A security certificate is like a special deportation warrant in which the Canadian government can deport any “non-Canadians” who they feel are a threat to Canada and its citizens. An example of this would be anyone that the Canadian government feels is involved with a terrorist group or organization will be deported using a security certificate. Some pros to the security certificate are it will help the Canadian government better protect Canada by deporting anyone who poses a serious threat to Canada, and its citizens. Another pro is it limited in use as security certificates have only been used 27 times since 1991, meaning the powers of the security certificates have not been abused as of yet. It is somewhat fair to the person a security certificate …show more content…
is being applied to it gives the accused an opportunity for a trial, and an opportunity to appeal the decision made by the court. Some of the cons of the security certificate are if a security certificate is used, there could be repercussions of deporting this individual an example of this is Mohamed Harkat, who ”faces significant risk of torture were he to be deported to his native Algeria with the label of terrorism suspect hanging over his head.” (T.
MacCharles, 2014 Toronto Star) this could also reflect badly on Canada deporting someone they know faces a serious threat to their life, if deported. The biggest con to security certificates is that they violate sections of the charter of rights and freedoms. The sections of the charter that security certificates violate are, section 6 of charter every citizen has the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada, which the security certificate violates by deporting people from Canada. It violates section 7 of the charter everyone has the right to life, liberty and security, it violates a person’s security by deporting them, violates a person’s liberty by detaining them, and can threaten their life if they are deported. Violates section 9 of the charter everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained. A person who is subject to a security certificate can be detained and arrested, even though in some cases the evidence against them may not be strong enough to do
so. Security certificates also violate section 11.b of the charter any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable amount of time, which can happen in some cases as it is up to the government of Canada when you will be tried, such as the Mohamed Harkat case where he was arrest in 2002, yet is still want to have a trial to deport him in 2014. I feel The Supreme Court allow charter rights to be limited, because they feel by using security certificates they are doing the best thing for national security, and for the protection of all Canadian citizens. By limiting some of the charter rights it will in return give security certificates more power, and thus help to better protect Canada from any threats it may face right now or in the future.
Canada’s criminal justice system largely focuses on rehabilitation, but Bourque’s harsh sentence is similar to the sentencing practices of the United States (Gagnon 2015). This is troubling as Canada’s rehabilitation focused criminal justice system appears to be working. Canada has a low rate of recidivism for offenders who have been convicted of murder (Gagnon 2015). Research shows that Canada’s rehabilitation focused criminal justice system has also worked with crimes that are not as severe as murder. Between 2010/2011 and 2013/2014, there was a 12% decrease in completed adult criminal court cases. Most cases in adult criminal court involve non-violent offenses (Maxwell 2013/2014). Similarly, in 2013, the police-reported crime rate was at it lowest since 1969 (Statistics Canada). The homicide rate is also declining, as in 2013, it represented less than 1% of all violent crime (Statistics Canada). Notably, probation was the most common sentence given in adult court cases and custody sentences were less than six months (Maxwell, 2013/2014). These types of sentences showcase the rehabilitation focused thinking of the Canadian criminal justice system and reinforce the impact and possible repercussions of Justin Bourque’s
Lastly, the CRF allows people to express their values and beliefs through media and have the freedom of thinking. In other parts of the world, people live in fear to speak out the thoughts because of the punishments they might receive. In Canada, however, people are allowed to protest peacefully with measures to protect the security of the country. This allows for a more open society and moves Canada forward.
The War Measures Act was a law passed in 1914 by the Canadian Government in Canada during WWI, amongst many others that the government had passed that allowed the government to take control of communications, establish censorship of transatlantic cables, and organize the militia (Bolotta, Angelo et al. 39). The War Measures Act itself allowed the government to: censor and suppress publications, writing, maps, plans, photographs, communications, and means of communication, arrest, detain, exclude, and deport persons, control harbours, ports, and territorial waters of Canada and the movements of vessels, control the transport of persons and things by land, air, or water control trade, production, and manufacturing, and appropriate and dispose of property and of the use thereof (Bolotta, Angelo et al. 39). It gave the government emergency powers “allowing it to govern by decree” while Canada was in war (War). In World War I (1914-1920), it had been used to imprison those who were of German, Ukrainian, and Slavic decent, and was used in the same way again in WWII (1939-1945) to imprison Japanese-Canadians, and to seize all of their belongings. They were then relocated into internment camps and concentration camps (Bolotta, Angelo et al. 171). Both times, those that were persecuted did not have the right to object (War). Those these laws had been created for the purpose of protecting Canadians from threats or wars for security, defense, peace order and welfare of Canada it instead greatly limited the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens and debasing immigrants of enemy countries both in WWI and WWII (Bolotta, Angelo et. Al 39).
This makes his argument more credible and allows the reader to trust what he’s saying. When quoting a statement given by the Singapore government, Reyes said “[the] statement noted that in the past five years, fourteen young men aged 18 to 21, twelve of whom were Singaporean, had been sentenced to caning for vandalism” (Reyes 182). This gives a credible example of punishments that can be proven. Reyes then goes on to state, “Preventive detention laws allow authorities to lock up suspected criminals without trial. While caning is mandatory in cases of vandalism, rape and weapons offenses, it is also prescribed for immigration violations such as overstaying visas and hiring of illegal workers” (Reyes 182). By informing the reader of this, the author gives an example of how harsh the government’s laws are. Reyes states, “At dawn on May 13, six Malaysians were hanged for drug trafficking, bringing to seventeen the number executed for such offenses so far this year, ten more than the total number of prisoners executed in all of 1993” (Reyes 181). This gives an exact count of the offenses and the number of people hanged for their crimes, which informs the reader and allows them to form an accurate opinion on the
Crime control and due process are two different ideal types of criminal justice. One could say they are extremes on a continuum. The role of crime control is to get the criminal off the street and to protect the innocent. The due process model of criminal justice is like an obstacle course, you have to keep going through legal obstacles to ensure in the end you convict the right person. In Canada the police lean toward crime control and the courts lean toward due process. This causes tension between the police and the courts. I will argue for both crime control and due process, putting more weight on due process If we did not have due process in Canada, people in positions of power, could manipulate the system for their own personal or political gain and railroad the innocent off to prison.
In William Safire’s “The Threat of National ID”, he argues against a National ID card. Safire published an article in the New York Times to establish different context. Safire gives details about the use of National ID card at different places in different situations. He emphasizes that many Americans are willing to give up personal privacy in return for greater safety, but none of us have privacy regarding where we go and what we do all the time. Safire disputes that mandatory National ID become necessary for people to prevent fear of terror attack.
The Canadian Justice system has failed its mandate of creating a just and peaceful society for all in regards to treatment of immigrants. Our current system of operations of indefinite immigrant detention is in desperate need of revitalization for as it stands it is one of the weakest and most unnecessarily components of our legislature. As proven through differing worldwide policies a limitation can be applied effectively and national security may still be maintained. Clear limits to the practice of detention are in place in both the European Union and in the United States. In the EU, detention is capped at six months with the possibility of extending to 18 months in certain cases. In the U.S., the period of presumptive release is six months,
As noted by Allen (2016), measures that are implemented outside the courtrooms, especially in a formal procedure, may lead to the provision of accurate as well as timely considerations for youth crime. As such, Canada is keen in the reinforcement of these regulations, as they determine both short and long-term judicial solutions. Most importantly, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in Canada plays a major role in the implementation of extrajudicial measures as they may affirm to the occurrence of future issues. According to the Government of Canada (2015a), this calls for an attempt to channel out or divert such offenders from the mainstream justice system to a lesser formal way of dealing with the offenses. This paper attempts to investigate the appropriateness of the extrajudicial measures in Canada, and the reason behind why we established these provisions of the YCJA. It also illustrates an example of a Canadian case, which questions the extrajudicial measures. This discussion canvasses the main argument as for or against the extrajudicial measures in Canada through the adoption of recommendations to the Canadian Government about the proper situations in which such processes should be used.
In the year 1970, the Canadian government founded the Law Reform Commission of Canada to ensure the progression of law making and to make recommendations for legal changes . The Law Reform Commission of Canada is constantly importing and suggesting proposals towards the criminal code of Canada. During the year of 1985, t...
Canada is viewed as being a very safe and stable place to live because people are lucky enough to have healthcare, benefits for unemployment and family needs, as well as maternity leave. Crime is something that Canadians don’t often think about because people feel as though they are out of harm's way. As Canadians, we’ve watched the world experience different threats and crime, and we’ve seen the world fight back. For example, our neighbors in North America, the United States, have gone through terrorist attacks and issues with guns and violence. Just because we are witnessing these things in other places doesn’t mean that we aren’t at risk as well, and Canada does have certain approaches and regards in place if we are ever in danger. What I wish to address in this paper is how Canada is set up for reacting to crime and jeopardy, as well as an example of where we went wrong in our past. Methods in response to crime, Canada’s legal regime and the issue of Residential schooling for Aboriginals a hundred years ago will be presented.
Imagine that you are a suspect of murder in 1892. You have no solid evidence that you are innocent, but there is no evidence that you're guilty either. No matter how much you argue, you are sentenced to a public hanging even though you didn't commit the crime. This is one example the Criminal Code of Canada would have sentenced you to if they suspected that you committed manslaughter. The Criminal Code of Canada is a book of laws that was developed in 1892. It determines sentences for certain crimes and thankfully, it has been revised numerous times. It is a big part of the Canadian justice system. The system is fair-minded now since the death sentence is forbidden, sentences are equal for both sexes, and children are persecuted differently from adults.
Criminals always have some sort of motivation to execute crimes. Whether it be that they are low on money or that they have a brutal relationship with someone, they know the consequence will never be as grave as a death penalty in Canada. However, what if that changed? What if the punishment of homicide lead to the death penalty? Criminals might re-consider the consequence of executing the crime and decisively disregard it due to the very dreadful amercement. The death penalty could save lives of the criminals as well as their victims. Hence, the death penalty is an adequate way to make criminals bethink their crime and it could potentially ...
There are many oppressive factors that exist in contemporary Canadian society that disadvantages and often alienates refugees. These oppressive factors exist in social, religious, cultural, political, and economic spheres within society. There are many political barriers that exist that oppress and limit the amount of refugees that can safely flee to Canada. An example of political and social barriers that inhibit the admission of refugees is increased border security. Border security has reached a point where it is too difficult for some refugees to safely flee a harmful environment, and this violates international law which outlines that each state has to respect an individual’s right to seek refuge in any nation. Implementing more restrictive
Upon committing a crime in Canada, a judge must determine not only if the accused did in fact commit that crime, but also if they were in control of their actions by assessing their state of mind. Accountability needs to be determined of an individual action to be convicted of crimes. An individual does not have accountability of their crimes if they have no knowledge of their actions or do not understand right from wrong. If the accused is found that they were not in control of their actions, and have no accountability to the crime they committed they are deemed not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder (Nevid, Greene, Johnson, Taylor & Macnab. 2001). Regarding not criminally responsible individuals, an extensive assessment needs to be conducted and public safety needs to be accounted for. Canada has made great improvements on the criminal code and the way not criminally responsible individuals are cared for.
Identity cards vary, from passports to health cards to driver licenses. Each play a different role, one will be used to travel another used when individuals seek care and another simply to drive around town. Identity cards serve as a form of surveillance to insure the wellbeing within a country against danger. This brings me to say, is monitoring an individual’s life going to insure their safety? Forms of identification can offer security, freedom as well as accessibility to North American citizens. Although, scenarios such as identity theft can cause individuals to think otherwise. The topics discussed in this essay is, the use of identification allows basic rights to North American citizens. Monitoring insures security within countries as