Law will undermine public support
Re: “Don’t breathe easy if you’re sober,” April 14. The sad story of Inger Forsyth and Norma McLeod’s encounters with the breathalyzer has been repeated many, many times in Canada. This law is a massive stomp on civil rights.
How can B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth dismiss these remarkable intrusions into innocent citizens’ lives with a simple “technology is evolving very rapidly on these issues.” In other words, the technology inflicting this harm is not ready for prime time, but B.C. uses it anyway.
Farnworth’s comment that he is “confident in our appeals process” is incredible given that the citizens trapped in this flawed technology will spend thousands of dollars in fines and legal costs before the law is clarified and some reasonable precedents emerge. Individuals who were not drinking and driving will have criminal records, as appeals have to follow convictions. Think about that.
When this law was introduced, many thought police would apply common sense, but clearly not. The federal Liberals and the B.C. NDP believe it is up to the Inger Forsyths of this world to bear the judicial and monetary costs as precedents are set.
The law will likely be found to be a massive overstep. It proves our politicians live in a world in which having a few thousand dollars lying around for a legal fight and losing your ability to drive are no issue. Incredibly out of touch with their citizens, and an incredible abuse of the support from almost all citizens that drunk drivers need to be dealt with. Jim MacLeod Salt Spring Island