‘Criminalizing’ practice
Dear Editor:
The news that Student Resource Officers (SROs) are being removed in schools across this province was news I welcomed.
The province has responded to the evidence that these positions, while described as opportunities for relationship building with students, in practice, disproportionately criminalize youth of colour. Practices that result in a school-to-prison pipeline for racialized students, however unintentional, must be stopped.
Yet, conflict and violence in schools must be effectively prevented and addressed.
Kids can’t learn when they don’t feel safe and teachers deserve to feel safe at work. Educational institutions have the option to utilize restorative justice practices to prevent and respond to conflict, discrimination and other forms of harm. Many boards have already been doing this for years with success.
Restorative justice is designed to foster more meaningful accountability than punitive measure can deliver. These practitioners, using a victim-centred framework, have tools and skills to foster accountability-building and support reparations where possible.
The police can always be called in cases of requiring an emergency response, but the majority of conflict and harm in schools can be addressed in ways that teach our kids about responsibility, respect and their duty to their school community to make things right.
As many high schools and post-secondary intuitions across Canada are moving in this direction, my hope is our local school boards will seize this opportunity to follow suit.
Kate Crozier,
Belwood
Termite problem
Dear Editor:
Residents have been raising a red flag about the serious problem of termites in Centre Wellington for many years.
So why does the extent of this problem come as a surprise to Centre Wellington council?
The Elora and Fergus Termite Surveys Report was recently presented to the council, showing that there are almost 500 properties with either termite activity, or within foraging reach, and the surrounding buffer zone that should be monitored.
Homeowners have even come forward to state that while their homes are shown as “no termite activity found during this survey” – they in fact do have active termites.
It needs to be said that this problem is actually worse than it appears and cannot be ignored any longer.
I urge all residents to reach out to your councillors and to Mayor Kelly Linton to let them know that this is a concern to you.
Tammy Rutherford,
Elora
Free pantry
Dear Editor:
I wanted to take a moment to share with our community that we have installed a Little Free Pantry in front of our home at 200 Tait Crescent in Fergus.
The Little Free Pantry is about neighbours helping neighbours. It’s a grassroots, community-driven response to promote food security in our neigbourhoods. The guiding principle of this project is “take what you need, give what you can.” The Little Free Pantry is stocked with shelf-stable food products and personal hygiene items available to anyone who may need them, day or night. If you, or someone you know is in need, please don’t hesitate to stop by our pantry.
Our pantry is part of the 519 Community Collective Free Pantry Project which is in the process of installing 17 pantry locations across Waterloo Region, Guelph, and Centre Wellington.
Stacey Bird,
Fergus
Too many ‘buts’
Dear Editor:
Most of us are pretty much fed up with COVID-19, and just as much with those people who refuse to get vaccinated! Reasons vary from taking away freedom of choice, freedom of association and, of course, freedom of religion. Others say it is, believe it or not, a worldwide governmental conspiracy designed to implant all citizens with a nanochip for whatever reason.
Then there are others who claim the vaccine doesn’t work anyway, and will cause all kinds of adverse side-effects. We know of the blood clotting possibility of one in anywhere from sixty to a hundred thousand, but now there are rumours of it causing hair loss among seniors! Oh dear! Lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and quarantine all work. The problem is those people not following the measures only expedite its spread, and allow the virus to flourish.
All these skeptics will latch on to whatever holds their fancy. The medical truth is vaccines work. The tuberculosis vaccine, the polio vaccine, the influenza vaccine, the malaria vaccine, and yes the COVID vaccine – they all work!
There must be other factors involved in these skeptics’ resistance, and personally I believe the media is playing a huge role in this. Every report on whatever channel you watch, or every news report you read, contain some element of “but.” Vaccines work, “but there is the possibility of another shortage.” COVID numbers are dropping, “but ICU hospital beds are near capacity.” Cases in retirement and nursing homes are few, “but younger people are now the primary focus.” We’re getting a handle on COVID, “but new variants come along that current vaccines may not be able to handle.” Vaccine effectiveness is over 80 to 95%π, “but even after the vaccine, individuals may still get COVID.”
If our message is to reach as many people as possible, these statements do not help. All they do is to sensationalize the negative, playing right into the hands of these skeptics. If we hope to outlive this pandemic, we have got to act in unison, with all elements of communication pointing in the positive direction.
Look media, stop the proliferation of “buts,” put aside your need for sensationalism with your scenarios of doom and get on with the primary responsibility of us all; eliminating this disease with measures that work.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill from his historic Battle of Britain address, we cannot allow the “few” to dictate the lives of the “many.” My apologies, Mr. Churchill, no buts about it!
Ron Johnson,
Mount Forest
No plan for turtles?
Dear Editor:
The excitement in Hillsburgh this week has been the migration of snapping turtles from the lower to upper millpond. This year, more than before, the migration has been cause for concern as snapping turtles have struggled to navigate the new bridge and dam system completed last September. Several turtles have been stuck facing a large eight foot wall separating them from their migration path and nesting grounds on the north and west sides of the pond. I personally witnessed one snapping turtle launch herself down a three foot drop from the edge of the bridge to the rocks below. Luckily she survived and made it into the water.
In response to concerns from the public, a hastily constructed ramp has been erected. Nearby residents are assisting the turtles to head up the ramp and into the water. While it is a testament to the goodness of our townsfolk to see this display of support for Hillsburgh’s oldest residents, the question remains why the bridge was built without a plan in place for these reptiles?
Certainly the town and county knew about the migration of these turtles as turtle crossing signs flank the bridge. So why no culvert to ensure turtles can cross without human intervention?
For those concerned about the inadequacy of other environmental assessments performed in the area, this does not bode well. Environmental planning must be a first concern, otherwise we may end up in a situation where no amount of scrap wood can save us and our non-human neighbours.
Joanna Mullen,
Hillsburgh
Change needed soon
Dear Editor:
We need to stop using polluting sources of energy very soon – as soon as we can replace it with clean energy.
It cannot happen tomorrow but if we made this change soon, we could avoid the inescapable destruction of the planet. So many times people who hear that we need to stop using polluting energy sources, get frightened and make the conclusion that we will be left in the cold and dark if we move toward clean energy. This is an assumption made out of fear.
We are in the kind of denial that we see in addicts, because we are addicted: to oil, to plastics, to trinkets and gadgets that give us a few moments of pleasure and then enter the stream of billions of tons of waste humans create every year. All of this consumption demands more and more dirty energy and creates more greenhouse gas.
Because of this crisis, each year, more jurisdictions around the world are putting a price on carbon-cutting greenhouse gas emissions without curbing economic growth. Six Places Where Carbon Pricing is Working, puts the spotlight on the successes of BC, the northeastern United States, Sweden, the UK, Tokyo and the European Union, according to Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission.
Even big oil admits that we need to go in a better direction.
Are we in so much denial that we can’t accept that we need to stand up and show our kids that we want to end the cycle of “slash and burn” that we have ignored in the oil industry and big business? Do not be afraid to change!
Gerry Walsh,
Erin
‘We should be worried’
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘Unfounded’ fear, May 20.
It’s true, Mr. Brunsveld does not convince me to not worry about the climate crisis. There are many more highly respected scientists and other experts who indeed say we should be very worried about the climate crisis, than there are who say we should carry on as usual and ignore what is happening around the world.
Even big oil is pulling support from the oil sands, and more and more organizations are divesting from fossil fuel stocks.
Ron Moore,
Hillsburgh
‘Cheap shot’
Dear Editor:
I too was shocked to find that paid parking had been installed at the new Trailside Medical Centre in Aboyne. My question is , how did they manage to get that under the radar? Nobody seemed to see that coming.
Are the people concerned so totally out of touch with things, or are they just so arrogant that they think they can get away with it? It has long been declared, by all the groups and citizens of Fergus that have given funding towards the Hospital that they wanted parking for medical services to be free. It is not rocket science to understand that this would also include doctors’ offices and the lab, services which had previously been free.
These individuals must know it is wrong, but they have thrust their bottom feeding ideas upon the sick and the frail knowing it will be difficult to fight back.
I wonder if council or the hospital administration department knew anything about this and do they intend to do anything about this dysfunctional cheap shot?
I had previously written, before the new hospital opened, that the infrastructure for “paid parking” had been installed at the new hospital and that people concerned should be put on notice that it would be unacceptable to continue with it; but now, here we are anyway.
Someone has applied “the thin end of the wedge” and it won’t be long before it is pushed in further. It is time to stand up and let our voices be heard, before the whole situation gets out of hand.
Malcolm McCulloch,
Fergus
‘Poor planning’
Dear Editor:
My husband and I have had to visit the Trailside Medical facility several times in the past month for a total of $21.
We are only one couple, so you can imagine what they take in each day. I had to get out of my car to insert the ticket and could only pay by credit card. Not very happy with this set up. I can’t imagine what it will be like during the winter. Very poor planning!
Judy Haddad,
Elora
Nuclear a clean option
Dear Editor:
Reading letters last week on nuclear waste storage really makes me wonder how engineers could be so inconsiderate to design unsafe abominations like the “Toxic waste forever” letters imply. Of course they don’t.
As a consulting engineer I have worked for decades in heavy industries and in my humble (maybe biased) view, engineers are foremost excellent environment ambassadors. Their profession requires them to protect people, with the safety of the public being mandated as job number one. When I first looked at a Nuclear Waste Storage Facility I was most struck with how little there actually is. Popular depiction paints it as massive! Of course the containment structures are properly designed for x-life and even missile attack so they are ultra-safe. How do virtually indestructible containments leak into groundwater? Our Candu reactors are old technology – think of clunky cellphones of the 90’s – but yet they have safely produced more than 60% of Ontario’s energy needs for decades. However, we now have smart phones and similarly we are developing smarter nuclear power plants. New SMR technologies in nuclear design are compact, efficient and are fail safe (ie – Isaac Newton’s gravity shuts them down).
If you believe the dire global situation we are in, then nuclear power production development has to be of primary interest. That is why provincial governments and (finally) even the feds have signed on to their rapid development. Nuclear is the largest-scale energy in Ontario that produces zero C02.
Some technologies are looking at utilizing some of the current unused energy remaining in waste uranium. Irrespective, we must “wise up,” stop whining on with old out-of-date Homer Simpson ideas and realize that nuclear energy is not an enemy but a potential strong ally in cleaning up our world.
Mike Hall,
Wellington County
What of Palestinians?
Dear Editor:
A few weeks ago, I asked MP Michael Chong if his concern for the Uyghurs in China extended to oppressed Muslims elsewhere.
I am surprised how quickly I got my answer. Last week, the Liberals and Tories refused to even support a call for a ceasefire in Israel (a mere token gesture). In spite of the number of Palestinians killed and Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, your fearless leader, O’Toole, threw his full support behind the Israeli occupiers.
My anger goes out particularly to O’Toole himself. My mother always said any true Irishman was always on the side of the underdog. We have a name for the O’Tooles, Mulroneys, and Reagans of the world, but discretion keeps me from putting it to paper. As for you, Mr. Chong, you are a hypocrite.
T. Patrick Doyle,
Guelph/Eramosa