TORIES CRIME BILL DRAWS REACTION FROM MP

While local police shed little light on a long crime bill being rolled
out by the Conservative government, MP Alex Atamanenko has a number of
reasons why the "tough-on-crime agenda" doesn't work.

New criminal justice changes included in a 110-page omnibus bill
tabled in the Commons affects nine pieces of existing legislation
including drug laws, youth sentencing, anti-terrorism measures, the
pardons system, detention of refugees, parole and house arrest.

"What they've done is put all these bills together, rather than going
at them one by one so basically we have a choice here to vote for all
or nothing and that's wrong," said Atamanenko.

"There are some provisions in these bills that are acceptable but a
lot of them aren't."

Corrections Canada estimates the cost of the system will increase to
$3 billion this fiscal year from $1.6 billion in 2006 when Stephen
Harper 's Conservatives took power.

The push for the bill that's coined the "safe streets and community
act," he says, isn't necessarily justified since crime rates have
declined steadily for the past decade.

"The consensus is crime rates are going down and what this is going to
do is stuff our prisons full of people and we're going to have to
build more prisons," said Atamaneko. "It also takes away these
mandatory minimum sentences, it takes away discretion from judges for
other measures that have been successful in the past."

While Canada moves in this "tough-on-crime" direction, some of our
neighbours south of the border are attempting to replace harsh minimum
sentencing with more parole and house arrest options.

Though some of the system changes clearly would have an impact on
local enforcement, Trail RCMP doesn't want to gush to soon.

"Any time any government poses any changes, they're obviously done
because the government feels that it will be to the benefit of society
and ultimately that's what we do as police officers, we're here to
protect society," said Trail RCMP Cpl Dave Johnson. "But, ultimately,
until it becomes the law of Canada, I don't want to be anti-political
but it's really none of my concern as a police officer. As a citizen,
I have my own opinions."

Though local police concentrate much effort on cracking down on
marijuana grow operations, Johnson would not say whether he believes a
proposed harsher penalty on possession and production of drugs will
deter people from criminal activity.

"Any time we're given the ability to increase the safety of a victim
in any crime, well then absolutely we're going to be in favour of
that," he said, pointing to the bill change that would give new powers
for police when release conditions are broken. "Not knowing what those
changes are going to be and having a slight idea of what is proposed
and what actually comes out the other end as legislation, again, I'm
not going to speculate on it."