A Change of Attitude at the Parole Board of Canada?

We received the following letter from the Parole Board of Canada and the first thing that struck me about it is the clear change in attitude.

Under the Conservative government’s direction there would have been no inclusion in a discussion of this sort. When I spoke at the Standing Committee that reviewed Harper’s crime bill it was at the invite of the Liberal government, specifically Mark Holland who, at the time, was the Justice Critic.

Of course, I’m not getting terribly excited about this. The online consultation is – IMHO – largely ceremonial, just as the Standing Committee was the last time this issue came around. In other words, I don’t actually believe anyone’s input will actually make any difference. Rather I think the decisions have already been made but we need to go through the motions because that’s what government’s do. But I could be wrong.

That being said I believe that Liberals will get it right on this issue and the sooner they get it done the better. A lot of people have been held back for too long, just so that the Conservative government could appear “tough on crime.”

So here is the invitation from the Parole Board. It’s a nice shift in tone and a welcome change of direction.

Michael Ashby

mashby@nationalpardon.org
514-842-2411 x 227