A6 NewsLeader Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Published & printed by Black Press Ltd. at 7438 Fraser Park Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5J 5B9
opinion 7438 Fraser Park Dr., Burnaby, B.C. V5J 5B9 newsroom@ burnabynewsleader.com Newsroom: 604-438-6397 Delivery: 604-436-2472 Classifieds: 604-575-5555 Advertising: 604-438-6397; fax: 604:438-9699 burnabynewsleader.com newwestnewsleader.com
Tracy Keenan
Chris Bryan
Publisher
Editor
—EDITORIAL—
Canada’s flag beloved It’s hard to believe Canada’s flag, the Maple Leaf, was the subject of contentious and divisive debate before it was adopted in 1965 to replace the venerable Red Ensign. It has now become one of our most beloved symbols, and it’s one of the most recognized flags in the world. In fact, travelers still abide by the rule of thumb that when venturing to difficult lands, a Canadian flag sewn onto a lapel or backpack will enhance their safety. But it almost didn’t happen. When Prime Minister Lester Pearson decided it was time for Canada to have its own distinct flag, the leader of the opposition Conservatives, John Diefenbaker, would have none of it. Despite clinging to a slim minority government, Pearson persisted. A committee was formed, designs commissioned then discussed, and the rest is history. But in an of itself a flag is just a graphic design. It’s how a country’s citizens see themselves, and how they carry themselves in the world that imparts a flag with meaning. In that regard, George F.G. Stanley’s design, an 11-point red maple leaf on a field of white bracketed by two red bars, has been an overwhelming success. Today, when the Maple Leaf flutters in the breeze, we think of an expansive land of disparate natural beauty, populated by welcoming, tolerant, hard-working and fair-minded people. We feel pride as a place of peace. We value and celebrate the various cultures that have found their way here. We revel in our role as an international underdog, in diplomatic and athletic pursuits. We’re humble to a fault. As a statesman and diplomat, Pearson likely already knew all this. That’s why he felt confident enough to press on, risking his government. Canada already had an identity; we just needed our own symbol to identify with.
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You said: Ban all large gatherings Downtown 41% Allow gatherings, but employ more police 33% Ban large gatherings related to sporting events 12% Nothing should change 14%
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Clark has inherited Gordon Campbell’s aggresVICTORIA – Here are a few items that didn’t sive climate change-clean energy agenda, and it’s make the daily news cycle as B.C. residents not yet clear what will become of it. She has comprepared for the long-awaited summer of 2011 to mitted to the last consumer carbon tax increase in begin. 2012 (up to 6.67 cents on a litre of gas), but the fate • After her meeting with Prime Minister of the big hydroelectric push remains uncertain. Stephen Harper in Ottawa last week, Premier Those plug-in electric cars need to start selling Christy Clark delivered a luncheon speech to the before Campbell’s gamble of developing increasEconomic Club of Toronto. ingly costly electricity starts to pay off. Her big talking point for the speech One potential competitor is natural was the rise of the Asia-Pacific region, gas-powered vehicles, taking advan“the fastest-growing middle class in tage of huge new shale gas discoveries the history of humanity.” The theme in B.C. and elsewhere. ran through her pitch to the federal • Campbell’s pending appointment government for a share of Ottawa’s as Canada’s high commissioner in largest-ever shipbuilding contract, the United Kingdom should warm the and her recent meeting with western hearts of conspiracy theorists. premiers in Yellowknife. The story broke when Clark was in No word on how Clark’s enthusiasm Ottawa, and when reporters asked for for the west as Canada’s economic her take on the appointment, her first engine of the future went over with the Tom Fletcher comment was that he’ll be a big help Bay Street crowd. in negotiating a free trade agreement • After the speech, Clark took the with the European Union. wheel of a Chevy Volt electric car for a spin Students of Bill Vander Zalm will know that he around Toronto with a GM Canada vice-president sees the harmonized sales tax and EU trade as an riding shotgun. She pronounced the car “fantastic effort to impose world government and set B.C.’s technology.” sales tax rate in Europe. This is pertinent as B.C. residents get ready to Early in his goofy anti-HST campaign, Vander pay the latest increase in B.C.’s carbon tax. EffecZalm claimed this was plan B for world governtive July 1, the tax on a litre of gasoline rises from ment after the conspirators failed to impose a 4.45 cents to 5.56, with comparable increases to global carbon tax. other carbon fuels.
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If the HST is a conspiracy, it’s a mighty big one. Finance Minister Kevin Falcon never tires of reminding people that 140 countries already have value-added taxes, including China and those other Asia-Pacific tigers that are dominating the world economy. • Douglas College in New Westminster and the Heilongjiang Institute of Science and Technology in Harbin, China have celebrated the graduation of 137 students in their dual-degree business administration program. The program began in 2003, with an exchange of instructors. At the Harbin campus, students take 52 courses to qualify them as specialists in global financial markets and international banking. • By last year, there were 94,000 international students in K-12, post-secondary and language schools in B.C. According to the advanced education ministry, if considered an export service, international education is B.C.’s fifth largest export, accounting for seven per cent of exports from the province. Meanwhile in B.C., discussion of international trade still tends to revolve around lumber and logs. And according to a recent poll, Vander Zalm is still considered by many to be an authority on trade and taxes. It’s time to join the world’s adult conversation. ■ Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press and BCLocalnews.com