CONSERVATIVES CRACK DOWN ON DRUG DEALERS, YOUNG OFFENDERS

Tories Propose Changes to Tackle Crime in Canada

The minority Conservative government has been busy introducing new
legislation in Ottawa lately, targeting crime in several areas.

An anti-crime bill introduced on Monday proposes the creation of
mandatory prison terms in Canada for people convicted of trafficking
illicit drugs.

The bill recommends:a one-year mandatory prison sentence for dealing
drugs while using a weapon or violence, or dealing for organized crime;

- - two-year mandatory prison sentences for dealing drugs such as
cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine to youth, or for dealing those
drugs near a school or area frequented by youth;

- - two-year mandatory prison sentences for running a marijuana grow
operation of at least 500 plants;

- - increasing the maximum penalty for cannabis production from seven to
14 years imprisonment;

- - to allow judges to exempt certain offenders from mandatory prison
terms on the condition they complete a court drug treatment program.

"We're focusing in on the worst criminals," Abbotsford MP Ed Fast
said.

Another bill, also introduced this week, proposes changes to the Youth
Criminal Justice Act, intended to target young offenders who pose a
high risk to re-offend.

"For too long, our youth criminal justice system has been a revolving
door, often without meaningful consequences for young offenders," said
Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission MP Randy Kamp.

Fast agreed.

"Too many young offenders know they can break the law with
near-impunity without facing serious consequences," said Fast.

"Our legislation provides new tools to ensure that young offenders who
commit serious crimes are held accountable to their communities and to
their victims."

The proposed amendments to the act would allow judges to "impose
punishments with the objective of deterring and denouncing [the
offender's] actions," and would change the current pre-trial detention
provisions in the YCJA to make it easier to hold youth in custody [who
pose a danger to the public] before their trial dates.

Some crime experts say the strict prison sentences for drug dealers
will only hike the price of drugs and target smaller drug operations,
allowing organized crime to fill the gap.

"All kinds of self-proclaimed experts have their opinions," Fast
said.

"You know who doesn't get listened to? The victims."