CANADIAN SENTENCES MUCH LIGHTER

THE 10-year terms faced by three Winnipeg men charged in Montana with
drug trafficking is raising the profile of the debate over the
increased use of mandatory minimum sentences in Canada.

Mandatory minimums are nothing new in the U.S. and they mean it -- the
minimum sentence is mandatory.

Manitoba's former deputy attorney-general and University of Manitoba
law professor Bruce MacFarlane said if two of the men -- who are still
teens -- were convicted of the same crime in Canada today, they would
likely be given sentences of four to six years.

In Canada also, the actual time served is often slashed by conditional
sentencing and time off for good behaviour. And convicts are given
double-time credit for time served in jail awaiting trial.

Up until 1987, importing drugs into Canada -- no matter the amount --
used to net those caught a mandatory minimum of seven years.

In 1985, Edward Dewey was sentenced to eight years in jail after
pleading guilty to smuggling just over seven ounces of cocaine into
the country.

The Supreme Court struck down the mandatory minimum law based on the
Dewey case, because the court saw it as "cruel and unusual" to hand
down sentences regardless of circumstance.

Currently in Ottawa, the minority Conservative government is trying to
push through a new crime bill recommending mandatory minimums be used
more in Canada.

Bill C-2 calls for the sentences for serious gun crimes to rise to a
mandatory five years on a first offence, and seven years for a second
- -- trafficking in guns would also see a hike in jail time for offenders.

Under the bill, drug-trafficking offences would also result in
mandatory minimums for those convicted.

Timothy Morneau, 32, and two 19-year-old men stand accused of bringing
130 pounds of the drug Ecstacy into the U.S. with the intent to sell
it.

If convicted, each of the three will receive a mandatory minimum
sentence of 10 years in an American jail, plus massive fines and a
long period of supervised release.

Court documents allege that the teenagers, Christian Laurin and Alan
Mulder, were to be paid $1,000 each for their participation.

Neither Laurin nor Mulder has criminal records, and if convicted, the
10-year sentence would be huge in contrast with the minor payoff.

MacFarlane said Friday that the increased use of mandatory sentences
isn't without problems.

"On one hand, you've got Parliament responding to public concerns that
the sentences are too low. On the other, the tradition in Canada is to
ensure judges can balance all factors and customize sentences that are
right for that case," MacFarlane said.

MacFarlane said the current system of "wise blending" used by judges
in weighing all related factors of a case before sentencing (like
prior convictions, and an accused's personal background) allows for
fairer sentencing.

"The mandatory minimum distorts that," he said.