PEACHLAND VIEW
DECEMBER 2, 2016
7
OPINION
Our democracy can still be improved Option No. 3 will be best The recent US election, where fewer voters picked Trump than his opposition, has demonstrated the need in Canada for a more fair and representative voting process than can be achieved under our present first-past-the-post voting. Soon we will be able to change our present horse race style election where in Canada winning less than 40% of the vote can give you 100% of the power. Many voters believe that their vote does not contribute to electing a representative that reflects their personal interests, that they are throwing away their vote, or that they have to vote for someone as a tactic. But many/most countries in the world have chosen a more fair system of proportional representation, rather than continue with a first-past-the-post voting system left over from colonial days. On December first, the all-party electoral reform committee will report their recommendation to the Liberal government.
80% of the witnesses before the committee have recommended some system of proportional representation (where every vote goes toward the election of a representative in parliament), and it is expected that the committee may lean toward Mixed Member Proportional (where you elect a local representation as well as elect the proportion of the votes to a party). This is the system in operation in Germany and New Zealand and many other countries, as well as the system that the voters on Prince Edward Island recently decided was in their best interest. Soon we will be asked to complete an online survey for Canadians to indicate their preferences to the Federal Government. Change can be frustrating, and to understand a new voting system will take interest and time, but if we are to future-proof our democracy, I believe that a change in our voting system is necessary. William Stocks
District should cancel $25,000 contract Peachland pressed for a study separate from the second crossing corridor, so a separate Hwy 97 Transportation Study we got ! Two down, two more to go. Last Monday’s Open House added a good deal of new data and ideas to those presented at the first consultation. All the information seemed to engage the huge turnout of Peachlanders. Queries , answers, and suggestions filled the space with lots of sound and maybe even a bit of fury. Cost figures were promised for Open House #3. I admit that the two-year study tries my patience somewhat, but all in all, the exercise will likely benefit the community. I sense that the process , together with some important stats and data, is serving to heal the symptoms of the pro or con split over the issue.
This development was aggravated by the unanimous support for the By-Pass by the District council and administration. As one of the sponsors of the Study, surely it was incumbent on the District to be a neutral participant and withhold any preference while input from the community was being considered. Instead, council further voted to spend $25,000 of available grant money to engage Grant Lachsmuth, an Urban Systems expert on inter – government relations, presumably to lobby the Ministry to decide on the By-Pass option. In the interests of protecting the consultative validity of the Highway 97 Transportation Study. I urge the District to reverse its actions and cancel the $25,000 contract. Dora Stewart
Salute to the Scarecrow committee Dear editor:
Doris Muhs and I were honored at the Peachland Business Awards night to accept a trophy on behalf of the Scarecrow Festival Committee as the winners of the Creative Sector. We thank the Committee for all their work. We would like to point out that we were just facilitators for the creativity of others. The award belongs
to the many businesses, community groups and private individuals who built and displayed scarecrows. Without them the festival would not have been the success that it was. It was a job well done. Lets do it again next year. Eldon Kerbes Peachland, B.C.
Peachland
Places of Faith Peachland United Church
St. Margaret’s Anglican Church
Grace Lutheran Church 1162 Hudson Road West Kelowna, B.C. 250-769-5685
250-767-2206 “Let Us Worship Together”
Sunday Worship 10 a.m. Tuesday Morning
Sunday Services
9:30 a.m. Study, Coffee & Conversation
Service 9 a.m.
Office Hours 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Monday to Friday
Contemporary Worship Traditional Worship Service 10:30 a.m.
Sunday School 10:30 a.m. Ages 3 thru to Grade 6 www.gracelutherankelowna.com We are wheelchair accessible
4421 4th Street
(P.A.O.C.)
Sunday Worship 2pm with Pastor Don McMillan For more information call John 250-767-2221 Don McMillan 250-300-1642
Rev. Robin Graves 4th Street & Brandon Ave
250-767-3131 www.stmargaretspeachland.org
4464 4th Street (St. Margaret’s Anglican Church building)
Hall rental contact Doreen 250-767-2132
Sunday Morning Service 10 a.m. Minister: Ian McLean all are welcome
Dear editor: Home study was required to complete the Comment Form provided at the recent MOTI Highway Open House Of the five bypass options MOTI says that Option No. 3, long advocated by the Task Force, “stays well above most populated areas.” It remains the best bypass option. Evaluating the road connection options for the In-Place scenario requires careful study. The signal light options are clearly better. With the no signal light options, all the northbound Princeton Road traffic, including gravel and logging trucks, would funnel through Beach Avenue.. There is literally no
route from downtown or the IGA to Trepanier territory. For safety and to preserve the character of Beach Ave. the In Place scenario must retain the existing three lights and add a fourth at Trepanier Road. The only route out for northbound traffic from the south end of Peachland will be by way of Renfrew Road extended via Heighway Lane, Lipsett and Princess to Princeton Road. These are substandard roads, narrow, without shoulders or sidewalks and are totally unsuited and unsafe for heavier traffic flows. The direct impacts of In Place on Peachland’s economy and ambiance are all negative.They include reduced property val-
ues on Beach Avenue, near the highway and on connecting roads and ramps, the loss of existing amenities such as the doggy beach, boat launch park and parking for tennis and skateboarding. But traffic volumes are bound to keep increasing and property values will depreciate in concert. In the absence of revenue to improve local road standards, saturation will choke off development including any hope for new businesses. The In Place option as presently portrayed will be a sociological disaster and the start off an economic death spiral. John Abernethy Peachland, B.C.