CHARTER MEANS NOTHING

The Editor,

Re: "Drug conviction upheld despite charter breach," the Now, Jan. 8.

This, to me, is more proof that the cops, courts, and government in
this country are systematically corrupt. Ignoring breaches of Charter
rights is never acceptable because injustice anywhere diminishes
justice everywhere.

Another example of the ridiculous corruption in Canadian courts: the
Parker and Hitzig rulings effectively struck down the prohibition of
marijuana as unconstitutional.

That means that every pot bust since the summer of 2000 is illegal and
unconstitutional, and that people are being fined and jailed under a
dead law.

But the cops, courts, and government have all chosen to ignore this,
and every year tens of thousands of Canadians get a criminal record
for something that isn't even really illegal any more.

So we should not be surprised that this judge is ignoring Charter
breaches, because, quite frankly, the Charter means nothing to these
people.

Russell Barth

Nepean, Ont.