Harper pledges minimum drug sentences
Last Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2005 | 8:31 PM ET
CBC News
The terms would apply to people convicted of trafficking, manufacturing or importing hard drugs, such as heroin, cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, Harper said Saturday during an election stop in Burnaby, B.C.
He wasn't the only federal leader to hit the campaign trail Saturday in British Columbia, which is considered a key battleground in the election. Jack Layton was also in the province, promising tough action in the softwood lumber dispute with the United States.
The Conservatives currently hold the most seats in the province but they're facing a challenge to keep them, with many tight three-way races being fought on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper speaks at a news conference in Vancouver on Saturday.
Harper also said his party would introduce mandatory prison time for anyone convicted of running marijuana grow operations.
He said the Tories would ban conditional sentences and house arrest for serious and repeat drug offenders.
"Criminals who are cultivating marijuana in grow ops, manufacturing crystal meth in labs or selling crack cocaine on our streets have to know if they are caught, they will not get a slap on the wrist," Harper said.
Stephen Harper signs a poster during a campaign stop in Vancouver on Saturday.
"They will go to prison. It is a serious crime and they will do serious time. A Conservative government will fight the plague of drugs in our cities and our communities," he said.
Harper acknowledged that Canada is "a remarkably peaceful society," even in its biggest cities, but that can't be taken for granted.
"Crime and drugs now reach places they shouldn't – our parks, our schoolyards, even our churches. Our values are under attack and we must take action to protect those values."
Harper reiterated his promise not to re-introduce the Liberal plan to soften marijuana possession laws.
He said while the Conservatives are in favour of prevention and treatment programs for drug addicts, these are "no substitutes for tough law enforcement."
At a campaign stop in Vancouver, Layton countered by telling reporters the NDP is the only party with a balanced approach to drug crime.
He said the party feels it is as important to tackle the root causes of crime – such as poverty and addictions – as it is to catch and punish lawbreakers.
Liberal Leader Paul Martin took the day off from campaigning, but was scheduled to fly Sunday night to Newfoundland, the start of a series of East Coast stops.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe and Green Party Leader Jim Harris were both in Montreal on Saturday. They joined thousands of demonstrators in a march calling for stronger action to tackle global warming.
