DRUG SENTENCES TOO LENIENT: JUSTICE CRITIC

Those charged with drug-related crimes in other parts of Canada are
coming to the Lower Mainland to be tried because of the lenient
sentences handed out, says Vic Toews, justice critic for the federal
Conservative Party

Toews made the comments after touring Columbia Street in New
Westminster Saturday, visiting local businesses and SkyTrain stations

Judges in the Lower Mainland hand out some of the "softer" sentences
in Canada to those charged with producing and selling drugs like
marijuana and methamphetamine and that's contributing to greater
crime, he told the NewsLeader

"The Lower Mainland is notorious for low sentences generally. Even
though we have one Criminal Code, the sentences in the Lower Mainland
are just way out of line with comparable sentences in other parts of
the country," said Toews, who also toured Whalley and Port Coquitlam
on the weekend

"Drug dealers and other criminals often have their charges waived
into the Lower Mainland from other parts of the country in order to
get the lenient sentences.

Toews described the Lower Mainland's drug activity as "appalling."
Prior to last weekend he had not visited many of the region's problem areas

"The proliferation of grow ops, meth labs and MDA labs is really
scary," he said. "I talked to police around the Lower Mainland. It's
quite astounding in terms of what's happening.

Police showed him a single residential block in Port Coquitlam with
25 homes. Seven of them had been used as marijuana grow ops

After visiting the Surrey area of Whalley, Toews compared it to
American inner cities

"I don't think I've seen that kind of deterioration in an urban area
outside of [Vancouver's] Downtown Eastside.

"Basically blocks of buildings were being surrendered to criminals
and the remaining homes being fenced off with barbed wire all around
them. It was quite astounding.

Toews said there were hopeful signs in New West, currently
experiencing problems in the downtown area with the drug trade and homelessness

"With New Westminster there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
They are doing something about it. In New West there's a real energy
to clean things up.

Toews recommends municipal governments get involved. Fire inspectors
and bylaw enforcement officers can be used to help shut down known
drug houses. Police forces can help lower petty crime by having a
uniformed presence in problem areas

He condemned the federal Liberals for not creating stiffer mandatory
sentences for those convicted of drug-related crimes. There's also a
need for more "front-line" resources like police officers, he said.
The government could pay for that if it dropped the federal gun
registry, which has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, he said.