Harper retreats to the safety of crime: Walkom

The prime minister's attempts to re-make Canada in his image have hit a roadblock.

Stephen Harper is moving back into safe territory.

That’s the significance of Justice Minister Rob Nicholson’s announcement Monday that the Conservative government plans to get tougher on those who sexually abuse children.

The announcement was unusually content-free. Nicholson didn’t say how Ottawa would get tougher. On CBC radio the next day he was equally vague.

But clarity wasn’t the point. The point was to signal to voters that the Conservatives plan to focus more narrowly on crime as they prepare for the expected 2015 election.

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