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.