Headline Politics
Federal Ministers Discuss New Justice Reform Legislation
Federal Justice Minister David Lametti holds a news conference on Parliament Hill to discuss details of the federal government's new legislation (C-22) aimed at addressing the over-representation of Black Canadians and Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system. He is joined by ministers Bill Blair (public safety), Bardish Chagger (diversity and inclusion and youth) and Ahmed Hussen (families, children and social development). Bill C-22 contains three main reforms: repealing mandatory minimum penalties for certain offenses including for drug offenses; allowing greater use of conditional sentence orders (CSO) for cases where an individual does not pose a threat to public safety and faces a term of less than two years; and requiring police and prosecutors to consider other measures for simple possession of drugs, such as diversion to addiction treatment programs. (February 18, 2021)
