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   Liberal senators blasted by Tories, NDP for blocking crime bill   
      
      
   October 7, 2009   
      
      
   Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, shown here in a March 2009 file   
   photo, blasted Liberal senators on Wednesday for watering down   
   legislation designed to remove credit for time served by offenders   
   awaiting sentencing.   
      
   Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, shown here in a March 2009 file   
   photo, blasted Liberal senators on Wednesday for watering down   
   legislation designed to remove credit for time served by offenders   
   awaiting sentencing.   
   Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters   
      
   OTTAWA — Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson blasted Liberal   
   senators on Wednesday, accusing them of watering down legislation   
   designed to remove credit for time served by offenders awaiting   
   sentencing.   
      
   The legislation, supported by provincial governments across the   
   country, would eliminate a common practice among judges, when   
   sentencing offenders, to credit them on a two-for-one basis for each   
   day spent in detention   
      
   But the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee voted to   
   change the proposed legislation so that offenders would receive a   
   credit of 1.5 days for each day served in pre-sentence custody — but   
   that judges would retain their discretion to sentence up to two days or   
   as they see fit.   
      
   "I believe the bill has been gutted," Nicholson told Canwest News   
   Service. "Judges will have the discretion to give up to two-to-one,   
   which is exactly what we had taken aim at."   
      
   NDP Leader Jack Layton also took aim at the senators, criticizing them   
   for not raising concerns about the legislation earlier.   
      
   "Unelected senators shouldn't be standing in the way of the unanimous   
   will of the House when it comes to important laws," Layton said. "This   
   is another example why we shouldn't have unelected law makers in this   
   country and that the Senate should be abolished."   
      
   Nicholson also criticized Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for allowing   
   the senators to change the legislation. The justice minister said   
   there's a consensus among Canadians for more laws cracking down on   
   crime, but that the senators are delaying those changes by proposing   
   amendments.   
      
   "I hope (the legislation) gets fixed in the main Senate," Nicholson   
   said. "This is why I have been asking since June, for Mr. Ignatieff to   
   step forward, to put some pressure, to show some leadership on this   
   issue and bring together some unity within his own political party on   
   all of these issues."   
      
   But Liberal justice critic Dominic LeBlanc defended Ignatieff,   
   explaining that the Liberal MPs supported the government's legislation   
   and would work to reverse any changes proposed by the Senate.   
      
   "Mr. Ignatieff is not like Mr. Harper. He doesn't order caucus members   
   around," said LeBlanc. "The Senate has a role to play but I can be very   
   clear that we don't believe the bill should be amended."   
      
   The Harper government introduced its bill seven months ago amid   
   complaints from provincial governments and other critics that the   
   credit is being abused by accused offenders who drag out their trials   
   so they can cut their time in prison.   
      
   Criminal lawyers have countered that judges can already deny time   
   credit to those who try to drag out their trials. The idea behind the   
   credit is to compensate for the harsh conditions in detention   
   facilities.   
      
   The Senate as a whole, which is dominated by Liberals, must still pass   
   the amended version of the bill before it is sent back to the House of   
   Commons for vote, said Mark Roy, spokesman for the Liberals in the   
   Senate.   
      
   The Commons can decide to reject the amendment and punt the bill back   
   to the Senate, which has traditionally accepted the will of the elected   
   MPs.   
      
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