Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Antonella Artuso
Page: 9

HARPER STANDS FIRM ON MANDATORY MINIMUMS

'We are absolutely philosophically committed to it,' says PM

Despite another legal setback, the Conservatives remain committed to
mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug traffickers and other
serious criminals, Stephen Harper says.

The Ontario Superior Court struck down a mandatory six-month minimum
sentence for growing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, a
decision Harper said his government would study.

"We think it is important that those who traffic drugs, who destroy
lives, face sufficient penalty under the law," Harper said Tuesday. "A
mandatory minimum is a mandatory prison sentence for certain types of
crime - drug trafficking, murder, other acts of violence. We think
there are situations where it is inconceivable that a court would
deliver a verdict that does not involve a penalty of time in prison."

The Liberals have said they would abolish almost all mandatory minimum
sentences, a move that's "way off side" with the views of most
Canadians, Harper said.

Other courts have also weighed in, ruling mandatory jail sentences for
a first offence conviction for gun possession unconstitutional.

"We are absolutely philosophically committed to it," Harper said of
mandatory minimums.

Scarborough Southwest Liberal candidate Bill Blair said the party is
committed to keeping Canadians safe with laws "driven by facts and
evidence" and which may include mandatory minimum sentences.

"The Conservatives have failed on public safety because they rely on
failed ideology," Blair said in an e-mail. "While the government has a
responsibility to put forward laws that are constitutional, the
Conservatives have wasted millions of taxpayers' dollars fighting
avoidable legal challenges."

Harper's comments came during a campaign event at a housing
development under construction in the riding of Vaughan-Woodbridge.

The party has set a target of adding 700,000 new homeowners in the
country by 2020 through measures such as increasing the contribution
limit for tax-free savings accounts.

"Now we are not, to be clear, supporting home ownership at all costs,
but responsible home ownership," Harper said. "We are not lowering the
threshold for achieving home ownership. We are raising Canadians
ability to achieve it through lower taxes, economic growth and new
well-paying jobs."
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MAP posted-by: Matt