I woke up the other day to an alternate universe. There can be no other explanation for the front page Morning Star picture of sewage streaming out across Okanagan Lake.
In this day and age of alarmism over every conceivable human-sponsored damage to good old Mother Earth, how is it possible to so casually discuss raw sewage in Okanagan Lake?
Now, turn back a few more days to another article on damaged docks along Kalamalka and Okanagan lakes. A heavy handed bureaucracy seems bent on making it almost impossible for folks to repair damage done by high water and winds.
Combined with the new colour-coded fish zones where lakeshore residents in black areas are restricted from any sort of foreshore structure, it is nothing short of draconian.
The next move of course will be to eliminate motorized boat traffic and getting rid of docks is a good start on that end game.
So, how do we reconcile these stories — raw sewage pouring out from native lands with decrepid docks and foreshore structures as far as the eye can see vs the over-the-top heavy-handed treatment of people living on private land?
The private lakeshore land owners pay massive taxes for the privilege of living there and of course there are no public taxes collected on band land, although millions of dollars are collected from leases by the native land owners.
The federal government has control of both situations.
Can someone explain to me why private land owners are being treated like criminals while the pollution horror story is seemingly accepted as business as usual?
John Trainor
