TOUGH TERMS NO 'QUICK FIX'

The Liberal government is resisting pressure to impose tough mandatory
prison terms for culprits caught running pot-growing operations in the wake
of a botched drug raid that took down four Mounties. Thrust into public
policy crisis mode over plans to decriminalize marijuana, Liberal MPs are
sending mixed messages on how to proceed with the contentious issue. But
two key cabinet ministers insisted yesterday imposing minimum mandatory
sentences isn't the best way to crack down on growers.

"Let's not delude ourselves into thinking that the mandatory minimum is the
quick fix, the easy answer, the magic bullet," said Public Safety Minister
Anne McLellan.

"There is no such thing in this area and generally in the criminal law
mandatory minimums are not a quick fix."

OPEN TO AMENDMENTS

Pleading for a grieving period, McLellan said she's open to "significant
and potentially wide-ranging" amendments from a parliamentary committee
studying the decriminalization bill.

But she rejected calls by some Grits to legalize pot in a bid to bite the
profit margins of illegal growers often linked to organized crime.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler defended the move to decriminalize pot,
however, and stressed the bill cracks down on those who grow and sell it
through increased maximum penalties. But he rejected calls for mandatory
minimum jail terms.

"Unfortunately this tragedy may be a kind of wake-up call for addressing
this scourge," he said.