OTTAWA (CP) - Justice Minister Vic Toews says it will cost $246 million to house the extra criminals he expects to put away with his package of tougher gun laws.
He's telling a Commons committee that his proposed mandatory minimum sentences for serious gun crimes are expected to nab an extra 270 offenders a year by the fifth year. The $246 million will build the new prison space to house them, and keeping them locked up will run another $40 million a year.
Opposition MPs say there's no proof that the tougher laws will actually reduce crime.
The minister says the new minimum sentences will cut crime because the most serious, repeat offenders will be locked away longer.
He says police, municipal officials and provincial attorneys general have asked for tougher measures to combat gang-related gun violence.
