COLUMN: Viewpoint – Building more prisons is not the answer

“If our jails are full, we need to build more jails.” That’s a quote from Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada. The Carillon ran a story about Mr. Bernier last week because he was paying a visit to Manitoba in support of local election candidates. Bernier said the solution to reducing crime in our country was to build more jails. He lamented the fact Canada was sending billions to Ukraine rather than using that money to open more prisons.

During the recent election campaign the other five political parties offered some excellent alternatives to Mr. Bernier’s call to spend more money on jails. They had worthwhile ideas about how to keep our communities safe and lower crime rates.

The Conservative Party election platform proposed the opening of 50,000 new beds to rehabilitate people addicted to drugs. We know addicts often commit crimes to pay for their habit and are frequently under the influence of narcotics while committing crimes. The safe injection sites established in a number of Canadian cities have helped reduce some of the most tragic outcomes of addiction. The Conservatives’ idea to substantially increase the number of treatment beds available to those seeking them is a necessary next step.

Looking at their election platform it was clear the Liberals recognized the link between a lack of affordable, stable housing both as a cause and consequence of crime. People who are homeless are more likely to be the victims of violent crime. We know from the John Howard Society that more than 20 percent of people who are incarcerated are homeless at the time. The Liberals proposed spending billions of dollars on programs to build affordable homes in Canada. This could be a very effective strategy for reducing crime and incarceration rates.

During the election, the Green Party rightly claimed there was a strong correlation between poverty in an area and high crime rates. They suggested a universal basic income would help address this problem. They were also advocates of pursuing alternative forms of justice such as restitution and community service. These methods have proven very effective in reducing recidivism rates.

The tragic, deadly incident in Vancouver last weekend illustrates the connection between severe mental health issues and crime. Mental health related calls take up significant portions of police officers’ time. We also know people dealing with mental health issues are more likely to be the victims of crime. The New Democratics said in their party platform, that only about half of Canadians who need professional help to deal with their mental health are currently receiving it. Many such services are not covered by Canadian Medicare. The New Democrats proposed greatly expanding this coverage.

One of the Bloc Québécois ideas in the area of criminal justice was to put a time limit on appointments to the judiciary in order to reduce the number of people in prison who are awaiting trial. With a full slate of judges, cases could move through the courts more quickly. Prisons are often places where people learn even more about criminal behaviour, so those awaiting trial should spend as little time there as possible.

A speedier justice system, extra supports for those with mental health struggles, homes for people without a roof over their head, additional treatment for drug addicts, programs to ease poverty, and exploring alternative sentencing are all sound ideas for lowering crime rates.

Hopefully, rather than building more prisons, as Mr. Bernier suggested, our newly elected government will gather together the great suggestions from all the other political parties, as they endeavor to address the problem of crime.