Following are emailed reader responses to stories or letters to the editor for the third week of October 2024. They have been edited slightly for readability. 

Got something you want to add? Send an email to editor Marshall Jones at mjones@infonews.ca.

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THOMPSON: How the MAGA Republican cult hopes to win the election

Well said. — Bonnie Derry, via iNFOnews.ca

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Former Kamloops lawyer 'misappropriated' $9,000, gets suspended

Ten months of suspension is a joke. He should be disbarred. — Colin Pritchard, via iNFOnews.ca

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Kelowna RCMP arrest senior 'pestering' officers at cop shop

Our RCMP have too much work to do than deal with people who do no not understand what they are doing. — Robert Bishop, via iNFOnews.ca

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Homeless people in Kamloops without shelter, basic resources fearful as winter approaches

Set up designated areas with commercial heaters, either donated or paid for by the city. Give them something warm to sleep by. Not the answer but a start. — Gary Donaldson, via iNFOnews.ca

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Middle East latest: UN mission in Lebanon is hit again by explosions

Although I totally understand why Israel believes they need to wipe out the terrorists running Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and others, attacking the United Nations is against everything ethical and Israel should be removed from the organization, in response to their actions. They no longer deserve to have our assistance or protection. — Dianne Jackson, via iNFOnews.ca

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Kelowna orchardist family win injunction against serial harasser

I foresee an application to find him in contempt, together with a sentence of 30 days in jail, in Mr. MacAskill’s early future. —William Mastop, via iNFOnews.ca

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iN RESPONSE to newsletter editorial, Monday, Oct. 11

Dear Editor,

Our provincial political system has been condensed into two political parties, one of them emerging virtually out of nowhere like an invasion.

Eby’s attempt to resolve those messy and costly Truth and Reconciliation claims has become a complete disaster, as he arbitrarily segregated the Indigenous people from the remaining 94% of the electorate.

He accomplished that by adopting his contrarian interpretation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDDRIP) protocols and insists consult means consent, awarding veto.

He also attempted to change the BC Land Act, the main law the provincial government uses to grant leases, licences, permits and rights-of-way over Crown land.

The Haida Gwaii land transfer should serve as a reminder that Crown land belongs to all British Columbians to occupy and use, and nobody can change that.

Four-hundred-and-eighty million dollars over three years with a principal focus to create a 'culturally sensitive' education system to help about 13,000 Metis be able to communicate effectively in any of their four languages or dialects is a ridiculous amount of money to promote another language, when we already have two official languages, English and French.

Spending spiralling out of control, producing an $8-billion operating deficit this year alone, while projecting massive increases in spending into the future, without corresponding increases in revenues, is a recipe for disaster.

It would be an understatement to suggest BC voters have never been more challenged.

Andy Thomsen, via email 

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Editor,

During BC Conservative leader John Rustad's Oct. 4, 2024 press conference in Kelowna, he was asked about a large sign that multi-billionaire Lululemon founder, Chip Wilson, put up outside his waterfront home in Premier David Eby’s Vancouver-Point Grey constituency. The sign reads 'Eby will tell you the Conservatives are far right’ but neglects saying that the NDP is communist.'

Rustad replied "well, I happened to see that sign. I didn't realize he was actually putting that up there. I don't disagree with him when he calls David Eby a communist.”

From Max Fawcett’s Oct. 9, 2024 article, No, Chip Wilson: David Eby and Justin Trudeau are not communists (Canada’s National Observer): "This is becoming a theme for the BC Conservative Party leader, who keeps sounding more like a conspiracy-addled grandpa on Facebook than the potential next premier of British Columbia. But it’s also becoming a theme for Conservatives across the country, who either no longer understand what the term communism actually means or insist on pretending otherwise." 

After the election, BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau hopes the Greens hold the balance of power, as they did in 2017. Back then, the party struck a power-sharing deal with New Democrats. Three memorable quotes from Furstenau during the televised Oct. 8 BC Leaders' Debate: 

1. “John Rustad's vision for this province is one that's rooted somewhere around 1957.” 
2. “The NDP seem to have approached health care with the idea that there's nothing that one more V.P. and seven more project managers can't solve when, in fact, what we have to do is ensure that health-care spending is being focused on the delivery of health care by the professionals who were trained to do it."                                                                        
3. "In protecting the affordable housing that we have, that’s vacancy control. When Bill 44 and all the housing legislation that the NDP brought out last year, when [BC Green MLA] Adam Olsen spent hours and hours going back and forth with [BC Housing Minister] Ravi Kahlon, Ravi admitted in the end, none of these measures were going to bring affordability. So let’s be clear: These two don’t have a plan for affordable housing. They want to talk about housing supply. They want to talk about housing starts. But they do not want to protect the affordable housing that we have. They do not want to ensure that we’re making affordable housing available to people who need it right now.”   

The BC Greens 2024 platform can be found online here.

David Buckna, via email 

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