stevesboo23
12-06-2004, 08:16 AM
Manitoba law takes aim at spoils of crime
Last Updated Mon, 06 Dec 2004 07:56:23 EST
WINNIPEG - People suspected of belonging to criminal gangs will have to prove their innocence in order to get their seized property back when the Manitoba government proclaims a new law this week.
"This new law goes after what really matters to organized crime, and what it's all about – the profits of organized crime," said Gord Mackintosh, the province's minister of justice and attorney general.
Gord Mackintosh
"We've got to hit them in the pocket book, hit them where it counts."
The law is being hailed as one of the toughest of its kind in Canada.
It puts the onus on suspected gang members to prove they obtained their cars, homes or boats through legitimate means, even if they haven't been convicted of any crime.
If they fail, the government will sell off the property and use the money to fund legal aid and counselling for crime victims.
The Manitoba government is taking the controversial measure in the face of a rising murder rate and public pressure to crack down on crime.
Rights of accused would be violated: lawyer
Some lawyers doubt it will survive a challenge because it violates the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"Here you're assumed guilty and they can attach property as proceeds of crime by simply proving that you're a member of a criminal organization, and therefore it's presumed the property was obtained illegally," said defence lawyer Jay Prober, who calls the new law "draconian" and "dangerous."
The Crown will still have to prove that people are members of gangs in order to be allowed to keep the property, and at least one legal watcher says that could be no easy task.
"I think there are going to be very serious difficulties in trying to prove that people are members of criminal organizations," said David Deutscher, a constitutional law professor at the University of Manitoba.
Last Updated Mon, 06 Dec 2004 07:56:23 EST
WINNIPEG - People suspected of belonging to criminal gangs will have to prove their innocence in order to get their seized property back when the Manitoba government proclaims a new law this week.
"This new law goes after what really matters to organized crime, and what it's all about – the profits of organized crime," said Gord Mackintosh, the province's minister of justice and attorney general.
Gord Mackintosh
"We've got to hit them in the pocket book, hit them where it counts."
The law is being hailed as one of the toughest of its kind in Canada.
It puts the onus on suspected gang members to prove they obtained their cars, homes or boats through legitimate means, even if they haven't been convicted of any crime.
If they fail, the government will sell off the property and use the money to fund legal aid and counselling for crime victims.
The Manitoba government is taking the controversial measure in the face of a rising murder rate and public pressure to crack down on crime.
Rights of accused would be violated: lawyer
Some lawyers doubt it will survive a challenge because it violates the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"Here you're assumed guilty and they can attach property as proceeds of crime by simply proving that you're a member of a criminal organization, and therefore it's presumed the property was obtained illegally," said defence lawyer Jay Prober, who calls the new law "draconian" and "dangerous."
The Crown will still have to prove that people are members of gangs in order to be allowed to keep the property, and at least one legal watcher says that could be no easy task.
"I think there are going to be very serious difficulties in trying to prove that people are members of criminal organizations," said David Deutscher, a constitutional law professor at the University of Manitoba.