All three major parties in the House have agreed to fast-track a bill to speed up mega-trials of suspected gang members and terrorists, but that new-found spirit of co-operation does not apply to the rest of the Conservative crime agenda.
After 31 alleged members of the Hells Angels biker gang were recently released before going to trial, the Conservative Party won the endorsement of the NDP and the Liberals to get the Fair and Efficient Criminal Trials Act through Parliament before the summer recess.
The procedural bill will allow a judge to hear all pretrial motions at once. In addition, judges will be able to swear in up to 14 jurors, up from the usual 12, to make sure at least 10 of them make it to the end.
But NDP justice critic Joe Comartin said his party has concerns about the rest of the Conservative crime-fighting package, which is expected to be introduced in the House in the fall. In particular, Mr. Comartin said he objects to legislation to impose mandatory minimum sentences for a number of drug offences.
“I can assure you that we are not going to get the same kind of co-operation around the drug bill. You know, we are adamant that that’s a really foolish bill to be proceeding with,” Mr. Comartin told reporters.
Liberal Leader Bob Rae added he was happy that the government addressed the matter of mega-trials with stand-alone legislation.
“We’re glad that it’s not part of an omnibus bill that will come this fall, with which we have major preoccupations,” Mr. Rae said.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said he hopes opposition MPs will change their minds as they meet constituents in their ridings over the summer.
“I think they’ll hear what I heard during the election, that people are supportive of what we are trying to do. I’m hoping that this is just the first of many bills that we’ll get co-operation on,” Mr. Nicholson said.
However, the government needs opposition support only when it wants to enact legislation over a few days. With their majority in the House, the Senate and on all parliamentary committees, the Conservatives should have no problem passing their law-and-order agenda this fall.
The three parties are moving speedily on the issue of mega-trials after a Quebec Superior Court judge recently released 31 alleged members of the Hells Angels biker gang, arguing their trials could take 10 years. The accused were part of a massive police roundup in 2009 and because of the complexity of the evidence and number of witnesses, the judge said delays may prevent fair trials. Mr. Comartin raised the matter in the Commons last week, saying the situation had to change.
“The police did their job. The prosecutors did their job. It is time for Parliament to do its job,” he said.
Mr. Nicholson replied that he was ready to re-introduce legislation on the matter, prompting Mr. Comartin to work out a deal with his Liberal counterpart, Irwin Cotler.
Usually, mega-trials involve multiple accused and investigations involving large amount of paperwork, surveillance evidence and disclosure. The system now allows for defence lawyers to argue each and every motion involving each accused separately, raising the potential for delay.
The proposed bill would give a single “case management judge” the authority to bring together motions so that all of the accused are dealt with simultaneously, reducing delays and the potential for charges being withdrawn.
Mr. Comartin said there was no need to hold committee hearings on the bill.
“We basically don’t have the time to be able to do a full blown assessment of this bill in the form of debate in the House through committee. I’m quite satisfied that it is a procedural bill,” he said on Monday. “The crisis right now is that we have had 31 charges kicked out.”
