Bits and Bites – Wednesday June 11th

A sight for sore eyes at the infamous Newton Bus Loop yesterday, in the form of not one, not two, but four(4) uniformed RCMP  officers on foot patrol. So disbelieving was I, that I made my husband turn around the car and go back for another look!  Great to see, and I hope this becomes a DAILY routine… which will help to cut down the drug activity and petty crime that stems from the loop. The next obvious step would be for TRANSLINK to station one or two transit cops, or security,on a permanent assignment to the loop. There is no reason why this cant be done, because in my daily work travels I see quite a few just standing around at Surrey Central keeping the peace- send some down to Newton. Kudo’s to the RCMP, but I will be watching to see how long this continues.

In a related note, please remember to attend Council on June 16th- as per CBC reporter Susana da Silva, that is the night for the unveiling of the Newton Plan for improvement. She did tell me that in her discussion with Mayor Dianne Watts, she was told that the plan will include moving the bus loop, graffiti removal, more RCMP in Newton, as well as beautification efforts and removal of overgrown areas that attract and provide cover for prostitutes and addicts. Again, lets hope there is an actual  concrete time line for this plan, and not just the advent of more committees and groups to talk about what needs to be done. I would like to see Newton become the area that families are proud to call home, and not the one where they are moving to get away from the problems.

There seems to be a lot of chatter and discussion over the controversial changes to Canada’s Immigration Act. Some are sayingits not right to pick and choose or limit immigrants to Canada, while others are saying its hypocritical to go after skilled immigrants when so may professions refuse to acknowledge immigrants credentials from other countries. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/09/immigration-vote.html

I say, its a start. Immigration to Canada has continued unchecked for so many years,and the backlog is insurmountable. There’s nothing wrong with saying that we want skilled workers for our country, that you must have something to contribute once you get here, but it is true that changes must be made to convert and recognize academic and professional credentials from other countries. It is no secret Canada is lacking  for physicians and nurses, and yet so many are driving cabs and working in 7-11’s. Sad. Lets treat this as a start, and aggressively pursue other amendments governing requirement for immigrants and other expedited avenues for sending immigrant offenders back home.

If you find yourself with an unfilled moment, why don’t you check out the ongoing debate on the merits – or lack thereof, of purging drug prohibition, in the comment section of yesterdays blog, and share your opinion on the matter.

And since I always like to leave you with a smile, a couple in Rome made good, albeit unsanctioned use of a confessional booth in Rome recently by having sex during mass….. perhaps they were giving God an actual re-enactment of the sin in question? …. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080611/odds/odd_sex_dc