Letters to the editor

A4

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Two years ago we complained to the province that the speed along Rothesay Road was too fast and should be lowered. They put a measuring device near our house for a week.

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According to that study, the average speed at our corner was 78 kilometres/hour. Eighteen kilometres over the speed limit was not significant enough to require change, the official wrote.

The study week was interesting. Regulars soon remembered the sign and slowed to a reasonable limit. It was good practice for them to slow down for future school bus encounters.

The other thing we noticed was the sound. It was amazing how much quieter the traffic was when people drove slower. Perhaps it will take a horrific accident before there is change, as is the case in so many communities.

Rothesay Road has also become more dangerous for cyclists since the installation of a high curb.

Many cities I have been in with beautiful stretches of road like this have made them assets to their communities, slowing traffic down and making roads safe places to cycle and run while enjoying the view and the breeze off the water.

Rothesay Road and the view of the river define Rothesay, as does the Common and Spy Glass Hill. These are the jewels in Rothesay's crown. A little polishing and they could truly gleam.

The town of Rothesay needs to take responsibility for this road, lower the speed limit, install more lights and make it a safe place for all community members to traverse.

MARY COLLIER FLEET

Rothesay

The importance of donating blood

Over the past six weeks, my father has been seriously ill and spent much time in the Saint John Regional Hospital. Besides receiving wonderful treatment from Dr. Morse and the staff on 3D South, he also needed 11 units of blood to bring up his own blood to where it should be.

While he was receiving his blood, he went from gravely ill to being able to laugh again. It came to me that if ordinary everyday people did not donate that blood, my father would not have been able to get better and come home to us.

After this realization, I went to the Canadian Red Cross and donated my own blood, which I plan to continue to do regularly. The procedure was painless, the nurses and staff were absolutely wonderful and very appreciative of the gift of life I just gave to someone else. One of the nurses even told me that just one pint of my blood can help three people!

Please take an hour out of your day or evening and donate blood. You never know when you or someone very dear to your heart will need it, and even if it is a stranger who needs it, it's one of the nicest gifts ever received.

Thank you to all who donate, thank you for making it possible to bring my dad back home.

MINDY STOLTZ

Rothesay

Canadians don't elect their leaders

In "Latitudes, attitudes and the tale of two elections" (Sept. 4), Marty Klinkenberg laments that our leadership candidates pale in comparison to those in the United States. But he mixes up apples and oranges in so far as the U.S. and Canadian elections are concerned.

U.S. presidents are elected while Canadian prime ministers are not. Canadians elect a slate of MPs instead and leadership is only one factor in our elections.

Candidates for the Canadian Parliament go door-to-door in an effort to get the vote out for their party.

If they succeed, their leader will be appointed prime minister.

LARRY FYFFE

Saint John

Not for Harper to decide election

There are some concerns among some academics that if Prime Minister Harper calls an election, they may go to court to challenge its legality.

Professor Errol Mendes feels that the law should be upheld. Some have said that there is no basis.

As far as I am concerned, it is not for Harper to decide whether the House of Commons has confidence in his government, it is the decision of the House of Commons.

If an early election is called as expected and we go to the polls, he may find himself removed as leader if he fails.

It is time Canadians speak up and save this country from the Harper agenda, which Canadians feel is a copy of the Bush administration.

Where are the moral ethics of our elected members? They are only there for the money, not for our democratic rights.

Our elected members are not communicating with the people; shortly the people will communicate with them and remove them from office.

What Canada needs is a grass roots movement, like in the U.S. with Obama.

Let's take our country back before it is too late.

JOSEPH BONNEVIE

Moncton

Who is setting gasoline prices?

I have been watching the price of oil on the stock market. It is now less than $110, down from $145, yet our gasoline prices are going up instead of down.

The government sets the prices on Thursday morning; you don't have to wait for that, just tune into the people from Wilson Fuels, who tell you Wednesday morning what the price will be the next day.

I would like to know who sets the prices, the government or Wilson Fuels?

GORDON MYLES

Saint John

Mayor lauded for promoting city water

Mayor Ivan Court is promoting a policy that commercial bottled water should not be brought into City Hall and persons should be encouraged to use city water.

Although some apparently do not appreciate the logic of the concept, it is important to realize that city water has inspections which are not generally applicable to commercial bottled water and such inspections render city water safer to use than imported water from unknown sources.

For persons who complain about the chlorine and type of water treatment which is being given, all one has to do is pour city tap water into an open container, put it in the refrigerator and leave it overnight. Any odours from chemicals in the water, which some dislike, will be dissipated so there is no smell.

Saint John citizens are paying for the city water system, whether or not they use it. It seems reasonable if you are paying for the water system, make use of it.

Those who do not understand this and are willing to use money out of their own pockets should not complain about the proposed policy. The cost of a new plastic bottle which is not recycled is far greater than the cost of the city water which could fill a reusable bottle.

Other provinces and municipalities are prohibiting the use of commercial bottled water and Mayor Court should be supported.

Let us hope all councillors will support the policy the mayor advocates, which can only lead to long-term benefits.

ERIC TEED

Saint John

Nuclear power adds to weapons race

Neil Craik (letter, Sept. 2) wants to let us know Canada did not supply Pakistan with the materials or technical expertise that they needed to create nuclear weapons.

He is correct, but his statement is beside the point. Canada supplied India with both the nuclear material and the expertise necessary for nuclear weapons creation when our government sold India a Candu nuclear reactor in the 1970s. India's "leaders" broke their promises to Canada and converted this supposedly "peaceful" technology into nuclear weapons.

Pakistan saw that India had the bomb, and the Pakistani leadership was absolutely determined to "level the playing field" in the ultra-dangerous game of nuclear brinksmanship.

So they poured tonnes of funding into nuclear weapons research and illegal international purchases of critical materials and know-how in an all-out drive that culminated in their acquisition of the so-called "Islamic bomb" that was subsequently sold to other countries and, according to a 2007 CBC TV investigative report, possibly also to some private groups.

Canada did not provide Pakistan with the technical means to build nuclear weapons. But by providing India with these, our government gave Pakistan's military-controlled or influenced rulers the motivation to develop nuclear weapons.

You don't need to sell nuclear secrets to spread the disease of nuclear weaponry. You just need to pretend there's no connection between nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons.

The unhappy truth is that Atomic Energy of Canada's sales of nuclear technology abroad put all of us at risk.

LARRY LACK

St. Andrews