VAUGHAN, Ont. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his government is cracking down on criminals with four new bills that would sharpen the teeth of law enforcement across the country.
Harper says the proposed legislation targets drug offenders, dangerous youth criminals, identity thieves and auto theft rings. Among the key aims of the proposed legislation, Harper says serious drug offenders, including those with links to organized crime, would face mandatory jail time.
Other pieces of the legislation would allow police to hold young offenders who pose a threat to the public longer.
Harper says incidents of youth homicide reached a 45-year high 2006, meaning the Youth Criminal Justice Act has "been an unmitigated failure."
The comments came during a speech Friday at a fundraising dinner for the Canadian Crime Victim Foundation, which was started by Joe and Lozanne Wamback after their son Jonathan was seriously beaten in 1999.
"Everywhere I go, I hear the same refrain - crack down on criminals," said Harper, who added the criminal justice system has been moving in the wrong direction for the past 30 years.
However, Harper pointed to his government's recent Violent Crime Act, which put an end to conditional sentences for violent criminals, as proof of an attitude shift in Ottawa.
"Our government has no intention of letting young criminals evade responsibility," said Harper.
Joining the Wambacks at the event were other families affected by violent crime.
These included relatives of Holly Jones, a 10-year-old killed by pedophile Michael Briere in 2003, and Leslie Mahaffy, a victim of notorious killer Paul Bernardo.
Joe Wamback told the crowd of several hundred that the CCVF was establishing a scholarship fund for victims, designed to mirror government-funded education programs for criminals.
"You are part of the group that is turning the tide," said Wamback. "This is a pioneering moment in this country."
