As his Justice Minister was detailing anti-gang legislation in Ottawa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper road-tested the political appeal of the changes yesterday during a news conference in suburban Burnaby dominated by questions about the government's response to a wave of gang violence.
B.C.'s Attorney-General and Solicitor-General were in Ottawa lobbying Justice Minister Rob Nicholson for action, but ironically, Mr. Nicholson's boss was in Vancouver to talk about the issue, which could be pivotal in any future federal election campaign.
Mr. Nicholson is to be in the Lower Mainland today to talk about gangs.
Even the 2010 Olympics were drawn into the discussion yesterday when Mr. Harper was asked how visitors to the region could feel safe given the current wave of anarchy that has included 18 shootings - eight of them fatal - in the past month.
"As difficult as the criminal-justice situation is in Vancouver and becoming across the country," Mr. Harper said, "for many, many people coming from around the world, Canada is still a relatively peaceful and law-abiding country.
Putting aside the current "criminal-justice problems," Mr. Harper said visitors to Vancouver will find safety and security when they arrive next year.
But the Prime Minister was more focused on the present, calling for support for government proposals which include categorizing gang-related killings as first-degree murder and creating a new offence and minimum jail term for drive-by shootings.
The stated reason for Mr. Harper's media appearance was Ottawa's $350-million commitment to the long-awaited Evergreen Transit Line - a $1.4-billion light-rail line whose future hinged on a federal contribution. Work on the 11-kilometre system in the northeastern suburbs of Metro Vancouver is expected to begin next year.
But Mr. Harper was not asked a single question about the project. Questions at Mr. Harper's appearance, and his commitments later in the day, were dominated by discussion about Ottawa's anti-gang response. Although the opposition parties have indicated their support for the proposals, Mr. Harper slammed their connection to critics of the government's approach.
"I would call on the opposition to stop parroting the soft-on-crime lines and get on with passing these things," he told reporters. "The truth of the matter is, those who say that tougher penalties on perpetrators will not work, don't want them to work because they don't believe in this kind of approach.
"Part of the difficulty we have in Ottawa is we are dealing with, you know, 30 to 40 years of criminal-justice policy that has been going in the wrong direction," he said.
He called on British Columbians to rally to the government's side on the issue, pushing the opposition to get out of the way. He did not have to wait long for that support. "Every MP should be acting to secure and make sure that our communities are safe," said Premier Gordon Campbell, who has been accused of inaction on the file. This week, his government named a deputy solicitor-general as a gangs czar to focus the government's response.
"Put aside the politics from the past," said the Liberal Premier, facing a re-election bid in May. "Put aside the partisanship and do what people want us to do, create safe and secure communities and laws that allow us to do that."
Even Vancouver Mayor
Gregor Robertson, who came to city hall last November after about three years as an NDP member of the B.C. Legislature, carefully called for unity.
"Vigorous debate is always welcome and necessary in the parliamentary process, but we do have urgent needs to deal with the gang violence here on the West Coast," he told reporters after a 20-minute meeting with Mr. Harper.
"I'd like to see good debate and, if anything, these bills come through, and changes in the federal laws that will actually make a difference," he said.
Mr. Harper also met with a delegation of regional police chiefs, as well as the families of victims of gang violence, including family members of two innocent bystanders among six men killed in a gangland slaying at a Surrey high-rise in 2007 that remains unsolved.
