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Tories want to kill 'two-for-one' prison-time credit
CTV News has learned that the government plans to introduce legislation on Thursday to end the "two-for-one" credit for convicted felons for time spent in pre-trial custody.

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Toews supports new crime rate measure
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BILL CURRY
Globe and Mail Update
March 25, 2009 at 12:07 AM EDT
OTTAWA — A senior Conservative cabinet minister on Tuesday threw his support behind calls to measure Canada's crime in a completely different way – one that is likely to show the problem is growing, not shrinking.
Treasury Board President Vic Toews told reporters he supports an annual Criminal Victimization Survey. The survey now is conducted only once every five years by Statistics Canada.
Mr. Toews said it would be an “excellent idea” to measure annual crime rates through such surveys, rather than relying solely on reports filed with police.
“Police reports, especially at a time when many people aren't reporting crimes, are not an accurate way of determining your crime rate,” Mr. Toews said.
Statistics Canada conducts its survey by asking Canadians to respond to a standard questionnaire. The agency has said its results can reflect the fact that some cultures treat certain crimes more seriously than others. However, the agency has said there are also problems with relying solely on reports to police because police agencies don't all report crime in the same way.
Mr. Toews, a former justice minister, was responding to calls from the Vancouver Board of Trade, whose representatives are making the rounds in Ottawa this week urging federal leaders to move more aggressively on crime.
As a deadly gang war rages in British Columbia and debate heats up over how to manage Vancouver's drug addicts, the board says more needs to be done than the justice bills before Parliament.
The board's managing director Darcy Rezac and chief economist David Park are lobbying Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, senior public servants, MPs and senators. Their message is that action on crime should continue to be a priority, even while the political focus is on the economy.
“There's no question that gang members who are using guns – those bills [in the House of Commons] will address that,” Mr. Rezac said. “The point we're making is that you must do that, it's absolutely vital … but it's not sufficient to address the problem.”
The board members said the head of Statistics Canada, Munir Sheikh, told them the agency is equipped to do an annual crime survey but that it would require Treasury Board approval and an extra $4-million.
The board says the annual gathering of crime reports filed with police – commonly referred to as the crime rate – gives a false impression that crime is going down when in fact, they argue, random victim surveys would show the opposite.
Such reporting would likely fuel the political debate over crime.
Opposition parties sometimes cite the crime rate to argue that the Conservative Party exaggerates the need for its justice proposals.
NDP justice critic Joe Comartin said his concern is that people who are surveyed may exaggerate their experience with crime.
“I'm really worried,” he said. “You can't do public policy based on perception.”
The board's wish list also includes:
- Mandatory minimum sentences that escalate for chronic, repeat offenders, accompanied by addiction and mental-health support;
- Victim impact statements read in court for all Criminal Code offences;
- An end to the practice whereby judges sometimes treat time served prior to sentencing as “two for one,” meaning criminals do not serve their full prison sentence.