STALLING DRUG DEALERS

Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski has tabled a private members
bill that would allow police to seize the wheels of dial-a-dope drug dealers.

Jablonski said Bill 207 would also allow drivers' licences to be
yanked for a year.

She tabled the bill in the legislature this week and expects it to be
passed in late May.

"We have seen the problem of illegal drugs growing across the
province," said Jablonski.

"When drivers are curb crawling, looking for people to buy drugs, or
when they use the dial-a-dope system, it impacts traffic safety."

Jablonski said she is targeting dial-a-dope operations, in which
dealers meet their buyers after making arrangements over the phone.

The bill would amend the Traffic Safety Act to allow police to seize
or immobilize vehicles when the driver is charged with trafficking,
said Jablonski. If found guilty in court, the dealer would
automatically lose driving privileges for a year.

The costs of towing, storing and insurance would be billed to the
registered owner of the vehicle.

If the registered owner wasn't dealing drugs, the police could
release the vehicle to that person. The registered owner could also
appeal to provincial court.

Although her fellow MLAs strongly support the bill, Jablonski said
she's worried it could face a legal challenge.

There is a concern, she said, that the bill would duplicate a federal
law that allows police to seize drug dealers' cars.

"They already have the right to seize a vehicle under the Criminal
Code, as a conveyance of illegal drugs," she said. But she said other
provisions in her bill are new.

The provincial government has no control over the Criminal Code,
which is under federal jurisdiction, she said. But it does control
the Traffic Safety Act.

Jablonski believes Bill 207 will give the justice system another tool
in the fight against crime.

"It will definitely slow down drug dealers and perhaps disrupt the
dial-a-dope system. I don't know if it will stop them."

Jablonski said Bill 207 would not affect people charged or convicted
of simple possession of drugs.

Jablonski is known for her landmark bill, passed last year, that
allows parents to force their children into detox facilities.