Flip of the Coyne

The provincial Liberals in all their wisdom have forced our medical system to the brink. Our operating room is gone. We have a hard time attracting and keeping doctors with our lack of services, and now the provincial Liberals are attempting to do away with our ambulance service with the new Medi-Van program. With the lack of services in Princeton, you have to wonder why anyone would want to move to a remote rural community like ours.

If the medical issues were not enough, try driving our highways and secondary roads. Since the government stopped running the highway maintenance and contracted it out to private contractors, our highways have gotten worse and worse. When you can almost see yourself in the reflection from the ice on the highways you have wonder whom should be held responsible.

Although I would love to blame the guys working on the local road crew, it’s not their fault. It’s not their foreman’s fault. I don’t even think you can blame the contractors themselves. When you are a for-profit company you need to make a profit, but should people be allowed to make a profit on essential services like roads, power, and medicine? Should we allow our government to put our lives in the hands of a for-profit company that depends on making a profit to survive?

We need to demand our elected officials to provide the services for which we are taxed. When it comes to public safety, our governments should not be allowed to play games. We as the electorate should hold our elected officials accountable for their lack of respect for the welfare and wellbeing of the public. We have to remember that we are the bosses here, not the government. They represent us, not the other way around, so when our safety and our health are in jeopardy because of decisions that our officials make, those officials need to be held accountable.

Treason:

(a) uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province; (b) without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada; (c) conspires with any person to commit high treason or to do anything mentioned in paragraph (a); (d) forms an intention to do anything that is high treason or that is mentioned in paragraph (a) and manifests that intention by an overt act; or (e) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) or forms an intention to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) and manifests that intention by an overt act.

High Treason:

(a) kills or attempts to kill Her Majesty, or does her any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maims or wounds her, or imprisons or restrains her; (b) levies war against Canada or does any act preparatory thereto; or (c) assists an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are.

These are the legal definitions of treason in Canada. This is what members of the Conservative party and their supporters are accusing the Liberal and NDP parties of. I wonder if these people who want to claim that the lawfully elected Members of Parliament acting within the constraints of the Canadian Law know what Libel, Slander and Defamation are. If the opposition MPs are operating within the law, can it be called treasonous?

Defamation is a “written or spoken attack on a person or organization’s reputation.”

Libel is “the written act of defamation” for example writing letters to the editor.

Slander is “the oral act of defamation.” An example of this would be an interview.

If I was the government or even the supporters of the government I would tread lightly when accusing the opposition parties of treason. Treason is an exaggeration of what is happening in Ottawa. Those in opposition to the coalition might also want to take a look at their Prime Minister’s own words in of April 20^th, 2005 when he said “I would not want the Prime Minister to simply think he can simply fail in the House of Commons as a route to another general election. That is not the way our system works.” “Not how our system works.” He said this at a press conference when he discussed that there has been informal discussion about coalition governments and that he would hope that the Governor General would look to the opposition to form a new government if the present one fails. Hmm, can anyone say “hypocritical”? Maybe the conservative party supporters and members should think before they speak since their own leader at one time openly spoke of exactly what is happening today.

It’s that time of year again: Christmas.  If you are anything like me, you haven’t began to shop.  This Christmas, why not try being greener and more socially conscious? 

Unfortunately, Christmas has become a consumer holiday, more about spending than being with family and friends.  The way to combat this orgy of capitalism is by choosing not to participate or by taking steps to buy locally, buy green and buy fair trade.  I am not telling you that if you buy a local, fair trade product made from recycled or renewable resources that the world is going to change.  Far from it.  What you are doing is deciding that you have had enough with the status quo and that you are no longer willing to participate. 

The first thing to do is to look locally.  Can you get your gifts in town?  Is there something manufactured near your home that you can buy this year?  Once you have exhausted all of these local options, then you should look for products made from a sustainable resource or recycled from other products.  By buying sustainably-made commodities you are saying ‘no’ to the petrochemical companies and the needless waste of energy.  Remember, plastics are made from oil.  There are new bio plastics that are made from vegetable and other renewable oils.  You can always look for recycled plastics. These plastics are made from other plastic products that no longer are of use to anyone.  The other option is to look for fair trade items.  Fair trade means that the products are made by people who make a living wage (not working in sweat shops, for example).  Fair trade protects workers from being exploited by the major corporations.  Sometimes it means you will need to pay more but that’s because the workers are making more than a couple cents a day. 

There are many things you can do this Christmas to be greener and more socially responsible.  It may cost a bit more and you might not be able to get the latest gizmo or as-seen-on-TV items, but when all is said and done, you have done your part to make the world a little bit better and isn’t that what Christmas is really all about?

Published Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 50 Page A4

I have been trying to wrap my head around the deer issue for the past 6 years. I still don’t understand what the people want the mayor and council to do about the deer problem. Deer do not fall under the jurisdiction of the town council. Deer being a wild animal would be covered under the BC Wildlife Act, therefore being the jurisdiction of the Provincial government.

I understand that people are getting tired of the deer eating their flower beds or gardens, but short of a massive culling, I do not see how this situation can be dealt with.

Should council make tougher bylaws on feeding the deer? If they do, where does it stop? Would having a green lawn be punishable under this bylaw? Of course not.

So let’s put a cull on the table. What would this cull look like? A hunt in the streets of Princeton where deer are being shot downtown, or are we going to try and round them all up and shoot them all once in pens? We really need to ask ourselves what is it that we want to do. If we are seriously going to look at a cull then we need to look beyond the town and into the immediate area, because if we eliminate the deer in town, more will move in because of external pressures.

We need to be realistic; we need to be serious about how far we are willing to go to protect our yards and gardens. We need to know how far our community will go when our elected officials are sent to Victoria to request special permits or permission to eliminate the deer population from Princeton.

If you are sitting there reading this and feel like I am being completely unrealistic then what is the answer? Can we round the deer up like cattle and move them to another location? Maybe, but like I said, more deer will move in. Do we put up a big fence? At what cost and how will that work with rivers, roads and highways that will allow the deer to still sneak in. There are no other realistic options for solving the deer problem other than a cull.

I am sorry if my words seem a little harsh or if people get upset by what I have written but we all must understand what it really means to deal with the deer problem.

Published Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 49 Page A4

They say a team is only as strong as its weakest link. I see a community as a team. We struggle together in hard times and we prosper together in good times. The needs of some of the most unexpected members of our community are proof that we are heading into some hard times.

There is a growing problem in our little town: poverty. Poverty is a powerful word with a lot of connotations. When most people hear the word “poverty” they think of laziness, drunkenness and drug abuse, but what many do not understand is that many who are in a state of “poverty” are just like you and me. Sometimes they are the people who serve us coffee, clean our hotel rooms, or they are the veterans who sacrificed their youths to give us the freedom that we enjoy so much.

The economic climate has hit the most vulnerable of our little community the hardest and the first. Earlier this year the rising cost of fuel drove up prices in almost every part of our lives, making it hard for those on a fixed income (like pensioners) to afford the basic necessities, such as food. Some have benefited from rising property assessments and were able to sell their homes for a profit, but what about those who might be renting or have a mortgage, or own their homes but have a limited or fixed income and now have to pay for the extra taxes?

Most people live hand to mouth, meaning they get their paycheque, and before the next one arrives, all the money is gone. They pay their rent, their utilities, gas and insurance for their automobile, and with what’s left, buy groceries for the next two weeks. With any increase to the cost of living, without an increase in income, they might have to skip buying that extra tank of gas or paying that utility bill or dare I say buy the less healthy food at the grocery store. No matter what their choice, it will have ramifications on the rest of their lives. What if they get sick? They might miss a paycheque, meaning they might not be able to do what I listed above. Many in our society live just two paycheques away from bankruptcy!

With Christmas, these stresses of daily life get worse as there are added financial woes, not to mention a number of other issues like increased heating costs as winter sets in. Our weakest link becomes a couple more links and as it adds up our team becomes less able to function.

You can help this Christmas season. You can make a donation to the Princeton Crisis Assistance Society in the form of food, money, or clothing. When at the grocery store, add a couple of items to your cart for the food hamper. After getting the mail, walk over to the Crisis Assistance Thrift Shop and drop off a donation. They are open Tuesday to Thursday 10am to 3pm. Let’s work as a team this Christmas and help out the less fortunate in our community.

There have been a lot of fireworks in Ottawa this past week causing a lot of debate outside of Ottawa. Whether you like what’s happening or not you need to ask yourself if it is legal? The answer is yes.

It is legal, but the rhetoric from the Conservative party is that it is nothing less than a coup d’état, but this is just rhetoric. The thing about our system of governance is that we do not elect a Prime Minister, nor do we elect members of a party. There is no mention of parties in the Constitution, and unlike the United States, the Prime Minister is not an elected position. We do not vote for him/her directly.

What happens is that we are to elect a local candidate that will best represent our riding in Ottawa. Prime Minister is picked by the members of parliament. The Prime Minister must have the confidence of the House. The Governor General then appoints that person to lead the government. This person holds the position of Prime Minster (First Minister) until losing the confidence of the house or a general election is called. If the Prime Minister fails a confidence vote then the last government can be asked to form a government.

There is nothing undemocratic about what is happening in the house because all (and I must reiterate this) all the people who sit in the house were democratically elected and they all have the right to form a government. This is our system. Like it or not, this is how it works.

This is not a bad deal for Canada, though it might be a bad deal for conservatives. This collation talk is actually a good thing for Canada. It is within the letter of the law and it means that the majority of the house will work together. Imagine that: people working together in Ottawa.

To learn more read the constitution: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html