Letters to the editor

A8

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4 Comment(s)

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase obscures the facts by dismissing the Council of Canadians as being influenced by CUPE.

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The Council of Canadians is proud to work in solidarity with labour groups like CUPE, but our mandate and almost all our funding comes from our own membership comprised of individuals from across the country and from all walks of life who are concerned with social justice and environmental issues.

We also work with a number of other organizations to promote campaigns that defend the public interest.

Local governments in Canada provide some of the best public services in the world. We are fighting to maintain and improve them through public solutions that empower communities.

Private-public-partnerships allow private corporations to make profits from basic services through long-term contracts that bind municipal governments to arrangements that protect private revenues. These deals typically result in rate hikes, the slashing of a highly trained workforce and the elimination of measures that protect the environment. This is why Hamilton, Ont., took water services back into public hands in 2004 after disastrous experiences with private sector involvement.

We acknowledge that there are many people in Canada who don't have access to the excellent water and wastewater services enjoyed by the majority and recognize the need for bottled water in emergency situations. However, the long-term solution is to ensure that all Canadians have equal access to safe, clean drinking water through strong public services. Maintaining a situation where some are forced to purchase bottled water is not acceptable.

MEERA KARUNANANTHAN

National Water Campaigner, Council of Canadians

Columnist right about Simms Corner

I am writing today to say thank you, Herb Duncan. Your comments and background work for your recent article on Simms Corner were right on. I, along with the Saint John West Business Association, have advocated a roundabout traffic circle for Simms Corner for the past five years. As your article stated, most jurisdictions are now using "traffic circles" in lieu of lighted intersections because they are safe and less intrusive to the motoring public because of the "drive right only" factor.

In another recent article Paul Groody of the City of Saint John was seeking $3 million from the province to proceed with the next phase of the Simms Corner reconstruction. Let us hope and pray that the province doesn't come through with the funding; if a lighted intersection is the result, let us leave well enough alone.

The Terran Group presented several concepts for Simms Corner and one was a Traffic Circle that it claimed was the safest of all the options.

As the citizens that use this intersection will attest, it has very few incidents and people respect each other as they enter or approach Simms Corner. The citizens spoke at various meetings that were held and a majority want a traffic circle. It is time for the city to listen to the citizens and the statistics indicating an ever-increasing use of traffic circles.

Therefore, let's join our collective voices and support a traffic circle for Simms Corner once and for all.

BLAINE HARRIS

Saint John West

Hospital's water tasted terrible

Recently I had two stents put in an artery at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Everything went fine except for the terrible water that is served there.

I have had diarrhea as a result of having to drink the swamp water to take my meds. Why can a health facility be allowed to serve such trash? What does the Health department have to say?

I wonder if this is why so many people have illnesses in this province? It can't be good for a person to drink water like that.

JOYCE McELWAIN

Temperance Vale

Proposed deal appears unfair

A critical weakness of the deal proposed by Shawn Graham for the sale of NB Power is the absence of any conceptually coherent basis for the future setting of electricity rates.

The deal starts off by giving heavily favoured treatment to industrial customers, contrary to normal rate-setting principles, implying some kind of cost link for industrial customers back to Hydro-Québec's cost of generation within Quebec. At the same time no such link is made for residential or commercial customers, who merely get a short-term freeze on current rates that is unconnected to costs.

How, therefore, does one establish a cost base going forward, such that the regulator can determine a fair price for different classes of customer? What is the basis of regulation, and can it legally oblige disclosure of Quebec costs?

With Hydro-Québec controlling both sides of longer-term future power purchase transactions by NB Power, it will be easy to manipulate prices, thereby controlling NB Power's inflation. Just controlling the fraction short-term purchases versus long-term purchases allows effective price manipulation. And if industry must curry favour with Hydro-Québec to get a deal on energy prices, which province will be seeing the most future employment benefits?

Hydro-Québec has a history of sharp dealing: ask any Newfoundlander. One is much better protected in any negotiation if one is truly dedicated to fairness, rather than trying to get a "real deal." This proposed deal appears unfair and quite questionably conceived.

NEIL MacLEAN

Saint John

First Nation should own dam

I would like to comment on the Tobique Dam located within our homeland (Skegineweekog). The dam located within our homeland means the dam and power belongs to our people.

I base my claim on two common law principles. One states that when one party to a contract reneges on the agreement, that renders the contract null and void.

The other principle states that possession is 99 per cent of the law. The party in possession of the property which is in dispute has the law on his side until such time as the other party legally proves otherwise.

Promises were made to our people by white negotiators in order to convince our people to agree to a dam within our homeland. Some of the promises made were: free electric power for our community forever, that the salmon, our major source of food, income and employment, would not be negatively impacted and that our people would receive fair monetary compensation for the loss of our land. None of these promises was honoured.

The Tobique Dam sits on Indian land. Coupling the two law principles with promises never kept means that our people are owed compensation amounting in the millions of dollars - compensation for the theft of land, the loss of resources, the loss of our food fishery and our salmon income and the loss from the reneged-on promises.

No resident of Tobique should be made to pay for electric power coming from our dam. It is our land, dam and power.

DAN ENNIS

Perth-Andover

Dialysis units are sitting idle

This letter is to bring attention that five expensive, life-saving hemodialysis units sit idle in our Waterville hospital four days a week, despite the fact this service was promised to us prior to construction of our new hospital which opened in November 2007.

My mother began a weekly commute of more than 1,200 kilometres from Woodstock to Saint John last week for her four-hour treatments.

It pains me to see the discomfort she is in on this treacherous drive. Dialysis treatment leaves patients completely drained and totally exhausted.

I feel that the government of this province is treating my mother as a second-class citizen for making her complete this journey on a regular basis, considering we have the same equipment sitting idle 10 minutes away!

Winter is rapidly approaching, complete with hazardous road conditions.

Dialysis appointments must be kept - regardless of weather conditions - three times a week, 52 weeks a year. This is a matter of life and death.

Kidney disease affects many more New Brunswickers than those who are on the waiting list for local treatment. Thus far, the many pleas from kidney patients have fallen on deaf ears. No response from government. Nothing, except for a phone call from David Alward.

I'm not asking for new equipment or a new department or wing to be constructed. I'm only asking that funding be put in place to operate the equipment we have three additional afternoons a week to alleviate a terrible hardship placed upon those in a compromised condition.

KELLY ATHERTON

Woodstock