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•Th e IF P• H al to n H ill s • Th ur sd ay , M ay 2 2, 2 01 4 6 OPINION It took six years and an undetermined amount of your money, but eventually the Ontario government was ordered to release data on where sex offenders live across Ontario. Freedom of Information requests were filed by Global News and Ann Cavoukian, Ontario's information and privacy com- missioner. And then the long wait began. The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services put up a fight, ar- guing that the information shouldn't be released for fear of vigilantism. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7 to 0 decision that Ontario residents had a right to know where the province's 7,400 registered sex offenders live. The data was released based on partial postal codes. You aren't able to know exactly where sex offenders live, but you are able to know the general area. The release of the information is a win for transparency. But should Ontarians have had to wait six years for it and at what cost? The government refuses to say how much of your money was spent on the back and forth battle. We're guessing it doesn't come cheap. The case is a win for long overdue government transparency but one that should have happened six years ago. The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of sev- eral Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copy- right. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press A costly battle Letters to the editor Re: Letter, ban cigarettes by Vrin- da Sanghrajka, May 15. So, it's time to ban cigarettes. Cigarettes kill more people than the use of other "illegal" drugs. Last time I checked, cigarettes were not on the list of illegal drugs. I agree that there is nothing wrong with banning something that will fundamentally kill a person, so let's take that argument from cigarettes to, say, alcohol. How many people are crippled, or worse, because of impaired driv- ing? How about fast food and cardio- vascular problems. Aren't obese people a burden on the health care system? Anyone who drives a car is slowly polluting the Earth, which will cause more problems for our children than ourselves, so let's ban those evil things too. And they are not getting enough exercise. Cardiovascular disease comes to mind again. Some factories belch out many more pollutants than the world's smokers combined could ever do, so let's shut them down. Heck, what about the meth- ane gas produced by the world's population of bovine friends slowly depleting the ozone layer. Wait, those animals are around to help produce some of the ingre- dients in our McFast food. Do not blame everything on smoking. There are worse killers out there. Did someone mention guns? Hans Tunney The Farmers' Almanac is predicting a warmer than usual summer. What's your preference? 70 F or 20 C all summer long (50%) Whatever, as long as the weekends are warm and sunny (27%) Hot, hot, hot (23%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Don't blame everything on cigarettes Butt dilemma smoke on Greyhound buses and you could light up while flying. The bars were full of cigarette smokers and second-hand smoke was on the menu at your pizza joints and restaurants. Those were the days for many. Today, and for the past decade, I have been disposing of my cigarettes butts by taking the heater off and putting the butt in my pocket, dis- posing of the waste in the garbage. This past weekend, my family and I took part in community clean up and I was appalled with what I found. Butts everywhere! Many years ago I wrote a letter to the edi- tor about the number of cigarette butts that filled a large size Tim Hor- tons cup - now the new medium. Teresa Villeneuve I don't know how many times I have done this over the years. I have smoked on and off for 30 years, us- ing the planet as my ashtray. And, I am not the only one. Since I started smoking, I have travelled the countryside, disposing of my butts in the wake. I remember when people could Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anony- mous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publica- tion is not guaranteed. Email: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca or realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 haltonhillsclassads@metroland.com Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage.