François Lareau, LL.M.
55-890 Cahill Drive West
Ottawa ON K1V 9A4

Dear Sir:

Re: Reform of the General Part of the Criminal Code

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, The Honourable V.E. Toews, Q.C., has asked that I respond to your letter concerning the above.

To the best of my knowledge, Manitoba Justice did not submit a brief in response to the documents to which you refer.  However, Manitoba has been an active participant in an ongoing project to effect major reform in criminal procedure.  Manitoba Justice officials have been active in this federal-provincial-territorial undertaking and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Manitoba has written to the Federal Minister urging her to bring forward legislation.  These reforms have been described as amongst the most important since the enactment of the Criminal Code and we expect that they will be on the agenda of the next meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice.

If you require further information or wish to discuss this matter further, do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.

Yours truly,
[signature]
Rob Finlayson
Assistant Deputy Attorney General