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Drug trafficker must like Canada

To The Editor:

Jamie Colbert must feel, as most of us do, that Canada is a wonderful country to live in after he was acquitted of possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking by Provincial Court Judge Joseph Michaud despite being caught by an RCMP officer with a huge amount of marijuana in his possession.

For those not familiar with the case, Colbert was pulled over near Salisbury about a year ago because the SUV he was driving had a burned out tail light. The officer wasn't satisfied with the answers to questions he put to Mr. Colbert and, as a consequence, suspected something illegal might be hidden in the vehicle. The officer asked for, and received, permission from Colbert to allow his drug sniffing dog Jasper to sniff around the SUV. Jasper's sniffing led to the discovery of $1.4 million worth of marijuana (155 lbs).

Judge Michaud concluded that the police officer involved conducted the search on a "hunch based on intuition". This, regardless of the accuracy of the officer's hunch, did not give him the legal right to search the vehicle. Obtaining prior permission from the accused, according to the judge, was irrelevant. Judge Michaud ruled that the Mountie involved violated the accused's rights by detaining him without just cause, declared the marijuana to be "inadmissible as evidence in this case" and then acquitted Mr. Colbert of the charge.

On reading more of your newspaper's account of the event I was amazed to learn that at least one other Provincial Court judge who heard a case very similar to this one in a Moncton courtroom ruled search evidence to be admissible because police had prior permission from the suspect.

I would expect this type of courtroom drama to take place in a comic book setting or in an episode from The Dukes of Hazzard, not in real life. Canada is a wonderful place to live, but we are in the 21st century and still have legislation on the books enabling the events described above to take place. We have a lot of work to do before we market ourselves as a model for the rest of the world.

M. Buckley,

Riverview

Commend students for questioning

To The Editor:

Recently while listening to the radio, a lengthy program discussed the many things that occurred during the Nazi occupation of much of Europe. What was unknown to me prior to this documentary was that most Jews and other ethnicities that were rounded up and sent to concentration and work camps, were done so not by soldiers but by civil servants. Not asking questions, just blindly following directions from positional authority within existing government. Thus the absence of free thought, conscience, and higher level thinking contributed to Nazi occupation and the atrocities which were permitted.

I read the Times & Transcript article titled "Students Question School Rules" in a recent weekend edition. Somewhere, someone has done their job well, and these students who question something that does not perhaps make sense, are operating at higher levels of thought (cognition) and should be commended, as should the teacher(s) who inspired them.

Many classroom and school rules, at times, do not seem to make sense, or appear to be too confining, restrictive and micro managing. Sometimes clothing is suspect, rightly or wrongly, and a pair of work boots worn by a student living on his own who begins work in a warehouse at 4 p.m. means he is suspended because someone somewhere decided that work boots are a weapon. A wallet attached to a chain and affixed to a belt to secure that wallet from loss, is described as a weapon because of a short length of chain. Pants tucked in to the top of a boot to keep the pant leg dry while traversing slush on the way to school is deemed to be terrorizing to onlookers; a studded jacket, a scarf or bandana worn by a male or female is deemed to be gang like; and the list goes on and on and on.

I reflect on what was worn by students and staff when I attended high school years ago and it might appear that standards of dress in many ways are leaning more and more to the right. "Dress for Success" is a cliché taken from a self-help paperback book published some years ago. The term "inappropriate" is used often, but what might be appropriate to one sector, may not be appropriate to another. Its interpretation is often questionable.

"Appropriate," a term which when used is vague and open to misuse.

The beauty of the classroom, its larger school domain, and its even larger school district is not in its conformity to a robotic assembly line of students, parents, and staff, but rather the recognition of, appreciation for and celebration of its many members with their individual and unique characteristics indigenous to cultural, socio-economic, linguistic and other diversifications.

Students and parents who dare to question, and to express their views in a fair and reasonable manner, using an oral venue or written medium, are to be commended in exercising their rights as guaranteed under the Charter of Individual Rights and Freedoms.

To question insures the continuance of a free and just society and the absence of tyranny.

Michael Maloney,

BA, LU, BEd., MA,

Moncton

Help stop animal cruelty

To The Editor:

It was Mahatma Gandhi who said "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." As such, I continue to be amazed when I read about continuing atrocities towards animals, both those in captivity and those in the wild all across this country.

As a lawyer, I know this happens because prosecutors and police continue to lack the necessary resources to investigate and make charges stick and deterrent necessary to cause people to reconsider their actions. As a father, I struggle to explain why this happens at all and what could drive anyone to treat another living creature poorly. We've all heard the rationale why these actions against animals are deplorable, inexcusable and morally wrong. It's common sense, yet this type of behaviour continues.

That is why the Government of Canada must act to ensure that laws are strengthened to provide that necessary deterrent to prevent crimes against animals or to properly punish those who continue to think this type of behaviour is okay.

That is why as Chair of the N.B. Liberal Caucus I am pleased that caucus has agreed to support sending Bill C-229 (formerly Bill C-373) a private members Bill from Liberal MP Mark Holland, to committee. Mark has worked co-operatively with respected national and international animal welfare groups which are campaigning for effective animal cruelty law reform. Their concerted efforts are focused on convincing the Conservative government to introduce his bill as government legislation. I support this and urge the federal government to review this proposed legislation immediately.

Bill C-229 would increase penalties for animal cruelty offences and effectively close the loopholes in the Criminal Code that make it difficult for enforcement agencies and the courts to convict animal abusers.

Finally I urge all those in Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe who support these changes to join me in attending a rally this Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m. at the Wesleyan Church Parking Lot on St. George Boulevard. To find out more about this rally you can go to www.stopanimalcrueltyinnb.com. By working together we will get the laws changed and we will make a difference.

Brian Murphy,

Member of Parliament,

Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe