Crime bill furthers legacy of residential schools: Nepinak

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Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak spoke out in Ottawa against the government's omnibus crime bill. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store

OTTAWA – Manitoba chiefs pleaded this morning for the government not to proceed with an omnibus crime bill they say will further the legacy of residential schools in Canada.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Derek Nepinak spoke at a press conference on Parliament Hill asking Canadians to show compassion and seek an inclusive society that makes investments in education and builds houses not prisons.

"I’m standing here today to make a plea to all Canadians for sensibility," said Nepinak. "Sensibility and to make a concerted effort to strike down bill C-10."

Ottawa's crime bill, C-10, combines nine different pieces of legislation that failed to pass during the previous two Tory minority governments. They include introducing mandatory minimum sentences for sexually exploiting children and some drug crimes, introducing stiffer sentences for violent and repeat young offenders and eliminating the use of house arrest for offences such as sexual assault, arson and drunk driving.

Chiefs in Manitoba, however, said putting more people in prison will simply create a bigger revolving door and that many of the people incarcerated will come out of prison eventually angry and more likely to continue a life of crime. Particularly since prisons have very little in the way of rehabilitation for aboriginal people, he said.

Nepinak said there need to be strategic investments to help aboriginal communities become stronger.

He said there are 10,000 children in care in Manitoba and those children will feed into the criminal justice system as they get older. Addressing the high rates of addiction and poverty that contribute to family breakdowns will have a much bigger impact on making Canada a safer place for everyone.

"Instead of investing in jails we need to invest in healing," said Nepinak.

Nepinak said the mandatory minimum sentences in the legislation are one of his biggest concerns. Taking away the discretion of a judge to take an offender’s background into account will mean a spike in incarceration for aboriginals. The legislation, he said, criminalizes addiction rather than investing in treatment programs, and will lead to a spike in incarceration.

Bill Traverse, the Manitoba regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, said the apology for residential schools given by the government in 2008 now seems very hollow.

"It feels like an empty promise," he said.

Bill C-10 passed the House of Commons this week and is now in the Senate for debate. It is expected to pass there before Christmas.

The chiefs join a chorus of opposition to the bill, including provincial governments in Ontario and Quebec and the Canadian Bar Association.

The Manitoba government supports most of the measures in the bill; however, it doesn’t support provisions making it tougher for certain offenders to get a pardon. Attorney General Andrew Swan also wants the federal government to raise its contribution to legal aid, believing the bill will cause a spike in demand for legal aid.

Mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca