NO PLANS FOR LEGAL POT

LONDON, Ont.(CP) -- The federal justice minister addressed corporate
accountability and slammed the door on legalizing marijuana during a
wide-ranging address to the Canadian Bar Association annual meeting yesterday.

"Canada has no plans to legalize marijuana," Martin Cauchon said during his
address.

"I believe endorsing marijuana use might inflict harm on society and lead
to greater problems."

But Cauchon said the country's drug laws deserve a closer look, and he
didn't rule out decriminalizing marijuana.

"I believe it's time for an open discussion about modernizing the criminal
justice system in this regard."

Many of Cauchon's Montreal constituents have told him simple possession
should not lead to a criminal record, which denies access across borders
and makes it hard to find a job, he said.

That issue will be part of a wide-ranging round-table discussion Cauchon
plans this fall as "a stock-taking" of Canada's criminal laws.

He also addressed the recent corporate accounting scandals in American
companies Enron and WorldCom that sent shockwaves through the investment
community.

He said his government will consider legislation if needed, but he stressed
such corporate meltdowns have not happened here.

But after Cauchon raised the issue yesterday, the Canadian Alliance quickly
pounced on issues of credibility in the Liberal government.

In a release, Canadian Alliance MP Vic Toews pointed out that the scandals
in the United States came at the same time as questions about several
Liberal ad contracts.

"Instead of pointing fingers at the private sector, the justice minister
and the Liberal government should be trying to set the example and should
be rooting out the corruption in their own ranks," said Toews, the
Alliance's justice critic.

A number of deals under a federal sponsorship program - in which Ottawa
used Liberal-friendly communications firms as middlemen to buy federal ad
space at trade shows and sports and cultural events - have been found suspect.

In his address, Cauchon also touched on his priorities as minister of
justice, a portfolio he took over in January.

They include a continued examination of child pornography laws and a look
at family law reforms.