Posted on 05/19/2005 7:59:02 AM PDT by GMMAC
WINNIPEG SUN
Thu, May 19, 2005
A chance for justice
By TOM BRODBECK
I've never met Surrey, B.C. MP Chuck Cadman. But I've met people in his shoes. People whose loved ones were murdered in some senseless act.
People who've watched the justice system mete out soft sentences to the violent criminals who turned their lives upside down.
People left shaking their heads in bewilderment at how Canada -- a modern, civilized country -- could put such little stock in the lives of victims of violent crimes.
People who have discovered in horror that our federal government has passed legislation in recent years that allows violent criminals -- some of them murderers -- to serve their "sentences" at home.
People who cannot believe the federal government would reduce maximum sentences for young offenders and make it even more difficult to jail youth who commit violent acts.
People yearning for a reasonable, common-sense justice system.
Cadman's son Jesse, then 16, was murdered in 1992.
He was jumped by a group of thugs and stabbed by a teen who was out on probation and not legally allowed out of the house at the time.
It's the reason Cadman got into politics. After a few years as a victims' rights advocate, Cadman was elected as a Reform MP in 1997.
If you check out his website, you'll discover that almost every ounce of time and energy Cadman has poured into his career as an MP has been focused on trying to convince government to make violent criminals more accountable for their actions.
Private member's bills, news releases, speeches, members' statements, you name it -- all aimed at the Liberal government's lax, soft-on-crime justice system.
Despite his efforts, though -- and the efforts of others -- Canada's justice system has become more lax since Jesse was killed in 1992, a year before the Liberals won office.
During that time, the Liberals brought in conditional sentences, now handed out regularly to violent criminals who serve their time at home. The Liberals brought in the Youth Criminal Justice Act, with the emphasis on keeping violent youth out of jail.
And they gave us the faint hope clause which allows some murderers to get out of prison earlier than their minimum 25 years.
Just to name a few.
The Liberals brought in those changes because they don't fundamentally believe in violent criminals being held accountable for their actions.
They represent everything the Chuck Cadmans of the world are fighting against.
Cadman is now one of two MPs who will decide the fate of the Liberal government in a confidence vote scheduled for today.
I wouldn't be surprised if Prime Minister Paul Martin is trying to buy Cadman off the way he did Belinda Stronach by offering him some concession, such as passage of one of his many private member's bills. That's how the Liberals do business.
In the grand scheme of things, though, it doesn't matter much if any of Cadman's bills are passed -- including a very good one that would bring in minimum sentences for grown-ups -- if the Liberals remain in power.
I could understand the temptation Cadman might feel if offered such a concession.
But to what end? To keep a government in place that is not only corrupt but one that rejects the notion of holding violent criminals accountable for their actions?
I couldn't think of a better legacy for Chuck Cadman than to topple a government that has persistently ignored the rights of victims of violent crimes in favour of coddling dangerous criminals.
It would be a fitting and honourable act.
BUMP
Mr. Cadman is a CAD!! He's just another DUMB LIBERAL. Wouldn't know his A$$ from a hole in the ground. If this man cannot see that the very party he joined has made far worse the reason he joined it, PLUS it's chock full of CORRUPT CRIMINALS, then there is no hope for this t*rd!! I was sickened when I heard he voted with the Liars.
The Canadians who didn't want the liberanos in power in the first place are victims of liberal tyranny, as an advocate of victims rights, one would think that he would have stood up for victims. Mon dieu,incroyable!!
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