Law And Order

Governance should be left in the hands of the people elected not by a group of political appointees? The Supreme Court is just another layer of beauracrcy allowing the citizenry and politicians not to take responsibility for their actions.

Is Harper’s proposal to impose harsher sentences on teenaged criminals constitutional?

John Geddes | Sep 25, 2008 | 5:25 pm EST

The usual reaction to a controversial campaign platform announcement is to ask: Is it good or bad policy? Stephen Harper’s proposal to impose harsher sentences on teenaged criminals, and to allow their names to be published, raises a starker question: Would it be constitutional?

The policy, unveiled by Harper on Monday as part of a wider Conservative law and order thrust, proposes several changes to the treatment of young criminals. Firstly, he said offenders 14 and older will “face enhanced youth sentences” if they are convicted of violent crimes, including life sentences for first- or second-degree murder. Secondly, he said offenders convicted of certain violent crimes would automatically be subject to those tougher sentences, and, unlike all other young offenders, their names could be published.

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