CRACKDOWN TAKES AIM AT GUNS, SENTENCING

Tories Want Mandatory Minimums Imposed And House Arrest Eliminated In
Certain Cases

OTTAWA -- The Conservatives introduced a pair of crime bills yesterday
that will put an estimated 4,000 more people in jail, even though they
watered down their election promises for tougher gun sentences.

The two bills, one to stiffen mandatory minimum sentences for gun
crimes and another to eliminate conditional sentences such as house
arrest for a long list of crimes, were the first parts of a larger,
get-tough-on-crime package promised in the recent election campaign.

Federal justice officials estimate the gun-sentence bill will add 300
to 400 people to the federal prison population, an increase of about 3
per cent. And they estimated as many as 3,800 people a year who would
get conditional sentences now will probably go to provincial jail
instead -- 15 to 20 per cent more inmates.

"It's difficult to predict an exact number," Public Security Minister
Stockwell Day said, arguing that crime might also go down because of
the deterrent effect.

Mr. Day said the federal government will set aside $225-million to
$245-million over five years to build new federal prisons. But critics
said the operating costs will be far higher, and provincial jails and
courts will need much more money.

NDP justice critic Joe Comartin estimated that including other justice
reforms promised by the government, such as tougher drug sentences and
parole conditions, will require an additional $2-billion to $5-billion
to build new prisons and $1-billion a year to operate them.

Both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois said they will probably vote against
the gun-crime sentence bill if it is not amended, while the Liberals
said they will study it.

Justice Minister Vic Toews insisted that mandatory minimum sentences
have reduced crime in the United States, but the chair of the criminal
law section of the Canadian Bar Association, Greg DelBigio, disputed
that, and said the laws limit a judge's discretion to apply the
fairest sentence.

"The best available data seem to suggest that a high sentence does not
deter, and more likely it is the probability of being caught that will
deter," he said. "And you increase the probability of somebody being
caught by increasing resources to police agencies."

Provinces that pushed for tougher sentences, such as Ontario and
Alberta, reacted warmly yesterday.

"I think that Ontarians should take some satisfaction in that their
province fought for many years for tougher gun laws," Ontario
Attorney-General Michael Bryant said. The province still wants tougher
laws for illegal gun possession, and tougher bail conditions for gun
crimes, but hopes they will come later, he said.

The federal gun-sentence bill was, in fact, a softening of the
Conservatives' election promise for far tougher gun sentences. It was
watered down so the law could survive a Charter of Rights challenge in
the courts and get political support in the minority Parliament.

They had promised to extend most one-year minimums for crimes such as
gun trafficking to five years, and that existing four-year minimums
for serious gun crimes such as murder or kidnapping using a gun would
be extended to 10 years. But they introduced a more complicated scheme
that applies lighter sentences except for repeat offences.

Minimum sentences for eight serious gun crimes, such as kidnapping
using a gun, will be toughened from four years to five for a first
offence -- but only if the crime is committed using a restricted
weapon such as a handgun, or by someone linked to organized crime.

Only someone convicted of a serious gun crime three times would face a
10-year minimum sentence.

"Our position in terms of mandatory minimums, I think, reflects the
general principles that we advanced in the election platform, as well
as the reality of taking into account the opposition's position on
these matters," Mr. Toews said.

Civil servants in the Justice Department argued last year that tough
minimums such as those promised by the Conservatives in the election
would be struck down by the courts, and yesterday department officials
acknowledged that the bill was crafted to meet those concerns.

The bill to limit conditional sentences -- where no jail time is
served but conditions such as house arrest or electronic monitoring
are applied -- will still allow judges to issue a suspended sentence
or probation, but federal officials estimated 50 to 70 per cent will
be given jail sentences.

It was supposed to eliminate conditional sentences for "serious,
violent, or sexual" crimes, but will, in fact, apply to all crimes
that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years or more, including fraud,
forgery, and theft of more than $5,000.

That had officials in several provinces, who wanted the changes for
violent crimes, poring over the bill to see if it would add many extra
white-collar prison inmates that they will now have to house in
already crowded provincial jails.