CANADA MUST FIGHT HARDER TO SHUT DOWN METH LABS, MAYOR SAYS

STRATFORD, ONT. -- The mayor of a Southwestern Ontario town plagued
by methamphetamine labs is slamming Health Canada for what he calls a
"hideous record" in keeping track of the chemicals used to make the
addictive drug.

Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson said yesterday there are only a handful
of inspectors in Canada assigned to keep tabs on manufactured
chemicals to make sure they aren't diverted or don't end up being
used in clandestine labs.

Meth labs in Perth County, which encompasses Stratford, a town of
roughly 30,000 people best known for its Shakespeare plays, have been
found in apartment buildings and even on the backs of moving trucks, he said.

"That echoes and underlines for me the importance that all
governments have to play," Mr. Mathieson said.

"We've written to the federal government for their support, not only
to put more inspectors in the field, but to make sure that they move
the precursor chemicals to a more regulated industry so that we can
keep track of where they are and who's using them."

Health Canada spokesman Jason Bouzanis said the agency hired five
regional compliance officers last April to visit licensed dealers to
ensure they're following regulations, and recruitment plans are under
way to hire three more officers.

Mr. Bouzanis said the agency takes the issue of meth labs seriously,
and any issues concerning suspected criminal activity would fall to
the RCMP to investigate.

Ontario has the second-highest concentration of meth labs after
British Columbia.

The RCMP says 40 meth labs were dismantled in Ontario in 2006.

Of the 19 dismantled in the province in 2005, 12 were in Perth County.