Date: 2010/06/07

Byline: Holden Southward

Drastic change necessary in Canada’s justice and legal system

To the Editor,

Re: MP offers misleading crime claim, Letters, May 29.

With the data taken from statistics Canada 2004, James Lunney is revealing a valid fact that the reporting of crime is very low in Canada.

The word on the street is that the average citizen has little faith in the competency of our justice system because of the low conviction rates, short prison terms, and delayed trials.

Unfortunately many people in influential positions such as some of the Vancouver Island University faculty members, have publicly chosen to reject the data that Lunney presented for the sake of finding fault with a political party that they oppose.

Obviously none of these university faculty members family have been a victim of violent crime. It is time that these ostriches take their heads out of their holes and look at the world around them.

There are many victims too scared to speak for themselves. There are many victims who went through the system but were not served. There are many victims for whom justice was inadequately served. Whose side are you on, the victim or the perpetrator?

Canada needs drastic change in its criminal justice and legal system and Lunney is one of the few who has the guts to speak up about it.

Holden Southward

Nanaimo