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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 7, 2009
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) says that Bill C-52, Criminal Code Amendments (sentencing for fraud), should not be passed into law since legislative tools to address serious white collar crime are already in place in the Criminal Code.
“While fraud can certainly be a serious crime with devastating consequences for its victims, based on our experience as both Crown and defence lawyers from all regions of Canada, we believe that Bill C-52 is directed at a problem that does not exist,” says Suzanne Costom of Montreal, member of the CBA’s National Criminal Justice Section. “We believe that Bill C-52 would not add to the tools already found in the Criminal Code.”
In its five-page letter to the Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the CBA notes that Bill C-52, in calling for mandatory minimum penalties for fraud, would limit judicial discretion to address the individual circumstances of each case.
“Judges routinely factor the amount of a fraud into their determination of an appropriate sentence,” says the CBA in its letter. “In circumstances where the fraud is clearly in excess of one million dollars, the punishment would undoubtedly be very severe.”
The CBA also suggests the Bill would increase pressures on an already taxed criminal justice system. The legislation uses vague and overly broad language which is likely to result in more litigation and longer sentencing hearings, especially given the mandatory jail time involved.
Suzanne Costom will present the CBA submission to the Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. in room 237-C, Centre Block. The CBA submission is available on the CBA website.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Tel: 613-237-2925, ext. 146
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org
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