Quebec supports Alberta’s calls for harsher penalties for drug crimes and a reversal of related legislative changes adopted by the federal government.
Quebec Minister of Justice Simon Jolyn Barrett took to social media this week to support Alberta Premier Daniel Smith’s criminal justice initiative, and also replied Ottawa’s minimal forced sentencing policy for drug crimes. I’ve asked to introduce it.
The minister said legislative changes led to many “delinquents” receiving “generous sentences” in his state, and he called on Ottawa to reverse the law.
“In Quebec, we believe that the written written communicated must reflect the severity of the crime. Victims of these heinous crimes must live with the consequences of the rest of their lives,” Jolin said. Barrett writes, adding that the current approach “strickens the recovery of too many casualties.”
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Quebec asked the federal government to restore its mandatory minimum ruling through a motion adopted unanimously in Parliament in December. The request was ignored, Jolyn Barrett said.
Alberta’s posture
Jolyn Barrett’s comments come two weeks after Smith has called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Justice Minister Arif Villani to end the “soft crime policy.”
She asks Bill C-5 to be abolished “completely” and urges the government to revive the minimum CDSA crime sentence, redirecting federal prosecutors to lesser-severe drug-related cases from the criminal justice system. They also urged the guidelines to be rescinded that they would do so.
Current law provides that police and prosecutors prioritize referrals to the program before resorting to accusations or prosecutions of drug possession crimes.
Alberta wants to assume full responsibility for prosecution under the drug law, if Ottawa doesn’t tighten the law, Smith said.
“There’s no mistake. The Alberta government will find these dangerous offenders, prosecute them and keep them in prison where they belong,” she wrote.
Quebec would also prefer to indict the offenders themselves, Jolyn Barrett said.
“The positions taken by Quebec and Alberta are legal. Federal states must be able to make their own choices to ensure public safety,” he writes. “To strengthen mutual autonomy, it is important to strengthen interstate cooperation and work together to combat crime.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused then-Judiciary Minister David Lametti of reforming and modernizing the criminal justice system in 2021.
He also asked Lametti to make drug treatment the default option for first-time non-violent offenders.
Bill C-5 became law almost a year later. Lametti described it as a way to correct discrimination within Canada’s criminal justice system.
