Why can't people just be people - black, brown, white, no matter the ethnicity - whatever... why, when we are all CANADIANS, should there be different sets of rules and repercussions based solely on race?
Two dangerous men recently escaped out of an "Aboriginal healing centre" just north of Saskatoon. Both were being held for manslaughter. One killed a man by hitting him over the head with a two-by-four after an argument and the other shot someone to death in a gang related killing. Great pair of guys. Not.
The average non-Aboriginal Joe would likely not see the outside of federal prison walls for quite sometime if they were found guilty of the same - these two men got what amounts to an all expenses paid long holiday if you ask me.
Thirty-one year old Royce Virgil Bear was "sentenced" to five years and ten months. Twenty-three-year-old Brandon Avery White got eight years - both men to spend their time at the Willow Cree Healing Lodge.
It's a relatively new federal attempt to curb Aboriginal crime. These new "healing lodges" popping up across the country "offer services and programs that reflect Aboriginal culture in a space that incorporates Aboriginal peoples' tradition and beliefs..." Needs are addressed through ceremonies and teachings, contact with elders, children and nature. Well isn't that nice? (And on a side note - who in their right mind would want to subject their children to these men?)
The government can print all the happy statistics they want about how wonderful this new plan is, but where is the fairness? And where is the security? There's now two murderers walking the streets because they walked out the front door of their fancy lodge. These are minimum security facilities and it appears to me, like they're a walk in the park for offenders. Why were two murderers considered a minimum threat to the public?
Rehabilitating people who have committed crimes isn't a bad thing, especially for those who show great potential to contribute to society, but why is this option only offered to a certain segment of the population? And bottom line, shouldn't public safety come first? Shouldn't a murderer be treated with a little more caution than the guy who stole some diapers for his children?
