FEDS TABLE CRIME BILL DESPITE OUTCRY

Justice: Crackdown on Crime to Cost Time, Money: Critics

OTTAWA -- A sweeping omnibus crime bill tabled Tuesday that seeks to
crack down on young offenders, drug dealers and sexual predators is
under fire from critics -- who argue it's a waste of time and money
since crime rates are on the wane in Canada.

The bill, dubbed the "Safe Streets and Communities Act," comprises
nine individual justice bills that died during the previous
parliamentary session because the then-minority Tory government could
not push them through.

The new legislation will include measures to protect children from
sexual offenders by setting mandatory minimum penalties, will target
organized drug crime and crack down on young offenders, said Justice
Minister Rob Nicholson, accompanied by representatives from victims
rights groups in Brampton, Ont.

The legislation also will remove the option of house arrest for those
who have been convicted of serious violent and property crimes, such
as sexual assault, human trafficking, arson, break-and-enter,
child-luring and kidnapping, he said.

"Since coming into office, our government has accomplished a great
deal when it comes to cracking down on crime and better protecting
Canadians," he said.

"But we know more needs to be done. Canadians want and deserve to
feel safe in their homes and their communities."

The government has vowed to pass the bill within the first 100
sitting days of the new Parliament, which began Monday.

The opposition has promised to oppose it, citing Statistics Canada
data that suggest crime is actually going down in this country as
well as U.S. studies that conclude locking people up for longer
doesn't necessarily work. With their majority, however, the
Conservatives no longer need the opposition's support.

The bill will also heap additional costs on provinces, Comartin said,
as provincial institutions house more prisoners for minor drug crimes.

Comartin said that he was happy to see provisions in the youth crime
bill that give the courts more ability to keep violent offenders
behind bars in pre-trial custody.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae slammed the legislation, suggesting
the legislation has more to do with the government's "obsession" with
the "symbolism" of denouncing crime than with improving public safety.

Catherine latimer of the john howard society, a group dedicated to
effective crime responses and the rights of offenders, also raised
concerns about the bill, including the potential for overcrowding in
prisons, the cost to provinces, territories and taxpayers and the
tight time frame the government has set for passing the legislation.

"We think it will endanger corrections workers and inmates and
compromise rights and not promote good corrections and undermine
principles of justice and have a disproportionately harsh impact on
some of the most vulnerable members of our society," she said.

- -- With a file from Jordan Press