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LETTERS: Let's honour Catherine Hennessey and other letters

Let’s honour Catherine Hennessey

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“I think Charlottetown owes a great deal of gratitude to Catherine because she spent most of her life loving heritage and loving the arts community.” This is a quote of Gary MacDougall from a recent article, Charlottetown has lost a great advocate, in the March 6 paper.

Although I haven’t been in the front lines of protesting the city’s and IRAC’s deciding that a 49-unit condo building indeed should be built on the waterfront by the Irish Monument, I have been supportive in encouraging the appeals which now we are told have been rejected.

So, I have a much better idea and I know I am not alone in expressing my hope. Unfortunately, it took Hennessey’s passing to get me to write this letter to the editor. I’m going to quote again from another letter printed on March 5, sent from Douglas Langley.

“Waterfronts are important Canadian historic assets … the city has a duty to protect our most iconic public asset — the waterfront.”

So here is my idea.  Instead of a 49-unit, high-end condo building due to start construction this May, let’s honour Catherine Hennessey’s legacy by creating a heritage walk-through garden on that waterfront property. Many local artistic minds could work together on a design that would bring joy and wonder to our tourist visitors and our local boardwalkers and to Catherine Hennessey, may she rest in peace.

Katherine Burnett, Charlottetown

Snow days used to be rare

It seems kids have a snow day every time they turn around. I can remember 40 years ago as a kid, snow days were super rare and waiting for the bus at my gate in blowing snow with my winter coat, stocking cap and gloves. For my generation to have a day off, it had to be one hell of a storm, like an old-fashioned nor’easter.

Now, I totally agree with the parents (which I am not one). The last snow day was a big misjudgment because the day turned out to be a pretty great day. I’m a born- and-bred country boy and I know the winter in the country can turn on a dime. I think the school board should wait an extra half hour before closing schools so days like the last snow day’s weather backfire won’t happen again.

Evan Larter, Charlottetown

Sen. Downe needs to think bigger

In a recent article in The Guardian, Sen. Percy Downe pointed out that the federal Defence department spending in P.E.I. accounts for only “one per cent of the department’s nationwide economic presence.”

Sen. Downe also noted that the federal budget will provide $81 billion (that’s with a ‘b’) over the next five years to “rebuild, rearm and reinvest” in our Armed Forces.

The good senator suggests that one way for P.E.I. to cash in on some this $81 billion would be to increase the number of our army reserves. To house these additional forces, Sen. Downe wants the Defence department to close both the Queen Charlotte Armoury and the Brighton Road Compound, and build a new facility at an unnamed location. Sen. Downe says this would cost “upwards of $250 million.”

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As Sen. Downe pointed out, P.E.I. is the only province without a Canadian Armed Forces Base, but the facility he suggests is a very small sliver of an $81-billion pie. A friend of mine, James Walsh, has a better idea.

In the near future, Prime Minister Carney will announce who will build the 12 new submarines Canada plans to purchase. Presumably six, or more, of those submarines will be based on the East Coast.

Mr. Walsh thinks Georgetown would make an ideal base for those submarines. But, you say, Georgetown is ice bound two or three months a year. That might be a problem for a frigate or a destroyer, but a submarine can simply go under the ice.

The base pay for Canada’s soldiers is about $50,000 a year and specialists like submariners would make a lot more than that. Plus, there would be the infrastructure costs and civilian jobs required to support such base. A submarine base in Georgetown would bring a much bigger slice of the defence budget to P.E.I. than few more reservists in Charlottetown.

Sen. Downe needs to think bigger … and about places other than Charlottetown.

Alan Holman, Charlottetown

Drastic measures needed for debt

Several weeks ago, I wrote a letter expressing my concern about the state of financial affairs under the Lantz administration and I thought I was pretty accurate with my numbers in spite of how hard it is to get answers. Thanks to the  auditor general report, it showed that I was too kind.

The state of financial affairs is far worse than I expressed. In this report, there is a strong message being sent that things are out on control in a lot of fronts — the forestry, health-care, affordability of living accommodations, the list is frightening.

I believe that drastic action has to be taken, to perhaps wake up this government. I think that there should be steps that could be taken by Islanders such as the ability to recall elected officials when they are derelict in their duties. In the provinces of Alberta and B.C., they have recall legislation. This allows voters a chance to vote politicians out of office before their term is up, and prevents them continuing the damage they are doing.

I am personally looking at the drastic measure of suing this government because of their intentional dereliction of duties.

Bruce MacIsaac, Charlottetown

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