Dear fellow FMLers
 
Several days ago, I sent a post stating my own reservations about posting a
picture and other information about Mr. Kovaks on the internet.  I also
suggested that an effort be made to establish procedures for shelters to
follow when arranging the adoption of ferrets and some type of network for
alerting shelters to 'problem' individuals.
 
Since then, I have recieved both privately and via the FML a number of
responses, some of which have been positive, others of which have not.
 
I would like to here respond to several points and then be silent:
 
I am not here to debate whether Canada has less freedom of speech than the
U.S..  However, I would like to point out that the case Mr. March refers to
was a singular incident.  In 1994 and 1995, trials were held for two
individuals, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, who were accused of
kidnapping, raping and murdering two teenage girls.  The press ban was put
in place in order to ensure that these individuals were given an
unprejudiced jury and received a fair trial.  When the details actually did
start to be printed, many of us wished they had remained a secret.  There
are some things which we just don't need to know.
 
By the way, both were convicted, although many felt that the sentences were
an outrage, but that's another story.
 
As a rule, the Canadaian Justice System does not permit the supression of
information.
 
Secondly, I expressed my concerns as an individual who deals with privacy
issues every day in Canada.  I did not and do not claim to be an expert in
the field.  But lets face it, we all live in fairly litigious (not sure of
the spelling of that) societies and that law often has little to do with
what's fair and right.  What's the point in being uncautious and then
finding out that we're in a bit of trouble.
 
While I found that people were ready to discuss the first part of the post,
few have responded to the second, and in my thinking, more important part
which deals with developing a system of ensuring that our animals are
adopted into safe and loving homes.
 
If anyone wishes to discuss this with me, then please contact me privately
or via the list.
 
Judith
 
My name, as the post indicates, is spelled E-M-E-R-Y, not E-M-O-R-Y.
[Posted in FML issue 1613]