CRIME BILL'S PROGRESS SHOULD BE ARRESTED

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will try to push through a crime law
that could drastically raise our taxes and dole out harsher
punishments for pot smokers than pedophiles.

But Quebec and Ontario have refused to pay for the bad
law.

Together, we can call on every province to ditch the crime bill and
protect Canadians from useless expenses.

Crime rates in Canada have been falling steadily for over a decade,
yet Harper insists on spending our money to lock up our most
vulnerable citizens like youth and aboriginals.

Spending billions on bad crime laws means that our taxes will rise or
valuable social programs like employment insurance will be cut.

Quebec and Ontario have already said they won't pay.

Texas blew millions on a crime fighting system that didn't work, and
now Harper wants to do the same in Canada.

The total crime rate in Canada for serious offences fell by 19 per
cent between 2000 and 2010.

The crime severity rate has fallen six per cent since 1998, which
means that Canadians commit fewer violent crimes like murders,
attempted murders and serious assaults.

There are also fewer break-ins, car thefts, robberies and drunk
driving charges and still Harper wants to spend massive amount of our
money locking up more Canadians.

Creating mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana smokers and putting
kids who make mistakes behind bars is not the way to make Canada a
better place.

Join the call to show Harper that we would rather invest in social
programs that really help Canadians.

Virtually all major authorities have questioned this approach to
stopping crime: Ontario, Quebec, the Canadian Bar Association, Texas,
academics, think tanks, even a Conservative senator.

We've seen this approach fail in multiple U.S. states, but Harper
remains dead-set on wasting our money on a law that will create more
criminals.

Let's call on our premiers to ditch this crime bill and make our
voices heard and ensure our government doesn't waste our money on laws
we don't need and that don't work.

A. M. Helbach

St. Catharines, Ont.