WHITE SAYS ADDICTS NEED TREATMENT, NOT NEEDLES

A drug addict's life in a bleak downtown eastside Vancouver hotel room
may not make for pleasant breakfast conversation in Abbotsford - but
it's a harsh reality of life for thousands, Randy White said yesterday.

White, Canadian Alliance MP for Langley-Abbotsford, spoke on the theme
"Let me say it as it is - drugs, prisons, organized crime and our
court system,'' before an early morning Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce
crowd gathered at the Rancho on Delair Road.

The gist of his talk: Give the big time drug dealers at the top of the
system stiffer penalties - but treat addicts and prostitutes through
rehabilitation.

The federal solicitor general critic also fielded a number of
questions from the audience, ranging from the controversial Sumas
Centre to wrongful convictions of innocent people.

"In the last election, a few of my opponents called me a single-issue
person with a one track mind - they're right, it's called justice.''

White offered a synopsis of his recent work. This includes helping
organizers of the Campbell Valley Womens' Centre, a rehab facility for
women with addiction problems. "The NDP thinks they should go to
foster homes,but fortunately, the provincial Liberals think
otherwise,'' said White, who said the centre may become an issue in
the current B.C. elections.

He's also met with people concerned over a needle exchange and methadone
clinic in downtown Abbotsford: Two measures he believes do not solve the
problem of addiction.

White also spent some time with local police on the Zero Avenue area
of his riding, a hot spot for smuggling.

"One of these paths is called the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

"It's a place where lots of smuggling occurs daily, not just drugs but
people, drugs and alcohol. It's an impossible job for the RCMP to
handle,'' said White, who stressed the nation's police must have
adequate resources to do their jobs.

As for the courts, conditional sentencing - where offenders spend jail
time at home - doesn't relate to the serious nature of some crimes
it's handed out for, said White.

He cited the case of Darren Adam Ursel, who was convicted in the
sexual assault of a woman in Aldergrove.

Public outcry reversed a judge's decision to give him a conditional
sentence, said White.

On related justice issues, White called for the Justice Committee in
the House of Commons to interview and appoint parole board members.
"They should be interviewed and shortlisted by a non-partisan
committee. They should be qualified people, not political hacks.''

Drugs are a serious problem in communities across Canada, from Abbotsford
to places like Sydney, Nova Scotia: "With 12,000 people, it has a needle
exchange,'' said White. "The cost of a cap of heroin, 15 or 20 bucks, is
coming from crime. I know the police make good marijuana busts, but it's
heroin and cocaine that kills.''

Addicts should be made to enter rehabilitation, White believes. The
harm reduction model, safe shooting sites, "perpetuates the problem.

"We've got a whole (Canadian Forces) base in Chilliwack the Liberals
closed down, where we could be helping those people. It's not a drug
war we want, it's rehabilitation.

''We have to stop treating prostitutes as criminals, and realize these
are our children who need help.''

White invited the audience to go for a tour of the downtown Vancouver
eastside with him.

"There are hotel rooms worse than a prison cell. People right now are
sitting there looking for help.''

In reply to a question from a woman in the audience, who said her
husband has been wrongfully convicted, White acknowledged such cases
do occur in Canada, especially in light of increasing family break-ups.

"With families splitting up, a lot of accusations are made. It's a
ploy that's happening more and more.''