Letters: Saskatoon police stops need better strategy to catch impaired

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I’m a bit perplexed after going through a Saskatoon Police Service checkstop last month just after 6 p.m. on a weekday. One has to wonder whether they really want to catch drivers impaired or if they are putting out a false narrative.

Then with this change to checkstops, it seems we are losing our rights; everyone provides a breath sample now, so guilty now until proven innocent. At the same time police were pulling over vehicles going east, vehicles going to the country music concert were not stopped going west.

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Doesn’t it make more sense to place the checkstop on the westbound side as one would assume concert goers might be drinking prior to event. Or, even better, do it after the concert or on a weekend night after 11 p.m.

The worst part is that at the same time the Saskatoon police held this checkstop, a family friend was in a traffic accident and the police were called. She waited and waited — her husband joined her to wait — they called the police two more times. They left after waiting over two and a half hours.

About 16 Saskatoon police officers were allocated to the checkstop from what I saw. I’m all for getting impaired drivers off the road — trust me on this. But don’t do it at the expense of the other essential services you provide us.

Then maybe, if you truly want to catch impaired drivers, please exercise some better logic and reasoning about where and when they should be staged.

Brent Macdonald, Saskatoon 

Electoral system produces divisive legislature

Decades ago, one of my children visited Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly. Expecting to learn about governance and democracy, they were instead appalled by chaos and incivility. Elected officials, who were supposed to represent us with dignity, behaved like squabbling children.

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Recent sessions amplify the worst tantrums of past decades. MLA Ken Francis confessed he gets sucked into trash talk almost daily. Speaker Randy Weekes’s final speech alleged threats and harassment from fellow Saskatchewan Party MLAs.

He also revealed former House LeaderJeremy Harrison brought a gun into the assembly. Premier Scott Moe’s response? Weekes is a sore loser and Moe dismisses the alarming allegations against Harrison as false. No investigation necessary.

He also categorizes the texts to Weekes as “ambitious” rather than “harassment.” Ambitious? To what purpose? Partisan purposes as the sender attempts to have the non-partisan speaker favour a side?

The first-past-the-post produced assembly fosters an environment where yelling and intimidation mock dialogue and collaboration. Reform with proportional representation could address these issues.

By ensuring that legislative seats more accurately reflect the diverse views of our population, evidence proves proportional representation encourages coalition-building and co-operation. Instead of a winner-takes-all approach that fuels partisanship, this system promotes a more inclusive and respectful political culture.

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Proportional representation offers a path to a more mature and effective legislative process. To improve our democracy in provincial and federal elections, vote for candidates who will enact electoral reform with proportional representation. Learn more at FairVote.ca or facebook.com/FairVoteSask.

Nancy Carswell, Shellbrook

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