ON DOG DROPPINGS, SENATORS, DRUGS, WAL-MART, ETC.

LETTERS TO EDITOR - I got caught.

Police were called after my best friend left something on a neighbour's
property in five feet of snow. I received a ticket and had to go to court.
After receiving the ticket I cleaned up the mess and was humiliated by the
neighbour and again in court by the presiding judge.

The solution: ban dogs from Bellevue Park; end of problem.

It is estimated that thousands of Canadians die every year waiting for
health care. Let's stop spending billions on gun control. Put the money
into health care instead.

As for deaths from tobacco, if the government is so concerned about our
health, then ban tobacco products completely. End of problem, and we can
all live forever.

We don't need a governor general or lieutenant governor or Senate.

Apparently, you can live in Mexico and never show up at the Senate but the
cheques are mailed to you and you will receive a pension. Put the money
into health care.

Drugs should be sold by the government, with taxes collected as they are
for liquor and tobacco. This would end the drug cartels, saving billions on
drug enforcement that will never work. Put the money into health care.

I believe that Sault Ste. Marie Mayor John Rowswell and city council should
run our city, not the Downtown Merchants Association.

The restrictions and rules forced on Wal-Mart are a disgrace.

If I were a representative of Wal-Mart, I would have advised the City of
Sault Ste. Marie and the Downtown Merchants Association that I would be
approaching Echo Bay. I would then have built the biggest Wal-Mart in North
America with no strings attached.

I believe there would be hundreds of cars following me to beautiful Echo
Bay and I would be proud to be the guy at the door saying "Welcome to
Wal-Mart." My heart goes out to the people of Walkerton, where a disgrace
was allowed to happen and no one was punished. If anything, the individuals
responsible all came out winners.

The Indian Act hasn't worked for 126 years.

I can give Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault a suggestion - stop this
discrimination at once. Treat natives as Canadians. Treat them the way
European Canadians are treated. Be a leader in equality and then there can
be no discrimination.

Let all be governed by the same rules and regulations, then they too can be
rich and happy and successful.

Get rid of the Young Offenders Act. It's a joke and a disgrace to victims.

My whole family died in the cause of freedom in the Second World War.

Freedom is one of our greatest gifts.

I say to our mayor and city council, leave our merchants alone and let them
and their staff decide when to open or close their businesses, including
for holidays or regular hours of work. It seems that too many people are
telling us what we can and cannot do.

Give these people the freedom to choose for themselves.

Tim Brown, Willow Avenue