Canadian National Post: Tough Tory stance on offender transfers raises ire of U.S

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Tough Tory stance on offender transfers raises ire of U.S.

Tobi Cohen, Postmedia News · Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010

OTTAWA — After years of cordial relations with the United States on the issue of prison transfers, the Harper government’s recent crackdown on repatriating offenders may be causing a diplomatic rift.

Documents obtained by Postmedia News under Access To Information indicate the U.S. Department of State sent a diplomatic note to the Canadian Embassy in Washington last December outlining concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the transfer of offenders.

The documents indicate U.S. officials were seeking to meet “face-to-face” with their Canadian counterparts to discuss the matter further.

The email exchanges between Public Safety and Foreign Affairs officials talk of internal meetings to “discuss the note and tactics for response” to it.

Other emails allude to concerns about “impacts on the Canada-U.S. relationship.”

The documents are largely blacked out and U.S. officials refused to comment on issues related to a specific country.

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For more than 30 years a matter of routine procedure, the Conservatives decided last year to get tough on Canadians who want to serve their sentences for crimes committed in other countries on home soil.

While all applications for transfers were rubber stamped in 2004 to 2005, the Harper government approved little more than a quarter of such applications between January and September 2009.

The Conservatives have also tabled legislation aimed at toughening the rules for repatriating offenders.

If amendments to the International Transfer of Offenders Act are passed, individuals would be deemed inadmissible if considered a danger to public safety or if they’re likely to continue to engage in criminal activity.

Even if approved for transfer by the U.S., they may also be denied by Canada if considered a threat to any child in sex-offender cases, or if they’ve failed to participate in rehabilitation programs or have been unco-operative with law enforcement.

Under the current legislation, the public safety minister can only reject applications on the basis of national security, namely terrorism-related threats, as well as a person’s affiliation with organized crime.

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“Those who commit crimes abroad should know that they run the risk of facing justice in the other country’s criminal and correctional system.”

The government will continue to exercise “due diligence” for every transfer request and plans to pursue amendments to the act, he assured.

The logic behind the government’s position is beyond both Mr. Atkins and Mr. Conroy.

Not only are Canadian citizens granted the right to enter, remain and leave Canada under the charter, allowing them to serve their time in the U.S. means they will return after completing their sentence without any restrictions, Mr. Conroy said.

Convicts transferred from the U.S. generally have their crime and sentence converted to the Canadian equivalent. While they become eligible for day and full parole slightly sooner than an ordinary prisoner, Mr. Conroy said they become “known” to Canadian authorities and need approval from the National Parole Board, among others, before being granted any form of release.

“The whole public-safety thing is absolute nonsense,” he said. “It’s contrary to public safety what they’re proposing to do, and I’m quite sure the only reason they’re doing it, is because they’re saying if somebody commits an offence abroad, why should we pay for their incarceration?”

While there are no rules restricting foreigners in Canadian jails from participating in rehabilitation programs, Mr. Atkins said the U.S. system is different. Drug and alcohol programs aren’t available to foreign nationals and there’s nothing in U.S. prisons to help rehabilitate sex offenders.

Although he admits few U.S. prisoners in Canadian jails want to be repatriated, he argues the two countries have nonetheless enjoyed a co-operative relationship when it comes to offender transfers because both sides have understood that it’s in their best interest.

“The reason for transfers is rehabilitation and reintegration into society in one’s home country and to alleviate the problems of being far away from loved ones in a foreign prison,” he said.

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“It’s an illogical position Canada is taking and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the United States take retaliatory measures,” he said, nothing the U.S. might start refusing to repatriate American prisoners or simply use this as anther excuse to “thicken the border” making commerce and travel more difficult.