as published in Niagara This Week

Canadians have the right to feel safe and secure in their own communities.

Canadians would agree that increases in firearm robberies, non-sexual assaults, drug offences, violent youth crime and regional homicide rates are cause for concern. These are precisely the types of crimes this Government has addressed through its comprehensive tackling crime agenda. In fact the Liberal Premier of Ontario, the Mayor of Toronto and the Canadian law enforcement community have all agreed that action must be taken to tackle those crimes.

While Canada’s New Government is encouraged to see that the overall crime rate decreased by 2.6% in 2006, more progress needs to be made.

Immediately after Statistics Canada released figures on this country’s crime rate, Stephane Dion issued a press release in an attempt to link a previous Liberal government’s policies with the reduction of Canada’s overall crime rate.

In fact, Statistics Canada attributed the decrease in the overall 2006 crime rate to such factors as a lower unemployment rate and a decline in the young adult population in Canada.

Canadians’ confidence in the justice system has eroded over recent years due to policies and a sentencing regime that often ignores the rights of victims and the protection of society as a whole.

One must also recognize that Canadians lose faith in the criminal justice system when they feel that the punishment does not fit the crime.

Our Government has established a track record of delivering on its promises and making tough decisions in the best interests of Canadians. Unfortunately, this Government’s justice legislative agenda, consisting of 13 bills, has been met with numerous stall tactics and foot dragging from the Liberals in Parliament.

This Government does not simply respond to statistics – we develop policy based upon principles that include protection of Canadians, fairness and sentences that fit the crime.
The Senate has had ample time to properly review and consider the justice bills currently before them.

It’s disappointing to see the Liberals so out of touch when it comes to tackling crime.

In the fall, Stephane Dion and the Liberals should begin to work with Canada’s New Government and pass the legislative initiatives presently before Parliament, and finally give law enforcement the effective tools they need to combat crime.