City shenanigans
On Monday, Whitehorse is planning a public hearing on bylaws that are supposed to be in accord with the greenspace referendum questions.
These questions were affirmed by 2,500 voters. The bylaws can be seen on the Whitehorse website.
The bylaws, as posted, are, in fact, in direct opposition to the intent of our referendum.
Although I have met with city council and staff, and we all agree that the bylaws are not written correctly, the bylaws are going ahead without amendment.
Although this seems outrageous, we are now being forced to turn out to tell council that we want them to follow the Municipal Act of the Yukon and write bylaws that meet with our intent.
Residents wishing to contact Whitehorse must do so no later than Monday to tell them, again, that we value greenspace and want them to honour our petition questions.
City council can be reached by email at mayor&council@city.whitehorse.yk.ca.
Residents can speak at the hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Monday by just showing up.
Input now is very important. If the bylaws go ahead as written, no new greenspace would be protected and existing greenspace could be developed.
Carole Bookless
Whitehorse
Dogs better than random sweeps
Re Protect kids from themselves (The News, April 28):
Lorraine Fraser doesn’t understand what privacy is all about. Her letter proves that.
The use of drug-sniffer dogs actually helps protect the privacy of innocent people because it beats the hell out of subjecting anyone to random searches or locker sweeps without reasonable and probable cause to suspect anything.
No matter what the police are looking for, they can’t subject anyone to arbitrary searches.
I was handcuffed and searched by two RCMP officers more than 10 years ago.
They were looking for something that was none of their business and I’ll never get over it.
Stewart Jamieson
Whitehorse
Helping hearts
It’s Hospice Month here at Hospice Yukon and we have many events planned.
Our vision is to offer quality end-of-life care and bereavement support to all.
May 1-7 is National Hospice Palliative Care Week and the focus of the campaign this year is Advance Care Planning.
This year’s theme: My Living, My Dying: Informed, Involved And In-Charge … Right To The End truly captures the pressing need for Canadians to discuss their end-of-life wishes with their loved ones, friends, family and doctor.
Please visit our displays at Whitehorse General Hospital and the Whitehorse Public Library.
Hospice Yukon Society AGM will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the First Nations boardroom at Whitehorse General Hospital and everyone is welcome to attend.
We will also be offering a new free public workshop titled Living with Loss an Introduction to Grief on Wednesday, May 24th from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Whitehorse Public Library.
This workshop is for anyone who is living with personal loss or supporting friends, neighbours or co-workers who are grieving.
At the end of this workshop you will have a better understanding of healthy grieving and will feel more comfortable in supporting others who are experiencing a loss.
After the presentation, those who are interested can stay and learn about the many Hospice volunteer opportunities within our organization.
This Introduction to Grief is a pre-requisite for anyone wishing to volunteer at Hospice Yukon.
On June 3rd, we will have a team, Hearts for Hospice, entered in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
You are always welcome to use our lending library or book an appointment at our Whitehorse office. There is no charge for our services.
If you would like more information on any of these events or to book an appointment please contact our office administrator at 667-7429 or info@hospiceyukon.net.
Trish Eccles, project co-ordinator, for Hospice Yukon’s board, staff and volunteers
