Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

They need work and a future and faith ... not handouts and drugs and patronization



Today I pleased to be able to present a guest commentary from Tom Birch.  A former resident of the North Okanagan, and a gentleman who states he is a "proud conservative", he now resides in the City of Prince George.  Out of everything I have read regarding the Colten Boushie** murder trial, this is by fair the most honest, and balanced.

 
The Boushie murder trial is tragic on many levels.

It is not about the right to defend yourself. Self-defense was not the plea. It was about whether the death was accidental due to the chaotic events created by the crime in process.

For those saying that the farmer, Gerald Stanley, had the right to kill Boushie because he was committing a crime, please stop.

It was not about race. What happened was the result of the crime in process and the question is whether it was an accident or not. Those who bring racism to this trial were already carrying it with them. And for those few who say he had it coming because he was First Nations, you have serious issues and you need to rethink your life.

This is not an excuse for political grandstanding and race baiting that undermines our judicial system. I would tell the those politicians who sink to this depth to stop but they can’t see (or don’t care about) the damage they are doing.

But these events do highlight racial issues. The tragedy began years ago when Boushie and his friends lost all hope and decided that crime was fun and somehow justified. This can happen to any young people from any racial group, but it is rampant in some bands.

The lesson here is to give them hope. To do that they need work and a future and faith ... not handouts and drugs and patronizing.  Redeeming a lost generation should be the focus.

It was too late for this young man, but if you want to do something in his memory, let it be to reach the others while there is still time.

My heart does go out to his family. Not because they were denied justice, I don’t think they were, but because they did not know how to reach their son with hope and no one was there to help. 

And now they are political pawns, being used in a way that will widen racial gulfs and make the problems for their youth even worse.


And those, as I noted above, are the comments of Tom Birch.   Got a comment to make?  This is your chance to share it now.


**  Colten Boushie was a young Indigenous man from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation, in Saskatchewan
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NDP Government Blames Everyone but Themselves

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tourists Rack Up $200M in Unpaid Health Bills While BC Patients Wait Years for Care

While British Columbians wait years for basic medical care, the NDP government has allowed non-residents to rack up $200.6 million in unpaid health bills since 2020-2021. New research from SecondStreet.org, obtained through a freedom of information request, revealed that people from outside Canada are coming to BC, receiving health services, and leaving without paying their bills.  The losses span every health region in the province. "British Columbians are not guaranteed timely access to healthcare, be it treatment or diagnostics, and this situation continues to deteriorate under the NDP," said Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and Critic for Health. "Taxpayers are footing the bill for tourists' health treatments to the tune of over $200 million, enough to cover over 21,000 hip replacements in this province while British Columbians wait months to years for that surgery.” The research found BC has the worst record of any province in Canada examined so far. Under a dec...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Finance Minister Given "F" on Report Card by Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloops Centres and Official Opposition Finance Critic, released the following statement in response to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's 2026 Finance Minister Report Card, which ranked BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey dead last among provincial finance ministers in Canada with an overall grade of "F":  "British Columbians didn't need a report card to know things are headed in the wrong direction. They see it every time they pay their bills, try to buy a home, or watch another government deficit pile up. But now an independent national organization has confirmed that NDP Brenda Bailey is the worst-rated finance minister in Canada. "After nearly a decade of decline under this NDP government, British Columbia has become a province where people pay more, government borrows more, and families get less in return. We have some of the highest debt in the country, repeated credit downgrades, and no credible plan to get our finances back on...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more