INSIDE: Alleged Abbotsford pedophile facing 13 more charges
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T U E S D A Y
November 30, 2010
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de Jong won’t divulge if he’s declaring
van Dongen: leadership style ‘too close to Campell’s’ RAFE ARNOTT RArnott@abbotsfordtimes.com
Falcon’s expected leadership bid announcement this morning. BC Liberal MLAs will be selecting a new leader in a ritish Columbia’s next premier could be Attor- party vote set for Feb. 26 following three-term Liberal ney General Mike de Jong, and Premier Gordon Camptomorrow’s 10 a.m. announcebell’s surprise resignament at the Abbotsford Airport could “I’m thinking of it as ‘who today . . . tion Nov. 3. be the beginning of de Jong’s Liberal George Abbott has have the broadest outreach to the peo- the support of several leadership bid. The Abbotsford-West MLA has done ple of British Columbia’. Frankly, right MLAs for his leadership nothing to dispel rampant speculation bid, including longtime that he will be tossing his name into the now I think that’s George.” de Jong riding cohorts ring to become the province’s 35th preAbbotsford South MLA mier, and Wednesday’s announcement – MLA Randy Hawes and former Solicitor is just more fuel on the fire. General John van DonEducation minister George Abbott gen and Abbotsford-Misand rookie Vancouver-Langara MLA Moira Stilwell are sion MLA Randy Hawes. already in the running, and de Jong’s press conference see LEADERSHIP, page A2 tomorrow comes a day after Health Minister Kevin
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Abbotsford MLAs John van Dongen, left, and Mike de Jong during the 2009 provincial election.
$77.5M locked in for prisons Major expansions throughout Fraser Valley RAFE ARNOTT RArnott@abbotsfordtimes.com
Fraser Valley Institution is scheduled for 2013-2014, Toews said. Touching on his Conservative h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t government’s legislation removing announced $77.5 million in many of the “time-served” options expansion funding for prisons in for prosecutors, Toews reaffirmed Abbotsford, Mission and Kent on the feds position that it was the Monday. right move for Canada. Conservative Minister of Public “The expansion of institutions in Safety, Vic Toews, said during a the Fraser Valley not only reaffirms press conference held our government’s at Pacific Institution First reported @ commitment to Monday at 11:30 a.m., abbotsfordtimes.com British Columbia,” that the money would Toews said, “but go towards 362 new beds at local helps ensure that criminals serve prisons. sentences that better reflect the Completion of two 96-bed living severity of their crimes.” units at Kent and Matsqui InstituAccording to Abbotsford MP tions, a 96-bed chronic care unit at Ed Fast, the previous legal proPacific Institution, a 50-bed living tocols of two-for-one, and even unit at Ferndale Institution and three-for-one, timed served sen24 new accommodation spaces at tencing, meant a violent criminal
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Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, right, speaks at a press conference Monday announcing $77.5 million in prison funding. sentenced to nine years in prison could be out in as little as three years depending on how long they waited to go to trial. Fast said this was “not acceptable to Canadians.” He said ensuring there is enough
space for criminals in the future with harsher sentencing rules being put in place by the Conservatives now is only part of the solution. “The dramatic increase [in prisoners] that some predicted would
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occur as a result of the laws we are putting in place is not taking place as dramatically, but rather, is a very gradual increase,” Toews said. see PRISONS, page A5
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