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OTTAWA — Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is promising legislation before the end of the year to further toughen sentences for youths convicted of serious crimes – despite a ruling by the country's highest court that has narrowed his legal options.
“We want to move on this in the fall,” Mr. Nicholson said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“It's part of the government's overall crime-fighting strategy. ... We're absolutely committed to this, it's one of the focal points of this government.”
The Tories promised, in the last election campaign, to change the Youth Criminal Justice Act to make it mandatory for anyone over the age of 14 to be sentenced as an adult for serious offences such as murder, manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, left, responds to questions as Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day listens, at the Conservative caucus meeting in late July. (Clement Allard/Canadian Press)
Many criminal law experts say that proposal went out the window when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in May that even the less onerous sentencing practices adopted by the previous Liberal government went beyond the proper constitutional bounds.
Mr. Nicholson insisted, however, that he hasn't given up the fight even though he may have to modify his tactics.
“I think there's quite a bit of room for us to move,” he said. “And we intend to move in a direction that will hold young people accountable – particularly young people who commit serious and violent crime.”
He brushed off any suggestion that the government would use the so-called notwithstanding clause, a constitutional mechanism that would allow it to override the Supreme Court decision.
There should be plenty of leeway to reform sentencing practices short of that kind of move, said Mr. Nicholson. But he refused to elaborate until he has concluded a round of consultation now under way with the provinces and groups who work with young offenders.
The federal minister is scheduled to make a swing this week through Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the last three provinces on his list.
He wouldn't say how soon he intends to bring in legislation when Parliament returns from its summer recess in mid-September, cautioning he'll have to consult Tory House leader Peter Van Loan on the exact timetable.
But Mr. Nicholson was adamant that he wants to move “as quickly a possible on it.”
The Supreme Court, in its 5-4 ruling in May, struck down sentencing provisions brought in by Jean Chrétien's Liberals that made it easier to hand out lengthy adult prison terms to youths for serious offences.
The Liberal policies had forced defendants to bear the burden of proof in arguing why they shouldn't get adult sentences once convicted.
Most analysts believe that if the Liberal reverse-onus provisions couldn't pass muster under the Charter of Rights, then the mandatory sentencing regime proposed by the Conservatives would be struck down as well.
One Tory strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the May judgment “tied our hands a bit.”
But he also noted the ruling hinged on the narrow questions of who should bear the burden of proof and didn't, in principle, rule out all possibility of heavier sentences for serious youth crime.
Mr. Nicholson already has a bill before the Commons to make it easier for judges to refuse bail to young offenders with a history of serious or repeated offences.
That move was sparked by the death of a Halifax woman, Theresa McEvoy, whose car was broadsided by a stolen vehicle driven by a 16-year-old who had been released on bail even though he faced 27 charges for car theft.
The same bill would broaden sentencing guidelines to allow for more severe terms if the judge believes they are necessary to promote “general deterrence.”' In laymen's terms, that means handing out exemplary sentences for particularly serious crimes.
That provision was drafted by the Tories in response to a 2006 Supreme Court judgment that upheld a sentence of one day in custody and 15 months probation for a Winnipeg teenager who beat a man to death in a drunken brawl.
Mr. Nicholson refused to be specific, in the interview Saturday, about how much further he thinks he can go on youth sentencing in view of the existing legal precedents.
“What I would say to people is: wait to see the legislation.”
