Wildrose would scrap rights body, make prisoners work

Alberta's Wildrose party says it would abolish the province's human rights commission and replace it with something more efficient if it is elected in the next provincial election.

With the race to name Alberta's next Progressive Conservative premier just five days away, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith unveiled a comprehensive law and order policy Monday at a Calgary news conference.

Smith is proposing a new branch of the courts that would deal solely with human rights complaints. "I think we would be able to strike the right balance, ensuring that legitimate cases go forward but that the frivolous and vexatious complaints that have gone forward in the past don't end up getting past the first square," said Smith.

Examples of what Smith considers frivolous would be a preacher being hauled before the commission for what he delivers in his sermon or a journalist facing a complaint over an opinion piece. The cost of the new court system would be similar to the $5.2 million spent on the human rights commission now and take 12 to 24 months to put in place, said Wildrose justice critic Rob Anderson.

The Wildrose justice policy also calls for reintroducing work programs in provincial jails with an eye to teaching inmates job skills. Smith said there are similar programs in place in Italy and some U.S. states where prisoners actually operate legitimate businesses such as restaurants. "There's no point in having criminals sit around watching television and pumping iron. We might as well get them actually doing something to be able to enhance their own level of education and skills so that when they get out they can be a contributing member to the Alberta economy," Smith said, adding the party also wants to see an end to house arrests for serious violent offences and tougher minimum sentences for violent criminals.