Editor:
I am writing this letter as a warning to residents of Anarchist Mountain.
We live on Anarchist Mountain and Saturday morning had a most upsetting experience.  A hunter shot and killed a deer on our property, a mere 200 metres from our house.
We have approximately 45 acres which borders on Crown land.
Our neighbour’s fence has been cut several times over the years and was recently cut.  I’m not sure that fencing would have been a deterrent.
We have No Hunting and No Trespassing signs posted, as do several of our neighbours.
Our land is approximately 900-plus metres long.
I can understand someone not knowing exactly where the Crown land ends and our land begins, but this hunter was close to 500 metres into our land.
At this point he should have been able to see both our home and surrounding buildings as well as our neighbours.
His excuse was that he was focused on the deer.
It seems to me that someone with a gun wandering around the mountain should be well aware of his surroundings and location.
We have friends who are hunters and use maps and GPS to ensure they are always aware of their location, i.e. on Crown land, not private property.
It’s unfortunate that this is not always the case.
So to my fellow Anarchist Mountain residents, please be vigilant about hunters on private property.
Donna Redekopp,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-November 3, 2010

READER QUESTIONS WHY REALTORS WOULD SUPPORT RECALL CAMPAIGN

Editor:
It came as a surprise that at least two of the Osoyoos Real Estate offices are sporting posters supporting the MLA recall initiative.
Presumably that implies they would like to see the return of an NDP government in B.C.
That also comes as a surprise to me.
Tony Brummet,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-November 3, 2010

CHANGES NEEDED FOR RECALL PROTOCOLS

Editor:
Just imagine, if the results of our Fight HST petition had been binding on the government –  instead of “non-binding” – and we only had to wait three months instead of a year to have a referendum, we’d be done by now.
A year of working with the Initiative and Recall Act the way it is written has taught us that many changes are needed.
It is imperative that we amend the Initiative and Recall Act to ensure that we, the citizens, have a workable tool whereby we can truly protect our democracy against the kind of government we have now.
We’d be less inclined to worry about which government was in power if we (and the government) knew the Initiative and Recall Act had clout.
Albert Einstein said it best: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
This sounds like the way we British Columbians cast our ballots.
Not so long ago, we tossed out the NDP and elected the shiny new Liberals.
If current polls are right, and nothing changes, the NDP might be our next government again.
Considering the NDP wrote the Initiative and Recall Act full of “roadblocks” which tend to discourage democratic action and protect dictatorships, isn’t it time we start asking the tough questions of all the parties before the next election?
Questions like: Will you amend the Initiative and Recall Act? Will you immediately repeal the HST upon election? Will you allow your MLAs to actually represent their constituents’ wishes and vote freely on major issues that profoundly affect the province?
The last election has proved to voters – many of whom feel disenfranchised now – that no government can be trusted to keep their word.
Many of the present government’s slippery manoeuvres would not have been attempted, perhaps, if there were true consequences for their actions.
Collectively, because of the anti-HST movement, we have now become more vigilant in our scrutiny of what governments are saying and doing and we have learned how to stand up for our rights.
Look what we have accomplished; there is a silver lining in every cloud.
And as for Premier Campbell’s big tax cut: think about this.
A person earning $20,000 a year will realize an annual $68 in savings; that’s less than 19 cents a day.
That might be enough to pay the HST on your morning coffee.
What will you be doing with your extra 19 cents?
Call your MLA and tell him how impressed you are with your big tax cut.
Paul McCavour and Julie Turner,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-November 3, 2010

RECALL PROCESS ABOUT STANDING UP FOR DEMOCRACY

Editor:
Once again, it is Remembrance Day, a day when we remember the sacrifices that were made for our country and our democracy.
Those ultimate sacrifices have given us six decades of peace and prosperity, of carefree living and a land in which to raise our families that is the envy of most of the world.
As a 16-year-old, my daughter visited Flanders Fields with her classmates and she still struggles with emotion when she speaks of the sight of the endless crosses and of realizing that so many of those soldiers were close to her own age at the time of their deaths.
Our democracy was paid for; the price in human lives was high and now every Canadian takes the oath to stand on guard each time we sing our national anthem.
Therefore, when I saw that my right to an informed vote had been tampered with, I did my Canadian duty, stepped up and signed the HST petition.
My part was done, so I thought, until I saw that petition dragged through the courts by stakeholders of the tax.
How dare this government have its pro-HST allies question my right and the rights of 705,643 citizens of this province to sign a legal petition?
Wars have been fought to protect and preserve democracy.
Many young Canadian lives were sacrificed fighting an enemy who tried to suppress the will of the people.
When the will of British Columbians was arrogantly ignored, normally passive citizens like myself decided to stand up, volunteer and make their voices heard.
As a captain of the recall campaign in Osoyoos, I am being called by those average, normally complacent citizens who are infuriated and willing to step up and be active in the recall process.
When 2,000 more people signed the HST petition than voted for our elected representative, the will of the people is extremely clear.
That will needs to be honoured.
It is a right of the citizenry that was paid for in blood.
Lorna Yusep,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-November 3, 2010