TORIES SEEK U.S. ADVICE ON ILLICIT DRUGS FIGHT; ; AMERICANS 'KEEN'

OTTAWA - Conservative ministers and their aides are consulting with
"keen" U.S. government officials on a new national drug strategy y,
according to internal documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun.

"There have been various senior-level meetings between U.S. officials
and ministers/minister's offices," states a summary of a June 16,
2006, meeting on the Tory drug initiative involving top federal
bureaucrats at nine federal departments and agencies.

"U.S. officials have been keen to discuss drug issues with the
current government."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's 2006 election platform promised a new
drug strategy that would include a national youth awareness strategy.
He also called for mandatory minimum sentences and large fines for
serious drug offenders, including marijuana grow operators and
"producers and dealers of crystal meth and crack."

The Tory government has since then come under criticism for taking a
tough U.S.- style approach to drug crime while downplaying the
so-called "harm-reduction" approach that led to the 2003
establishment of a supervised injection site for Vancouver drug addicts.

The five-page summary, obtained through the Access to Information
Act, noted U.S. "drug czar" John Walters -- a frequent critic of
Canadian drug policy under the previous Liberal government -- was
planning to visit Canada this autumn.

"The meeting was postponed for scheduling reasons. It's anticipated
the meeting will take place early in the new year," said Rodney
Moore, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.

The national drug strategy will be launched in the fall or winter,
the documents note, after which Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada "will need to do outreach with the U.S. and our
like-minded countries."

The strategy will target "a few key priority areas that the current
government could focus and build on," such as "clandestine labs,
marijuana grow operations, [and] synthetic drugs," the document states.

The document also cites plans to toughen laws for drug-impaired
driving. Justice Minister Vic Toews tabled the legislation last
month. Mike Storeshaw, a spokesman for Mr. Toews, said he couldn't
speculate on when the strategy will be announced.

Mr. Storeshaw said the Canada- U.S. meetings make sense, given the
concerns shared by both countries about cross-border crime.
"Obviously, ministers interact with their counterparts
internationally. Americans are important counterparts, especially
when it comes to drug crime," he said.

"Drugs are one of the prime motivators for crime, particularly
cross-border crime."

Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University, said U.S.
interest in Canada's tougher drug plans is no surprise. "The Harper
government favours a U.S.-style approach to drug problems, which is
to lock more people up and don't treat it as a health problem, treat
it as a criminal law problem of morality," Mr. Boyd said.

"That's very much at odds with what's going on in Europe, and there's
really no good evidence to suggest that it's going to be terribly useful."