Justin Trudeau’s government’s Bill C-5, which abolishes minimum sentences for certain serious firearm crimes, has recently come into effect. In particular, it aims to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal, black or marginalized Canadians in the criminal justice system. With this measure, would the Liberals promote racial equity in the prison population at the expense of citizen safety?
Recently, a judgment was thus based on this discriminatory law to avoid prison for a so-called “racialized” young offender arrested in the summer of 2020. Judge Érick Vanchestein agreed with the arguments of a lawyer from the defense which pleaded that this law should apply to its client resulting from the “diversity”. The police had found MDMA, cocaine, methamphetamines and cannabis in his home, but also two illegal handguns, hidden in bags, in addition to two prohibited chargers. He was convicted of drug trafficking and possession of loaded prohibited weapons.
Given the problem of gun violence in Montreal, the Crown was asking for a four-year prison sentence. The 24-year-old defendant hoped to obtain leniency from the court by serving a 24-month sentence at home. Judge Vanchestein, who said he was sensitive to the fact that the young man is suspicious of the police and that he has already been the victim of racism, favored this avenue by imposing imprisonment in the community rather than in a penitentiary.
A reminder of the facts is necessary
1. Intra-community violence is a reality in Canada and the main victims of homicides come from the same communities as their assailants. Thus, Statistics Canada indicates that victims with black skin are overrepresented in this type of crime, representing 49% of “racialized” victims in 2021, which does not correspond to their demographic weight. We also learn that victims of Aboriginal homicides (and several feminicides) are six times more represented than non-Aboriginal people.
2. The overrepresentation of these homicide victims has a direct link to the overrepresentation of violent Black and Indigenous criminals in our prisons and penitentiaries. These offenders are rightly arrested and duly sentenced for serious crimes that afflict these communities.
3. The Liberal government preferred to tackle the overrepresentation of violent criminals rather than the overrepresentation of victims of violent crime in certain communities.
In his great wisdom, he believes that by returning violent criminals to their communities more quickly, the problems of overrepresentation will melt away like snow in the sun and that there will be fewer victims of homicides and feminicides in these communities.
4. The government has addressed this overrepresentation by removing mandatory minimum sentences for several serious firearms offences, including possession, pointing and discharging a firearm. A measure that will benefit Indigenous, Black or marginalized violent criminals, creating a two-tier justice system.
5. In 2021, four in ten (41%) homicides were committed with a firearm. The firearm was found in 29% of these cases. More than 90% of handguns found were not from Canada. Of the 297 homicides committed with a firearm in 2021, almost half (46%) were considered by police to be gang-related. Bill C-21 is therefore attacking the wrong target, namely hunters and sport shooters.
6. Police organizations are working hard to find homicide and feminicide suspects. They rely on objective facts and concrete information to arrest and convict violent criminals, not on conscious and unconscious bias, as some like to say. We can easily imagine their disappointment with such decisions.
Dangerous trivialization
The ethnicity or skin color of criminals should not be taken into account in court cases. We risk disempowering offenders for their failure to comply with the law.
The trivialization of gun crimes will only increase the sense of invincibility of violent criminals and the overrepresentation of victims of homicide and feminicide in some communities.
We support the Ontario police unions and the ADPQ (Association des Directeurs de Police du Québec) who are calling for an urgent review of laws, such as Bill C-75, which promote the release of dangerous criminals. A policeman who paid with his life recently.
The rights of victims to life, health and safety, regardless of their skin color, should always take precedence over the rights of violent criminals.
* Stéphane Wall, retired SPVM supervisor; Anie Samson, vice-president of the executive committee, responsible for public security, 2013-2017, and mayor of the borough of Saint-Michel, 2006-2017; André Gélinas, retired detective sergeant SPVM; with the support of Murielle Chatelier, communications specialist; Stéphan Fogaing, ex-candidate of the Parti québécois 2022; Frédéric Bastien, historian; Marisa Thibault, teacher; Caroline Morin, teacher; Jane Underhill, Strategic Advisor; Sylvain St-Amour, teacher; Céline Lamarche, administrative assistant