We at BUILD believe in consequences. For example, we think that some offences should have stiffer penalties, like home invasions. However, let's help people break the cycle of violence when they are ready. A one-size-fits-all approach to pardons will increase violent crimes rather than decrease them. Once out of jail many inmates are unemployable. How many employers will hire an ex-offender with no job experience, no driver's licence? Even former inmates who want to find work are unable and many of them are forced back into a life of crime, building up offences and ruining lives.
Chris's story is one of a multitude in the north end of Winnipeg. His mother got him involved in gangs when he was very young. The fact that Chris is out of that life and is being a role model should be rewarded, not punished. In Chris's situation the problem is not related to the individual; rather, it is systemic, thanks in part to the residential school system, reservations, poverty, lack of employment. Many good employers, like Manitoba Hydro, and many construction firms, for example, require a clean criminal record. Pardons should be for people who have clearly shown reform and who do not present a risk of reoffending. Let reformed inmates get on with their lives on a case-by-case basis. We at BUILD know from front-line experience that many, if not most, of these individuals can become productive members of society. They need supportive employers to enter the workforce and build a résumé. The court incarceration and police systems have likely spent well over $1 million arresting, sentencing, and incarcerating Chris Courchene. At BUILD we spent $20,000 to train and support Chris so that he could enter the workforce. He is pulling his family along with him now.
Thank you.