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"A Family Tradition for 133 Years" | Pr a TT a =e I IY mee, Jo PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 23, 1999 - 3 MP wants review of sentences for drunk drivers By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Canada ought to take a "pro-active" approach in its fight against drunk driving, says Durham MP Alex Shepherd. : Mr. Shepherd said that while tough jail sentences are likely the only effective deterrent for repeat offenders, more creative solutions -- such as requir- ing the payment of resti- tution to victims -- are pos- sible for other drunk drivers. The federal justice com- mittee is currently review- ing sentencing for impaired driving. The Reform Party has mount- ed a campaign, which includes sending letters to newspa- pers, calling for a tough - structure l of mini- m u m sentenc- 0 ing. "I'm Shepherd not soft in this area, but I think you've got to have focus," said Mr.Shepherd. "It's easy to get upset with the statistics and say we need minimum sentences or whatever the case may be." He said that the num- ber of people killed by drunk drivers is actually on the decrease nationally. On thin ice ~ MNR vowing crackdown "on ice huts left on Lake 'Scugog this year By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Anyone owning an ice hut on -- or under -- the ice of Lake Scugog any- time after March 1 will - find themselves in court, warns an MNR official. Bill Fisher, a conserva- tion officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources, stated last week that no warnings or tickets will be given for anyone who leaves a hut on the lake after the Feb. 28 deadline. "This year there are no out-of-court settlements; tickets will be written," he said. "It is a guaranteed court appearance." In past years, a fine of $185 was handed out to those who failed to retrieve huts, said Mr. Fisher, adding that the highest amount he's ever seen for the offence was just under $1,200. This year, however, will be a different story: "The figures this year are up in the air; if you leave your hut on the ice it is a guar- anteed summons to court, and I don't even know what they're going to charge." Mr. Fisher said the zero tolerance approach is the result of people flouting the rules in the past. "I think we've just reached the saturation point where there's too many people leaving their huts out there," he said. While ministry workers are currently out on the ice checking on fisherman -- they've laid more than a dozen charges in the past two weeks for minor ~~ keeping a close eye on the 600-plus huts out on Lake Scugog, he says. "We're out there looking for any problem huts; we want to be proactive and identify the huts that may be a problem when the end of the month comes," said Mr. Fisher. "With the high winds in '99 some of the smaller, lighter huts have tipped over and their side has frozen into the lake... I saw three or four like that last weekend, and these guys have to get out there and do something; frozen or not they have to come off by midnight on Feb. 28." And, with the cold weather hanging in there, Mr. Fisher adds that there shouldn't be a repeat of the problems evident at last year's deadline, when thinning ice created an amount of havoc. "There is still lots of ice out there so I don't think we'll see what hap- pened last year again," he said, referring to the num- ber of people and vehicles who went through the ice because of warm temper- atures and thin ice. (EE DAVID M. HODSON Lawyer 985-2593 "Offering a full range of family, criminal and estate litigation services for Port But he agrees with the justice committee review. "Yes, I think we all want deterrents in our society," said Mr. Shepherd. But sometimes when you apply simplistic solutions, we don't get the results we want." The MP likes the notion of requiring drunk drivers to make some sort of posi- tive contribution for their transgression. He's opposed to extreme mea- sures, such as automatic jail time for offenders, first-timers or not. "(An offender) sitting in a jail cell costing us all $50,000 a year, I'm not sure what we as a society are gaining from that." Reform MP Richard Harris has mounted a let- ter-writing campaign in which he urges Canadians to press the justice com- mittee for tougher sen- tences for impaired driv- ing. He calls drunk driving "the number one cause of death through criminal activity in this country. SELECTED BABY FALL AND WINTER CO-ORDINATES by KRICKETS, MINI TOGS, COLIMACON AND MORE "Yet our laws don't reflect the gravity of this crime," Mr. Harris writes. "Drunk drivers who kill people often get sentences of one or two years proba- tion, and/or community service." He calls the current sentences being handed down "a slap on the wrist". Mr. Shepherd said that attitudes toward drinking and driving have changed for the better in recent years. But he agrees there remains a segment of the population who will con- tinue to get behind the wheel after drinking. Even taking away their driver's licenses won't stop them, he said. "As you and I know, the real idiots will drive with- out a license, so incarcer- ation may be the only solu- tion for them," he said. "There's probably room there for tougher sentenc- ing in some cases." It is expected the justice committee will issue a report this spring. 100% COTTON SLEEPERS by COLIMACON, CLASSIC POOH, KOOSHIES AND (NB-24 MONTH & PREMIE) by SAMSONITE, RED ALL BABY ACCESSORIES by KOOSHIES BABY'S OWN DIAPER BAGS ROBIN ..AND MORE ALL SLEEPERS AND ACCESSORIES by CARTER'S BI 1 SING) Y= 168 Queen St, Port Perry 985-2521 Service, Quality and Style Since 1881 TEX offences such as unregis- tered huts, extra lines, and not having fishing licenses -- they are also for Kids 174 Queen St., Port Perry 985-8797 Perry and our surrounding community" onfoot 178 Queen St, Port Perry 985-8334 IIE