2 Edmonton Councillors - two divergent opinions

Equality Rights

Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

How are riders being treated equal under the law when they are the only non commercial road users being fined for creating excessive noise? 

That is a question I posed to two city of Edmonton councillors yesterday in phone interviews.

I spoke with Councillor's Henderson and Diotte. The answers I got were so divergent.

According to Henderson the only thing the city is trying to do is crack down on noise and the only proven technology available is the J 2825 standard being promoted by Luc Fournier of the MMIC, and since everyone agreed on it - it is fair and not discriminatory.

When I asked Henderson why the city if Edmonton was not using the Noise Snare that would see ALL gross noise offenders charged and treated the same way his excuse was the technology hasn't been proven - when I called him on the fact that the J2825 was in fact reliant on the police officer doing copious amounts of paperwork, therefore highly subjective and highly cost inefficient he argued that the J2825 was scientifically proven and the Noise Snare was not. 

Henderson said he wanted to wait and see what Calgary's success was going to be with the Noise Snare before he'd agree to try it in Edmonton - his fear was that there would be more backlash from it that the J2825. When I asked him if he thought the potential for increased back lash might be because ALL non commercial use offenders would be nailed he did agree that would be the case.

Councillor Henderson tried many arguments with me to show that the Edmotnon Motorcycle Only Noise Bylaw was not violating our Charter Rights - he tried the old we do safety checks on semis - I said yup and commercial vehicles are covered under different law from non commercial road users.  

Then he tried the check stop thing - and I said yup - in a check stop you stop EVERYONE - you don't single out Cadillacs or purple cars.  He tried the seat belt thing - and I said to him - convertibles do not have traditional seatbelts and neither do motorcycles - it is about the nature of the vehicle.  This man appeared to me throughout our entire conversation to want to hold on to the J2825 no matter how belligerent and obstinate he came across.

He claims this is about noise, and yet he is not willing to try the Noise Snare, not until someone else tries it and it goes through legal challenges. 

So I said: Hmmm - so you would rather discriminate than do the right thing and try the Noise Snare...His answer: We are not discriminating - it is the only proven technology and we do need to have the ability to test noise on other vehicles and it is not there right now.

According to Councillor Diotte however -Edmonton's Noise Bylaw is highly discriminatory and that to only target one group of non commercial road users was the wrong way to approach the noise issue and highly detrimental to tourism, charitable events and put tax payers in a combative and divisive position with the city . Councillor Diotte says he was not aware of the Noise Snare and wanted to see the video and get more information.

Councillor Diotte and I spoke of the reason the EPS seems so bent on keeping the J2825 as a standard, I asked the hard question - do you think that profiling and asking about patches, tattoos etc might be part of the reason - Councillor Diotte said an argument could be made that many would find that valuable information.  When I asked why the stunting laws weren't used in regards to the noise issue - he said I am not sure...but agreed that most of the time a noise offender is a stunter and that the $405 fine and three demerits would be a great deterrent if the police actually enforced the law.

There you have it, two men - two very different thoughts on the subject.

I ride a stock motorcycle. I ride because it is part of the fabric of my being.

 I am not arguing against noise bylaws but against the unfair/unethical prosecution of only one type of non commercial road user/gross noise offender. 

While the MMIC may have been trying to stop governments from imposing stricter regulations against motorcycles - what they really did was give police  another excuse to stop motorcycles, to profile us and to set us up for special discriminatory treatment. 

If you understand that I am NOT against noise bylaws but working towards seeing ALL gross offenders treated equally then I ask you to consider doing a few things...

1) Send me a written statement that documents your stop and if possible supply every supporting document you can including photos, video and make sure you note who, what, where, when and why in your statement.

2) I want you to thoughtfully consider the profiling of our community that has been taking place - Veteran's being refused entry to a motorcycle show 'n' shine at a Legion in Orangeville Ontario because they were wearing patches - think of the other events, like the Canadian Championship of Custom Bike Building and how I was forced to say no patches or not get my event license...many other events are experiencing the same sort of restrictions - I have a few who will write about their experiences with the RCMP and the Liquor Boards in their provinces - they have to wait until 6 months after their events to do so... I have heard these stories and they are all consistently unfair, unlawful and discriminatory and having them on paper is going to be vital.

 3) Consider the idea - the possibility, that we as a visible minority deserve protection from unfair and unlawful prosecution just like riders in the State of Washington have.

There are a number of us that are putting together a group that intends to see our community - motorcyclists - seek protection under our Charter of Freedoms and Rights as a visible minority - it's going to take some dedicated people and a ton of money.

My questions to all of you are...Do you value your Freedoms and Rights? 

Are you willing to spend some money or some time to protect them or are we going to - like the state of Kentucky did - allow our Governments and Police Officers to take our Rights and Freedoms away?

Equality - fair treatment - that is what I am after, what say you?

I want your feedback people - I feel this is a serious matter and I hope that my feelings mirror yours but if they don't I want to know why - it is important to me to understand all sides of these issues.

In other news:

In the US, the Mongol's won the right to keep their patch and trade mark

Also in the US the president of the Pagans is being held on a $750,000 bond

In Australia - Bikies ride in a funeral procession with their patches on - the first time they are allowed to associate without fear of prosecution in a long time.

In Canada - the Supreme Court will decide of the BC Hells Angels are a criminal organization

There are 8 crashes involving motorcyclists in the Rider Down Section

There is a ton of event information and other news today that may affect your riding life - check it all out at www.beltdrivebetty.com

Have a Happy Canada Day everyone...and please - ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you, and use respect with that right hand - we have to share this world with others who don't love the sound of our motorcycles the way we do - be considerate in towns and cities - it will save you money and the rest of us a lot of grief if you are.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor and Rider

www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

HOW do you explain it? Some hard questions for the City of Edmonton

I had the distinct displeasure of speaking with the Prosecutor in the Stuart Young Appeal.
Why do I say displeasure?  Well, double talking prosecutors are not my favourite people in the world - and Mr McAnsh did not let me down in his double talk - these people are so skilled in concealing the truth and side stepping the issues - it's a disgrace - this is not JUSTICE - this isn't even LAW - this is a derailing of the rights and freedoms under our Charter. The right to equal treatment under the Law - what a joke our Charter is becoming....

Here is my interview with the prosecutor - short as it was.

City of Edmonton Motorcycle Only Noise Bylaw

Interview with Scott McAnsh, June 30^th 2011

Background:

Stuart Young received two tickets regarding the noise emitting from his motorcycle.

After much research and collaboration with Liane Langlois, Stuart successfully defended himself and his tickets were quashed.

The City of Edmonton filed an appeal and in the last hour, withdrew their appeal.

Question:

Why was the appeal withdrawn?

Answer:

On the evidentiary record - there was a problem with the police’s information that was not well addressed in the record and the use of the technology. It was a problem with the total evidence in the file – the officer issuing the ticket was Cst Deputat

Notes: Although the prosecutor talked in circles he admitted that the evidence file was incomplete and there were problems with the information in the files and the prosecutors office did not feel that this ticket/file was the right ticket to appeal a decision on.

Question:

Will Stuart’s legal fees be repaid?

Answer:

No reimbursement of legal fees – the city does not do that

Question:

How is this decision going to affect other motorcyclists?

Answer:

It won’t, if they are ticketed, they have the option to fight.

So there you have it - straight (or sideways as I say) from the mouth of the prosecutor for the city of Edmonton - It cost Stuart - and every motorcyclist that chipped in for this appeal just shy of $4,000 just to have the city back out because - from what I can gather by reading between the lines - the cops messed up.
Their evidence was NOT solid, there were issues with how the test was done and how the evidence was recorded.

My personal humble opinion on this entire situation is as follows:
The City Prosecutors did not think a University student would be able to come up with the money to have a lawyer represent him at trial.

When Stuart didn't back out, the shoddy evidence and paperwork caused the Prosecutor to have to - this appeal should never have been brought forth.

In all I feel the city of Edmonton's Prosecutors/Lawyer is a coward and the Edmonton Police Services Traffic Division were sloppy in their paperwork and that this whole situation was vendetta driven -  Stuart tore their original case to shreds and the only way they could make him pay for that was to hit him in the pocket book and deny the motorcycle community it's day in court.

I am sickened by the blatant tactics and although through Mr. McAnsh did his best to side step my questions and provide answers that were no answers - he did not succeed in hiding the motivation. He was very defensive and just kept saying there was a problem with the evidence.

I have a call in to Tony Caterina's Office and hope to have his feedback on what transpired very soon.
I also have a call in to Jane Batty - Jane has been very vocal about noise issues and I am wondering how come the Noise Snare is not being used or considered by the City - to that end I have also called counsellor Kerry Diotte and almost all of the counsellors and look very forward to their responses.

In my humble opinion - the city of Edmonton needs to step up and reimburse the legal fees that the motorcyclists of Edmonton and the province of Alberta helped to raise for Stuart - he's a university student and this has caused him and many others undue hardship as he put a large chunk of his own money into this.

The more the City of Edmonton baulks at using the Noise Snare and continues to hold on to the J2825 the more they look obstinate, arrogant, wasteful and discriminatory - the more it looks like the police services are running the city and the more it looks like they want to hold on to the motorcycle only stops to profile us - they don't see it but the motorcycle community feels that way - or at least the thousands I have spoken to about the issue do!

But hey - what do I know - I am just a grunt trying to get this issue resolved with some measure of fairness.

I will give you an update on the contacts if any that come from the various councillor's.

There is a ton of other news today so please - do yourself a favour - go read about the crashes, the politics and the news that might affect your world...www.beltdrivebetty.com is where the info is - we sift through the news so you don't have to!

Have a fabulous Thursday - a terrific Canada Tomorrow - I do not plan on blogging tomorrow unless of course something deeply important comes up...

The next time I write will be to kick off my Share the Road - Share the Ride, Motorcycle Awareness Conga on Monday.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

Veterans being denied taking part in parade because they ride motorcycles

The news out of Santa Clara County in California is that because in the past, some motorcyclists who were included in the annual 4th of July Parade revved their engines and caused little kids to cover their ears - NO MOTORCYCLES ALLOWED....


So the Patriot Guard are not being allowed to participate unless of course they want to walk...according to the article they were late in filing their application to participate and even if they had not been late they would have been denied simply because they ride motorcycles.


Independence Day - Veterans - Parades but no veterans on motorcycles, what is this world becoming?


How do we as a community rid ourselves of the inconsiderate? 
I wonder if that is even possible - I look around and every community has them - you know the ones I mean, the people who feel they have to show off, have everyone look at them - cut people off among other rude and inconsiderate behaviours.


The men and women who serve their country deserve far better treatment than this in my opinion but yet again, because of the selfish - good people are penalized...


It breaks my heart time and again, whether the news of this type of discrimination involves the Legion having to follow the LCBO rules to deny patches if they want to keep their liquor license or like the story above - veterans are denied participation in a parade because of the small group in our community that feel the need to impose their inconsiderate behaviour on others. 


It is, in my humble opinion - a very sad day. 
Even sadder when you read this next bit...


Liane Langlois of the Edmonton Motorcycle Club has reported in that the city of Edmonton has withdrawn it's appeal of the Stuart Young case. Stuart won his case (regarding Motorcycle Only Noise Tickets issued under the J2825) in court citing a number of problems with J2825 - he and many riders have successfully fought these tickets but now true justice is being denied. The higher court ruling would have effectively squashed the by law - but now, with the city's withdrawal well - the precedent that we were looking for hasn't truly been set yet - however, the fact that they have withdrawn does show that the city of Edmonton felt they could not defend their by law and win.


Liane states: I received possibly the most anti-climatic phone call tonight from Stuart Young. With 2 days to go until court, the City withdrew their appeal. We did not receive any sort of explanation but common sense would say they took one look at our defence and in a tactical move, knowing they would lose, would not allow us to get our ruling from a higher court. End quote


So there you have it folks - if the government can screw you over they WILL - and none of this appears to be about noise but about money and being too stubborn to admit the testing and it's implementation is flawed.  If this was TRULY about noise then why did they opt for the expensive to implement J2825 when they could have had the Noise Snare right from the beginning - WHY....


It's a question I would love to ask city of Edmonton counsellors - they knew about the technology that would be fair in that it targets ALL non commercial noise offenders and is very labour UN intensive - I do not get it folks...do you?


In other News:
RCMP in BC are on the hunt for a full patched member of the Hells Angels in conjunction with a murder


Also in BC a man who is riding to the NT to promote depression awareness has passed through Smithers


In Toronto - two police officers who beat up an aged disabled man will get house arrest instead of jail - read the lame assed reason the judge gave...


Also in Ontario - the North Wall Riders want to remind you of their event this weekend


In Michigan - if you are 21, been riding for 2 years, have taken a motorcycle safety course and carry $100,000 in medical insurance you can ride your bike with no helmet under the new law.


In Britain a 94 year old is certified as the oldest rider 


There is a lot of other news in the feeds and I hope you will check them out - to be forewarned is to be for armed...knowledge is power...

Have a fabulous hump day everyone and please remember if you are riding today to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and remember to use respect with that throttle hand - it may be day time for you but for some poor SOB it is their night cause they work night shift.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

I am getting excited!

I am T-6 days to take off!  On Monday July 4th I leave for the first leg of the Share the Road - Share the Ride Motorcycle Awareness Conga and I can't wait.

I have purchased all of my little packages of things like Pepto and Deep Woods Off, Allergy stuff and sunscreen...I have the oil being changed tomorrow, new tires are on, Doran 360M Tire Pressure Monitoring System is installed and working properly, hotels & motels all booked, riding clubs to hook up with pretty much all set...

There are going to be a ton of firsts on this trip for me.

My first time through Northern BC by myself on my bike, the first time to the Yukon on a motorcycle...and my first time across Canada - round trip by myself other than for the riders I hook up with along the way!

In all I will be travelling 17,000 kilometres by myself. I am excited, as prepared as I know how to be and nervous - but it's that good nervous - the nervousness of anticipation of a really big adventure!

Will you join me be it for a day, an hour or a week? I would love to get to meet as many riders as possible and I look forward to sharing My Canadian experience with the world!

We are going to film some motorcycle safety PSA's that we hope will go viral around the web and be picked up by TV stations across the country for the 2012 riding season - I am tired of loosing so many friends and family wind members to left hand turning drivers and people who claim they don't see us.

Just look in the news feeds on our site today: http://www.beltdrivebetty.com/index.php/whats-hot/rider-down

It's sad and tragic how many of the crashes are rider error or foolishness and tragic that the rest are caused by drivers who are too busy in their vehicles texting, scolding kids, reading books, putting on make up and basically doing everything they should be except driving their vehicle. We riders know that even the smallest car is a 2,000 pound weapon, so why has our education of non commercial vehicle drivers been so poor?

I don't have the answer to that question but I do know we need to create our own commercials on motorcycle awareness - commercials similar in vein to the construction commercials - you know the ones - when you see my daughter who is flagging at the intersection of A & B, make sure you wave to her for me...shock and awe commercials make so many people squeamish that they tune out the message - it is my belief that making us more human than our gear and machine lend us to looking might be the trick.

We, the riders need to take charge of our safety - by refining and working on our skills with our machines, by staying hyper aware, and by promoting the fact that we are human and we have families that want us to come home safely...

I hope you will join me somewhere along the way and together that we can spread the word to our fellow rider and to all motorists that we need to arrive home alive and that awareness is the key to that happening.

In other news:

In the US - the former governor of Alabama was in a biker crash

In Ontario, Hamilton is non too happy about the new Hells Angels club house

In BC - two very different articles on how the Great Canadian Bike Rally and Sturgis North TM came to be...but the result is the same - it is a BONANZA for bikers - two MAJOR events within 200 kilometres of each other!

And in Kelowna BC, the RCMP are pushing for a noise bylaw like Edmonton's 

Also in BC a great article on riding in the Kootenay's - quite timely with Toad Rock's final rally happening this weekend.  Make sure you pick up your copy of the Rider Friendly Business Association Phone Book - it's filled with specials and deals from the Kootenay's AND it has a great laminated FULL Color Map!

You can also pick up your copy of the 2011 Rider Friendly Phone Book At these Events:

Horse Thief Hide Out - Invermere BC

Atlanticade - St Andrews NB

Great Canadian Bike Rally - Merritt BC

Sturgis North - Salmon Arm

Two Hills Memorial Rally - Two Hills AB

Rockin the Valley - Drayton Valley AB

Visit our Canadian Motorcycle Events Calendar for all of the info on these great events!

Not only will you get a phone book but when you register on our site to activate your membership card and you put which event you got your card and book at - we will give you a free one year subscription to the weekly community newspaper - The Busted Knuckle Chronicles!

And of course membership gives you FREE Classified ads, FREE use of the Never Ride Alone Program, Access to our toll free BDB Club Number, Access to the Canadian Riders Support Network, Discounts on Road Side Assistance, Discounts and special services at over 325 businesses across Canada and  our FREE MC Travel APP - Our Canadian Motorcycle Events Calendars in an APP for your Phone!

There is a TON of other news over at www.beltdrivebetty.com

Visit our site daily to keep up with what is happening in your community and around the world - you never know what you will find there that will be important to you as we sift through the news feeds so you don't have to!

Have a fabulous Tuesday everyone and please remember if you are riding today to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and remember also to use respect with that throttle hand - it may be day time for you but for some poor SOB it is their night cause they work night shift - sleep deprivation makes one cranky...

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

Mother Nature is on a rampage...

A number of events here in the north of Alberta were hampered by rain yet again. What a soggy mess and yet we are still luckier than many regions.

I attended the Rough Ryders Alberta Show 'n' Shine for STARS - while there were only a few bikes on hand there were a number of beautiful old cars and trucks out.

I will be doing a feature on the show 'n' shine for next weeks paper.

The reports I have read on Facebook were that the Hillbilly Hammerdown was a great time and all though she threatened Mother Nature left the riders dry for the most part. In Saskatchewan - the St Victor Boogie last weekend was a soggy affair...

It is my hopes that we could all say a prayer - now I know many of you aren't necessarily religious but hopefully like me you are spiritual...

"Mother Nature, we riders have waited through a harsh winter, a soggy and cold spring to be able to ride our noble steeds and drink in the beauty and abundance that surround us when we are on our motorcycles. Let us pay homage to your beauty by allowing us to ride in relative warmth and I promise you I will adore you in a way befitting your majesty. Amen"

Perhaps if we all put our energy into positive thinking Mother Nature will hear our pleas and help every event we ride to be a huge success for the charities in our communities.

I have 3 months of books to get started on today. I leave on my 43 day round trip across this magnificent country on July 4th and have 2 business proposals to get in before I leave as well so cross your fingers for me that I am able to get everything done before I leave.

My Conga Schedule will be updated tomorrow as I fill in the last blanks on my rooms and the people I am going to be riding with - I am so excited to get the opportunity to meet with and ride with so many wonderful  people!  Together we are going to make some incredible commercials to share all over the internet and hopefully on TV too!

The news feeds have lots of info today...

An Edmonton rider is dead after crashing in to a gravel pile 

Also in Alberta the distracted drivers law comes into effect in September.

In Saskatchewan a rider was injured in a crash after he lost control

In Manitoba the police are trying very hard to shut down the group Wise Up the photo radar watch dog.

In Ontario the Bob Probert ride was a huge success  and a Biker with Brain Cancer does some incredible fund raising and awareness raising!

Also in Ontario the CAV paid honor to a Canton Civil War Vet

In Sidney NS a rider was caught doing 160KPH OVER the posted speed

The Canada Free Press has an interesting article on Freedom in the US and asks the question - what happened to Freedom.

There a number of other really worthy articles - so check them out at www.beltdrivebetty.com

Have a fabulous Monday everyone and please remember if you are riding today to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and remember also to use respect with that throttle hand - it may be day time for you but for some poor SOB it is their night cause they work night shift  and if you are really unlucky it could be a postal worker who has been ordered back to work - that could be nasty!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com