CRIME BILL CRITICISM IS UNWARRANTED

Re: Recent letters to the editor have painted far too bleak a picture
of the government's crime bills.

It may be that one can legitimately argue, as have some witnesses,
that all addictive drugs from marijuana to cocaine should be
legalized and that offenders do not ever respond to the deterrent
sentences handed down daily in Canadian courts. However, mandatory
minimum sentences and tougher penalties for drug traffickers are
supported by many Canadians.

Comparisons with the United States are far-fetched. The recently
reported "less punitive" approach in Texas, for example, still
results in a rate of incarceration five times greater than in Canada.
American 10-year mandatory minimums and "three strikes" incarceration
for minor offences are not even rumoured for Canada.

The Canadian commissioner of corrections testified that total federal
capital and operating costs to implement Bill C10 will be $38 million
over five years. Legislation to prevent two-for-one credit for
pretrial detention had much more serious cost implications, but it
was passed in the last (minority) Parliament. And that bill hasn't
increased costs as much as even government estimates had predicted.

Our government continues to devote significant resources to
preventive, rehabilitative and restorative justice measures. However,
a balanced approach to criminal justice requires that we also ensure
penalties that are justly proportionate to the gravity of offences.
Even still, Bill C10 allows marijuana traffickers to escape minimum
penalties by completion of drug treatment and maintains the emphasis
on rehabilitation in young offender cases.

Stephen Woodworth

Member of Parliament

Kitchener Centre

Kitchener