There has been controversy over widening the Stanley Park causeway probably since it was first built to funnel traffic to the Lions Gate Bridge. Since I can remember, there has been outcry – but public and governmental – that basically concerns itself with the loss of trees from Stanley Park. I consider myself to be concerned with the environmental issues of this region, but I just cannot understand why we must whine and bemoan the loss of only around 50 trees in order to widen the causeway from from 2.9 to 3.5 meters (which would significantly aid traffic flow and increase safety). Everyone seems terribly concerned with the loss of these trees – yet I don’t hardly ever hear complaints about the disappearing trees on the North Shore mountains. I haven’t lived all that long, and have been cognizant of housing issues in West and North Vancouver only in the past few years. Even in this time period – I have noticed that the altitude to which the housing on the mountains has risen to is starting to destroy the view that Vancouverites brag about. This goes for Port Coquitlam as well. I hardly think that the lost of a few trees and the highly subjective “lessening” of the beauty of Stanley Park can compare to the malignant-like spread of housing development up the skyline of the North Shore.
Another thing that has been bothering me lately is the handling of the fast ferries in BC. If you don’t know anything about this – 1) take the most irresponsible scenario you can think of concerning a government building faster ferries – 2) double the intensity of the incompetence of your scenario. To list all the infractions and truly stupid events concerning the building of these ships – well SFU only gives me 50 megs of webspace – and even that is truly inadequate to even list (much less discuss) all the incompetence concerning these floating disaster areas.
I don’t understand the outcry concerning the possibility of government aid to Canadian NHL teams either. At first I thought – HEY! – shouldn’t we be spending this on the already troubled health care system? How many industries that are both poorly, and well run have been given government aid in order to help them? I can only imagine the Billions that have been given to help companies in Canada. IF you consider that there is a federal minister of a ministry called “Canadian Heritage that gives money to crappy artists, musicians, and other things deemed to fall under the Heritage/Cultural category. I just have to think that something as Canadian as Hockey would be more important than other things that money is indiscriminately thrown at under the guise of “Heritage”.
Lets say that the 6:00 news runs two stories at the beginning of their broadcast. The first is about the terrible abuse suffered by a young child at the hand of its “parents”. The second is about the neglect of a dog in the Fraser Valley. Lets say that both stories are followed by soliciting of public money to help those afflicted by such terrible circumstances. I will bet that there will be response to the abused child, as there certainly should be. I will also bet that the amount of sympathetic response to the dog story will be much more rigorous, and that financial donations will exceed that of the abused child. What is wrong here? The outcry that I hear concerning abuse of animals is certainly justified, but I don’t think that it is warranted considering the virtual ignorance that those people often have towards child abuse. I don’t see this as having our priorities straight, but maybe thats just me.