Canada's Conservative government proposed a new law Friday that would raise jail sentences for drug crimes, following a surge in gang-related violence in this city as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the new law was intended to address an unprecedented wave of violence that has seen six people gunned down in the past month.
"If you want to bring drugs into this country you are going to jail," the federal minister told reporters, adding that the proposed changes target gangs and organized crime, sending a clear message to drug traffickers.
Nicholson's announcement comes a day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a new law raising the sentence for gang killings to at least 25 years without parole, as part of an effort to get tough on organized crime. The proposed law will also set a minimum four-year jail term for drive-by shootings.
The proposed changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act include a mandatory two-year sentence for dealing drugs like cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines to youth and a two-year mandatory sentence for running large-scale marijuana growing operations.
The proposed changes would increase the maximum sentence for marijuana production to 14 years, from seven, and impose tougher penalties for trafficking in so-called date-rape drugs.
Vancouver is a major port of entry for the illegal drug trade, and gang-related violence has spread beyond the city's notoriously squalid Downtown Eastside.
