The federal Tories tabled a bill Tuesday that would give authorities the power to arrest, charge, and convict people who intend to sell personal information as part of an identity theft scheme.

Currently, the law makes it illegal to misuse someone's personal information to create false identification or for other fraudulent purposes.

However, it is not against the law to collect, possess, or traffic another person's identity information.

The Conservatives want to amend the Criminal Code to make it an offence to possess someone's personal identifying information with the intent of selling it or using it to commit fraud.

Justice Minister Robert Nicholson said at a press conference on Wednesday that identity theft crimes usually involve groups of individuals taking part in various stages of a crime, each doing their own part.

He said the new legislation will help track down people participating in initial stage of identity fraud. He said that currently these individuals suffer few, if any, consequences under the law, even though they could reap large financial rewards.

Nicholson said that identity theft may cost Canadians more than $2 billion every year, but that figure does not include the true effects of the crime.

"Identity theft has an impact on the daily lives of Canadians," he said.

"It can affect our families, our businesses, our homes, our bank accounts, and our health. And that is quite apart from the enormous emotional impact that it has on its victims."

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart told CTV Newsnet Wednesday that the new bill appears to be a step in the right direction in combating identity theft, which she said affects about 200,000 people each year.

"I have been calling for this for several years now -- that we move in the criminal code to be able to conceptualize the parts of ID crime a lot more precisely," Stoddart said.

She said the bill could "give police the powers that they need to try and apprehend different members of what is now usually organized ID theft rings."

Stoddart noted, however, that the bill should only be considered as one part of a wider strategy to combat identity theft. She said that identification systems and cards must be made safer and more accurate.

She added that the public must be educated to protect themselves, noting that simple things as keeping Social Insurance cards in a secure location rather than in wallets or purses go a long way to protect individuals.

Legal experts say the new bill could present some judicial challenges.

"I think there's always a challenge in proving intent but we have a number of offences in our Criminal Code where intent is an important portion of proving the charge," David Fraser, a lawyer that specializes in privacy issues, told CTV.ca.

"You can do that by looking at the totality of the circumstances -- you don't necessarily have to look directly into the head of the accused."

In 2006, almost 8,000 victims reported losses of $16 million to PhoneBusters, the Canadian Anti-fraud Call Centre.

"There are probably even more who don't report it... (and) there isn't mandatory reporting from the banks or the credit bureaus who might be the first to hear about it," said Fraser.

He said the Tory initiative will give law enforcement an additional tool to help them deal with identity theft offences.

However, Fraser said attention should also be given to ensuring that businesses properly secure personal information in the first place.

"That's one of the places where information often gets into the hands of identity thieves," he said.

"Another part of it might be simply to make it a little more challenging in order for credit granters to extend credit to individuals."

Consumers can also take practical steps to protect their information by regularly checking bank statements and shredding personal documents, said Fraser.

The identity theft legislation is the latest in a flurry of anti-crime initiatives the Tories have announced this week.

On Tuesday, the Harper government introduced new legislation proposing mandatory sentencing for individuals convicted of serious drug-related crimes.

Nicholson said the new bill is designed to impose tough sentences on Canadians profiting from organized crime and violence.

If passed, Bill C-2 will impose the first mandatory sentences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for people convicted of drug-related crimes.

"We are committed to protecting Canadians, and today's legislation is one more part of our fighting crime agenda," Nicholson said.

On Monday, the Tories proposed changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The key proponents of their proposal are:

• Tougher sentences
• Allowing for pre-trial detention
• Allow courts to consider deterrence and denunciation as objectives of youth sentences