liberals
Record doesn't support PM's claim that Liberal senators have blocked crime bills
By: Joan Bryden And Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian PressOTTAWA - Stephen Harper is appealing to Canadians' fear of crime to justify the appointment of five new Conservative senators.
"Our government is serious about getting tough on crime. Since we were first elected, we have made it one of our highest priorities," the prime minister said in a statement Friday announcing his latest Senate picks.
"The Liberals have abused their Senate majority by obstructing and eviscerating law and order measures that are urgently needed and strongly supported by Canadians."
Harper names 5 to Senate
CBC NewsPrime Minister Stephen Harper has named five new senators, including former Ontario cabinet minister Bob Runciman, giving the Tories effective control in both houses of Parliament and greater sway over the legislative agenda.
Vim Kochhar, a businessman and disabled persons advocate, was also appointed for Ontario.
The other appointments were:
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Victims rights activist Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu for Quebec.
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Former provincial auditor general Elizabeth Marshall for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Chris Selley: Michael Ignatieff's gateway to the status quo
By Chris Selley, National PostCrime bill exemption raises fears of Native exploitation
By: Andrew HanonEDMONTON -- When told about the Liberal-dominated Senate's revisions to the government's latest tough-on-crime bill, the former drug dealer howled with laughter.
"They wanna WHAT?" he said incredulously. "It's like they're encouraging grow-ops on reserves. It's so crazy; it's almost like a setup."
The Harper Tories are furious with the Senate's changes to Bill C-15, which they say weakens it to the point of uselessness.
But some members of Alberta's Native communities fear the revisions will allow organized crime to exploit impoverished, desperate people living on reserves, by paying them to grow weed.
"It will be like the Taliban and the opium trade in Afghanistan," said the former dealer.
