YOUR LETTERS Firehall yes, pool no

Hey City of Prince George, remember years ago when we talked about the need for a Performing Arts Centre, and it was going to cost around $25 million if I’m not mistaken and there were a bunch of studies, all of which cost big bucks, and it was going to be placed at the Days Inn location, and like the Library renos that are actually a public safety issue now, it just never happened? Yeah, good times, good times. So now you’re knocking on my door for a new pool that’s going to cost $40 mil (purchase, demo, construction and don’t forget them over-runs!) and be located at the Days Inn location, and oh, you want a fire hall too?

Well, no. That’s a non-starter for me.

People on the Hart don’t have a pool.

People in Southridge don’t have a pool either.

Converting Days Inn from commercial property tax revenue generating land in to yet more city inventory is going to take even more money out of the downtown, in perpetuity, and you still haven’t paid for those goofy bike lanes you wanted while there’s no sidewalk from the intersection of Highways 16 & 97 into downtown, another public safety issue.

By the way, why ICBC and the RCMP aren’t all over that I’ll never know.

But I digress: City, I’m a reasonable guy, so I’ll make you a deal. I’m all for stuff not burning down, so I’ll go for the fire hall.

Fix the library and build a performing arts centre and I’ll sign off on the pool.

But until you eat your vegetables and clean up your room, you can’t have a puppy. Ray Tracy Prince George This cost us $5 billion. This same greedy industry is looking for Canada to provide them with more free money in these new rounds of negotiations.

This same U.S. Commerce Department wants to slap tariffs on milk, cheese, and wants us to buy their GMO products.

Under the Free Trade and NAFTA agreements, Canada has been sued by American companies over 20 times. This has cost Canada many good paying jobs. Can we as Canadians fight back? The answer is yes.

In the National Hockey League draft, if an American team drafts a Canadian player they should have to pay a fee.

It is the Canadian taxpayer who builds and maintains ice rinks in Canada. Canada could also charge a $5 per citizens crossing the border to shop or go on vacation.

In British Columbia’s case, this would reduce cross border shopping and send a loud message to Washington state that I’m sure would be talked about in the boardroom of Boeing in Seattle.

Stan New Prince George