Posted on 11/26/2005 9:44:43 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
Liberals to table tough gun bill
Response to violent summer in Toronto will include stiffer minimum sentences
By CAMPBELL CLARK
Friday, November 25, 2005 Page A8
The Liberal government will table a bill to toughen laws on gun crimes and gun dealing, responding to a summer of violence in Toronto that has sent political waves through the party's ranks as an election campaign approaches.
Although the bill is doomed to die with the fall of the government next week, the Liberal government is intent on getting it into the House of Commons to demonstrate it has adopted a tougher approach to gun crime.
The bill will include increased minimum sentences on some gun crimes, a pair of new offences for dealing in guns, expansion of the federal witness-protection program and tightened parole rules for gun-crime offenders.
"What we're going to do is to enhance existing mandatory minimum sentences with regard to existing offences such as trafficking and so on," Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said. "I will be introducing two new offences, and also other amendments to the Criminal Code in the matter of witness protection and parole eligibility."
The bill will be one of three components to the government's gun strategy, along with better law enforcement and community programs to provide "hope and opportunity" to prevent youths from becoming enmeshed in crime.
There are already more than a dozen gun crimes that carry minimum sentences of one to four years, but calls for stiffer penalties have won backing from police groups and support from MPs in all parties.
A bill put forward by Conservative MP Daryl Kramp, which would extend some of those sentences to 10 years, was rejected as too harsh by the government, but was garnering support from the NDP and Liberal backbenchers.
Mr. Cotler indicated that his tougher minimum sentences will not be as long as those proposed by Mr. Kramp.
Mr. Kramp said in an interview that he is concerned that the Liberal bill will include "halfway measures" that produce no results, because there is evidence that minimum sentences only work when they are tough enough to be a strong deterrent, and accompanied by a publicity campaign.
The government had rejected increased minimum sentences, but suddenly switched tack, he noted.
"Obviously, we have an election coming, and recognizing that public opinion is dramatically in favour of stronger minimum mandatories, I think they're just governing by the polls," he said.
The Liberal government's zeal for a tougher law-and-order approach to gun crime has increased noticeably in recent months as a series of more than 40 gun murders in Toronto heightened political pressure.
Calls for action came from Toronto Mayor David Miller and the provincial government in Ontario, which pushed for stiffer minimum sentences, winning backing from other provinces.
"I think Canadians generally feel that one thing that distinguishes our country from the United States is that we're safer, our cities are safer, we don't have the same proliferation of guns and illegal gun trade," Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant said in an interview.
"And we were seeing something in Toronto -- and in Winnipeg, in Surrey and across the country, that we had never experienced before, and that required some action."
Even after Mr. Cotler agreed, he expressed doubts that minimum sentences work to deter crime, but said the federal government acted on a consensus from all provinces.
At a Liberal caucus meeting in August, some Liberal MPs from Toronto pressed for a tougher approach, but they received a cool reaction. Mr. Cotler said then that "the problem is not more and stronger sentences and offences.
"What is needed is enforcement of the sentences that we have now, as part of a comprehensive approach," he said then. "But those are the kinds of things that you know, you respond to that, you get the headlines, but you don't go ahead and hit the problem."
But insiders said that a new desire for law-and-order measures was pushed by Prime Minister Paul Martin's political advisers, rather than the Justice Department.
In October, aides to Mr. Martin floated a suggestion to a Toronto newspaper that the government was considering suing U.S. gun manufacturers over gun violence in Canada.
But that idea had already been explored by Justice Department officials, who decided it was not plausible, insiders said. Mr. Cotler told reporters soon afterward that it would have to be the provinces, not Ottawa, that would take action against gun manufacturers, and he would raise it at a meeting of justice ministers in October.
He said yesterday that he raised the issue briefly, but essentially informed provincial justice ministers that the legal burdens involved in suing U.S. gun manufacturers are probably insurmountable.
The guns didn't cause the violence problem, the
pissant imbecilic liberal immigration policies
caused Canadas violence problems. and they are
only going to get much worse...because the stupid
french liberals are disarming the law abiders
who help maintainn the civil order.
That's the ticket--sue US gun manufactureres. That will certainly solve the problem/sarc
dimwits!
"The guns didn't cause the violence problem, the
pissant imbecilic liberal immigration policies
caused Canadas violence problems"
BINGO!
How about stopping the terrorist who live in Canada?????? Are you going to get tough on them or will you continue your liberal hate of the United States?
You will never get rid of guns, and tougher laws will only create tougher criminals and gunrunners.
Canada Ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Should we even bother summoning the strength to be horrified?
You mean more horrified than we already are?
I don't know how.
That's exactly what I mean. I'm so close to supporting American annexation of the West if the independence movement does not pan out.
Figures. They are against guns, but not gun crimes.
They're delusional.
You and I agree completely and you have to remember, Martin is DESPERATE right now, FRANTICALLY DESPERATE. He's been running all over the country throwing money around trying to BUY votes. He doesn't give a $hit that it is OUR money. He didn't give a $hit when he was passing it around by the suitcase full either to buy Quebec Ad companies, phony companies which could funnel it right back to the Liberal party. Not to mention that these CRIMINALS have nicely lined their own pockets also. IF Ontario votes these CORRUPT CRIMINALS in again, the West MUST SEPARATE. Absolutely MUST. We need to get away from people who have a mindset that doesn't care if they are being robbed and will continue to vote for the very criminals that are robbing them. The Liberals also just announced that they have had a backlog of immigrants and they are just NOW going to give the go ahead to allow them into the country. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THEM. THESE ARE NOTHING BUT VOTES. It's SO OBVIOUS what this POND SCUM is doing and YET ONTARIO people buy into their bullcrap every time. This is the LAST time I think the West will tolerate another FIBERAL DESPOT!!
Not only that, Stephen Harper is going to scrap the gun registry bill!!!!!!!!!!!! Only IDIOTS would turn in their guns knowing full well that the criminals will ALWAYS be armed. I have NO intention of being DISARMED by any CORRUPT LEGISLATION.
Good for you! My brother has lived in Toronto for 25 years
(actually gained citizenship in Canada back in the 70's when it was hard to do). He is moving back to the states, as things in Canada have just gone too far to the left.
I'm conservative in many ways. If change is to happen, I must be fully convinced, and I will not switch beliefs overnight. "Close" represents an enormous leap. ;)
Lets law abiding citizens arm themselves. To do otherwise is to go up against their charter rights.
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