The senseless shooting deaths of Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong and auto repair shop owner Shakeel Ashraf, along with the wounding of three others in Mississauga on Monday, was shocking but not surprising.
Not when it came in the wake of the senseless stabbing murders of 10 people in Saskatchewan — all but one on the James Smith Cree Nation Reserve — a week before that tragedy.
In that rampage, the victims were Thomas Burns, Carol Burns, Gregory Burns, Lydia Gloria Burns, Bonnie Burns, Lana Head, Christian Head, Robert Sanderson, Wesley Petterson and Earl Burns Sr. Eighteen others were injured.
None of these victims were “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Their now-dead murderers — who we’re not going to name — were in the wrong place at the wrong time, because they should have been in prison given their histories of violence and parole violations.
Year after year, Canadians learn of cases of violent criminals who should have been in prison given their long criminal records and numerous parole violations, put back on our streets to commit more violent crimes.
No justice system can eliminate crime.
But what is happening today is the inevitable result of sentencing and parole reforms by federal governments starting in the 1970s, initially by the Liberals but embraced by Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats of the day.
What has happened was made crystal clear by the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau in an Oct. 7, 1971 statement to Parliament by then Solicitor General Jean-Pierre Goyer.
“For too long a time now,” Goyer said “our punishment-oriented society has cultivated the state of mind that demands that offenders, whatever their age and whatever the offence, be placed behind bars …
“Consequently, we have decided from now on, to stress the rehabilitation of individuals rather than the protection of society … Our reforms will perhaps be criticized for being too liberal or for omitting to protect society against dangerous criminals. Indeed, this new rehabilitation policy will probably demand much striving and involve some risks …”
This philosophy has been the foundational principle of our criminal justice system ever since.
Nothing will change until we make public safety a more important purpose of sentencing than rehabilitating the minority of violent criminals who cannot be rehabilitated.
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