While some weeks it is difficult to find a suitable topic for My Town, this week there is so many issues it is hard to narrow it down to one.
From the rising gas prices to the devastation in Japan and the possible radioactive debris coming our way, there is a lot to talk about.
As for the gas prices, I must admit I do not understand why unrest in Libya caused our prices to jump five cents last week and the demand for gas in Japan and the escalation of events in Libya this week has caused a 10 cent hike. It used to be gas would go up one or two cents at most. What has happened that we are now being burdened with unrealistic gas hikes? For many of us, the fact that the majority of our gas price is taxes from our government that are supposed to go to fixing our roads is sometimes very hard to swallow. With that said, now that the gas price is 20 cents per litre higher does that mean there will be 20 per cent more funding for road projects? Ironically, many highways and main roads are in reasonable shape and I am willing to bet many Canadians would be willing to continue on in the current level of repair in order to save 20 cents per litre at the pump. However, the possibility of the government reducing a tax rate on anything seems like a pipe dream.
Now, as for the devastation in Japan that has caused so much death, destruction and the radiation scare, I am so shocked that although the government decided to install six more monitoring stations along our west coast, we are not allowed to know what they are finding out. I do understand that the actual raw data collected at these stations needs to be read and almost translated for us to comprehend yet why are we not privy to this information? I also realize that “they” say the radioactive particles are minuscule and not a concern for residents. However, the potential hazard was enough to warrant six new monitoring stations. In light of both these recent developments I can’t help having new concerns about the future. I wish I could get more information. That statement itself seems hilarious with all the information at our fingertips yet I feel I am still in the dark. When asked by a friend what we can do, well, I plan to write letters, talk to my local MLA, ask questions and try to keep as informed as I can. If there are any other things we can do, please write me and let me know and maybe together we can continue to try and make a difference.
Shannon Hurst writes for the Three Rivers Report and pens the weekly My Town column.
