Since Castlegar will not be undergoing any direct federal electoral boundary change, the Electoral Boundaries Commission should have scheduled meetings for Nelson and Trail that will see changes if its proposal goes unchallenged (Site of electoral boundaries meeting irks local politicians, Trail Times September 19).
Provincially, Salmo, Nelson and Kootenay Lake communities are under a separate boundary from Castlegar and Trail. The only thing wrong with the proposed federal boundary change is that it has incorrectly placed Montrose, Fruitvale and Area A with Nelson instead of Trail.
Surely, that’s not hard to change.
To respond to Alex Atamanenko’s tongue-lashing, I might remind him that I am one of his constituents. Even if we don’t share the same political leanings, he must admit that I am not the one seeking elected office. I have nothing to gain.
I don’t think a federal Liberal has ever been elected in this riding, at least not in recent memory. So why’s Alex all in a lather? If this how an MP behaves in Opposition, how arrogant would he be if his party ever garnered power over all Canadians?
Frankly, whatever political party one identifies with, its leader should be pan Canadian. In other words it should not punish one province, Alberta, because it is an energy producer just to satisfy getting votes in Quebec. That goes for federal Liberals as well.
This week, Liberal Stephan Dion was the only MP who had the courage of his convictions when he stated that the Quebec legislature should fly both the Quebec and Canadian flags in the National Assembly.
The others, like NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, skirted the question entirely. The fact that most of his Quebec caucus is made up of former separatists has nothing to do with it, I guess.
Having a sitting member in government is not pork barrelling. He or she might be better able to network to get those applications moving forward. Notwithstanding the hard work former Reform/Alliance MP Jim Gouk continues to do for Castlegar.
Heck, until very recently, Alex didn’t even know that we recycle e-waste at the smelter. But he knows a lot about genetically modified seeds. Maybe Mulcair will give him the industrial critic’s portfolio. That would be a positive step forward for our community.
Rose Calderon
Trail