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OPINION Ontarios new street racing law has been in effect for barely a month and already there are indications there may be a problem with the initial legislation. The problem? It may not be tough enough. Thats the view held by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) commissioner Julian Fantino who this week admitted he wishes the new law was more punitive to those drivers with lead feet. In just over one month more than 1,000 1,060 to be exact drivers have been caught dri- ving more than 50 kilometres an hour over the posted limit. Drivers nabbed exceeding that threshold face stiff penalties which include a minimum $2,000 fine and a week-long licence suspension. Police also seize the drivers vehicle. Since the law took effect Sept. 30, police have caught an average of 38 drivers a day. Fantino says he now regrets that the threshold for speeding wasnt set at 30 km-h and admits he is surprised that the number of charges laid hasnt dropped as the public becomes more aware of the new law. We share Fantinos surprise. What possible reason can a driver have for doing 150 km-h on the Queen Elizabeth Way or Hwy. 401? While the posted speed on most major highways is 100 km-h, the majority of drivers on those roads exceed that limit by 10-20 km-h. Is that not fast enough? Motorists who drive at speeds 50 km-h over the posted limit are simply playing a game of Russian roulette with their lives. Unfortunately, by doing so, they involve other innocent drivers and pas- sengers in their deadly contest. While it may be too early to revisit and alter this new law, we encourage the Ontario Provincial Police to allocate more officers to patrolling the highways in an effort to get even more speed demons off our roads. Perhaps by charging more drivers, our lawmakers will be forced to rethink this legislation to punish speeders more harshly. Speed demons The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. It is one of several newspapers published by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for sig- nature will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the acceptable rate. In the event of typographical error advertising goods or services at wrong price, goods or ser- vices may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell which may be withdrawn at any time. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Price: Store copies 50 each; Subscriptions $26 per year by carrier; $92.50 per year by mail in Canada; $130 per year in all other countries. Plus G.S.T. Second Class Mail Registration Number 6869. The Independent & Free Press is a member of The Canadian Community Newspaper Association and The Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Steve Nease THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, Your article in the Sept. 19 edition entitled Growth: Town is in the spot- light, finally highlights an undercur- rent of focus on the future of greed and expediency. In the process, if it ever succeeded, it would further destroy the basic ele- ments of the economy that, up until now, has kept Ontario as a leader in Canada. Urban sprawl is convenient, money-making for some and is pre- sented as progress. Nothing could be further from the truth. We already know many of the debilitating effects of the kind of growth we have support- ed up until now have resulted in: 1. The disappearance of irreplace- able agricultural land, remembering that only 6 per cent of all Canada is tillable. 2. The gradual turning of Lake Ontario into a sewer that ultimately empties into the oceans which supply us with seafood. 3. Increasing dependency on auto- mobiles which can inevitably result in the destruction of communities. 4. The contamination of rivers by sewage plants which has been going on for decades but increases with each new house that is built with sewage connections. How many incidents of sewage plant bypass have there been in Halton Hills in 2007? I could go on. I would like to point out that plan- ners and developers have ample oppor- tunity to go to other parts of the world and see how things are done in a more rational manner where neither land nor water is wasted, where homes are built with maximum energy efficiency, where conservation and alternative technologies have already proven themselves, where there are no prohi- bitions on clotheslines, where it is per- fectly acceptable to use the land around your house for growing vegeta- bles, rather than having bylaw insis- tence on monoculture, grass and where pupils can walk to school. The Big Pipe notion is not new it was tossed around as far back as 30 years ago. The notion of wise water utilization is new. It is time that citi- zens told our Big Pipe planners to smarten up. Doing it their way will put money in the pockets of some and destroy the future for our grandchil- dren. Julian Reed, Norval Big Pipe will destroy towns future Letters to the editor must include an address and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 200 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1 E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Something bugging you? Publisher Ken Nugent Advertising director Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager Nancy Geissler (distribution@independentfreepress.com) ADVERTISING Advertising co-ordinator Jennifer Christie (jchristie@independentfreepress.com) Retail Sales: Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@independentfreepress.com) Andrew Key (akey@independentfreepress.com) Amy Sykes (features@independentfreepress.com) Real estate: Sue Spizziri (realestate@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds: Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) ACCOUNTING Rose Marie Gauthier, Michelle Wimmer EDITORIAL Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) PRODUCTION: Mary Lou Foreman, Kevin Powell, Shelli Harrison, Dolores Black, Debbie MacDougall STAFF DIRECTORY Send us a letter! Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com 6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, November 2, 2007 Dear editor, Although I agree with the Marsellas opinion (Oct. 31 letter) that this newspaper should not print intolerant letters, my letter (Sept. 28 re: Pride flag) was anything but. I am surprised at how casually Lyne and Richard Marsella will accuse me of being intolerant and promoting prejudice in my children. I am not homophobic. I believe that every Canadian adult is lucky to have personal choice over their sexu- ality, and to be supported in it by our government. I do not believe, however, that a flag is required at Town hall to support sexuality yours, mine, anyones. My letter had no covert mes- sage the message was to stand united as Canadians, as Georgetown residents, and work together as such to keep our town as great a commu- nity as I have enjoyed for the past 31 years. As for my children, I think it best to let them believe, at the tender age of eight, that making love is for mak- ing babies the rest will come later. Please, Mr. and Mrs Marsella, refrain from using my name in your rants, you neither know nor under- stand me. Thank you. Anne-Marie Ezeard, Georgetown Reader defends letter and its message Dear editor, I, too, would like to respond to the recent letter re: roaming cats. My husband and I do not own a cat but we enjoy our garden and, as a result, welcome visits from the neigh- bouring cats, namely SkimbleShanks, Arthur and Dylan, who provide us with some respite from marauding squirrels and chipmunks. The birds also dont seem to be bothered as they have their own domain in the feeder and birdbath. M. Bryant, Georgetown Cats welcome anytime