A skeptical Prime Minister Stephen Harper scoffed openly at the new law-and-order Liberals yesterday after rival Stephane Dion unveiled a laundry list of justice measures he’s hoping will convince Canadians his party isn’t soft on crime.
The Liberal leader released a broad platform that included support for an amended version of the so-called reverse-onus bill proposed by the Conservatives that would require those charged with gun crimes to prove why they should be granted bail. -- The prime minister, however, appeared unmoved.
“After spending the last couple of months opposing every tough-on-crime measure, voting down his own anti-terrorism measures, bashing the police in the House of Commons, he now wants to be tough on crime,” Harper said.
“I hope it lasts, because the government has a lot of important tough-on-crime legislation and if this is a sincere conversion, we can get on with actually moving that in the House of Commons,” he added.
In London, Ont. yesterday evening, Dion called on Harper to take a “positive” stance.
“If he wants to be a positive prime minister, he should deliver,” Dion told the London Free Press. “He is more interested in playing politics with everything than in making our streets safe. Source...
