sentences was done by a Liberal leaning Supreme Court in 2011. Many of its decisions are made on a split vote. This shows, prima facie , that justice is a matter of opinion, guided by politics.
Indeed, in many countries, including Canada, the Supreme Court is the heartbeat of politics. A justice system, based on opinions, is a blatant contradiction. When several murders get the same punishment as a single murder, it is an insult to the families of the victims.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s plan to reverse that ill-advised change to our laws is to be commended. Peter Weygang, Bobcaygeon, ON Party leaders using the notwithstanding clause shows their weakness Employing the notwithstanding clause undermines the basic principles of our democracy, our fundamental freedoms, the Charter of Rights, and opens the door to a dictatorship-type of government. It circumvents the laws and expectations of the people which were put in place to protect them from bullies and unjust behaviour.
Only weak, incompetent people along with dictators need to use this tactic because they lack the knowledge and will to achieve their desires within the laws of the land. They show themselves to have poor judgement and ability. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s plan to increase the criminal population will mean building more jails at a cost of billions of dollars and will need about 15 years to complete as our current jail population is 30 per cent above its capacity.
Brian Mellor, Midland, ON Threatening to use the notwithstanding clause is dangerous When the election campaign began, I decided that I was only interested in listening to news or commentary if it had to do with the ballot box question, which is clearly this: who is the best person to be prime minister to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump at this moment in history? Everything else is just noise.
However, prime minister wannabe Pierre Poilievre has decided to sell Canadians on using the notwithstanding clause for some purpose — and it really doesn’t matter what purpose it is — for the first time in history at the federal level. This is dangerous. Trevor Amon, Victoria, BC Want to lower voting age, change YCJA Is it time for Canada to lower the federal voting age to 16? April 14 I disagree with the suggestion that 16- and 17-year olds should be allowed to vote.
At the moment, 16- and 17-year-olds can’t be tried in adult court of law because presumably they don’t know the difference between right and wrong and they can’t appreciate the consequences of their actions. When the YCJA ( Youth Criminal Justice Act ) is amended to exclude 16- and 17-year-olds, then we can open the debate about voting age. Claude Gannon, Markham, ON Hope for the coming election Canadians go to the polls on April 28.
In light of the threat from U.S. President Donald Trump, I hope we take two lessons from the last American election.
First, I hope that every person who can vote takes the time to do so. We can see the results of staying home south of the border. Second, I hope that all of us who vote consider carefully what we want.
Do we want disruption, similar to the disruption we see in the U. S.? Or do we want stability and careful governance? Do we want a leader whose greatest concern is wiping out “woke ideology,” or do we want one who will concentrate on the actual threats facing us? We need a serious leader fit for these challenging times, one who looks to unite us as a country, not a leader who stokes the worst in us for the sake of power.
The right wing is much the same no matter which country it takes root in. We can see the results of their efforts in the rage and resentment that has taken hold of the U.S.
I hope that those of us who love this country will use their vote in this upcoming election to protect it against those who would tear it down. David Levy, Toronto Let’s build a Canadian car We are building cars in Canada, but for other countries. We have the know-how, the people, the facilities, the raw materials, and the imagination.
We should not depend on the whims of other counties. Let’s do this with the resources we have in abundance. Let’s build our own car.
Sharon Heinrich, Whitby, ON Canada should focus spending on the climate Earth Day is just around the corner. Despite the environment being seen as a low priority in the current federal polls, the global carbon emissions are continuing to increase and in the words of UN Secretary António Guterres: “Either leaders bridge the emissions gap or we plunge headlong into climate disaster ..
.” The military is the top green-house gas emitter. It is time for Canada to take a real made-in-Canada position.
The global climate crisis will never be tackled without global co-operation. Canada should take a sharp turn in its global role and become a voice for peaceful diplomacy. Cancelling the deal with U.
S. Lockheed Martin to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets would be a great start and would free up $19 billion which is desperately needed for social programs and climate mitigation. Highly skilled workers like those at Bombardier can do better things than build weapons of destruction.
How about starting with high-speed trains so we can travel across this beautiful country? Virginia Thomson, Toronto.
