Ottawa, ON –Today, Bill C-220 will be debated in the House of Commons. Sponsored by the Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, Conservative Shadow Minister for Immigration, it will restore equality before the law for all, end two-tier justice, and prevent judges from considering the immigration status of a non-citizen offender in sentencing.
“Despite the terrible consequences, this Liberal government has failed to end a practice that gives Canadians harsher sentences than foreign nationals,” Rempel Garner said. “We want to restore one law for all, true to the principle of fairness at the heart of our justice system.”
Since this Conservative policy was first announced back in August, more appalling cases have underscored the need for this bill. This past October, Rempel Garner commented on the outrageous story of Roosevelt Rush: a Jamaican national convicted of smuggling cocaine while on bail. Rush’s sentence was slashed in half from what would have been “proportionate”, in part due to his immigration status.
That same month, international student Aswin V. Sajeevan was sentenced to five and a half months in jail, despite the judge admitting that six to twelve would have been more appropriate, to avoid “immigration consequences”. The Indian national pleaded guilty to no fewer than four counts of voyeurism, which left his female victims with “intense fear and anxiety” and “emotional distress”.
Just this morning, the Globe and Mail Editorial Board said that judges in our current system are “protecting non-citizens from the consequences of their criminal conduct,” lamenting that no one seems to consider “whether Canadians would want these offenders as citizens” in the first place.
“Conservatives are fighting to end two-tier justice, protect Canadians and restore the value of our citizenship,” Rempel Garner concluded. “I call on all parties to support this timely legislation and keep our communities safe.”