Editor, The Record:

I have sympathy for those who have to report what politicians say, as it’s always the same old, same old. In this case it’s our mayor and MLA Randy Hawes who are doing the tango together as they try dancing all over the issue of our emergency ward. I really wish that they'd get new cue cards to read from as they aren't saying anything new with the result that it all looks suspiciously like spin doctoring as they shift the blame onto the messenger who, in this case, is Adrian Dix of the NDP.

But come on, for Mr. Hawes to complain about Mr. Dix playing politics with the issue of our emergency ward is absurd to the max. After what his own government said prior to the last election and then reversed itself on every front is the height of cynical political manipulation of the electorate.

I think our mayor should also think long and hard about how he was considered so irrelevant to the plans of the government and regional health boards that he wasn't even kept in the loop. If it wasn't for Mr. Dix releasing that document that is proving especially embarrassing to Mr. Hawes, the decision would have just been dropped out of the blue like a bombshell. Now Mr. Hawes likes to say that he prefers negotiating in private, but that's exactly the kind of thing which leads to charges of putting politics ahead of the people.

Do any of us really trust politicians to put people first anymore? No, and why should we when the evidence is so firmly stacked against all of them for all their blather about being just humble public servants. Most politicians are in it for the main chance, and that's the honest truth no matter how loudly they protest. So thank you, Mr. Dix, for exposing plans of the health board and government underfunding of our medical system, and the possible fate of our emergency room, even if there was an element of politics involved.

If our emergency room is saved — as it must be — much of the credit goes first to Mr. Dix for sounding the alarm. And credit should go to all those civic-minded people of all political parties who banded together in rallies to show support for the emergency room. Seeing everyone coming together to put maximum pressure on the government and its local representatives is proof that there are times when decisions cannot be simply left in the hands of those with more allegiance to their positions in government than to those who elected them. Power should be to the people and this is one issue that should remind of us all of that.

Our mayor can claim that supporters of the emergency room are playing politics, but the sad truth is that his opinions matter little to this government. Given his attempt at reading from a script that only parrots what Mr. Hawes and the Liberals wrote as they dove for cover in the face of a very angry united community, I suggest that Mr. Atebe distance himself from Mr. Hawes or he'll get painted with the same brush as people can tell a white wash when they see one.

Robert T. Rock

Mission