GUNS, CRIME BECOMING CRUCIAL ELECTION ISSUES

Fatal shootings in Toronto and Vancouver have moved crime to the
centre of the Jan. 23 federal election debate, but Paul Martin's
Liberal campaign points to statistics showing violent crime is
steadily declining.

In a response to the Conservatives' popular program to increase
minimum sentences for violent crime and restrict plea bargains and
parole, the Liberals cite Statistics Canada figures showing that
violent crime in Canada is down by two per cent in 2004, and has
generally declined since 1993.

But with the number of gun murders in Toronto doubled this past year,
capped by the Boxing Day shooting of a teenage girl in a gang
crossfire, even the NDP have come out swinging against crime. NDP
leader Jack Layton, whose Toronto riding was the scene of the Boxing
Day killing, has announced his own minimum sentence pledge of four
years for possession or sale of restricted weapons. The NDP has also
called for anyone 16 or older charged with gun crimes to be tried as an adult.

The Conservatives, long identified as the law and order party, have
lately tried to show their platform is "not all lock 'em up," says
veteran B.C. MP Chuck Strahl. He points to the party's promise of a
national drug strategy and victim services as well as tougher
sentences for serious crime.

"We're not talking about locking up the addict on the East Side, or
the crystal meth guy who's suddenly hooked," Strahl said Monday. "But
[voters] are saying, when you catch the Hells Angels kingpin in this
thing, throw the book at him."

The Liberals have unveiled what they call "the Canada handgun ban,"
which has drawn criticism for targeting collectors and the few other
legal handgun owners left in Canada instead of tackling gun smuggling
at the border. The Liberals have promised to increase border guards
but not arm them, as both the Conservatives and the NDP say they would do.

The Liberals say Canada already has mandatory minimum sentences of
four years for the most serious offences committed with the use of a firearm.

Strahl replies that the current system frequently sees weapons
charges withdrawn as part of plea bargaining, and judges can impose
sentences concurrently so they have no extra impact on the offender.