LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Snitch line an ominous step

In the good old days of the 1950s where Doug Ford and his followers still reside, there was no such thing as sex education.

When it did become part of the curriculum, there was no mention of issues such as consent, LGBTQ, gender identity and sexting. Ford thinks he can protect Ontario’s children from these realities by pretending they don’t exist.

In response, Ontario teachers say they will divert from the established curriculum should questions arise in the classroom, which they can legally do. Ford’s response has been to set up a ‘snitch line’ through which parents can anonymously report a teacher’s activity that deviates from the values of 1950.

Anonymous reporting on other citizens is a frightening first step towards a society where Big Brother has us under his surveillance.

David Fowler

Wainfleet

Poison hurts more than rats

On Dec. 27, 2017, I came out to my porch and saw an alien. It took me a minute to realize he was a newborn skunk.

He had been born very recently as he still had no control of his back legs going down my porch steps.

My wife and I did not think he would last the night, but put out small bird seed and water in case he came back.

Well, he survived and came every day to eat. As he grew we could identify him from his tail which had a missing patch of hair.

When spring came and other animals woke, he would hide in the bushes, often after first light and wait until it was safe to eat.

I named him Baby Peppi and he stopped by every morning.

On July 26 I found Baby Peppi dead in my driveway in front of my wife’s car. Not from predators or disease, but from ingesting poison left by a human.

Many people may say “Hey it’s just a skunk,” and everyone has an opinion, but it could have just as easily been a family pet.

Poison in urban areas is never a viable solution. You rarely kill your target and more often you kill an innocent neighbourhood pet. And if you own a dog or cat and it eats a mouse or rat who has been poisoned, it will also become very sick or die.

And please remember if you have cats, skunks or wildlife going into your yard, it is not because you have comfortable outdoor furniture and a big screen TV. You have a food source. So humanely trap and relocate your rats and mice.

Baby Peppi was truly one of God’s little miracles and it is a shame he died at the hands of someone too lazy to trap humanely. And that leaves that person’s rat problem still there.

Many more innocent animals could die while the rats never touch the poison.

Jeff Young

St. Catharines

Garbage collectors deserve praise

This afternoon during a deluge of rain along with lightning strikes, I watched my regular weekly waste technician go about his job oblivious to the horrendous conditions.

He was a little later than normal, but I can understand that due to the weather. I find it very difficult to read about the poor service Emterra and its employees are offering Niagara Region. I have lived in Fenwick for 18 years and can’t recall a missed pickup.

These young fellows do their jobs without any lift systems other cities use. It is only natural that muscle strains or other injuries can result from this tedious work. In incessant heat, frigid cold, blinding snow or pouring rain, they go about their jobs faithfully doing a job that not many of us would want to do.

I say bravo to the company and its good employees and they deserve a contract renewal.

John Deliman

Fenwick