Give forest-trampling McNeil Liberals the boot
Let me get this straight: despite shutting down Northern Pulp, this backwardly-led province of ours has this year managed to harvest (clearcut) more wood than it did last year.
As I understand it, the province doesn’t record the export of wood chips. So, it appears the McNeil government has sat idly by and watched this chipping away at the little forest we have left. If this is the case, the McNeil government has to be among the most cynical on Earth.
When are we going to stop electing dinosaurs to our legislature and putting up with the senior civil servants who are clearly co-opted and complicit in this mismanagement of our forests?
No serious and scientifically trained forester could be ignorant of the devastating implications of this province’s current forestry management practices.
I’ve lived in Nova Scotia for most of my 80 years and have watched it being mauled by companies such as Northern Pulp and by incredibly foolish things like the still-continuing biomass burning instituted by Darrell Dexter’s NDP government. As a former NDP supporter, I found this ill-conceived and wanton destruction of our forest resources incredibly stupid. Did these same senior servants advise Dexter on this policy?
I won’t get into the mismanagement of our health system during the COVID situation, where the basic shutting down of the regular health system has likely already cost many lives because of delays in diagnoses as well as necessary surgeries and treatments. Here’s an opportunity for a very worthwhile inquiry.
And then let us look at the huge amounts of money spent on building infrastructure in the U.S. for a ferry that never sailed — a “ship paid for by fools”; unfortunately, we the Nova Scotia taxpayers are the fools.
It’s time to turf this incompetent government and make sure we have clear statements from the other parties as to what they are fully committed to doing. There are no guarantees, but a new government is unlikely to match the McNeil government for incompetence. Let’s take back control of our province and get rid of these politicians who don’t work for the long-term interests of their constituents.
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth
Starring in election
It seems the upcoming Halifax regional council elections are attracting some celebrity candidates: former MLB star Pete Rose is running (no pun intended!) in District 11, while noted composer Stephen Foster (District 9) and actor Tom Arnold (District 13) are also throwing their hats in the ring. Perhaps Martha Stewart is irretrievably indisposed?
Bill Philpott, New Minas
Political legacy project
Stephen McNeil made an apology to African Nova Scotians and Mi’kmaw communities on Sept. 29 and also announced a restorative justice team that would come up with recommendations to change the justice system in 18 months to a year.
To quote activist El Jones, there was a “complete lack of consultation and consent from the black community.” I am sure the same is true for the Indigenous community as well.
And on Sept. 26 and 27, HRM, with Mayor Mike Savage’s support, installed two “Black Lives Matter” displays in Halifax and Dartmouth, again without consulting with black communities in HRM — while Aaliyah Paris, a queer Afro-Nova Scotian woman who has been organizing a project to install Black Lives Matter murals around the city for months, contacted HRM to get their consent and got nowhere!
I believe that McNeil, who will soon step down as premier, was more interested in enhancing his political legacy than in really helping these communities. But this is going to backfire on him! As I wrote this, there was a protest in North Preston during which Evangeline Downey, chair of the North Preston Action Group said: “We were not consulted at all in this process and the African Nova Scotian community didn’t create this group. This is unacceptable and we can’t tolerate this.”
Violet Rosengarten, Dartmouth
Demerits for misconduct
Guest columnist Colin Mitchell’s Sept. 26 response to recent public complaints about university students’ unacceptable social habits missed the point. In his well-researched article, he raised the financial benefits derived from the educational institutions as a defence for the students. The complaint is about the individuals and their actions, not the institutions.
When multiple complainants observe a select group of people doing unacceptable activities at higher rates than found in normal society, then the problem needs attention. The seriousness of the matter is heightened during the pandemic, because reckless behaviour could have deadly consequences. If historical approaches cannot rectify the problems, then a more serious effort needs to be put in place.
The educational institutions must be involved in the process — it is through their operations that these individuals are in the community to start with. A simple and easy solution to implement is to have every attendee enter a social conduct agreement with the school. It would outline acceptable behaviour, with an emphasis on the COVID-19 situation, and define a penalty program depending on the severity of the act. It could work the same way as a driver’s licence where you get demerits for bad driving. At some point, the student who exceeds a certain rate of unacceptable social behaviour is punished, penalized or banned from attending the school.
Each educational institution shall also enter an agreement with the community promising to uphold and monitor their students’ activities. Failure to do such could result in significant fines for the universities.
It is unfortunate that a few bad apples can spoil it for others, but steps need to be put in place to protect the public accordingly. We value the students and their contributions, but they need to conform to society’s standards of behaviour while in our communities.
James Kaulbach, Wolfville
Burst the bubble
Life is full of risks no matter what we do — working, driving, biking, skiing, hiking and skating to name just a few.
We mitigate the risks involved in these activities by wearing safety equipment like helmets, gloves, seat-belts, etc. But regardless of how hard we try, bad things still happen and that’s why we purchase insurance, and also provide health care — so we can enjoy life while minimizing any health risks.
Would there even be a need to purchase insurance if everyone lived inside a personal bubble? For the same reason, if COVID cases continue to stay near zero, will people still continue to follow COVID protocols, with so small a risk of being infected? If there was little chance of ever having a car accident, would people continue to wear a seat-belt? Even buy car insurance?
Currently, Maritimers are ensuring our safety by abiding by all health protocols and the local experts indicate the risk of mass spread is minimal because we have done such a great job flattening the curve.
So now it’s time to consider what we have done to the mental health of people (in particular our seniors) and how we have destroyed our economies.
Moving forward, rather than us Maritimers living in a bubble for fear of COVID, we need to join other Canadians and learn to live safely with the virus. It’s time to burst the bubble!
Gary Tumblin, Fall River
