OPPOSITION PUTS UP MAJOR ROADBLOCK TO KEY CRIMINAL
REFORMS

The political stalemate in the House of Commons is getting out of
hand. Legislative reforms at the heart of the Conservatives' agenda
- -- reforms supported by a large number of Canadians -- are being derailed.

This week the opposition parties ganged up to gut legislation that
would have obliged judges to put more crooks behind bars.

Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs forced changes to Bill C-9 that
would still allow the courts to impose house arrest rather than jail time.

The legislation, a key part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's
crime-fighting agenda, has thus being watered down to the point of uselessness.

As Justice Minister Vic Toews rightly points out, the change means
that serious crimes such as arson, break-and-enters and robbery will
continue to qualify for house arrest rather than prison.

It is clear most Canadians are fed up with the current, kid-glove
approach to crime. And it is simply not good enough that victims of
crime in Canada often seem to wind up suffering more than the
perpetrators [see letter opposite].

The opposition MPs argue that putting more people in jail will
require us to build more jails, but won't stop crime. Huh? It's tough
to pull off a heist from a jail cell.

Harper can ignore the MPs' vote and push to get the complete,
unamended bill through the House. It risks being defeated, but at
least we'll know whom to blame.