TALE OF TWO SYSTEMS

It's a tale of two justice systems, and the comparison doesn't do
Canada any favours.

The leader of the Abbotsford-based UN Gang, Clayton Roueche, received
a 30-year sentence in Seattle on Wednesday for his part as the
mastermind of a criminal gang that smuggles marijuana and cocaine
between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. He was sentenced in the U.S.
because he was turned back from Mexico in 2008 and arrested at Dallas Airport.

He might have received a sentence of comparative length in Canada,
given his role as a crimnal mastermind. But he would never have
served more than a small portion of it. In the U.S., Roueche will
serve at least 85 per cent of his sentence before being eligible for
parole. Here, he would likely not serve more than one-third of it.

This is a fundamental difference between the two systems. In the
U.S., getting caught and convicted means a criminal is locked away
for a considerable period of time. Whether that acts as a deterrent
to anyone else or not, it definitely keeps that person off the
streets and away from criminal activity.

Here in Canada, many people sentenced for serious crimes do less than
two years in prison. Their stay in jail is similar to maternity leave
- - their old job is waiting for them when they get out.

Langley resident Kyle Gianis, who was involved in smuggling ecstasy
out of the U.S., found out that U.S. justice means something. He,
like Roueche, was caught in the U.S. when his plane was diverted
there. He received a 13-year sentence.

Giannis, who is in his early 20s, had terrorized his Willoughby
neighbourhood (where he owned his own new home) due to police raids,
shootings and at least one attempted execution. The back windows of
his home were shot out from an adjacent property, in an attempt to
kill him or someone else in the home.

Gangsters who deal in illegal substances, benefit from prostitution,
smuggle guns and people and otherwise show their utter disdain for
the public, deserve stiff sentences. We're glad Roueche and Gianis
received theirs in the U.S., and hope that fate awaits others.