Bill C-10: The Safe Streets and Communities Act

In February 2012, LEAF and West Coast LEAF provided a submission to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Bill C-10: The Safe Streets and Communities Act.

The submission called on the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to delay the passage of Bill C-10: The Safe Streets and Communities Act pending a full consideration of issues including:

• The impacts of the proposed legislation on women and Indigenous persons
• The unjustified financial costs the legislation would impose on provincial and territorial governments
• The critical importance of including « safety valve » provisions if the proposed mandatory minimums were to be enacted

The federal government’s obligations under s. 15 of the Charter meant that significant amendments to Bill C-10 were required before it could be passed into law. As written, Bill C-10 would have a discriminatory impact on already disadvantaged groups in Canada. Far from promoting substantive equality, the legislation would perpetuate the inequalities already experienced by those it targeted.

Download the submission below.