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economist suntribune saturdaynov 13 1999 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stoufiville ont iaa 7x5 opinion publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra weller deputy editor debora kelly editor al shackleton production director cheri kay distribution director barry goodyear j online publishing manager brian kirlik classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacey allen business manager margaret flem ing office manager vivian oneil letters mother lives with grief of sons shooting death as a single parent who has raised two sons since they were toddlers i have dedicated my life to them one dark night changed our lives dramati cally forever on june 19 1996 my elder son faraz suleman 16 was killed by a police bul let faraz a confused teenager was behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle in the course of flee ing police he was fatally shot by a york regional police officer the officer claims being struck by the jeep so he fired the shot with no regard to the fact that i a responsible parent had arranged with police to arrest my son peacefully they were expected to apprehend faraz in a doughnut shop instead they chose to chase the vehicle much to my dismay i personally jeopardized my sons precious life a criminal charge was laid against the offi cer that eventually was tossed out of court joy a judge in august 1997 r another tragedy occurred prior to the offi cer walkingfree he was stabbed by a torment ed teenager deeply affected by the loss of faraz many lives have been shattered as of the day faraz was killed for a parent the death of a child is devas tating part of me died with my child not a day goes by without grief striking it is marked with deep sorrow emptiness and loneliness it is manifested by an overwhelming feeling of missing my loved one being a mother the fear of what faraz felt days before the shooting and other horrible thoughts recur he was only 16 imagine the panic he went through he was scared of police he was facing criminal charges there fore he would not come home in the last week of his life then anger follows especially because i cooperated fully with police what judgment can a youth farazs age have versus the judg ment of an experienced police officer more t twice his age despite the turmoil i am totally committed to bringing about justice for my beloved son the heavy burden of dealing with legal issues both emotional and finan cial seems to be neverending what keeps me going is my rightful deter mination to know why faraz was killed i still do not have full answers despite a week of pre liminary hearing which many observed was nothing but a farce sometimes i wonder whether i will ever know the truth i am a living example of why families who have lost their loved ones at the hands of police do not have faith in the judicial system the system is not perfect according to several legal opinions the judge who set the officer free erred in law and jurisdiction despite the miscarriage of justice neither the crowns office nor the attorney general were prepared to review this dis charge the rationale expressed was that there was no reasonable prospect for a conviction the fact of the matter is no police officer in ontario charged with shootingrelated inci dents has ever been convicted when trials are held by a jury what is my alternative retain an attorney and privately have an indictment preferred and for what fight against a power ful and corrupt system waste my limited financial resources in a biased criminal justice system it all seems futile had my son been killed by someone other than a police officer i am sure the legal aftermath would have had lesser roadblocks to overcome this is my sons life and it was robbed in an instant surely i too should have a right to equality in justice our next steps are the coroners inquest and civil litigation finally the inquest is taking place the familys hope is once more for the truth to surface questions that have not been answered for more than three years in the midst of this proceeding my family still suffers an unbearable torture because part of society appears to accept such policerelat ed situations some still feel that a police offi cer cannot ever do any wrong let me remind the readers that no one is perfect including police officers being cynical if all steps fail then i will have no other alternative but to let divine justice prevail the lord is the only one i can turn to as he is colourblind and therefore the only judge i can trust shaheenkamadia markham premiers lack of common sense costs ontario health care re premier mike harris is far from out- of touch letters oct 30 i believe it is hot an advisers head that should be on the chopping block one of the reasons for the increase in spending from the ontario health insurance system is the premiers lack of common sense approval of coverage to residents while out of our country this also includes the prescription medica tions they may also require for up to just under six months at a time its time you buy your own insurance if you can afford the luxury of an extended absence from your primary coun try of residence otherwise stay in canada did you know that american health care facilities are advertising freely that ontario res idents are covered for highdemand services lets keep the money here and operate our own systems looking after ourselves first how many people are aware that mr harris in his uncommon sense hired an american consulting firm to evaluate a health system that is the envy of many of the other provinces in canada jsteen r markham letters policy stouflville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 email lettersstoufftribcom j i81p delimit emu ylqqs aeei noiifiteiriirnbi ons npkeuini stouffvilie tribune serving the community since 1888 be3 dde inadlan circulations i canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajavpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian- ramborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene minor milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 6402100 i v telephone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 email newsroomstoufftribcom alan shackleton gilchrist scandal best thing to happen to oak ridges moraine t he environment is cool again witness the growing impor tance of the oak ridges moraine suddenly saving the moraine talking about its unique qualities is sexy again people are prepared to chain them selves to trees to save it theyve even been practising for such an event apparently theres a right way and a wrong way to chain yourself to a tree there are a number of reasons the moraine is in the spotlight but the sweet smell of scandal has been the single biggest one the issue in the halls of power has nothing to do with trees and wetlands its all about politics ontarios former minister of municipal affairs steve gilchrist is now the subject of an investigation by the ontario provincial police regarding complaints from developers about his conduct the developers allege gilchrist told them that if they wanted to meet with him they would have to talk to his per sonal lawyer environmentalists feel they havlost an ally in gilchrist who has a history of getting under developers skins we were first to report that gilchrist had assured environmentalists he would continue his protectionist ways when it came to the rouge park in york region and the moraine environmentalists must have been shaking their heads when gilchrist announced his resignation and was replaced by tony clement a man they view as prodevelopment but now it appears the gilchrist scandal is the best thing that could have happened to the moraine the opposition liberals have made the moraine a priority the partys environment critic michael colle has introduced a private members bill calling for the establish ment of a commission to control moraine land the commission would have sweeping powers over develop- ment and would even have the power to expropriate land colle has also raised a few interesting questions about developers and point edly asked who is running the province he compared the increase in develop ment applications along the moraine to a gold rush and said the developers had to be reined in environmental groups have been given new hope by the attention the moraine is now receiving it is under a media spotlight at the moment and the environmentalists are hoping to strike for its protection while the iron is hot f vlbet thereare a lot of developers out there right now who are starting to wish theyd never heard the name steve gilchrist na mi u mmgmigbb