Letters, Sept. 17: No place for partisan politicians in today's world
Credit to Author: Stephen Snelgrove| Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 01:00:07 +0000
What kind of world do we want for our children, and how are we going to achieve it? These are questions that partisan politicians, who care only about winning, will never answer.
Partisan politicians will, depending on time or circumstance, oppose what they have done, or do what they have opposed, simply to gain votes in the moment. Parties in opposition will misrepresent good policy and attack it. Parties in power will implement short-sighted policy that yields no benefits for future generations.
To move forward, we need integrity, empathy, and foresight, from all our politicians. To cast a truly informed vote, we need to know the present and future consequences of their decisions. Unfortunately, attack ads and popular short-term policy deflects us even further from solutions to problems that continue to plague society.
Graeme Gardiner, Sidney
It is time to reconsider the spraying of glyphosate in city parks and along its greenways given that it is known to cause Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among other major health problems, including damage to the mitochondria and microbiome.
I have experienced multiple pesticide poisonings in Vancouver, and spend a lot of time in city parks. My glyphosate levels tested in the 98th percentile.
Everyone is exposed to glyphosate due to its widespread use in our foods, in our parks, and along our freeways.
A visit to the website of law firm Baum Hedlund Aristei Goldman outlines health effects and the ongoing court cases against Monsanto/Bayer, who have so far been ordered to pay over $2 billion for the first few cases of glyphosate causing Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
With Vancouver wishing to become the greenest city in the world, it is time to reconsider how pesticides affect people’s health and use alternate methods.
Jennifer Kroepfl, Vancouver
Kris Sims’ editorial completely ignores the challenges facing auto insurers across Canada, including those with private insurance models.
For Alberta, Sims curiously failed to mention the latest news that the cap limiting rate increases to a maximum of five per cent per year has just been eliminated. The consensus is that rates in Alberta are about to soar.
Or what about in New Brunswick — another private insurance market — where the media this week reported private insurers applying for rate increases of up to 50 per cent? Or Ontario — again, a private market — where that province’s finance minister recently stated that “Ontario’s auto insurance system is broken”?
By comparison, public auto insurance systems in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are largely thriving and producing the most stable rates across Canada — seeing either low or zero increases each year.
Government and ICBC will continue to focus on making sure auto insurance rates become more affordable for British Columbians and that they get the care they need if they are injured in a crash.
Nicolas Jimenez, president and CEO of ICBC
I feel that the taxi industry is getting what they deserve.
A few months back, my son needed a taxi ride home. He was only a 15-minute drive from home, but it took him over an hour to finally get a ride. The cabbies all wanted cash or they wouldn’t drive him home. Finally, he had to lie to get a ride.
The taxi industry is angry that people now have a choice. How many times have we heard that they were not willing to take fares that were too far away? Or they left people stranded?
Maybe had they been responsible drivers in the first place, people would not be looking elsewhere for rides.
Brenda Huber, Surrey
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