LAWMAKERS SEND MIXED MESSAGE ON METH

In Canada, there are various crimes for which the maximum sentence is
life in prison.

Murder is one. Robbery is another. Selling cocaine and heroin also
carry that judicial possibility.

And now, courtesy of Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, peddling crystal
meth can be added to the list.

However, as argued by Kamloops Conservative MP Betty Hinton and other
critics of the Liberal government's approach to crime, what is missing
is a minimum sentence for those convicted of dealing this horrible
drug.

Minimum sentences do exist in Canada. For example, those convicted of
committing serious firearms offences face mandatory minimum sentences,
pursuant to legislation enacted in 1996.

The problem with extending the maximum sentence for dealing meth to
life in prison from 10 years is that it is all too often justice
window-dressing.

The move has captured the attention of the U.S. media, with Seattle's
KING-TV trumpeting the fact that Canada's stance on meth dealers is
now tougher than that in the U.S.

On paper, perhaps. But not in practise.

As Cotler and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced the new measures
at a press conference recently, neither could think of a single
instance in Canada in which a convicted dealer received the former
10-year maximum.

If judges did not use the 10-year maximum, the obvious question is:
What makes Cotler and Dosanjh believe judges will use the lifetime
maximum?

Cotler replied that the intent of increasing the maximum sentence is
not necessarily about sending dealers to prison for life (or a
facsimile thereof, which in Canada is usually about a decade).

Rather, Cotler said, it's about his Liberal government sending a
message.

Sending a message?

The only message this useless legislation sends is that the federal
government doesn't know what to do when it comes to the addicted and
those who prey on their weakness.

They've sent a mixed message on meth.

Kamloops This Week