Is Stephane Dion's plan to hire more Mounties a public relations sham?
Hiring more Mounties will not do anything to reduce violent crime. In fact, it is a sneaky way of hiring more Mounties to go after people in possession of marijuana for personal use.
You think I'm wrong? Hey, don't look at me. I didn't say it.
Stephane Dion is making a move to fight the perception that the Liberal Party can't compete with the Conservatives when it comes to law and order issues:
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion outlined his party's law-and-order strategy today in an attempt to rebuff Tory claims that he's soft on crime.
[D]etails of the Liberal plan include:
- funding for a 400-officer RCMP team to fight organized crime, gangs, drugs and gun activity
Organized crime? Violent!
Gangs? Violent!
Drugs? Violent!
Gun activity? Very violent!
So who thinks hiring more Mounties to fight violent crime is a bad idea? You'd be surprised:
The Conservatives made a big deal about hiring 1000 new RCMP officers. This seems like a major investment in crime control. It seems to do something about the problems that we were all concerned about during the election. However, like most of the budget, it is all a public relations sham. The RCMP does absolutely nothing to stop crime on the streets. In most major cities, the RCMP is not on the streets.
However, hiring 1000 new RCMP officers will not reduce violent crime. While the investment itself is important, the reasons for it are a sham. My personal suspicion is that Harper's real goal is to put more resources into marijuana related police activities. That is one thing that RCMP does everywhere in the country.
Is Stephane Dion engaging in a public relations sham?
Say it ain't so, Jason Cherniak, Liberal blogger, riding president, and Stephane Dion supporter.
Yes, when the Conservatives hire more Mounties, it is a sham designed to hide an effort to go after marijuana.
But when Stephane Dion says he'll hire more Mounties to fight violent criminals...well...I guess we'll find out it was a good idea after all. It's all in the packaging, I guess.
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Comments
Good catch, Steve. Exposing Cherniak as a knee-jerk lapdog is a fun exercise, isn't it?
Dion's proposals don't address minimum sentencing, so he's attempting the tactic of throwing everything else but that at Harper in order to paper over the issue.
Will it defend Dion against Harper's attacks? I doubt it.
Dion is now against terrorism security measures. He's also against minimum sentencing. Both will be painted as flip-flops. Pass the popcorn.
Posted by: Dennis (Second Thoughts) at March 14, 2007 01:13 PM
I managed to do an entire post on Dion's crime prevention plan without any focus on hiring more RCMP officers at all. Harper's announcement, on the other hand, was only about the RCMP. If Dion had only announced the hiring of more RCMP officers, my post would have been quite different.
Posted by: Jason Cherniak at March 14, 2007 01:22 PM
On the one hand, I've heard Mr. Dion complain that PM Harper is merely implementing Liberal ideas (he means stealing), but now, we have a supposedly new sheriff in town, Big Gun Stephane, copying ... ummm ... whom?
Posted by: Gabby in QC at March 14, 2007 01:42 PM
Politically, it is a smart move. If Harper can move left on the environment, Dion presumably can move right on guns and crime.
Posted by: at March 14, 2007 01:50 PM
Yeah, I posted the same thing earlier. This is a load of bullplops, the smelly kind we have come to expect Dion and his handlers to invent.
http://www.thiscanada.com/2007/03/14/dion-really-not-serious-on-crime/
Posted by: Erik Sorenson at March 14, 2007 02:19 PM
Mr. Dion wants to put more "social justice" on our streets... with basketballs...Watered down sentences and revolving doors...We did'nt make this up.
(This is unfair!)
Posted by: metalguru at March 14, 2007 02:22 PM
What really irks me is the vague "promise" to legislate email spam. I don't think Dion understands the technological hurdles in stopping SPAM. It looks as though Dion is taking George W Bush's idea on follow the money to get the spammer. This doesn't solve any problems around scamming or phishing.
This is a close-to-home issue for me, as an IT Professional. It's sad to see empty promises from a non-leader on this.
Posted by: Lore_Weaver at March 14, 2007 02:50 PM
Cherniak is somehow happy that Dion flip-flopped on the Liberal Party's support (now enthusiastic) for the so-called Reverse Onus provisions introduced by the Conservative Government. Good. It's about time the Liberals came around to supporting the cause of victims rights.
But Cherniak studiously ignores Dion's enthusiasm for putting criminals back on the streets as soon as possible.
What possible deterrent is there in having more police officers on the streets if all the system is going to do is to release criminals with a note from their mother asking them to not do it again?
Posted by: Paul O at March 14, 2007 03:20 PM
They will need all those RCMP officers to patrol the streets looking for idling SUVs, making sure the thermostats are set at 17deg, and making sure we all have those exsanguinating fluorescent light bulbs.
Posted by: imethisguy at March 14, 2007 04:13 PM
Cherniak, when Harper made his announcement, was it his only solution to the crime issue? Of course not.
You criticized Harper for that specific measure. Why not criticize Dion for the same?
Or maybe you should think twice before issuing knee-jerk attacks against Harper all the time.
Posted by: Dennis (Second Thoughts) at March 14, 2007 04:31 PM
Liberals are soft on crime , and weak on terrorism.
Dion is a Pussy
Steve
Posted by: Steve at March 14, 2007 05:29 PM
"Dion is a Pussy"
So I guess Jim Travers was right. Today on Politics, he said "they're in a cat fight" referring to what already looks like an election campaign.
CPAC was broadcasting Dion's announcement on crime, to be repeated @
08:00 PM
"Headline Politics
The federal government will contribute $225 million to a national campaign geared at preserving ecologically sensitive land across Canada. Prime Minister Harper announced this today while visiting King City, Ontario.Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion continued his cross-country tour with a stop in Streetsville, Ontario. Mr. Dion outlined his party's policies on criminal justice issues, and spoke with reporters after his speech."
Worth a listen.
Posted by: Gabby in QC at March 14, 2007 06:00 PM
Could someone please clarify something for me, Is Mr. Dion proposing that this increase to hire more police officer be permanent. Does he intent to cut a check to each city in Canada each year or is this one time funding and then the Cities are stuck with the bill. Is he talking about hiring 2500 more mounties above and beyond the 1000 already announced. Is curious about this, I did not think the Feds could hire local police. I mean this is not just going into provincial jurisdiction but now into a municipal one
Posted by: Ken at March 14, 2007 06:16 PM
Ken, you're asking too many pertinent questions. Mr. Dion will be mightily annoyed. How can you doubt him? TFIC
Posted by: Gabby in QC at March 14, 2007 06:23 PM
Good call, everyone, for catching Jason out on his double standard.
Posted by: Brian in Calgary at March 15, 2007 11:19 AM
It must be a tough job being Cherniak. With all the flips and flops Dion is doing, how is Cherniak supposed to defend every decision without looking like an idiot? I have to admit that his blog is a must read. Mainly because it's similar to the Canadian version of the Colbert Report except he's serious. And that makes it even funnier!
Posted by: at March 15, 2007 12:16 PM
Any possibility dion will include keeping criminals in jail for the length of their sentence. More cdns would support that than more officers to arrest for later release by liberal judges.
Posted by: maryT at March 16, 2007 07:24 PM
 
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