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WHIiTBY FREE PRESS, WEI)NESIDAY, APRI L1 i, 1981, PAGE 3 "We are doing nothing," MP tells house . ... Fennell seeks return of death penalty OTTAWA - Ontario Riding MP Scott Fennell has called on the government to permit a free vote in the House of Commons on whether or not to reinstate capital punish- ment. In putting his motion to House Speaker Jean Sauve last week, Fennell defended not only the concept of capital punishment, but the punishment was "an ex- tremely important issue, more so to my constituents than to myself," Fennell told his colleagues that voting the party line has done nothing to resolve the issue. "We are continually ac- cused of being sheep and being herded and only voting the party line," he said. "What I am proposing in this Toronto Police Constable Michael Sweet and the other was that of Pamela Sullivan. Sweet, a resident of Ajax, was shot to death recently while on duty in Toronto. Sullivan was found behind a billboard in Ajax, murdered. The Progressive Conser- vative backbencher told the House that he had talked with Sweet during the last elec·tion campaign. The constable had sought his views on the return of the death penalty. "This young man was killed at short range while performing his duties as a policeman protecting the in- nocent citizens of this coun- try," he said. "It was hard to go to his funeral as I realized only a few weeks before I had talked with this man on the street." Describing Sullivan's slaying as "tragic", Fennell told the House that her body was found by young children on their way to school. "What will stop these crimes? What is the deterrent? I have heard all the 'goodie' sides, which suggests it is not a deterrent." "Yet between the years 1961 and 1978 the rates of crime have doubled. We have tried this route and it has not been effective." Fennell said that parliament was not dealing with the "most serious crime of the land, cold blooded murder." "Those must be dealt with. We must do something. We are doing nothing. We are sitting on our buttocks and acting like a bunch of sheep. We will not stand on our own feet and do something." The two-year veteran of federal politics called on Solicitor General Robert Kaplan to introduce a bill in the House to bring back the penalty. He also rejected the idea of having the issue decided by national referendum saying that it was a "chicken-hearted way for this House of Commons to deal with it." "It is passing the buck to the people who have elected us," he continued. "I, for one, am not in favor of a referendum. I say we are the people who represent our constituents and we must stand up with our feet firmly on te ground and make our own statements." "We should not be chicken-hearted by going to the people and asking them to do it for us." While asking for a bill to re-introduce~ the death penalty, Fennell also called for finding a more humane way of carrying it out. "I believe there are humane ways. I believe there are easy ways. There is a human method and everyone knows there is." As of press time, gover- nment reaction to Fennell's motion was not known although it is expected that it will come to a vote in the near future. RICHARD'S FURNITURE REFINISHING Free Estimates • "Give Your Fumiture a Face Lift" e 600 Euclid St., Whitby * Cali Rick F'oresta 666-2992 e e.. e e e ee ee e e ..........**e e e Scott Fennell free Commons vote and at- tacked the idea of calling a national referendum on the issue. (A free vote in the House of Commons is a vote taken by the members without respect for the party line. In other words, members of all parties could vote for or against the issue at hand.) Saying that capital motion is that capital punishment should be on the floor of the House as a free vote, totally free, no party affiliation, no party con- trols." Calling for the return of capital punishment, Fennell recalled two recent murders that have occurred to residents of the riding. One of these was the slaying of WFD cancels fire permits Because of the tinder dry conditions in the bush and field areas of town, the Whitby Fire Department has cancelled all fire bur- ning permits. According to Fire Chief Ed Crouch this time of year is critical because there is not enough moisture to slow down a fire and the leaves and grass are not yet grown. "The ban will stay on until we get a good rain or even longer until things turn green again," he said. The chief is also confident that the department's junior fire department program in the schools has been of benefit. "Our children are very fire conscious and I'm sure the program has assisted us greatly. They know the problems a small fire can spread." Crouch said that youngsters sometimes try to impress their friends by lighting fires. "We caught two recently. Thev were showing off to some of their friends. They were reprimanded, mostly by their parents," he said. 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