Is welfare system too good?

At Christmas a lot of people were worried about their children, if they would have enough money to buy them any presents, or win a turkey dinner for them.

Please tell me why my husband can’t find anyone to work for him.

He is a good boss; just ask any of the girls that do work for him now.

Is welfare too giving, too generous, or are the people too lazy and find welfare much better?

 

Susan Robertson, Oliver

 

Resolve this ridiculous impasse

I recently discovered that the atrial fibrillation control drug Propafenone is once again in short supply due to a manufacturer’s shortage.

This is not the first time I have experienced this problem and according to my pharmacist this is a recurring problem with greater scope than I had first anticipated.

It appears that there is a similar medication which is now also in short supply due to the number of patients requesting that their physicians prescribe an alternative.

As you can imagine, any shortage in a critical medication causes stress, but more importantly, not having the medication available could result in patients going into atrial fibrillation which requires emergency conversion with a defibrillator.

“Afib” can cause blood clots unless the patient is taking anti-coagulants, so conversion can be considered critical care in some cases. I can attest to the staff time required to perform the procedure and can only guess at the cost of providing this level of emergency care.

At present I have a new and limited supply but no guarantee that there will be an improvement in the situation. Conversations with a local physician reveals that they are as frustrated as the pharmacists, but are at a loss to find a solution.

I hope that MP Alex Atamanenko will be able to investigate this serious problem and enlist the aid of fellow MPs to bring pressure to bear in the appropriate quarter so that this ridiculous impasse may be resolved.

Pat Hampson, Oliver

 

Time for province to respect us

It’s time for the province to respect all parties regarding the creation of a national park.

Since 2010, the province has acknowledged the results of the eight-year feasibility study that took place in this region, for example, they acknowledge that a national park is feasible. And they have stated that they need to see support from regional districts and municipalities, tourism, business, and First Nations in order to transfer land (i.e. the Grasslands Protected Areas) to the federal government to be part of a national park.

These governing bodies have now expressed their support through formal resolutions. Most of the resolutions have two parts – to encourage the province to return to discussions with the feds, and to consult them throughout the process.

Why is this important? They want the province to negotiate a national park that also allows cattle grazing and flight training, as promised. And they want to be consulted so that they can help develop a tourism-community benefit package, which the province can negotiate when they re-engage in the process.

These benefits could be substantial. When the Rouge National Park was established in Ottawa in 2012, Canada allocated $140 million to be spent over 10 years to establish the park and $7.6 million per year to operate the park. Compare this with what the province is currently providing in the existing South Okanagan Grassland Protected Areas – one part-time summer staff person and a budget of less than $40,000 per year.

When a national park is established, additional community benefits can be negotiated by the province. For example, a world-class cultural centre was negotiated when Gwaii Haanas National Park was established. This has enabled the Haida to collect, maintain and display their precious and historic artwork as well as any museum in the world, while bringing tourists and jobs to the area.

For many years, decisions related to the national park have been presented as either pro-park or anti-park. What these community leaders are making clear is that there is another group interested in the national park – a group of duly elected leaders and governing bodies who are looking for a win-win for everyone and who want to negotiate benefits that will synergize their communities and sectors.

It is time for the province to respect the requests by the communities’ leaders, duly elected officials, and governing bodies that represent regional districts, municipalities, tourism, business, and First Nations rather than the people who oppose any discussion of the solutions and opportunities at all.

Greg Byron, Great Horned Owl Eco Tours, Osoyoos

 

Let’s pray they can rebuild

(The following is a letter from the group of Oliver residents who travelled to the Philippines to help in the typhoon recovery efforts.)

 

We have been in Tacloban, Philippines helping with the work there.

On our first day we spent clearing rubble at an orphanage and then feeding them a healthy meal. It was an incredible time of hearing their story of surviving the typhoon.

The miracle of it was that all 70 survived the storm on the rooftop as they are right on the shoreline. They are the only home along this portion of coast that had no casualties.

God’s hand was upon them. They had to go onto the roof to escape the 30-foot waves that were filling the house with water. Eleven people had been in a bedroom on the ground floor, and the water started rising so quickly they got trapped in the bedroom. They had to smash through the wall to get out.

Being on the roof away from the waves was a danger in itself due to the extremely high winds. The older children laid on top of the younger children so they would not be blown away by the fierce wind.

Looking at the house I struggle to picture having that many of them up there and what that would have been like for them. A nightmare for certain; they truly thought they were going to die. It is God’s amazing love and grace that not one of them perished during the storm.

It’s been amazing spending time with them. Even though we have moved on to helping with other projects, I have managed to go back each day and connect with Katrina, the 22-year-old social worker who is in charge of the 30 children left at this orphanage. The rest were taken to another island in the south.

Day 2 was spent visiting an evacuation centre; they have been using an elementary school as an evacuation centre.

In one small classroom they have five to seven families with approximately 35 people. Though they have a roof over their head, they have little else. I was shocked to know for those hundreds of people they have no proper washroom facilities. Running water can only be found in the courtyard so any water has to be carried and that is the only place for cooking as well.

The hardest part of it all is that they can not go back to the government land that they had been on. They have no place to go. It’s been two months they have been in this evacuation centre and  they are being asked to leave as the school is planning to re-open for classes.

Tents have been provided in the lot adjacent to the school, and UNICEF is in there doing their best to provide. The tents are our standard family summer tents, but here in the heat and the constant rain, they are not sufficient shelter.

Hope is a challenge for them. Please pray the government moves quickly to provide another slot of land that these people can move to and begin rebuilding their lives once again.

There is so much need and work to be done here, our team feels overwhelmed and at times we wonder how effective we can be in the short span of time we are here. But we know with what we have been able to give them, which is clothing,  food, tarps, hammers and fellowship, it matters much to those who have received them.

Please continue to pray for us . . . for God’s wisdom and open doors, as there is so much need.

 

Amy Encina, Oliver