Balderdash to suggest that outsiders do not have say

I moved with my family to Oliver in the summer of 1943, and I am still a citizen of Oliver, thanks to the kind leaders of the community when I was so honoured in 2003.

My loyalty to Oliver and love of the area are the equal of just about anyone’s, I think. Given the number of pages I have published about the South Okanagan, that should be obvious.

But I am also a Canadian, and love this country. I often brag to people in other parts, but I recognize that there are a lot of things to like in Canada.

That is why I was disturbed to read in your December 11 edition that an MLA named Linda Larson thinks that anyone who lives anywhere else has no say in the question of the national park that the majority of South Okanagan people want for the area.

Mrs. Larson, what the people want is a national park. Not an Oliver park. Not a regional park. Not an industrial park. A national park. As a Canadian I am happy that the people who lived among the Rocky Mountains did not say hell, no, we don’t want any Banff National Park. This would be a poorer country if politicians had not had vision.

Speaking of the support for the park, MLA Larson said, reportedly, “A lot of the letters you’ll have noticed do not come from the people who live here.” She is following a form that has had its dangers. Such remarks were made by Alabama politicians regarding racial emancipation. Such remarks are being made now by real estate salespersons around the tar sands. Such sentiments are expressed by logging outfits in the Amazon.

People’s ideas are not superior just because those people live where you live. There are lots of people living around Oliver who would put a paved racetrack in a pocket desert.

I am saying let’s have a discussion about ideas, not personal location.

 George Bowering, Vancouver

 

Larson stepped into cow pie

When Linda Larson says she would prefer “one cow to four tourists,” our elected BC Liberal representative has really put her foot into a huge, stinky, gooey cow pie.

She is clearly not listening to a large portion of her constituents including the RDOS, water board, TOTA, South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce, the BC Wine Institute, the ONA and all their bands. That is simply not democratic. As a result, many of the people who voted for the BC Liberal Party, including myself, have been disenfranchised.

Come on, Linda! We voted for you to represent the community in a balanced way. If you had read the 2013 Parks Canada feasibility study, summarizing eight years of collaboration between BC and Canada, you would know that the concerns of the small minority who opposed the park initially have largely been resolved.

Were you sleeping last February when the First Nations unanimously requested the talks be re-opened? Are you not aware that the ranchers will be able to continue their ranching indefinitely? Did you not know that the helicopter guy has been twice guaranteed continued access in writing by Parks Canada? You don’t have to choose between business or lifestyle security for the ranchers and helicopters versus the national park – you can have both! Isn’t this exactly what a BC Liberal MLA should be advocating for her riding?

Your comments suggest to me that you are not fully informed on this subject. I am stunned that you are delaying a project that will protect the environment, improve our economy, bring new and meaningful jobs, and increase the economic health of all communities in Boundary-Similkameen. Your colleagues’ ridings in Penticton and Kelowna would also benefit from increased international visitors coming through their airports to their wineries and accommodations.

By supporting the re-opening of discussions with Parks Canada, you would demonstrate your ability to represent your constituents in a balanced and fair fashion by respecting the legitimate and logical requests from nearly all the duly elected governments and corporate boards and a majority of local residents, while at the same time ensuring that your issues and concerns are resolved in the process.

This is a top-priority, local issue and if you do not wish to represent such a large portion of your constituents in a fair and balanced fashion, then I would hope that you will step aside in the interest of democracy and the democratic process. Either way, your shoes would smell a lot better.

Jim Wyse, Oliver

 

Police forget duty 

It seems that the RCMP highway patrol based out of Keremeos no longer use the old Fields store building parking lot as their means of attaining easy seatbelt tickets.

I was present when the owner asked the police to remove themselves from his property and not to come back (trespassing warning).

I wondered how long this would go on for, before someone would put a stop to this assault on locals and people that pass through our town.

How wonderful to see a hard-working, honest person trying to make a living just to survive in that spot now.

I find it hard to believe that raking in tons of money is justifiable on the pretense that they’re doing a service that’s in the public’s best interest. How oxymoronic can that be?

I think people know that this activity is a revenue service for the province and one can surmise that our town gets a slice of that pie.

I think that I will err on the side of caution and believe that our governments are not to be trusted.

Do not let propaganda and justifications from others control your intelligence – be objective, appearances are deceptive.

I remember when the RCMP were more respectful of people and that morals were part of good policing. People felt comfortable and secure. Now people feel untrusting and fearful.

Did you know that a police officer is actually a peace officer first and a police officer second? Where is the public trust going to be in the near future if this kind of practice continues?

Police have forgotten their real duty, that public trust is what gives them their power.

Most of their tickets are issued by being sneaky (something you might expect from someone you can’t trust).

I believe that our province is desperate for revenue and they will, at all cost, do whatever it takes to maintain their power and control over you.

We’re being squeezed by our own creation – just like Rome fell – except it won’t take us that long. We have allowed men of justification to rule us; I think we forgot moral and ethical values and principles.

I think that politics is dirty because it becomes a popularity contest and not a principled discipline. Our government is out of touch with the people because it’s out of touch with itself.

Good policing is based on trust, not propaganda or justification. Our police community is profiting from peoples’ imperfections and vulnerabilities and justifying that it’s in the public’s best interest.

Heroes do things from their conscience and not from some rule in a book – cowards rely on rules in a book and not their heart.

So go down and support the hard-working lady that just wants to survive while making an honest living. I’m sure that she does not make $65,000 a year like the RCMP does.

Patrick J. Pugsley, Oliver