VOTERS LEFT TO DECIDE

Courthouse Rivals And Five Other Local Candidates Face Court Of Public Opinion

They used to be adversaries in the justice system, but for the last
seven weeks, David Mulroney and Robin Baird have been political
opponents vying for the right to represent Victoria in the House of Commons.

Mulroney, Liberal candidate for the Victoria riding, spent the bulk
of his 24-year law career working as a Crown prosecutor.

Baird, also a trial lawyer, has worked as both a prosecutor and
defence attorney since he was called to the bar in 1990.

The two have faced each other at least once in the Victoria court
house when Mulroney was prosecuting a cocaine conspiracy to
trafficking case and Baird was defending one of the accused.
According to Mulroney, Baird's client was convicted although the
case may yet come back for a retrial.

Unlike the court system, where there's a winner and a loser, both
Baird and Mulroney could be looking at second and third place if NDP
candidate Denise Savoie, widely seen as the frontrunner, manages to
end 12 years of Liberal dominance in the riding. Also in the mix is
Green candidate Ariel Lade, whose party is once again hoping to
secure its first seat in Parliament.

Both Baird and Mulroney said working in the justice system has
shaped their views on issues such as drug addiction, crime,
marijuana legalization, safe injection sites and gun control.

Despite his extensive experience defending the accused, Baird has a
lower tolerance for criminals than his Liberal rival.

"I've always taken a very hard line on crimes of violence and would
have no compunctions about doing so again," he said. "I deplore
crimes of violence, particularly those committed with handguns,
especially what's happened in Toronto in the last year."

But rather than ban all handguns, as Liberal leader Paul Martin has
promised to do, Baird believes in putting more police on the street
in tightening the borders to stem the tide of illegal weapons coming
into Canada.

"We need to arm our customs officers and border guards to deter gun
smuggling," Baird said. "Another part of it is plain old-fashioned
criminal law enforcement targeted not so much at the street level
user but at traffickers, importers and dealers."

All three major parties have promised to beef up mandatory minimum
prison terms for key gun-related crimes such as trafficking,
smuggling and the illegal possession of handguns in public places.

Although Baird doesn't favour relaxed marijuana laws, he admits his
experience in the court system opened his eyes to the futility of
charging people for simple marijuana possession.

"Getting charged for simple possession is so rare now that it's
almost unheard of," he said. "We have to do a lot better in terms of
therapy and rehabilitation. The courts don't have enough places to
order people to go to get treatment.

"With regard to street level addicts, the need to be humane is the
most important thing."

Mulroney said decriminalizing marijuana would save the government
untold millions in law enforcement and cut into the huge profits
that organized crime is making on the drug trade.

He noted that medical marijuana use has been upheld as a Charter
right by the Supreme Court of Canada, but said that smoking pot may
not be the best way to administer the drug.

"I think there may be some good medical effects from marijuana, but
no one would even suggest that a proper way of delivering medicine
is to light it on fire and inhale it through your lungs."

Mulroney, who as a prosecutor has put dozens of criminal behind
bars, also draws a distinction between street-level users and the
dealers who prey on them.

"It's clear that some people are not addicted and participate in the
business for profit. Those are awful people," he said. "But
sometimes people just get addicted and they can't control what they're doing."

Like his party, Mulroney's attitude toward harm-reduction strategies
such as safe injection sites is more liberal than his Tory counterpart.

"When it comes to addiction I believe in taking a harm reduction
approach," he said. "The Conservatives are adamantly opposed to
anything associated with the consumption of illegal drugs."

Baird didn't rule out support for a safe-injection site, but said
he'd like to see some proof that such a program would be effective
at reducing crime and rehabilitating addicts.

"I'm a very pragmatic and practical person. I'm not persuaded yet,
but I'd be open minded on it," he said. "You have to do what's most
effective."

At a recent all-candidates forum, Savoie said such facilities are
valuable, but only as one piece of a "larger harm-reduction strategy."

She said the federal government must do more to deal with addicts,
in part by enhancing services for youth at risk, and encouraging
affordable housing.