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Editorial
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Written by production
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 17:00 |
The peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan keeps costing Canadian soldiers their lives and the nation wonders what will happen to that country when the troops go home, pondering the pros and cons of what it costs to stay and what it means to leave. In Haiti an earthquake has left untold thousands devastated and rebuilding the infrastructure looks like it will be one of the biggest challenges in humanitarianism the world has ever seen. In Chili another earthquake has destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes with a toll of human life in the hundreds.
Every day in Canada there seems to be another story of violence ending in horror and death.
People still suffer from this ‘economic downturn’, trying to solve monetary problems by earning even more debt. In fact Canadians may have the biggest debt load of any people in the free world.
Yet what are our recent headlines focussing on? Changing the shape of hot-dogs and rewording the national anthem? Hmmm... Did we miss something here?
It seems studies have shown the shape of the hot-dog is dangerous to kids who tend to choke on them. Okay. We can buy that. So why don’t parents cut them into smaller pieces? Or yell across the playground in the good old-fashioned embarrassment provoking way; “hey, if you keep eating like a hog, you’re going to choke’, similar to other out-of-date phrases like ‘if you keep that up your face is going to freeze that way’ or ‘do you want me to wash your mouth out with soap?’.
Where has common sense gone?
In speaking to a group of 13-year-olds, some suggested we make the hot-dog into a donut shape - easier to dip into the mustard, maybe. Another suggested a square. Still another suggested the shape stay the same but it just be made way bigger so kids could hit one another with them.
Gosh, sounds like the musings of any governmental focus group, doesn’t it? Perhaps the kids who were polled should get paid for their input. Nahhh... Since most of them thought we were having them on and the whole thing was just ridiculous anyway. Wonder why they thought that?
As for the national anthem, when did ‘in all thy sons command’ become insulting?
Most Canadians spent the last weeks in an Olympic stupor, proudly listening to this anthem as athlete after athlete proved his or her metal and made us all proud. Many Canadians found themselves singing the anthem along while it played, over and over again, on the television. Many felt a shiver tingle their spine and many shared moments of patriotism with their families, all under the Maple Leaf with the anthem playing.
And now they want to change it?
Why? Because this week we celebrate women and somehow changing the anthem is supposed to honour that celebration.
Perhaps easily accessible daycare that is affordable would be a better way to celebrate women. Perhaps ensuring equality in employment opportunities, something which has come a long way yet still has a long way to go, would be a good way to celebrate. Perhaps focussing on women’s health issues would be a likely way to celebrate the day.
Or, better yet, perhaps trying to find a way to aid women in Afghanistan, Haiti and Chili would be a better way to spend our time rather than musing on the shape of hot-dogs and a lyric in our anthem.
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Local Content -
Editorial
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Written by production
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 18:09 |
Editorial
For the past couple of weeks, many Canadians have been glued to their television, watching the events of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. To some, the Games are merely a diversion from watching regular TV shows; but for others, the Olympics give one an opportunity to watch sporting events that they would not otherwise be exposed to.
To have the Olympics right in your background makes the event all the more significant. From the opening ceremony to the passing of the torch to the next host country, patriotic Canadians watched and supported their athletes. What happened with these Games and the spectators has been almost as spectacular as the games themselves.
People who were fortunate enough to be in Vancouver to take in some of the events, were eager to show their enthusiasm not only for the Olympic Games and athletes, but also for their country.
Chants of the national anthem broke out at random moments at events and throughout the streets of Vancouver and Whistler. Watching all the spirit from home only heightened the same emotions from those who could not be there.
How did all of this sudden patriotism emerge so brilliantly from coast to coast? It may have been the nationwide torch relay that zig-zagged across Canada, including virtually every community and making the whole event a more personal one for viewers. It could be it was just because Canada was fortunate enough to host the Olympics again, an honour this country has had only three times now and likely will not host again for decades to come.
Despite a bumpy start, including the tragic death of Georgian luge racer, Nodar Kumaritashvli, glitches during the opening ceremony, and unseasonably warm weather during the first week of competition, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics can be heralded as a huge success, especially for Canadian athletes who were able to bring in more gold medals than ever before. At 14 gold medals, and a total of 26, it was by far the best medal haul in Canadian winter Olympic history.
Watching freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau win Canada's first gold medal ever on home turf and then, valiantly embrace his brother was one of many memorable moments during the games.
Of course, the mot anticipated event of the entire Winter Games, was the gold medal final in men's hockey. The two powerhouse teams could not have provided better entertainment for hockey fans across the nation. The nailbiter moment when the U.S. scored the tying goal at the end of the third period was enough to suck the breath right out of a die-hard fan. The one thing nobody wanted to see was an overtime period in the game, but that is exactly what happened and it kept viewers on the edge of their seats until Sidney Crosby got the puck past U.S. goalie phenom, Ryan Miller.
The arena, the streets and the nation erupted in cheers of pride and celebration.
As the Olympic Games drew to a close later Sunday evening, there was a sense of regret that it all had to end so soon. Well, the Games may be over, but the patriotism in this country can carry on like never before.
What seemed to be hidden somewhere below the surface, the Olympics gave Canadians the opportunity to express their pride in their country and in some way, it seemed to create a stronger sense of unity amongst us. And, that is one thing that should never be extinguished.
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Editorial
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Written by production
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Wednesday, 24 February 2010 20:29 |
While provincial governments in Canada seem to have the best of intention in reducing the price citizens pay for generic drugs by cutting the percentage the companies can make you pay, there may be an unwanted side effect because of the legislated changes.
First, most locals are aware that the Alberta government has put the cart before the horse, so to speak, by announcing cuts without having a concrete plan in place to reimburse pharmacies for the many other services they provide, thereby ensuring these businesses thrive. The problem, if not solved, will devastate rural pharmacies.
However, another problem may be the disappearance of many generic drugs. Already some pharmacists are reporting that some generic drugs are hard, if not impossible, to find. Doctors are being forced to prescribe other drugs in their place. Whether this is because generic companies have been forced to slice their profit margins remains to be seen, however it may be one of the issues they are facing.
Another issue is brand name drug companies are forming subsidiary generic companies which take over producing the brand drug once the patent on it expires. This is basically like a top-end car manufacturer also producing a less expensive brand of its own product.
The outcome of this is obvious, even to those of us who are not among the Donald Trump’s of this world. If, in time, the only company making these drugs are actually one and the same, then they will have a stranglehold on the product and, eventually, be able to charge whatever they like.
This is bound to have a detrimental effect on our health care budgets.
Most seniors know they are encouraged by companies like Blue Cross to purchase generic drugs whenever they can. This saves governments hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. If one or two companies wind up with a stranglehold on all drugs and can, therefor, set whatever price they like, those savings will be gone quicker than ice cream cake at a five-year old’s birthday party.
Our government needs to be in close communication with representatives from both rural and urban pharmacies so it can foresee and, hopefully, avoid some of these future pratfalls.
All of us want to pay less for generic drugs, but first not at the expense of rural pharmacies, and second not if the eventual outcome means there is no more fair competition in the marketplace because, should that happen, we will all lose in the end and the skyrocketing health budget will continue it’s upward spiral. |
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Editorial
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Written by production
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Wednesday, 17 February 2010 18:43 |
With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games well under way, questions have arisen about
whether the benefits of hosting the global sporting event will out-weigh the costs of constructing the infrastructure to actually have the capacity to have them in our backyard.
Last Sunday, the Poverty Olympics were held in Vancouver, which was actually a protest decrying the six-billion dollar, three week long competition that will have the eyes of the world on Vancouver.
Twelve anti-Olympic groups converged on the city's infamous Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's most deprived neighborhoods that is noted for drug use and high crime rates.
The group staged a mock Olympic Games, complete with a mock opening ceremony, mascots, and distributed fake tickets.
The group said high rents have led to the eviction of residents from their meager living facilities. They said the $6-billion could have paid for 12,720 social housing units.
A cost-benefit analysis, completed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, suggested the Olympic Games in Vancouver would be a financial nightmare for the city. The evaluation looked at how society would gain and lose from Vancouver hosting the event. The study, completed in 2003 and long before the economic meltdown, concluded that the Games would not be attractive from a financial point of view and could not be justified based on the estimated economic impacts that would ensue. Even though there was plenty of outcry even back in 2003, the Vancouver, British Columbia, and federal governments forged ahead with their bid.
The costs have skyrocketed since 2003. The cost for security, for example, was budgeted at $175 million. That pricetag is now estimated to be about $1-billion. Despite the economic crisis hitting the pocketbooks hard everywhere else, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson continues to insist they are right on track with the Olympic budget. Right. How can it be given the economic turmoil of the times and ongoing rising costs? Paint the Games rosy, but most people are well aware that the costs have well exceeded the revenues and once the event is over and done and the income tallied, the proof will be on the books.
A recent poll of residents in metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky corridor suggest that many are ambivalent about the Winter Olympics. About 63 percent of those polled, expect the Games to run a deficit. Has there been an Olympic Games venue in recent history that has not?
As well, 83 percent believe the Games are planned to benefit the elite members of society. That is not bad assumption considering the price of tickets to watch a game, never mind the number of local low-income residents who lost their housing to make way for the event.
As the Games get underway and the world watches as elite athletes compete for the gold, many in Vancouver are wondering how it will be paid for. Montreal just finished paying for their 1976 Olympic Games. As much of the world is getting a peek at the brand-new infrastructure to accommodate these athletes and the thousands of spectators from around the world, those in the Downtown Eastside will be too busy to watch. They are looking for a new place to live.
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Editorial
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Written by production
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:28 |
The annual volunteer appreciation dinners will be taking place this upcoming weekend, in Foremost Friday night and Bow Island Saturday where local volunteers will be honoured with an evening set aside to recognize their contributions to the communities they serve. The truth is many programs would not exist at all if it were not for volunteers.
They fill many positions that would remain empty if not for them, from coaching youth sports teams to driving senior citizens to appointments and from setting up a room for a function to handing out hampers at the food bank, they are everywhere, keeping busy by acting on their ideals, helping the community be a better place.
According to a recent study, the average wage to pay someone to do the jobs volunteers do is about $20 per hour. You can just imagine how many programs would not exist if they had to have that kind of money available to them in order to get someone to do the work necessary to make them run.
There are economic development groups, people who visit the sick at the hospital and those who help out at various health centres doing jobs that would tie up the professionals for hours otherwise. They lead 4-H clubs. They run not for profit organizations. They sit on committees to beautify their towns or to welcome new neighbours or to organization festivals.
These people care, and it is a good thing to recognize them and their continued support of the communities they are a part of and make better through their hard work.
It is hard to imagine what these communities would look like without volunteers. Certainly many many programs would go by the wayside and rural Alberta would lose much of the characteristics that make it a special and wonderful place to live and raise children.
If you are a volunteer, remember to get your ticket for one of these dinners. They are free, but you must reserve your space prior to the event. |
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