Yesterday YG finally posted on it's website the official decision to close our transfer station here at Silver City.
What was remarkable about the announcement was the consummate doublespeak our govt. used in prefacing the article.
The term "doublespeak" came into common usage following the publication of George Orwell's famous novel "1984", in which all official political language disguises the truth via a stark reversal of the terminology used.
Doublespeak is political language which deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts or reverses the meaning of words in order to suit the needs of a particular agenda. It utilizes lies while choosing and shaping facts selectively as a way of blocking out those that conflict with the users' political program.
Apparently, it's a modern art which our current govt. has studied well.
Example: The YG release announcing the closure begins ... "TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND MAKE RURAL COMMUNITIES MORE ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE ...."
This is stunning.
One need not be a rocket scientist to see that the exact opposite is true. Obviously, causing many people to drive thousands of kilometres more each year in order to transport their waste to distant landfills will generate a far larger amount of greenhouse emissions than having one govt. truck doing it once a month. Just as obviously, it's as clear as day that the removal of a local waste management facility makes a rural community LESS, not MORE sustainable, both economically and environmentally.
These observations aren't complex or difficult to understand: they are simply common sense.
The language YG is using to obscure what it is doing is not only classically Orwellian ... It also smells of "Greenwashing", that is, the wrapping of a bad policy in a cloak of faux environmentalism in order to make it more politically palatable.
This govt. has, and doubtless, will continue to pursue policies which many segments of the population strongly disagree with. However, that seems to be the way of the world. What Yukon voters can and should demand is that our govt. leaders use clear and honest language in describing to the public what they are up to, rather than continuing to cloak their decisions in deceptive language aimed at confusing the people about their real intentions.
Note; This letter is an addendum to a letter recently sent regarding the closure of the Silver City Transfer Station. It's my last word on the issue.
Dave Cartier, Sr
Silver City
