During the past Federal election campaign the Federal Conservatives promised a number of changes in the area of justice. During this winter’s session of Parliament, that has taken the form of the “Federal Omnibus Crime Bill”. The bill, which arguable was passed with imposed minimal debate, has not only been criticized by opposition parties, but also by several provinces and some non-parliamentary organizations such as the John Howard Society.
But what is really in this lumped together bill? How much is minimum sentencing for many crimes likely to cost the federal and provincial governments? And is it the best way to fight crime? The speaker will explore the bill, and some of its implications for both Canada as a whole, and for the Province of Alberta.
Speaker: Sheila French
Sheila French is currently completing a PhD in Applied and Experimental Psychology with a focus on Criminal Justice Research. She has recently taken a Faculty position at Lethbridge College in the Criminal Justice Program. Prior to this she was a Director of Clinical Services within the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, Government of Saskatchewan.
She has researched and published in the areas of offender rehabilitation and criminal risk prediction. Her primary research method is meta-analysis which is the quantitative synthesis of large bodies of related research.