Letters to the Editor

Government knows my opinion

I had to laugh when I learned the Liberals waste taxpayers’ money to read newspaper articles or people’s Facebook and Twitter. This is government addressing issues based on people’s opinions. The Liberals know my opinion. PEI has a D rating for the delivery of health care yet Minister Doug Currie hasn’t released the report on mental health and addictions. I want students tested in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 12 for their reading ability and comprehension. This creates a problem because teachers couldn’t justify promoting students who can’t read or graduate students who can’t read at a Grade 12 level. The Liberals changed ...

Poverty is a root cause of illness

Poverty is a root cause of illness in our society. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the toll on the human body from living in a constant condition of poverty. This is particularly true for children where the persistent attack of toxic stress hormones, arising from poor living conditions, can have long lasting negative health consequences. Recent information from both the Canadian and American Medical Associations demonstrate the chronic erosion of health for those living in poverty. ...

Share your thoughts on PEI’s future

PEI has many land use issues that need to be addressed. Last August, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Wes Sheridan, appointed a five person task force on land use policy. The members are from different life experiences offering a balanced view of how the Island landscape should look in the future. Our mandate is to seek the views of Islanders on matters related to land use policy. The task force members have been meeting regularly and worked to develop a consensus on the issues of most importance to Islanders and future generations. At public meetings held across PEI in May, we heard ...

Dying for the sake of profit, so wrong on all levels

We need strong legislation in PEI in place to protect Islanders from the consolidation of land ownership in this tiny province. Repeated attacks on PEI’s Land Protections Act reveals a corporate lobby eager to divide up what is left of our family farms. However, conventional potato farming is becoming increasingly stagnant as markets for pesticide treated potatoes constrict. Anyone with good business sense would make efforts to explore other markets for crops. ...

It’s not just Duffy, it’s the Harper show

I would like to publicly thank Jack MacAndrew for restoring my faith in thinking mankind. I applaud the courage and veracity evident throughout his column of May 29, 2013 in The Graphic. The truth can often be unpleasant but must be acknowledged when the facts speak for themselves. It should be crystal clear to the people of our nation that the existing federal government has completely shattered the terms of their mandate, destroyed their own credibility and with their closed door policy regarding transparency, have created a sense atmosphere of scepticism and mistrust which enshrouds and permeates our government as a ...

Physically challenged don’t get same considerations

It’s been eight years since our son was in a car accident that left him a paraplegic and still little has changed in regards to accessibility to public buildings. Our son only lived a year after his accident but I know in the short time he was in a wheelchair he was forced to cope with a system that fell short of providing the basic needs for him and others. More parking spaces for handicapped people and those who can’t walk long distances are greatly needed. More respect for those spaces by able-bodied people is also needed. All of the public, whether physically ...

Reporter shouldn’t be hasty

I would like to respectfully comment on Melanie Jackson’s letter entitled “Let’s get down to brass tacks” published in The Eastern Graphic on May 29, 2013. In her (Space) Melanie attempts to lump provincial public service employees into the same “moral” mold as Senator Mike Duffy. She claims provincial employees take advantage of their positions by cheating on their mileage claims, leaving work early, and stealing pens, paper clips, and envelopes from work. To be clear, the union does not condone any such actions and any employees participating in such activities are clearly in the wrong. ...

Duffy’s Magic Hat

Senator Duffy doffed his magic hat, As if to thank the gods for where he sat. An editor of fame, of neutral hue, Tapped his hat and changed to Tory blue. Again he tapped his hat, all by himself, And the Senator for PEI became a Tory elf, Who wrongfully billed the Queen in whom we trust, For monies due because he claimed to live with us. Ninety thousand dollars worth of wrong, Would cause most elves to sing a ‘sorry’ song, But Duffy tapped his magic hat and Nigel Wright appeared As Santa Claus, with secret cash, To save the elf that stroked his beard. The elf set out to pay ...

Lobster value chain is badly broken

In my letter to The Graphic, May 15, 2013 my basic premise was that Island lobster fishers are not getting a fair return for their product. I further stated that bluff, deception, fear and greed were the main price drivers to drive down the price to lobster fishers and to drive up the profit margins for everyone else in the lobster value chain. I also referred to the belief that price-fixing may be occurring in the lobster industry. To any “reasonable person,” who is not a buyer or a processor in the industry, it simply does not square that every buyer and ...

That’s it, tax the most vulnerable

The current state of affairs on PEI reminds me of the popular quotation, “the only two certainties in life are death and taxes.” Lately it seems the amount of taxes has been outnumbering the amount of deaths here in our beautiful province but that could change with recent health care changes by Doug Currie. The Harmonized Sales Tax was praised heavily by Wes Sheridan and his Liberal allies. Often heard stating the HST would benefit all Islanders as businesses would pass savings to consumers, Sheridan then increased the small business tax rate. It is known that businesses are uncomfortable with the 3.5 ...

Eliminate pesticides - it’s the only sane thing to do

Editor, The season of poison begins this month in PEI. It’s also the season of fear, stress and even terror for Islanders who understand what it means to be exposed to toxic agricultural pesticides. Over the past 20 years I’ve had countless calls from scared and angry people during spray season, many too fearful to give their names. They want to tell me how their kids, their pets or their livestock were sickened after the potato sprayer dumped its poisonous load near their homes. They worry about ever-increasing levels of chemical fertilizer in their drinking water. There is no escaping it. Closing ...

Children learn values through their parents

I was a bit dismayed by Cailyn Bean’s Space last week entitled “Give Children Time to Learn.” It would appear, at least by my calculations, that the intrepid reporter takes issue with parents bequeathing the values they hold dear onto their children, the upcoming generation who will one day be in charge of governing this great nation of ours. Ms Bean overtly expresses her “shock” at the sight of a small child (a gift from God) showing her support for the unborn. If Ms Bean finds this beautiful photo shocking, I wonder what her reaction would be to the dozens of ...

If possible buy directly from the fishermen

Dear Editor, Our provincial government’s response to the lobster price crisis is so predictable. (Guardian, May 16, 2013: Panel to examine lobster industry) Hold a high-level meeting, preferably with folk from off-Island Hire a few well-placed individuals to do yet another ‘study’ of the situation, of which the document will doubtless sit on the shelf with all the others. And go crying to the federal government for some money to throw at the situation. Come on. Our provincial government can surely do better than that. ...

Opinion was judgemental and insulting

It is with great interest that I read Cailyn Bean’s Space in The Graphic on May 15, 2013. I would like to address this issue from a life and death perspective, simply, because the intentional taking of a life cannot be the choice of a man or woman arbitrarily. I agree no one should be judged for their decisions unless that decision involves the death of another human being. Then there should be consequences involved that discourage or eliminate (not by death) that person from killing again. We have been following the story of the butcher abortionist in Pennsylvania, and quite frankly ...

Islanders just want basic health care they can depend on

Stealthily, government announced changes to hospital access which would permanently alter citizen and community life on PEI. The consequences of government’s rejection of Islandwide Hospital Access include: injuring the health of some Islanders, reinforcing the prejudices of rural discrimination, devastating selected rural areas, and pushing PEI down a road that has bankruptcy and unwanted Maritime Union as its consequence. With no elected or regional community voice for hospitals, communities had to organize and respond quickly, thus Islandwide Hospital Access formed across PEI to create issue awareness and resolution. Islandwide Hospital Access is not pursuing heart surgery or cosmetic surgery in rural areas, ...

Income tax breaks constitution

Dear Editor, Those people wanting to protest against the unlawful federal income tax should not do it by withholding the income tax return. The income tax return started life as a requirement of Stats Canada. This form was a questionnaire to inform the government of the incomes of Canadian citizens, and by a law has to be sent to the government. However the Canada Revenue Agency took it over as a tax document, but it is required to send it in by law. You may have noticed most of the charges against people the agency claims owe money, are not charged with ...

It’s time someone took responsibility

It is time for the Liberals and College of Physicians and Surgeons to apologize for not taking action regarding the number of over prescribed prescriptions for opiates and narcotics. PEI Health Minister Doug Currie has admitted the College Of Physicians and Surgeons has the authority to suspend doctors, dentists and pharmacists for over-prescribing drugs. The question remains why hasn’t it taken action against those who are overprescribing addictive medications? The second question is why aren’t the Liberals enacting a provincial ombudsman to investigate the misuse instead of government inspectors. The Liberals have reneged on election promises made nearly six years ago to ...

First responders need to be heard

In light of recent concerns of some rural fire departments discontinuing their role as medical first responders, no fire department has said anything about “Quitting.” What some fire departments have said is that they are concerned about EMS response times while other fire departments have said they may re-examine the role they play as medical first responders within PEI’s emergency medical services system. ...

The real issue is response time

A few negative comments regarding firefighting and medical first responders have come to the forefront in your newspaper over the past few weeks. Cardigan Fire Department’s response on April 24th in the website “Visitors Response Column” answers any questions people in rural areas may have about firefighting or as a first responder. People in our jurisdiction need to be assured we will be there ASAP when the need arises, as we have been in the past. Recent publications have stated we will stop acting in this role as first responders if the government doesn’t reverse the changes. (Page #3, Eastern Graphic, April 24, ...

Death by a thousand cuts

The great political problem in our modern democracy is how to induce our leaders to lead. Islanders can gaze from our national scene in Ottawa to our provincial picture in Charlottetown and observe substantial and repetitive evidence that both our prime minister and premier have lost touch with “ordinary people.” This lack of democratic leadership is especially true in the relationship with ordinary people in rural Canada and most especially with ordinary people in rural Prince Edward Island. When you govern democratically communication is open, ongoing, and honest. And ordinary people need to trust this communication process. This established trust requires ...

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