Last week, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson stopped in Brantford, Ont., to campaign in favour of his new omnibus crime bill. At the stop, Minister Nicholson promised that this is only the beginning and that more crime legislation can be expected throughout the Conservative government鈥檚 term in office.

It is disappointing that these bills are being rolled together in order to dare the opposition parties to vote against the whole package just to stop one or two excessive policy decisions. To be sure, much of what is being proposed is unacceptable and does not do anything to improve the security situation in our cities and small towns. But there is the public perception that adding more crimes and criminalizing more activities will lead to greater safety.

What this omnibus crime bill does not do is address one of the true problems of the justice system鈥攖hat is, the crippling lack of prosecuting lawyers and judges who are able to hear cases. There is an increasing backlog of cases that are being dropped or delayed due to a lack of experienced individuals to try the cases and ensure that justice is done. Adding more crimes and increasing the number of people arrested and thus waiting for trials will only exacerbate this problem.

We have all seen and heard of cases where guilty individuals were being released from incarceration due to a lack of speedy trial, which is guaranteed to all persons under the Canadian Constitution.

This government likes to say they are tough on crime, and the public security and safety is one of their top priorities. It is difficult to believe this kind of commentary from the Conservatives when they are blatantly ignoring the easiest solutions to ensure our justice system works to the best of its abilities. What does this government plan to do to reduce the backlog of court cases and criminals waiting to face a trial and justice?

Trevor Ritchie

Burnaby