Canada's proposed Bill C-10 violates civil liberties

Canadian Civil Liberties Association has broad concerns over flawed legislation

Six main points where CCLA is most concerned about the impact of this Bill:

1. Broad and vague amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:

Amendments give a very broad mandate to deny any foreign national a work permit and do not specify what factors would be used to target an individual as ‘at risk’ of being exploited. It is also poor public policy to punish foreign individuals who are vulnerable to abuse as opposed to addressing the Canadian employers who exploit these populations.

2. Hollow expansion for the rights of victims:

Both torture and terrorism are serious crimes of international concern. Numerous Canadian victims of torture have been unable to access meaningful justice in Canadian courts– and yet the government has chosen only to make these amendments available to victims of terrorism. Even victims of terrorism would have to have their cases ‘pre-approved’ by the government, which has the ability to decide which governments can and cannot be sued. Canada should not play politics with victims of torture and terrorism.

3. Unconstitutional use of mandatory minimums:

The use of mandatory minimums for broad and vague underlying offences may result in the imposition of unjust, grossly disproportionate sentences. The drug provisions include low-level drug offences – producing as little as six marihuana plants – and extremely broad aggravating factors which would target all those who rent or live in a house they do not own.

The child pornography provisions criminalize, and would impose mandatory minimum jail sentences, for the consensual, legal sexual activities of youth and young adults. There is little evidence that mandatory minimums provide any deterrent impact, enhance community safety or lower crime rates. There is also little evidence to suggest that they will significantly impact sentences for the most serious offenders – who are already being sentenced to significant amounts of jail time by the judiciary. Rather they will handcuff the judiciary, preventing them from responding to unique facts and exceptional personal circumstances.



4. Prison conditions and disparate impact of amendments on aboriginal peoples and persons requiring mental health care:

The proposed will amendments greatly increase the prison population, and are likely to have a disproportionate and devastating impact on already-marginalized communities – particularly Aboriginal peoples and those with mental health needs. These populations are already greatly over-represented in correctional institutions, and existing programs and services are already ineffective and insufficient to keep up with general demand. The elimination of conditional sentences for a range of offences is particularly concerning, as these flexible sentencing tools are used by the judiciary to allow single mothers to continue working while serving their sentence and preventing the breakup of families, or to ensure that those with underlying mental health needs get the community treatment that best ensures their recovery and rehabilitation.



5. Unconstitutional amendments to the International Transfer of Offenders Act:

The amendments attempt to give the Minister an unconstitutional level of discretion over when Canadian citizens, incarcerated abroad, can return to Canada. From a policy perspective, facilitating such transfers enhances public safety as rehabilitation and reintegration is enhanced when individuals are close to their families and have access to high-quality, culturally-appropriate programs. When offenders serve a portion of their sentence in Canada, it also allows the government to create records of their crimes and monitor their rehabilitation. Absent such transfers, offenders would simply return to Canada at the end of their sentence without any records or legal restrictions on their activities.


6. Increasing transparency and accountability:

The CCLA welcomes the required 5-year review of the mandatory minimum provisions set out in s. 42 of the Bill and the requirement that the National Parole Board submit an annual report that includes the number of applications for record suspensions and the number of record suspensions ordered. Similar reviews and public reports to parliament should be undertaken with respect to the changes to the other acts.


What is CCLA doing, and what can you do?

We are doing our best to convince the government to make specific amendments that will hopefully mitigate the most devastating consequences of the Bill – for example by eliminating some of the broadest mandatory minimum sentences and introducing some sentencing flexibility for marginalized communities that are already overrepresented in, and underserved by, our penitentiaries. We are writing op-eds, speaking to media, and sent written submissions to the Parliamentary Committee that considered the Bill. We will continue to advocate for changes to be introduced by the Senate We also need you to lend your voice – call your MP, write to the Senate, make your opinion known!

Three specific changes you can ask for:

Eliminate the mandatory minimum sentences

Introduce flexibility in the conditional sentencing exclusions to make sure that already-marginalized communities are not needlessly harmed by excessive and unnecessary jail time

Call for a five-year, independent report to Parliament that will evaluate the impact of any changes that are enacted!


Canada's Bill C-10 and Canadian Civil Liberties Association research