DAY 'IN CONTEMPT' ON PRISON TRANSFER RULING: LAWYER

Public Safety Minister Taken To Court For Blocking Repatriation Of 2
Drug Dealers

Two Canadian drug dealers serving sentences in the U.S. are taking
Canada's public safety minister to court, arguing that denying their
transfers to domestic prisons violates a recent ruling that reined in
his propensity to block repatriation.

Vancouver lawyer John Conroy accused Stockwell Day of "contempt of
court" for refusing to transfer Winnie Lam and Steve Czinege from
California prisons.

The two British Columbians are the latest Canadians imprisoned abroad
whose requests to serve their sentences in Canada have been turned
down -- a trend since the Conservatives came to power in 2006.

"Before, most of the time people would be approved here and the
problem was in the U.S., but now the problem is here," said Mr. Conroy.

In separate applications filed in the Federal Court, Ms. Lam and Mr.
Czinege are seeking a reversal of Mr. Day's refusal on grounds that
they would "constitute a threat to the security of Canada."

In late August, Federal Court Justice Michael Kelen criticized Mr. Day
for using the reason too liberally in denying transfers. But in
mid-September, the minister rejected Ms. Lam's and Mr. Czinege's
applications for the same reason, even though the United States has
already approved both transfers.

Ms. Lam is serving a seven-year sentence for drug smuggling after she
was caught at the Seattle airport with 1,000 ecstasy pills.

Mr. Czinege, a Surrey, B.C., trucker, was convicted after he was
caught trying to smuggle more than 112 kilograms of cocaine into
Canada in the fuel tanks of a truck in 2006. According to a news
report, the drugs were hidden in three duffle bags and had an
estimated value of $1.8 million.

The International Transfer of Offenders Act gives the public safety
minister discretion to reject applicants if they threaten national
security -- an exception that Judge Kelen said should be reserved for
"threats of general terrorism and warfare against Canada or threats to
the security of Canadians en masse."

In his decision, Judge Kelen ordered the minister to reconsider his
"wholly unreasonable" decision to block convicted child molester Arend
Getkate's request to return from a Georgia prison. The government did
not appeal the ruling before the late September deadline.

"When they decided not to appeal, why didn't they say, OK, what other
ones are out there, we need to reconsider them?" asked Mr. Conroy, who
was also Mr. Getkate's lawyer.

Mr. Day's spokesman, John Brent, would not comment on the Lam and
Czinege cases, citing privacy reasons.

"Our government's first priority is protecting the safety and security
of all Canadians," Mr. Brent said in an e-mail. "Be assured that
Minister Day will continue to make the protection of Canadians his
highest priority as he considers the requests of offenders to return
to Canada."

Under the Harper government, the transfer of prisoners from abroad has
declined since the years of Liberal rule. Mr. Day approved 37
transfers from U.S. prisons in 2006-07, by far the lowest number since
1993-94, when the Conservatives were last in power, according to
Correctional Service of Canada statistics.

In refusing Ms. Lam's transfer on Sept. 11, Mr. Day relied on his
discretion to declare her a threat to national security, based on
evidence she had ties to a criminal organization and "that there is no
reason to believe that her criminal activity would not continue upon
transfer to Canada." Mr. Day gave similar reasons for denying Mr.
Czinege's transfer on Sept. 8.

In a 2006 column in the Penticton Western News, a newspaper in his
B.C. riding, Mr. Day wrote of his disgust with transferring drug
dealers from the U.S.

"B.C. dope dealers busted in the U.S. are demanding to be transferred
back to cosier Canadian jails and reduced prison times," he wrote.
"Memo to drug dealer: I'm no dope. .. Enjoy the U.S."