Legislation: Critically assess new Canadian criminal justice legislation
Paper details:
This assignment directs you to examine current or recent legislation before
Parliament or recently passed by Parliament. Using the information available on the
Parliament of Canada website (http://www.parl.gc.ca) and from other sources, you
are to critically assess new Canadian criminal justice legislation.
Select a specific bill (see Bills Before Parliament; criminal justice examples are
Bills C-2, C-10, C-19, C-26, C-30, C-36, C-37, C-43).
Use Parliamentary references such as LEGISinfo, Legislative Summaries, Research
Summaries, Debates, Status of the Bill, Additional Information, About This Bill and
Further Readings. In addition, you are to use other references such as media reports,
submissions from professional associations (such as the Canadian Criminal Justice
Association, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Canadian Bar Association),
research from agencies such as the John Howard Societies, and other professional
commentaries.
You are to use a combination of media, journal, research, literature, and scholarly
sources to complete this assignment. You will need to utilize a minimum of three
scholarly or academic sources that discuss the legislation itself and its “pros and
cons.”
While you may find many articles and discussions available online or in other
forums that address your selected topic, please assess critically the sources you may
use in terms of their subject-matter authority. While many students use the Internet
as a tool to conduct research, and while the Internet can provide valuable links to
many resources, websites and any other information must appear credible and be
written with an authority or by someone with expertise on the subject matter.
The presence and citation of published scholarly references in the web-based resources
you employ can indicate the information you have gathered is credible.
Proper referencing and use of APA format is essential. Failure to properly
acknowledge sources is a form of plagiarism and will result in a grade of 0. Please
refer to the Student Manual and Style Guide for assistance with the technical
elements of scholarly writing.You are to:
Critically assess new Canadian criminal justice legislation
1. Provide a summary of the legislation and refer to all the major components.
2. Provide a review of the positive features of the legislation, using a variety of
sources.
3. Provide a review of the concerns or shortcomings of the legislation, using a
variety of sources.
4. Outline your own assessment of the positive and negative features of the
legislation.
5. Provide a statement that you would make to your Member of Parliament,
advising them how to vote on the matter and briefly explain your reasons.
Indicate who your MP is (Find an MP @ Parliament of Canada website).
Length
The written assignment must be a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 pages, wordprocessed,
and double-spaced. This does not include the title page or reference
page. An abstract is not required.
Marking Guide
You are expected to compile the information you have researched into a scholarly
essay that meets these objectives:
• Summarizes the legislation (10 points)
• Reviews of the positive aspects (10 points)
• Reviews of the concerns, short-comings (10 points)
• Expresses your assessment, including positive and negative elements
(5 points)
• Meets structural and technical considerations and includes an introduction
(thesis), conclusion, correct spelling, grammar, sentence structure, clarity,
length, use of resources (minimum of four), APA formatting, and
reference page. (5 marks)
