A Whiff of Desperation from a Bankrupt Government

Recent policies from the Harper government seem to indicate an increasingly desperate government pandering both to its base and to the baser motives of Canadians more generally. And while this is to be expected, what is sad is that this minority government is doing so with solid Liberal support.

The first, passed last Monday, provides for mandatory minimum sentences both for serious drug trafficking offenses as well as petty ones. Even minor marijuana growth and trafficking offenses will now require a six-month minimum. In other words, someone growing a few plants in their basement and sharing it with friends would, if caught, face prison.

To their credit, the NDP strongly opposed the bill, and once this failed, tried to alter some of its worst features in the committee process. Libby Davies, party spokesperson on this issue, is quoted by the Canadian Press as saying

This bill is clearly targeted at the low-level dealers. It is simply really bad public policy. It is going to increase the prison population, particularly the provincial prison population, because most of these mandatory sentences that are two years or less will be under the provincial jurisdiction."

In committee, the NDP put forward 21 amendments that tried to remove some of the worst aspects of the bill, by changing the regime of mandatory minimums, for example, and getting an exemption for medical marijuana for compassion clubs."

I am so disappointed that those amendments did not go through. The Liberal members on the committee failed to respond to those amendments and failed to support them, which really surprises me.

While the Liberals, to their shame, supported this, their are indications that some in the party talked of breaking ranks. But as the Canadian Press describes it

A number of prominent Liberals are challenging their party's support for this bill. Dozens of bloggers, riding association presidents and other party members have publicly complained about Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff pressuring the party to back the new law.

Yet when it came to the vote, every Liberal present voted for the bill, except for Liberal MP Keith Martin, who supports decriminalization. Martin abstained from the vote. The NDP and Bloc all voted against it.

So 'brave Liberal' safely remains an oxymoron.

The second piece of retrograde legislation planned by the Tories is a repeal of the "faint-hope" clause that provides for the unlikely possibility of parole for those serving life sentences after fifteen years. As this provision has so seldom been used, it cannot be seen as anything but pandering. Yet both the NDP and Liberals have given tacit approval for the process to move forward.

Both of these moves should probably be seen as the Harper government shoring up its base in anticipation of an election in which their prospects are quickly fading. Given its Reform roots, this should scarcely be surprising. What is surprising and troubling is the opposition support these measures have received. The Liberals, eager to avoid an election until victory is assured, are willing to tolerate almost anything. And even the NDP appears always willing to score a few cheap points.