Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu (Photo: Chris Schwarz / Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Madu calls for changes

Justice Minister calls for pepper spray for self-defence, mandatory minimums for hate crimes

Jul 22, 2021 | 9:53 AM

Alberta’s Justice Minister wants to see two changes to the Criminal Code of Canada that he believes will help in mitigating violent and hate-motivated crimes.

Kaycee Madu wrote to the federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness “to express my profound concerns about recent crimes that appear to be motivated by hate and racism.”

“I know we both agree that racist, hate, and bias-motivated violence and crime cannot be tolerated.”

He first wants to see individuals be authorized under the Criminal Code to carry capsaicin spray, or pepper spray, for self-defence.

Currently, pepper spray is considered a prohibited weapon under the Criminal Code.

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“It is sadly ironic that a vulnerable person carrying pepper spray for self-defence would quite possibly receive a longer sentence than her attacker.”

Madu also referenced an increase in drug-fuelled attacks, believing that pepper spray would be helpful in situations where it is needed.

His other ask to Ottawa is to establish “strong mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of a racist, hate, and bias-motivated assault.”

The minister gave an example of where an Edmonton man was sentenced to seven months for three separate race-motivated assaults, but with credit for time already served, the man only had to spend another 35 days in custody.

“This is clearly unacceptable, and demonstrates a pattern of leniency in our criminal system when it comes to hate-motivated crime sentencing.”

Madu outlined a few initiatives his ministry is undertaking to tackle these issues in Alberta.

• Launching the Alberta Security Infrastructure Program to provide grants for security and technology at at-risk religious and multicultural communities
• Working on establishing a community liaison on hate crimes to provide the province with a wide range of perspectives on how to address racist, hate, and bias-motivated crimes
• Setting up a new Hate Crimes Coordination Unit to improve hate crime prevention and mitigation

(Lethbridge News Now)