A crime is a crime. That should not be controversial. Yet in Canada today, whether a law is enforced often depends less on the Criminal Code and more on political fashion, prosecutorial discretion, or judicial interpretation. That is not justice. That is chaos.

This is not about ideology. It is about the basic purpose of law. If Parliament passes laws that are routinely ignored, softened, or selectively enforced, then the law itself becomes meaningless. And when laws lose meaning, public order erodes. Canadians are seeing the consequences of that erosion every day.

Canada’s crime crisis will not be fixed by symbolic legislation or word games about “mandatory” minimums, but only by enforcing existing laws, ending federal soft-on-crime policies, and allowing provinces to lead with real consequences that restore order and accountability.

Ottawa is selling a “tough on crime” comeback — but the Inside Politics panel says Bill C-16 may be little more than a glossy brochure wrapped around a loophole.

Host Kevin Klein sat down with Winnipeg Sun columnists Lawrence Pinsky, KC, and political science professor Royce Koop to unpack the Liberal government’s latest promise: bring back mandatory minimum sentences and finally clamp down on repeat offenders.

Koop didn’t mince words. Mandatory minimums were created because Canadians were fed up with “slap on the wrist” sentencing and judges using wide discretion. But after years of court rulings striking down minimums as “cruel and unusual,” the Liberals’ answer isn’t real backbone — it’s what Koop called mandatory minimums without the mandatory part.

In........

© Winnipeg Sun