6
www.pentictonwesternnews.com
Penticton Western News Wednesday, August 15, 2012
opinion
Published Wednesdays and Fridays in Penticton at: 2250 Camrose St., Penticton B.C. V2A 8R1 Phone: (250) 492-3636 • Fax: (250) 492-9843 • E-mail: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com
EDITORIAL
Bronze worth its weight in gold for Canadian soccer S
ometimes, it seems that bronze is worth as much as gold. Such is certainly the case for the Canada’s Olympic Women’s Soccer team, whose inspirational win came, not in the hoped-for gold medal game, but in the ¿nal bronze round — A bronze medal that is Canada’s ¿rst Summer Games medal in a traditional team sport since the 1936 Berlin Games, when the men’s basketball team won silver. These women sum up all that is best about athletic competition: spirit. This team refused to give up, not after a humiliating last place ¿nish at the World Cup last year, and not after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in extra time against the U.S. in the semi¿nals Monday. The team was clearly crushed after the loss, but by Friday had put that aside as they headed into a game against the highly-favoured French team. Again, another grueling game, but the squad hung on for a scoreless 90 minutes. Then, two minutes into extra time Diana Matheson drove in the winning goal, and put their team into the record books and Canadian soccer on the international map. But the goal did more than that. In Canada, where sports revolve around hockey, many are surprised to ¿nd that more people play soccer than the national sport. And it is for the upcoming players that the women’s soccer bronze medal win may have its most lasting effect. All those young players have not only an example of where the sport might take them, to the very highest levels of competition, but an example of competitive spirit to show them that it is possible to make a dream reality.
NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
2250 Camrose Street, Penticton, B.C. V2A 8R1 Tel: (250) 492-3636 Fax: (250) 492-9843 Publisher: Mark Walker Editor: Dan Ebenal Sales Manager: Larry Mercier Creative Director: Kirk Myltoft
The Penticton Western News is a member in good standing of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association and the British Columbia & Yukon Community Newspapers Association. The Penticton Western News is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888687-2213 or go to <www. bcpresscouncil.org>. This publication reserves the right to refuse any material — advertising or editorial — submitted for publication and maintains the sole right to exercise discretion in these matters. Submissions by columnists and guest writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this newspaper. All material contained herein is copyright.
B.C. liquor laws finally effective Here’s a summer scene being played out all over North America. Family van pulls up to the corner store to stock up on a few camping essentials: pop, chips, hot dogs, a case of beer and a bottle of vodka. Not in B.C. you say? It happens every day at rural agency liquor stores around the province. As with many other issues, there is one reality for urban B.C. and another for the rest of us. Selling booze in grocery stores would presumably create anarchy in B.C cities and towns, but villagers and their visitors somehow manage it, just as everyone does across the line in Washington or Alaska. These rural agency stores are “Àyspeck operators,” sniffs an acquaintance who spent his career as a union activist in government liquor stores. Picture dusty old bottles on a rickety shelf, greedy owners and poorly trained clerks more likely to sell to under-age drinkers. Similar generalizations can be heard about the hundreds of private liquor stores that have popped up around B.C. since they were legalized. And
Tom Fletcher
B.C. Views in fact there have been more violations in private stores, revealed in sting operations run by liquor inspectors. In the year ended March 31, 54 private stores were caught selling to a minor, for an 84 per cent compliance rate. Only four government stores were caught, a pass rate of 96 per cent. Five rural agency stores were tested, and one Àunked. But here is the telling statistic. In 2010, the government allowed liquor inspectors to employ actual minors to test stores. Previously, they hired people who looked young but were old enough to buy alcohol, As late as 2009, two out of three stores
(government or otherwise) sold to them. Problem is, that’s not an actual offence. Now liquor inspectors send in undercover teens, and relieve them of the evidence when they are allowed to buy booze. The watchdog now has teeth, and compliance has jumped. The government glossed over the poorer performance of private stores. But in fairness, three times as many private stores as government ones were targeted in the new inspections, and the gap is narrow. Government stores also have a huge built-in ¿nancial advantage in their wholesale rate, and are generally overstaffed by private sector standards. The B.C. Liberals also moved this spring to make rural agency stores easier to establish. Regulation changes brought the minimum population served from 300 down to 200, and eliminated a vague requirement for a “bona ¿de community” to exist around the store. Meanwhile, the big booze story this year is cabinet minister Rich Coleman’s plan to sell B.C.’s warehouse and distribution monopoly to a private contractor. The B.C. Govern-
ment Employees’ Union has protested, despite assurances that their jobs will continue. B.C.’s burgeoning craft beer industry has looked to Alberta’s all-private model and predicts higher costs. The B.C. Liberal government has been on the defensive from the start, with the NDP pointing to the paper trail of lobbyists with an apparent inside track. It’s great politics, but it matters little to consumers in an increasingly competitive but heavily taxed business. Another new regulation took effect this summer, creating a $525 ¿ne for adults serving minors, on the job, at home or as a bootlegger. Parents who provide booze for their own underage children are exempted. Previously, penalties applied only to licensed establishments. If the issue really is public safety and teen binge drinking, the key job for government is to regulate sales effectively. Once that is done, no justi¿cation remains for government liquor sales. Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press and BCLocalnews.com tfletcher@blackpress.ca.
To d a y ' s L a u g h