The environment ministry’s decision to allow Atlantic Power to burn more railway ties has raised some hackles in the community.
Many residents fear processing the ties will endanger their health and safety, to say nothing of the environment. City council and the CRD officially okayed this plan last year, giving certain conditions. I haven’t heard any protests from either group, so their concerns must have been met. The 30-day time limit for input is, well, limited and protests don’t seem to work anymore. There are the courts, but legal challenges haven’t stopped BC Hydro from bulling ahead with Site C. So what do citizens do when governments won’t listen to their concerns? They might be able to dump the governments at the next elections, but by then the damage is done. Is the only option to trust the system and hope for the best?
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It’s no secret technology hurts employment. Every time a company upgrades, jobs are lost. Robots and drones are the latest threat. Back in the 1970s, we thought people would be working four days a week with good pay. We thought filling leisure time would be an issue. School recreation classes included golf and skiing to prepare students for the good life. The four-day week may be here but not the good pay we expected. Many have to work two jobs to make ends meet.
What went wrong?
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Photo ops update, Prime Minister Trudeau versus Premier Clark. According to the Province, Ms. Clark has two full time photographers on staff. They’ve cost taxpayers $923,000 during her six years as premier. The Globe and Mail says one full time photographer accompanies Mr. Trudeau everywhere, catching his good moments and making sure the photos get to the media. I couldn’t find out how much the PM’s cameraman costs us.
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Kellie Leitch, one of the contenders for the leadership of the Conservative Party, believes potential immigrants should be screened to ensure they don’t have anti-Canadian values. Question. Does anyone know if we have a list of anti-Canadian values? Do we have a list of pro-Canadian values? If so, who wrote them who approved them?
Diana French is a freelance columnist, former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
