Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jan 2006
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2006 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Norma Greenaway, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Stephen+Harper
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

HARPER VOWS TO STEM 'TIDE OF GUNS, DRUGS'

2,500 More Police Officers: Tories Would Cancel Gun Registry, 
Increase Mandatory Minimums

TORONTO - Stephen Harper said yesterday a Conservative government
would take a firm line on law and order across the country, repealing
the federal long-gun registry and redirecting the money to pay for
stiffer mandatory sentences and more police officers on the streets.

Insisting safe streets are a right and not a luxury, Mr. Harper said a
Tory government would move swiftly to tackle the growing problem of
gun violence, crack down on gun smuggling and arm Canadian guards
along the U.S. border.

The Conservative leader promised to end the "revolving door of
justice" by ending house arrest for serious drug crimes and by
imposing tougher prerequisites for parole.

He accused the Liberal government of ignoring the violence in Toronto,
Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and elsewhere until an election became
inevitable, and said voters should not be fooled by what he described
as their belated conversion to the cause of cracking down on crime.

"The revolving door of criminal justice of this current government
bears significant responsibility for the tide of gun, drug and gang
crime plaguing our cities," he told a news conference at a downtown
hotel.

Mr. Harper said one of the first things he would do as prime minister
is amend the federal Criminal Code to require mandatory minimum
sentences of five or 10 years for major firearms offences, including
five years for possession of a loaded, restricted or prohibited
weapon, such as a handgun. His plan would add 2,500 officers on the
street and fill 1,000 RCMP vacancies using money saved from the
cancellation of the $2-billion long-gun registry.

"The wasteful long-gun registry must end and the money must be
redirected to genuine law-enforcement priorities. Canadians want to
see effective gun control that stops crime in our streets, not phony
reforms," reads the Tory plan, which would maintain the existing
handgun registry and ban on all currently prohibited weapons.

Mr. Harper, flanked by his Toronto-area candidates, victims of crime
and union representatives of Canadian border guards, unveiled his
five-year, $500-million "overhaul of the criminal justice system" near
the scene of a Boxing Day shooting that left an innocent Toronto teen
dead and six others wounded.

Mr. Harper's announcement came nearly a month after Paul Martin, the
Prime Minister, visited Toronto's violence-plagued Jane and Finch
neighbourhood to pledge a sweeping ban on handguns. The Liberal plan
to tackle gun crime also includes doubling minimum prison sentences to
two years from one for some firearms offences and revamping bail rules
to force the accused to justify why they should be released.

The NDP supports tougher sentences and beefed-up bail procedures for
gun users, but also favours spending on crime-prevention measures.

Although Mr. Harper promised to maintain the Liberals' promised
funding of $50 million for crime prevention and youth at risk, Mr.
Harper made clear the priority would be on punishment and deterrence.

A Tory government would, for example, ensure that anyone 14 years or
older charged with serious or repeat offences is automatically subject
to adult sentencing provisions, he said.

Don Schiemann, father of one of the four RCMP officers shot last year
by a repeat offender in Mayerthorpe, Alta., praised the initiatives as
a "step in the right direction."

Mr. Schiemann, who says the Conservative party paid for his trip to
Toronto, said he volunteered his support for the party's law-and-order
platform, and that he had no qualms about the political nature of the
event.

"The justice issues are about politics," he said. "My son's death is
my son's death, and there is nothing I can do to change that."

At a rally later in nearby Brantford, Mr. Harper promoted his
crime-fighting strategy as one of the party's tickets to power, along
with its plan to cut the GST, give parents $100 a month for each child
under the age of six and other priorities.

"We're going to impose a system where serious crime means you do
serious time in this country," he told about 100 cheering supporters.

The Conservative plan also includes:

- - The naming of a national security commissioner to advise the
government on how to co-ordinate the work of its police and security
agencies.

- - Expanding the Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency to effectively
gather intelligence overseas.

- - Ensuring no border guards work alone and that they are trained to
use the sidearms they will be issued.

- - Speeding up the execution of deportation orders.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake