LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- April 15, 2008
To the Similkameen News Leader Editor;
It is with some hesitation that I respond to the vitriolic anti-park letter of March 24
('Letters to the Editor' Mary Nash), but I object to being called a 'knee-jerk reactor' for signing the pro-park petition.
I, together with many others who signed the petition, have been through a LOT of information about the park, pro and con and neutral. I, together with many others who signed the petition, have talked to a wide range of people about the proposed park, pro and con and neutral, and in particular have heard the concerns of those who feel they might be disadvantaged.
I've been to Community Meetings and Information Meetings, and have heard a wide range of opinions about the park. I've learned that those who support the park outnumber those opposed by two-to-one, including in the Similkameen Valley. I've read the information from Parks Canada in an effort to understand what they are trying to accomplish with their feasibility study, and have learned that it is what they say it is, a feasibility study. I've also learned that they are bending over backwards to make sure it is unbiased, contrary to what Mary Nash's letter suggests. I've done my best to understand the concerns of First Nations, and have tried to assess how well Parks Canada can meet those concerns.
Putting all that together I, together with many others who signed the petition, have decided that, on balance, the park would be a good thing to have. In fact, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I think that's quite an effort for someone who is just a local resident, someone who has lived in the area long enough to have the third generation well underway, someone who has seen how things are changing, and is very worried about the future of the valley.
Knee-jerk reactor? I'll resist the temptation to ask which of us best fits that description - the idea of a National Park here is too big and too important to let the discussion be sidetracked into name-calling. What's needed is good information. The best I've seen so far is the recent newsletter put out by Parks Canada
'Update and Frequently Asked Questions' in which many of the difficult questions are addressed. I'm told it is available at the library, and it summarizes several years of study and discussion in this area.
Parks Canada should make this newsletter more readily available. They could also do better in handling the important requirement of grazing tenures. Apart from that, my assessment of Parks Canada is that they are doing a really good job in a very complex situation.
- Chris Purton, Farleigh Lake
To The Editor;
I am a happy woman as I write this. All my concerns about a National Park have been answered. All the dreams that I have had - well, almost all - will come true. (Perhaps nothing can ever be totally perfect. But this is going to be a win-win situation).
If you want to check me out as I state my views, please do so. Get hold of a copy of the recent publication from Parks Canada. It's called
'Update and Frequently Asked Questions.'
We can keep the airport. (I was about to say 'our airport' but of course it is used by us all thanks to the Penticton Indian Band. I hope they feel it is a good thing.) I feel guilty when I fly - only to see family, now - because of the Big Bootprint I am making in the sky. (yes, that's pretty mixed, isn't it). And helicopters will still be there to save lives and assist in identifying wildfires and for Search and Rescue. They do make a great deal of noise above my little home - but I know they are needed.
And the heritage ranches will still be there. I know nothing about ranching in B.C., but I do know ranchers in southern Alberta - and they care ardently for their land. Perhaps the next generation will not ranch - but then the land will still be protected - in a park.
No, there will not be a greater risk of wildfires. In fact, fires should be less.
That's one thing we can trust Parks Canada to do - manage fire. Their record is good.
But think of the pluses. No ATVs. No one can deny that they tear up the land and make destructive trails which keep getting wider and deeper. No snowmobiles! The grass will have a chance to grow in our Grasslands park. The trees won't be damaged. We may see the Burrowing Owl again. What a thrill that would be. I remember once seeing a group gather near where we were camping. I expect they were using holes that snakes had once inhabited. I'll always remember those charming little faces, and hear the lisping voices.
We should see repair happening in the Riparian areas. There should be growth there that attracts birds and animals - who leave a much lighter footprint than we do. And if we still need answers to questions or doubts, we can pick up The National Park Reserve Feasibility study in a library or in a band Office. Then we can all draw our own conclusions on what is best for the future of those children and grandchildren.
- Dodi Morrison, Penticton
Editor,
Futurizing, and the Commander-In -Chief for Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.
Senator McCain - Bush's ghost - still fighting the Viet Nam war will not become US President even with Senator Lieberman as his personal care giver.
Senator Clinton will not become US President but return to and become a necessary formidable force in the US Senate.
Senator Obama as US President will inherit the Bush nightmare legacy and the electorate will expect the impossible from him.
Serious examination of the flaws in the congressional form of a government that allowed the Bush dictatorship and gridlock that betrayed the trust and will of it's people and caused untold suffering and destruction to others in the world is critical. Is our Canadian parliamentary system far more superior?
The U.S.A. as foreign occupier as in Korea, Japan, Germany and it's proxy Israel will cease to be an occupier and force in Iraq only when it is bankrupt.
Afghanistan, Bin Laden's terrorist base and NATO's Canadians have been marginalized as it has no oil but a robust drug economy. Curious as to how much of it hits the Canadian market?
Saudi Arabia which finances and produces terrorists but has an overabundance of oil, in contrast is a great Bush friend and enjoys American protection. We Canadians sure pay for it at the gas pump.
The Bush strategy for a future attack against Iran for his Iraq failures has caused overall regional commander Adm. Fallon to resign. The trump card in the middle east is China and to a lesser degree Russia. Both with vital interests in Iran. China's bankrolling of the US Iraq invasion could come to an abrupt end.
China, which has made phenomenal advances onto the world's free market stage is still in transition and requires patience or the world could become it's patient.
China's immense effort in staging the Olympics should be respected and if humiliated and boycotted by the events in Tibet could have devastating world economic and social consequences. This includes you, me and the kids. We certainly will not be left out.
- Joe Schwarz, Princeton
