Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced our Conservative Government’s intent to introduce legislation to keep Canadian families and their communities safe by ensuring that the most heinous criminals like Clifford Olson, will be sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole. This legislation will follow through on our Government’s 2013 Speech from the Throne commitment to ensure that a life sentence means a sentence for life.
We are building on our ongoing commitment to keep Canada’s streets and communities safe by holding violent repeat offenders accountable and ensuring that the rights of victims are considered above the rights of criminals. The pending legislation will hold the most heinous perpetrators of violence accountable and protect Canadians from further violence by these individuals.
As your Member of Parliament, I have always heard from you that you want assurances that that those who break the law are punished for their actions. Year after year, I receive letters, emails and phone calls asking for penalties to match the severity of crimes committed. That is why this week our Government will introduce legislation to ensure that criminals who commit horrific crimes face serious criminal penalties, and that a life sentence in Canada means exactly that: a life sentence.
We are ensuring that the Canadian justice system no longer allows the worst criminals to pose a risk to Canadians, our families, or our communities. We are targeting individuals who commit the most heinous crimes such as: those who plot kidnapping or sexual assault that results in murder; those with such contempt for law and order that they kill the police and correctional officers who are charged with protecting our streets; those who despise our values and way of life that carry out deadly acts of terrorism; and those who commit crimes of a particularly brutal nature.
In addition to the mandatory sentences discussed above, courts will have the discretion to impose life sentences without parole in any other first degree murder case or in circumstances where an offender previously convicted of murder, or of an international killing under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, commits another murder.
To address legitimate constitutional concerns, this legislation will permit a criminal serving life without parole to apply to the Minister of Public Safety for exceptional release after serving no less than 35 years. Decisions on petitions of this kind will rest with the federal Cabinet and will ensure that the families of victims are able to provide input on any such decisions.
The proposed legislation on life sentences without parole would align Canada’s criminal justice approach with likeminded countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States, and Australia. These proposed measures build on the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of the Government’s intent to introduce legislation that would end the practice of making early release available for repeat violent offenders.
