Federal Tory leader walks with Bear Clan, unveils final part of law-and-order strategy By: Ashley Prest Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 Last Modified: 9:57 AM CST Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 Updates

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After a community walk with the Bear Clan Patrol in Winnipeg on Monday, national Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said “serious action quickly” is needed to help police fight the methamphetamine crisis and other community safety issues in Canada.

Scheer, the official Opposition leader, walked with the North End-based volunteer street patrol prior to delivering the third piece of A Safer Canada, his three-part strategy, at a press conference at the Chalmers Community Centre.

It’s six proposals are designed to better equip police to protect our communities, Scheer said.

“These men and women put their lives on the line each and every day to protect Canadians and get dangerous criminals off our streets,” he said. “We owe them a debt of gratitude for what they do, but more importantly, we owe them the resources they need to do their job.”

The six-proposals include:

• Cost-sharing new anti-gang law enforcement initiatives with the provinces and territories.
• Creating a police infrastructure grant program to help more than 70 municipal police forces across the country buy new equipment.
• Cutting red tape to improve information exchanges between police agencies on guns found at crime scenes.
• Strengthening background checks for people applying for gun licences.
• Increasing funding for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund by 25 per cent.
• Making prison time more meaningful by measuring the effectiveness of retraining programs in providing inmates with skills necessary for re-entering society.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government “has broken the trust Canadians should have in their justice system” by failing to act in these areas, Scheer said, adding his plan will “restore Canadians’ faith in the system once again.”

A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale disputed Scheer’s claims, calling them “a jumble of new proposals that try to sound tough, but won’t make a dent in the gun violence on our streets.”

“Mr. Scheer announced series of totally uncosted promises that largely duplicate what the $327 million our government has already announced for community prevention and enforcement, and to combat gun-smuggling,” Scott Bardsley said in an emailed statement.

“The Conservatives’ record tells a different story. Over their last four years in government, the Harper Conservatives cut over half a billion dollars from the RCMP’s budget, denying them many necessary tools and resources needed to combat organized crime. They even cut money (from) the Police Officer Recruitment Fund, disproportionately impacting rural and northern communities’ access to officers.”

Bardsley also took issue with Scheer’s suggestion that Canada Border Service Agency officers have to “go through different layers of government before they can even talk to the local law enforcement.”

The first two parts of A Safer Canada — Cracking Down on Gangs and Gun Laws that Target Criminals — were announced last month in Brampton, Ont., and Vancouver, respectively.

Scheer held a rally for volunteers and supporters at the Canad Inns Destination Centre Garden City Monday night.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca