GANG-RELATED SHOOTINGS SPARK COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The recent slew of gang-related shootings has many in the Lower
Mainland concerned. 12 shootings in 16 days have claimed the lives of
six people.

On Friday, February 6th, just after four pm Kevin LeClair, 26, was
shot down in his truck in the parking lot of a busy Langley mall. He
later died in hospital becoming Metro Vancouver's 11th homicide of the
year. Another victim, Nicole Marie Alemy, age 23, was gunned down in
her car February 16th in Surrey while her four-year-old son watched
from the backseat. The car continued moving, until a man driving
through the same intersection witnessed the vehicle rolling unmanned
down the street, got out of his truck and ran towards the new Cadillac
CTS and reached in the shattered window, unable to reach the shifter,
he steered the car into a bush.

Citizens of the GVRD showed their support for tougher stances on gang
criminal activity at a rally on Sunday, February 22nd at the Central
City Plaza in Surrey, spearheaded by Paul Hillsdon, 19, who ran for
City Council in 2008 and Trevor Loke, also 19 years old, BC Green
Candidate for Surrey-Newton. Many prominent politicians and family
members touched by gang violence attended the rally, which was the
first step in breaking the silence on gang violence.

"We won't tolerate this anymore-our community is better than letting
this continue. Hearing [about] more shootings everyday has disturbed
me, and I want to fight back," stated Loke on his blog.

At the rally and in the media, many ideas are being offered about the
different methods to combat the immense amount of gang activity and
violence prevalent in the Lower Mainland. Some believe that the
legalization of marijuana would take away valuable profits in the drug
trade which the criminals rely on for their income. Surrey Mayor
Dianne Watts proffered the idea of a parents' hotline, where parents
who suspect their children are being pulled into gang affiliations
would have a safe place to talk about their concerns and ways they can
curb their children's involvement in gang activity. Many are calling
for police, court and the Crown to step up with tougher sentencing and
higher conviction rates.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tories introduced two new bills
Thursday and Friday. The first seeks to make any gang-related killing
a first-degree murder charge and the second seeks to attach mandatory
sentences for serious drug crimes.