Crime, Punishment and Politics – Winnipeg Free Press

Opinion

“For any federal politician to announce that they are willing to suspend or deny fundamental rights and freedoms that protect all Canadians at any time is a cause for concern,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Winnipeg, May 16.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's father is considered the father of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. So when Pierre Pouilleuvre announced to Canada's police chiefs that as prime minister he would scrap the Charter of Rights to fight crime, it immediately became a national issue.

No one reading this needs a fresh analysis of why crime is a major political issue, no matter what the election.

In Winnipeg's last civic election, much of the mayoral debate was about how to deal with crime.

On the mayor's menu, Kevin Klein was the toughest on crime. Some critics say Klein would have done better if he had done more to show concern for other issues. Some said Klein, the Charleswood councilman, may have put too much of his campaign on the issue of violent crime, scaring away some voters.

In the recent provincial election, ruling PCs bought bus stand ads saying violent crime would get worse if the NDP formed government. Some critics of the PC campaign said the Conservatives were spreading racist messages. Critics say the ad is designed to scare people into not voting for a government led by an indigenous person.

That's why I didn't criticize the post. I thought it was just silly.

The ad acknowledged that violent crime is an unaddressed issue under the Progressive Conservatives' watch. No significant solution was proposed. Instead of giving voters something to chew on, they were given yet another slogan to spit out. At least the message wasn't crude, like the billboards boasting about the PC government's decision not to search for the remains of local women.

With Manitoba's municipal and provincial elections behind us, the next big thing is the federal vote, most likely next fall.

While this is way down the road on the calendar, the political reality is that fundraising is on the political calendar almost every day except Christmas. Fundraising remains the mother milk of politics. The child should be fed every day.

Last Thursday, the Prime Minister hosted a fundraiser at the Fairmont. Free press “The 119 participants paid $1,725 ​​each (those 35 and under paid $875 each.)” Do the math, and you'll see that the prime minister can still rake in the cash despite his poor poll numbers.

Part of his game was attacking his main rival, Pierre Polievre, over the Conservative leader's handling of the issue of violence. The Prime Minister considers Poilevre offside, having promised to become the first Prime Minister despite the Charter of Rights Clause.

I don't do things here that people pay a very high price for. I won't go into detail explaining why there is a clause in the Charter and it is rarely used by the Premiers of some provinces and never used by the Prime Minister.

I'll just say that if the PM were to implement a crime-only clause down the road, my political GPS tells me it wouldn't be the end of the world for the PM's government.

Nevertheless, if this clause were used to ensure that violent criminals like Paul Bernardo were never given the chance for parole, there would be no violent protests on the streets of Canada. I think the Prime Minister knows this.

But Trudeau also knows that any prime minister who invokes the crime clause may be tempted to do the same on issues. If the federal Conservative government were to use the clause to deny Canadian women access to abortions, it would ignite a political firestorm the likes of which the country has never seen before.

Are there any Conservatives on the council who want to lead the country through the gates of hell to the days of guaranteed abortion rights?

Unfortunately for Canada, the answer is “Hell Yes!”

Charles Adler is a longtime political commentator and podcaster. [email protected]

Charles Adler
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Charles Adler is a longtime political commentator and podcaster.

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