Gun bill vexes Toews; Fears rough ride in Senate
May 31, 2007
Winnipeg Sun

A watered-down bill that would put gun-wielding criminals behind bars for lengthy prison terms barely passed through the House of Commons in Ottawa Tuesday and is now before the Senate.

Much to Treasury Board Vic Toews' chagrin, Bill C-10 looks substantially different now than it did upon introduction and only calls for a five-year minimum mandatory sentence for first conviction of a serious gun crime and seven for subsequent offences.

The NDP teamed up with the Conservative minority government to pass the bill while several Liberals -- including all three Manitoba Liberal MPs -- voted against it.

"Manitoba Liberals could not even bring themselves to vote in favour of a more lenient version of the original bill we proposed," said Toews. "All three voted against it despite the fact it was a free vote."

Neville said the bill was poor legislation because it stripped the judiciary of its sentencing powers and refused to support it.

"It flew against the advice of many people in the justice system," said Neville, adding sentencing is often best left to judges after they've heard all the evidence in a case and not legislators."You have to leave the discretion to the judiciary."

Toews is not optimistic that senators, many of whom were appointed by Liberal governments, will be quick to put the stamp of approval on the bill.

Source: winnipegsun.com