LAWYERS ASSAIL HARPER'S WAR ON DRUGS

EDMONTON -- The Harper government's promise of mandatory jail
sentences for drug pushers is repugnant electioneering, says a group
of criminal trial lawyers.

The federal government knows through its own studies that mandatory
minimum sentences don't work, Brian Hurley, president of the Edmonton
Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, said Friday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who unveiled plans Thursday for minimum
sentences, is smart enough to know it, Hurley said.

Harper announced his government will introduce legislation this fall
to impose minimum jail terms for making and trafficking dangerous
drugs, such as methamphetamines and cocaine.

"To do something as significant as to change the Criminal Code in a
way you know is not going to be helpful, for pure electioneering, is
just repugnant," Hurley said.

He said studies for Corrections Canada have shown that imposing
minimum terms can harden small-time criminals, making them a bigger
danger when they get out of prison.