Quebec to demand crime bill reimbursement
CBC News
Posted: Jan 27, 2012 10:11 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 28, 2012 3:53 PM ET
Quebec Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier says his province will not pay the million of dollars associated with the costs of implementing Bill C-10, and will demand that Ottawa reimburse Quebec. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Quebec says it will demand that Ottawa repay the costs associated with the implementation of the federal government's omnibus crime legislation, otherwise known as Bill C-10.
In an interview airing Saturday on The House, Quebec Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier tells host Evan Solomon that if the province has to comply, Quebec will insist that Ottawa foot the bill for the costs associated with the government's tough-on-crime agenda.
"It will be a demand from Quebec, [for] years after years, after years."
Quebec will continue to fight the costs associated with the bill even if it means taking it up with future governments, Fournier said.
The province has estimated it will cost as much as $600 million to build new prisons and pay for other costs required to enforce the new crime laws.
"They [the federal government] will have to pay for that," insisted Fournier.
"You can't ask your neighbour to pay for something he doesn't want."
Also in an interview airing Saturday on The House, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson tells Solomon the provinces — including Quebec — will be receiving "more money from the federal government, but we will expect them to continue to administer those areas that have been given to them by the constitution."
According to Nicholson, Ottawa committed to increasing transfer payments due to Bill C-10 by $2.4 billion.
The Ontario government has also called on Ottawa to foot the additional costs associated with the bill, estimating it would cost the province more than $1 billion in increased police and court costs.
Provincial and territorial justice ministers met with Nicholson in Charlottetown, earlier this week.
Share Tools
Omnibudget Liveblog: C-38 goes to committee -- and subcommittee, too! by Kady O'Malley May. 28, 2012 6:01 PM Bill supporters dominate first day's witness list
Top News Headlines
- B.C. police shooting video sparks calls for new probe
- Amateur video of the shooting of a mentally ill Vancouver man five years ago has prompted calls for B.C.'s police complaint commissioner and Crown prosecutors to take another look at the case. more »
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- A Japan-bound Air Canada Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday, after one of its engines failed. more »
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Quebec student talks resume amid continuing protests
- A new round of negotiations between students and Quebec's Liberal government over the province's tuition-fee crisis extended into the night, while thousands took to the street in protest, leading to dozens of arrests. more »
Latest Politics News Headlines
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Opposition vows to keep up pressure on budget bill
- Opposition MPs returned to Ottawa this morning after a week in their constituencies and said Canadians aren't happy about the budget bill. The Liberals and NDP promised to keep trying to get the Conservatives to back down on it. more »
- Tory MP asks Supreme Court to uphold Toronto riding result
- Conservative MP Ted Opitz will appeal an Ontario Superior Court decision overturning the 2011 federal election result in Toronto's Etobicoke Centre. more »
- Mulcair softens message before Alberta oilsands visit
- Tom Mulcair is dialling back the NDP's anti-oilsands rhetoric as he prepares for his first visit to Alberta's massive, unconventional petroleum deposits. more »
The National
The House
- Qc students open the door to compromise May. 28, 2012 3:37 PM This week on The House, Evan Solomon explores the ongoing student protests in Quebec. The conflict that began as a disagreement between certain student associations and the provincial government over tuition hikes seems to have morphed into something larger. Evan talks to Leo Bureau-Blouin, the president of Quebec's College Student Federation, about the ongoing dispute. Then, Quebec's Finance Minister Raymond Bachand talks about what it will take to resolve the conflict, and if an election is the only solution.
- Evolution skeptics will soon be silenced by science: Richard Leakey
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- Richard Branson suggests naked kitesurfing to premier
- RCMP commissioner pledges to rid force of 'bad apples'
- Man, woman shot dead in Burnaby restaurant
- Thunder Bay flooding causes state of emergency
- 7 mutilated cats found in Vancouver suburb
- Newly discovered malware most lethal cyberweapon to date
- Coast guard cuts prompt formal B.C. complaint

