Church shelter closure angers reader
Sir: I am angered and appalled at the hardline position of certain Sarnia council members regarding the plight of River City Vineyard church in its desire to provide sanctuary and shelter to our city's homeless.
In relentlessly pursuing this issue, these bureaucrats are demonstrating that under the guise of a "planning approach" they in fact are going down an immoral path. How can these "planners" be truly trusted to develop any plans on our behalf when their moral compass operates in a field devoid of comprehending doing what is right? Their judgment is certainly bad. Instead of safeguarding our monetary resources, a responsibility that they are absolutely entrusted with, they chose to fight the wrong battle, squandering valuable tax dollars in legal costs.
I am a proud Canadian and this country is renowned and admired for its generosity and tolerance in accepting others, particularly those misfortunates requiring our compassion and support.
These homeless people are right here. They are people on whom fortune has not smiled anywhere near the levels enjoyed by most of us, and certainly not up to the levels and security enjoyed by our civic leaders. Would they even survive if ordered out of their cozy shelters to manage on the street?
The church asks nothing of us - no extra funds, no extra time of taxpayers, just that we let it do what it has the capability and compelling responsibility for, in the name of compassion and conscience we all should relate to.
Please, council, stop wasting hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars. Let the church keep its shelter. Go back and ask Justice Carey to belay his closure order, or whatever else that must be done, even passing a new resolution in the shelter's favour, whatever! It's your job to fix this, for the sake of decency and doing what is right.
Amar Goraya
Bright’s Grove
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‘Fair Elections Act’ anything but
Sir: The Sarnia-Lambton Federal Liberal Association maintains a continuing commitment to the critical importance of citizen and third party scrutiny of our political process. While we accept that each party can have different platforms and strategies for achieving various goals, we also realize that every party must share the responsibility for openness and for ensuring that everything we do is within a fair and healthy democratic process.
We are therefore dismayed that the Fair Election Act (Bill C-23) has severe implications for actually reducing both fairness and scrutiny. In a country where often half of our citizens don't vote, the Bill forbids Elections Canada from carrying out programs encouraging people to exercise that right. While concerns are still unanswered about fraudulent “robocalls,” this Bill means that the Commissioner of Elections no longer has the power to properly investigate electoral infractions, compel testimony or enforce compliance. And, it is nothing short of shameful that many people, especially the marginalized, will not be able to vote if they lack the option of voucher support. 120,000 Canadians voted with this option in the last election.
When countless Canadians and hundreds of scholars from across Canada and the Commonwealth decry this Bill as being clearly detrimental to a healthy democracy, we of the Sarnia-Lambton Federal Association are open and responsive to their voices. We simply cannot support legislation that undermines the very heart of the democratic process itself.
Eileen Viola
President, SLFLA
Sarnia
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Animal rights and burgers don’t mix
Sir: I picked up my first copy of The Journal yesterday. I want to personally congratulate the staff. I support local news, local business and our community.
However, I would feel amiss if I did not point out the largest contradiction I've seen in a newspaper.
On the left side of your cover page the article is about ending animal abuse, and how animals should be equal to humans.
But the right side shows an image of a three-patty hamburger, encouraging animal death and over consumption.
This makes no sense.
Cassandra Nordell-MacLean
Sarnia
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Joe protesters miss the mark
Sir: Joe the cat is not a person. The attack on this animal was reprehensible but does not equate to assaulting a human.
Where are all these protesters when a rape or child abuse hearing is taking place?
I hope every last Joe protester is a vegetarian, because those millions of animals harvested in our food industry go through far worse than woeful Joe.
PS: Congratulations on launching an excellent newspaper.
R.G. Grant
Sarnia