The John Howard Society of Sudbury is a leader in the field of community criminal justice in our community and in Canada.
We are following with great interest the platforms being disseminated by the political parties during this federal election on the law and order or tough on crime agenda. Unfortunately, many of these platforms are ill-advised and will only increase crime, not reduce it.
One example is the platform that anyone convicted of fentanyl trafficking will serve a life sentence in our penitentiaries. This may appeal to many as a popular sentiment yet it will do nothing to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl and the death tolls that fentanyl is responsible for. Penitentiary sentences do not stop fentanyl from entering our country or our communities like Sudbury. Using the time-tested rules of supply and demand, only reducing the demand for fentanyl will result in the supply of fentanyl diminishing.
Thus, treatment for substance abuse addiction is the only answer and response. What are our political parties’ platforms saying about increasing our country’s capabilities for treatment centres and facilities?
Penitentiary and prison terms are just too convenient an answer for a problem that cannot be resolved by putting a person in a room with bars and locks.
Another example is circumventing the Canadian Charter of Rights to allow consecutive life sentences to be given to an offender who has committed multiple murders. The John Howard Society of Sudbury does not and will never condone the heinous crime of murder and will do whatever we are able to support the victims of this terrible offense against humanity. We also believe that for serious crimes like murder, a penitentiary sentence is indeed a just punishment. The problem is that consecutive life sentences will not resolve the causes of why murder occurs and will not prevent further murders from happening.
Again, what are our political parties’ platforms saying about focusing Canada’s prison and penitentiary system not only on incarceration but also on rehabilitation?
More succinctly, what are the political parties’ platforms saying about treatment and change behaviour modalities available to people in the community who are already exhibiting adverse behaviours. These modalities and programs can curtail these behaviours before the horrifying crime of murder occurs. Examples come to mind of programs for people who are perpetrators of intimate partner violence, hate crimes and drug-fueled aggression.
In effect, if we as a country do not provide more effective ways of treating the problems of crime and its causes then our custody facilities will continue to be overcrowded, understaffed and unable to rehabilitate those people who are incarcerated. Meanwhile our hard-earned taxpayer dollars will be used increasingly to incarcerate while the problems that caused incarceration are not dealt with.
We must start speaking and acting upon the causes of crime in our community instead of offering easy solutions that merely put criminals behind bars. The easy solution does not work, it has been used for centuries and yet the problems and causes of crime still exist. It is time to refocus our energies.
Sara-Jane Berghammer
Chief Executive Officer
John Howard Society of Sudbury