CONSERVATIVES HINT AT SOFTENING CRIME LEGISLATION

OTTAWA -- The minority Conservative government is hinting it will
soften some of its tough-on-crime proposals to capture support from
the opposition parties who control Parliament.

The first test will come this spring with the party's plan to
introduce legislation imposing dozens of new or increased automatic
jail terms for gun-related crime and dramatically curtail house
arrest as a sentence for serious offences.

"I will continue to consult with the opposition parties and we will
bring forward something that the majority of Parliamentarians can
support," Justice Minister Vic Toews said. "Obviously anything we do
will have to be done in consultation with the opposition parties who
control Parliament but we remain committed to fulfilling our obligations."

Toews will outline his party's law-and-order plans today, with a
focus on raising minimum jail terms, in a speech to Canadian police
officers in Ottawa. The speech is expected to set a general tone for
the Conservative justice plan, rather than setting out specifics,
which still have to be negotiated.

In the first legislation to crack down on crime, Toews said he wants
to include stiffer penalties for drug trafficking and gang-related
crime, as well as crimes committed with guns.

"It's clear that drugs, gangs and guns are very closely related and
we hope to address that problem in our legislation," he said.

He also wants a law that dramatically curtails the use of conditional
sentences -- in which offenders serve their terms under house arrest
instead of jail.

In their election platform, the Conservatives proposed 26 new or
increased automatic penalties for crimes involving guns, ranging from
five years to 10 years, including five years for possession of a
loaded, restricted or prohibited weapon, such as a handgun.

There are already almost two dozen automatic jail terms for
gun-related crimes in the Criminal Code.

The opposition, mindful of public concern over increasing gun
violence in Canadian cities, has signalled they are willing to
co-operate with the Conservatives on the condition they soften their measures.