Tackling Violent Crime Act receives Royal Assent

March 18, 2008

The Tackling Violent Crime Act introduced by our Conservative Government focuses on four distinct areas of violent crime, including: serious gun related crimes; drug and alcohol impaired driving; sexual exploitation of youth by adult predators; and dangerous and repeat violent offenders. After two long years of delay and obstruction by the Liberals in the House of Commons and Senate, our tackling violent crime legislation is finally law. The days of soft, lenient penalties are over. Dangerous criminals who threaten our communities will now get the jail time and penalties they deserve.

We are proud to have pushed for these changes for the past two years. Today, families and communities across Canada can feel safer. This Government will continue to deliver on what is important to Canadians – the safety and security of their communities – because protecting society is a priority for this Government, not an afterthought.

This crime prevention package was passed in the House of Commons back in November 2007. The elected members of the House of Commons passed this crime package, but the unelected Liberal senate stalled the critical crime reform measures from becoming law. In response to the stall tactics being used by Liberal Senators, our Conservative Government introduced a motion in the House of Commons forcing the Senate to pass the crime package by March 1, 2008. This commitment was made very clear to the Senate by the Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson when he appeared in front of the Senate committee. Prior to voting on the motion forcing the Senate to expedite the Tackling Violent Crime Act, the Liberal Party walked out of their seats and abstained from voting.

The Tackling Violent Crime Act strengthens the Criminal Code by implementing:

Tougher mandatory jail time for serious gun crimes;

New bail provisions requiring that those accused of serious gun crimes show why they shouldn’t be kept in jail while awaiting trial;

Better protection for youth from adult sexual predators by increasing the age of protection for sexual activity from 14 years to 16 years;

More effective sentencing and monitoring to prevent dangerous, high-risk offenders from offending again; and

New ways to detect and investigate drug-impaired driving and stronger penalties for alcohol impaired driving.