JUDICIAL OVERKILL

Safe communities act unlikely to work in the NWT

Illegal drugs and bootlegged booze can destroy lives, rip families
apart and devastate neighbourhoods.

A suspected drug house at Trail's End operated for nearly three years
before police swooped in during the early morning hours of May 2.
Neighbours called RCMP dozens of times. Police visited the home
several times.

But only after the two people who rented the mobile home were arrested
did the problem end.

It makes one wonder: if police can't shut down a suspected crack
house, what will a bunch of quasi-judicial inspectors be able to do?

During the now ended session of the legislative assembly, MLAs began
consideration of a so-called Safe Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.

Championed by Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins and apparently
supported by Justice Minister Brendan Bell, similar laws are already
in place in Yukon, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It would enable
officials to target and shut down residential and commercial buildings
believed to be involved in illegal activities, such as drug dealing,
bootlegging or prostitution.

Since the start of 2005 in Saskatchewan, a team of government
investigators has completed 758 investigations and served 166 eviction
notices.

Of those evictions, four have been challenged in court. Two were
overturned.

Inspectors, most of them former police officers, have the power to get
search warrants, do investigations and take suspects to court.

In a province with a population nearing one million people, it seems
to work.

It's not clear if the Safe Communities Act is practical in a small
territory: the Yukon act is just being put into effect.

We don't believe this law is workable in the NWT. It's like using a
bazooka to kill a flea. In the NWT in 2005, there were 438 drug
offences, ranging from heroin to cocaine and marijuana.

How many crack houses are there in Yellowknife? One or two? Who's
going to do the inspections - city bylaw or RCMP?

Is the justice department going to have to hire special investigators
who travel the territory to look into every report of a crack house,
gambling den or bootlegging operation?

Then there's the issue of civil rights. Justice Minister Bell says he
isn't concerned about "infringing on the rights of known drug dealers"
but he should be.

Every time you step on someone's rights, the closer you get to a
police state where freedom comes in second place.

MLAs' hearts might be in the right place, but their heads aren't.

If they're so concerned about drugs, put more money into policing and
enforcing the Criminal Code so officers can respond to each and every
complaint of a drug house.