With the national fentanyl crisis continuing to impact many communities and contributing to the current United States - Canada border dispute, politicians at the provincial and federal level have stepped up calls for a stronger response.
Last week, both federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called for much tougher handling of fentanyl producers and traffickers.
Although few law-abiding residents would argue with the need for more to be done to combat the crisis, whether demands for harsher treatment of the ‘kingpins’ of the illegal fentanyl trade will lead to a reduction in deaths remains anyone’s guess.
For his part, Poilievre says if elected prime minister, he would work to impose mandatory life sentences on anyone involved in the trafficking, production and distribution of more than 40 milligrams (mg) of fentanyl.
“Making and selling fentanyl is mass murder,” said Poilievre. “Selling 40 mg of this poison is enough to kill 20 people. I will lock up fentanyl kingpins and throw away the key. I will pass mandatory life sentence so fentanyl kingpins never get out of jail and stop killing our kids.”
Premier Smith said she, too, plans to step up the fight against fentanyl.
“I have instructed my movement to take immediate steps to significantly increase police and prosecutorial resources to go after fentanyl labs, kingpins and dealers that are responsible for killing 49,000 Canadians since 2016,” said Smith.
Both Smith and Poilievre are calling for an immediate federal election to elect a new government to spearhead the fentanyl fight.
Stepping up the fight against those behind the fentanyl crisis would have the support of the vast majority Canadians.
At the same time, perhaps provincial and federal leaders should also be calling for mandatory life sentences for impaired motorists who cause death?
With many, many innocent men, women and children continuing to be killed by drunk drivers every year, sharply stepping up impaired driving penalties would surely find strong and widespread public support, including in rural Alberta.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
