OTTAWA, March 13, 2012 – The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, accompanied by the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu made the following statement today:
“We are very pleased to announce that today our Government’s Safe Streets and Communities Act received Royal Assent. During the last election campaign, we made a commitment to better protect Canadians by reintroducing the suite of law-and-order measures contained in this legislation. We promised to do this within the first 100 sitting days of Parliament, and we have delivered.
“One of the greatest responsibilities we have as a government is to protect Canadians and ensure that those who commit crimes are held to account. Canadians are rightly concerned that police-reported child pornography incidents increased by more than 30 percent in 2010 and that drug crimes have been rising since the 1990s.
“Canadians gave our Government a strong mandate to crack down on child predators and violent drug dealers. By moving expeditiously to reintroduce the Safe Streets and Communities Act, our Government is fulfilling its commitment to protect families and hold criminals accountable. By imposing sentences that are in proportion to the crimes committed, this Bill recognizes that victims have suffered and gives them confidence in Canada’s justice system.
“Canadians want and deserve to feel safe in their homes and communities, and this means that dangerous criminals need to be kept off our streets. Our Government is committed to ensuring that criminals are held fully accountable for their actions and that the safety and security of law-abiding Canadians comes first in Canada’s judicial system.
“We will continue to fight crime and protect Canadians so our communities are safe places for people to live, raise their families and do business.”
