Pubdate: Mon, 07 May 2007 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Author: Mary Agnes Welch NO LEGAL AID FOR GANGSTERS: TORIES Ndp Justice Minister Dave Chomiak Brands Idea A 'Publicity Stunt' CONVICTED gang members will be barred from accessing legal aid, Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen pledged Sunday. "That means the taxpayers will no longer fund the legal aid defence of those involved in drug trafficking or other gang-related activity," said McFadyen. Drug trafficking, proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal organization are the three convictions that would preclude someone from ever using a Legal Aid Manitoba lawyer under a Tory government. McFadyen, who is a lawyer, said he expects the measure would survive an inevitable constitutional challenge. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees every arrested person the right to retain counsel without delay, but McFadyen said that doesn't extend to a guarantee of taxpayer-funded legal aid. That's true, said Debra Parkes, professor and charter expert at the University of Manitoba's law school. But the courts have also strongly affirmed the charter right to a fair trial and that includes state-funded access to lawyers in serious cases where a person may be deprived of their liberty. "The weight of the decisions under the charter would indicate that this idea is very constitutionally suspect," said Parkes. NDP Justice Minister Dave Chomiak called the idea a "publicity stunt" and said denying convicted gang members access to legal aid would ultimately cost the province more. That's because the courts would simply appoint outside defence counsel, as they have done in several other cases where alleged criminals were facing jail time. That would delay trials and inflate lawyers' fees. McFadyen said most gang members have the resources to hire a lawyer, and are still entitled to defend themselves in court. And freeing up legal aid lawyers from tremendously time-consuming gang trials would allow more low-income people to access legal aid who are currently shut out. McFadyen's Sunday afternoon announcement came just a couple of hours after the jury returned with a series of guilty verdicts in the case of Hells Angel Ian Grant. And it capped off a week of crime-fighting promises made by the Tories, who believe public safety is the NDP's Achilles heel. "We can't get tough enough, soon enough," McFadyen said yesterday. The PCs have promised hundreds more police officers, prosecutors, judges and support staff as well as the construction of a new jail and a mandate to Crown attorneys to seek stiffer sentences. They've also pledged to subject would-be judges to public hearings, a move the federal Tories have embraced but some say simply politicized the judiciary. On Sunday, McFadyen also promised to dedicate two of six new judges to gang and gun cases and hire 25 more probation and bail officers. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom