Are First Nations and other residents of the Northwest living in parallel universes?
This week at North Battleford city council, Councillor Ron Crush pushed for criminal record checks of any candidates running for council. He made the argument that since employees of the City must submit to this scrutiny, so should those who are letting their names stand to govern the municipality.
On the surface, his idea has merit. In application it seems it isn't such a practical idea. The RCMP say there are many delays in criminal background checks that would make it impossible to complete the process within the tight time frame of current municipal election nomination deadlines and elections days.
The idea that we want non-criminal citizens governing at the municipal level seems like a no brainer, but in other communities that isn't the case.
Poundmaker First Nation residents, for example, recently re-elected a chief and a councillor who pled guilty in court to defrauding them. The fact they were on the ballot in the first place is a stunner to those of us on the outside looking in. The fact they were actually put back into a place of power by the same people they took money from is astounding.
Either there is something seriously skewed in the electoral process or the voters in that community are exceptionally forgiving.
Do Ghouls Date?
Listening to the breathless radio reports about a bizarre murder in Montreal that ended in various body parts being shipped by mail to Canada's leading political parties had me thinking I'd actually tuned into an audio book thriller, and not a very good one at that.
The part of the story about the suspect in the murder, dismemberment and strange shipping of body parts, Luka Rocco Magnotta, is his link to Karla Homolka. Homolka probably doesn't need any introduction, but she was involved with her husband, Paul Bernardo, in the slaying of three teenage girls. She was sentenced to 12 years in jail for her part in the crimes. A role she claimed she was coerced into by her abusive husband. The jury is still out on that, but her role in helping convict Bernardo softened her punishment from the Canadian justice system.
The reports describe Homolka and Magnotta as "dating." Do ghouls date? I have this image of Homolka and Magnotta holding hands at a horror movie, sipping wine after and discussing nope don't want to go there.
I think the media could have come up with a better term than "dating," which conjures up images of pre-teen innocence, if there really is such a thing anymore, than consorting monsters.
I know, I know, Magnotta hasn't been convicted of anything, but various sources confirm he is a seriously disturbed individual.
That's it from my corner this week. Any comments from your corner? Send them to [email protected] or submit a letter at www.newsoptimist.ca. Also check out our weekly online poll. This week you can tell us what you think of this season's Roughriders.
