Police Line Do Not Cross

I got a postcard-sized flyer in the mail today. The only reason I read it before chucking was that I thought it was someone making fun of the Conservatives. Imagine my surprise when I realized it wasn't a joke! This is what it says, exactly as printed:

Stephen Harper:
Taking action. Tackling crime.
Hard time for serious crime.
More police.
Bolstered border security.
Getting tough on:
-Street racing;
-Child exploitation; and
-Youth crime.
"Canada's New
Government is tackling
crime to protect our safe
streets and the Canadian
way of life."
Stephen Harper, MP

POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS
POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS

Canada's New Government
Tackling Crime
For a Strong Canada

It boggles my mind that Harper is hell-bent on destroying Canada's world-leading record for preventing crime without incarceration. I live in the Kitchener-Waterloo riding. My MP, Andrew Telegdi (Lib), was an early promoter of an organization called Youth in Conflict with the Law which keeps youthful offenders out of prison by putting them in a bail supervision program. The outfit runs on a shoestring and yet has kept thousands of youth from falling into a life of crime. Now Harper wants to reduce the age at which a youth can be hauled into court from 12 to 10. He wants to build more prisons, he wants to put more people in jail, and he wants them to stay in jail for longer periods of time.