VZCZCXYZ6476
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHOT #0319/01 0632216
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 032216Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7438
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM CA
SUBJECT:  CANADA PASSES KEY NEW CRIME BILL 
 
REF: A.   Ottawa 257 
 
-           B.   07 OTTAWA 1924 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  The Conservatives' comprehensive crime 
legislation became law on February 28 after the Liberal-dominated 
Senate met a government-set March 1 deadline and passed the omnibus 
bill without amendment from the House of Commons' version.  The new 
Act fulfills a 2006 election promise from the Conservatives and was 
also a major plank in the 2007 "Speech from the Throne" policy 
statement by the government (ref b).  Important new provisions 
include mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes, easier 
designations of  "dangerous offenders," and better protection for 
young teens from sexual exploitation.  It will help not only to 
tackle violent crime more effectively, but also to position the 
Conservatives as the primary party of "law and order" in the next 
federal election.  End summary. 
 
LEGISLATIVE VICTORY FOR CONSERVATIVES 
 
¶2.  (U)  The new "Tackling Violent Crime Act" includes key elements 
of five separate criminal law bills from 2006 as part of the 
government's tough "safe streets, safe communities" law and order 
agenda against gangs, guns, and violent crime.  Opposition parties 
initially opposed at least two of the five -- mandatory minimum 
sentences for gun crimes and increasing restrictions on dangerous 
offenders -- and all five bills died when the government prorogued 
Parliament in 2007. 
 
¶3.  (U)  With the opening of a new session of Parliament on October 
16, 2007, the Conservatives included this single, comprehensive 
justice bill in the "Speech from the Throne" policy statement and 
then introduced it formally on October 18.  To ratchet up pressure, 
the government voluntarily designated the bill as a matter of 
"confidence" that would trigger an election if the opposition 
parties defeated it.  The Commons passed it without amendment on 
November 28.  In early February, Prime Minister Harper pushed 
through the Commons an unusual second confidence motion setting a 
deadline for the Senate to pass the bill by March 1 or trigger an 
election.  Despite constitutional doubts that the Commons has any 
power to compel the timing of votes in the appointed upper house, 
the Senate expedited its hearings, even during recess (ref a) and 
passed it without amendment on February 27.  It received Royal 
Assent from the Governor General on February 28 and became law. 
 
HIGHER MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES 
 
¶4.  (U) The legislation increases existing mandatory minimum prison 
terms for certain firearms offenses, particularly where the offense 
has been committed with a restricted or prohibited firearm, in 
connection with a criminal organization, or by an individual with a 
previous conviction for a firearm-related offense.  The new 
mandatory minimum prison sentences increase to five years for a 
first offense, and seven years on a second or subsequent offense, 
for eight specific offenses involving firearms (attempted murder, 
discharging a firearm with intent, sexual assault with a weapon, 
aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, hostage taking, robbery, and 
extortion), when the offense is gang-related, or for use of a 
restricted or prohibited firearm. 
 
¶5.  (U) The Act also mandates sentences of three years on a first 
offense, and five years on a second or subsequent offense, for other 
serious firearm-related offenses (firearm trafficking, possession 
for the purpose of firearm trafficking, firearm smuggling, and 
illegal possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm with 
ammunition), as well as establishing new indictable offenses for 
breaking and entering to steal a firearm or robbery to steal a 
firearm. 
Qfirearm. 
 
TOUGHER BAIL PROVISIONS 
 
¶6.  (U) The Act establishes a "reverse onus" requiring defendants to 
demonstrate why they should not be in jail while awaiting trial when 
facing charges of certain serious offenses involving firearms, 
including: 
--  attempted murder; 
--  discharging a firearm with criminal intent; 
--  sexual assault with a weapon; 
--  aggravated sexual assault 
--  kidnapping 
--  hostage-taking 
--  robbery, 
--  extortion 
--  any indictable offense involving use of a firearm or other 
regulated weapon; 
--  firearms trafficking and smuggling; or, 
--  where the accused faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 
three years or more for a firearms offense. 
 
CRACKDOWN ON DANGEROUS OFFENDERS 
 
¶7.  (U) The Act makes it easier for the courts, at the Crown's 
request, to designate individuals convicted of repeated violent 
(especially sexual), offenses as "Dangerous Offenders" -- those 
guilty of serious personal injury offences who constitute a threat 
to the life, safety, physical, or mental well-being of other persons 
-- as part of their sentencing.  Once in prison, "Dangerous 
Offenders" are still eligible to apply for day parole after four 
years and full parole after seven years, but even those paroled or 
who finish their sentences are subject to monitoring for the rest of 
their lives.  If they continue to represent an "unacceptable risk to 
society," they may remain in prison for life.  Successive 
governments have already designated 403 individuals in Canada as 
"Dangerous Offenders" since 1978. 
 
¶8.  (U) The Act adds a new "reverse onus" method to existing 
provisions designating individuals as "Dangerous Offenders."  The 
Act creates a "presumption of dangerousness" so that individuals who 
have been convicted at least three times of specific violent or 
sexual crimes must convince the court why they should not be 
designated a "Dangerous Offender."  Previously, the Crown had to 
decide whether it would seek "Dangerous Offender" status on a 
case-by-case basis and to apply to the court for such status.  It 
was not obliged to state in open court its intention to pursue such 
status.  In contrast, the new provisions require the Crown to affirm 
in open court its intention to apply to the court or not for 
"Dangerous Offender" status after three convictions on serious 
violent offenses, thereby increasing the likelihood that it will 
pursue "Dangerous Offender" applications in such cases.   The Act 
also allows the Crown to designate as "Dangerous Offenders" repeat 
violent offenders who breach lesser crimes, to double the duration 
of peace bonds, and to clarify the range of conditions on those 
released from jail. 
 
PROTECTING TEENS FROM SEXUAL EXPLOITATION 
 
¶9.  (U) The Act raises the age at which youths can consent to 
non-exploitative sexual activity from fourteen to sixteen years, but 
includes a close-in-age exception for fourteen and fifteen year-old 
youths with partners less than 5 years older. The age of consent for 
sexual exploitative situations (i.e., prostitution) remains 18 years 
old. 
 
PUNISHING DRUNK DRIVERS 
 
 
¶10.  (U) The Act provides police with better tools to detect and 
investigate drug- and alcohol-impaired driving, including making it 
an offense to refuse roadside sobriety and drug tests.  It increases 
penalties for impaired driving from C$600 to C$1,000 for a first 
offense, with the minimum term of imprisonment from 14 to 30 days 
for a second offense and the minimum sentence from 90 to 120 days 
for each subsequent offense.  It also adds new offenses and maximum 
penalties for impaired driving causing bodily harm (ten years 
imprisonment) or death (life imprisonment). 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Prime Minister Stephen Harper came into office in part on 
the Conservatives' promise of getting tough on crime, and he has 
widespread public - and now, bipartisan political -- support for 
strengthening Canada's judicial system and increasing resources for 
his law and order agenda.  The government has since October 2007 
succeeded in passing two major pieces of crime and security 
legislation -- amendments to Canada's security certificate system 
(septel) and the Tackling Violent Crime Act -- and thereby 
sidestepped a possible federal election over confidence votes on 
these bills.  Other justice draft legislation remains under 
consideration in Parliament, including a bill establishing mandatory 
minimum sentences for drug crimes (targeted at producers, dealers, 
Qminimum sentences for drug crimes (targeted at producers, dealers, 
gangs, and organized crime) and amendments to the 2001 
Anti-Terrorism Act, currently in the Senate.  These new bills will 
help not only to tackle violent crime and possible terrorists even 
more effectively, but will also position the Conservatives as the 
primary party of "law and order" in the next federal election - 
whenever it takes place. 
WILKINS