Federal government rejects Alberta’s request to allow pepper spray for self-defence

The statement read, “we need all Canadians to step up and stand against hatred and intolerance. Our government will always stand up for survivors and victims of hate while working to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

“To end hate and keep communities safe from violence, everyone needs to take meaningful action.”

The ministers said they “are focused on not only addressing the symptoms of violence, but also its root causes.”

The joint statement from Bill Blair and David Lametti.

“When looking at this request, we have to be mindful that all weapons that are prohibited have been prohibited for a reason, as they are extremely dangerous when they fall into the wrong hands. When confronted with a problem, the solution cannot simply be to increase accessibility to prohibited weapons. This can actually lead to further violence.”

“Rather, we need to address complex issues such as mental health and addictions as just one through a continuum such as prevention, and when appropriate, enforcement.”

Madu’s second request was to establish “strong mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of a racist, hate, and bias-motivated assault.”

In response to that ask, the ministers stated that “adding another mandatory minimum penalty to the Criminal Code will not reduce hate crimes.”

“With Bill C-22 we are turning the page on failed Conservative criminal justice policies that have not kept us safe and not deterred crime.”

They remarked that this could have “unintended consequences”.

“We know that the use of mandatory minimum penalties have resulted in the over incarceration of Indigenous peoples, Black and marginalized Canadians, groups that are disproportionately victimized by hat crimes.”

The statement also noted that due to the Security Infrastructure Program’s call for applications from September to November 2020, “150 projects representing more than $6-million to support communities at risk of hate-motivated crime have been recommended for development.”

“This is the largest investment for a given year in the history of the program.” The deadline to submit applications this year is September 22, 2021.

In response to the decision from Ottawa, Minister Madu stated that “once again, the Trudeau Liberals show that they’re soft-on-crime – siding with criminals instead of victims. They offer lip service rather than tangible action when it comes to hate-motivated crimes.”

“In fact, they seem to take the shameful stance that Canadians themselves are responsible for not standing-up against hate – instead of putting the blame squarely on perpetrators.”

The statement read that the federal government has “no real solutions when it comes to stopping crime in its tracks; they rather leave Albertans empty-handed and vulnerable when faced with a potential assault or other related crime.”

“More so, they stand behind a Criminal Code that punishes victims rather than [protects] them. They have no desire to change a system where a woman could end up in jail longer than her attacker – simply for trying to defend herself.”

Madu said, “Albertans need action on this file. They need to be able to defend themselves – yet their federal government doesn’t seem to care.”

“As Alberta’s Justice Minister, I’ve put forward a proposal for meaningful changes to allow vulnerable people to better defend themselves. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has put forward nothing more than platitudes.”

In June, the Government of Alberta announced a program similar to the federal Security Infrastructure Program, to protect targets of hate-motivated crimes. More details are available here.

by Justin Goulet

Federal government rejects Alberta’s request to allow pepper spray for self-defence

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