Things that make me go hmmm….
Thursday, November 12, 2015 @ 3:45 AM
By Bill Phillips
RCMP superintendent Warren Brown commented recently on the “staggeringly high” crime rate in the city (Prince George Citizen). He’s trying to get city council to increase the RCMP budget that the previous council kept low. Fair enough.
However, in April he was before council announcing that the crime rate in the city is the lowest it’s been in 16 years. The number of files the detachment dealt with was down 13 per cent.
Hmmm…
Have we had a crime spree over the past six months? In fairness to Brown, in April he told council that the decrease wasn’t substantial and there is no disputing the fact that the detachment is carrying fewer officers than it should. In addition, our crime could decrease and still be staggeringly high.
Still, hmmm…
• • •
The time-honoured tradition of whining that Christ is being left out of Christmas has reared its ugly head once again.
Some no-mind south of the border complained that Starbucks’ new holiday cups aren’t Christian enough. If you haven’t seen them, they are bright red with a green logo. Christmas colours, right?
Apparently not Christmas enough and the online world is now acting like it’s had way too many triple-shot Pike’s. U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has even suggested boycotting Starbucks. For red and green cups at Christmas?
Hmmm …. or, more aptly, arrrgh.
I suspect that if Starbucks issued a cup depicting Jesus sipping a caramel macchiato, they would be soundly criticized for exploiting Christmas for commercial gain.
For those who have their cup holders in a knot over the Starbucks cups, get your coffee somewhere else. If red cups don’t bother you, stop in at Starbucks. For my money, what’s more worrisome at Starbucks is that they have convinced us that ‘venti’ means large.
Now, if Timmy’s depicted something other than a hockey game on its holiday cups, then that would be something worth getting all up in arms about.
• • •
Cariboo-Prince George Liberal candidate Tracy Calogheros posted on her Facebook page this week that she received a phone call from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (fingers wanted to type Pierre, but I caught them in time). She didn’t say much, other than he was very gracious.
Could she be in for a reward for helping boost the Liberal name in the riding?
Hmmmm….?
Trudeau visited Prince George when he was running for the Liberal party leadership a couple of years ago.
The question now is: Will he visit Prince George and be the first sitting prime minister since Brian Mulroney to visit?
Hmmm …
• • •
Neither Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty nor Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies Bob Zimmer have divulged (at least to my knowledge), who they backed for Conservative leader. I suppose if we see them getting some choice critic’s posts, then we’ll know they backed Rona Ambrose.
There are some in the riding who believe that former MP Dick Harris sat on the backbenches for the 10 years the Conservatives were in power because he didn’t back Stephen Harper for leader.
Hmmm …
Bill Phillips is a freelance columnist living in Prince George. He was the winner of the 2009 Best Editorial award at the British Columbia/Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray awards, in 2007 he won the association’s Best Columnist award. In 2004, he placed third in the Canadian Community Newspaper best columnist category and, in 2003, placed second. He can be reached at billphillips1@mac.com
Comments
In one of the reports I read, it stated members still get regular paycheques when on Mat leave or other leaves… WHY are they not on EI like everybody else??
Posted on Thursday, November 12, 2015 @ 7:57 AM by Stillsmokin with a score of 1
In one of the reports I read, it stated members still get regular paycheques when on Mat leave or other leaves… WHY are they not on EI like everybody else??
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It’s in their contract. A lot (if not all) of our publicly funded positions include a taxpayer funded top up while on maternity leave.
Questions about mat leave are usually asked by men. Usually men who would prefer women would just stay home.
My workplace tops up mat leave pay for salaried employees. But you have to remember mat leave is only a couple months, then it turns into parental leave which I’ve never heard of being topped up. I think it’s great, less stress for both parents at the beginning.
Hmm, are you implying that Superintendent Brown was misleading council. Seems in April he stated factual information. Now what he’s saying, is if you want a proper level of policing, this is what it costs – but hey, if you’re okay with a lower, but still too high crime rate, RCMP can more than oblige. How many of us whine on this blog that we rarely see police patrol in neighborhoods anymore, there is insufficient traffic enforcement – well, that’s because there’s not enough of them. But if only policing were like – say Winter Games – Hmm.
Oh Bill…..do you really thing that you are so important that Zimmer and Doherty are somehow obligated to tell you how they voted on the leadership issue…
Give your enlarged head a shake..
They say humility is a virtue, you should try a little sometime.
Those things also make me say hmmm . One of the biggest hhmmmms is why do are we not part of icorn ( icorn.org ) . Writers and artists in canada seem remiss or do they not know ? Hmmm.
Btw I really like your articles . Good reads and fact checking .
Send all the criminals to my house I will deal with them for free.
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