Re: “Deadlock of Dysfunction,” Letters, March 2-3
Dear Jane Sterk, Thank you for responding to my letter in Monday Mag. I always appreciate being acknowledged for coming up with “a first.”
One “first” I discovered was an obvious flaw in the Liberals’ 2010 budget, where they gave petroleum fuels a 5% reduction in the Carbon Tax, but levied the full impact on renewables like BC-made biodiesel.
I made as much of an uproar as I could about this execrable tax policy, but there was barely any notice; Monday Magazine and NDP MLA John Horgan were two notable exceptions. John’s help was pivotal in my deciding to throw my support behind the BC NDP.
But I have to refuse to accept your compliment, as it is untrue; I did not suggest you don’t understand parliamentary procedure, etc., only that you do not, as a party, have as much experience (a significant difference).
This is the kind of politicking that gets under my skin. If we are going to nitpick (and we are!), I will remind you of a CFUV radio interview (Feb. 24, 2009 on the show Breakin’ Ice; definitely no later than this where you stated that organic food is more nutritious than non-organic.
A peer-review study did come out later that year (April 2009) which showed higher levels of antioxidants and zinc and iron, but that is almost beside the point. There are so many other proven reasons to support organic agriculture that to state an unproven one (especially because you are the Green Party leader) is simply irresponsible.
Parliament is a nasty zero-sum game. To go in without having paid your dues (I do acknowledge that you, for one, have some experience as a school trustee) is potentially hazardous. Until the Green parties of Canada unequivocally state their support for the global progressive labour movement, I cannot choose them as the party to represent me.
Kenji FuseBoard of Directors,Island Biodiesel Co-opPrincipal Viola, Victoria Symphony