Some Surrey families must stop ignoring sons’ behaviour
Amid all the outcry for the government, police and community to do more to stop the never-ending gang violence in Surrey, I think the community should be the primary group involved to help solve this ongoing scourge.
Over many years, I have talked with and tried to assist South Asian families who are still struggling with the old customs of their homeland, such as forced marriages, caste system bigotry, and the way boys and young men in some of these families are treated like royalty — they can do no wrong, shouldn’t be questioned, and basically rule the household.
Where are the parents or other family members when an 18-year-old suddenly starts wearing $300 jeans or $1,500 watches or driving an $80,000 SUV? Where are they when this young man leaves the house at 8 p.m., returns at 8 a.m., sleeps all day and repeats, no questions asked?
I am sorry and disturbed by what is going on in this community, but I think the community can do a lot more to help the situation before calling on the government and police to act. Dave Yarrow, Langley
‘Appalled’ by new charge
I was appalled to see a “customer-crisis fund” charge on my B.C. Hydro bill. How dare they arbitrarily add that to my bill. I’m not the only one who’s complained about this. Why should I, a pensioner, pay for someone who doesn’t pay their bill?
It seems they sit around dreaming up ways to gouge more money from their customers. And where was the consultation with so-called “customers,” as Hydro claims. No one asked me.
I refuse to pay it, and told Hydro. No point in complaining to the B.C. Utilities Commission, as they directed Hydro to implement it. Tamara Clarke, Surrey
Government by ‘charade’
Both the NDP and the Greens would have us believe that the drivers in their alleged compromises with each other are to maintain governance. Nothing could be further from the truth.
They are acting in concert and must both be aware that this point in their histories is unique.
Neither will ever again have the powers they enjoy today.
If an election were called tomorrow, both parties would suffer greatly and lose the power they now have.
Green party leader Andrew Weaver will never bring the government down and neither will minority government leader Premier John Horgan. Their nonsense of “the other guy made me do it” is a charade to stay in power. Daniel Proulx, White Rock
An America dream, of sorts
Refugee children are being taken from their parents and locked in cages.
Some say this isn’t America, but of course it is. It’s the America that Republican politicians and voters have dreamed of for 50 years. They just needed a president totally bankrupt of morals and decency who would deliver it. John Leonard, West Kelowna
Other treatments for ADHD
In their June 9 op-ed, Dr. Diane McIntosh and her colleagues suggested that our drawing attention to overprescribing of stimulants to children is equivalent to the unscientific opposition to vaccination. Yet none of the 75 experts and physicians who reviewed our Therapeutics Letter were negative about our conclusions.
The Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly (Winter 2017), written by Canadian physicians, says: “Forty years of research have shown that many effective treatments exist for childhood ADHD … such as parent training … and behavioural therapy, coupled with appropriate medications (and monitoring) when needed.”
You can read our letter on ADHD at www. ti.ubc.ca. Malcolm Maclure and Colin Dormuth, faculty of medicine, University of B.C., Vancouver