HARPER CHIDES PROVINCES OVER ANTI-CRIME BILL

'Constitutional Responsibilities' To Help Keep Streets Safe

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his contentious
anti-crime measures aren't "terribly expensive" and provinces such as
Ontario and Quebec that complain about having to foot the bill for
the added costs to their prison systems should accept their
"constitutional responsibilities" to help keep streets safe.

Mr. Harper made the comments in an interview broadcast Sunday on the
debut of Global TV'S The West Block, a new political affairs show
hosted by veteran journalist Tom Clark.

"There's constitutional responsibilities of all governments to
enforce laws and protect people," Mr. Harper said.

"I think the people of Ontario and Quebec expect that their
government will work with the federal government to make sure we have
safe streets and safe communities."

The Safe Streets and Communities legislation will send many more
Canadians to prison.

The bill was tabled in September and the federal government promises
to have it passed within 100 sitting days of the June 6 start of this
Parliament. Among the elements of the bill are mandatory minimum jail
time for drug offences, including marijuana, and for incest and
sexual exploitation of children.

There are also measures that assist victims of terrorism, prevent the
exploitation of vulnerable immigrants, get tough on repeat young
offenders, end house arrest for property and other serious crimes and
eliminate pardons for violent and repeat offenders.

The government says the bill will cost the federal treasury an extra
$78.6-million over five years, but it hasn't said how much it will
cost provinces, which also operate jails. Last month, Ontario Premier
Dalton Mcguinty said t he Harper government should pay for costs to
build provincial prisons and hire staff because of the crime bill.

"It's easy for the federal government to pass new laws dealing with
crime," Mr. McGuinty said. "But if there are new costs associated
with those laws that have to be borne by the taxpayers of Ontario, I
expect the feds will pick up that tab."

Quebec Justice Minister Jean-marc Fournier flatly said his province
"will not pay" for the extra prison costs, and he was sharply
critical of the proposed legislation for using increased
incarceration to deal with a societal problem.

On the Global TV show, Mr. Clark asked the Prime Minister to respond
to the concerns of some Canadians about the costs of the crime
crackdown and how provinces worry about those costs.

"The crime measures we're proposing are overwhelmingly supported by
Canadians," Mr. Harper said.

"They're not, in our judgment -- we put the numbers before Parliament
- -- they're not terribly expensive. They obviously cost some money,
but compared to the cost of having dangerous and repeat offenders
walk the streets, they're pretty modest."

"And this is a fundamental responsibility of government to make sure
there's a criminal justice system that does what it can to protect
people. And all the data I've seen has suggested that whether it's
Quebec, Ontario or anywhere else in the country, these measures are
popular, they're supported."

It was when asked directly by Mr. Clark if he was saying Ontario and
Quebec would need to "pay up" that Mr. Harper said they should fulfil
their constitutional responsibility to protect people and help the
federal government in that task.

Among the highlights of what Mr. Harper had to say on other subjects:

Europe: Mr. Harper said the continent, battling a debt crisis, might
already have entered a recession. He said there are positive signals
of progress. "I think everybody has been clear to the Europeans that
this is really starting to affect global confidence and global growth
and it simply must be resolved."

Social programs: Mr. Harper was asked by Mr. Clark if he expects the
"end of the European welfare state" as those nations slash social
spending to rein in their debts. "I think in some cases, there is
probably some evidence that those have been excessive and that
problem's going to have to be tackled. But I don't think there's
going to be an abandonment of the concept of social services or the
social safety net."

His greatest accomplishment: Mr. Harper said all prime ministers like
to have some kind of "legacy project" that defines them, but that his
greatest accomplishment has focused on economic management. "There's
all kinds of things we've done, and all kinds of things I hope to do.
But our success to date is that we have so far steered Canada through
the worst global recession since the Second World War, in the best
position of any advanced country."