Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections: Opening comments: More at the end. National Post - March 15, 2007 - By Chris Wattie, Cwattie@nationalpost.com Liberals unveil tough-on-crime platform STREETSVILLE - The federal Liberals unveiled a new emphasis on law-and-order yesterday with a platform aimed at blunting Conservative charges they are soft on crime. Liberal leader Stephane Dion promised to support an amended version of the Tories' plan to introduce "reverse-onus" bail hearings for gun crimes, forcing those accused of such crimes to prove in court that they are not a public safety risk. The crime agenda also included everything from a promise of tough anti-spam legislation to a pledge of more money to the provinces to hire additional police officers and Crown attorneys. But while Mr. Dion said he now agrees with Conservatives' proposal for reverse-onus bail hearings, he was less clear on whether he will support other government bills on the issue. Asked about other Tory law-and-order bills currently stalled in Parliament by opposition amendments, Mr. Dion said the Liberals were "very willing to work with the government," but insisted they would continue to pursue amendments, such as those that have stalled a bill to impose minimum sentences for gun crimes. "We have proposed a series of amendments that would make it effective for the Canadian people," Mr. Dion said. "We are concerned that the government is more willing to have big headlines in order to pretend that the government is very, very tough but at the end of the day it will not be effective." The Tories have accused Mr. Dion's Liberals of slowing nine government anti-crime bills in the House of Commons, and the Liberal leader acknowledged that part of the reason behind his new platform is the prospect that justice and crime may be a major issue in the next federal election. "It's an important issue for the Canadian people, for voters. That's why I'm proposing a very effective approach ... and we'll have other proposals to make in the coming weeks." Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, was also in the Toronto area yesterday and dismissed the Liberal leader's new emphasis on fighting crime. "After spending the last couple of months opposing every tough-on-crime measure, voting down his own anti-terrorism measures, bashing the police in the House of Commons, he now wants to be tough on crime," Mr. Harper said. "I hope it lasts.'' Mr. Dion countered yesterday by dismissing the Prime Minister's measures as unrealistic political posturing. "If he wants to come up with something more effective to fight crime instead of having headlines he wants for political reasons ... I am very willing to cooperate with the Prime Minister." The Liberal leader lashed out at the Conservatives for delaying many judicial appointments and charged that they were attempting to "stack the bench" with right-wing judges. "This must stop," Mr. Dion said. "I call on the Conservative government to let the courts do their job and start appointing highly qualified judges free from ideological interference." Robert Nicholson, the Justice Minister, said he had doubts about whether the Liberals were sincere about seeing his "reverse onus" bail proposal passed into law. "If they're sincere about supporting that bill, then I'd applaud that. But I'm a bit skeptical at the moment," he said. "I' ve heard this before. They're in favour of the bill, but when it gets down to business in the House they introduce amendments that completely gut the bill." He called the Liberals "born again crime fighters" who are being forced to match Tory law-and-order measures because of public pressure on the issue. Asked about similarities between his platform and the Conservatives' law-and-order initiatives, Mr. Dion said with a shrug: "If that's the case then they'll accept all my ideas." Home Page - Main Table of Contents - Back up a page - Back to Top [COMMENTS BY DON B. - ] |
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