Time for action

Did you know that in Africa there isn’t much clean drinking water?

Women and children walk miles each way carrying heavy buckets and containers of water, taking hours that could be spent in more profitable ways.

Seventy per cent of East Africa hospital visits are caused by contaminated water.

In 2003, 1.1 billion people had no basic sanitation.

This is why we need to do something! Donate money, have bake sales, etc. Every penny helps!

Julia Hall

Whitehorse

Our good man in Ottawa

During a recent school-based trip to Ottawa for the 35th National Student Commonwealth Forum, I realized just how amazing our Yukon MP, Larry Bagnell, really is.

The forum was truly a national event, with students from almost every province and territory attending.

Each student was asked to invite their MP for a barbeque at the East Block of Parliament Hill halfway through the week.

Bagnell made time in his busy schedule to accommodate the two Yukon students.

After the barbeque, he even invited some of us for a guided tour of Parliament, something none of the other MPs did.

With a keen interest in politics, I jumped at the opportunity along with another Yukon student and some other students from Ottawa.

It was the most incredible tour of Parliament I’ve ever had, with my MP explaining the processes of the federal government all the way through.

He introduced us to the Speaker of the House, as well as several other important members of government.

By the end of the tour, we were amazed at how Bagnell had so generously accommodated us and made for such an insightful evening.

He even walked us all out to the bus stop afterward. I mean, how many MPs care enough to walk their constituents to their bus stop?

For the next couple of days at the forum, the students from Ottawa continued to talk about how lucky they felt to have taken such a great tour, even after living in Ottawa for years.

They told me that their MPs would never take the time to do something like that. They were all extremely impressed, and maybe even a little jealous.

I am a Grade 11 student at Vanier Catholic Secondary and throughout my years in school I have seen Bagnell at almost every possible youth event.

He gives presentations at schools, attends events at the Yukon Arts Centre and high school talent shows, eats lunch in school cafeterias with the students and participates in so many more events I cannot possibly name them all.

Bagnell is such a great MP because he really included youth and encourages us to become involved and aware.

I believe that is why youth really value Bagnell as our MP, because he includes us as citizens.

Regardless of which party you support, there is no denying that he is an extremely dedicated MP.

During the tour, the Speaker of the House even made a comment to us about how hardworking and dedicated Bagnell is to Yukoners.

We are very lucky to have such an MP, and I would like to thank him for his sincerity and service to Yukoners.

Jodi Gustafson

Whitehorse

No to goo

There is a culvert on the Yukon River pouring orange goo into an already polluted water system.

I found it one evening walking past Wal-Mart.

I hope the authorities, upon learning of this, find a different place to funnel these wastes.

How can the Yukon be environmentally friendly or tourist attractive while blatantly dumping brightly coloured ooze into one of its greatest resources in plain view of anyone?

Think of the fish swimming past the Whitehorse section of the Yukon River and choking, rolling over and floating belly-up downstream.

There is also a beaver living nearby that I watched swimming around; perhaps it raises a family in the water we are poisoning.

 Perhaps the government should clean these wastes up. It would look like it actually cared about the environment, and give it a better reputation with people who are working hard to make sure our garbage doesn’t leak into the places where we play.

Leigh Godson

Whitehorse