METH PRODUCERS GET ANOTHER BREAK FROM DO-NOTHING LIBS

The federal government, when confronted with intense pressure to act
in a particular area, typically falls back on a sure fire way to avoid
responding. They propose to study the problem and make
recommendations. Sometimes a judge or former Premier gets a hefty
contract to look into the issue. Other times there's a royal
commission that guarantees a dozen or so loyal Liberals and several
Liberal friendly law firms will make an awful lot of money for
generating a big report that no one reads.

Health care, Aboriginal issues, education, whatever. The results of
these commissions and inquiries are always the same. Lots of advice.
Lots of gratitude for all the hard work of those involved. Headlines
in the press for a day or two. And not much of anything else. The
report collects dust for a while and then hits the shredder.

But when it comes to issues involving crime and public safety, the
government can't even be bothered to strike one of these bogus
inquiries. Rather, they make it look as though they actually care
what's going on in our neighborhoods by simply raising the maximum
sentence for whatever it is people are demanding something be done
about. Child pornography, street racing, sex with underage
prostitutes, home invasions, and now crystal meth.

It always goes down the same. Some high profile government members
will call a press conference, line up a bunch of police behind them
and introduce the new penalties. Penalties that supposedly prove this
government is serious about stamping out one social ill or another.
The most recent announcement regarding upping the penalty for
producing crystal meth to life in prison is truly laughable.

No one even gets close to the maximum penalty presently in place. The
Supreme Court of Canada, the Law Reform Commission and the federal
government have all ordered judges to impose the least restrictive
sentence where ever possible. People get fines for trafficking heroin,
community service (that they never complete) for sexual assault, and
now, in a sickening display of how far we've fallen, those convicted
of manslaughter are becoming more and more likely to be sentenced to
two years or less. Not jail time - but house arrest!

The federal government has made it clear they don't want people going
to jail and incarceration should always be a last resort only to be
imposed when any other sanction is out of the question. And when jail
time is given, it is to be at the low end of the continuum. And if
that weren't enough, the system has been reconfigured to ensure that
offenders are released as soon as legally possible unless there is an
undue risk to the community. And even then, the system seems quite
willing to play the odds by letting people who warrant secure
surroundings, do their time in halfway houses. It's only a matter of
time till one of them goes for a walk and tragedy strikes again.

The newly announced maximum sentence of life behind bars is proof that
the federal government has no interest in interfering with those who
deal in misery, wasted lives and death. "Drugs are a health issue -
not a criminal matter. Drug dealers have rights too. Just give them
their drugs and everything will be fine." Blah, blah, blah.

Every one knows sentences will continue to be at the low end and jail
time will be an anomaly on that rare occasion where it is actually
imposed. Even then, you can usually cut that number by 70% to get a
good idea of how much time will actually be served.

Hey, maybe the government ought to have a royal commission into that
while we're at it.

John Martin is a Criminologist at the University College of the Fraser
Valley