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economist suntribune politics saturday july 27 2002 madd wants tougher rules proposal calls for longer sentences better enforcement by jeff mitchell staff writer stiffer sentencing and more powers for police are needed in the ongoing battle against impaired drivers according to the president of the national organization mothers against drunk driving we need some more com mon sense approaches in the fight against drunk driving madd president louise knox said ms knox was in york region thursday as part of a summer lobbying tour during which shes visiting members of par liament to press for legislative change madd hopes to take its case to the federal justice commit tee this fall the support im receiving from the mps has been very promising ms knox said but what were really looking for is for mps to take action on these issues madd wants change in two key areas of the fight against impaired driving better enforcement abilities for police and tougher sentences for those convicted of drunk driv ing offences the group has made a num ber of proposals lowering the legal blood alcohol from 08 to 05 per cent greater powers for police including the introduction of alcohol sensing devices and roadside sobriety tests a tougher stance by the courts on drunk drivers including doing away with conditional sentences and the use of ignition locks for repeat offenders we need change ms knox said canadians deserve the right to drive on our roads safely york regional police chief robert middaugh agrees with madds push for stricter sentencing im a supporter of signifi cant sentences on impaired driving the chief said he said the courts must continue to deal harshly with impaired drivers to reflect soci- robert middaugh york police chief supports madds push for stricter sentencing etys revulsion toward drunk driving an attitude that has been fostered by years of law enforcement and communica tion campaigns you have to be relentless the minute we stop that dili gence it starts to develop a complacency and youre right back where you started mr middaugh said the chief said york regional police continue their commit ment to battling drunk driving with yearround ride reduce impaired driving everywhere spot checks and quick respons es to citizen complaints we have in fact the best ride program in the country mr middaugh said the road side breath test and the legisla tion that goes along with it is pretty good the support im receiving from the mps has been very promising but what were really looking for is for mps to take action on these issues ms knox vowed to continue madds battle for tougher sentences a campaign that has been ongoing for some time now its slow said the alberta resident it always is when youre working on feder al issues like this its really surprised me how slow it can be when its such a good thing economist suntribune file photo prime minister jean chretien speaks at a breakfast gathering in markham in november 2000 announcing john mccallum right as federal liberal candidate for markham his liberal caucus has suffered a split in recent months with members backing either mr chretien or former finance minister paul martin grit storm brewing by mike adler stajfwriter in york regions federal ridings the power struggle between jean chretien and paul martin jr has apparently been stalled by stronger choices summer vacations barbecues and gardening but local liberal riding presidents expect the recent trickle of new mem berships to become a flood this fall as the party prepares for a leadership contest i think youll see the real wheels start to turn after labour day pre dicted scott crone of the york north liberals represented by mp karen kraftsloan four of five local riding presidents said they have spotted no organized campaign to sign up new liberals in support of any potential leader this week michael jolliffe liberal president in oak ridges said there is definitely heightened interest in the party because of the rift between prime minister chretien and mr martin his former finance minister there are some people signing up for that reason but its not an organ ized thing he said adding its hard to figure out how many memberships in the riding resulted from its annual renewal campaign in a typical week ill get between five and 10 new people and thats unusual party members in each riding will vote this fall on reviewing mr chretiens leadership and on delegates for a february convention the current situation is not a lead- bry0n wilfert leadership race has sparked more interest in his oak ridges riding ership campaign but an interesting time for liberals mr jolliffe said weve never quite been through what we are going through michael chan liberal president in markham represented by mp john mccallum said the riding has received only 15 to 20 new members recendy but he expects much much bigger numbers in the fall the riding association will not be lowering the 10 adult membership fees to 1 an option which the party has permitted mr chan said its business as usual in mp elinor caplans thornhill riding said les fluxgold riding president theres no major league activity going on if there was anything going on id be aware of it he said roberto bevilacqua president of the vaughankingaurora liberals represented by maurizio bevilacqua was unavailable for comment there have been attempts made in some publications to divide mps into the camp of the prime minister and that of mr martin who is scheduled to speak at a dinner for oak ridges mp bryon wilfert in october and is an unconfirmed guest at a community function in markham next month mr crone said his own riding exec utive as a whole has not expressed a preference i know there are some who would prefer to see mr martin in a position of leadership and others who are saying lets not rock the boat he said mr crone added he expects the chrerjenmartih battle to be played out at the grassroots by individual party members theres no puppet- masters behind the curtains control ling this robert drummond a political sci entist at york university said it is diffi cult to believe supporters arent- already organizing at some level in york ridings including informal dis cussions about forming a slate for del egates id be very surprised if they werent he said one member of the party in markham is not looking forward to the expected february showdown its not very healthy the way things are shaping said dr elagu elaguppillai a liberal for 20 years once you have inside fighting it hurts the party r wmmm 0 unionville golf centre ave 200 on green fee up to 4 people monday to saturday unionville golf centre ave i expires august 9 2002 on jumbo range pail valid anytime expires august 9 2002 44 main si mmtmrme 04 south h 1 905 pipwpiwwwwwwwwwwwwwbiw1wwh