Pubdate: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB) Page: 16 Copyright: 2009 The Calgary Sun Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67 Author: Andrew Hanon Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) CRIME BILL EXEMPTION RAISES FEARS OF NATIVE EXPLOITATION EDMONTON -- When told about the Liberal-dominated Senate's revisions to the government's latest tough-on-crime bill, the former drug dealer howled with laughter. "They wanna WHAT?" he said incredulously. "It's like they're encouraging grow-ops on reserves. It's so crazy; it's almost like a setup." The Harper Tories are furious with the Senate's changes to Bill C-15, which they say weakens it to the point of uselessness. But some members of Alberta's Native communities fear the revisions will allow organized crime to exploit impoverished, desperate people living on reserves, by paying them to grow weed. "It will be like the Taliban and the opium trade in Afghanistan," said the former dealer. Bill C-15 was supposed to impose mandatory minimum sentences on people who grow marijuana. The Tories wanted everyone convicted of growing more than five pot plants to get at least six months. But this week, the Liberal-dominated Senate amended the bill, raising the threshold to 200 plants and adding several exceptions. Among those exempted from mandatory minimum sentences are aboriginal people. "That would really open the door for people to come up here and take advantage of us. It's crazy," said Dwight Gladue, a leader among the Lubicon Cree in Little Buffalo, 300 km northwest of Edmonton. Little Buffalo is a tiny, secluded community just off a major highway. "We don't have a problem with grow-ops now, but this could really make us vulnerable," he said. Len Untereiner agreed. The head of the Edmonton-based Spirit Keeper Youth Society said, "This is just opening it up to create more victims. And many of our communities have suffered enough already." Under the Liberal amendments, there's nothing preventing a judge from imposing harsh sentences on native pot farmers, but, Untereiner said, their underlying message is disturbing. "As a First Nations person, I'm insulted by this. The law should apply to everybody, regardless of race, creed or colour." Untereiner said that if the Liberal senators are worried about disproportionate numbers of natives in jail, they should be pushing for more social programs to keep them from getting into trouble with the law in the first place. Edmonton police Sgt. Tony Simioni, who's on the board of the Canadian Police Association, called the suggestion that groups of people should be treated differently under the law "very paternalistic. I just don't like it on principle." Alberta Tory MP Brent Rathgeber, who sits on the government's justice committee, said the Liberal amendments "not only diminish the effectiveness (of Bill C-15), they create a whole array of unanticipated problems. "It's going to encourage the development of this industry among First Nations communities." He doubts such provisions are acceptable under the Constitution. The bill will come back to the Commons when it resumes sitting in January. From there, it will either be passed, or sent back for more revisions. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom