MINISTER CONSIDERS NEW LOOK AT LEGAL SYSTEM

Questions Effort Spent On Minor Marijuana Cases

Canada's justice minister says it may be time to rethink the country's
approach to crime and punishment, with a view to reducing prosecutions of
minor crimes, like marijuana possession, and easing pressures on legal aid.

Martin Cauchon also told the Canadian Bar Association yesterday that while
the current legal aid system doesn't provide adequate access to the courts
for many, he wouldn't say the system is in crisis. He said he would prefer
looking at reforming the criminal law as a possible solution to legal aid
woes before spending more money on the problem.

As part of a national review of the justice system, Cauchon said Canadians
should ask if they are too quick to resort to criminal charges as a means
of correcting society's ills.

Cauchon told the bar association's annual meeting he will chair a
discussion during a meeting of provincial and territorial justice ministers
next month on whether the time has come for a justice system review.

It would be the first since Jean Chretien was justice minister 20 years ago.

While the traditional wisdom has been that deterring crime depends largely
on the severity of punishment facing the person who gets caught, it's time
to reassess whether precious resources should continue to be poured into
prosecuting relatively minor criminal charges, he said yesterday.

Exercising a measure of restraint and reducing prosecution could be an
important tool for diffusing mounting pressures on legal aid systems,
Cauchon said.

"Canadian society has experienced profound change during the past few
decades, and I believe it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we are
satisfied with the overall functioning of our criminal justice system," he
said in a speech at the Hilton London.

"For example, as a society we must question our motivation when we devote
so many of our precious legal resources to the prosecution of cannabis
offences.

"Do these prosecutions improve the safety of our communities?

"Please don't misunderstand me -- Canada has no plans to legalize
marijuana," he said. "I believe endorsing marijuana use might inflict harm
on society and lead to greater problems.

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

The timing of Cauchon's comments was interesting for two reasons. They came
one day after an Ipsos-Reid poll showed a majority of Canadians believe the
country's courts are not handing out severe enough sentences.

Cauchon's remarks also come a day after the bar association announced it is
scouting around for a test case to press its claim that Canadians have a
constitutional right to legal aid.

The legal aid issue dominated a question-and-answer session. Lawyers tried
to pin him down on whether he's prepared to provide legal aid funding for
civil and family law cases. They also wanted to know whether he agrees
legal aid is a constitutionally entrenched right.

Cauchon did not answer directly. But he said he would be putting the issue
on the agenda at next month's meeting.

"I don't really feel, honestly, that we have the access (to legal aid) we
would like to have," he said.

"We recognize that there are mounting pressures on the legal aid system
which, if left unchecked, could compromise the very integrity of Canada's
justice system."

He declined however to label those pressures "a crisis." He also stopped
short of committing legal aid funding in family and civil law disputes.