IT WILL TAKE MAJOR MIRACLE TO WAKE UP NATION'S LAWMAKERS

EDITOR, THE TIMES:

Re: Our View in Friday's Times entitled Do we need death before action here?

Yes, I believe we do and more.

With the everlasting lenient drug rulings seen in Abbotsford court
rooms today, our city is become a paradise for drug dealers.

Abbotsford is where one can watch 108 drug related court rulings,
with 208 charges, emerge into a 97 per cent accused release rate
without paying a dime. Now, that is paradise in bloom for any drug
dealer, don't you agree?

Yet, what is wrong with the dysfunctional justice system today?

I found it hilarious to hear B.C. Attorney General Wally Opal tell an
audience last Friday that he would need to study how tough other
provinces sentence when it has been known for ages that Alberta,
Ontario and the U.S. have a far stricter rule of law in regards to
these matters.

On the other hand, I recall NDP leader Jack Layton and Liberal
Stephane Dion boldly proclaim how that they would bring down the
government at once if they dared to enforce their planned crime bill last fall.

So, how can anyone do anything when la makers push nothing but their
own agenda ?

The Canadian "discretionary system" makes judges decide what
sentences to hand down. In the "guideline system" lawmakers set
minimum and maximum sentences for each crime. Then a sentencing
commission sets a numerical range for each crime based on the age of
the offender and their previous convictions.

What about the more sentences the longer the sentence? Sounds logical
to me. Nonetheless, it will take a miracle of magnificent proportion
to wake up the lawmakers in Ottawa.

I am pretty glum about the present ill-considered justice system but
with men like local MLA John Van Dongen and a police force working
hard to tackle the problem, there is a glimmer of light at the end of
the tunnel.

Gertie Pool

Abbotsford