One Man's on the Move

Loyal Viewers and Readers,

You may have noticed that our brand spankin' new website at www.cfjctv.com is back up and running.  Hooray!  The website has many new features, including an integration for One Man's Opinion.

Thus, this blog will be discontinued and we invite you to browse our work at www.cfjctv.com.

Catch and Release Doesn't Work for Drunks

(Aired on October 13, 2010)

If you get picked up for being drunk or passed out in public, you can go to one of two places.  You can go to the emergency room if your medical condition is serious enough.  Or you can go to the drunk tank.

If you are sent to the drunk tank in RCMP cells, you will essentially be left there to sober up.  Every now and then a guard will check up on you, make sure you're doing okay, and give you a meal.  When it's deemed you are back in your right mind, you are released.  It sounds like I know this from personal experience, but in fact, there has been so much made public concerning drunk tank policy lately that we all probably know, whether we've stayed a night in the clink or not.

A deficiency in the drunk tank system is being played out in a coroner's inquest this week, as a jury hears about the tragic demise of Stanley Cardinal after being lodged in cells last year.  The recent sex in cells in controversy also reveals problems with the system. 

What the E.R. and the drunk tank have in common is that they are both "catch and release."  Once you're done, you're done, and off you go.  But a lot of the time, if you get picked up for being drunk or passed out in public, it's not an isolated incident.  You'll be back.  That's why catch and release isn't necessarily appropriate.

Elsewhere in the province, communities have been setting up sobering centres.  At a sobering centre, a person picked up passed out is set up with the programs that will get them on the road to recovery.  I'd like to see this become the norm, rather than a rarity.  Even during fishing season, it sounds a lot better than catch and release.

NCR Does Not Mean Innocent

(Aired on October 12, 2010)

The rules regarding those found not criminally responsible for their crimes have to be changed. A man involved in a car crash in Vancouver last December has been released from detention, free to do whatever he wishes, after being found not criminally responsible for the crash. In that crash, the man carjacked a vehicle, then ran it into a building, causing injury to a girl inside the vehicle at the time. The Review Board says the man stopped taking his meds before the crash and was experiencing emotional distress. Somehow that's supposed to excuse his behavior?

The rules are simply wrong. While a man may not be criminally responsible, surely that doesn't mean he can get away with a serious offense. We have others in the same boat who committed murder and are also open to release when their next hearings come up. While we rely on these review boards to make judgments in these cases, one must question whether or not the rules are tough enough to ensure that people are detained for their behavior, no matter what causes it.

I understand it's one thing when you understand your actions and commit a crime, and another when you don't understand. But what's to stop this man from going off his medication again and committing another act? The review says this man is still a threat, and is under several conditions as part of his release. Do you honestly think he would understand those conditions if he again went off medication? That's absolutely stupid.

I don't want to preclude people from being freed when they're ready, but how can you say anyone can be ready under these circumstances? The laws are wrong, and it's time someone took the lead in doing something to make them stronger. Maybe these people aren't criminally responsible, but they're certainly responsible. And certainly they should get more than just a slap on the wrist and let back out into society.

James Will Regret Booting Simpson

(Aired on October 8, 2010)

Back in December, an interview I did with Bob Simpson made me sit up and take notice.  He spoke about an upcoming party convention in which the New Democrats would discuss their Harmonized Sales Tax strategy.  While his colleagues were simply launching attacks against the Liberal government, Simpson was much more reluctant.  He said after the party already opposed the Carbon Tax, it needed to be careful.  Opposing the HST, he thought, would position the NDP as an anti-tax party.  BC politics are crazy, but not that crazy.

The interview confirmed to me that Bob Simpson isn't always in step with the rest of the party.  Sure enough, Simpson was booted out of the NDP camp this week for criticizing leader Carole James. 

Most people will recognize that Bob Simpson was ejected from the caucus for speaking the truth.  Simpson sees that the NDP have failed to capitalize on the giant political football fumbled by the governing Liberals directly into their hands.  The HST boondoggle should be what the party is jumping all over - not the substance of the tax, but the way the government screwed up its imposition.  Instead, the upstart Fight HST group has been the dominant voice keeping the government accountable, and as such has become the de facto opposition party.  The NDP are riding high in the polls, but that's because they are the default second option.  The party has failed to find its voice.  It's exactly the reason why I am still reluctant to write off the Liberals for the next election.

Bob Simpson is right to criticize his party, and he is justified in doing so because he wants to see his party do well.  If he stays on the outside looking in, and if his critiques are not heeded, it's Carole James who regret not having him on board.

Who's in Bigger Trouble: Campbell or James?

(Aired on October 7, 2010)

One of the things I love about politics is that just when you thought you've seen it all, something else pops up. Just when she thinks things are rolling along for her, and the NDP looks like it's on its way to beating up on Gordon Campbell, the party starts to self-destruct just like the Liberals did a few months ago.

Carole James has booted Cariboo-North MLA Bob Simpson out of the caucus and taken away his post as critic for aboriginal relations and reconciliation. Apparently Simpson attacked James' recent speech to the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention is some online comments. And now his constituency association is openly calling for a leadership race.

Just days ago, it looked more and more like we were going to have a new Liberal leader for James to fight in the next election. Speculation was that Gordon Campbell was going to step down and make way for a new leader who could resurrect the party after all the HST and health care controversy of the past year. But wait-maybe it will be Campbell who will stay and James will go.

James has not been as stellar a leader as many thought she might be when she took over the party reins, but it was generally assumed there was no real challenge to her leadership, and she might well have a chance to become the Premier in 2013. Who knows what might happen now? Is Simpson's revolt the tip of the iceberg? Politics is a crazy game. You just never know where the next bit of juicy news will come from. I'm sure James and Premier Campbell are both going to be watching their back as much as they watch the road ahead over the next few months. Perhaps Campbell is about to rise from the ashes like the Phoenix and maybe it will be James who crashes and burns. keep your eyes tuned for the next installment.

More Money Needed for Emerald Centre

(Aired on October 6, 2010)

Doug Sage seems confident.  Me, not so much.

I was speaking with Sage today about the former Rendezvous Hotel, soon to be called Emerald Centre.  You may recall the property was purchased by the province earlier this year, with the promise that it would be turned into a homeless shelter, jointly run by ASK Wellness and Canadian Mental Health.  Sage, who runs CMHA locally, says the estimate on how much it will cost to renovate the property has risen by about $1.5-million.  The local organizations have to go back to BC Housing with open hands hoping that the government will pony up the dough.

As I said before, Sage is confident.  He says he knows that times are tight, and the government is not handing out money very easily these days.  If you listen to him, though, the province is committed to this project.  Any hesitation to hand over the money will only result in a delay in project completion, not a complete cancellation.

I'm much more reluctant.  I know the Campbell Liberals need to win some popularity points right now, and funding social projects is always a good way to do that.  But it's my thinking they'd rather do that on the right, by yanking the reins on spending and getting BC out of deficit as soon as possible, than on the left by spending more.  For the sake of the homeless in Kamloops, I hope I'm wrong.

Sage is certainly right about one thing, he says as long as people are forced to stay in shelters rather than their own housing, the fight must continue.  In that fight, he will soon find out whether the province is foe or ally.

Nisga'a Fight Clouds Credibility

(Aired on October 5, 2010)

Ten years after it was hailed as an historic deal that could pave the way for the settlement of native land claims, B.C. Supreme Court heard today from a Nisga'a hereditary chief that the landmark Nisga'a deal should be thrown out. James Robinson says the deal is unconstitutional. He says the treaty makes the Nisga'a a third order of government, something Canada's constitution doesn't allow.

Back when this agreement was negotiated, initiated and signed, it was called, ironically, the Nisga'a Final Agreement. It was supposed to end a conflict that had lasted over a hundred years. It was not liked by a number of other First Nations, but it was seen as a groundbreaking treaty that could form a pattern for the future. Now, it is in danger of collapse.

The sad part of the fight is that it casts a cloud on the credibility of treaty negotiations. If agreements are made, considered legally binding by the parties that made them, should they not then be relied upon for the future? First Nations with legitimate land claims, and there are many in our province, in my opinion will be hurt if this agreement is thrown out. And that would be a tragedy. I can see the critics now - how can we trust you to stay true to your word? Ten years down the road, how do we now some more militant band council won't try to have the deal quashed? What kind of guarantee do we have that if we make an agreement with you, that it won't be reversed down the road?

Of course, no one thinks of the other side of the coin, how First Nations have been deceived, coerced and manipulated over the decades. They only see it as black and white, with no grey. But reality is, if historic agreements like the Nisga'a deal can be overturned ten years after it was put to bed, where does that put land claims negotiations that are still ongoing. In my view, this case is a setback for both sides, and will only continue to delay negotiations to end the long fight for First Nations to get what is legitimately theirs.

Pickton Inquiry in Danger of Becoming Useless

(Aired on October 4, 2010)

I believe that the inquiry into the murders committed by and alleged against Robert Pickton is in danger of becoming totally useless. There is a suggestion that the inquiry, headed by former Attorney-General Wally Oppal, is going to focus on more than just the police investigation of the murders. Several people representing the victims' families, and various social agencies, suggest that focusing only on the police investigation will ignore the critical issue of why many of the victims are on the street, selling themselves in the sex trade, and getting wrapped up in the drug scene.

I'm against expanding the inquiry. And I'll tell you why. It has nothing to do with being unconcerned about the marginalization of people's lives and how to deal with some serious social issues. It's about taking a concern that has been expressed, the way the police investigation was handled, and turning it into some sort of gong show that will be so all-encompassing that it will provide very few real results. There were serious problems in the way enforcement agencies dealt with the investigation, lack of coordination between municipal forces and the RCMP, and even poor communication within various departments of the same force. That in itself is a major inquiry topic. Surely that will keep Mr. Oppal busy for a long time.

Certainly some believe that because these were largely sex trade workers who went missing, that they were blown off by police. That certainly is a topic for Oppal's inquiry. But to expand the inquiry into a full-fledged investigation of why these women are on the streets will be far too big an issue. We'll wind up with a million general recommendations, and few will really get the attention they deserve.

I'm not saying these issues shouldn't be investigated. But maybe by a separate inquiry, with a proper mandate to look at the reasons why these people get forced out on the streets and how we can deal with them. To wrap them up with an inquiry of how the police investigation went in the Pickton case is the wrong choice, and won't result in the justice these women so deserve.

HST Debate Turning Nasty

(Aired on October 1, 2010)

Two weeks ago, I theorized that advertising would be key in determining who gets the upper hand in the Harmonized Sales Tax campaign prior to next year's referendum.  Turns out I was wrong.  Or at least that's the way this week turned out.

First, there was the comments unearthed by the Liberals, attributed to Okanagan Fight HST organizer Al Romanchuk, who was sympathetic to holocaust-denier Ernst Zundel.  Then, Liberal MLAs pointed to Cariboo-Chilcotin organizer Gary Edwards, who peppers his angry blog entries with profanities and vulgarisms.  The Fight HST campaign countered by uncovering comments made by a former Young Liberal official, who tweeted that Bill Vander Zalm is to politics what Michael Jackson was to children.

So no, I suppose it won't be advertising or rational debate that will turn the tide.  It will be the nastiest, most cynical form of political dirty tricks.  Certainly, the comments made are deplorable, and in some cases, completely reprehensible.  But it doesn't have any real impact on the debate.  In fact, instead of changing the minds of the voters, it will only further entrench people in their own positions.

I thought sanity would be restored today when I learned that Cariboo-Chilcotin organizers are proceeding with a recall of MLA Donna Barnett.  My idea was that maybe we'd get down to something real.  But when I spoke to Barnett about it, all she wanted to do was direct me to read up more on the foul-mouthed blogger. 

It's my hope that British Columbians keep their eyes on the prize, and consider all relevant points before making a decision on HST.  Character assassination, to my mind, is not relevant.

Court Ruling Raises Gamut of Issues

(Aired on September 30, 2010)

Hot on the heels of a controversial ruling this week regarding prostitution laws in this country comes another case that is sure to raise all sorts of issues. The B.C. Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether it is unconstitutional to prevent children conceived with donor sperm from knowing the identities of their biological fathers. 28 year old Olivia Pratter is a journalist. She launched the case after fighting for a decade for records related to her conception. She says the system needs to be changed.

One of the biggest concerns is the issue of denying children access to essential medical records. That, to me, is a very legitimate concern. Many problems are hereditary. Being prone to certain types of diseases and other medical conditions goes from generation to generation. Sometimes they skip a generation. If a parent notices something in their child, for example, they might want to know if it may be something that future generations should be concerned about.

Adopted children face the same concern. For that reason alone, it is probably a good idea to have all the details. But does that somehow open the doors for some children to try to claim money from the donor for health costs, or getting a cut of the family fortune? That would be an entirely different scenario, but one which the Supreme Court needs to take into account. It's one thing to make a case for needing medical records, but if your turns out to be a billionaire, do you think you should have a piece of that pie?

The case is sure to draw a lot of interest. Adopted children, and I'm sure it extends to children of sperm donors, often go through psychological stress wondering about their real parents, even though their adopted parents may be the best parents on earth. I don't envy the Court's decision. There's a good case to be made in arguing it either way.

Government's Response to Sex Trade Ruling Troubling

(Aired on September 29, 2010)

A ruling by the Ontario Superior Court this week is sending shockwaves through the Canadian legal system.  The decision strikes down certain provisions in the laws governing Canada's sex trade.  Most people who work with prostitutes, like the ASK Wellness Centre here in Kamloops, are applauding the ruling, saying it will make that particular line of work much safer.

Having this discussion in the public realm is long-needed.  Strict government regulations have forced the sex trade to a place that is too far underground for its participants to remain safe. 

Troubling, though, is the Canadian government's response.  Immediately after the ruling was announced, the government said it would probably appeal.  Today, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson confirmed that intention.  But the first person to voice the government's displeasure with the court decision was Rona Ambrose.  Ms. Ambrose is the Minister of State for the Status of Women.  For her to be the person that openly opposes a plan to make women safer ostensibly goes against her own job description.  Even if she needs to toe the government line on opposition, she should articulate a message that the government is doing everything possible to keep women safe.  Of course, the government could do that even better by actually changing prostitution laws accordingly.

10 Years After His Death, Trudeau's Legacy Lives On

(Aired on September 28, 2010)

There can be little argument that Pierre Elliott Trudeau was one of the greatest, most influential Prime Ministers who ever lived. Trudeau died ten years ago, and he's still as much talked about as any PM before or since. We have had great Prime Ministers since our founding, John A. MacDonald, Laurier, Mackenzie King, Pearson, but few have stirred the nation as Pierre Trudeau did. He was arrogant, flamboyant, and some thought of him as simply a jerk for the way he acted with his "fuddle duddle" comments and the way he seemed to look down at Canadians as if they were much lower in station than him. But assessing his career, at a time of political turmoil, separation at the boiling point, and the need to bring our country together, Pierre Trudeau was a master. And few can fault the way he did that.

I will personally never forget one of his most poignant moments, when the FLQ crisis was happening in 1970, and Trudeau introduced the War Measures Act to try and contain this group of terrorists. As a young 22-year old journalist, I watched with interest as CBC reporter Tim Ralfe asked the PM how far he would go to curb civil liberties to bring peace. Trudeau's reply "Well, just watch me." It was a defining moment in our history, and probably solidified Trudeau's support in Western Canada as a French Canadian Prime Minister who was prepared to do anything necessary to bring an end to the crisis.

I never was a big fan of many of the sections of Trudeau's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but his concept of a "just society" was hard to oppose. He didn't handle the economy particularly well, and he was criticized roundly for his efforts to centralize power in the federal government over the interests of the provinces, particularly with respect to the oil wealth of the prairies. You may like him or not, but you can't deny that Pierre Trudeau was a leader like no other. His charisma may never be seen again in our country, and his legacy will be here for decades to come.

Heartbreak, Tragedy for High Schoolers

(Aired on September 27, 2010)

I have mostly fond memories of my time in high school. Didn't get into too many scraps. Wasn't teased too unmercifully, although it certainly wasn't perfect. I have mostly fond memories of my kids' time in high school. Only one of them got into much trouble. I was probably too over-protective of my kids, and have often wondered if I was too protective.

But seeing things such as those that have happened to a couple of high school girls in the past three weeks, maybe not. And the sad reality is that no matter how over-protective you are, you still can't stop everything. It was probably not a smart move for a young girl to go to a rave in Maple Ridge a couple of weeks ago. Doped up from the date rape drug, she was gang raped, and to make it worse, pictures started showing up on the Internet. While the girl's judgment in going to the party might be considered suspect, considering most of those things are problems from the get-go, what happened to her was devastating and tragic, something she will have to live with the rest of her life. Bad judgment or not, there's no reason for that kind of attack.

If there's a good thing, I suppose, it's that at least she will have a life to live. Not so fortunate was a grade 10 student in Delta, killed on the weekend while walking through a park in broad daylight. Details of both these tragedies are still sketchy, but, by all accounts, these were not bad kids. They were happy kids, enjoying life, probably going through the same issues many teens do, emotional upheaval, peer pressure, we've all gone through it. As parents, we hope our kids survive those rough years intact, and move on to their adult life.

It's hard for us to comprehend the tragedy these two families, and many like them, are going through. I guess the only thing we can do is to keep in touch with our kids as best we can, protect them as well as we can, and hope for the best. Sometimes, unfortunately, our best isn't good enough.

Palin: The Next Celebrity President?

(Aired on September 24, 2010)

In november of 2008, I happened to be down in Hawaii when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States.  You could tell that change was in the wind, and a member of the old guard like John McCain didn't stand a chance.  The campaign was significant in that Obama rose through the Democratic ranks with a groundswell of grassroots support to snag the nomination.  Obama had converted a lot of supporters of other candidates because he represented someone young, energetic, and wise.  He was an eloquent speaker, yet was down to earth enough to shoot hoops on his down time.  Obama was a genuine celebrity.

After that, he had so much momentum, it carried him right through to the White House, and had a lot of people treating him like a messiah.  Since then, it has become clear that he is not the messiah, and his presidency has lost a lot of its lustre.

But if you thought he was a celebrity, you ain't seen nothing yet.  Sarah Palin has become a much bigger celebrity to most americans.  For a lot of people, Palin is more of a breath of fresh air.  While she can't touch Obama as an orator or a thinker, she has a tonne of charisma and that can make up for a lot of flaws.  That charisma has been front and centre in the media ever since 2008, even though the next presidential vote is a long way away.

Palin's desire for the spotlight tells me two things.  First, I don't think anyone doubts she will take a run at the White House herself in 2012.  But second, it tells me she is far more interested in being seen than being a leader.  Sarah Palin wants to be in books, she wants to be on TV, and she wants to be on the tips of people's tongues, far more than she wants to be in the White House.  My worry is that she will get to the White House in 2012, and will have no idea what to do once she's there.  We already had that problem with a certain Texas oilman called Dubya.

Harper Gov't Needs to Rethink Gun Registry Stance

(Aired on September 23, 2010)

If you ask any RCMP officer what's his or her most dangerous assignment, many will tell you it's domestic disputes. Emotions run particularly high, and you never know what will happen in those circumstances. They will also tell you that the more information they have going in, the better they feel about being able to resolve a situation. Prior offenses, restraining orders, history of violence, all are important.

You know what else is important? Whether or not the people have any firearms registered in their names. That's why I can't understand the Conservative government's desire to end the long-gun registry. The government MPs continue to suggest that the registry is stupid because criminals don't register their guns, that the registry only hampers legitimate hunters and gun owners.

In part, that's true. But the reality is that a high percentage of gun offenses, excluding organized crime hits, involve registered guns. Guns that are used in anger in a confrontation often spurred by domestic tension. The more information police have, the better they can serve. You can't foretell everything even if you have all the details, but it would certainly help in the way you deal with issues.

I don't think the long gun registry is perfect. It costs a lot more money than I think it should. And that's one of the arguments against it. But surely there must be ways of dealing with that problem and keeping the registry alive. I understand the concerns over the registry from rural Canada, but I don't believe their frustration should be considered above safety. If the registry has value for the police, that in itself should top any backwoods hunter from feeling frustrated that he has to register his gun. It just makes good common sense.

The Stephen Harper government needs to reevaluate its policies on this issue, and instead of concentrating on defeating the registry, concentrate on things like the economy, and justice and education, issues that have far higher priority than the gun registry.

Privacy Breach Nothing Less Than Frightening

(Aired on September 22, 2010)

Imagine you are fighting for something.  You have a cause that is completely righteous in your eyes, and in fighting for it, you make your fair share of enemies - including people in the government.  Now imagine those enemies have information about you that no one else should have.  That includes your banking information and your medical information.  It even includes a psychiatric report, spelled out in painstaking detail.

That's exactly what has happened to Sean Bruyea.  He has been an outspoken critic of Veterans Affairs for a long time, and certainly made himself a lot of enemies.  In 2006, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson found that personal information relating Bruyea in his briefing notes.  That means that someone, likely in the bureaucracy, managed to dredge those documents up.

How that happened is the scary part.  It is quite frightening that, given enough impetus, people who don't like you can find your most sensitive information and potentially use it against you.  That's a paranoia-inducing reality of Orwellian proportions.

It's imperative that there be a full investigation into how this happened.  That investigation, interestingly for us, could unearth former MP Betty Hinton, who has made herself scarce since deciding not to run in the last federal election.  Hinton was once Greg Thompson's parliamentary secretary, a position she once famously mistook for a cabinet seat.

The investigation is crucial, not just for Mr. Bruyea himself, but for the principle of the thing.  It's an egregious incident, and we need to know that it is an isolated one.

Fight HST Turning Serious Debate into Clown Show

(Aired on September 21, 2010)

There probably isn't one person who sees this editorial who is surprised MLA Terry Lake's name is near the top of the list of targets for the anti-HST recall campaign. As the chair of the legislative committee who made the unpopular decision of going to a referendum on the HST, and an MLA who didn't have a big margin of victory last year, that shouldn't be surprising.

Lake's future is hardly in doubt, even though his committee copped out and took the easy way out of the HST controversy by going to a referendum a year away. It was a cop-out because by next September, the fuss over the HST will be gone, and we will have spent millions of dollars on nothing. All because the Liberal members of Lake's committee used the excuse that the referendum was a way to listen to the people instead of having the guts to debate the issue in the legislature and take a vote. This way, they blame the anti-HST forces for causing us to spend all that taxpayers money instead of simply saving it by voting on it instead. And if you're going to have a referendum, have it sooner rather than later so we can have a vote while the issue is still a hot topic.

What I can't figure out, though, is why Bill Vander Zalm and the anti-HST forces are turning the whole recall process into a clown show by making it into some kind of Survivor game. That's about as tactless as Lake's committee's decision on the referendum. If Chris Delaney and VanderZalm are serious about this issue, and they've put a lot of work into it so far, why would they cheapen the whole thing by this charade? Maybe they're simply giving up. They don't even have a proponent to run a recall campaign in Kevin Krueger's riding. Maybe it's all over and the anti-HST folks are just going through the motions. I can't think of anything else given the stupidity of their latest move. This is a serious thing. Treat it that way, or walk away.

Tougher Drunk Driving Laws Long Overdue

(Aired on September 20, 2010)

British Columbia now has the toughest drunk driving laws in Canada. Starting today, it's going to be easier for law enforcement officials to take away your car, slap you with a fine and take away your driving privileges. Not only for the drivers who are over .08, but there's a new "warning" category, where you can lose your licence for three days and pay a fine to boot. Over .08, penalties are even stiffer. You could get a 90 day driving ban. And speeders caught doing more than 40 clicks over the speed limit will be affected too, getting their vehicles impounded for a week with escalating penalties for subsequent offences.

It's about time. It's also good that refusing to take a breathalyzer test at the scene is no longer a way out. The penalty is immediate. It will make all of us think twice, not only those who drink more heavily, but even those of us who are more social drinkers. Speed and alcohol are contributors to so many accidents that it's about time we tried to take steps to curb the problem. And the Liberal government, who have been criticized on so many fronts recently, deserve to take some credit for this latest initiative. It's long overdue and hopefully will serve as a model for other provinces to follow.

The only problem I see is having the police resources to enforce these laws. We actually catch very few problem drivers. Our resources don't provide for the traffic checks we need to enforce these laws. We'll certainly do a better job than before even with the resources we have now, but we will almost certainly only catch a small percentage of offenders unless we put enough officers in place to really do an effective job. That might be a little longer in coming. But at least we've made a start, and hopefully we'll get people thinking before they become idiots on the road.

Kamloops Will Cry, But PG Will be a Good Host

(Aired on September 17, 2010)

Well, good for Prince George.  P.G. won the right to host the 2015 Canada Winter Games today.  It's believed the games will bring 3600 athletes and $60-million in economic activity to the winning city.

That, of course, would have been more than welcome in Kamloops, but is even more necessary in Northern BC.  Though it wasn't that long ago that Kamloops had a local economy dominated by the forest industry.  Insightful and innovative leadership in both the public and private sector led to better diversity in the business community here.  That hasn't been the case in Prince George, where the economy is still largely based on forestry.  And with the downturn, the entire region is hurting.  So in that way, it's good for P.G.

Here's another reason it will work out well for Prince George - 2015 will be the 100th anniversary of the city's incorporation.  There may be some negative aspects to the city.  I've never visited, but people who have tell me it's poorly laid out, the downtown has virtually been abandoned, and of course, it stinks.  But apparently, contrary to popular belief, Prince George does have adequate facilities to host the event.  And they have five years to get up to speed.

Good on Kamloops for a strong bid, I'm sure we'll get many more high profile events in the future.  For now, we'll cry in our beer, and tomorrow's another day.

Random Acts of Kindness Should Not be Random

(Aired on September 16, 2010)

I believe it is a sad state of the human condition that we have to celebrate random acts of kindness. Or find inspirational stories so newsworthy. We're starting a series this fall on inspirational stories. We'll get to see how special people do some very special things. But it's sad in a way, because we do this in part because as a society we seem to have lost the ability to care about each other.

Frankly, random acts of kindness should not be random. When you see something that needs to be done, a friend or a stranger who needs help, these should be the norm. Helping someone put their groceries in their car, saying hello, letting someone merge instead of trying to cut them off. I could go on. Those are simple acts of kindness that should be part of our daily lives.

People who inspire me are not the glory seekers, the ones who do things with personal gain and recognition as a motive. No, the people who inspire me are those who go out of their way to help, who help look after their elderly parents, who do these things not for themselves but for the cause of good. These are truly the people who are exceptional, who give us our own motivation to do the same. The did it because it needed doing. One can only wish there could be more like them.

Can Advertising Change Our Minds on HST?

(Aired on September 15, 2010)

Advertising works.  It's a slogan that has kept my industry afloat through some pretty tough times.  But we'll see just how well advertising works in the next year.

A year from now, British Columbians will go to the polls to show their feelings on the Harmonized Sales Tax.  If the referendum was to be held today, the results would likely be very ominous for the Liberal government.  And as TRU Political Studies professor Ray Pillar said yesterday, the referendum will foreshadow the next provincial election.

But who knows how we'll all feel about the HST in a year's time.  During that interval, the Campbell government and their big business friends will likely want to max out on advertising the benefits of the HST.  There will surely be spending limits placed on direct advertising, but there are always ways in which special interest groups can skirt those rules.  You can count on being blitzed with propaganda.

But the anti-HST crowd has a bit of an advantage.  While money must be spent to explain the benefits of certain tax policy, no money will need to be spent to convince the public that politicians are shady and coniving.  It's an instinct probably all of us have.  The government will be successful if it can shift attention away from how it sprung the HST on an unsuspecting public, and onto the benefits of a particular tax policy.  If the debate focuses on cynical politics, however, I'm afraid the HST - and the Liberal government in turn - will be sunk.

Driving Never Ceases to Enrage

(Aired on September 14, 2010)

Some things that really tick me off about drivers. Number one, inattention. Whether it's driving while talking on the cell, texting, eating, drinking your flavored coffee, the stupidity of some drivers who try to drive while distracted is absolutely amazing. It's more amazing that more accidents aren't caused by these goofballs who are more worried about what someone said in a text, or having a puff of that cigarette than they are about peoples' lives.

Second, drivers who don't know the rules of the road. How many times do you see people trying to merge who don't understand the concept of merging. They will stop or slow right down just when they should be speeding up, and on the other side of the coin, there are those who just won't let people merge into their lane no matter what. And the people who make left turns into the wrong lane of traffic. They don't understand that they have to turn into the lane that's closest to them. Idiots.

And the thing that ticks me off the most - drivers who drive with their dogs in the back of their pickups. Makes we wish I had a shotgun to put the animal down - the driver that is, not the dog. I've had the unfortunate occurrence of seeing dogs fall out of the back of pickup beds, with tragic endings in several cases.

We need to have officers on street corners who have the magical power to shut the power off to offenders' engines, scoop up the vehicle with a tow truck, and give the drivers a couple of months suspension. Where is Harry Potter when you need him?

Must Be an Effort to Protect Our Agricultural Land

(Aired on September 13, 2010)

Perhaps a new report out this week will finally address one of the critical problems facing us these days - trying to keep prime agricultural land from being developed in the face of increasing pressure from developers. There is a huge glut of land that is totally useful for housing, except that it may require a bit more challenge to develop. So developers want to use the best ranch land and the best arable land to develop because, for the most part, it's flat, and takes less money to put houses and condos on it than land which may be on a hillside or may not be the best to grow crops.

This new report from Auditor General John Doyle says the Agricultural Land Commission doesn't have enough staff or enforcement tools to protect land that is in the reserve. And he adds the agency doesn't have enough information to properly evaluate the results of its decision. The ALR has been under pressure for years from developers who want to continue to spread out development as opposed to trying to going to the European style, keeping green spaces while making smaller houses, and more flats and apartments. If you examine how much prime land has been destroyed around this country's largest cities, you can see how this problem is going to grow.

The ALR was a great idea, and has since been the subject of many attempts to destroy it. There have been times when I have disagreed with the ALR, but the idea of having some control over the rampant destruction of farmland is important to the lifestyle of generations to come. I don't know how many times I have heard how we'll be able to grown more on less space as technology improves, that hasn't happened. Sooner or later, it will come back to bite us, and any preventive action we take now will only benefit us down the road.

Why Should Campbell Resign Now?

(Aired on September 10, 2010)

The timing for this cry for Gordon Campbell's head is a little odd right now.  We've known about the Harmonized Sales Tax for a while now.  And ever since the surprise announcement last summer that the tax was happening, the call for Campbell to step down or retire has been a general dull roar.  Cabinet minister Blair Lekstrom resigned, but other than that, the level of discontent inside the Liberal circle has been minimal.  Now, however, it's starting to snowball.  Donna Barnett's former riding association executive secretary is the latest to add his voice the choir. 

But once again, it's the timing that is a bit confusing.  The height of the HST deception happened when the tax was announced, just a few months after Finance Minister Colin Hansen swore up and down that it wasn't being considered.  The feeling of betrayal by the party rank and file should have been at its zenith in the weeks following that epic flip-flop. 

Today, the HST has taken effect.  There is still anger over the tax, but at the very least, a legislative committee is looking into the initiative petition opposing the HST is meeting now.  It will force action on the tax, whether that's by asking MLAs, or by asking all British Columbians.  The end result - somewhere a long way down the line - could result in the HST being lifted.  Campbell is at the point now where his party will live or die in spite of him, not because of him.  For so-called Liberal insiders to be coming out of the woodwork now, calling for Campbell's head, smacks of pure opportunism.

If it was up to me, the exact moment Gordon Campbell should have resigned was in January of 2003, when he was arrested for drunk driving in Maui.  If you ask me, that's a more heinous offense than changing tax policy.

Koran-Burning Pastor Taking Religious Freedom Too Far

(Aired on September 9, 2010)

In two days, we will mark the tragedy that took place September 11, 2001. Few of us will forget where we were when the World Trade Centre collapsed after being sabotaged by two jets which crashed into the buildings. 3000 people lost their lives. The incidents provoked much anti-Arab and particularly anti-Muslim sentiment. Sentiment that still prevails in many peoples minds today.

A Muslim mosque being planned for a site near ground zero in New York is being vilified by those who see it as in some way mocking the Americans killed in the 9/11 attacks. Some minister at some church in Gainesville, Florida is planning a Koran-burning ceremony Saturday to somehow send a message to radical Muslims. It is something, he says, he believes God has called upon him to do. Must be a different God than the one I have learned to believe in. Many Christians have protested the burning of the 200 Korans as being bigoted and senseless. And indeed it is. This is a minister using the same type of religious fanaticism he is accusing the radical Muslims of using in 9/11.

Ironic, isn't it? You really have to wonder about some of these religious groups who use their own interpretation of things and create chaos with beliefs that can't be substantiated in any way, shape or form. We get angry at Muslims who misinterpret the Koran and somehow believe it gives them the right to create terror. And yet these weird Christian groups do exactly the same thing when they misinterpret the Bible and create their own version of Christianity. That's when you get a group like this one in Florida who says that burning the Koran is a message from God to radical Muslims. They don't represent a lot of people in their own individual church, but it only takes one person to start the ball rolling.

It appears there is little anyone can do to stop the Koran-burning Saturday. It's sad to say that freedom of religion can be carried to that extent.

Increased Support for Gun Registry Vexing

(Aired on September 8, 2010)

It's a head-scratcher that support for keeping the long gun registry has jumped over the past few months.  Back in April, 42% of respondents to a Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll thought it would be a bad idea to get rid of the registry.  Now, the number is up to 48%. 

That's a significant jump considering nothing has really happened to precipitate it.  As far as I know, there haven't been any dramatic jumps in gun violence during that time.  The Conservatives still want to scrap the registry, and the opposition parties are still largely looking for ways to keep it in place.  Police organizations have reiterated their support for keeping the registry, but that support has always been there.  They say it's incredibly helpful to know which homes have firearms registered to them before they knock on the front door.  That may be true, but the stated purpose of the long gun registry was to make guns involved in crime more traceable, thus leading police to the criminals more quickly and easily.  I have yet to see evidence that actually happens.

It's only common sense that people who would use firearms in the commission of a crime will avoid registering their guns.  And while the residual effects may be positive, the billion-dollar boondoggle doesn't seem to be effective at fighting crime.

On a philosophical, world view level, I'm not a fan of firearms.  In a perfect world, they would not exist.  But it's not a perfect world, guns are a part of society and we would be better served managing their possession and use than trying to rid the world of them.  Politicians need to come up with a better option than the ones we have today.

Many More Good Teachers Than Bad

(Aired on September 7, 2010)

Teachers have not always been my favorite group of people. I sometimes have argued vociferously against some of the contract provisions they have. I have taken issue with the fact you can't seem to get rid of a bad teacher. I don't like the arrogant attitude of some teachers.

But now that I've said all that, I would like to add that I have many close friends who are teachers or retired teachers, and I spend hours talking education with them. There is no better person than a good teacher. As kids start back to school today, I have to say I admire someone who will try to impart knowledge to a group of kids who are paying attention with only half a mind, spend half their time texting, doodling, whatever and generally not focused on learning at all. Thank goodness that's only a small portion of the class, but it's enough to be a huge challenge.

I wouldn't be a teacher for anything. I don't have the attitude to bear through the idiots to reach out to those who really are there to learn. I admire their tenacity, their compassion and their diligence. For the few teachers I would just as soon not know, there are ten times as many who spend countless hours trying to make a difference. It's a terribly difficult job, particularly in these times when parental control of kids is probably the worst its ever been, and as soon as teachers try to discipline a student in any way, suddenly those righteous parents become totally obnoxious and indignant.

I don't want to say teachers are perfect. I do have some concerns about the militant attitude of some of them. But when push comes to shove, they have a job that is hugely rewarding, but at the same time hugely challenging. It's not a job I'd take on. I'll just stay behind the camera, and make my comments without having to try and deal with a group of kids who really don't care.

Hard to Trust Politicians After HST Revelation

(Aired on September 2, 2010)

It's hard to believe now that the B.C. government, or at least the Minister of Finance, didn't have some advance knowledge of the HST before last year's provincial election. It's no wonder politicians are so low on the list of people most trusted by the public. So much damage control, so much double talk it's so hard to know who, if anyone, you can believe.

New information out shows that bureaucrats in the finance ministry were preparing briefing notes for Finance Minister Colin Hansen well before last year's election campaign. This contrasts directly with government statements that the government didn't start discussing the issue until much later.

While the information shows Hansen may not have pushed the tax heavily until after the election, it's hard to imagine that he had absolutely no knowledge of what people under his control were doing. Hansen says he didn't ask for the research to be done, and staff were doing it on their own. Hansen says they were just doing their job researching tax policy and weren't taking any direction from the Liberals. If that's true, then Hansen wasn't doing his job. If the Minister doesn't know what his bureaucrats are doing, he isn't doing his job keeping track of what's happening in his department. And I find that really hard to stomach. If that's the case, Hansen should be turfed for incompetence.

Either way, the government comes out the loser, and we lose even more faith in our politicians. I've been around this game a long time, and I often try to think back to when we really started to lose faith in our elected officials. Was it Watergate that started it all? Or were there times before that when government scandals rocked our senses? Whenever it started, it seems to have ballooned to alarming proportions. And now it doesn't matter what government says, we have our doubts about their sincerity, their honesty and integrity. And that's a very sad state of affairs.

RCMP Voyeurism Inexcusable

(Aired on September 1, 2010)

Four RCMP officers.  Three city employees.  Two women having sex in the drunk tank.  One of them apparently HIV positive.

As many times as I go over it, the math doesn't add up.  Why would seven professionals, all tasked with a role in maintaining public safety, simply watch on video as two cell block occupants put themselves at risk?  As much as these seven men may have been turned on by what they saw, or giggling like school children at what was unfolding before their eyes on closed circuit video cameras, it doesn't make sense.

If all of the multitude of investigations find the basic facts as reported are accurate, then all of the culpability should be placed on one man - the 20-year-veteran watch commander who was in charge when this was happening.  As of this recording, the corporal's identity has not been made public.  But whoever he is should have known better.  He should have known to break up the party as soon as he realized what was going on.  The RCMP have a pseudo-military structure, meaning junior members look to those who outrank them for leadership and decision-making.  The three constables involved combined don't have as much service time as the corporal.  He needed to make the call immediately, not seven minutes into the show.

RCMP E-Division says a question exists as to whether the sex was consensual.  But even if it appeared consensual, the sobriety of the participants muddies the issue.  If the sex had been halted before it started, the criminal investigation into whether one of the participants disclosed her HIV status would not be necessary.

Being a Mountie is a tough job.  Controversies surrounding excessive force in arrests, taser use, or undercover officers shooting a man all deserve careful consideration.  This case does too, but it's in another realm.  Taking a break and gathering your buddies around for a little voyeurism is completely inexcusable.

Tamil Refugees Abusing the System

(Aired on August 31, 2010)

The case of the MV Sun Sea has proven once again that our immigration policies are in bad need of reform. We have a group of almost 500 people seeking refuge in Canada, making what may or may not be a claim of persecution in their homeland and wishing to be taken into Canada. But there's far too much of this going on and we need to tighten the regulations.

In this case, Border Services themselves seem to have screwed up the process as much as anyone. When the people arrived, they took all their ID and put them into containers. Now they have a problem trying to sort out who's who. That was a huge mistake. Right now, they can't even identify the captain and crew. We will spend millions trying to determine if these people are legitimate refugees. How many of them are terrorists in disguise?

Accepting people in this way is wrong. And while it may seem unsympathetic, how many legitimate refugees will be turned away while we are processing this group we should never have accepted. If getting into Canada is as simple as saying you'll be persecuted in your own country, we'll open the doors to so many poor choices it will cost us terribly down the road.

Immigration into a country should be an opportunity to start fresh, to bring something new to a country that needs immigrants. But the process should not be as messy as it is with the MV Sun Sea. We will probably never know how many of these people are legitimate and how many aren't. It's not the right way to deal with immigrants to our country.

To have 500 people show up on your doorstep all claiming refugee status is an abuse of the system, and just shouldn't be tolerated. Immigration is a good thing for our country. We need immigrants. But we need legitimate immigrants, who follow the procedure and don't try to play on Canadians' good moral sense to get in.

Krueger's Arts Tenure a Disaster

(Aired on August 30, 2010)

Kevin Krueger's run as Minister of Arts and Culture hasn't had much of a positive run so far. In fact, you could safely say it's been an unmitigated disaster. When Krueger took over the portfolio, I thought that, based on his previous commitment to arts and cultural activities that we would have an advocate to promote the arts and improve their lot in life.

Arts, as you know, often is the first cut when governments decide to slash. They mistakenly think cutting the arts won't be noticed and doesn't do a whole lot of harm. As we know, they've been proved wrong. Government has cut gaming money to arts groups, cut regular grant programs and generally left the arts community in shambles. So much so that the head of the B.C. Arts Council has resigned in protest. And Krueger has been strangely silent. He seldom returns our phone calls, he seldom has anything concrete to say, except to spout the Liberal line that the Liberals have put more money into the arts than the NDP did. Kevin has to stop spouting that line. It's old. And what the NDP did years ago has no real bearing on what the government is doing now.

A vibrant arts community is important to the health of any city, town or village. And funding has to be maintained in order for those communities to survive. When communities don't have a consistent source of funding, and know what they're getting year to year, they can't move forward. They can't put on productions, hire staff, because they don't know if they will have the funds to do so. While education and health are absolutely critical, and health particularly is in dire straits, government can't ignore other things that help us maintain a healthy lifestyle, and arts and culture play a major role in a healthy community.

Kevin and the Liberals are strangely silent on what will become an issue, for sure, in the next election. And while the Liberals generally feel that Kamloops-South Thompson is a safe Liberal riding, many of those in Krueger's riding are people who appreciate what arts and culture do in a city like Kamloops, and they may not forget that in May of 2013.

Traveling, Broke, and Hungry? No Kidding

(Bonus Editorial!  Was Meant to Air August 27, 2010 - but did not.)

I think I'm starting to turn into a crotchety old man.  I promised myself just a few short years ago it seems never to lose sympathy, but it's starting to happen anyway.

Driving through Sahali, you're quite likely to come across the two young people I saw at the corner of Summit and Columbia today.  The man and woman were on either side of the intersection, each with a dog at their side, each holding a sign bearing the words "traveling, broke, and hungry."

"Broke and hungry" I have plenty of sympathy for.  Sometimes the world conspires against a person, you find yourself caught up in addiction or bad financial investments, maybe you have a mental health issue, all of the sudden you're out on the street.  Sometimes it truly is "down on your luck."

But "traveling" is the part that chaps my hide.  That's where I lose my empathetic side.  I'd love to be traveling.  The best times of my life happened while I was traveling.  I work for the vast majority of my life so that I can see a bit of the world during the little time off I get.  When you tell me that you are traveling, you tell me exactly why you are broke and hungry.

I suppose it's very straight-laced of me to tell these people to settle down and get a job.  The 20-year-old version of myself would be steamed at this.  But really.  Get a job.

No Choice But to Euthanize Bears

(Aired on August 26, 2010)

I'm as big an animal lover as there is. I love animals. Am sad to the point of tears sometimes when I see a dead deer at the side of the highway, love having wildlife in my yard even when they take a good round out of the shrubs.

But I honestly believe an online petition trying to save about 15 bears in the Kootenays is just a little over the top. The bears were being fed by some people charged in a grow op. We don't know if they were being fed to keep them around to scare people away from the property, or whether they were kind of pets. But the fact is, most of them have become domesticated. As such, they cannot be saved from being put down. Maybe they could be transported to some zoos, maybe some of them could be returned to the wild, but any information I've received indicates that once these animals become used to human contact, and used to raiding the garbage in cities, it's hard to get them back into the wild. Sad as it is, these animals may have to be put down before they become a menace.

Some suggest they could be weaned back into the wild, and we should have the province put up some kind of transitional feeding station that would get them back into the wild. But it's not going to work. The people who fed these bears have made it such that the bears' lives have become too easy, no work involved when you get your daily fix from the neighbours. You don't even have to lift a garbage can lid for goodness sakes.

While protecting wildlife is a good thing, sometimes circumstances are such that protection is unrealistic. These seem to be some of those circumstances. As tragic as it would be to have to put some of these bears down, the reality is that they can't be left as they are, and if there aren't zoos or refuges to take them, and they can't be reacclimatized to the wild, there is little choice left but to put them down so they don't endanger anyone.

BC Regs on School Properties Vexing

(Aired on August 25, 2010)

A report released today says BC's public school districts could have more money at their disposal, but accounting practices and government rules are preventing it.  According to the Auditor General, school districts collectively have about $1-billion they can't reasonably access - much of it tied up in low-interest bank accounts.  If they did use the money, they would have to show it on the books as an expense.  That wouldn't be a problem, but the provincial government has mandated that all school districts must run a balanced budget.  Thus, if you have a new expense, you have to show the revenue to offset it.  With government funding cuts and a flawed funding formula, that revenue is not forthcoming.

Even more vexing to me are government rules restricting what school districts can do with surplus property.  For example, District 73 has four new surplus school properties within Kamloops this year; those being John Tod, Ralph Bell, George Hilliard, and the former Beattie Pineridge campus.  The district is obligated to maintain those properties and keep them from falling into disrepair.

It would make far more sense to sell those schools and schoolyards, with the government investing the revenue right back into education.  But the province has extremely tight rules that make it almost impossible for a district to do that.  If you ask the education minister about those rules, she says that it's prudent policy.  A selloff of property now - when student numbers are in decline - would hamstring districts in the future, when student numbers are bound to rise again.

It seems to make sense, but the question is, what is happening to students in the meantime?  With the way school districts are being eviscerated of funds now, what will the public school system look like in 10 or 20 years' time?  It would be better policy to fix what is badly broken now, and let tomorrow think about tomorrow.

Public Starting to Worry About Health Care

(Aired on August 24, 2010)

It is the perfect storm. It's been coming for some time. I wasn't the first to talk about it years ago, but I have said many times over the years the health care system is in jeopardy and needs to be overhauled. And a new Ipsos-Reid survey out this week shows most Canadians are starting to get the picture. It's taken them a long time to understand just how bad it is, but the new survey shows they're getting the message.

The new poll shows that most people perceived no improvement in health care. Younger adults anticipate going into debt to pay for their health care. Boomers, otherwise known as the Silver Tsunami, are becoming more and more reliant, pointing out just how tough it's going to be. The poll showed 80% fear the system will buckle and maybe even fail under the growing pressure. It says 80% nationally give the health system a grade of A, but few think that will continue.

Doctors have said for some time they are not crying wolf-that the health system is in disarray. Maybe more of the people nationwide who feel the same will start to put the pressure on the government to do something. Some suggest user fees rather than higher taxes. I've advocated user fees for 20 years. Interestingly enough, the survey showed British Columbians last or second last in their confidence level in health care. The only other province was Quebec, where 2.5 million people in that province are without a regular family doctor, out of a population of 7.5 million. Over a quarter of the population.

B.C. rates virtually last in rating the health care experience, only 25% of us gave a good grade for services available, and only 17% gave health care providers a good grade. That should be something for Gordon Campbell and the Liberals to take under serious advisement. If the economic downturn didn't hit B.C. as bad as other provinces, why can't we do better?

It's been obvious for a long time that something needs to be done. The general population finally seems to be getting the message. Now let's see if we can convince the politicians.

Justice Miscarried

(Aired on August 23, 2010)

So you want to know why we have no faith in our justice system? Here’s a perfect example. Last week, the legal system failed 15-year-old Ashley Aebig of Nanaimo. She was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 25-year-old Cory Barker in July of 2007. Barker was driving with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. The court gave him a conditional sentence.

A conditional sentence. You know what that means? Not even a real slap on the wrist. Both crown and defence lawyers said there were “mitigating” circumstances in the case. These mitigating circumstances apparently related to Barker’s history of psychiatric problems, and his self-medication, which included the use of marijuana to make it easier to cope with his schizophrenia and depression.

Somehow that should make it OK to have twice the legal amount of alcohol and cause someone to be killed? That’s our justice system? Who could possibly think that’s right? So the judge imposed a five-year driving ban on Barker. That’s supposed to be a penalty? And he stays at his residence at all times. That’s a penalty? A young girl loses her life because someone drank too much and then the man who caused it walks away without serving a day of jail time?

The perception of the law must be seen to be followed as well as the reality of the law. In this case, neither was followed. If Barker were given time in a psychiatric facility to deal with his problems and learn to cope, I guess I might think that there is some justice. But when a person who has severe problems doesn’t get anything? That’s just plain wrong.

I’m not as hard-nosed as many I know about justice. I tend to be pretty compassionate. But in this case, there was an absolute miscarriage of justice in my opinion. I can’t see how justice was served in any way in this case, and I have the deepest sympathy for the parents of a girl who was killed without any serious punishment for the perpetrator.

Pickton Revelation Must Lead to Reforms

(Aired on August 20, 2010)

Some columnists in Kamloops like to tee off on the police, whether it's individual officers or entire forces.  They pile on to any error or abuse of power - whether real or perceived - with hysterical, mouth-frothing fervor.  And while that response is hardly as rational and measured as it should be, a report on the Robert Pickton investigation released today makes it hard to remain calm.

The report stated between the time Vancouver Police forwarded a report on Pickton to Coquitlam RCMP and the time he was arrested, 13 women went missing from the Downtown Eastside.  11 of those were later linked to Pickton's farm.

You may think this is yet another reason to tar the RCMP.  That's partially true, but the review says both police forces are to blame.  It says both forces committed errors that prevented an arrest of Pickton until 2002.  There have long been loud questions as to why police didn't take the Pickton situation seriously much sooner.  Now we have a few more answers to those questions.

RCMP have been taking it on the chin for quite some time now.  And nothing seems to be able to stem the litany of embarrassments for the national force.  Today's announcement shouldn't phase the Mounties; it should be like water off a duck's back.  Vancouver Police looking bad, however, is another story.

If this should teach us anything, it's that there are problems with law enforcement in general - not just the RCMP.  A public inquiry is necessary, followed by sweeping reforms.  It's one thing for four cowboys to zap an exhausted Polish man at an airport with a taser.  It's quite another for almost a dozen women to die thanks to an inter-office foul-up.  Something has to change.

Must be a Better Way to Report Highway Conditions

(Aired on August 19, 2010)

It's time in this world of electronic communication that we did a better job reporting highway conditions in our area. We have a web site in the province that should be the perfect vehicle for giving motorists updated information. But it's reliability in emergencies is very poor, and motorists often wind up getting into bad driving conditions or into long lineups after accidents even though the information is available to avoid the problem.

A perfect case this morning. A bad accident on the Coke north of the Logan Lake turnoff around 5:30 this morning. Logs spilled all over the highway. No southbound traffic getting through. It was almost two hours before Drive B.C. could get updated information onto its website. Information that was available well over an hour earlier.

What is wrong with emergency crews, whether they be ambulance drivers, police officers, road maintenance crews, radioing in a report right away to whoever controls the website and the electronic road signs, saying traffic is halted, alerting motorists and the media immediately so that the message can get out. Instead, we get backed up traffic like we did this morning, a backup that could have easily been avoided.

It's the same in winter. I don't know how many times we report information from the Drive B.C. site, when a motorist will phone in and ask us where we get our information because we've just said the Coke is good, and they're driving through a blizzard. It's unacceptable in this time of modern technology.

We need to do a better job of notifying motorists. Traffic backups may not seem too terribly bad, but try telling that to a family with two or three kids under three years old, waiting for hours to get through. In the winter, try telling a family who has gone off the road that you should have been able to update the conditions an hour earlier, but didn't. It's a situation that's easily resolved, and for the life of me, I can't understand why we have to put up with this crap year after year. Time to make some changes.

Credit Cards No Place for Tuition Fees

(Aired on August 18, 2010)

I got a nice e-mail this week from a fellow who wondered why more wasn't made of TRU's policy on students using credit cards to pay for tuition.  The viewer had a point, and his e-mail got me thinking.

The story followed a decision by Kwantlen to join a long list of institutions to stop offering credit card services.  In doing so, Kwantlen was going to save about $250,000 in fees.  TRU says it could save $750,000 in fees, but it won't reconsider because of how convenient it makes things for TRU students.

Credit cards certainly are convenient.  They allow you to buy things without actually paying for them.  It's something that a new university student would love to take advantage of, I'm sure.  But it's not a good habit to get into, especially for major, major expenses like university tuition.  Interest rates on most credit cards are through the roof, and most students don't have much sense of fiscal responsibility.

A better idea is to take advantage of Canada Student Loans.  Canada Student Loans are relatively easy to qualify for, and they are low interest.  I'm all in favour of encouraging more kids to sign up for post-secondary education and have the university experience.  But student loans represent far more responsible debt management than Visa or Mastercard.

For international students, some more latitude on credit cards is probably helpful.  For most Canadians though, credit cards are simply financial procrastination.  And Lord knows university students procrastinate enough.

No Planning on Port Mann Reconstruction

(Aired on August 17, 2010)

If you're looking for a nice place to visit, make sure it's not Vancouver.

Traffic congestion in Vancouver right now is about as bad as it's ever been, and rush hour traffic doesn't end. I went down a couple of times in the early summer, and found the usual hassles where they're building the new approaches to the Port Mann bridge. But when I went down last week, where before traffic started flowing again as you headed down the hill to go over the bridge, this time the construction and wall to wall traffic extended right down to 1st Avenue. Originally I thought that there might have been an accident, but no, it's the way it's apparently going to be for a while.

And if you were a tourist heading to see the sights of what is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, you probably wouldn't have had a very good impression. We don't do a very good job of providing alternate traffic routes when we do construction. It seems to be one of the low priorities when construction projects are assigned. We just sort of say OK we're doing this and the devil be damned. I understand the new Port Mann bridge will alleviate many traffic concerns when it's completed, but that's not until 2013, and to go through that hassle for the next 3 years at least is absolutely deplorable.

I don't understand why we don't get a handle on these problems and do them in such a way that projects are phased in, and one project is done before another is started. We knew there were traffic problems getting into Vancouver 20 years ago, but we've only just now started to deal with them. For those who don't know Vancouver well, I won't bore you with the details, but it's like the government just decided to do everything at once and damn the torpedoes. Planning seems to be a non-existent word in the government's vocabulary, and herein lies a perfect example. I'm just
thankful I don't have to make that trip very often.

RCMP Not the Root of Policing Problems

(Aired on August 16, 2010)

I think we need to have a long look before we make any hasty decisions about doing away with the RCMP in our province. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has been touring the province getting input on what to do about the police situation in B.C. The RCMP contract is coming up for renewal and there are many who seem to feel that a 20-year renewal of the contract is not in our best interests. But I say let's have a good look before we move into something that may seem better, but has a lot of potential for failure.

Some who are against renewal say there is no hope of getting confidence back in the RCMP, that the force's brass needs a major overhaul, and that it's time for a provincial force. They would point to a number of complaints against the police handling of cases, excessive force by members and so on. But those complaints would probably not diminish with a provincial force. There are lots of complaints against officers in the Vancouver police force, just as many issues surrounding the handling of crimes and criminals. Is the real problem not the force, but the overall way we handle policing in general in this country?

For every person upset with excessive force, there is at least one more who is upset that the police aren't tough enough on criminals. For every complaint against an RCMP officer, there is a story about what a great job they do.

My impression is that it's a case of the selection committee choosing appropriate officers as opposed to the force itself. And that's the problem with any police force. I don't agree with Stewart Philip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs very often, but I think he hit the nail on the head when he talked about the fact that some of these older veterans, who have an interest in establishing relationships, are retiring and some of the newer members don't have the same inclination. Relationships are big, and that's what needs to be fostered. If we don't do that, it doesn't matter what kind of police force we have. It won't work.

Sri Lankan Refugees Should be Processed, Welcomed

(Aired on August 13, 2010)

"Turn them around."  That's what some people are saying about the 490-or-so Tamils who arrived on our shores this week.  "You can't just show up in a ship and expect to be welcomed in Canada."

Well, it's a little more complicated than that.  In fact, you can just show up and expect to be welcomed - that's what being a refugee is all about.  A lot of Tamils are interested in getting out of Sri Lanka, especially since the end of the country's civil war last year.  The Tamil people are the minority, many of them are displaced within the country, and more claim they are oppressed by the majority ethnic group.

Whether or not they have legitimate refugee claims will have to be decided on a case-by-case basis.  As in most refugee cases, this won't be easy, and it is complicated by the fact that the Tamil Tigers are recognized as a terrorist organization by our government.  Each of the refugee claimants will have to be individually checked.

It's a sign of the times that the government is being so careful with the Tamil ship docked at CFB Esquimalt.  Not that it shouldn't be careful - it absolutely should.  But there was a time when security wasn't the number one concern.  There was a time when we would simply be proud that we have created a country that is the first one to come to mind for people throughout the world when they are in trouble.  It's like being the most reliable one in your group of friends.  It may be a lot of work, but it's pretty gratifying.

Reputable sources say Canada is home to the most Tamils in the world, outside of Sri Lanka itself.  Our multi-culturalism should still be a point of pride, and something we encourage and strongly protect - almost as strongly as we protect our borders.

Unlikely Liberals Influenced Elections BC

(Aired on August 12, 2010)

It was only a year and a half ago that Terry Lake was being touted as a poster boy for the Liberal Party. A bright man, with experience as Mayor of Kamloops, well-spoken, looked good, the kind of guy you might want to have eventually as a Premier of the Province. Now Terry might become a poster boy of another kind.

Now that the Anti-HST petition has been declared valid, and yet delayed at the hands of the Chief Elections Officer, Lake could well become the first recall target in the province. Anti-HST forces are upset that Elections B.C. is refusing to send the petition on to the government until legal action over the petition clears the court. That could be some time down the road. I'm not expert enough on constitutional law to know whether that's outside Elections B.C.'s mandate or not.

But while pro-HST forces are pleased with the decision, what it means is that there is now a bigger perception than ever that the government is influencing the decision. Whether they are or not is immaterial. Do you think anyone out there believes the government that they didn't have anything to do with the delay? What Elections B.C.'s move has done is to inflame the situation even more, and provide Anti-HST forces with even more ammo going forward.

And even if they aren't successful in forcing the recall of a single MLA, what they have accomplished is to stretch out the Anti-HST and anti-government sentiment in the province for a longer period of time. While the Liberals would dearly love to deal with the HST petition and get it out of the way, in order to have things quiet down before the next election, they've been stymied by yesterday's decision. And that's why, if you think about it, the Liberals likely had nothing to do with any decision by Elections B.C. yesterday. They would have much preferred, I believe, to get it to government, deal with it, and get it over with. Now, they're forced to wait even longer, taking us that much closer to May of 2013. Not an enviable position to be in.

MLA Lake in the Crosshairs

(Aired on August 11, 2010)

This is a pre-taped segment, so as much as I'd love to comment on the decision of elections BC with regards to the anti-HST petition, it's impossible.  The petition organizers seemed to make every effort to ensure that the petition would be valid.  And say what you want about the leaders of the campaign, but they aren't quacks or political neophytes.  They should know the process and what is required.

Having said that, it is entirely bizarre to me how this entire process has put one man in the crosshairs.  If the petition moves to the next stage, that will involve the parliamentary committee chaired by Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake.  The government will need to take the initiative seriously, and that committee will be tasked with determining how that's done.

But then there is the prospect of province-wide recall campaigns for MLAs.  If that is what the anti-HST organizers are up to next, the first MLA they target will no doubt be - drumroll please - Terry Lake.  Why?  Because not only did Lake win a close election in a riding that has plenty of NDP support, but he is a rookie at the provincial level.  Whatever happens, the man is going to be under pressure.

Lake has a sharp mind, and occasionally an even sharper tongue that can get him into trouble.  But he will be prepared for whatever happens, as he is someone with good political instincts and a lot of fight in him.  The only thing he shouldn't do is underestimate the fight in the anti-HST crowd.

Wait and See on Campbell's Future

(Aired on August 10, 2010)

I never get tired of reading and hearing political pundits, and seeing newspaper headlines about things you absolutely know will change. The latest series of headlines and stories concerns the political future of Gordon Campbell. "Campbell Down But Not Out," screams one headline, "Even a New Leader Won't Help Liberals Win Next Election" says another.

Now when you've seen as much news as I have over 40 years of headline watching, you know that this group of headlines is going to change. When it's going to change, I'm not sure, but it will change. Those speculating about the future of Gordon Campbell will soon find out that Gordon Campbell is going to come back. Will he come back strong enough to win the next election? Who knows. Will he give way to a new leader? Again, uncertain. But we know for sure that the election is far enough away that anything can happen between now and then.

There have been lots of elections where political leaders have been dead right up to election day, and they wind up winning. I can recall doing polls just before an election and find out election day that the polls are totally wrong. Politicians are fond of telling you that the only poll that matters is the one on election day. And in this case, they are right.

The news headlines you are seeing right now may well sell newspapers and have you watch more TV, but that's all they do. They are hardly the essence of reality, and a lot of water will cross under the bridge between now and May of 2013. To paraphrase a famous quotation from Mark Twain, the reports of Gordon Campbell's political death are greatly exaggerated.

Kamloops Up to Hosting 2015 Canada Winter Games

(Aired on August 9, 2010)

More than 20 years ago, and I hate to date myself that way, I watched as our city transformed itself from a sleepy little city to one that showed the world what our community spirit was all about. When the Canada Games Bid Selection Committee came to Kamloops in April of 1989, the city turned out in droves to welcome the bid committee. That accomplished two things - first of all it helped enormously in getting the bid for the '93 Games, and secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it was one of the major steps in showing the country, and indeed ourselves, that we had the volunteer spirit. Ever since then, we've been able to get tournaments and host events based on our volunteer spirit. People have said we have this tremendous volunteer base and it all started back in 1989, when we convinced ourselves we had the spirit to get this job done.

Tomorrow, we have an opportunity to do it all over again. I am convinced we are up to the task. But it's going to take a big effort. In 1989, school was in, schools were organized and came on board big time. School is out in August, people are away, so those who are here are going to have to attend the rallies downtown, on the North Shore and at Hillside Stadium. Rallies are at 10:30 at the Spirit Square in North Kamloops, St. Andrews on the Square downtown and at Interior Savings Centre. It wraps up with a barbecue at 11 AM at Hillside Stadium.

The economic benefits of getting the games are huge, some speculate as much as $90-million. But more importantly, it's a chance for our city to show that we still have that volunteer community spirit that has stood us in such great stead over the past 20 years. I hope that spirit is still alive and shows up tomorrow when our visitors stop in to see what we've got.

Decision on Further Pickton Prosecution the Right One

(Aired on August 6, 2010)

I hope to never know the agony and heartbreak that the victims of Robert Pickton have gone through. But I can empathize with the families of victims attributed to Pickton who will never get the results of a day in court. The Crown this week stayed charges against Pickton involving 20 murders.

This after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Pickton would not get a new trial on his second-degree murder charges in the trial of the six charges originally laid. The families of many of the victims are upset that the trials aren't going to go ahead. But the reality of it is that, as far as justice being served, it would be largely a waste of time and money.

I don't make that comment lightly. Closure in cases like this is important. But Pickton is already serving the maximum sentence imposed. It's highly unlikely he will ever see outside prison walls again. New convictions won't change anything. Most of these families know the evidence the Crown had against Pickton. They know everything. They only thing they don't have is a conviction in court. But surely justice as a whole is better served by having Crown prosecutors, police investigators and the justice system as a whole spend their time bringing other criminals to justice than by spending time on cases that will result in no change against the criminal charged. I think it makes only common sense.

We know how long it takes to get cases through the court. Would we really want to spend several months tying up the courts again, simply to have someone say Pickton is guilty of 20 more crimes than the six he's already been convicted of? I know this isn't what most of the families want. They want to see justice done in the case of their relative, not just the cases of others charged. But the Crown made the right call this week, sad to say.

Air Ambulance Idea Overdue

(Aired on August 5, 2010)

A new air ambulance service will soon be in place, dedicated to helping move seriously ill patients from rural areas to hospitals in larger centres. It's an idea whose time is long overdue.

The air ambulance service has been in place before, but not, perhaps, in such a dedicated way. The service announced late last month involves transporting patients by helicopter to larger hospitals like Royal Inland. While there will be no dedicated helicopters devoted specifically to this initiative, several companies contracted by the province will be able to provide the service. They'll transport paramedics to the accident site, allow the paramedics to provide treatment, then transport the patients if necessary to trauma centres for followup.

The only real criticism I have is the fact that the government is only going to try this out for 8 weeks. If it's effective, it will become a full time deal. But I wonder how you can honestly say two months is long enough. If the summer causes more cases because more accidents happen in the summer, will that give a false reading? Would we keep the service based on false numbers? Conversely, would we deny keeping the service because the next 8 weeks are relatively slow, with many gone outside the area for holidays. A minimum of six months for any type of study is about the least we should be putting in place for a fair assessment.

I can't see the cost being overly excessive. Let's face it, if we're contracting out these companies on a per-trip basis, it can't be that huge unless there are actual cases to deal with. Let's do the survey right, and make sure it's working or not working before we make a final decision. I think that's the least we can do. Otherwise we're just paying lip service to a very valuable aid in keeping people alive.

Lay Off Local RCMP on Police Shooting

(Aired on August 4, 2010)

I think people are perhaps being a little too hasty in condemning our local police for not releasing information yet regarding the shooting of a man in North Kamloops last Friday night. I've seen all sorts of comments from people asking me if we had a couple of cowboys shooting up the city, if the police were holding back because they were trying to hide things. We've had them all in the past few days.

But let's put things in perspective. This is a homicide investigation. Someone died. In any homicide, there's an investigation, and in many cases, information doesn't come out in any great detail for the first few days. Police are still looking for witnesses to interview. The pieces of the puzzle certainly aren't in place yet. And because police are involved, the situation becomes even more complicated. They want to make sure every base is covered before things are released.

And the fact is, an outside police team, including forensic investigators, have been called in to make sure the investigation is transparent. But let's get one thing clear - it's Calgary's investigation. They're the ones who are putting everything together, not the Kamloops detachment. Other than securing the scene the night of the shooting, local mounties have not been involved in this investigation. People who suggest the Calgary police shouldn't be doing the talking on this are wrong. The fact is, they are the ones who should be talking, if anyone is.

I think we have to be a bit patient here. Local police have done a lot to make themselves more transparent. It wasn't very long ago that they held a news conference to come right out and say that two officers had been charged with assault in separate incidents. They're trying to be open and honest. And I, for one, am prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. When all the facts are known and released, then let's make our judgments. It's a little early to be condemning them right now.

Graffiti on the Rise in Kamloops

(Aired on August 3, 2010)

The city’s graffiti problem is suddenly getting worse, and there doesn’t seem to be much going on to slow it down. Driving around the city recently, it was amazing to see how much the problem has increased in the past few months. We hear nothing from the city’s graffiti task force, whose leader, Gord Giles, passed away earlier this year. I don’t know if anyone has succeeded him yet, but the city has to get on this problem quickly. I assume from some of the places where graffiti is suddenly showing up that there must be some new taggers out there who have come to the fore.

Some of the graffiti isn’t the result of traditional taggers. It’s amateur writing that is just sprayed on by people bent on vandalism. I don’t know how you track these people down, but we have to find a way to do that. Graffiti is something that not only looks bad, it is perceived by many as a threat because, while it doesn’t amount to physical violence, it makes people uneasy about their safety, and they’re concerned when it happens in their neighbourhood.

One of the best defences against graffiti, of course, is to wipe it out and paint over it as soon as it happens. But if that isn’t done - and I don’t see much evidence that it is - then it’s like a snowball, and just grows and grows.

The city is the leader here. They have to be, because much of the problem appears on their property. They have to commit to getting rid of it, and they have to put resources in place to track down and prosecute the offenders.

People who perceive graffiti as a minor problem just don’t get it. Psychologically, both for the residents and for the attackers, it’s not good. For the residents, a sense of uneasiness, for the taggers, a sense of power that can often lead to more brazen and much more serious acts. If you get away with tagging, how long before you start stealing? There is a definite correlation. Mayor and Council need to take some initiative here. I understand tagging is more common in the summer, with the warm weather, but that doesn’t lessen the necessity for dealing with what is a very serious and expensive problem.

Air Quality "Good?" Are You Kidding?

(Aired on July 30, 2010)

It seems that there's nothing wrong with the equipment, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the people who work there either.  So something must be wrong with the Ministry of Environment's Air Quality Health Index. 

The index was at a 3 in Kamloops for most of the day today, on a scale of 1 to 10.  That means the index has determined the air quality in Kamloops is "good."  Yet in the time it took me to walk from my car in the parking lot to my desk inside the building, my eyes began burning.  Thankfully, I have a fairly robust respiratory system.  Others who don't are suffering today.

If you judged the air quality based on the index, though, you'd think it was all good.  People like me are in a good state of general health are told that this is "ideal air quality for outdoor activities."  And the at-risk population is encouraged to enjoy life in the great outdoors as usual.  Yet when you step outside, it looks like a cloudy day when there are no clouds, and it smells like an ashtray. 

So there is likely no one who is taking the Air Quality Health Index seriously.  If that's the case, the system needs to be revamped.  If it's not, the Air Quality Health Index will soon lose all credibility and rendered completely obsolete.

Education not Changing Driving Habits

(Aired on July 29, 2010)

They say education is the key to solving a lot of problems these days. But sometimes the best education is a good swift kick in the pants.

Despite all the education, people aren't getting the message when it comes to driving offences. A major intersection safety check yesterday at Summit and Columbia is a perfect example. The results were absolutely terrible. 19 people still haven't heard the educational message regarding seat belt use. 10 charged with texting while driving, 7 more talking on their cell. How much more education do we need to do on these things? 8 people were charged with blowing a yellow light, 13 charged, if you can believe it, for failing to stop at a red light. No wonder ICBC's bills are so high.

Do these people think they're driving in Vancouver? People seem to zone out when they're driving, and many are obviously totally oblivious to what's going on around them. My wife and son were almost wiped out the other night by some woman who turned left right in front of them because she obviously didn't see them coming. Fortunately, my son has quick reactions and avoided what would have been an extremely serious collision, because the woman was obviously trying to speed through the intersection and make the turn before my son got there. If he had been travelling even at the speed limit he wouldn't have been able to stop.

These kinds of intersection checks should be the order of the day until people start to get the message. I know they take resources, but surely having 20 people blow yellow or red lights is in itself justification for having these patrols. And let's raise the fines. I'm not sure how a figure of precisely $167 was arrived at for a fine, but how about upping it to $500? Maybe that will change a few people's thinking.

People are not invincible, and putting other peoples' lives at risk needs to be punished with something substantial. And let's take their licenses away for a year. I don't think running a red light is any less dangerous than drinking and driving. Keep the education. I think that's important. But we obviously need to do more. So let's ramp up the punishment too.

Cigarettes Still Causing Wildfires? Ridiculous!

(Aired on July 28, 2010)

There is some suggestion last night's Barnhartvale fire was started by a discarded cigarette.  If that's the case, it's utterly, mind-numbingly stupid. 

I'll be quite clear - as of the time I am recording this segment, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.  However, this much we know.  It started near a church on Todd Road.  There was no lightning in the area.  It started under cover of darkness.  And to top it off, RCMP this morning issued a stern warning for people not to discard cigarette butts.  Police encouraged witnesses to turn in violaters, and threatened to levy fines against people found to be responsible.  So it's not far from the realm of possibility that last night's chaos was caused by a simple act of carelessness and/or laziness.

Anyone who has lived in the BC Interior for any length of time should know by now that this is a no-no.  And if they haven't had it drilled into their by firefighting public relations types, it should be a matter of common sense. 

A spark from a train causing a fire is one thing.  It's not inexcusable, but at least in most cases - like last week on the Kamloops Indian Reserve - the railway takes responsibility and tries to make things right.  But a cigarette thrown out of a vehicle is pure negligence.  It's awful close to being malicious.  And the penalties for doing it are not nearly steep enough.

BCLC Self-Exclusion Program Toothless

(Aired on July 27, 2010)

B.C. Lottery Corporation has a self-exclusion program which is designed to keep problem gamblers out of casinos. Critics of the program say it doesn't work, and two lawsuits currently being initiated point out the problem.

One man is suing because he claims he was denied a lottery jackpot after signing up for the program. Yet he claims he was able to enter a casino over and over without being asked to leave. Another is suing because she says she was able to lose $330,000 over three years despite enrolling herself in the program.

The program doesn't seem to have much power to stop people from going into casinos. There is no way casino operators can identify those enrolled in the program. I suppose if a person is known to staff and known to be in the program, they should have some onus to keep that person out. But the details of the program are somewhat unclear. Interesting to note that when I went online this morning to get some background on the program, the BCLC site told me the page on the self-exclusion program was no longer available.

Perhaps we should look to other areas of the world where everyone who enters a casino has to show ID. If such ID were scanned, then those registered in the self-exclusion program could be flagged and asked to leave. Some would claim that's an invasion of privacy, and gives the government access to information on everyone who goes to a casino. There are some definite privacy issues involved in that scenario. But outside of that, I don't know what can be done to prevent people from gambling.

It's a serious problem, and needs to be addressed, but simply registering for a self-exclusion program that seems to have no teeth may provide false hope for people trying to deal with their addiction. But in reality, how much should BCLC be required to do? Let's face it, they can't be the police, and people have to take responsibility for their addictions and get help.

I guess the unfortunate part of these scenarios is that they thought they were getting it by signing up for this program, a program that really doesn't seem to offer much in the way of a solution at all.