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That may be why the opposition parties appeared to be going to suchlengths to avoid any mention of Saturday s fatal shooting at theEaton Centre food court proving, once again, that the criminalis political. The Conservatives displayed no such reticence. Julian Fantino, theAssociate Defence Minister and former head of the Toronto andOntario police forces, declared that the attacks demonstrated thetougher sentencing provisions of Tory crime legislation wereneeded. If all else fails, the only thing we have left is the criminaljustice system, he said Monday on CTV. We need to find ways toisolate law abiding, decent citizens from those who actively seekto victimize and continue their life of crime, he said. Andjail is the answer, I m afraid, if all else fails. Opposition parties, in contrast, chose to stay amazingly silent.Neither Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair nor Interim Liberal LeaderBob Rae issued any statement in response to the shootings, unlikePrime Minister Stephen Harper, who called the attacks depravedand monstrous. In the House of Commons, no one asked the government a questionrelated to the shooting. Andrew Cash offered his condolences in astatement on behalf of the NDP, and that was that. Mr. Rae might have avoided mentioning the matter entirely, had areporter not asked him about it outside the House. The real issue in crime is crime prevention, he responded. But, you know, I m a little tired of people who try to takepolitical advantage of a tragic event. I have no intention of doingthat. While Mr. Rae s restraint could have been seen as commendable, hemight also have been thinking of the price Paul Martin paid whenJane Creba was killed and six others wounded in the midst of the2005-06 election campaign. During that campaign, Mr. Harper had been attacking the Martingovernment for failing to crack down on crime. Mr. Martin playedinto the Conservative Leader s hand when he said of the shootings: I think, more than anything else, they demonstrate what are, infact, the consequences of exclusion. Voters did not want to be told that society was responsible forJane Creba s death. They knew exactly who was responsible, andthey wanted them locked away. The Liberal response to the shooting combined with the RCMPannouncement of what turned out to be a spurious allegation ofinfluence-peddling in Ralph Goodale s Finance department provedto be politically calamitous. Opposition politicians could, if they chose, use the Eaton Centreshooting to call for a complete ban on all handguns, which theTories oppose. They could accuse the Conservatives of cuttingfunding to anti-gang programs, or of fomenting overcrowded jails thanks to their crime legislation that will serve as incubatorsfor future violent offenders. Instead, they left well enough alone. When it comes to crime andpunishment, the Tories appear to have the other side thoroughlycowed. More Related to this Story Teens, tell us: What's your reaction to the Eaton Centre shooting? Shaken storekeepers call for tighter security in wake of EatonCentre shooting Eaton Centre suspect under house arrest at time of shooting. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China 7 Inch Android Tablet PC , Mobile Phone Dustproof Plug for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Flip Model Mobile Phones.
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