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LIBERAL SPIN ON GUNS IS A CRIME

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It said everything voters need to know about Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Liberals.

Yesterday, in the dying hours of Parliament just before an election is forced on them Monday, they tabled a bill to, wait for it, get tough on gun crime. Of course, it will die on the order paper as soon as Parliament is dissolved -- two days from now.

Among other things, the bill proposes increased mandatory minimum sentences for some gun crimes, an idea Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, who introduced the legislation, opposed until just a few weeks ago. Even so, this Liberal bill falls far short of much tougher sentencing provisions proposed by the Conservatives.

Besides, everyone knows the Liberals aren't serious about this. They just want to have something to wave at voters when they're accused on the campaign trail of being soft on crime -- particularly violent urban gun crime of the type that has plagued Toronto since the summer.

The Grits have been ignoring this issue for months, including Toronto Liberal MPs who have been missing in action as the bodies piled up and the wounded -- including innocent bystanders -- were rushed into emergency rooms.

Now, these same Liberals will say on the campaign trail they had just introduced a bill to address this very problem, but that the opposition parties brought the government down before they could act on it.

Right. This is just more tired, old Liberal politics-as-usual, whether Jean Chretien or now, Martin, is in charge. Bribe us with our own money heading into an election. Rush in last-minute bills that they have no intention of implementing, just so they can pretend to be something they're not. In this case, tough on gun crime.

Meanwhile, get ready for Martin to positively ooze concern about the gang and gun crisis in Toronto, at least during the campaign, while promising millions and millions of dollars for more social programs to combat it.

The Liberals have pulled stunts like this so many times heading into an election that it's become a national joke. Just like this latest Liberal pledge to "get tough" on crime.