TORIES TO TABLE NEW CRIME BILL EARLY IN AGENDA

OTTAWA -- The Harper government will begin its legislative assault on
crime on Tuesday -- with the introduction of a law-and order bill
expected to draw fierce criticism from the opposition parties.

The move will come on the second day of the fall session of
Parliament, as MPs return to their seats to focus on priorities such
as the economy, crime, democratic reform, copyright protections, and a
Canada-U.S. perimeter security deal.

Among the most contentious of the issues will be criminal reform
legislation.

On Sunday, a memo was circulated to the Conservative caucus revealing
that "comprehensive legislation" -- the Safe Streets and Communities
Act -- will be tabled Tuesday.

"It is clear that there is still far too much crime in cities and
communities across Canada," said the memo, leaked to the media.

"These tough new actions will hold criminals more accountable, help
improve the safety and security of individuals, and extend greater
protection to the most vulnerable members of society and victims of
terrorism."

"Canadians want and deserve to be able to feel safe in their homes and
communities and that means that dangerous criminals need to be off our
streets."

The memo said that by moving quickly on the issue, the Conservative
government is "fulfilling its promise to better protect families and
standup for victims."

Opposition parties are expected to strongly argue against the
legislation -- noting that Statistics Canada has found that there is a
consistent downward trend in violent crime. Moreover, they will argue
that the Tories are leading the country toward a massive societal
shift in which prisons are overcrowded and costly -- an experiment they
say has proven disastrous in the United States.

In the last minority Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's
Tories introduced a range of crime bills which withered -- in part
because they lacked the support of the opposition parties.

In the recent election campaign, Harper promised to bundle those 12
bills as omnibus legislation if reelected and ensure passage within
100 sitting days of the new Parliament's launch.

Harper was re-elected with a majority, meaning he now has the power to
pass the legislation which is expected to be pulled together in a
handful of thematic omnibus bills.

It wasn't clear Sunday how much of the bill to be tabled Tuesday will
incorporate the 12 bills held over from the last Parliament.

Overall, the new measures coming forward this fall will include ending
house arrest of criminals, ending automatic pardons for serious
crimes, cracking down on organized drug crime, protecting children
from sexual predators and strengthening citizens powers to defend
themselves and their property.

Under the Tories' justice agenda, judges will lose discretion when it
comes to handing down sentences, and the country's prisons will be
filled with more inmates who will spend more time there.

In July, Statistics Canada reported that there were fewer homicides,
attempted murders, serious assaults and robberies across Canada in
2010.

In 2009, there were 801 attempted murders in Canada, but 2010 saw only
693, making last year's rate the lowest for this offence in more than
30 years.

As in the past, most crimes (79 per cent) were non-violent. That
includes theft under $5,000, mischief and break-ins.

At the time, the figures were downplayed by Justice Minister Rob
Nicholson's spokesman, who said the Tories "don't use these statistics
as an excuse not to get tough on criminals."

But Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett said the government's toughon-crime
agenda is divorced from the reality of crime in Canada.

"The Harper government's ideologically driven crime agenda is
outrageously costly and completely out of line with crime in Canada,"
she said.

"The crime rate is constantly going down, but the expenditures from
prisons are going through the roof."

Canada's federal corrections system cost nearly $1.6 billion per year
when the Conservatives took power in 2005-06, but the projected cost
for 2011-12 has increased to $2.98 billion per year, according to
Corrections Canada.

By 2013-14, the cost of the federal penitentiary system will have
almost doubled to $3.147 billion, according to budget
projections.

Crimes committed in Canada were down five per cent in 2010 according
to Statistics Canada. The most serious crimes are also down six per
cent.

However, sexual assaults, use of a firearm, criminal harassment, child
pornography and drug offences have increased slightly.

The relevance of these numbers is expected to fuel the parliamentary
debate in coming weeks -- with the governing Tories saying they tell
just part of the story.