6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 21, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Slap on the wrist This week's sentencing of the truck driver who struck and killed an off-duty OPP officer, who was riding his bike on a rural Milton road, reveals a gaping crack in the system that is supposed to protect victims and punish criminals. It's a monumental struggle to comprehend a justice system that isn't equipped (or prepared) to balance the scale that finds a 45-year-old man dead and the man responsible for his death -- a chronic repeat offender -- walking away with probation and a suspended driver's licence. The incongruity of their fates is ludicrous and symptomatic of laws that are in desperate need of an overhaul. On the afternoon of June 6, 2006, Burlington resident Gregory Stobbart was struck and killed by a truck attempting to pass him as he rode his bicycle along Tremaine Road in Milton. The 31-year-old Grimsby trucker responsible for the fatal crash was charged and subsequently convicted of careless driving. However, our laws don't punish a first-time careless driving conviction with jail time. Despite having amassed $14,000 worth of fines related to five convictions for driving with a suspended licence and two more for driving with no insurance, the truck driver in this case had somehow managed to negotiate his way to a licence reinstatement at the time of Stobbart's death. This is where the system stops making sense. Allowing criminals -- especially those of the repeat offender variety -- to slip through the holes of a less-than-perfect legal system is inexcusable. It's not enough to suspend the driver's licence of someone who has shown a propensity toward ignoring punishment. It's also not enough of a deterrent to place that person on probation for one, two or even 10 years. Such a blatant disregard for the rules that govern the rest of us needs to be met with complete and immediate removal of the privilege to participate in society. While we appreciate that the justice of the peace in this case was bound by rules of punishment set out by our legal system and reinforced by endless volumes of case law, we question how anyone could look Gregory Stobbart's widow in the eye and suggest to her that justice has been served. Could you? The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Voters have been given the worst possible alternative when they come to decide in October whether to change Ontario's electoral system. There is much objection in Canada to senators being appointed, not elected. What would we get with with the proposed change to MMP? Appointed members of the legislature. People who are party favourites would go on party lists of appointed members and never face the electorate directly. Many of the party hacks and hardliners on the lists would be unelectable if they actually had to contest a constituency. MMP would entrench power in political parties. MMP system would lead country down path to mediocrity Canadians already object to the power of political leaders in dictating loyalty, vetoing candidates selected locally, and sometimes parachuting in candidates. What stronger way to dictate Stalinist-style loyalty and a party line than by the MMP system? Our present electoral system based on individuals, not on collectives, permits members of legislatures and Parliament to flout party lines. They can even change allegiance (think Garth Turner - the latest example of independence within the party system). The first-past-the-post electoral system at least produces majorities and governments that have the power to achieve something. With MMP we should expect for Ontario the fate of many European countries, where electoral systems similar to MMP produce hung legislatures, endless negotiating afterward to form a government, frequent changes of government between elections -- and the countries slowly drift into mediocrity. A. C. DUNBAR Show spirit -- join the parade As a Grade 12 high school student at T.A. Blakelock, I too join the hundreds of Oakville students in their disappointment over the cancellation of the annual bathtub race. It seems a sad reflection of the time we live in, when even a good, little "clean" fun is too dangerous. I am hopeful that some solution will be found and that this longstanding event will be reinstated. In the meantime however, I would like to encourage all of the high schools to participate in this year's Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 17. While vying for the prize of "Best School Float," participants will not only be showing their school spirit, but also be giving back to the Oakville community. Friendly competition, school spirit, and fun -- sounds a bit like the bathtub race doesn't it? JULIE HARMGARDT, OAKVILLE SANTA CLAUS PARADE COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE - SCHOOL LIAISON Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical erro that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, wi not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.