Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to Clem Campbell, the six-year-old Brudenell boy who came up with the idea of creating pins that have a happy face on them and the words ‘Smile Reminder’. These pins are made at the family kitchen table with tender-loving-care. P.E.I. Premier Dennis King was so impressed he invited the family to his office in Charlottetown for pizza and garlic fingers. King then asked for some pins to mail out to all the premiers and territorial leaders as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

CHEERS to city council in Charlottetown for listening to the downtown business community and placing a freeze on all parking rates through September. Council was set to increase the rates this past October but put a halt to those plans based on negative reaction from business owners. Finding a parking spot can be hard enough at the best of times and everyone knows how hard the pandemic has been. Charging people more to park in those spots is not the best course of action at this time.

CHEERS to the members of the public who are calling the authorities to report suspected drunk drivers on P.E.I. roads. The people who take the time to let RCMP and municipal police officers know that this potential danger exists on Island roads are doing everyone an important service – and maybe even saving a life. Anyone who suspects that someone behind the wheel or who is about to get behind the wheel is impaired should call 911.

JEERS to P.E.I.’s Justice Department for the recurring lack of available beds for people facing jail sentences. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, judges in the province’s courts regularly have to make sentencing decisions based on the space available at the Provincial Correctional Centre. In some cases, people have been sent home from court multiple times and told to come back in the hopes there will be room for them at the jail. In other cases, judges have handed out sentences they wouldn’t have otherwise given. These are challenging times for everyone and measures are needed to ensure inmates and staff at the jail are safe during the pandemic, but it is an issue that needs to be addressed before becoming an even bigger problem.

JEERS

to people who continue not to take COVID-19 measures seriously. We have heard of people needing to be reprimanded by retail staff for not wearing masks inside. There was a case of a woman last week who didn't self-isolate after arriving from out of province and was picked up by police. And more people told MQO pollsters in October that they might not get the COVID-19 vaccine than had answered the same way in May. We have been fortunate in P.E.I. not to have experienced hospitalizations and deaths due to the virus – let's keep it that way.