A Liberal MP and incumbent candidate in British Columbia’s Surrey Central riding who had his license to practice law suspended for professional misconduct also championed a ‘soft-on-crime’ law that many attribute to rising crime rates in his constituency.
Randeep Sarai, Liberal MP incumbent candidate for Surrey Centre, was an avowed supporter of Bill C-5, which repealed certain mandatory minimum penalties for criminal offences.
Bill C-5, which received Royal Assent in November 2022, was designed to address “systemic racism and discrimination within the criminal justice system” by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for various criminal offences, mostly gun crimes and drug possession.
The government’s backgrounder on Bill C-5 says there is “systemic racism in Canada’s criminal justice system” which the new legislation attempted to solve.
Sarai was an early champion and proponent of the law, which has been cited by many critics—including Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre—as a contributing factor to Canada’s catch-and-release legal system and a subsequent crime wave in recent years.
“A criminal justice system which utilizes a mandatory minimum penalty as a model of reform is not reflective of Canadian values or the needs of racialized and marginalized communities within Canada,” Sarai said of the law when proposing it in the House of Commons.
Instead of reducing “systemic racism,” however, the law has led to a series of incidents in which offenders were arrested and charged, released, and then arrested and charged again shortly thereafter for committing the same offences.
A recent case of repeat offenders being released prematurely includes David William Charles Hoffman, a prolific violent re-offender who is facing charges of assault, attempted robbery, breaking and entering and mischief in relation to the violent incident at a Surrey modular home park.
At the time of his alleged offences, Hoffman already had an extensive criminal history with over a dozen charges and convictions and had been released on bail only weeks earlier.
The fast-growing metro suburb of Vancouver, B.C. has a notorious history for its persistent challenges with shootings, gang violence, drug trafficking, and property crime, which have drawn significant public concern.
As the three-time incumbent, Sarai—a notable champion and proponent of the Liberal government’s ‘soft on crime’ bills—is the only MP to be elected in the relatively new riding.
The issue of rising crime, and rising gun violence in particular, isn’t unique to Surrey either, with gun violence across Canada increasing by over 30% from 2013 to 2023.
Adding to the controversy is the perceived silence from Liberal Party leader Mark Carney on the issue. Critics suggest Carney’s lack of public commentary on the implications of Bill C-5 and other radical Liberal amendments to the Criminal Code leaves many constituencies grappling with crime concerns—like Surrey Central—with no assurances the issue of crime in Canada will be taken with the seriousness it deserves.