Convicted Gas-And-Dashers To Lose Licences In N.S.

Your intro-quote: slanted much? We're talking about theft
here. One person is stealing from another person and
they're using their car (and therefore a licence to drive
said car) to commit the crime. It seems to me that even
if the oil prices weren't high that this would be a
fitting punishment.

Living in the suburbs and driving a vehicle that runs on
dinosaur juice is not a "financial hardship", it's poor
planning that results in expenses these people don't want
to pay for.

---
a man who feels the winds of change should build not a windbreak,
but a windmill.
- mao tse tung

My intro quote is not slanted at all, in my opinion. What we're talking about here is the relative severity of the punishment- does it fit the crime?

In our society, whether by poor planning or not, people are living in a system that is not totally of their making and definitely not in their control. They need fuel to go to work to pay the bills to survive and continue to feed the capitalist system that must, by definition, continue to grow. In our world, fuel is the equivalent of food or air- it MUST be had or the system (and the people in it) will not survive.

Do we see harsh measures such as the confiscation of a driver's licence (which is also required for most people to have in order to survive in the system) extended to desperate, hungry people who would steal from a grocery store or restauraunt for food? We don't see the government enacting harsh legislation to protect the food industry from theft, even though most foods have never been more expensive than they are now.

By your position, you would favour harsh punishments for those who need to steal to survive, not unlike the recent media portrayal of "looters" in New Orleans being the bad guys. This oil-based, global/capitalist system is sinking and the people have no choice but to swim, because our "leaders" (the real bad guys) have been pimping a false lifestyle to a brainwashed citizenry for decades, and now thats its almost over they have no "Plan B" and the people are starting to realize it. The increase in "pump-and-dash" crimes is just the tip of the iceberg that is about to roll over on us all.

You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows- Bob Dylan

Yes, the intro was slanted, but you'll notice the article was pretty slanted as well. Not getting into the ideological debates there are some things to consider. First, the legislation hasn't been passed, only presented. NS has a minority government so just being presented doesn't mean passing.

Second, if it IS already theft, then there is ALREADY a mechanism for dealing with it, namely, theft under $1000. This is the state selecting specific crimes to be enforced more rigourously and with state sanctions over and above judicial decisions. Obviously with $60 being the most someone can abscond with, the incentive to charge is rarely worth it. A backed up court system guarantees that such cases will be treated leniently, if at all. So the government is backing up the courts and giving them an extra tool for dealing with one specific crime.

That also doesn't even get into the fact that several people did it as a political statement, many even forced the gas stations to have them charged. This is clearly meant to send a message for those with a civil disobedient bent.

So you have the government making extra-judicial decisions here. Not only can you be charged in court, but essentially charged by the exucutive branch of government. Of course people simply forget all the time, I forgot one time years ago, and almost did several months ago. What this guarantees is that if you have a job and a nice car the courts, and government, will probably assume you forgot. If you have a record or are poor, they will assume you stole.

Finally, it is interesting about this. Of course extra-judicial legislation happens all the time for various reasons. If you have library fines now at university you can't graduate until you pay them. On the one hand it makes sense, on the other it clearly shows the increasingly homogenization of our bureaucratic overlords (before the administration would have had no idea that you had library fines).

So whenever extra judicial legislation comes up, it should be suspect, like the famous 'three strikes' law in California which saw people going to prison for ten years for stealing a candy bar. It is interesting to note that the government could easily use such powers elsewhere, for example, 'deadbeat dads' could have Revenue Canada adding child support payments to their taxes and delivering them to their spouse, spouse abusers could see various licenses revoked as punishment, rather than current legislation which makes court cases unlikely, absenteee landlords could see property tax increases or other tax increases if they refuse to abide by safety legislation, and on and on.

As the poster mentioned, while that sort of crime doesn't pay, it's interesting to note that I can't even sue the gas company if I get cancer from the MMT I'm breathing at the pumps, or the government for allowing it there and refusing to support public transit so that I have other options.

If you really disagree with the proposed legislation, then speak out against it!<br />
<br />
This webpage:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/MEMBERS/directory/alpha.html">http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/MEMBERS/directory/alpha.html</a><br />
<br />
contains links to the email address of all current MLA's of the Nova Scotia Legislature. Do like I did and email EVERY ONE OF THEM and express your concerns! <br />
<br />
For your convenience, here is a pre-written (with many thanks to previous posters on this thread) cut and paste letter:<br />
<br />
_____<br />
<br />
Honourable MLA's,<br />
<br />
It seems that legislation is before that house that will see those convicted under the Criminal Code of theft (by filling up their vehicles and taking off without paying) face the additional sanction of losing their driver's licence.<br />
<br />
From my understanding of our judicial system, there is already a mechanism for dealing with these crimes, namely, theft under $1000.<br />
<br />
This is the state selecting specific crimes to be enforced more rigorously and with state sanctions over and above judicial decisions. This will result in a government making extra-judicial decisions. Not only can we be charged in court, but essentially we will also be charged by the executive branch of government.<br />
<br />
In our society, whether by poor planning or not, people are living in a system that is not totally of their making and definitely not in their control. They need fuel to go to work to pay the bills to survive. In our world, fuel is the equivalent of food or air- it must be had or the system (and the people in it) will not survive.<br />
<br />
The fuel industry is already taking steps to protect itself from people who bolt without paying, and the onus should be on the fuel industry to protect its' own products. Do we see harsh measures such as the confiscation of a driver's licence extended to desperate, hungry people who would steal from a grocery store or restaurant for food?<br />
<br />
We don't see the government enacting harsh legislation to protect the food industry from theft, even though most foods have never been more expensive than they are now, thanks in part to rising fuel prices!<br />
<br />
Our judicial and legal systems are complicated and essentially ineffective enough as they are now, legislative meddling in judicial areas sets some dangerous precedents.<br />
<br />
Please consider these points before you vote on this proposed legislation!<br />
<br />
_____<br />
<br />
To make it even easier to voice your opinion, here are all the MLA's email addressess as per the links provided via <br />
<a href="http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/MEMBERS/directory/alpha.html">http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/MEMBERS/directory/alpha.html</a> for you in one big list:<br />
<br />
bakermg@gov.ns.ca <br />
barnetbe@gov.ns.ca <br />
min_psc@gov.ns.ca <br />
chishorm@gov.ns.ca <br />
finamin@gov.ns.ca <br />
clarkec@gov.ns.ca <br />
colwelkw@gov.ns.ca <br />
corbettmlacentre@ns.sympatico.ca <br />
dentreca@gov.ns.ca <br />
deveaux.mla@ns.sympatico.ca <br />
dewolfjd@gov.ns.ca <br />
ddexter@ns.sympatico.ca <br />
dooksbf@gov.ns.ca <br />
hepstein@supercity.ns.ca <br />
billestabrooks@navnet.net <br />
econmin@gov.ns.ca <br />
gaudetw@gov.ns.ca <br />
glavinla@gov.ns.ca <br />
gordiegosse@ns.aliantzinc.ca <br />
premier@gov.ns.ca <br />
hinesgb@gov.ns.ca <br />
min_dnr@gov.ns.ca <br />
langilhw@gov.ns.ca <br />
macdonman@gov.ns.ca <br />
mmacdonald@navnet.net <br />
macdonr@gov.ns.ca <br />
john.macdonell@ns.sympatico.ca <br />
macisaaa@gov.ns.ca <br />
mackinnrv@gov.ns.ca <br />
joanmasseymla@ns.aliantzinc.ca <br />
stephenmcneil@ns.aliantzinc.ca <br />
morashkg@gov.ns.ca <br />
marilynmoremla@ns.aliantzinc.ca <br />
morsedm@gov.ns.ca <br />
educmin@gov.ns.ca <br />
odonnece@gov.ns.ca <br />
parentma@gov.ns.ca <br />
charlieparkermla@ns.aliantzinc.ca <br />
jpye@ns.aliantzinc.ca <br />
mhraymondmla@eastlink.ca <br />
russelro@gov.ns.ca <br />
sampsoge@gov.ns.ca <br />
samsonmp@gov.ns.ca <br />
scottmk@gov.ns.ca <br />
graham@grahamsteele.ca <br />
jstreatch@eastlink.ca <br />
taylorbd@gov.ns.ca <br />
theriahe@gov.ns.ca <br />
diana.whalen@ns.sympatico.ca <br />
davidawilsonmla@easlink.ca <br />
wilsond@gov.ns.ca <br />
<br />
<p>---<br>--Snowdog<br />
___________<br />
Canadians First!

Last I checked, people could still survive without gas.
You really can't compare it to food.

---
a man who feels the winds of change should build not a windbreak,
but a windmill.
- mao tse tung

You CAN"T survive without gas, how will you get to work? How do most people get to work? As the story says, nobody even KNOWS how often this happens, and nobody even knows how much of a problem it is. Why so much attention being paid to something which you have no statistics on? Other crimes are far more heinous and have concrete statistics that they are getting far worse and ignored, yet we don't even HEAR about them, let alone have legislation brought into legislature.