Indo-Canadian MP's proposed bill set to become law

A bill proposed by an Indo-Canadian member of Canada's parliament to make recruitment of youths in criminal gangs a crime has secured the support of the country's justice minister and is set to become a law.

Paramjit Gill, the Conservative Party MP from Brampton-Springdale in the Canadian province of Ontario, has proposed a legislation to make recruitment of youth in criminal gangs a crime and tougher penalties on criminal organisations trying to recruit youth.

The bill has now got the support of Canada's Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and the Conservative government and is set to become a law before the parliament breaks for summer June 21, the South Asian Observer reported Friday.

According to the report, Bill C-394 has passed the third and final hurdle in the House of Commons by a vote of 240-36 and has been submitted to the upper house, the Senate, for review.

The bill proposes prohibition of recruiting or encouraging a person to join a criminal organisation. The new offence will carry a maximum of five-year jail term and a mandatory minimum penalty of six months, if the person recruited is under the age of 18.

Gill, 39, said that, as a father of three, he was particularly concerned about addressing the issue of gang recruitment in Canada's communities.

He appealed to all MPs to support the bill in its final vote.