SENATE'S MEDDLING

Liberal MPs have been very supportive of the government's
tough-on-crime stance, so it came as quite a shock when the
Liberal-led Senate did everything in its power to quash some of the
key elements of the latest Tory crime bill.

Why? Because that power will soon be gone. Next month the
Conservatives will have more members in the Senate than any other
party, and it's clear those Liberal senators aren't happy about it.
They decided to use their muscle while they could, regardless of the
outcome.

It's unfortunate that the Upper House would use politics to derail
something the public so desperately wants. There was no "sober second
thought" at work in the chamber earlier this month; just disgruntled
Liberal senators and four independents being dogmatic.

"What has happened in their party that we get this disconnect between
the Liberals in the House of Commons and the Liberals in the Senate?"
an exasperated Justice Minister Rob Nicholson asked after the vote.

What, indeed.The senators essentially made significant amendments to
Bill C-15, which is the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The
original bill, for instance, called for a minimum sentence of six
months for anyone found with five or more marijuana plants. The Senate
amendment allows a person to have 200 plants - a virtual growop -
before receiving the minimum sentence.

They also voted to exempt aboriginal offenders from prison time and
made changes to sentences for trafficking. Senators had no business
making such amendments, and when the bill goes back to the House,
which it will, we urge MPs to ignore their handiwork.

The Senate, unelected and unrepresentative, should not try to speak
for taxpayers on this issue. That job belongs to our duly elected MPs.