2018-04-09, 1*32 PM

Weʼre headed to the Supreme Court of Canada to fight the victim fine surcharge
DJ Larkin <dj@pivotlegal.org>
Mon 2018-04-09, 1@31 PM
To:Peter Kim <peterkim81@live.com>;

Dear Peter,

(Supreme Court of Canada, 2013)

This week our lawyers will be landing in Ottawa and heading to the Supreme Court of Canada
to advocate for the abolishment of the victim fine surcharge, which jeopardizes the health and
safety of low-income communities across the country.

Imagine being forced to pay a fee amounting to almost a third of your monthly income. For
our clients, this is essentially what the surcharge does. It is a mandatory fee of $100 or $200
per offence imposed on all individuals convicted of an offence in Canada. For people
receiving income assistance at a rate of $335 per month, paying this fine leads to greater
poverty and can force them to make sacrifices that threaten their health and safety.

Before the top court’s nine judges, Pivot, with the team at Rosenberg Kosakoski

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Litigation, will present the case that the surcharge amounts to cruel and unusual
punishment for our clients, many of whom experience homelessness, engage in sex work, or
use drugs. Given the precarious circumstances faced by the people Pivot works with, the
mandatory surcharge is heavy-handed and unjust.

Entrenching People in Poverty and Risk-Laden Circumstances

There is a clear cause and effect between the financial burden of the victim fine surcharge
and harms to the health and safety.

For those experiencing homelessness or living in poverty, the surcharge is more than a
month’s worth of food. In the Downtown Eastside, where 20 per cent of the population
struggles with homelessness, the effects can be particularly devastating. People who cannot
pay can have their wages and certain social safety net funds garnished, exacerbating an
already daily struggle to eat, stay warm, provide for children, and find shelter.

By further entrenching people in poverty, the surcharge may also force them to engage in
petty crime for survival. This further ties people to a criminal justice system from which they
are trying to break free. In short, the surcharge sets them up for failure.

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(Sugar Mountain tent city, 2017)

For people who use drugs, increased poverty may mean turning to cheaper substances from
unknown sources. This can increase the chances of overdose. In the context of an opioid
crisis that has killed over 1,400 people in 2017 alone, laws that increase risk for drug users
are unconscionable.

For sex workers, the need to make up lost revenue after paying the surcharge can mean
more frequent transactions, which can compromise the ability to screen unfamiliar clients or
negotiate a fair wage. All of this puts human lives at risk.

Increased Fear and Evasion of the Police Could be Deadly

Those who cannot pay the fine can be arrested at any time—a constant underlying threat
breeding a fear of law enforcement that can be fatal. People who use drugs may do so in
more secluded places and farther away from life-saving help should they overdose. They may
also be less likely to phone 911 should they witness or experience an overdose. This choice
—between life and freedom—is a cruel, immoral, and unjust imposition no compassionate
society should place on its citizens.

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(Downtown Eastside, 2017)

Sex workers may be pushed into more remote areas of the city to evade police, thereby
making their work more dangerous. They may also be forced to skip important client-
screening processes in order to secure a client quickly and without attracting police attention.
Sex workers may also be less likely to report dangerous clients to police, knowing that they
themselves could be arrested for not paying the outstanding fine.

The threat of arrest and fear of police it engenders may also force people experiencing
homelessness to shelter in more remote areas of the community. This will place them farther
away from service providers and community supports.

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(Signs from Vancouver’s Red Umbrella March, 2017)

At Pivot, we know that unjust laws and policies fuel human suffering, and that these systemic
barriers must be dismantled to ensure the safety of communities in need. That is why we’re
taking up the fight against the victim fine surcharge. We’re hopeful the nine justices of the
Supreme Court of Canada will recognize the harms created by this provision of the Criminal
Code and do what is right by striking it down.

Sincerely,

DJ Larkin, Legal Director

http://www.pivotlegal.org/

This case is the heart of Pivot’s mission: to use the law to defend the human rights,
safety, and dignity of marginalized people across Canada. This is what Pivot was
created to do. Taking a case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada is no small
feat and we need your help. Please make a gift to Pivot today to make meaningful
change at our country’s highest level. Your support will change laws that can save
lives.

© 2018 Pivot Legal Society

121 Heatley Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6A 3E9

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Tel: 604.255.9700 | Fax: 604.255.1552

̓ m (Musqueam),
We acknowledge the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwməθkwəyə
̓
Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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