| Drugs & Party Platforms |
 |
|
Updated! There's only a few more days in the current federal election campaign. On May 2, 2011 the campaign will end and the votes will be tallied. Have you figured out how you plan to vote? We thought we'd bring you a little summary of the main parties' positions so far when it comes to drugs and drug policy.  In brief, only one of the four leading parties made explicit reference to drugs in their platforms. The Conservative party promises to ‘get tough' on drugs through the reintroduction of Bill S-10, and also establish 'drug-free prisons'. When it comes to drugs, there is nothing sensible or effective about the proposals in the Conservative Party platform. The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Québécois all make reference to crime issues, but do not explicitly discuss substance use or related issues as we would have liked to see (More on each party below) You can help us find out if these parties have specific ideas around drug policy by sending your local candidates the CSSDP Election 2011 drug policy survey!
Conservative Party Click here for the entire Conservative Party platform The Conservative Party continues their recent focus of being ‘tough on crime'. The Conservative Party platform promise that if elected they will reintroduce and pass all of their previous crime legislation, including Bill S-10. This means that despite all of the testimonies, the evidence, the statements from community groups and service providers that Bill S-10 will damage instead of help, the Conservative Party is still committed to imposing mandatory prison sentences for drug crimes, and increasing the punishments for drugs such as MDMA. The Conservative Party platform states: "A Stephen Harper-led majority Government will bundle these bills into comprehensive legislation, and pass them within the new Parliament's first 100 days." The Conservative Party platform also makes a promise of ‘drug-free prisons'. They promise that every federal prisoner will undergo drug testing at least once a year, that those who fail will be denied parole, and that prisoners caught with drugs will face additional charges. The Conservative Party platform also promises to ‘tackle contraband tobacco'. The platform promises mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders, and hiring more officers for the creation of a new RCMP contraband tobacco division. In response to the Mernagh court decision in Ontario that found that the current federal medical cannabis system is broken and violates patients Charter rights, the Justice Minister and Conservative MP Rob Nicholson stated he was "disturbed" by the decision and that they "do not support decriminalization." Steven Harper and other Conservative candidates have reiterated these 'tough-on-crime' policies throughout the campaign. (One example )
Liberal Party Click here for the entire Liberal Party platform The Liberal Party platform does not make reference to currently illegal drugs specifically. Instead they allude to other aspects under their ‘Stronger, Safer Communities' section. They discuss how upset they are about the Conservative Party's ‘tough on crime' agenda, and that more prisons are not the answer. They go on to discuss how their plans for affordable housing, addressing poverty under the same banner. We've been listening closely for other official drug policy proposals from the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party has also phrased the decision as between ‘students or prisons', making reference to their tuition credit policy proposal. The Liberal Party has also made statements that they might revisit some of the ‘tough on crime' legislation that has previously passed, although it now looks like they do not plan to undo any of the previous government's legislation. In response to the Mernagh court decision, a Liberal spokesperson stated the party is opposing to legalizing cannabis, and that they would examine the medical cannabis system to find ways to make it work more efficiently for patients. When asked about the Conservative drug-free prison plan, Liberal MP and public safety critic Mark Holland stated "We've heard this promise before, and it's been a complete failure." He also stated double bunking people with addictions and mental health issues "is one of the worst things we could be doing to either deal with rehabilitation, or to deal with drugs, or to deal with infectious disease." When asked why none of this was in the Liberal platform, Holland stated "I think you can infer quite easily from [the statements we've made] that we're looking to do things fundamentally differently." In regards to Insite, the supervised injection site in Vancouver, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff stated "It does valuable work. I think it saves lives... And as it proves its worth and as other provincial systems adopt the valuable lessons learned at Insite, we would support its expansion, yes." Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was asked at a Sault. St. Marie high school about his position on marijuana, he stated the Liberals are in favour of decriminilizing but not legalizing: "I do not feel legalizing it is good." He was asked later by media if he had ever smoked marijuana. Ignatieff replied "I have smoked pot as a young man. And it is one of the reasons I urge young people not to repeat the experience. It did not ruin my life. I just think there are more important and interesting things to do with your life, including a glass of wine after dinner." (Watch the video here at 3:50 )
New Democratic Party Click here for the entire NDP platform The NDP platform does not make explicit reference to currently illegal drugs. Under a section titled ‘Leadership in Canada' the NDP list one section relating to drugs and crime under the title ‘Hiring More Police to Protect Your Community'. The NDP promise to keep communities safe through a ‘prevention, policing, and prosecution' approach. The other points are a mixture of increased funding for ‘crime prevention programs', and new laws to aide enforcement, as well as hiring several thousand more police officers. We've been listening closely to see if the NDP puts forth any official drug policy reform proposals. When leader Jack Layton was asked early in the campaign whether or not marijuana should be legalized, he responded "I think it is an important issue to debate... Marijuana has changed alot since my youth, I can tell you that. Uh, so I'm informed. I'm told it's a heck of alot stronger. I'm told there are issues associated with it that need to be discussed." When asked about why the NDP has hesitated to discuss legalization, Layton responded the party supports a full, 'adult' debate on the issue. (watch the full video here ) When asked about the Conservative drug-free prison plan, NDP MP and public safety critic Don Davies stated "The goal of making our prisons drug-free is something that is shared by everybody and is a laudable goal, but the Conservatives continue to think that they can punish their way, threaten their way, out of every problem, and it just won't work." He went on to say "We don't view [people with addictions] differently - we view addiction as a health issue, and it is largely a mental-health issue." Davies also referred to implementing recommendations on mental health issues in prison by the Correctional Investigator in Canada. NDP MP Libby Davies appeared at the Vancouver 4/20 to express her support for the B.C. Compassion Club Society, stating "the government has failed miserably in allowing people legitimate access to medical marijuana." Several NDP MPs have stated that the party believes the prohibition of marijuana should be lifted.
Green Party Click here for the entire Green Party platform Under the ‘People' section the Green Party platform includes a subsection titles ‘Ending the War on Drugs'. Specifically, the Green Party promises to create a legal regulated market for cannabis in Canada with taxation, age barriers and public health interventions. They would also launch public consultations into broader decriminalization of currently illegal drugs, "considering the current high costs of the law enforcement effort". The platform also promises increased funding to "safe injection sites, treatment facilities, and addict rehabilitation". The platform also makes reference to these and other public health interventions to address psychoactive substance use. Green party leader Elizabeth May and Green party candidates across the country have repeated and stuck to the party's opposition to the war on drugs and the 'tough on crime' concept.
Bloc Québécois Click here for the entire Bloc platform The Bloc platform does not make explicit reference to currently illegal drugs. The Bloc describes their justice position as "adopting a results-oriented approach to justice rather one focused on an ideology of retribution". In a likely reference to the Conservative policies, the Bloc platform states they will "oppose dogmatic, ineffective measures that turn judges into prison sentence dispensing machines." Their ‘Talk Justice' section also mentions a focus on rehabilitation for young offenders, and a promise to ‘get tougher' on organized crime and white collar crime. We've been listening closely to see if the Bloc puts forth any official drug policy reform proposals.
For another look at the party's platforms specifically on cannabis, check out this Vancouver Sun article here. Want to know what various MPs have said when asked 'Have you ever tried pot?' check out this post here |