CALGARY SUN EDITORIAL: GUNNING FOR TROUBLE

CALGARY SUN EDITORIAL: GUNNING FOR TROUBLE
Date: Jan 19, 2006 9:29 PM


PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun
DATE: 2006.01.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Editorial/Opinion
PAGE: 14
COLUMN: Editorial
WORD COUNT: 287

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GUNNING FOR TROUBLE

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Calgarians can't be blamed for feeling confused and outraged as a
suspected gunrunner wanders the streets a free man.

Police on both sides of the border are steamed, to put it mildly, that
this fugitive from U.S. justice was let out of jail by a Canadian
immigration adjudicator.

Phong "Danny" Hoang is wanted in the U.S. for conspiracy to export
firearms and related charges.

His Dec. 20 arrest was the result of some sharp teamwork by Canada
Border Services and Calgary and Great Falls, Mont., police.

One of the guns Hoang is accused of smuggling wound up in the hands of
suspected gang members in Calgary, and American officials allege he has
connections with the California gang the Tiny Rascals.

Given the rash of gang-related murders in this city, it is unbelievable
a suspect facing such charges is now walking the streets.

If Hoang is convicted in the U.S., he could get 40 years in prison. We
bet he just can't wait to cross the border to face the charges.

Not only is Hoang footloose and fancy free, he's become a poster child
for the problems plaguing Canada's justice system. Instead of being
safely tucked behind bars or deported to face the law in the U.S., Hoang
now enjoys virtually the same status as any other visitor to this
country.

It's ironic that on the same day the story about Hoang made front-page
headlines, Mayor Dave Bronconnier named crime and public safety as the
new focus of his administration.

Bronconnier's initiative, which includes hiring more police, is
commendable, but the Hoang case reveals our justice system contains
loopholes big enough to blast a .38 slug through. Despite superlative
police work, our justice system is only as strong as its weakest link.

For the sake of the public's peace of mind, not only must an appeal of
Hoang's release be fast-tracked, but the circumstances surrounding his
release should be thoroughly probed.

The new federal government elected Monday must move swiftly to implement
mandatory minimum sentences to deal with gun-totin' perps after police
have arrested them.

Gang-related gun crime has become a scourge in our cities. We must throw
everything we've got at the war to defeat it.

Sadly, this incident is a frightening reminder that, until we've fixed
our justice system, we're only gunning for trouble.