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Posted by jester on Nov-05-2008 03:16:

election question

in canada are people with felonies and or in prison allowed to vote?

just curious seeing i just read that people with felonies and or in prison can not vote in the US. i find that quite bizarre.

Posted by RayRayy on Nov-05-2008 03:30:

Yes u can here in canada.

Posted by Marcus007 on Nov-05-2008 04:15:

ur mother

Posted by elFreak on Nov-05-2008 05:32:

Re: election question

I do not think prisoners should be allowed to vote in Canada either while incarcerated. Abuse your rights and lose your rights.

Posted by Alex on Nov-05-2008 05:39:

Re: Re: election question

quote:
Originally posted by elFreak
I do not think prisoners should be allowed to vote in Canada either while incarcerated. Abuse your rights and lose your rights.

+1

It's a dumb thought to think that prisoners could be voting for the guy who wants to lower maximum sentences for certain crimes.

It shouldn't be up to them at all.

Posted by julien2 on Nov-06-2008 20:43:

Re: Re: Re: election question

quote:
Originally posted by Alex
+1

It's a dumb thought to think that prisoners could be voting for the guy who wants to lower maximum sentences for certain crimes.

It shouldn't be up to them at all.

The Supreme Court of Canada's judgement on the question is a wonderfully crafted piece of destruction of the argument you just stated

Not allowing prisonners to vote is more dangerous than letting them vote.

Participating in the social/political life is the first step towards reintegrating society.

It's funny because most people would think that the punition would be a good thing on that point, but most studies show otherwise.

If you want more information http://csc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/20.../2002scc68.html

Oh, and don't forget that most prisonners do not vote anyways

Posted by elFreak on Nov-06-2008 21:17:

While i will agree with much of that study you posted, it ironically does not consider how many people end up back in prison after getting out.

Posted by julien2 on Nov-06-2008 21:23:

It was not a study, it is a judgment of the SCC. It is a brilliant expose of constitutional rights and philosophical questions studied by the highest judicial court of canada.

Basically, no reason (1st statute of the Charter allows the governments to deny a fondamental right if it can prove that it is justified and reasonsable)justifies denying vote to convicts

quote:
With respect to the second objective of imposing appropriate punishment, the government offered no credible theory about why it should be allowed to deny a fundamental democratic right as a form of state punishment.

It serves no purpose, simple and clear.

Posted by elFreak on Nov-06-2008 21:29:

Chalk one up to personal opinion i suppose.

Posted by julien2 on Nov-06-2008 21:39:

Well, it's basically the same debate as capital punishment.

capital punishment serves no purpose. 99.99999% of studies show it has no effect on homicide rates.

Posted by elFreak on Nov-06-2008 21:59:

I am not for capital punishment Julien, I believe that is the easy way out. Real punishment is serving life. I just have an opinion that Canadian law is too liberal towards offenders. We can agree to disagree here

I'm not studying law like you are, therefore my interpretations are based less on studies and actual cases in the past that have left me feeling very unsatisfied at the way our legal system handles certain offenders. It is by all means an end all to an argument.

Posted by julien2 on Nov-06-2008 22:08:

Oh, by all means, don't think I find the system perfect.

I too feel that laws are too leniant with serious offenders.

I am just making the point that it has been pretty much proven that allowing voting serves a purpose towards reintegrating some convincts, and is no punishment towards the recidivists.

With that fact in mind, it is easier to reject a denying of that fondamental right

Posted by Spin Laden on Nov-07-2008 18:37:

quote:
Originally posted by julien2
Oh, by all means, don't think I find the system perfect.

I too feel that laws are too leniant with serious offenders.

I am just making the point that it has been pretty much proven that allowing voting serves a purpose towards reintegrating some convincts, and is no punishment towards the recidivists.

With that fact in mind, it is easier to reject a denying of that fondamental right

amazing that you spelled recidivists correctly and not fundamental

I totally agree with allowing convicts the vote in terms of reintegrating them back into society, unless if they are serving life, however.

Posted by julien2 on Nov-11-2008 00:00:

quote:
Originally posted by Spin Laden
amazing that you spelled recidivists correctly and not fundamental

I totally agree with allowing convicts the vote in terms of reintegrating them back into society, unless if they are serving life, however.

sorry, french is my first language. i usually do good in english, but sometimes a mistake does slip by.

Posted by Alex on Nov-11-2008 04:01:

Well, opinion still.

Somehow I doubt that letting prisoners vote would be all that big of a rehabilitation factor.

And I still think they shouldn't have that right, if you don't have the right to be around the rest of society why should you be allowed to influence it in any way? That's why you're in there in the first place.