(Steroids included!) - Ottawa steps up fight against organized crime

[Body By Balco]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/843768--ottawa-steps-up-fight-against-organized-crime

OTTAWA—The Conservative government has quietly boosted police powers to target gambling, drug trafficking and prostitution activities by organized criminal gangs.

New regulations approved in mid-July but published today in the Canada Gazette designate as “serious offences” a series of crimes that do not necessarily garner five years or more in jail.

The move will allow police and prosecutors to more easily use tools they already have to target large-scale criminal operations.

Under the new regulations, police will be able to more easily obtain wiretaps and orders such as peace bonds, block bail or parole eligibility, seize assets and seek stiffer sentences. The criminal code defines as “organized” crime gangs those cases involving three or more people acting together in a criminal venture.

The offences now designated as “serious” are: keeping a common gaming or betting house; betting, pool-selling and book-making; offences related to lotteries and games of chance; “cheating while playing a game or in holding the stakes for a game or in betting”; keeping a common bawdy-house; and a series of drug trafficking, importing and production offences.

For the purposes of investigations and prosecutions, the regulations also designate trafficking in barbiturates, anabolic steroids and prescription drugs like tranquilizers, as well as trafficking in marijuana or hashish in amounts less than 3 kilograms, as “serious.”



** No description of what serious exactly implies, and trafficking is a pretty loose term. However, looking at what the US considers 'a steroid dosage unit' and what they term trafficking, this looks like it changes the steroid game as we knew it for both producers and users (especially those who buy long cycles at one time).**

** The Conservatives are building new prisons not for their aesthetic value but to fill them with convicted individuals, much like the US **

** The new reality is that police and prosecutors have just been handed and whole new way to be able to make the lives of the steroid using community a LOT more difficult if and when they choose**



“Such crimes are often considered signature activities of organized crime,” said Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, as he announced the regulations in Montreal.

Nicholson cited federal estimates that there are 750 organized crime groups operating across Canada.

Nicholson received an immediate endorsement from provincial police representatives in Quebec, but was met with skepticism from his political opponents.

Liberal critic Mark Holland said he wanted to study the regulations before commenting directly on them. “In organized crime, we can always do better, of course.”

But he denounced the Conservatives for moving on measures without subjecting them to proper parliamentary study.

“This is about changing the channel. This is about raw politics,” said Holland.

“What I detest and what I think Canadians see through is when you have a government that just whips up policy in the middle of the night and throws it out as a diversion to their other political problems.”

Holland slammed the Conservatives for shifting about $5 billion to $8 billion of prison construction costs onto the provinces, slashing support to crime prevention programs to $19.3 million in 2008 from $57 million in 2005 and for cutting funding for victims of crime services.

Holland also derided Treasury Board president Stockwell day for relying on so-called “unreported crime” statistics to justify an overall $10 billion to $13 billion in new prison spending.

“Do they propose to lock up people who haven’t been criminally charged?” he said.

“The Conservatives prefer wild, out-of-control spending to fund their ideological pursuits even when taxpayers are forced to finance the largest deficits in Canadian history,” Holland said.

[Body By Balco]

Let's not forget this gem.....

"The criminal code defines as “organized” crime gangs those cases involving three or more people acting together in a criminal venture."


Certainly not what I envision when I think of organized crime.

[tiramisu]

It certainly implies a shift in internal budgets and prosecution. Under what act are these new regulations that they affect the sale of prescription drugs / aas?

How does this regulation differ from the existing law?

The article is extremely vague. A link to the new regulations would be a lot more useful.

[tiramisu]

http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2010/2010-08-04/html/sor-dors161-eng.html

[Body By Balco]

It certainly implies a shift in internal budgets and prosecution. Under what act are these new regulations that they affect the sale of prescription drugs / aas?

How does this regulation differ from the existing law?

The article is extremely vague. A link to the new regulations would be a lot more useful.



This is an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada. The difference from previous revisions to the CC seems to be that the repercussions for said offenses are significantly increased. Offenses that were not considered 'serious' before, offenses that possibly resulted in a non incarcerated sentence, will very likely now result in incarceration and for significant periods of time, although nothing specific yet has been publicized to my knowledge.


Edit ** I guess you beat me to it with you second post**

[tiramisu]

the definition of serious offence is a little vague. apparently a landed immigrant can be deported for a "serious offence" but the number of things in the list of "serious offences" seems to pretty random from what I can tell from a quick scan.

[tiramisu]

This is an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada. The difference from previous revisions to the CC seems to be that the repercussions for said offenses are significantly increased. Offenses that were not considered 'serious' before, offenses that possibly resulted in a non incarcerated sentence, will very likely now result in incarceration and for significant periods of time, although nothing specific yet has been publicized to my knowledge.


Edit ** I guess you beat me to it with you second post**

So it will affect sentence but does not affect the underlying law or limitations of that law. The "Controlled Drugs and Substances" act has not been amended rather the sentencing guidelines for prosecution and the budget spending of law enforcement will be altered.

[tiramisu]

I think the critical items of amendment are

2. c) importing any substance included in Schedule IV
d) producing any substance in Schedule IV

Are the potentially frightening ones for those ordering finished aas/hgh or powders from overseas for personal use.

If these are now "serious offences" then the CBSA could create a shit storm of activity against individuals that the "Fight Against Organized Crime" was not intended to engage.

[Body By Balco]

I think the critical items of amendment are

2. c) importing any substance included in Schedule IV
d) producing any substance in Schedule IV

Are the potentially frightening ones for those ordering finished aas/hgh or powders from overseas for personal use.

If these are now "serious offences" then the CBSA could create a shit storm of activity against individuals that the "Fight Against Organized Crime" was not intended to engage.




Exactly. While it may take some time to prosecutions to happen...the ground work has been laid. In much the same way that the US Patriot act was supposed to 'solely' catch terrorists (to brutally reduce the gist of the law to its most basic elements), it certainly extended it's 'intended' reach many fold.

AND remember that the Gov't only has to link three people together for it to be considered organized, and those three people do not have to have met. ie the foreign exporter, the local importer and possibly you. Headlines reading "yadda yadda yadda...All conspired to.... yadda yadda yadda"

[rob66679]

Thank you Steven Harper, I know I feel much safer now.

[natenator]

Thank you Steven Harper, I know I feel much safer now.
I wonder where wade and jersey are to boast about the awesomeness of lord Stephen now?

[keithsa41]

Popa Harper on the drum role to new election platform promises...

[MuSuLPhReAk]

This was inevitable. I believe a few more amendments will be made, in particular, if the mandatory sentencing for drug related crimes passes, then I would think they would eventually add Schedule IV to the mix.

[rob66679]

I wonder where wade and jersey are to boast about the awesomeness of lord Stephen now?

I kind of miss Wade actually...... he kept things interesting.

[macka]

I wonder where wade and jersey are to boast about the awesomeness of lord Stephen now?

If we had liberal lapdog iggy, he'd be smooching obamas ass. We'd also have stupid laws going ofter legal owners of guns and other things. Also the one thing a lot of people have missed here is that a lot of rec drug busts recently have had a quantity of steroids in the mix. This has a lot of bearing on how the crown pushes for new laws, when they lobby the politicians. Remember these fat soft government lawyers are afraid of people with muscles because we are physically intimidating to them.

[rob66679]

If we had liberal lapdog iggy, he'd be smooching obamas ass. We'd also have stupid laws going ofter legal owners of guns and other things. Also the one thing a lot of people have missed here is that a lot of rec drug busts recently have had a quantity of steroids in the mix. This has a lot of bearing on how the crown pushes for new laws, when they lobby the politicians. Remember these fat soft government lawyers are afraid of people with muscles because we are physically intimidating to them.

Government Lawyers are scared of "people with muscles"..... How could I forget?

Everybody knows that most court cases end up with a pose down in speedo's to decide facts, how the damm liberal media missed that I have no idea.

[macka]

Government Lawyers are scared of "people with muscles"..... How could I forget?

Everybody knows that most court cases end up with a pose down in speedo's to decide facts, how the damm liberal media missed that I have no idea.

Well when the liberal media goes after guys selling steroids they always paint them as muscle junkies and roid raging animals, or vain assholes. The liberals always read their liberal papers and so paint all steroid users with the same brush.

[tony_canuck]

it's sad but true, everyone is looking at 'selling' their idea, and since most people aren't involved in using aas, or even working out for that matter, it's easy to say "they're" all the same.

Something like alcohol or tobacco which has far more proven damage to humans isn't labeled as dangerous to human society because politicians and many people have those addictions, so it's okay.

I don't know, a lot of people get into fights and drive drunk, should we ban booze? Same thing with aas, that one coke dealer got into a fight, and yes he used aas, is it roid rage or is the guy a moron with or without aas. You need a catchy headline for the papers... it's pathetic how most people really are like sheep

[rob66679]

Well when the liberal media goes after guys selling steroids they always paint them as muscle junkies and roid raging animals, or vain assholes. The liberals always read their liberal papers and so paint all steroid users with the same brush.

Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal......... Its a ****in Conservative who's decided to build more prisons to put steriod users and dealers in.
Ones just as bad as the other anyway when it comes to suckholing for votes, or trying as in this case to draw attention away from the fact that Canada lost 135k jobs last month.

But we could just decide it by a pose down right? Every criminal knows that the best way to get off a charge is to start flexing in court, because all crown prosecuters are scared of muscles.............. Just give em the back double bicep, and walk right out...........

[tiramisu]

The problem with these laws is that they aren't constrained to their stated purpose. i.e. Fight Organized Crime. While that is the rationale for the creation the stated rationale isn't included within the law itself.

So that leaves us with order viagara or testosterone from out of country defined as a serious offence and crown prosecutors with explicit direction to jail the evil doers.

The inclusion of personal importation of schedule IV in the definition of serious crimes is almost certainly going to result in some obscenely stupid ass shit.

We shall see soon enough as the CBSA garbages uncountable numbers of schedule iv importations annually.

[guest]

i thought discussion of politics was out on CBB? Illegalness!!!!! :D

[macka]

Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal......... Its a ****in Conservative who's decided to build more prisons to put steriod users and dealers in.
Ones just as bad as the other anyway when it comes to suckholing for votes, or trying as in this case to draw attention away from the fact that Canada lost 135k jobs last month.

But we could just decide it by a pose down right? Every criminal knows that the best way to get off a charge is to start flexing in court, because all crown prosecuters are scared of muscles.............. Just give em the back double bicep, and walk right out...........

liberal media is not the same as the liberal party. We all know that the media basically is biased to the political parties anyway and are just a legal way to lobby and then rally people behind their affiliated banner.
135000 jobs in the last month? Then how come out west here they are screaming for bodies to fill jobs? I think what it boils down to is that we like to see the politicians doing something, right wrong or otherwise.

[natenator]

liberal media is not the same as the liberal party. We all know that the media basically is biased to the political parties anyway and are just a legal way to lobby and then rally people behind their affiliated banner.
135000 jobs in the last month? Then how come out west here they are screaming for bodies to fill jobs? I think what it boils down to is that we like to see the politicians doing something, right wrong or otherwise.
Actually that's not true. I don't just want politicians doing something. That's what we have and have always had. I want politicians to do the right thing despite it not being the popular thing. Worry about serving the people instead of trying to keep your job.

Mike Harris did what was right for the people of Ontario. It wasn't popular but it was right and what was needed at the time. HE is a real politician and a REAL conservative. ****ing Harris is a pussy who does nothing unless he believes it will get him re-elected. *cough cough* pandering to Quebec...

[guest]

ok. i am a ****ing ignoramus when it comes to politics.

what i am seeing is this; party A and party B have different agendas. party A gets elected, puts their plan in motion and because you can't please everyone all of the time they piss the public off on some matter, eg. HST (never mind the all the good that they have done). So election time comes and party B is elected, same shit, they make changes and institute their agendas, doing good and bad so they eventually get voted out again allowing Party A back in and the cycle to continue. it's like 2 steps forward and 1 step back if we're lucky. like a reciprocating engine whose parts eventually destroy one another.

meanwhile both sides are lost quibbling over details.

is this really what's happening? .....yes, i am an idiot.

[cog]

I am going to have to hold my nose next election...but I don't see any real alternatives.This is the work of Larry(Stockwell)Day.About 15 years ago or so a person in his extended family went down the wrong road...he's on a crusade it seems...don't ask me how I know.

[rob66679]

liberal media is not the same as the liberal party. We all know that the media basically is biased to the political parties anyway and are just a legal way to lobby and then rally people behind their affiliated banner.
135000 jobs in the last month? Then how come out west here they are screaming for bodies to fill jobs? I think what it boils down to is that we like to see the politicians doing something, right wrong or otherwise.

I don't work for stats Canada, but I do read the papers and if you did too you'd know that is the number that Stats Canada came up with.
I'm not going into the whole Liberal media thing because eventually it will turn shitty and its against MP's rules anyway.

I'm with Nate, theres not much I hate more than a Politician doing something that doesn't need fixing, doesn't matter if its the gun registry or "getting tough" with guys trying to import personal amounts of a schedule 4 drug.

After reading the definition of Organized Crime, I'm minda wondering how this could affect a lot of things.... I mean if you were a member of an open source board, and someone used you for a reference, that could in a sense make it organized crime by definition?
Maybe someone else with a better understanding of the laws will chime in?