Recent examples of extreme gang violence here in the Lower Mainland are a stark reminder, if one was needed, that the safety of Canadian families requires constant vigilance. We cannot afford to take the security of law-abiding citizens for granted. We in North Vancouver are not immune from the impact of gang violence. We saw this last year with a brazen shooting outside Delbrook recreation centre. No community can be considered safe as long as organized criminals are free to commit violent acts without serious consequences.

Since taking office the Conservative government has made great strides towards improving our ability to prevent crime, apprehend criminals and prosecute them accordingly. But there is always more to do. In February, we introduced new legislation that will crack down on gang-related drug trafficking and violence. These new laws will mean mandatory prison sentences for anyone convicted of organized crime-related drug trafficking or weapons offences. Judges will also be required to impose mandatory prison terms for crimes where drugs are sold to children or where sales are made near schools or places that children are often found. The new laws will also raise the maximum penalties for producing illegal drugs from 7 to 14 years, and impose mandatory prison sentences for those convicted of drive-by shootings. In addition, murders connected to gangs and organized crime will be automatically classified as first-degree.

The Conservative government has a three year record of taking strong, deliberate action to protect our streets and neighborhoods. We’ve delivered 1,500 new RCMP officers and are working with the provinces and municipalities towards hiring 2,500 new municipal police officers. We took action by passing laws imposing mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes. We introduced tougher laws to keep gun criminals off the streets and mandated tougher sentences for repeat violent offenders. Many of our tougher crime laws were held up in Parliament by opposition parties playing political games. Our government was willing to go to the wall on these issues and rolled our strong crime measures into the Tackling Violent Crime Act, which became law early last year.

We are working to deliver peace of mind for our families and businesses. Criminals don’t stop and neither will our government. This new action to fight gang crime and protect law-abiding Canadians will build on our previous action to deliver safer communities across the country.