SENATE SMARTER ON CRIME

Nothing frightens politicians these days like the risk of being seen
as -- shudder -- soft on crime. That's the only explanation for
Liberal MPs' support earlier this year for a Conservative bill that
would impose a mandatory minimum sentence of six months for someone
caught growing as few as five marijuana plants.

Fortunately, senators don't face the same pressures. The Senate
passed an amended version of the crime bill yesterday. It left the
mandatory minimum provisions in place, but raised the threshold to
200 plants. That allows judges to make the decision about jail, based
on the circumstances. There is no point -- and considerable expense
and risk -- in sending a 19-year-old to prison for half-a-dozen
scraggly pot plants.

The Senate amendments also require a cost-benefit review of all
minimum sentence provisions after five years. Mandatory minimum
sentences in other jurisdictions have produced great leaps in prison
populations and no reduction in crime. The government has produced no
studies to justify their expansion here.

The senators' amendments are welcome.