GETTING TOUGH ON CRIME

A Liberal MP Says the Conservative Plan Will Only ADD Crime Problems

(PETERBOROUGH) Dubbed the "Cottonelle Crusader" by Peterborough MP
Dean Del Mastro, Ajax-Pickering MP Mark Holland says he's not soft on
crime -- he just prefers the smart approach.

The Liberal MP was in Peterborough Thursday meeting with
representatives from the law, police, and youth services community,
holding a press conference in the morning to talk directly about Bill
S-10, which would impose mandatory sentences for many drug offences.

While mandatory minimum sentences are needed for serious, violent
offenders, he says the Conservative's Bill S-10 will unfairly target
young people and turn first-time offenders into hardened criminals.

"We need to look at community safety councils," he states,
emphasizing prevention.

His plan to tackle crime would be to have these community groups make
plans and get the funding from the federal government rather than
have national strategies that blanket all communities.

He says Bill S-10 won't distinguish between a student who grows a few
plants and a Hells Angels member caught with 200 plants. For the most
serious offences, he's in favour of mandatory sentences.

Sending non-violent first-time offenders to jail is more likely to
breed a hardened criminal than to turn them around, he says, adding
the extra costs of locking more people up means less funding will be
available for programs to help criminals.

Every dollar spent on prevention, he says, saves $11 in correction.

He says the Conservative's approach has been tried in many places and
always failed to make communities safer while draining government budgets.

As far as being the "Cottonelle Crusader," MP Holland says you know
someone is losing an argument when they resort to name calling.

All he's asking for from the Conservatives, he states, is honest
debate and to know what the real cost of their plan is.

MP Holland says the Liberals feel strongly enough about this bill
that they're willing to take it to an election.

Local Liberal candidate Betsy McGregor says she's working on setting
up local councils right now, emphasizing the need is to be tough and
smart on crime.

MP Del Mastro accuses the Liberals of flip-flopping on their
position. He said in a media release that he's disappointed, but not
surprised, that his Liberal colleagues are against seeing people who
sell drugs to children or distribute date rape drugs getting just
sentences for their crime.

He said the bill would bring in mandatory minimum penalties for
serious drug offences, like dealing drugs for organized crime or when
a weapon is involved.