DOGS SNIFFING OUT DRUGS IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

One of the most tiresome aspects of public life in Canada is its knee-jerk
anti-Americanism. Whenever there's some hard-headed but common-sense policy
that politicians like Paul Martin say they dislike, such as the partial
private funding of health care, they always bash it as being "American."

However, whenever there's a politically correct policy beloved by small "l"
liberals, namely anything to do with environmental protection, no mention is
made of the fact that it's invariably the Americans who came up with the
idea first -- and remain the big backers of Canadian eco groups.

It's the same with the battle against drug use in the Lower Mainland. Any
B.C. agency that tries to sink its teeth into this tragic issue is
immediately accused by the great, grey herd of pussyfooters of being
involved in an American-style "war on drugs."

So, plaudits are due Abbotsford school trustees for voting to proceed with a
controversial plan to designate drug-free zones around schools and have
drug-sniffing dogs do random checks of school lockers, beginning this fall
term.

"We need to make a stand on this," school board vice-chairman John Smith is
quoted as saying in the Abbotsford Times.

Smith and Co.'s plan, of course, was greeted with howls of protest from B.C.
Civil Liberties Association president John Russell who barked that it was
"part of a morally bankrupt and practically ineffective war on drugs."

But whether we like it or not, we Canadians are engaged in a Lower Mainland
drug war. And we need all the help we can get, especially from our
four-legged friends.

Besides, if anyone doubts the effectiveness of dogs in sniffing out drugs,
they should spend some time watching them collar suspects at Vancouver
International Airport. As I have done.

So it was disappointing to learn this week that, while Abbotsford is moving
firmly forward, Surrey School Board has finally backed away from its plan
for drug-sniffing canines, citing costs and other complications.

Surrey's proposed policy too had been savaged by the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association. Calling it "incredibly invasive" of student privacy,
association policy director Kirk Tousaw suggested it was absurd to send in
the dogs: "And we don't really want to follow U.S.-style tactics on this
issue, do we?"

Well, yes, many of us do. And it's not because we're all rabid pitbulls.
It's just that we think, as many Americans do, that our children need at
least one drug-free place in their lives where they can study in peace and
quiet.

So, it'll be interesting to see which works best in the end -- Abbotsford's
proactive, anti-drug approach or that of other more wishy-washy B.C. school
boards, who are simply content to dog it.