Pubdate: Tue, 14 Mar 2006
Source: Brooks Bulletin, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 The Brooks Bulletin.
Contact:  http://www.brooksbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2917
Author: Kevin Rothbauer

TASK FORCE TO ASSEMBLE AT COURT HOUSE

A local drug awareness group is planning a peaceful demonstration this
Wednesday with the joint goals of encouraging higher penalties for
those who commit drug-related offences and letting drug traffickers
know they are unwelcome in the community.

The Brooks and District Drug Task Force will hold an assembly outside
the Brooks Provincial Courthouse beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 15.

According to task force vice chair Ed Secondiak, the group is seeking
more accountability from judges and prosecutors with regard to jail
sentences and bail conditions for drug traffickers.

"We don't necessarily have a lot of penalties that are coming out of
our court system," Secondiak stated. "What we do know is that the
courts are answerable to our communities. What we want to do is bring
awareness to our judges, the prosecutors, other lawyers, the community
and to drug traffickers that we feel that drug trafficking is a
serious issue and drug use is a serious issue and the punishments
should reflect that."

By rallying outside the Brooks courthouse, the task force believes it
can show judges and prosecutors that drugs are a major concern for the
city.

"We want the courts to know that the community has very serious
concerns about traffickers and trafficking in our community,"
Secondiak said. "The courts have to know that we have concerns, and
this is our way of letting them know. We've also written letters to
the judges and to prosecutors, letting them know that we have very
serious concerns about drug trafficking in our community."

Drug dealers who are convicted often receive light sentences, and are
rarely required to serve the entirety of their prison terms. Those
awaiting trial are often released into the community on their own
recognizance. Secondiak feels those conditions fail to deter drug
traffickers and potential drug traffickers.

"If the punishment is extremely lenient, then there's no deterrent,"
he said. "What we need and what we want, what we demand, is a
deterrent so people will think twice about becoming drug traffickers."

Secondiak also feels there has been too much focus on large-scale drug
operations, allowing street-level dealers to prosper.

"The large cities have drug enforcement units, whereas in the small
communities, we typically don't," he pointed out. "We need them to
also pay attention to the small communities, not only national
traffickers or international traffickers, but the local street-level
traffickers."

Cst. Tim Taniguchi of the Brooks RCMP acknowledged that drugs are a
problem in Brooks, but added that they are a concern in all communities.

"It's a problem in all communities that I've served in," he said.

The influx of oil money and the fact that the population of Brooks is
younger than that of many communities helps contribute to the drug
problem.

"It's based on what kind of community we live in," Taniguchi related.

"We live in an oil-based community where people are making substantial
income. It's no different from any other community such as Grande
Prairie or Fort McMurray, a place where there's a booming economy,
where people make a lot of money. We have young people making lots of
money, and with that comes a problem with drugs."

Marihuana and crack cocaine are the most common drugs on the streets
of Brooks, said Taniguchi.

"From what I see, I think crack cocaine is one of the major drugs that
we deal with, and that we see on the streets."
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