Last Thursday at midnight, the Senate approved the Conservative Omnibus Bill C-10, The Safe Streets and Communities Act, with only minor amendments. This marked a very sad day for Canadians, and for our sense of justice and fairness for all people.

Bill C-10 was never really intended to be a piece of legislation that represented a direction that was well thought out or designed to build on what is arguably one of the better criminal justice systems in the world. No, instead Bill C-10 was designed as a regressive, punitive, highly political, and ill conceived amalgamation of crime legislation that will set the country back in ways that we will only come to discover over the next decade or two. We assume the legislation will be passed by the House of Commons in the coming days. That will be another sad day.

Creative Commons-by Itzafineday

But, in the midst of all of the madness, there have been some remarkable activities over the past few months, as organizations and individuals placed Bill C-10 under a microscope.

For one, a coalition of Canadians has evolved to occupy the discussion and speak out against this legislation. What we have learned from these people over the past month during the Senate hearings into C-10 has been profound. Canadians are deeply concerned about this legislation and how it will impact our youth, Aboriginal peoples, those with mental health and addictions and other vulnerable populations.

National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs eloquently articulated their knowledge that Bill C-10 will accelerate the over-incarceration of Aboriginal Peoples. Politicians, researchers, service providers, criminal justice veterans and ordinary Canadians have all come out in increasing numbers to voice their concern that Canada is taking the wrong path with this legislation.

And we have also learned that the world is watching in disbelief as our government takes us down this path. Veterans of the drug war from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition , some who actually drafted the legislation that brought mandatory minimum sentencing to the U.S. like Eric Sterling from the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation in Washington DC, have spoken out loudly to warn Canadians not to go down the road that Americans took some 30 years ago with this form of legislation for drug offences.The Global Commission on Drug Policy also added their voice sending a letter directly to the Senate asking them to reconsider the direction Bill C-10 would take drug policy in Canada.

The community that is forming around issues of justice, drug policy, fairness and a concern that we develop effective, evidence-based responses to problems related to drugs in Canada is growing at an amazing rate.

We want to keep this momentum going, for all of us.

The work of the Smart Justice Network,
John Howard and Elizabeth Fry Societies of Canada, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Canadian Harm Reduction Network, the TRIP! Project, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association , and so many others needs to continue. Together we can build a vision, and an evidence-based drug policy for the future.

We have been working with our partners, Leadnow.ca and others to accelerate this process. How can we keep this movement going, building strength and capacity? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Bill C-10 has caused thousands of Canadians to pause and think about the choice the federal government has made to use the criminal law to address what are really complex health, social and economic issues in Canada. The Safe Streets and Communities Act will not help us build healthy, vibrant and inclusive communities. But we know together, we can.