The Boundary Sentinel welcomes thoughtful op-eds from people who live in, work in or have a meaningful connection to the Boundary region. This section is a place to examine local issues, share informed perspectives and contribute ideas about the future of our communities. The views expressed are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Boundary Sentinel.
Lee Parton could not read or write, but his daughter called him the smartest man she had ever known. Before he died in 2000, he told Dolly Parton that the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing she had ever done, and she treasured the compliment because she believed his illiteracy had prevented him from fulfilling some of his dreams.
As I read the news from Kyiv this week, I find myself thinking back 131 years to a very different Russia, and to a group of people whose story is particularly familiar here in the Boundary.
Climate change is exaggerated. Wildfires are caused by bad forest management. Scientists are ignoring natural climate cycles. Governments are using fire seasons to push an agenda.
As a constituent in the Federal riding of Kootenay – Columbia, I wanted to find out how the values and issues of my newly elected representative and his Party aligned with my own.
Recently, I sent a letter to Minister Michelle Mungall asking that subsidies to the fossil fuel sector be eliminated. Some time later, a letter from her office informed me that there are no subsidies – no public money is paid to the fossil fuel sector; but rather “targeted royalty programs”. With the announcement on March 22nd that LNG is back on the table and would include tax cuts and incentives, I drew a little flow chart.
We should not only applaud the City of Victoria for their recent call for climate accountability, but our local municipalities should join the chorus.
Accountability.
Local city councils in the Kootenays should follow the examples ofVictoria, Saanich and the District of the Highlands, who voted nearly unanimously to send a "Climate Accountability Letter" to 20 of the world's largest fossil fuel companies, asking the companies to pay their share of the municipality's climate costs.
Most of us don’t realize how valuable our car keys are until we lose them. With remote starters and built-in unlock systems, keys are not as simple or cheap as they used to be, with many owners paying hundreds of dollars in replacement fees.
The discussion around the recent wildfire-related off-road vehicle restrictions got me thinking about more than one temporary ban. It also brought out a lot of strong opinions about e-bikes, trail users and who belongs on our local trails.