Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime

April 21, 2008

Re: Bill C-393

Dear Member of Parliament:

The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime is a non-profit, non-government advocacy group working to ensure the voice of crime victims and survivors is heard and respected. We are writing to call on your support for Private Member’s Bill C-393, sponsored by the Member for Leeds-Grenville.

C-393 is not based on an isolated incident. During the period of 2000-2004 in Canada, there were 849 homicides involving knives. Conversely, there were 804 homicides involving firearms for the same period of time. This trend has increased in recent years. Knives have become the weapon of choice among thugs due to their ease of access and the light sentences handed down by the courts.

The Canadian justice system currently treats guns more harshly than knives, despite the fact that knives kill more Canadians. Bill C-393 makes important amendments to the Criminal Code and Corrections and Conditional Release Act to address this inconsistency:

  • The act proposes to create a mandatory minimum sentence of five year sentence for manslaughter in the stabbing death of an unarmed person.
  • The act mandates a reduction in parole eligibility for both offences and creates a second or subsequent offence for carrying a concealed weapon, as well as including carrying a concealed weapon as an offence within the absolute jurisdiction of a provincial court judge.
  • The Bill amends s. 719.3; giving direction to sentencing courts that persons who are denied bail according to the existing law due to their past criminal record or for breaching bail are not entitled to pre-trial credit. It further stipulates that credit must be given on a day-for-day basis.
  • The act provides direction to the National Parole Board with respect to supplying relevant information to crime victims, asserts the obligation of the board to not adjourn conditional release hearings without justification and creates a future conditional release eligibility consequence for offenders that waive scheduled hearings.

We hope that you will remember all of the Canadians impacted by violent crimes committed with knives. Many people lose their lives each year and hundreds more suffer serious injuries as a result of knife crime, while the offenders do not face serious enough consequences for their actions.

This Bill was created in memory of Andy Moffitt, the Ottawa University engineering student who was fatally stabbed in the heart almost 10 years ago, while trying to intervene as a Good Samaritan in a fight that broke out in a popular University hang out. He was posthumously awarded the Governor General’s medal of bravery for his actions that night.

As Parliamentarians, you have a duty to ensure the laws of this country help prevent and deter violent crimes. Knife crime in Canada is rising significantly. Crime statistics for 2006 indicate that 44% of all homicides are committed with knives, while 17% are committed using guns.

Once again, we urge you to vote in support of Bill C-393.

Sincerely,

Heidi Illingworth
Executive Director