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Alberta may force criminals to pay health-care costs

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Chibi_Neko
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16 May 2009, 10:32 pm

ctv.ca

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Legislation introduced at the Alberta legislature this week could pave the way for the province to sue criminals for any health-care costs associated with their crimes.

Health Minister Ron Liepert introduced Bill 48 that, if passed, would allow the province to recoup health-care costs associated with crimes ranging from convenience store robberies to gang shootings to drunk driving.

"Our caucus does not believe taxpayers should be footing the health-care costs of someone who has committed a criminal offence," Liepert said.

The minister pointed specifically to drunk drivers, who cause hundreds of collisions per year.

"We're going to make you pay if you decide to get involved in criminal activity," he said.

The provincial NDP say that the proposed legislation is an attempt to cut off health care for some citizens and is therefore a breach of the Canada Health Act.

Others say it will have little impact and simply makes politicians appear to be tough on crime.

"It will play very well in the court of public opinion, it will play very well in this law-and-order environment that is alive and well in this province. But it's an impotent bill," said lawyer Ed O'Neill.

Officials have not said how they intend to get money from those criminals with few assets, many of whom have their court costs paid for by legal aid.


Well this is different... I wonder if it will make anyone think twice about committing a crime?


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Snuffy
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17 May 2009, 2:04 am

Chibi_Neko wrote:
ctv.ca

Quote:
Legislation introduced at the Alberta legislature this week could pave the way for the province to sue criminals for any health-care costs associated with their crimes.

Health Minister Ron Liepert introduced Bill 48 that, if passed, would allow the province to recoup health-care costs associated with crimes ranging from convenience store robberies to gang shootings to drunk driving.

"Our caucus does not believe taxpayers should be footing the health-care costs of someone who has committed a criminal offence," Liepert said.

The minister pointed specifically to drunk drivers, who cause hundreds of collisions per year.

"We're going to make you pay if you decide to get involved in criminal activity," he said.

The provincial NDP say that the proposed legislation is an attempt to cut off health care for some citizens and is therefore a breach of the Canada Health Act.

Others say it will have little impact and simply makes politicians appear to be tough on crime.

"It will play very well in the court of public opinion, it will play very well in this law-and-order environment that is alive and well in this province. But it's an impotent bill," said lawyer Ed O'Neill.

Officials have not said how they intend to get money from those criminals with few assets, many of whom have their court costs paid for by legal aid.


Well this is different... I wonder if it will make anyone think twice about committing a crime?


I highly doubt this would bring about any sort of tax decrease (as Liepert seems to infer), but it would be wonderful to make drunk drivers in particular have to pay for the injuries they cause, especially since theirs seems to be a notoriously repeatable crime... Convenience store thieves and gang members, though, probably don't have any sort of regular income (not of the garnishable sort), so it would be interesting to see how they propose to squeeze money out of them.

Also, if this were adopted, I'd doubt the savings would actually be put to good use (of course, that's just me being negative).



Ichinin
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17 May 2009, 10:27 am

I agree with Snuffy, i think it is only fair that they should pay for what they have done, but i do not think it is going to work.



mikemmlj
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18 May 2009, 8:48 pm

Isn't Alberta the Texas of Canada? A bunch of uneducated rednecks?


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Xelebes
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18 May 2009, 9:31 pm

mikemmlj wrote:
Isn't Alberta the Texas of Canada? A bunch of uneducated rednecks?


Maybe around Cardston, but not Calgary or Edmonton.


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Chibi_Neko
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18 May 2009, 9:58 pm

mikemmlj wrote:
Isn't Alberta the Texas of Canada? A bunch of uneducated rednecks?


Indeed it is. Towns like Fort McMurray are considered the black eye of Canada . My husband works there and he has the dirt on that place. The people can't drive either, the highway that leads to Fort McMurray is dubbed 'Highway to Hell' because of the high number of deaths on it.... close to one a week.


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phil777
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19 May 2009, 3:57 am

On the other hand, people from Newfoundland are called "Newfies" for a reason :p We jokingly make fun of them ^^; (i gotta admit though, wasn't it someone from your island that wanted to sell your water reserves because you guys are supposedly not getting enough from the perequation? Because since we are in a confederation, if you guys do it, everyone else is forced to do it or at least it becomes acceptable, and i'd rather not see all the water in Quebec be bottled up, which is already the most idiotic thing ever, as if bottled water was any better than tap water in Canada... >< Shee, get yourself a brita filter and a lifelong plastic bottle and no need to buy any more bottled water =.= )



Jkid
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19 May 2009, 11:28 am

This might be off topic but are victims of crime can sue criminals for injuries they suffered?



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20 May 2009, 10:01 am

Chibi_Neko wrote:
mikemmlj wrote:
Isn't Alberta the Texas of Canada? A bunch of uneducated rednecks?


Indeed it is. Towns like Fort McMurray are considered the black eye of Canada . My husband works there and he has the dirt on that place. The people can't drive either, the highway that leads to Fort McMurray is dubbed 'Highway to Hell' because of the high number of deaths on it.... close to one a week.


As an Albertan myself, I usually refer to it as "Alabama North"
(alluding to the bad old days when George Wallace was governor);
that doesn't make your point any less correct, mikemmli.



Chibi_Neko
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20 May 2009, 11:32 am

phil777 wrote:
On the other hand, people from Newfoundland are called "Newfies" for a reason :p We jokingly make fun of them ^^;


You kidding? We make fun of ourselves! Go to one of our bookstores and you will find Newfie joke-books.

Douglas_MacNeill wrote:
As an Albertan myself, I usually refer to it as "Alabama North"


I think I heard that term before. I have not heard many good things about northen Alberta from all the Newfies that work there.


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KnightGhost
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23 May 2009, 1:13 pm

People pay for the effects of their crime (and fines, incarceration, etc) and it is often very effective in both a punishment and to offset the damage.



xenon13
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25 May 2009, 10:30 am

Forcing people to pay money to people while they are stripped of their ability to make any money makes little sense. Besides, they already in many jurisdictions grab the money made by prisoners on books they write and so on to pay their "victims"...

Fred Goldman is someone who says he wants to get money off of OJ Simpson yet he did everything possible to make sure he couldn't make money... he should have been doing everything to promote OJ as a money-making machine... but as it is he is interested in nothing more than pure vengeance and you can see his hatefully-contorted face to prove that he is possessed by hatred.

Eventually, someone with half a brain in Goldman's camp convinced him that the "If I did it" book at least could make him some money... and so it was released.



silentbob15
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25 May 2009, 11:10 am

[quote="mikemmlj"]Isn't Alberta the Texas of Canada? A bunch of uneducated rednecks?[/quote[
You obviously know nothing of Canada or Alberta, there are more educated people here when compared to your state.