~ if they will. Don’t be a ‘no’ voter . mocracy while their neigh- ‘HARRY NEUFELD YOU PROBABLY know the ‘Don’t Votes’. They were too busy to vote inthe 1983 B.C. election. - Same story in 1986. In 1991 they. were out of town, in 1996 they didn’t like the candidates and in 2001 they couldn’t be bothered. ’ | hope the Don’t' Votes. will vote in this year’s elec- tion on May 17, but I wonder The alarming issue for our democracy in B.C. is that since 1983, thou- ‘ sands of British Columbians have joined the Don’t Votes and’ sat on the sidelines, letting others decide who would run the province. . Here is the downward. ~ trend: - @ 70 per cent of eligible British Columbians voted in the ‘83 election; @ 67 per cent in 86; M@ 64 percentin’91; . M@ 59 per cent in 96; @ and just.55 percent in 2001. In that last election, 1 6. million British Columbians voted and 1.3 million eligi- ble voters found something | else to do.: _ If.-this trend continues,’ in this year’s election or the -hext one, less than half of: eligible voters will cast bal- lots, and far fewer. than that will choose the party that runs the government. This could be dangerous. for our democracy. As voter ~ turnout decreases, the public and media begin to question whether government can claim it has a strong man- date, and eventually our po- litical system is put at risk.» So for all of us who be- lieve’ in our democratic sys- tem — the envy of millions _of people denied these rights -in other countries. — there’s .a lot at stake in keeping the . electoral process well. sup-’. plied with the vital energy » of votes dropped into ballot boxes. It may be easy ‘for those who do vote to get annoyed | at; the. Don’t, Votes. . The... Don’t Votes are out there. enjoying the fruits of de- - 661-8683. bours are busy pruning and watering the trees. : But we have to look at why so many people aren’t voting. The, declining turn- out may mean that British Columbians are becoming less involved with commu- nity and.more disconnected from each other. — If people don’t care to ‘choose.-who governs the public institutions that di- rectly impact their lives, it may indicate they don’t care what’s happening across s§ the » province — or even across the street. The. statistics show that many of the Don’t Votes in our province are young peo- ple, although plenty of older | _ folks don’t vote as well. Just 27 per cent of eligible people aged 18 to 24 voted in 2001, less” than half: the. overall rate. Maybe the Don’t Votes . . feel their votes just don’t matter. Or that voting is too much of a hassle, that it’s too much of a bother to fig- ure out the voting process. At Elections B.C., we’re trying to make it as easy as possible. The first step is to . make sure you’re registered at your current address. For the first time ever in B.C... and anywhere in Canada, you can register, update or confirm your registration on _ the Web — at www.elec- tions.bc.ca. _ If you’d rather use a pa- per registration form, you'll find one inside the flyer we mailed recently to homes across the province. Or you © can call us toll-free at 1- 800- Also, in this election, voters will be asked to de- cide whether to change the’ entire. electoral system, as. recommended by the Citi- zens’ Assembly on Electoral . Reform. : Every election is important, -but this one. even more so, as British Colum- bians will be voting twice — once for a candidate and once on whether to change .,the voting,process..., ., _ Also ..on, the . positive,. “side, several youth- run or- aa ganizations in the province ° ‘are working on the issue of voter participation. They’re encouraging young people to register, get involved in the political process and, most importantly, show. up . at.voting places on May 17., ..: . If I could. speak with the Don’t Votes, I would ask them to join in this great. democratic exercise because _ we need them, because ev-. ery election is historic and because history is made by those who show up. Voting is the small price .we.pay for the fruits, of; de: -. ,mocracy,,, all the things we. enjoy because we live in a * free ‘society. Those’ fruits come from an orchard that. ~ needs to be tended, just a lit- tle by each of us. Your ballot is waiting at a voting booth near you on May 17. Chief Electoral Officer _Harry, Neufeld heads Elec- _tions BC, a non-partisan Of- " fice of the Legislature. : There’s too much big money in politics By PAUL WILLCOCKS IT’S TIME to clean up political fundraising in B.C.. That’s not an attack on business, or unions, or any political party. It’s simply stating the obvious. No mat- ter what the politicians, think, most ‘voters believe that the people who write big cheques to political parties get special access and privileges in return. Elections BC has just released its, latest report on political donations, covering the first 10 months of last year. The Liberals did well, pulling in more than $5 million, twice as much as the NDP. About 70 per cent of the Liberals’ donations came from_cor- porate and business donors. Individuals came up with about $1.5 million, but when it came to grassroots support - people who donated less than $250 - the Liber- als got only $350,000 from 8,600 people. - a The NDP, despite the Liberals’ frequent attempts to paint the party as. under the thumb of big labour, got 80 per cent of its money from $250. individuals. Only $360,000 came from unions. And more than half the NDP’s money came from 29,000 individuals who. donated less. than The Liberals’ position, like the New Democrats when they were in government, is that the current sys- tem.is fine. All donations must be disclosed, so the public can see if big. . donors get special favours. ' There is an argument that corpo- rations and unions - acting on behalf of shareholders and members - have © a right to try and put up cash to help the party that they think will best ’ serve their interests. But the arguments against corpo- tate and union donations have be- come overwhelming. The public should push to make this an election issue, and demand . that the Liberals commit to change, or at least to refer the question to an- other citizens’ assembly. _ The public believes big money ‘has corrupted. our ‘politics. That de- mands action. Paul Willcocks is a Victoria col- umnist. Jail found. at fault in inmate beating By MARGARET SPEIRS - AN INMATE who was severely beaten at the Ter- race Community Correctional Centre (TCC) and who has since died of unrelated causes has been ~ awarded financial damages posthumously. Ya - A B.C. Supreme Court justice found_! the pro- vincial corrections branch negligent in the circum- stances which lead to the 1997 beating of Gordon Patrick Pete, a Moricetown resident who. was 38 » at the time of the assault. Pete died in 2003. , The award, to-be paid to Pete’s estate, was. val- ued at $67,500. Pete, who was serving time on an impaired driving charge, was beaten by James Axworthy, a Prince Rupert resident, who was in Jail fora break | ments,” and enter. Axworthy had recently. been transferred from the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre, possibly as part of a policy to re-integrate inmates in the last few weeks of their sentences by send- ing them to low-security community correctional centres. On Nov. 1, 1997 Pete | was watching Hockey Night in Canada when Axworthy approached and changed the channel. Pete expressed his disapproval, a fight began and Axworthy broke Pete’s jaw while pummel- ing him. ‘Tan Lawson, Pete’s lawyer, said the issues in the civil case were how Axworthy was transferred even though he was known to bea violent inmate, had broken another inmate’s jaw several years earlier and had been involved in fights and threats in Prince George before his transfer. “The TCC’s records showed it did not think Axworthy was a good candidate for its low-secu- rity facility, only one or two guards on duty at any time, but he was sent anyway,” Lawson said in an interview. _ “The court found this transfer was negligent and TCC should have acted to protect other in- mates after Axworthy threatened to beat up a TCC inmate as a ‘rat.’” Lawson said records he received on Axworthy included notes that he was “ready to snap” be- - cause of stress relating to his. impending release, and evidence heard at trial indicated corrections officials were aware that institutionalized inmates frequently are highly stressed and dangerous: in ‘the weeks before their release. The court agreed the provincial corrections branch was negligent and Axworthy should never have been transferred to the correctional centre. Lawson said he didn’t think Axworthy was ever charged with assault. ; “If inmates assault each other or commit oth- er offences while in custody, they are usually - charged ‘internally’ and if found guilty, lose re- mission time or receive other institutional punish- he said. . Lawson wasn’t able to find Axworthy for the civil suit and doesn’t know where he is now. The provincial government has appealed the liability decision, arguing the jail wasn’t negli- gent. - As a result, Pete’s estate, which includes sev- eral sisters, a brother and three adopted daughters, won’t receive any money until the appeal is heard and adecision made. ~ Boe Po Lawson also tried to prove that the surgeon who operated to repair Pete’s jaw was negligent in, misdiagnosing the fracture as being on the left side only even though both sides. were broken. “As a result of the untreated right side fracture, Gordon’s jaw collapsed and retruded, giving him a chipmunk-like appearance that was devastating to him; and rendered him unable to eat properly,” Lawson said in the interview. “He had. serious: lung problems that wors- ened after the surgery...and he died of pneumo- nia shortly after the trial completed on Nov. 15, 2003,” said Lawson. Mr. Justice J.W. Williams’ reasons for judg- ment in the suit filed against surgeon Dr. Nicholas Carr noted that Pete didn’t seek medical help im- mediately after the fight. Instead Pete followed Axworthy’s advice to Say he accidentally " “collided with . Axworthy’s knee during a football game. Pete was finally taken to Terrace hospital . where reports made on his condition by.a doctor and radiologist disagreed. When Carr finally saw Pete, he was greeted with “a paper trail that presented conflicting re-. ports”; some indicated a left side fracture only and others reported breaks on both sides, Wil- liams noted in his judgment. Documents also showed that Pete stated his jaw had been injured in a car accident two years , earlier. Carr concluded that Pete had suffered previous fractures to both sides of his jaws that had healed without proper alignment. Carr then operated to repair ‘the new left side fracture. Williams said he believed Pete .had suffered . fractures on both sides of his j jaw during Axwor- thy’ s beating. © events and initiatives. The dark cloud’ placed over this ; poo, » saddened to read that-the case of Amandeep Atwal has led - - ° The ‘United Nations affirms that “violence. affects the 7 lives of millions of women worldwide, in‘all socio-eco-. -nomic and éducational classes. It cuts across culture and. religious barriers, impeding the right of women to Ppartici- - pate fully in society:” ; The Indo-Canadian community in Kitimat is a well 1 am interested in understanding what * ‘cultural over- _ ; tones” are reflected in Amandeep’s death,-as stated in the article by Cindy Panton-Goyert of Kitimat. It is true that even 14 years later, society is-still strug- gling with the horrific Montreal Massacre. This event , heightened the awareness of a very important topic in our. "society, violence against women. . » . Undoubtedly, Amandeep.'Atwal was a part of the Kitimat community and should not be forgotten. "I can honestly say, the news .of this incident shocked me, my ° 7 _ family, and most likely every citizen in Kitimat. However, the fact that Cheryl: Rumley, in the article, , feels it is time for the Indo-Canadian community to regard. such violence as shameful does not sit well. with me. ' agree that violence against women is no small matter : ° and that we, as members of. society as a whole, need to. * keep working together towards the betterment of women, Oo ‘regardless of their cultural affiliations. Beliefs, values, attitudes’ in the Indo- Canadian com- _ 7 munity do not direct members of this specific community towards violence. In fact, Amnesty International has identified violence against women as the most pervasive human rights chal- lenge in.the,v world today. 1... fs, by, reeecy We, as a ‘society, need: to’ focus « on eradicating. rtHiis ‘problém worldwide, not blame a specific culture {!1¢°t2 The overtones of this article suggest the culture of the Indo-Canadian community, in Kitimat is ‘responsible for Amandeep Atwal’s death. It is my understanding the culture of Indo-Canadians has never. promoted violence. The Sikh faith is based upon the principles of honesty, integrity, peace and in- clusiveness. However, we do live in a:world where every week at least one woman is murdered in a violent act. This is a ; societal issue, one that i is at the forefront of our lives day to day. As a -former Kitimatian, I feel this incident should make the community more aware of the opportunities and services that could be provided to women in distress. This is.no time to blame a specific culture, rather it is a time to - work together towards promoting harmony. I ask you honestly, does the culture of an individual , bear sole responsibility for their actions? I also ask you, is _ it just to condemn one culture over another? ; I write these questions.as I look over the front page of the Vancouver Sun and see that the other main story is of James Roszko, the man. who murdered four RCMP offi- ; | cers in Alberta and then shot himself to death. Violence has no boundaries of geography, wealth or culture, it only hurts those of us left behind. ‘ On‘ behalf of myself and my family, as members of the Indo-Canadian community, we share the sorrow of the community of Kitimat in losing a citizen. . : Preet Virk, Surrey, B.C. Use common sense - but also more sand | Dear Sir: This letter is in response to the recent letters to the eedi- tor regarding road maintenance in the Terrace and Kitimat. area. Having to travel from Prince. George to New Aiyansh © quite. frequently over the last few months, I can empathize with the residents of these areas. _ My last trip out at the end of January I hit rain, snow, sleet and sunshine all in the same day. I know from first. hand experience what it is like to come around 3 a comer -and spin out of control on black ice. _ I learned from that-experience and now drive accord- ing to road conditions. You need to be aware that if you come to-an area on the road that'is‘shaded. More than © likely it will be icy even if it is only wet. I drove from Smithers to New Aiyansh on “Feb. 28, - 2005 with a temperature of —-2. when I left Smithers 'to ' 49 when I reached New Aiyansh. I was amazed at the ignorance of some drivers, passing when it. was obvious that it was icy. From someone who has driven these roads for the past 15 years in all*kinds of conditions, please slow down and use common sense. In closing, I do believe the roads could be maintained a little better with more sand when the roads are icy. About the Mail Bag The Terrace Standard .welcomes _ letters. address is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@terracestandard.com. No attachments, please. Name, address and phone number required for verification. Our — Mary Pat Wiley, Prince George, B B.C. _