Dear editor,I am writing about the Omnibus Budget Bill C-38, which has passed second reading in the House of Commons.It passed with 149 in favour and 132 opposed, I believe.I am writing to urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper to split up the bill into logical parts, since it is unprecedented that a budget bill would include so much of what we think of when we think of our country and our Canadian democracy.There are cuts in the budget that will affect our environment irreparably — forever. We must all think about what we have had in the past, what we have now, and what we want to retain for the future. We’re at a crucial juncture.    Other writers will point out many of the budget pitfalls, but I want to point out one which connects to my own past: In 1970, I was appointed to the National Council of Welfare (NCW) as a young professional.It then was a very innovative body, which could recommend policies to the federal government. And it did just that, over the years, no matter which federal party was in power.The overriding principle of the NCW was to recommend policies that would help to make Canada more just and caring, i.e., to equalize resources, to help the poor, to help those with physical disabilities, to help the homeless, to help the unemployed, to help young mothers, to help students, to help seniors, etc. The NCW has been a positive body for over 40 years. Now it is gone — just like that. This current C-38 budget just removed the budget for it in one fell swoop.We wouldn’t even know about that if the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives hadn’t pointed it out.Please, prime minister, make an amendment to split up this Omnibus Budget Bill, and make some changes for the betterment of Canada.Gwyn Frayne,Courtenay

Comox Valley Record