Pubdate: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2007 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1369/a10.html Author: Bruce Switzer CANADIANS DEMAND JUDICIARY GETS TOUGH IN SENTENCING CRIMINALS Re: Crime bill 'a slap in the face' to judges, Gomery says, Nov. 27. Retired judge John Gomery describes the plan to create mandatory minimum jail terms for drug crimes as a "slap in the face" to judges. He suggests the Conservatives don't trust the judiciary to create appropriate sentences for individual cases. As much as I respect Mr. Gomery, I respectfully disagree with him. It was noted judges are unhappy about this proposal and other legislation that suggests a failure on their part to impose proper sentences. Frankly, if the judges were doing their work properly, this wouldn't have been an idea whose time has come so that our government needed to introduce reforms. I don't know how often I read in the media of a drunk driver causing injury or death who gets away with what appears to me to be a very light sentence. And then I read that the same person convicted of the crime re-offend later. In watching the TV evening news, I get the same impression with the courts' treatment of people in the drug trade who belong to gangs. One purpose of the judiciary is to protect the population by removing the dangerous criminals from society and placing them in prisons. My strong impression is that the police are doing their jobs effectively, but the judiciary are not imposing sentences appropriate to the serious crime. The federal government has the responsibility to pass laws that will protect the citizenry where the judiciary fails. If it takes a governmental 'slap in the face' to get the judiciary's attention, then so be it. Bruce Switzer, Ottawa - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart