Like some politicians, editors say the darndest things.
Even the Trail Daily Times editor has a budget to administer. As part of his managerial duties, he must operate within that budget. He must ensure, among many things, that he has been able to cover the newsroom’s human and capital costs.
I doubt he would run a deficit. If he did, he would have to answer up the chain of authority as to why and then he would have to find economies or face being moved out of his position.
As a private organization, the Times can decide to increase or find new income streams to cover its costs. A public entity, like a ministry of education, has to increase taxes or rob Peter to pay Paul.
A recent economy from the Times is to now charge a fee for internet versions of its news. It was free of subscriber charge despite receiving ad revenues on the web edition. Ex-pats will now turn to other web sources to get their Trail fix.
On the public side of things, school board officials have a mandate; one which they accepted when they were elected. They must govern the operations of the school district within allotted amounts. Minister of Education George Abbott’s comment regarding the inability of Cowichan to balance its budget, is correct.
Our local Kootenay Columbia School District has money. If it were to make unsound financial decisions, and put the district into a deficit position, then it, too, should face consequences similar to the Times editor.
Surely, any comparison to “les enfants terribles” in Montreal is unwarranted. Their actions are reminiscent of spoiled children who just realized the price of lollipops went up and they would actually have to pay for them. As to their freedom to assemble, it’s still there; only with reasonable limitations.
Rose Calderon, Trail
