MAYOR HAS GOT IT RIGHT

Dear Editor,

Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender has been criticized for his
testimony in Ottawa regarding Bill C-15 [Mayor offers drug advice to
Ottawa, Nov. 6, Langley Advance], a bill that calls for mandatory
minimum sentences for drug-related crimes.

While I respect the right of others to offer opinions, I find comments
by Mike Foster and Travis Erbacher [Mayor's stance dangerous, Nov. 20
Letters, Langley Advance] to be very troubling and irrational. As a
member of the Concerned Leaders for Justice Reform (CLJR), Mayor
Fassbender and others have shown excellent leadership in researching
and then advocating for various criminal justice initiatives. The CLJR
exists courtesy of MP Mark Warawa, with early input from MLAs Rich
Coleman and Mary Polak.

MP Warawa faithfully participates in each and every meeting. I have
intimate knowledge of Mayor Fassbender's work, because I have the
pleasure of serving with him on the CLJR taskforce, which also
includes the Langley RCMP, Abbotsford Police, local fire chiefs, a
retired judge, Dr. Darryl Plecas, and others.

Dr. Plecas continues to provide us with a wealth of current research
that shows what is not effective in today's criminal justice system.
Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis, Langley RCMP Inspector Richard Konarski,
Abbotsford Police Deputy Chief Rick Lucy, and others continue to
provide specific anecdotal evidence as to what is happening on the
streets of our communities.

Mr. Erbacher says Mayor Fassbender "has never taken a serious look at
the benefits of legalization." But Erbacher fails to mention the
mounting social problems that his shining example of the Netherlands
has reaped as a result of just "semi-legalization." The Netherlands
continues to spend more money per capita than most of its EU
neighbours (excluding Sweden) to fund law enforcement against drugs.

Additionally, a boatload more dollars help pay for the alarming
healthcare costs associated with their drug abuse problems. Mr. Foster
rants about "legislation which will cost us taxpayers millions and
imprison hundreds of people." But to be fair, he is unable to see from
his home in Quebec the gun fights on Langley streets that we and Mayor
Fassbender have seen as a result of allowing hardened criminals to
roam our streets freely and flaunt the spoils of their plunder.

The legalization of drugs is not going to happen in our lifetimes in
the United States. Perhaps 80-90 per cent of BC Bud (B.C.-grown
cannabis) is exported to the USA. It usually returns to Canada in the
form of cocaine. Mr. Erbacher's leftie teachers did not apparently
fill him in on this fact.

The underground economy and violence as we know it will not one day
magically disappear because of political folly like drug legalization.
As a police officer, I've seen first hand what drugs and gangs do. In
Canada, we have a growing number of violent offenders directly linked
to the drug business. They are resistant to any kind of reformation or
rehabilitation. They start from a place of no remorse for their
violent behaviour, nor the young lives they prematurely ended.

This segment of the population must be incarcerated for the protection
of our law-abiding public. If this requires building more prisons,
then it will be much cheaper than social impacts created by the
alternative.

Joe Zaccaria,

Walnut Grove