Tories to introduce new anti-crime bills to tackle gang violence

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will travel Wednesday to Vancouver —  a city hit by a series of shootings in recent weeks — as his government prepares to introduce two new  pieces of legislation to tackle gang violence.

The bills, expected to be tabled on Thursday and Friday, will focus on gang-related killings and drug crimes, CBC’s Rosemary Barton reported.

One bill would seek to make any gang-related homicide a first-degree murder charge; the other would attach mandatory sentences for serious drug crimes.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told reporters on Monday that drug crimes and gang violence are linked, and tougher laws are needed.

"The wave of gang killings in British Columbia right now is driven by criminal organizations that all function on the drug trade and it is the drug trade that’s at the core of that violence that’s making those communities unsafe, and that’s why we need to give police the tools they need in the form of mandatory prison sentences for drug crimes," he said.

Last week, Van Loan was in the Lower Mainland, where he said the area had become the capital of gang-related crimes.

As part of his visit to Vancouver, Harper will take part in a roundtable discussion on gang violence.

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal is heading to Ottawa to talk about the issue with his federal counterparts.

Oppal, who has been critical of the legal system's handling of criminal gangs and gun crimes, wants changes to the rules surrounding disclosure, wiretaps, and two-for-one credit for time served in pretrial custody.