Proposed tax changes
Many of you have already formed opinions about the proposed federal tax changes. This letter is not meant to sway you. If you are interested in another point of view regarding these, visit my facebook page.
What I am writing to tell all of you today, is that there is something you can do if you feel these changes are ill-conceived.
Certainly, signing petitions might be useful, and writing letters to your MPs may also be helpful (all their email addresses can be found online, send your letter to all of them). I would suggest “tactical use of petitions”. The Liberals hold 183 seats in Parliament.
Eighty of these seats are in Ontario, forty are in Quebec.
There are 153 seats held by other parties. It is conceivable that if 16 Liberal MPs were convinced that they could dissent against their party and still keep their jobs, then a non-confidence vote could occur at the next Parliamentary vote, could lead the Liberals to either raise another leader as PM, or the country would go to general election.
But, you won’t find those Liberals in Alberta. You must put word out to the people you know in Ontario, and maybe Quebec. Let them know that they should look for petitions addressed to their MPs, and sign them. If the petitions don’t exist, they should start them, and address them to the targeted MP’s email.
The petitions should state “we will acknowledge your courage and moral fibre in voting against your leader, you will be worthy of re-election”. The only well-known petition web site I know is change*org. This is our one chance to make the greatest impact on what the government enacts regarding this concern.
Dr. John Julyan-Gudgeon, Red Deer
Civic election
Wow what a relief, I was worried that a candidate in the next election was running to increase crime, waste and taxes.
Apparently they are all concerned about the current issue of crime.
I understand that our Crime Severity Index is the second highest in Canada, second only to Grande Prairie. But what about the root causes of these crimes?
Isolation issues. Red Deer has maintained an unequal distribution of schools and recreational facilities in a north/south matrix.
North of the river,where 30 per cent of the population lives they have just the one recreational facility, the Dawe Centre, initially constructed in the 1970s and there are no plans to build another. While south of the river there are 10 recreational facilities.
This may not seem related but 60 per cent of facilty users use the Collicutt Center, which is in the south east corner of the city. A person or family living in the north west may not have the time or can afford the long commute across the city. Isolation from peers is an issue.
Schools. There are no high schools, now and there are no plans for any high schools to be built, north of the river.
Teenagers need to commute to their high schools for classes, sports and other extra-curricular activities. Isolation from their peers and idle hands need to be addressed.
Over the campaign period, I will ask questions. Issues cannot be addressed only in isolation.
I look at crime not only in punitive measures but in preventive measures. The discussion may seem disjointed but in each way contribute to increased crime. Any parent can tell you what would happen if only some of your children can do something or go somewhere with their friends. Just widen the scope.
Garfield Marks, Red Deer