I'd rather not share that.” Public Safety Minister Vic Toews will not tell the public what the projected costs are of the government's anti-crime bills. Inevitably, Canadians will “share” the costs. But apparently they aren't entitled to know what they are beforehand.
Since when is it the government's prerogative to play coy about the anticipated price tag of its agenda? What's next, tax cuts at a concealed cost? Expansion of children's benefits? Scrapping the GST? Many bills would seem wonderful if they were talked about as if they were free. How do voters, let alone parliamentarians, appraise the value of government bills without knowing what the costs will be, and weighing them against the costs of other initiatives?
Take the Truth in Sentencing Act, which ends the near-automatic two-for-one credit for pretrial jail time. The very name is a declaration that Canadians deserve to be told the truth when people are sentenced in their courtrooms. But why don't they deserve Truth in Budgeting? Why one truth and not another?
Mr. Toews initially said the Truth in Sentencing Act would cost up to $90-million over the next two years. But after Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page began to study the projected costs, at the request of Liberal MP Mark Holland, and a report indicated it would cost $7-billion to $10-billion over five years (Mr. Page says that figure didn't come from him), Mr. Toews announced that the bill would cost $2-billion over five years. (He shared that much.) The price tag spiked faster than that for the federal gun registry, which the Conservatives have taken a deserved delight in bashing.
There are several other bills that may cost more than Truth in Sentencing. Some may have benefits, some may not. The budget for federal prisons provides a clue about the crime agenda's costs; from $2.27-billion in fiscal 2009-10, it will grow to $3.13-billion by fiscal 2012-13, a jump of $860-million, or 36 per cent, at a time of restraint in almost all other departments. Mr. Page will report soon, but Canadians have a right to hear from government about the projected costs of each component of its anti-crime agenda. Share, Mr. Toews.
