THE TOLERANT SOCIETY

Some weeks ago Rudolph Giuliani, who during his term as mayor of New
York effected a 70 per cent drop in the crime rate of that crime
ridden city, advised Canadian political leaders to combat gang wars
and drugs with a policy of zero tolerance. This means clamping down on
all criminal offences no matter how small. At the time even urinating
in the streets of New York lead to an arrest and a fine.

Giuliani's advice will be difficult to apply in Canada because we live
in The Tolerant Society.

Margaret Trudeau escaped conviction for driving under the influence of
alcohol because the arresting officer breached her charter rights.
This in spite of the fact her blood-alcohol level tested well above
the legal level of 107 milligrams per 100 ml blood. The legal limit is
80 milligrams.

The federal government has a program to fast track visas for exotic
dancers, mostly strippers from Romania. There is no fast-track program
for highly qualified immigrants or the so-called accelerated policy
for immigrant parents..

Drug addiction is fought by supplying clean needles to
addicts.

A member of parliament steals an expensive piece of jewelry and gets
off with a light sentence and no criminal record. He has ambitions of
standing as a candidate in the next federal election.

According to Auditor General Sheila Fraser and the subsequent Gomery
Report our federal government is no shining example of honesty but
according to recent polls they stand a good chance of being elected
again.

Sorry, Mr. Giuliani, you are going to have tough job selling your zero
tolerance policy to The Tolerant Society.

This may be wonderful for those who benefit from The Tolerant Society
but it's not so good for those who would like to live and raise their
children in a society free of drug abuse and gang wars.

Riaan Kriel is a member of the community editorial board.