We believe we pay taxes so our governments have money to serve our interests. Those interests include, but are not limited to, our personal well being, health and safety, and our environment.
Some recent events make one wonder if our governments know what’s expected of them.
For instance, mine tailings ponds are not supposed to breach, but Mount Polley’s did, and we don’t know yet what the long term impacts will be.
Another unthinkable happened last week when a foreign-owned freighter leaked bunker fuel into Vancouver’s English Bay.
The federal government insists the response was First Class (whatever that means) but Premier Clark and Vancouver Mayor Robertson are among those who think otherwise. The Mount Polley breach and the bunker oil spill were bad enough, but they could have been so much worse.
Will governments take them as warnings and make sure there are sufficient regulations to guard against future disasters?
Add to those concerns is the recent news that the BC Opposition’s Agriculture Standing Committee was told thousands of hectares of our agricultural land is being planted with trees by large foreign companies who are looking to gain credits for carbon sequestration.
The disaster could be down the road when our grandchildren have a problem finding somewhere to grow food.
We live in a weird world.
