Pollution and prison connection
Congratulations to Enbridge Inc. executive’s company which was awarded $38.5 million to build a mega-prison, the first one of the Bill C10 crime bill.
Is this to house the noisy, pesky Enbridge protesters once Enbridge workers start to plow through the Great Bear Rain Forest across 1,000 fish-bearing streams and protected habitat area including the elusive white Spirit Bear [“Music conveys passion,” June 20]?
Some concerned citizens met with John Weston, MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, a few weeks ago as a follow-up to a protest outside his office over Bill C38, that is dismantling many environmental laws, and also the Enbridge proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
Weston said, during this meeting, that his daughter wants him to save the bears. I responded with “Then why are you supporting the construction of a pipeline through the Great Bear Rain Forest?” Unfortunately Weston is in support of the pipeline which would appear to be in conflict with his daughter’s request.
I also asked him “How much are we subsidizing oil, gas and coal?” At first he said “We are reducing,” and then he said, with doleful eyes, “What subsidizes?” Is this really our federal MP? My reply was “You are our MP. I thought you would know the answer to that question. It was an election promise in 2009 to reduce subsidizes.” I then let him in on a secret I had found through a Google search “subsidies on oil, gas and coal” and let him know it was $1.3 to $1.4 billion annually.
He said he would take my email address and get back to me on how much they had reduced the subsidies. I am still patiently waiting.
So, between the shiny new prisons being built, the disastrous report regarding Enbridge’s handling of the 2010 spill in the Kalamazoo River, Michigan, where it took the operators 17 hours to respond to the spewing of bitumen oil, and the recent firing of hundreds of scientists who monitor environmental changes around the world, we are entering a deep, dark and sticky time in Canada.
Our Conservative government has just put us on lock down.
Lesley Thorsell
Hammond Street
Bad press for Sea Fair
I was very disappointed in the Peak last week. The editorial cartoon was in bad taste and the editorial on Sea Fair [“Power of the sea,” July 25] ended up talking about people drowning (not that we don't need to know these things but in its own place).
Over the years Sea Fair has had a really hard time trying to get people to volunteer to help run everything. People go to the fireworks by the thousands (and don't pay a thing for it) and enjoy the rides but nobody wants to help volunteer. That encompasses many things, including local bands and singers. They hopefully volunteer their time.
For a town of 20,000 people Sea Fair can only get about 10 people to volunteer. Shame on you, Powell River. This includes the Peak newspaper.
The write-up before Sea Fair weekend should have been all positive. Enjoy what our town has to offer, enjoy all the rides, all the music, all the booths, et cetera. It should not have been about negative things. There is enough negativity in the world right now and it seems to me that Sea Fair gets its fair share of bullying.
Katie Cameron
Highway 101
