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Against a political backdrop where the federal government is proposing six-year mandatory minimum sentences for drunk drivers who kill people, a Calgary judge handed a 3 ½ year term Wednesday to a man responsible for the deaths of two people in an alcohol-related crash.

Justice Barbara Romaine told Ryan Thomas Kramer the sentence is intended to be a deterrent to others, but the head of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter in Calgary said it doesn’t send that message.

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“I don’t think 3 ½ years is enough for killing two people,” said Karen Harrison, president of MADD Calgary.

“It would have been a different story if (Romaine) was saying seven to 10 years. That would have sent a message.”

Kramer, 26, pleaded guilty last fall to two counts of criminal negligence causing death in connection with the deaths of Faton Doberdolani and Venera Simnica on Nov. 26, 2011.

Doberdolani and his girlfriend, Simnica, were stopped at a red light on McKnight Boulevard N.E. when Kramer’s Lexus slammed into their car at more than 100 km/h. A police breath test showed Kramer had a blood alcohol reading more double the legal driving limit when he got behind the wheel after drinking with three friends at a northeast Calgary strip club.