OTTAWA – All provinces will be bound to the Conservative crime bills, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, responding to pushback from Quebec and Ontario, who said they will refuse to pay any extra costs that come with the new laws.

The bills would, among other things, introduce mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offences and beef up the youth justice system.

Much of the cost burden associated with the inevitable uptick in inmates will fall to the provinces.

When asked whether defiant provinces would have to pay up, Harper said there are “constitutional responsibilities of all governments to enforce laws and protect people.

“I think the people of Ontario and Quebec expect that their government will work with the federal government to make sure we have safe streets and safe communities.”

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Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty last week ignited a battle with the federal Conservatives, demanding Ottawa pay the additional costs of its legislation.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s justice minister has thrown his weight behind the effort.

In his interview with The West Block, the prime minister cited data suggesting provisions in the proposed legislation have the support of people across the country, including in Quebec and Ontario.

The omnibus crime bill combines nine bills that were introduced in previous Parliaments, but never passed under Conservative minorities.

The government said the estimated combined costs of its law-and-order agenda will top $78 million over five years. But Public Safety Minister Vic Toes has said there are no figures available to help detail how much of the burden will be shuffled to provinces.

The price tag comes at a time of austerity, when all levels of government are looking to tighten their belts, and when the global economy is on exceptionally shaky ground. Still, Harper is steadfast in passing the bill into law.

“In our judgment… they’re not terribly expensive,” Harper said. “And this is a fundamental responsibility of government to make sure there’s a criminal justice system that does what it can to protect people.”

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The so-called Safe Streets and Communities Act is one of several pieces of legislation the Conservatives have fast tracked through the House of Commons since winning their majority May 2.

In only a few sitting weeks, Harper has ticked off campaign promises, such as abolishing the long-gun registry, and moved forward on passing his budget, achieving proportional representation in the Commons and forcing unionized workers back to the job.

Despite this, and despite his five years in office, the prime minister has had to put his political agenda – what could become his legacy — on the sidelines, he said.

“When I came to be prime minister in 2006, I didn’t think I would be managing Canada through a protracted economic crisis. Nobody saw that in 2006,” Harper said, speculating that his handling of that crisis could end up defining his place in history.

“I think all prime ministers would like to think that there’s some big legacy project that will define them,” he said. “But our success to date is that we have so far steered Canada through the worst global recession since the Second World War, (and ended up) in the best position of any advanced country. And if we can continue to do that, I think that will be a success.”

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