Wait ‘til we get the bill!
There is a contest coming up that I could not imagine winning — or wanting to win.
Whitehorse citizens are like lemmings voting on who will lead the charge over the cliff.
As the mayoralty contest approaches, the candidates seem to be queuing up to see who will lead the charge.
Yes, the mayor will be back on the national stage when the Canada Winter Games are being held, but only briefly.
However, the belt tightening and budget slashing to be done after the Games will be painful.
For a city with services and infrastructure comparable to North Vancouver and a tax base more in line with that of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, I sense that there will be some surprises after the games.
The taxpayers have to see this coming. If not, they are in for a shock.
After YTG had to step in to resolve the problems created by Dawson City’s excesses, you would think other jurisdictions would try to pay more attention to expenses, or cost overruns, or run-away budgets.
Politicians all seem to be nodding and smiling to get themselves elected. Yet there seems to be a certain amount of whistling in the dark too.
They seem to have grown to like Piers McDonald’s brand of snake oil — ‘C’mon, kid, the first one is free.’
Just like when he was in government.
There has been little or no discussion disclosure regarding the financing or budgeting of these Games.
I know the budget figures and tender packages have to sort themselves out before a firm price can be established.
I feel the public deserves more than last-minute hocus pocus financing or projections.
They are the ones who will ultimately be paying for the Games.
These issues will sort themselves out over time. The debt will be paid. The taxes will be adjusted to raise the money to pay them.
Life will go on. The property values at Marsh Lake and other outlying areas will appreciate to reflect the cost of living in Whitehorse.
All in all it should be interesting to watch from out in Teslin.
Neil Johnson
Teslin
Trail sense
When I’m walking in the woods with dogs, none of us expect to see somebody’s cute little fluffy house pet bounding down the trail.
The woods trails around our city are the only places our dogs can run free in their natural environment to be real dogs, and to get the vigorous exercise they need to keep fit.
Real dogs are natural predators, if something small and furry runs in the woods, it’s their natural instinct to chase it.
The intelligent ones can be trained to avoid small house pets in the home environment, but once they’re in the woods their natural instincts prevail. That’s what real dogs do, and it doesn’t make them “dangerous” or a threat to others.
There are areas within the city where all pets are supposed to be on a leash.
Within those leash areas, if someone lets a pet run free then that person is responsible for any harm that comes to their pet or any harm their pet does.
Anyone who lets a cute little house pet run free outside the leash zones is baiting dogs, and simply fishing for trouble.
M. Peltier
Whitehorse