TOUGHER SENTENCES COULD CLOG COURTS: JUDGE

EDMONTON - The Harper government runs the risk of clogging Canada's
justice system and increasing costs with its move towards tougher
criminal sentences and fewer conditional sentences, says one of
Alberta's top legal minds.

Court of Queen's Bench Chief Justice Allan Wachowich also said few
people know it, but criminals often dislike receiving conditional
sentences -- which includes "house arrest" or other non-jail
penalties -- because they have to serve the full time of the sentence imposed.

"A lot of the prisoners will say, 'I'll take six months in jail
because they can get time off for good behaviour. ... I'm outta there
in three months. Three months in jail is a lot better than 16 months
under a conditional sentence.' "

On Thursday, the federal Tories introduced legislation that would
prevent those convicted of a multitude of offences -- including
crimes such as attempted murder, sexual assault with a weapon and
cattle theft -- from serving conditional sentences. They also
introduced another bill that would impose mandatory minimum sentences
for various gun-related crimes.

Wachowich has not yet read the legislation but said studies have
shown that when a government introduces mandatory minimum sentences,
the accused are more likely to enter not-guilty pleas which take much
longer to play out. "That clogs the system," he said.

The government's decision to move away from house arrest-type
measures also means more prisons will have to be built and more
prisoners will have to be housed and fed. "People have to start to
think about the cost."

Wachowich said he will apply the law, whatever it might be, but
people have to understand the consequences of the proposed changes.
"Now that they've brought the legislation forward it should be
debated thoroughly," he said.

However, Alberta Justice Minister Ron Stevens praised Ottawa for
responding to a public desire to get tougher on crime.

"People have been going home and watching television on big-screen TV
rather than going to jail, and people say 'that's just not right,' "
Stevens said.

"We've been asking the federal government to do this for years and
so, candidly, we're absolutely delighted," he said. "It's a
reflection that the federal government has recognized that the
public's confidence in the justice system has been dropping."

Stevens said conditional sentencing is appropriate for minor crimes
but needs to be "severely curtailed" with respect to serious offences.

Liberal justice critic Bruce Miller said each crime is different and
this federal legislation will restrict judges in their
decision-making abilities.

"Conditional sentencing was a tool available to judges to look at
every situation on its own merits," Miller said. Both the federal and
the provincial Tories "think it's good politics to sound tough, but
it has no application in reality."

Maureen Collins, executive director of the Edmonton John Howard
Society, said there's no solid evidence to prove tougher sentences
result in less crime.

"If the goal is punishment and retribution, they're probably on the
right track," Collins said. "If the goal is, and the desire of the
Canadian population is we want safe communities and we want to reduce
the impact of crime, then the dollars are better spent on dealing
with some of the root causes of crime."

Those causes include drug addictions and frustration over poverty, she said.

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

- - On Jan. 30, 2003, Morinville school teacher Tammy Iftody was given
a two-year conditional sentence for dangerous driving causing death.
Iftody, 32, consumed six alcoholic drinks at a Vegreville wedding
before driving her SUV at least 66 kilometres in the wrong lane. She
crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by Kristen Wallis, 20.

- - On May 13, 2005, Fonda Johnston received a two-year conditional
sentence for dangerous driving causing bodily harm. Johnston struck
Geoffrey Ramey, 31, as he was crossing Whyte Avenue in a marked
crosswalk on Sept. 14, 2003. Ramey died as a result of his injuries.

- - Ricky Richardson, 58, was given an 18-month conditional sentence
after being convicted of dangerous driving causing death in January.
Richardson lost control of his black Corvette and struck Irene
Nicholson as she was walking on the sidewalk near 137th Avenue and
Fort Road in August 2004.