Civil Forfeiture without Civil Consultation

19-Apr-2010

Whitehorse: The Official Opposition wants the Civil Forfeiture Act to be brought before the public for consultations before it is passed into law.

“This legislation could have a big impact on individual Yukoners and the Minister of Justice has not yet consulted with the public regarding this new policy direction,” Don Inverarity, acting Justice Critic said.

“What’s worse is the government’s intent to enact the legislation first, and then inform the public after. They’ve got it backwards.”

Major questions that remain unanswered include;

Why were public consultations not done prior to tabling the Civil Forfeiture Act?

What has been done to ensure this legislation does not conflict with other laws such as

the Human Rights Act?

What safeguards are in place to protect Yukoners from punitive prosecution?

“We don’t dispute the intent of this bill. We would like to see criminal behaviour eliminated. We don’t want criminals profiting from crime,” Inverarity said.

Inverarity engaged the Minister of Justice in debate this afternoon over these very questions, but was not provided with assurances that the government has lived up to its responsibilities to inform Yukoners about the full impact of the government’s plans to seize the proceeds of crime.

“This law should not be enacted until Yukoners understand how it might affect them,” Inverarity said. “Our request to delay passage of the bill until our concerns have been addressed and the public has been consulted was denied.”

For additional information contact:

Doug Tremblay – 393-6430