Ending Early Statutory Release for Repeat Violent Offenders

Parm Gill, Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, highlighted today Prime Minister Harper’s announcement that the Government of Canada will introduce legislation in keeping with the commitment made in the 2013 Speech from the Throne to further protect Canadian families by ending the practice of automatic early release for repeat violent criminals.
Under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), federal offenders serving fixed-term sentences are allowed to serve the final third of their sentence in the community under supervision and subject to conditions.
Our Conservative Government has determined that this is the wrong approach when it comes to repeat violent offenders. Therefore, under the proposed legislation, repeat violent offenders will no longer be granted statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence.
These changes complement our Government’s view that crime prevention is often the best course of action, including MP Gill’s private members bill, C-394: the Anti-Gang Recruitment Bill, which has become law.
These measures reflect our Government’s ongoing commitment to keep our streets and communities safe while ensuring that the rights of victims are placed over those of criminals.
“It is unacceptable that Canadians fall prey to violent offenders who have benefitted from early release after repeatedly committing violent crimes. Our Government is committed to protecting Canadian families by ensuring that statutory release provisions are used with greater discipline and that violent offenders are kept off the streets and out of our communities,” said MP Gill.