PRIME Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday announced that a re-elected Harper Government would make “Life Means Life” legislation its top justice priority in a new parliamentary session.
“Canadians expect their government to protect them from the worst type of criminals,” said Harper. “That’s why our government introduced Life Means Life legislation, and that’s why reintroducing and passing it will be our top justice priority this fall.”
The bill, introduced in March 2015, would amend the Criminal Code to ensure that offenders who are convicted of the most heinous murders or those convicted of high treason will be imprisoned for the rest of their natural lives with no access to parole. This includes murders involving sexual assault, kidnapping, terrorism, the killing of police officers or corrections officers or any first degree murders that are found to be of a particularly brutal nature.
“A prison sentence should mean what it says,” Harper said. “And a life sentence should mean exactly that – a sentence for life.”
Harper noted that his government had introduced and passed over 60 substantive pieces of legislation keeping criminals behind bars, protecting children from predators, making the justice work for victims, and cracking down on guns, gangs and drugs. Harper also noted that many of these proposals were opposed by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, including the Life Means Life Act.
“Justin and Mulcair think heinous murderers like Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olson should still get a chance to apply for parole and be released into the community after 25 years,” Harper said.
“Thomas Mulcair has a dangerous ideology-driven criminal justice policy that would make our communities less safe by putting the so-called “rights” of criminals ahead of the rights of victims.”
Harper added: “Justin’s criminal justice priority is to change the law to allow the sale of marijuana in corner stores, making it more accessible to our children. He simply doesn’t understand the needs and priorities of Canadian families.”
