The Speech From the Throne: Building Safer Communities

Historically Canada has been a peaceful, law-abiding nation, where Canadians feel secure in their homes and on their streets. But in recent years that Canadians have felt increased anxiety about their safety.

It was this heightened level of concern that inspired the "Safe Homes, Safe Streets" agenda that was part of our 1993 election platform -- a multifaceted strategy based on the premise that a safer Canada is one where crime is not only punished but prevented.

In our first mandate, we have made solid gains in enhancing public safety. Our list of accomplishments is long and includes: toughening sentences for those convicted of hate crimes; tightening rules for early parole hearings; enacting longer sentences for young offenders convicted of first- or second-degree murder; making it possible to obtain DNA samples from suspects in crimes of physical violence; and cracking down on child prostitution and child sex tourism.

We have also brought in one of the toughest gun control laws in the world. Strongly supported by Canadians and police, the law includes harsher sentences for crimes committed using a gun, measures to reduce smuggling of illegal weapons, and a simple, cost-effective gun registration system.

We also created the National Crime Prevention Council, to develop strategies to help governments and communities prevent crime by getting at its root causes, like unemployment, poverty, inequality, family violence, and illiteracy.

We are proud of our record. And we are pleased that the national crime rate decreased every year during our first mandate. But we also recognize that the crime rate is still too high.

We will continue in our second mandate with the balanced "punishment-prevention" approach that yielded such promising results in our first.

We will help protect the right of all Canadians to feel safe in their communities by working with other governments, the private sector and voluntary groups. We will:

• increase funding for community-based crime-prevention initiatives to $30 million per year;
• develop alternatives to incarceration for low-risk, non-violent offenders, such as sentencing reforms, community diversion programs, and alternative sanctions; and
• integrate information systems of all partners in the criminal justice system.