OFFICER LIKES SOUND OF NEW RAVES BILL

Private member's proposal good start, inquest told

The Raves Act, 2000, a private member's bill currently before the
Ontario Legislature, offers some good ways to promote public safety
and ban illicit drugs at raves, a senior police officer told an
inquest into the death of Allan Ho.

``The sheer numbers of ravers'' involved in illicit drug use is
``disturbing to say the least,'' Taverner told the inquest.

A Ryerson student, Ho died of an overdose on the drug ecstasy just two
weeks before his 21st birthday while attending A View to a Thrill rave
last Oct. 9 at 501 Alliance Ave.

``I would support anything we can do as a society to deal with what I
call an epidemic of drug use,'' Superintendent Ron Taverner, head of
Toronto police special investigations services, told the inquest.

The Raves Act, 2000, drafted by deputy Liberal leader Sandra Pupatello
which has passed first reading, offers ``a good framework'' but it
needs more discussion and fine-tuning, said Taverner, who is chair of
the Ontario Chiefs of Police substance abuse committee.

The bill, said Taverner, would give police ``the ability to deal with
a situation'' where drugs are sold and to terminate the event if
illegal acts are occurring on site before the event gets out of control.

The act, which defines a rave as a dance event occurring between 2 and
6 a.m. for which ad mission is charged, offers the following
proposals, the inquest heard:

* The bill prohibits anyone from holding a rave unless the local
municipality has issued a permit.

* No one may promote or sell tickets to a rave unless a permit has
been issued.

* Municipalities may revoke, suspend, or issue or renew permits
subject to conditions. For instance, a municipality would deny a
permit if the applicant had recently been convicted of an offence
under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act or offences at raves
under liquor, fire safety, health protection, noise or
maximum-occupancy laws and bylaws.

* Police would have authority to enter any place where they believe a
rave has violated the act and require all persons to leave.

* Corporations that promote a rave without a permit or allow property
to be used for raves without a permit could be fined up to $50,000;
individuals could be fined up to $10,000, sentenced to six months in
jail or both.

* People at raves who fail to abide by a direction to leave could be
fined up to $5,000.

Taverner said he would urge the inquest jury to seriously consider
recommending that the federal government fund a national strategy for
drug awareness.

In the early '90s, the federal government spent $210 million over
three years on a national drug strategy, Taverner said.

``I feel it's shameful that was discontinued,'' Taverner said outside
the inquest.

Capping a rave to 2,000 or 3,000 attendees would also help police deal
more effectively with a crisis before it reaches numbers that are too
high to control, Taverner told the inquest.

``Our primary concern is public safety and (banning) the use of
illicit drugs.''

Taverner was speaking specifically about three raves held on the CNE
grounds earlier this spring.

At a Feb. 20 rave, 7,000 people attended and five people were arrested
on 17 drug-related charges; on March 25, 12,000 attended and 15 people
were arrested on 38 drug-related charges; on April 22, 7,000 attended
and 24 people were arrested on 57 drug-related charges.