Wanna complain? Don’t vote

Editor:

If you haven’t already heard or seen that old canard, you will — perhaps in this very paper: “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.”  

As is the case with many beliefs that are too easily accepted, the opposite is true.

If you vote, you are giving your personal stamp of approval not only to a candidate or party but also to the process by which the government is formed. By participating in the process, you voluntarily become part of it and have already accepted the results of that process as legitimate even before you know what they are.  So, when it turns out that the “new” government displeases you (which is nearly inevitable), you’ve no grounds for complaint. You accepted the process.

On the other hand, if you reject the process by refusing to vote, you are free to complain. Unlike those who put their faith in the ballot box, you have reserved that right. Furthermore, by not voting you have rejected the ridiculous and potentially evil notion that the popularity of a notion makes that notion legitimate. (Don’t forget that Hitler’s Nazi party received considerable democratic support in 1930s Germany.)

Those of you who refrain from voting on principle already know that you’re doing the right thing. Those of you who don’t vote due to apathy or laziness can now take comfort in the knowledge that, at the very least, you are protecting your right to complain.

Not sure what to do? It’s simple: don’t vote.

Brad Reddekopp

Hazelton

When are the public hearings?

Editor:

I would like to respond to letter from the Ministry of Environment in last week’s The Interior News.

 The letter states that the steelhead fishery is a small component of the nine million dollar sports fishery and yet many businesses in this area generate 40 per cent of their yearly revenue during steelhead season.

 The letter states that the criteria for a resident angler was that they must have not held either an AG or AAG (angling guide or assistant angling guide) licence in the 2007/2007 licence year. In fact, one of the members of the central working group as a resident angler representative worked as guide in 2007 and is currently guiding right now. A resident angler representative in the east working group is also currently working as a guide. This was pointed out to the Regional Committee but no action was taken.

 The letter suggests looking for information on the Quality Waters website but this has not been updated in many months and contains outdated information.

The draft recommendations which were presented to the Ministry of Environment in June have still not been shared with the community.

When does the Ministry plan to let us know when the public hearings will be?

Jane Matthews

Telkwa

Mallory’s lingo isn’t cool

Editor:

Re: Brenda Mallory’s Lingo not cool, The Interior News, Sept. 24:

Cicero famously complained of moral decline among the youth of the Roman Empire. He felt their lack of values was leading to the collapse of the Roman Empire. It did indeed collapse, almost five centuries after the death of Cicero in 43 B.C. This didn’t mean he was especially prescient, since the Empire more than doubled in size and power from Cicero’s time to its height in the second and third centuries A.D., thanks to the Julius Caesar, Augustus, and others. Cicero was a better grumpy old man than oracle and I suspect that the youth of his day, if they were wise, which youth inevitably seem to be, just ignored him and his rants.

Understanding seems to be in short supply in modern North America-Canada-Smithers and the only unfortunate thing is that you have a venue to post your limited experiences with youth, which once again shows that much modern media is one-sided and simplistic. Relying on the formulaic and cheap method of drawing reaaders’ attention to society’s maladies (while avoiding of course the positives) was surely discredited in the past century by the Germans, Japanese, Italians, and all others who attempted to present the complex and multifaceted aspects of humanity in cut and dried categories so as to influence people.

Such behavior says more about the limited, egotistical perspectives of the “grumpy old men” than the real stage of relations and language usage.

Language is, after all, a tool and you would do well to use it to communicate with your fellow earthlings in person than sit in your shack and regail the reader about the good old days (when you were young and the world was rosy).

J. Edwards

Smithers

Telkwa not courting Wal-Mart

Editor:

Telkwa is not courting Wal-Mart as stated in The Interior News. One individual through a letter to Council, has taken it upon themselves to suggest that Telkwa would greatly benefit if a Wal-Mart store located here. The Village of Telkwa Council has had discussions around the Council table about Wal-Mart but Council has not had contact with Wal-Mart to invite them to consider having an outlet here. Wal-Mart will not receive special consideration during the review of the Telkwa Official Community Plan(OCP) which will commence in 2009. During the OCP Review the people of our community will have an opportunity to put forward their ideas on what they would like the community to look like. This will include input into what sorts of developments should be permitted and where they should be located in the community. Developments like big box stores may be considered then just as developments for other shopping areas, new residential areas, multi-family residential areas etc… would be considered.

Telkwa Council did not make a motion to amend the OCP to allow the retailer (Wal-Mart) to be located in Telkwa as reported by The Interior News.

The Interior News reported that we currently do not have the water treatment capabilities for further development. The issue is a lack of water storage capacity. An expansion of water storage capacity is needed for future development to occur.

Brenda Donas

Councillor, Village of Telkwa

Editor’s note: The Interior News stands behind the factual information contained in the article about the actual meeting and not Councillor Donaas’ interpretation of events or the article.