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A time for Remembering and preparing

Do any of the municipal candidates have plan B in case the economic crisis deepens.

Friday is Remembrance Day.

My dad was a WW1 hero. I have written about him before. He was severely injured, shell shocked, and at one point, buried for four days. He spent the rest of his life battling physical pain, mental horrors, and being thoroughly fed up with those who sit safely at home and see war as a game or as a way to profit financially.

On Friday, while we are remembering those past veterans (as we should) let’s give a thought to the Canadian Veteran’s Advocacy group which is calling attention to the shoddy treatment some of today’s veterans are receiving from the federal government.

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The 17 municipal candidates are talking economic development and very little else. They seem to think   all kinds of wonderful opportunities are out there waiting to pounce the minute the “right” council is elected.

But what if times get tougher?  Does anyone have a plan B?

Among the issues missing so far from the campaigns was Prosperity Mine. It did surface at last week’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon for the mayoralty candidates.

The mine proposal is getting national and even international attention. Amnesty International’s Craig Benjamin will be at the Gibraltar Room tonight to speak on the topic of environmental and indigenous rights. Tsilhqot’in representatives will be there to speak on the new mine proposal. It will be interesting to see how many candidates attend.

Speaking of candidates, six of the 14 prospective councillors don’t live in the city. It makes some city dwellers grumpy that “outsiders” can sit on city council, where they can vote for, but don’t have to live with higher taxes or silly bylaws.  However,  city voters don’t have a problem  electing non-residents. There are two on the current council.

Someday (maybe this time?)  the majority of councillors could be non-residents. That’s a thought, isn’t it.

Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.