GANG BILL MAY BREACH CHARTER: LAW GROUP

The province's latest anti-gang law could breach the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, says the vice-president of Alberta's Criminal
Trial Lawyers' Association.

"It's problematic in a number of respects," city lawyer Deborah Hatch
said after Bill 42 was introduced in the legislature last week. "It
captures a whole lot of people here and a whole lot of activity."

If passed, the law would allow police to remove suspected criminals
from bars and clubs, and give establishments the right to collect
personal information about their customers to share with police and
the government.

The bill covers people involved in a range of criminal activity,
including prostitution, and empowers officers to act based on
information gathered from reliable sources or "a police officer's
good faith belief that a person is associated with a gang."

The chances such a law would breach Charter rights of assembly and
association "really jump out," Hatch said.

She said that under the proposed law, the mother of a prostitute
could be excluded from a licenced premises.

"If you're thought to be an associate of an associate of a gang you
could be removed, which I think is pretty outrageous," Hatch said.
"Guilt by association is really a huge problem with this legislation."

Getting tougher on crime and gangs is a cornerstone of Premier Ed
Stelmach's promise to make Alberta's communities safer. Last year, he
promised millions of dollars to boost the ranks of police, Crown
prosecutors and probation officers across the province.

Justice Minister Alison Redford shepherded the Victims' Restitution
Act through the legislature last year, with the full support of both
opposition parties. Now in place, the law allows police to seize
profits of crime before suspects are convicted. By March, the
province had collected a number of assets, including a rural acreage
believed to have been involved in a marijuana grow-operation.

Last week, the government also introduced legislation that threatens
to seize vehicles and profits from people who don't pay taxes on tobacco.

No politician wants to be seen as being "weak-kneed" on crime, but
the latest anti-gang tactic has Liberal Kent Hehr wondering if
Alberta is going too far.

"We seem to be going down a very quick path here of trampling on
civil liberties in this province," the Calgary-Buffalo MLA said.
"Some of it may have been warranted, but we're starting to hit the
thin edge of the wedge here of how far we're going to go."

He said the proposal, an amendment to the Gaming and Liquor Act, is
likely to meet with challenges ahead.

And it's not the only one.

Hehr says Alberta may have gotten lucky when the Supreme Court upheld
an Ontario law similar to the Victims' Restitution Act.

"Let's face it, we're playing with fire on that one, too."

He said he hoped the province was getting sound advice on proposals
before taking the bills to the legislature. "We've always got to be
worried about being smart bold (versus) just wasting taxpayers' dollars.

As the government ramps up police powers, ministers say they are,
obviously, getting legal advice.

"There's always the chance that any bill can be challenged in the
courts," Solicitor General Fred Lindsay said. "We believe that we've
done proper consulting on (Bill 42) and it's the right thing to do to
protect the safety of Albertans."

In a statement issued last week, Privacy Commissioner Frank Work said
he was "dubious" about how collecting the names, ages and photographs
of patrons would make bars and clubs safer.

But if MLAs pass the law, he agreed to release guidelines for bar
owners to ensure collection rules are universal.