ONE would think that a government that bills itself as tough on crime would take steps to bolster the justice system. In Canada, however, our lock-'em-up federal leaders are doing precisely the opposite.
It emerged this week that Corrections Canada has been ordered to cut almost $300 million from its budget over the next three years as part of Ottawa's wider deficit reduction efforts. Although the move follows a temporary bump in resources aimed at expanding prisons, the cuts will undermine any effort to sustain those improvements in the long term. While corrections Canada may have got some bigger facilities, its shrinking budget will ensure those facilities are overcrowded and understaffed, and that other penitentiaries slated for closure aren't replaced.
This shift is taking place right as the Conservatives' new tough-on-crime legislation is sending more offenders to jail. The resulting bloated prison population - which grew seven per cent over the past year alone - is destined to experience more cramped conditions, fewer opportunities for re-training and less supervision. Exactly what effect that will have on prisoners remains to be seen, but it is unlikely to be improved rehabilitation.
Just as a steadily dropping crime rate should be making our streets safer, our government is working to make things worse - slashing budgets and needlessly tightening laws in a way that threatens to break our court system, and turn prisons into gangster factories.
If our leaders are serious about improving public safety, they need to rethink their approach.
