HARPER PLEDGES DRUG CRACKDOWN

Tory Government Would Take On 'Plague Of Guns, Gangs And Drugs,'
Leader Says

Conservative leader Stephen Harper whipped up supporters in Victoria
Saturday announcing sweeping reforms including his latest pledge to
crack down on drug crimes -- possibly shutting down a safe-injection
site in Victoria before it's built.

"Under a new Conservative government, serious drug traffickers --
crack dealers, marijuana grow operators, crystal meth makers and
others will face a minimum prison sentence of two years behind bars,"
Harper said, to cheering party faithful at the Laurel Point Inn.

"We will provide a new government that will make your streets safe
once again the way they're supposed to be," Harper said.

On the heels of promising to reduce the GST, force provinces to honour
maximum hospital wait times or pay for patients to go elsewhere, and
to create an independent office to oversee federal criminal
prosecutions, Harper promised to "stand up against the plague of guns,
gangs and drugs."

The Conservatives would also eliminate conditional sentences, such as
house arrest; bring in tougher fines for drug traffickers and
producers; scrap plans made by the Liberal party to decriminalize
marijuana and introduce a national drug strategy targeted at Canadian
youth.

Harper also indicated he'd ditch a safe-injection site in Vancouver,
now in its second year of a three-year trial. In Victoria, there has
been discussion of safe injection site but no application has been
made to the federal government.

The Tory leader said it will be a priority not to use taxpayers' money
to fund drug use. The federal government provides health-care dollars
to the provinces. And to operate legally, the federal government must
exempt safe-injection sites from the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act.

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe supports a supervised injection site for the
city as part of a harm-reduction drug strategy -- including treatment,
prevention, enforcement and housing options.

Victoria federal Liberal candidate David Mulroney, a former federal
drug prosecutor, sitting among a sea of Conservative supporters
Saturday, rejected Harper's get-tough-on-crime proposals.

"An all-out U.S.-style war on drugs is not the answer to our problem,"
Mulroney said. "A harm-reduction approach recognizes that the drug
problem is not just a law-and-order problem, but it's also a health
problem."

Mulroney noted many of those addicted to crystal meth are youth and
need help, not "guaranteed jail time."

Liberal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said Friday he supports
harm-reduction strategies that may include a safe-injection site in
Victoria.

"Conservatives don't support that kind of stuff [safe injection]. I've
supported it in my previous life [former B.C. NDP attorney general and
premier], and my position hasn't changed," Dosanjh said. "It is my
position, and the government's position, that if the local community,
such as Victoria, and the province, such as British Columbia, ask for
a safe injection site, we will approve it."

Harper said he is committed to providing safe streets for children to
play on "and a Conservative government will settle for nothing else."