Some hurrahs and boos today.
Hurrahs:
• Schools are open.
• Thanks to Arts booster Willie Dye, Williams Lake has declared itself Mural Capital of the Cariboo. Great idea. Sure beats Crime Capital. I was worried we were becoming the Empty Storefront Capital.
• That enough people are interested in city politics to ensure elections for mayor and councillors. Let’s hope that interest extends to school board as well.
• Relations between province and both First Nations and teachers seem to be on the upswing.
• Last but not least, the weather was warmer (hotter?) than expected in the last days of summer, putting most of us in a good mood.
Boos:
• B’nai Brith has nominated Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Harper may be, as Wayne Gretzky claims, the best PM ever, but the Peace Prize?
• Mr. Harper again. He’s approved the controversial Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA), effective Oct. 1. This deal scares many Canadians as it allows Chinese companies who own so many of our resources to sue the Canadian government if it does anything that threatens those companies’ profits. It may be a wonderful deal for us, but if it isn’t, 31 years is a long time to be stuck with it.
• Maybe a boo boo. Back in the 1970s, when North American Aboriginals began standing up for their rights, the RCMP claimed “Indians” were the biggest threat to Canadian security (we didn’t use the word terrorists back then.)
The RCMP was wrong. Canadian First Nations chose peaceful protests and the courts to win their point.
According to a report recently released under Access to Information, the Mounties are now warning government and industry that “environmental extremists” pose a “clear and present criminal threat” to Canada’s energy sector, and are more likely to strike at critical infrastructure than religiously inspired terrorists. Hopefully they’re wrong again.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
