ASSET SEIZURE PROVES A HOT TOPIC

Mayors and councillors pressed provincial cabinet ministers Wednesday to
explain why B.C. has been so slow to hit criminals in their wallets by
seizing illegally acquired property.

"We're not tough enough on major criminals," Courtenay councillor Larry
Jangula told a public safety panel discussion during the Union of B.C.
Municipalities convention.

He pointed to crystal meth lab operators in particular.

"These people have the ability to seriously damage people forever," he
said. "We never hear of maximum sentences. It's common knowledge all across
North America that B.C. is the softest on all drug offences that there is."

Jangula noted existing federal law regulating seized criminal assets has a
major loophole.

"The lawyers have first crack at getting whatever money comes out of that
and often there's nothing left over," he said.

Attorney-General Wally Oppal confirmed the Criminal Code "for some reason"
lets the accused and their lawyers apply to use the assets for reasonable
legal and living expenses.

But he said the province has introduced its own Civil Forfeiture Act to
short-circuit that provision and bar criminals and lawyers from tapping the
money.

Instead it will go to crime prevention and victim assistance.

"The best way to deal with drug dealers is to seize their assets," Oppal
said. "Some of us have been saying that for years. This government listened
to that and responded to that."

The bill hasn't yet become law and Victoria is carefully watching the
status of a similar Ontario law to see if it survives legal challenges.

Oppal said he and others in the justice system have long wondered why
police in B.C. don't seize much property, but added the law may help.

Solitor General John Les applauded local bylaws in Surrey and Abbotsford
that have proved an effective means for shutting down marijuana grow-ops.

Local authorities post inspection notices on suspected grow houses, often
forcing cultivators to quickly move and home owners to undergo expensive
renovations.

"The objective here is to hit them in their pocketbook," Les said, adding
the technique doesn't usually yield charges.

"It means for a lot of these people, crime isn't going to pay any more."

He also applauded successful strategies in places like Maple Ridge and
Mission to tackle the problem of crystal meth.

Oppal also found himself under attack for the Liberal government's move in
its previous term to shut down court houses as a cost-saving measure.

Councillors from Sidney and Langley said their citizens, and in some cases
their police officers, spend too much time commuting to distant court
houses since closures in their communities.

Oppal promised to meet to hear the concerns in detail.