The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Manitoba Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh received a standing ovation Friday at the Legion Hall after delivering a powerful speech about provincial efforts to take a bite out of crime. The guest speaker at the Flin Flon NDP Association's Dinner and Dance, Mackintosh told the crowd of about 80 people that steps to deal with illegal activity have been bearing fruit. "A provincial government can't be solely blamed nor take credit for fluctuating crime rates," he said from a podium. "But I think it has to accept responsibility when it fails to engage communities in the responses and in solutions, and we have people engaged in the quest for public safety like never before in the history of this province." Mackintosh outlined several efforts undertaken by the province, including initiatives to tackle organized crimes, businesses operating as fronts for crime, sex offenders, and street gangs. "We're recognized now as having the toughest anti-gang legislation in the country, and we're not done yet," he said. The Minister of Justice asserted that the Doer government has been "funding police to unprecedented levels" but acknowledged that certain types of crime, such as auto theft and violent crime, remain high. Near the conclusion of his speech, Mackintosh took a political turn when he accused the political Right of unfairly adopting the victim's rights movement as its own. "We on the Left have to stand up for victims," he said. "I think it's this century's new civil rights movement, quite frankly. Victims of crime are disproportionately also victims of social and economic injustice. We know that. They're our constituents, and they've been left out. They've been treated no differently than a bloody shirt in a court room."
