Failure of empathy
Re: "Oppal's bungling threatens benefits," July 28-Aug. 3
Why is Brian Kieran devoting his column space to being a mouthpiece for Christy Clark's complete failure of empathy for the victims of Robert Pickton? Kieran lauds Clark for her decision to refuse funding to all but one of the participant groups granted standing in the Missing Women's Commission of Inquiry, saying that funding is better focused on "going forward and making sure women today are protected."
However, the participants that he dismisses as "special interest groups" have a key and valuable understanding to identifying the "protocols that can be implemented to ensure our various law enforcement agencies are on the same page when such a terrible crisis is unfolding." Simply put, these participants were the witnesses who knew many of the women missing and murdered at the time of their disappearances, and sounded the alarm years before law enforcement agencies coordinated an effective response.
Without the relatively small amount of funding required to allow these participants to devote the time to a legal process that includes cross-examination and reviewing what's expected to be thousands of pages of documents, a key goal of the Inquiry is likely to fail. I hope that Christy Clark - and Kieran - will remember that this Inquiry is in response to the lost lives of dozens of women. Surely honouring their lives through due process in the justice system ought to be considered a worthwhile expense.
Lisa MacLeod,Vancouver