DRUG DEALERS SUE DAY OVER JAIL TRANSFERS

Allege Minister ignored ruling on repatriation

OTTAWA - Two Canadian drug dealers serving sentences in the United
States 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
who have been turned down for serving their sentences in Canada -- 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, Lam and 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 Lam and Czinege's applications
for the same reason, even though the United States has already
approved both transfers.

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

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 they 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 Justice 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, the judge 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 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."

In refusing 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." He gave similar reasons for denying Czinege's
transfer on Sept. 8.