Canucks would be more entertaining by winning games
Jeff Stipec, chief operating officer of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, is all excited to announce special evenings at Rogers Arena to make going to a hockey game more entertaining.
While the Canucks have several young players who may eventually become great, right now the team is rebuilding and unlikely to make the playoffs yet again. Stipec should realize that we go to hockey games to see entertaining hockey, especially if our home team does well.
Maybe they should concentrate on getting some star players but, hey, they will have Wi-Fi this year, so if the game is bad we can play online poker to pass the time.
— Tom Duncan, Chilliwack
Delay cannabis legalization
Every business person who ever started a business did his homework first. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now finding out why with his rushed and botched move to legalize marijuana. The banks don’t lend until you have a business plan that they recognize as viable.
Now that there have been negative comments about the federal plan from fire chiefs, the police, medical institutions and the big one — the impacts on people involved with marijuana in trying to cross the U.S. border — it should be obvious that we did not prepare well for this.
The answer is to delay indefinitely legalization to review the problems, possibly negotiate with the naysayers, and then decide with our eyes wide open whether to proceed. Heck, maybe a referendum is a good idea.
— Bill Davis, New Westminster
Medical pot users being hurt
Cannabis becomes legal in Canada on Oct. 17. Yahoo! Or so I thought.
Only one store will be open on that day in B.C., which compares to the 117 stores that have received licences in Calgary alone. Does that seem like reasonable access? If B.C.’s current medical marijuana stores could be integrated into the new system, this would not be such a problem.
But these stores, like my dispensary in Vernon, have always operated to sell medicinal products.
Many in the public see legalization as a win, but it’s clear that medical marijuana users will suffer, with their access restricted to mail-order and product selection reduced to smoke-ables and low-potency oils. We cannot shut down our current stores until medical marijuana users have the reasonable access they deserve.
— Russ Stevenson, Vernon
More discipline needed
Like letter-writer Bill Blackie, I also attended school in the 1950s with 30 to 40 students per class. The big difference then was that teachers had the ability to exercise discipline. If little Johnny was disruptive, a trip to the principal’s office and — oh, horrors, the strap — usually did the trick.
Kids naturally push the envelope to see what they can get away with and need limits. So stop coddling kids and untie teachers’ hands so they can maintain order. Simplistic? Maybe. But we’d end up with an improved learning environment and ultimately, better citizens.
— Barry Collins, White Rock
Police dogs put public at risk
The use of savage police dogs is on the rise in Vancouver, leaving badly injured suspects and innocent people. Time and again there are no consequences for either the dogs or their handlers.
How can the public feel safe?
If a human officer had caused as much blood during a takedown last Tuesday in East Vancouver, there would be an excessive-use-of-force investigation.
— William Clegg, Vancouver