The Harper government is vowing to crack down on white-collar crime. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that he will introduce legislation soon to impose mandatory jail sentences on fraudsters.

He made the announcement as organizations representing white-collar victims descended on Ottawa to applaud the action and demand more.

Victims - some of whom lost millions of dollars - say the stiffer sentences will act as a deterrent to Ponzi schemes and stock and corporate frauds.

The renewed focus on white-collar crime comes after Montreal investment dealer Earl Jones was charged with fraud in July for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme that swindled about 150 investors of at least $30 million.

As well, two Alberta men were charged on September 14 with operating another Ponzi-type scheme that netted about $100 million in investments.

Victims groups stressed that the federal and provincial governments need to support tougher sentences with more funding.

They say Ottawa and other provinces should follow the lead of Quebec, which is spending an extra $6 million to hire 20 new financial fraud police officers and three new Crown prosecutors.

They also say Ottawa should create an independent Securities Crime Unit to investigate financial crime, adding that the RCMP has so far proved ineffective and at times disinterested.