KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE

Halton Regional Police Service and the region's two school boards should be
congratulated for their drug education workshop last Wednesday.

Considering the magnitude of the problem, it's refreshing to see the school
boards co-operating on the task of protecting our youngsters from drug abuse.

The statistics presented at the workshop are startling.

For instance, from September 2001 to February 2002 there were 500
drug-related incidents in Halton -- 24% of these within half a kilometre of
a high school and half of those involving marijuana.

A survey presented at the workshop indicated 70 per cent of students from
Grade 7 to OAC used an illegal drug in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Clearly, our students are not safe from the threat of illegal drugs while
attending school. And that's wrong.

Ideally, schools are meant to be institutions of learning where students
can acquire the knowledge and skills required by them to achieve their
highest potential.

They should not be where students learn how to get high. Education gives
students the tools to improve their lives. Drugs drag them down.

Students should be able to attend schools without being distracted by drugs.

Under the Ontario Education Act, schools boards across the province have
now adopted a zero tolerance for drugs in the schools.

Selling or possessing alcohol or drugs on school property now results in
immediate lengthy expulsions.

But punishment isn't the only answer. In Halton, the Youth Diversion
program redirects young people from the traditional court system prior to
charging them with offences. It helps steer youths away from re-offending
by increasing positive motivation, attitude and behaviour by influencing
everything from family life and education to employment, housing and
recreation. Less than five per cent of those youths who pass through the
program re-offend.

And parents must become involved. They must talk to their kids and know who
their friends are and what they are doing. They must also set examples for
their children to follow. Children's homes should be a safe haven from drugs.

The risks are too high to leave it up to someone else.