MORE PUBLIC CONSULTATION NEEDED ON CIVIL FORFEITURE ACT
The Yukon government’s Civil Forfeiture Act should not be passed as currently drafted, says the NDP Caucus.
“Our caucus has a number of serious concerns with this piece of legislature,” says NDP justice critic Steve Cardiff.
“Our list is long and includes such things as the lack of meaningful public consultation, the definition of ‘unlawful activity’ is too broad, the federal Criminal Code already contains provisions very similar to the ones at issue here and it may infringe on people’s civil liberties.”
Before drafting this bill, the government only consulted with the RCMP and the Crown’s office, but not with the general public or legal workers outside of government. Also, the proceeds collected under this law will go into the government’s general revenues rather than a special fund for victims of crime or crime-prevention programs.
“As Alan Borovoy of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said in criticizing similar legislation in another jurisdiction, ‘there is very little in this bill that is worthy of enactment. (And) those few matters that arguably are worthy should be substantially amended’,” Cardiff adds.
Our current criminal justice system is based on a series of checks and balances. Even though it means some guilty people escape prosecution and punishment from time to time, we accept that trade-off because it protects our collective civil rights.
“Under this piece of legislation, the Crown can restrain and seize any money or property believed to be either an instrument of crime or the proceeds of a crime,” Cardiff says. “But it no longer has to wait for a criminal conviction or even criminal charges. Forget ‘reasonable doubt’.
“The Crown only needs to go to a civil court to convince a judge that on a ‘balance of probabilities’ a person is probably guilty of something and their assets can be seized. Even if you are acquitted in a criminal trial, even if the charges against you are dropped, the Crown can still keep your money and your stuff. That’s not something the NDP caucus could ever support.”
The NDP strongly urges the government to delay further debate on this bill to allow more time for public review and consultation on its implications for all Yukoners.