OTTAWA — The Conservative government has reintroduced legislation that could make it tougher for people convicted of crimes abroad to come home to Canada.
The amendments would tweak the International Transfer of Offenders Act to add new factors the public safety minister can consider before granting a prisoner transfer. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said changes will allow the government to make decisions that “put safety first.”
“The goal is not simply to bring back individuals because they’re Canadians. What we want to see is the Canadians who are on the street safe and not at risk because of actions bringing these people back,” he said.
Toews said that five years ago the approval rate under the Liberal government was 100% for prisoners applying for transfers. Last year, between Jan. and Sept., the approval rate was only 27%. But while between 200 and 300 Canadians incarcerated abroad apply annually to come home, only two or three foreign nationals imprisoned here apply to leave.
“Maybe it’s because our correctional officials do such a great job working with these offenders, but there’s some other suggestions about the availability of parole — that many of these individuals are eligible for parole at one-sixth of the time whereas in some of these foreign jurisdictions the same easy access to parole simply isn’t there,” Toews said.
Liberal MP Mark Holland called the amendments a “red herring” that will affect few people and rejected the notion that criminals transferred back to Canada get faster parole.
“It’s a perception, but there isn’t any evidence that it’s a reality,” he said. “We have to make sure that people serve appropriate sentences wherever those crimes are committed, and that Canadians who are returning from abroad are given sentences that are appropriate whether they serve them here or abroad.”
kathleen.harris@sunmedia.ca
