Thank goodness Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shaved that Mr. Dress Up beard.
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Summertime living is supposed to be easy, but it’s hard to be easy with so much worrisome stuff in the news.
That was the opening sentence in my July 8, 2015 column. It reminds me of an old adage—- the more things change the more they stay the same. Or get worse. As we head into the second half of 2021, we’re dealing with old issues as well as new — and worse ones.
In 2015 Mount Polley Mine was top of the local worry list. That one lingers. Things were going wonky with our senior governments. Still are. Our systems for ensuring the oversight and accountability of governments haven’t improved, leaving the courts to look after our interests. Or the United Nations. In 2015 two Canadian groups took Bill C-51, the Harper government’s anti- terrorist legislation, to the UN’s Human Rights Committee. This year China and others went to the UN over the Trudeau government’s treatment of Indigenous people.
Then there was the Site C Dam. I wrote “There are more reasons against building it than for, but the Clark government barges ahead.” Now the Horgan government is doing the barging.
As for things getting worse, the pandemic is new. Along with making people sick and killing them, COVID seems to have triggered a mean streak in people regarding preventative measures.
The scorching weather is new but expected. Scientists have been warning about climate change for at least 40 years, but it’s been happening gradually so it was easy to ignore. This year’s extreme heat wave with its disastrous fires, flood threats and increasing health problems has everyone’s attention. Scientists predict worse to come. Will we be ready? How will 2027 compare with 2021?
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.
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