Pubdate: Sun, 06 Apr 2003
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Mindelle Jacobs

WHAT DO WE EXPECT FROM THE LAW?

If you think our drug laws are too harsh, companies that foul the 
environment get off too lightly and using a cellphone while driving should 
be illegal, now's your chance to speak up.

The Law Commission of Canada, an arms-length government agency, wants to 
know whether Canadians think our laws have kept pace with changing values.

At the same time, by the way, the federal Department of Justice is 
embarking on its first comprehensive review of the Criminal Code since it 
was enacted more than a century ago.

"The reflex to criminal law is not always the best strategy," Law 
Commission of Canada (LCC) president Nathalie Des Rosiers noted last week 
when the commission's discussion paper was released.

"Have we come to rely too heavily on the law to deal with unwanted behaviour?"

The discussion paper, What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatives, 
suggests that, indeed, we do resort to the law far more often than is 
necessary.

The paper (on the commission's Web site) notes that many observers argue 
that criminal law should be the tool of last resort to solve social problems.

"Do we have the right mixture of policies?" the paper asks.

The LCC believes the criminal law approach has its limitations and we 
should explore alternative strategies to combat unacceptable behaviour.

The most visible contemporary example of the gap between what we expect 
from the law and what is actually achieved is the marijuana issue.

Tens of thousands of Canadians have been charged with pot possession over 
the years but vast numbers of people still smoke up.

The law is supposed to deter people from engaging in unwanted conduct but 
criminalization has "had no significant deterrent effect," the LCC paper says.

If the criminal law is supposed to impart a "powerful symbolic message," as 
the LCC suggests, Canadians apparently think the law is an ass when it 
comes to marijuana. But this is what happens when you have a law that is, 
in many cases, out of sync with Canadian beliefs.

The LCC once described the Criminal Code as "a hodgepodge of anachronistic, 
redundant, contradictory and obsolete provisions."

It added: "The end result is that Canadians living in one of the most 
technologically advanced societies in human history are being governed by 
(law) rooted in the horse-and-buggy era of Victorian England."

Not a comforting thought, is it?

The notion of harm is often used as a basis for defining what constitutes 
crime, the LCC paper points out.

Yet the state's response to potentially harmful activity is riddled with 
contradictions.

"Some of these actions are criminalized, others are regulated and some are 
simply frowned upon. Why?" asks the LCC.

It's a good question. Tobacco and booze can kill you but they're legal. No 
one ever died from marijuana but it's illegal.

Keeping alive terminally ill people who are in excruciating pain or whose 
quality of life has shrivelled to nothing is considered a social good. 
Helping them commit suicide is a crime.

"What do we expect from criminal law?" the LCC asks. "Are these expectation 
realistic?"

The discussion paper also examines other strategies that are used to deal 
with unwanted behaviour.

Regulation by professional bodies and industry associations is an 
alternative to criminal sanctions.

But the disadvantage, says the LCC, is "the longstanding perception that 
corporations receive preferential treatment and that the harms they create 
are ... dismissed as the cost of doing business."

We also use public education campaigns and community support groups, such 
as Alcoholics Anonymous, exit strategies for hookers and dispute resolution 
to change people's conduct.

"Many observers suggest that communities may be more effective than the 
criminal justice system," says the commission. I agree. But it's your turn 
to get on the podium. Watch out for the lobby groups on your way up.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom