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Soap Box Forum
January 22, 2002
THE EMPEROR HAS NO ARMOR
"When trust is gone, the system cannot work" This quote from
Prime Minster Chretien a few years ago was very prophetic. He has lost the trust of the
majority of the Canadian public and his government has lost control of its system. He
remains in power only because Canadians have not found a credible alternative.
A good example of how he lost our trust is when, for purely political
reasons, he decided to restrict the rights of all Canadians by introducing Bill C-68
claiming that his gun registration legislation is all about public safety. We now know he
really doesn’t believe that because he has given these rights to foreign visitors.
Foreigners don’t register their firearms here or anywhere else when they enter
Canada. They are not required to pass safe handling examinations as we do. They are not
subject to criminal records checks as we are. They are not asked personal marital
questions but we are. Foreigners are not required to obtain a transportation permit for
restricted firearms. Aliens may possess prohibited firearms in Canada but we cannot.
If you think that the number of firearms arriving in Canada by foreign
visitors is insignificant, think again. In only the 1st ten months of 2001 your
government has allowed alien visitors to bring 89,820 unregistered firearms into Canada.
They have no idea if these firearms are still in Canada and don’t seem to care. They
have allowed 693 restricted firearms into the country without the transportation
authorizations that you and I must obtain. They allowed aliens to bring in 357 prohibited
firearms, something that Canadians cannot do. Although these numbers might seem inflated
they come directly from government records. If a Canadian does any of these things we are
criminals in the eyes of the Canadian judicial system. It seems the Prime Minister trusts
all aliens but not Canadians. If there is any logic here I’ve missed it.
I don’t think Chretien really believes that the average Canadian
cannot be trusted but I do think he prostituted himself for some small political advantage
that has long since vanished. The Prime Minister and his Justice Ministers have sold the
public and law enforcement agencies a bill of goods. The firearms enforcement problems for
our police agencies were almost non-existent before Bill C-68 but are now a major concern
for police managers. Firearms registration issues now consume a significant amount of
limited resources and therefore restrict the police in their traditional roll as our
personal protectors. We were told that firearms registration is all about public safety;
unfortunately we feel no safer and are convinced we are being used. If the system was
working we could ask the Auditor General or the Ethics Commissioner to investigate on our
behalf, but as Chretien has said, "When trust is gone, the system cannot work".
The idea that a violent crime will be prevented because a nameless
public servant has a serial number recorded is a cruel joke. Each time the Justice Minster
tells us our $800,000,000.00 has been well spent on this dysfunctional program and then
asks for another hundred million to try again to fix it, we trust them a little less.
Maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe Chretien and his Ministers are trustworthy and serve our
best interests. But then again, maybe they are just plain stupid.
In the old fable that most of us remember, a young boy stated the
obvious when he said "The Emperor Has No Clothes". Chretien wears Bill C-68 like
a suit of armor. Like the young boy in the fable, we now know our Emperor has no armor.
Aubrey G. White
January 23, 2001
LITERACY is defined by the IALS (International Adult Literacy Survey,
1994) as "using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve
one’s goals and to develop one’s knowledge and potential".
As adults we want to be able to do all of those and as parents we would
wish our children to be able to strive for those same goals. Literacy is important,
therefore, to the individual but also to the economy and to society (affects health,
justice and safety).
Literacy means more than the basic ability to read and write; it
requires different skills to understand and use information in a variety of reading
materials.
Adults with low literacy skills often have difficulty reading
instructions on how to use a new piece of equipment at work, decoding labels on hazardous
waste containers, reading software manuals or following instructions on a medicine bottle.
More than 40% of working age people in BC have a hard time with everyday demands of
reading, writing and math like these. That may mean they have trouble finding and keeping
jobs.
Those adults may also have difficulty reading to their children, hence
the concept of family literacy and its value at home and in the community.
Family literacy focuses on parent and child and assumes that improving
literacy skills of parents results in better educational experiences for them and their
children.
If anyone would like more information on literacy issues they can call the Literacy BC
at 1-800-663-1293 or Pat Buckland (250) 498-8433.
You can contact us by mail: Desert Connections, RR-2
Site-1 Comp-34, Osoyoos, BC, V0H 1V0 or email: [email protected]
Note: These pages may be viewed by all family members and we will edit their
content accordingly. Also, the opinions expressed, may or may not be our views.
- Desert Sun Publishing B.C.
- RR-2 Site-1 Comp-34
- Osoyoos, B.C.
- V0H 1V0
email [email protected]
Desert Sun Publishing B.C.
Copyright � 2002 Desert Sun Publishing B.C. All rights reserved.
Revised: December 04, 2002 02:06 AM.
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