Pubdate: Mon, 04 May 2009
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 The Windsor Star
Contact: http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

MANDATORY DRUG SENTENCE DRAWS FIRE

Small-Timers Could Serve Big Time

(CNS) - Under Canada's proposed new drug laws, an 18-year-old who 
shares a joint with a 17-year-old friend could end up in jail.

Small-time addicts, who are convicted of pushing drugs near schools, 
parks, malls or any other prospective youth hangouts, would be 
automatically imprisoned for two years.

And growers caught selling even one plant to a friend would also be 
incarcerated.

The Harper government's bill to impose Canada's first mandatory 
minimum prison sentences for drug crimes -- removing discretion for 
judges to sentence as they see fit -- has come under intense scrutiny 
in public hearings, which began last week.

Several witnesses have warned the House of Commons justice committee 
the proposed legislation will fill jails with drug addicts rather 
than drug kingpins, who will continue to thrive while small-time 
dealers are knocked out of commission.

The all-party committee will likely get an earful again today when it 
hears from another half dozen opponents, including Ottawa drug policy 
analyst Eugene Oscapella.

"It's a wonderful gift to organized crime," said Oscapella, a lawyer 
who teaches at University of Ottawa.

The Conservative government proposes to automatically jail dealers 
and growers at a time when several American states, most recently New 
York, have retreated from mandatory minimum sentences, saying they 
are a glaring symbol of the failed U.S. war on drugs.

"We're going in exactly the opposite direction," said New Democrat 
Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East, whose party will vote against the bill.

The Bloc Quebecois also opposes the legislation, which was originally 
introduced in late 2007, but died last September when the federal 
election was called.

The bill would pass in the minority Parliament if the official 
Opposition Liberals decide to support it -- and MP Brian Murphy 
cautioned that "the jury is still out" for his party.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who appeared at the justice committee 
to defend his bill, was unable to supply any evidence from other 
countries that mandatory minimum sentences have made any difference 
in reducing drug crime.

Two studies prepared for the Justice Department, one in 2002 and the 
other in 2005, say that mandatory minimums do not work.

But Nicholson asserted that the proposed legislation is a smart 
response to a public outcry to crack down on the growing "scourge"of drugs.

Davies has unsuccessfully challenged the government to supply 
estimates on how many more people would be incarcerated if the law 
passes, and the anticipated cost for provincial governments, who are 
responsible for jails housing offenders serving sentences of less 
than two years.

"It's going to clog up the prison system," she warned.

Critics also contend the bill is poorly drafted because it is overly 
broad and unclear. For instance, the proposal to automatically 
imprison for at least two years anyone caught selling drugs "near a 
school"or "any other public place usually frequented by persons under 
the age of 18" could mean virtually anywhere in an urban area, says 
the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom