OPINION-EDITORIAL BY RANDY KAMP, M.P.
 Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
February 2009

On Tuesday, February 17th, I met with the Hon. Peter Van Loan, federal Minister of Public Safety, members of the RCMP and family members of some of the victims of the latest round of gang violence in Langley. We gathered only steps away from the parking lot in Langley where a targeted hit had recently claimed another victim with alleged gang ties, his pickup truck riddled with bullets in the middle of the day in front of a busy grocery store. My constituents are fed up, angry and most of all worried and are seeking assurances that their government is committed to taking action.

The recent events in the Lower Mainland confirm what Conservatives have been saying for years. Crime is a serious and growing problem that requires decisive action. We made tackling violent crime a major priority when we were first elected and it’s still a top priority today.

Taking action to protect the safety and security of Canadians was a major platform plank which earned our Government a strengthened mandate in the last federal election. Canadians have been clear: they want their government to get tough on crime, and that is exactly what we are doing.

We took action by introducing the Tackling Violent Crime Act, which includes:

• Mandatory prison sentences for serious gun crimes;
• Barriers to make it tougher for offenders to get out of prison;
• Elimination of house arrest for serious crimes;
• “Reverse onus” bail provisions (i.e. requiring the accused to show why he or she should not be kept in jail while awaiting trial).
  

It has not been easy to get our tackling crime agenda through a minority parliament. For example, we had to threaten an election to ensure that the Tackling Violent Crime Act passed into law. This demonstrates just how committed our Government is to action.

In addition to his February 17th trip, Minister Van Loan was here just a few weeks ago, announcing funding to programs designed to divert young people at risk from criminal gang activities, by giving them other constructive outlets and helping them to make the positive choices to prevent them from going down the wrong path. Our Conservative Government understands that crime has to be addressed from every angle – prevention, enforcement and punishment. But there’s a lot more to be done, and more laws to be changed.

We appreciate the support of the public for our efforts because, in a minority parliament, we need to bring pressure to bear on the other parties to help get our tackling crime initiatives passed. We also look forward to working with opposition MPs, especially those from B.C., to pass the tougher laws, including those that were stalled in the last parliament.

For so many years, previous federal governments hadn’t taken problems of crime seriously in this country. As a result, the criminals began to get the upper hand. We’ve been working from behind to try to catch up with them because our Conservative Government takes the crime threat seriously. We are taking action to tackle crime and we are making progress. But we have more to do to strengthen our laws, to improve our justice system and to support our police in making our communities safe. With the support of the people in Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission and similar communities all across Canada, that’s what we intend to do.

For more information on Conservative criminal justice initiatives, please visit: www.tacklingcrime.ca.

Randy Kamp is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission