$1 BILLION ADDITION BOLSTERS LAW-AND-ORDER AGENDA

Tories ADD More Police, More Border Guards, Keep Gun Registry
Alive

The Harper government bolstered its much-anticipated law-and-order
agenda yesterday with the biggest financial infusion in recent history
for extra policing, border security, anti-crime measures and help for
victims of crime.

The government committed about $1 billion in new money over two years
for about 20 initiatives.

The measures include hiring 1,000 more RCMP officers, increasing the
number of border guards and arming them with guns, and expanding an
existing border strategy to identify security threats and help
"low-risk" travellers move more freely.

The government set aside $161 million for the Mounties to focus on
things such as fighting drugs, corruption and gun smuggling, and $37
million more to upgrade their crumbling training facility in Regina to
handle new recruits.

The Conservatives had promised the RCMP funding would be covered by
savings from scrapping the controversial long-gun registry, which
still exists and cannot be eliminated without a vote in Parliament.

The federal budget makes no mention of eliminating the registry and
the money for the RCMP will be provided through new funding.

Yesterday's budget also does not include an election promise to spend
about $80 million annually to negotiate cost-share agreements with the
provinces to enable cities and towns to hire 2,500 more police officers.

Canadian Professional Police Association president Tony Cannavino said
he is nonetheless pleased with the financial blueprint because of its
strong commitment to fighting crime.

"It shows that the government is really determined," said Mr.
Cannavino, adding he is confident that money for policing will be
provided after the government negotiates with the provinces.

In the budget, the Conservatives pledged to give crime victims money
and "a more effective voice" in the justice system. They will receive
$26 million over the next two years for services such as travelling to
parole hearings and other undisclosed projects that could include
hiring an ombudsman to field victims' complaints with the system.

The Conservatives set aside $15 million to expand the national DNA
databank to include more offenders. The database allows police to
match the hair, saliva and blood samples of known offenders with DNA
found at crime scenes.

The budget also pledged to park an undisclosed amount of money to
expand prisons, to reflect a Conservative plan to put more people in
jail and keep them there longer.

Another $20 million over two years will be spent on helping young
people stay away from crime.

The money set aside for community crime prevention pales in comparison
to big-ticket items, such as $303 million over two years on the border
strategy.

A large portion of the money -- $172 million -- will go toward a
voluntary system for land border crossings that captures information
about upcoming travellers -- such as the cargo that commercial
truckers are carrying -- so they can move more quickly through
checkpoints.

The government also intends to expand a pilot project at the Vancouver
airport that allows travellers to apply for security clearances and
then clear customs on a self-serve basis after passing through an
eye-scanner.

Border guards will receive a separate cash infusion of $101 million
over two years. The money will hire about 400 more guards to double up
staff at "work-alone posts" that dot the Canada-U.S. land border.
Thousands more guards will be trained to carry guns as they face a
growing threat of firearms, explosives and drugs, the government says.

The Conservatives will also put $73 million into securing the
financial system through initiatives such as expanding efforts to root
out money laundering and counterfeiting.