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Sawchuck unaware

Joe Sawchuk seems unaware of many things: for instance, that Trudeau, Chrétien and Martin were Liberals, and that Mulcair is a New Democrat.

In his latest ill-formed and ill-informed outburst  (Free Press, June 11) Joe Sawchuk seems unaware of a great many things: for instance, that Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin were Liberals, and that Thomas Mulcair is a New Democrat.

He is also unaware that Mulcair has been attacked by Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe: “For Mulcair and the NDP, it's Canada first and Canada all the time,” said Duceppe, thus exposing as groundless Sawchuk's contention that Mulcair is some sort of Eastern separatist.

Unaware too that, despite the pocket change 'given' (Sawchuk's word) by Harper to upgrade Highway 97 and the Evergreen Line, Canada's infrastructure is deteriorating and will require many billions of dollars more than Harper is willing to invest in order to repair it. In all probability Sawchuk sees nothing wrong with our prime minister wasting $8.5 million a day degrading Iraqi and Syrian infrastructure. That's over $3 billion per year that could be spent upgrading ours.

He is also unaware of the irony in thinking that a Mulcair-supported Alberta-Montreal pipeline will put the Atlantic coast at risk from oil spills, but that a Harper-supported oil tanker can sail down the B.C. coast leak-free, operating under the Sawchuk failsafe no-spill guarantee, no doubt.

And further, he is unaware that he didn't have to go back to 1960s pop music looking for song titles to interpret political realities.

But if he insists...

We have The Beach Boys commenting on Harper removing environmental protection from 90 per cent of Canadian lakes and rivers (Don't Go Near the Water), the Dave Clark Five on the Conservatives' underfunding of Canada's infrastructure (Bits and Pieces), PJ Proby on Harper's answers in the House of Commons question period (It's Only Make-believe).

We also have Dionne Warwick on the long journey of the CCF/NDP over the years (Wishing and Hoping) and Amy Winehouse on the long journey's end (Our Day Will Come) - and perhaps leave Bob Dylan with the last word on the Harper Conservatives, Election Day +1 (It's All Over Now, Baby Blue).

 

JC Vallance

Fernie, B.C.