'SERIOUS TIME FOR SERIOUS CRIME'

Opposition Pans Harper's $63.8m National Anti-Drug Strategy As
U.S.-Style War on Drugs

The federal government will introduce legislation this fall that
would require mandatory minimum jail sentences for people convicted
of "serious" drug crimes, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

"Currently there are no minimum prison sentences for producing and
trafficking dangerous drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine,"
Harper told a news conference. "But these are serious crimes; those
who commit them should do serious time."

But in launching the government's long-awaited, $63.8-million
national anti-drug strategy in Winnipeg, Harper also promised to be
compassionate toward people hooked on illegal drugs. In particular,
the prime minister said he is concerned about rising drug use among
youth. He also noted that drug use takes an expensive toll on the
health-care system and fuels crime.

"Narcotics destroy lives. They rob young people of their futures,
they tear families apart, they make our streets less safe and they
lay waste to our communities."

Harper said the government's response will be two-pronged, focusing
on drug addicts on one hand and on drug producers and dealers on the other.

"Drugs are dangerous and destructive. If drugs do get hold of you,
there will be help to get you off them," Harper promised. "But if you
sell or produce drugs, you will pay with prison time."

"Our two-track approach will be tough on the dealers and producers of
drugs and compassionate for their victims."

He underlined that tough new anti-drug laws will be a major component
of the government's plan, but confirmed that two-thirds of the
funding will go toward the prevention and treatment of illicit drug
use. The plan also includes a major national public awareness
campaign aimed at youth and their parents.

"Interdiction by itself is not going to be enough," said Harper,
flanked by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Health Minister
Tony Clement. "Our government recognizes that we also have to find
new ways to prevent people from becoming enslaved to drugs and we
need new laws to free them from drugs when they get hooked."

Other details unveiled by Harper about the plan included funding for
the provinces and territories for drug abuse programs, modernizing
treatment services and making them more widely available, financial
support for youth intervention programs, more money for police
agencies to investigate and prosecute drug crimes, ramping up the
RCMP's drug unit programs, and increased funding for the Canada
Border Services Agency.

Some details of the plan were in the last federal budget, including a
breakdown of the overall funding to distribute about $10 million to
prevention initiatives, $32 million for treatment for drug addicts,
and $22 million to crack down on production and dealers.

"Solving Canada's drug problem will require a huge effort. We won't
get clean overnight but we will put our country on the road to
recovery," said Harper.

Even before it was made public, the government's plan drew darts and
laurels from all sides of the drug debate. Liberal and New Democratic
Party critics said the government is embracing a U.S.-style "war on
drugs" that treats drug abuse as more of a criminal matter than a
health issue. Liberal MP Keith Martin, a physician, and NDP MP Libby
Davies both said in interviews earlier this week that the government
should focus more on harm-reduction programs, such as safe injection
sites and needle exchanges.

The Vancouver safe injection site, Insite, was in danger of closing
after its exemption from federal drug laws was scheduled to end at
the end of this year. This week, however, the government gave the
facility a six-month reprieve, extending its exemption to June 30, 2008.

Prime Minister Harper admitted on Thursday that he remains skeptical
about the program and said that even if it's effective, it's a
"second-best strategy at best."

"If you remain a drug addict, I don't care how much harm you reduce,
you're going to have a short and miserable life," said Harper. He
pledged to continue to study the program and gather the facts on it,
but noted that his government's "tentative conclusion" is that safe
injection sites, if allowed to operate, should operate in concert
with other programs that aim to treat addicts.

Critics of the government said the reprieve for the Vancouver site
was just designed to get the controversy over harm-reduction policy
off the table in time for Harper's drug strategy announcement.

The Canadian Police Association, meanwhile, has expressed support for
the government's get-tough approach to drugs. The organization has
called for stronger legislation and a new system of graduated
consequences to prevent and deter drug use. The group's president,
Tony Cannavino, has called the government's promise to crack down on
illegal drug use and dealers "a cornerstone, because a lot of
violence is related to drugs."