A FIVE-PART PLAN TO FIGHT GUN CRIME

There are no easy answers to gun and gang violence. We need a
multi-faceted approach -- informed by facts, comprehensive in scope,
inclusive and balanced. After extensive consultations with community
and law-enforcement leaders across Canada, the federal government has
developed a five-point plan to protect our citizens.

First is a handgun ban, which invites the provinces and territories
to rid themselves of illegal killer weapons. There is no right to
bear arms in Canada or in our Constitution -- save for those exempted
or authorized under the law.

Second are tougher laws and penalties, outlined in legislation I
tabled in Parliament last year with the full support of provincial
and territorial attorneys general. This would double the minimum
sentence for the smuggling and trafficking of firearms, as well as
for illegal possession of a loaded handgun in a public place.

This builds upon gun laws enacted in 1995, including 20 mandatory
minimums, which Stephen Harper voted against as a Reform MP when this
issue was not in the headlines.

Ironically, the Conservative leader now calls for 10-year mandatory
minimums for 10 categories of gun crimes. That is wrongheaded as a
matter of policy.

Those who argue that my support of modest and targeted enhancement of
three existing mandatory minimums is inconsistent with my position
that the evidence demonstrates that mandatory minimums are not a
deterrent ignore the other part of my position. While mandatory
minimums may not serve the sentencing objectives of deterrence, they
can serve the sentencing objective of denunciation and the principle
of proportionality in sentencing. In other words, they send a
denunciatory message as to the gravity of the crimes and the
responsibility of the offender, which is appreciated by judges,
prosecutors and the concerned public.

The third component is more effective law enforcement. This includes
new policing initiatives in border and "at risk" communities to
buttress and implement our laws. These include:

- - Plans to enhance the Canada Border Services Agency by hiring more
intelligence officers, analysts and investigators to focus on high-risk areas.

- - A $225-million investment to create a 250-officer RCMP Advanced
Community Safety and Rapid Enforcement Team. This force would focus
on gun crimes and gang activity.

- - A Rural Community Safety Plan. Based on the RCMP's Rural Crime
Prevention Program in Alberta, it would provide resources for
community-based initiatives.

- - The integration of federal and provincial teams to combat gun and
gang violence. Too often, we operate in isolated silos on such areas
as drug-related gun crimes, which cross federal and provincial
jurisdictions. This initiative will create a new template for
integrated prosecution and partnership.

A fourth component of our strategy is a heightened recognition of the
needs and concerns of victims. This includes provision for enhanced
witness protection to guard against intimidation. We will also make
better use of victim impact and community impact statements to give
voice and validation to victims in the criminal justice system.

Fifth is what I would call the "hope and opportunity" package. Again
and again, members of at-risk communities and such groups as the
Toronto Youth Cabinet have stressed that we need to address the root
causes of gun and gang crime. We must prevent crimes before they
occur, rather than emphasize law enforcement after the fact. Such a
culture of prevention would include:

- - Youth employment strategies to provide more meaningful life avenues
than crime. I encountered a graphic illustration of this in North
Central Regina recently, when a former gang member told me he was
painting a house he had previously vandalized.

We also need youth involved in recreational initiatives, such as
basketball leagues, rather than walking the streets at midnight. I
witnessed the crown jewel of this kind of prevention last week in
Saskatoon, which has built a magnificent soccer facility that now
engages 10,000 young people. The formula of "building soccer fields
rather than prisons" is an inspired way of developing this culture of
prevention.

- - Youth and community justice initiatives organized around the Youth
Justice Renewal Strategy. Already, this has cut the youth
incarceration rate by 50% while lowering youth crime itself.

- - The enhancement of the National Crime Prevention Strategy through
support, grants and contributions to governments and organizations --
a partnership approach to combating gun and gang crime.

None of these five components alone can combat gun and gang culture.
But taken together, with partners across Canada, buttressed by
citizens who feel engaged in the effort, they are the best antidote
to the violence and destruction wrought by guns and gangs. This is
how we can reclaim our streets and our neighbourhoods, and protect
our citizens and our communities.