Uncertainty means question marks
Editor :
Re: 2011 Giving Hope (Three Rivers Report, Jan. 12)
The economic situation in the local area is not going to change as long as there is the question of “uncertainty concerning native/aboriginal land claims” and there isn’t an end in sight for negotiations on lands with Hereditary Chiefs names.
To be compensated and accommodated by each of these chiefs, whose names are on the land, stands in the way of progress.
2011 will not bring hope for the now unemployed and to those losing their jobs. The government of B.C. is in turmoil by the leaders’ own volition. The lifespan of Land Claims negotiations should be 10 year. Claimed lands rest with the crown until there is proof of use and occupation.
Each year we hear the term by those in politics “to bring jobs to our region, bring us closer to resolving First Nations issues.” So, when is the next election? The province is at a stand-still until there is a new premier, and that is all that matters today.
The Gitxsan Development Corporation does not represent all Gitxsan people. The money made by this corporation stays with the Gitxsan Treaty Society. The writer of this article made this public, so it is open for those with opinions. Those who deal with this group should use the term “bankable a lot. (If you are not bankable they will not waste their breath on you.
The writer is not very considerate of those living “On Reserve” by using the term “pigs in a corral.” Indian Reserves were established with those of the Original Inhabitants, their descendants are here.
Mary G. Dalen
Cedarvale
Smart meters needed
Editor:
I was absolutely shocked when I heard that $100 million is being lost by BC Hydro every year due to electricity theft, most of it stolen by organized crime groups to power illegal grow ops.
That’s $100 million every year that gets added to your hydro bill and mine. As an honest BC Hydro customer I don’t like that one bit.
Why hasn’t BC Hydro moved faster to bring in the kind of smart technology and smart meters that can put an end to electricity theft? The archaic meter technology BC Hydro has on the ground hasn’t changed since my grandparents were kids and it can’t do anything other than crudely measure how much electricity has gone through it.
Can you imagine what it would be like if we were still using the same archaic appliances, phones, TVs and radios that were around in the 1940’s and 1950’s? What a joke that would be. So why are we still using the same electricity meters from that era that can’t do any of the smart things current meter technology can do like detecting electricity theft?
As far as I’m concerned, smart meters can’t get installed fast enough. Zeroing in on electricity theft in this province, the reputed grow op capital of North America, should be a major priority and I can’t wait to see the offenders cut off from their $100 million a year free teat.
Mike Taylor
Port Moody
