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•T h e IF P • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, J ul y 31 , 2 01 4 6 OPINION There's a serious problem in this province when some police forces re- lease non-conviction and surveillance records of innocent Canadians to po- tential employers, U.S. border agents, and volunteer organizations, while other forces do not. Such a practice, if not fixed, tarnish- es the Charter and brings the law itself into disrepute, considering the Char- ter states: Any person charged with an offence has the right … (d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impar- tial tribunal. However, some police agencies in an arrogant affront to the Charter have been ruining and inconveniencing the lives of many Canadians by releasing non-conviction records to third par- ties. Sounds Stalin-like to us. It's become such a problem that recently the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) asked police forces to keep unproven allegations, withdrawn charges and mental health calls to 911 from being released except under exceptional circumstances. Canadians must be assured that they truly are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, instead of guilty by assumptions. 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 Time for some police oversight Letters to the editor I recently had the pleasure of working with an incredible group of young people helping them create a new event in Halton Hills, Rock The Hills. This event was intended to give the youth in our community a local music event in a safe environment and I believe it achieved all the ob- jectives. It was arranged and co-ordinated by a group of 20 or so local students with the help of The Town of Hal- ton Hills, the Halton Hills Cultural Round Table and The Optimist Club of Halton Hills. I have been a member of the Op- timist Club for 30 years and have been involved in many events but this was the best. The youth were amazing and you could see them grow in confidence and ability as we worked together. They showed superb leadership, management and organizational skills. The end result was a great event. The music was excellent and the en- tire event was very professional and ran perfectly with no problems. Thanks to everyone involved in making this a success. I cannot name everyone as there are just too many but special thanks must go to Beatrice Sharkey who asked the Optimist Club to help and I am so glad. I don't know where you get your energy from Beatrice. You never stop! To all the young adults, thank you for letting me work with you. I look forward to Rock The Hills 2015. Alan Farmer, Acton I was born missing part of my right hand and was enrolled in The War Amps Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program. I have been a "Champ" ever since. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend The War Amps 2014 Ontario CHAMP Seminar in Burlington as a Junior Counsellor. Junior Counsellors are role models for younger Champs as they too grow up in the CHAMP Program. I was able to help out with the seminar dur- ing the many sessions and talk to the parents of new child amputees. The impact I strive to have on oth- er Champs is that as they learn about my life and experiences, it helps them gain the confidence to know that they too don't have to be limited by any physical difference they have. As someone who has benefited lo- cally, I would like to thank all of you who support The War Amps Key Tag Service, which has made these pro- grams possible for young amputees like me. Jamey Irwin, 16 Would you fly to Israel despite rockets landing near the main airport? • No (87%) • Yes (13%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Rock the Hills was great War Amps makes a big difference 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.