Opinion
The Prince George Free Press, founded in 1994, is published every Wednesday and Friday in Prince George by Prince George Publication Limited Partnership. Contents copyright of Prince George Publication Limited Partnership.
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Accessibility
The timing could not be better. At the same time as Ryan Latchman is checking businesses around town to make sure they are accessible for people with disabilities (see story on B2), City Hall is being questioned regarding a matter of accessibility within its own walls. Vincent Sherry, the chairperson of the advisory committee on accessibility, sent a report to council for Monday’s meeting, outlining concerns with the main staircase at City Hall. “Several members of our committee over the years have been visually impaired,” the report says, “and have come close to falling down these stairs because the edges are not marked with any sort of contrast to indicate where the edge is.” Sunlight coming through the large windows by the staircase and the shininess of the floor also contribute to the problem. It is perhaps somewhat ironic that a council which was elected on the basis of being transparent and accessible is now being called on to fix a problem with a form of accessibility. The signs on the staircase suggest it’s better to take the stairs and get some exercise, rather than take the elevator. But in a case like this, safety trumps fitness. “Many other community buildings have excellent markings on the stairs,” the report continues, “such as the library and CN Centre. We understand that even the employee stairs at City Hall are better marked than the public stairs.” We hope that by the end of the week, we will have seen a city employee with a can of yellow (non-skid) paint or some yellow marking tape, making sure the steps of City Hall are safe for all citizens. It’s a small step towards making City Hall more accessible, in a very obvious way.
Justice must be done Recently, a 20-year-old man from Surrey received a month in jail for his part in the Stanley Cup riots, which took place just over a year ago. Many people are hoping this sets a precedent for future sentencing, and it should. A one-month term for taking part in a riot – in which millions of dollars in property damage was done, police were assaulted, 150 people were injured and the global reputation of the Vancouver area was severely damaged – is light punishment. However, it is likely that many of those charged will not receive any punishment. Their cases may well be thrown out of court because of excessive delay, due to the severely plugged nature of the court system. If a case is delayed for 18 months or longer, through no fault of the defence, it is quite likely it will not come to trial. This is unacceptable. While it says volumes about the state of the court system, something that few people pay attention to unless they are directly involved, it sends a bad message to the rioters. It tells them they should do all they can to delay the process until they are charged. And they should not plead guilty. As a result, they may see their case dropped. The provincial government should set up a temporary court which can deal solely with riot cases. Everyone who is charged in connection with the riot should face trial, and do time if found guilty. If such a temporary court proves to work well, it could be used in other situations – such as to relieve system congestion in specific areas. If rioters are able to get off without any consequences because of a backlog of cases, the criminal justice system needs some creative fixing. The province can do something about this – now. Authority must trump lawlessness – Black Press
■ opinion
Where is that car from?
I would just like everyone to know that I have noti- Prince George. • I was out at the Prince George Airport on Sunfied the Prince George RCMP and advised them that day afternoon to pick up my nephew, flying in from someone stole something from me. I’m not exactly sure which one it was, but there’s Edmonton, and I was glad to see they have made the no way I’ve gone through seven months already this list of names for the new photo exhibit there someyear. One of them is missing, and I mean to find out what more permanent. When the exhibit of local faces opened in June, who took it. they had the lists of names on a few pieces of paper Shall we amble? sort of taped to some of the pillars. • It’s that time of year again. I noticed Now, they have plasticized pages with it when Mom and I went to Barkerville more tape and just a couple of sets of on my holidays a couple of weeks ago, them. I still see people looking at the phoand I’m noticing it more now in Prince Allan’s tos, and I’ve informed a couple of them George. Amblings that if they know someone from Prince Out-of-province licence plates are AllanWishart George, check the lists and see if their picsomething I’ve always had a bit of in ture is in the display. interest in. I remember years ago, when • It’s going to feel kind of strange going to a my family used to head out to Saskatchewan and Manitoba for summer holidays, any time we stopped Mariners game in September this year and not seeing someplace like Jasper, I would take a look through Ichiro Suzuki in the Mariners’ lineup. The outfielder was traded to the Nw York Yankees the parking lot and see what exotic places the vehilast week, apparently at his request to allow the team cles were from. Of course, seeing Alberta or Saskatchewan plates to continue building with younger players. He’s slowed down since he first came to the Major soon became commonplace, as did plates from Washington, Oregon and California. But there was always Leagues as a Japanese veteran in 2001, but he can still the thrill of seeing a colour combination you didn’t flash some of his skills. His first game as a Yankee recognize and going over to see where they were was in Seattle, and he singled in his first at-bat, then stole second. from. Before he stepped into the batter’s box, however, I’m sure it drove my parents nuts at times, having me hunched over the divider behind the back seat he got a 45-second standing ovation from the Seattle and the front seat (seatbelt? What seatbelt?), watch- fans. He responded by taking off his batting helmet ing oncoming traffic and reading off the places they and bowing to the fans, acknowledging their support. were from. It was a great moment. He has more than 2,500 I still have that same kind of enthusiasm for spotting different licence plates, but now it also serves as hits in the Major Leagues, and didn’t get to North a reminder that these people are tourists, and may America until he was 28. I can only imagine how be driving a bit slower than we would like, because many hits he would have if he had been able to come they’re keeping their eyes open for a particular street to the Majors when he was, say, 21 or 22. I guess maybe I won’t take my Ichiro jersey to the they need to turn on. So be polite, and make them want to come back to Mariners’ game this year. Circulation Manager........................ Heather Trenaman Email: circulation@pgfreepress.com..............250-564-0504
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