Last Updated on: 24th July 2020, 05:12 pm
I just read this article about some of the so-called “zany” private members’ bills that various members of parliament are hoping to have passed into law.
I’ll admit that some of them are kind of goofy and out there, like Bill c-321, which would designate the third Friday of every February National Hockey Day, or Bill c-346, which would make it legal to use vitamins as a tax write-off.
But hidden amongst silliness like clasifying dog and cat fur as hazardous material are a couple of proposals that make quite a bit of sense.
For example, why shouldn’t we throw people in jail for killing or injuring police animals? We throw people in jail for killing or injuring police men and women all the time, and those animals are just as much members of the force as they are. Besides, the kind of specialized training required in order to use those animals doesn’t come cheap, so it only makes sense to make those guilty of taking the life of an officer pay for the crime.
And the idea of fining people $500 for using a cell phone while driving, is that really such a bad thing? That’s $500 the first time, a second offence would cost you $2000 or net you up to 6 months in jail.
Personally, I think a law like that one is way past due. A lot of people have trouble driving when they’re not using the phone, and I don’t care what anybody says, people do get distracted when they use them, I’ve seen it for myself many times. The only thing that makes this law sound in any way over the top is that we aren’t that tough on drunk driving in this country. But maybe that’s something else somebody ought to take a look at including in one of those pointless private members’ bills sometime soon. The Tom Brodbecks of the world may laugh about it, but it might just help make the world a bit more of a safer place.
