QUEBEC'S CRIME SCARE

Canadians are repelled by the brutal attack on Michel Auger, a gutsy Montreal crime reporter. His near-fatal shooting last week fuelled fears that biker gangs are out of control. It will be an issue today as Parliament resumes.

Without hyping the media's role in society, it's fair to say that attacking the press - and politicians, judges and police - poses a special threat. It seeks to intimidate society into turning a blind eye to crime.

Someone, somewhere in Montreal's underworld, believes he's beyond the reach of the law. To that, there's only one response.

The Quebec police should marshal whatever resources are needed, to bring Auger's assailants to justice. If that means cranking up the investigative heat on Quebec's drug-driven underworld generally, then so be it. This attack was an outrage, and criminals need to know that the consequences won't be pleasant.

Moreover, Ottawa should make federal police and intelligence resources available. Beyond that, Quebecers should shun politicians and entertainers who court mobsters. A society that winks at crime, or glamourizes it, emboldens it.

What Auger's attempted murder does not counsel is a rewriting of our criminal law. Premier Lucien Bouchard and others want to make it an offence to merely belong to clubs or groups in which some members are criminals. That would gut our right to associate with whomever we please, provided we commit no crime. Criminalizing biker membership may be popular today. But whose club gets criminalized tomorrow?

Just three years ago, Ottawa stiffened sentences for organized criminal activity. Hundreds of Quebec bikers are behind bars today. The laws are having some effect. It's not clear what more can usefully be done, without risking rights.

The Quebec government should focus on enforcing the laws we have, rather than crying for draconian new ones.