Quebec Backs Alberta In Its Stance on Tougher Penalties for Drug Crimes

Quebec Government House Leader and Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette speaks at the legislature in Quebec City, on Oct. 22, 2024. The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec is backing Alberta’s call for tougher penalties for drug offences and the reversal of related legislative changes adopted by the federal government.

Quebec’s Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette took to social media this week to support Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s criminal justice initiatives, while also calling on Ottawa to reintroduce minimum mandatory sentencing policies for drug offences.

“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was right to criticize legislative changes in Canada’s Liberal Party that undermine citizens’ confidence in the justice system,” he said in his Feb. 24 post. “I wanted to convey Quebec’s support in her approach.”

Jolin-Barrette also posted a copy of a Feb. 24 op-ed he penned for the National Post that criticizes Bill C-5, legislation passed in 2022 that eliminated all mandatory minimum sentences for Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) offences. It also scrapped mandatory minimum sentences for many weapons and substance-related offences under the Criminal Code of Canada.

The minister said the legislative changes resulted in a number of “delinquents” receiving “lenient sentences” in his province, and he called on Ottawa to reverse the law.

“In Quebec, we believe that the sentences handed down must reflect the seriousness of the offences. The victims of these heinous crimes must live with the consequences for the rest of their lives,” Jolin-Barrette wrote, adding the current approach is “hampering the recovery of far too many victims.”

Quebec asked the federal government to reinstate mandatory minimum sentencing through a motion unanimously adopted in the National Assembly in December. That request was ignored, Jolin-Barrette said.

The Epoch Times contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment on the requests from Quebec and Alberta but did not receive a response by publication time.

Alberta’s Stance

Jolin-Barrette’s comments come two weeks after Smith penned an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Justice Minister Arif Virani asking them to put and end to “soft-on-crime policies.”

She asked for Bill C-5 to be repealed “in its entirety” and urged the government to reinstate minimum sentencing for CDSA offences while also revoking guidelines that instruct federal prosecutors to redirect less severe drug-related cases from the criminal justice system.

The current legislation stipulates that police and prosecutors prioritize the referral of individuals to treatment and support programs before resorting to charges or prosecution for drug possession offences.

Alberta wants to assume full responsibility for prosecutions under the drug act if Ottawa does not strengthen its laws, Smith said.

“Let there be no mistake, Alberta’s government will find these dangerous criminals, prosecute them and keep them in jail where they belong,” she wrote.

Quebec would also prefer to prosecute criminals itself, Jolin-Barrette said.

“The position taken by Quebec and Alberta is legitimate: federated states must be able to make their own choices to ensure public safety,” he wrote. “In order to bolster our mutual autonomy, it is vital that we strengthen collaboration between our provinces and that we join forces to combat crime.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau charged then-Justice Minister David Lametti with reforming and modernizing the criminal justice system in 2021.

In a letter to Lametti, Trudeau asked him to “advance strategies to address systemic racism” as well as the “disproportionate representation” of indigenous, black and other non-white Canadians to ensure everyone has “access to fair and just treatment.”

He also asked Lametti to make drug treatment the default option for first-time non-violent offenders.

Bill C-5 was made law nearly a year later. Lametti described it as a way to correct discrimination in Canada’s criminal justice system.

“Systemic racism is a reality for too many in Canada’s criminal justice system,” he said in a 2022 statement. “With this law, we have repealed the mandatory minimum penalties that have most contributed to the over-incarceration of Indigenous people, Black persons and racialized Canadians. These reforms will ensure a fairer, more effective justice system for all, while maintaining public safety.”

Lametti said in 2023 the government would consider calls for reform of the law, but noted that any future changes must not “exacerbate the over representation” of non-white Canadians in the country’s prison system.