Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says he is disgusted by the Liberals, who will not support the Conservatives' third attempt to pass a bill to impose tougher penalties for drug crimes.
"Every one of (the Liberals) stood on behalf of that bill and now they've flip-flopped," he said Thursday on CTV's Power Play.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said his party won't support Bill S-10, saying it disproportionately targets youth and could add billions in prison costs.
Bill S-10 "isn't tough on crime, it's dumb on crime," he said.
Nicholson countered, saying the bill "targets people who are in the grow-op business for the purpose of trafficking, it reclassifies the date rape drugs and that's important for young women in this county, and it targets people who bring drugs into Canada.
"It sends out the right message."
The Liberals originally supported an identical bill before Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament in 2009.
One of the main concerns is the cost of the bill, but the government has refused a request from the Commons finance committee to release detailed cost estimates for its crime bills.
Just one of their crime bills -- eliminating credit for time served before sentencing -- will hike prison costs by $5 billion over five years, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says.
The Tories say all their crime bills will only add $2 billion in prison costs over five years.
The Tories introduced S-10 in the Senate, where the Conservatives now have a majority.
But the bill will be hard to pass without Liberal support in the lower house.
"We're all in favour of cracking down on serious criminals but this bill doesn't distinguish between massive grow-ops and a first-time offender with a small amount," Ignatieff said Thursday.
"What's more, the Conservatives won't tell us what the fiscal implications of this bill are. How many billions will it cost? How many mega-prisons will have to be built?"
Nicholson said the bill differentiates between those who are trafficking and those who are using the plants for personal use.
"It's not targeting against someone who is experimenting (with marijuana)," he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
