LIBERALS UNVEIL TOUGH-ON-CRIME PLATFORM

'Series Of Amendments'

STREETSVILLE - The federal Liberals unveiled a new emphasis on
law-and-order yesterday with a platform aimed at blunting Conservative
charges they are soft on crime.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion promised to support an amended version of
the Tories' plan to introduce "reverse-onus" bail hearings for gun
crimes, forcing those accused of such crimes to prove in court that
they are not a public safety risk. The crime agenda also included
everything from a promise of tough anti-spam legislation to a pledge
of more money to the provinces to hire additional police officers and
Crown attorneys.

But while Mr. Dion said he now agrees with Conservatives' proposal for
reverse-onus bail hearings, he was less clear on whether he will
support other government bills on the issue.

"The Liberal opposition is prepared to offer this government our help
to pass legislation that would make it more difficult for those
arrested on gun charges to be released on bail," Mr. Dion said.

Asked about other Tory law-and-order bills currently stalled in
Parliament by opposition amendments, Mr. Dion said the Liberals were
"very willing to work with the government," but insisted they would
continue to pursue amendments, such as those that have stalled a bill
to impose minimum sentences for gun crimes.

"We have proposed a series of amendments that would make it effective
for the Canadian people," Mr. Dion said. "We are concerned that the
government is more willing to have big headlines in order to pretend
that the government is very, very tough but at the end of the day it
will not be effective."

The Tories have accused Mr. Dion's Liberals of slowing nine government
anti-crime bills in the House of Commons, and the Liberal leader
acknowledged that part of the reason behind his new platform is the
prospect that justice and crime may be a major issue in the next
federal election.

"It's an important issue for the Canadian people, for voters. That's
why I'm proposing a very effective approach ... and we'll have other
proposals to make in the coming weeks."

Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, was also in the Toronto area
yesterday and dismissed the Liberal leader's new emphasis on fighting
crime.

"After spending the last couple of months opposing every
tough-on-crime measure, voting down his own anti-terrorism measures,
bashing the police in the House of Commons, he now wants to be tough
on crime," Mr. Harper said. "I hope it lasts."

Mr. Dion countered yesterday by dismissing the Prime Minister's
measures as unrealistic political posturing. "If he wants to come up
with something more effective to fight crime instead of having
headlines he wants for political reasons ... I am very willing to
cooperate with the Prime Minister."

The Liberal leader lashed out at the Conservatives for delaying many
judicial appointments and charged that they were attempting to "stack
the bench" with right-wing judges.

"This must stop," Mr. Dion said. "I call on the Conservative
government to let the courts do their job and start appointing highly
qualified judges free from ideological interference."

Robert Nicholson, the Justice Minister, said he had doubts about
whether the Liberals were sincere about seeing his "reverse onus" bail
proposal passed into law. "If they're sincere about supporting that
bill, then I'd applaud that. But I'm a bit skeptical at the moment,"
he said.

"I' ve heard this before. They're in favour of the bill, but when it
gets down to business in the House they introduce amendments that
completely gut the bill."

He called the Liberals "born again crime fighters" who are being
forced to match Tory law-and-order measures because of public pressure
on the issue.

Asked about similarities between his platform and the Conservatives'
law-and-order initiatives, Mr. Dion said with a shrug: "If that's the
case then they'll accept all my ideas."