A08 September 29, 2010 The Richmond News
Opinion T H E
Published every Wednesday & Friday by the Richmond News, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. 5731 No. 3 Road, Richmond, B.C. V6X 2C9 Phone: 604-270-8031 Fax: 604-270-2248 www.richmond-news.com
EDITORIAL OPINION
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N E W S
Oh, to be in the dog house
W
hat is wrong with this picture? On Friday, we ran a couple of photos and a brief story about a new dog spa on Sea Island near Vancouver International Airport, where pet owners fork out between $49 and $1,000 a night to have their pets stay in a doggy hotel with amenities like infrared beds with sheepskin covers, plasma TVs and (we’re not making this up) doggie massages. Today, we run a story about St. Alban’s extreme weather homeless shelter, where volunteers care for people whom, it seems, no one else cares for, and who, at least in the moment, appear challenged to care for themselves. It is interesting to note that when it gets really cold, some homeless people in Richmond seek refuge at the airport, which is warm and open 24 hours a day. Tempted though we are to suggest that they head over to the Jet Pet Resort — where we suspect the dog food is healthier and tastier than what some of these people are used to eating — we know they could not afford the price of admission to this pet hotel. We have to pause and ask ourselves: at what point did we, as a society, accept the fact that hundreds of people with mental illness now sleep on the streets and eat out of dumpsters, while dogs are treated to luxuries they haven’t the faculties to appreciate? Seriously — does anyone believe even the most pampered pooch will know the difference between a plasma TV and a regular TV screen? Do they even want to be massaged? Given a choice of Perrier or toilet water, what dog would not choose toilet water? We know it is easier to feel compassion for a homeless man’s dog than the homeless man. The dog did not choose to live on the streets, but the man did, didn’t he? There is something obscene about treating animals better than humans and humans like animals.
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R I C H M O N D
Thanks for coming to fair
The Editor, The South Arm United Church Country Fair coordinators would like to thank the community of Richmond for their continuing support of this event. It was a wet and cool day but smiles and good cheer were abundant as people celebrated good old fashioned country fun. We are grateful that for 51 years the community of Richmond has enjoyed our Country Fair. Without your generous support, the Country Fair would not happen. Every year we welcome new faces and many familiar faces to the fair. We are further blessed with many volunteers from outside of our church family who come to help by donating time, expertise and/or items for the fair. We appreciate everyone and everything that contributed to another successful Country Fair. We value this opportunity to work in partnership with the Richmond community. Thank you for volunteering. Thank you for coming out to this unique event. Thank you for all your smiles and words of encouragement. It was a little more crowded inside than usual, it was very wet outside and the hayride was more adventurous as it occasionally got mired in the mud, but a lot of fun was had by all. If you didn’t make it to this year’s Country Fair, please join us next year Sept. 17, 2011, which will be the 52nd anniversary of the fair. We look forward to seeing you there. The Country Fair coordinators, Sue Burford, Pat Walach, Don Dixon
Letters policy The editor reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality and good taste. Letters must include the author’s telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters.
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Democracy, HST and mob rule
Has the anti-HST campaign headed by Bill Vander Zalm and Chris Delaney shifted from being an exercise in grassroots democracy to becoming a form of mob rule? It’s a question worth posing in the light of their attempt to force the B.C. government to back down from holding a provincewide referendum on the HST next year. While it can certainly be argued that waiting a full year to resolve this issue may not be the preferable route — why can’t the vote take place next spring, for example? — it doesn’t follow that an elected government should bend to the demands of an unelected minority. Last week’s news release from the Fight HST group that outlines their plans for a mass recall of 18 B.C. Liberal MLAs reads like a ransom note. “Give in to our demands or you will never see your government again” might as well have been the headline on that release. It lists five demands that must be met by the government before recall efforts are called off. One of those demands is that Fight HST (i.e. Vander Zalm and Delaney) be allowed to formally approve the actual question to be put on the HST referendum. Who do these people think they are? Why should Vander Zalm and Delaney be granted some kind of special status in a referendum
Keith Baldrey IN THE HOUSE
that is supposed to be democratic? Why should a man who resigned in disgrace from the premier’s office for serious ethical lapses be allowed to dictate the terms of how we are going to vote for or against a tax? It’s important to separate your opinion of the HST, of Gordon Campbell or of the B.C. Liberal government from what Vander Zalm and his gang are demanding. There’s no question the B.C. Liberal government is deeply unpopular, and opposition to the HST remains high. But anyone who wants the government replaced or the tax repealed is not required to also embrace the idea that Vander Zalm and his unelected organizers are allowed to dictate who ultimately runs this province. To give the Fight HST organization some kind of formal power over the terms of a referendum flies in the face of democracy. No one has elected them to do anything. (Delaney has tried several times to be elected an MLA, but he hasn’t come close to being chosen by the people.) Even their anti-HST petition, for all its success at exceeding a low threshold to make it effective,
was ignored or rejected by more than 81 per cent of the electorate. Vander Zalm and his group have essentially been given a free ride in the media since they began their petition drive. People who should know better have been swept along by populist sentiment and the charismatic, engaging former premier. But excuse me if I choose not to be part of that blind obedience. Recalling a B.C. Liberal MLA is one thing, but the implications of allowing a non-elected gang to dictate the law to a government are enormous and quite troubling. It may make Gordon Campbell’s attempt to stay in power more problematic, but hopefully he ignores the demands from the mob.
Farewell, Sindi
We all lost a dear friend last week when Sindi Hawkins succumbed to her long struggle with cancer. The former B.C. Liberal MLA from Kelowna was an inspiration to all who knew her and even to those who didn’t. She rarely let her illness dampen her spirit, and maintained a cheerful and even humorous optimism as she overcame one challenge after another. She will truly and sadly be missed. Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. KBaldrey@ globaltv.com.