Letters to The Province, Aug. 9, 2022: Banning firearms will only make things worse

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The thing I find unacceptable is our federal government trying to make something sound scary just to get votes. A large number of Canadian citizens cannot get a family doctor, yet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is spending time, money and energy on a silly gun-control ban.

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The fact is that Canada has relatively few firearms-related crimes because they are highly regulated, licensed and governed, just like alcohol and other things that can cause potential harm. In fact, when they tried banning alcohol, it made things 10 times worse, so the ban was revoked and the government took control of alcohol.

If Canada continues with this gun ban, it could make things 10 times worse because it incentivizes the criminal element and the black market.  We already have proof that a ban of this sort will not work.

The fact that the Canadian government is trying to make this issue scary is deplorable when their efforts should be focused on the family doctor crisis and housing issues for its citizens. The issue is not gun control, it should be about the federal government’s shameful ability to manipulate.

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Ray Harms, Surrey

Mine safety a top priority

Re: B.C. needs a plan to reduce number of tailings dams

Protecting the health and safety of workers, local and Indigenous communities, and the environment through responsible mining and tailings management is our industry’s highest priority. This work is overseen by experts and qualified professionals with relevant experience and familiarity with mine infrastructure and operations.

In recent years, B.C.’s laws governing tailings storage facilities (TSFs) have undergone significant changes, including a requirement to implement new design and operational criteria, establish Independent Tailings Review Boards, and Engineers of Record. Last year, the independent B.C. Chief Auditor of Mines released an audit that compared the province’s TSF regulations to other mining jurisdictions, and determined B.C.’s regulations among the best in the world.

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Importantly, mines and TSFs are designed to withstand seismic and extreme weather events. To say otherwise is not factual.

However, the growing impacts of climate change are exactly why the world needs more of B.C.’s responsibly produced minerals and metals.

In order to achieve our climate goals, the world must transition its energy and transportation infrastructure, and fast. This means building more wind turbines, electric vehicles and solar panels. All of these things have one thing in common: they require more minerals and metals (copper, silver, steelmaking coal, nickel, and others) than the technologies they are replacing.

B.C. and Canada have world-leading credentials, including strong environmental requirements and labour laws. It is in the best interest of the planet that the minerals and metals needed to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets are produced here.

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Michael Goehring, president and CEO, Mining Association of British Columbia

Save our history

The Transit Museum Society has two operational Brill trolley buses that occasionally appear on the streets of Vancouver in the summer.

Replacing the Brills, many riders will remember the next generation of red, white and blue trolley buses that operated in Vancouver from 1981 to 2008. Built in Winnipeg, the Flyer model E901 was unique to Vancouver.

There were 245 of them, but only #2805 is still in existence. It is not operational because copper thieves stole the electronic control unit. So far, a substitute motor control unit has not been available.

There would be a gap in Vancouver trolley bus history if that bus is scrapped due to downsizing of the warehouse in which the buses are stored. The Transit Museum Society needs a large warehouse that could be converted to a museum.

Dale Laird, transitmuseumsociety.org

Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. 

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