CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Ba Too many people and not enough days Dear Sir: If every one of us were to be closely scrutinized and dissected then there is a good chance that by general consensus we would all be rejected as unacceptable specimens of the human species. Undesirable traits, as perceived in dif- ferent circles, can be difficult for both the _traitee and the traitor. Therefore, to bring about better under- standing and acceptance of all undesir- able humans, I would like to designate a day for everyone and their faults (be they inherited, genetic, related, by choice, ete.) As Gay Pride Day seems to cause a lot of controversy, I suggest we begin with something less chaotic to the public, such as Blond Pride Day. I accept that many are against blonds and we aren't loved by all, but by dedica- ting a day a year to blonds many will be able to recognize that we are people tao and we should be proud of who and what we are. Once Blond Pride Day has been de- clared it will pave the way for short, tall, fat, thin, loud, shy, gay, religious, non-re- ligious, young, over-the-hill, truck-driv- ing, bean-counting, smart, stupid, smok- ing, drinking, and so on and so on people. Which brings us to the problem thal there are only 365 days in a year. Taking all undesirable traits, according to all walks of life, into account, we don’t have enough days in a lifetime. Therefore, I suggest we forget any “Pride Days” and accept ourselves and others for who and/or what we are. If your values don’t jive with mine and I am not acceptable in your eyes, just be glad you're not me. Karen Dedosenco, Terrace, B.C, It may not be perfect but it’s all that we have Dear Sir: “Democracy is the worst system devised by from Ontario and Quebec only as their MPs. Of course, parties would and ‘Northern Labrador’, ‘Central Saskatchewan’ ‘Industrial Ontario’ Monuments Concerned personal i Bronze Plaques service in the Northwest ° vatin q ' e Excay Re "eval Terrace Crematorium since 1946 *Septic Systems | 4626 Davis Street «Water Systems Terrace, B.C. V8G 1X7 Phone 615-2800 *Lot Clearing funerol Service = Phone 635-2444 * Fax 635-635-2160 Cell 615- ' Assodaton 24 hour pager q e 2248 eLandscaping J MacKay’s Funeral Service Ltd. Serving Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers & Prince Rupert seek MISty iver.B f ookerTereaceé @Wise Leal Shopee Kina Salvation Army for their Christmas Campaign. the wit of man, except for all the others.” — Winston Churchill Lorne Sexton's Dec. 13, -2000 criticism of the cur- tent electoral system strikes a chord with many -who are frustrated by the current political map, but it is important to recognize that the model he praposes also has inherent flaws. Proportional representa- tion, in short, is the as- signing of seats in a legis- lative body according to the percentage of votes received in an election. For example, if 30 per cent of Canadians voted for a certain receive a pds, try to include all provinces in Canada, but it is unlike- ly that less populated areas of the country (eg. northern B.C.) would be adequately represented. Furthermore, more po- pulated areas could be re- presented by two or more members of different par- ties, In response to a.lack of tegional representation, ci- tizens could simply choose to form their own regional parties. There might be, for ex- ample, a ‘Northern B.C. Party’ which could run candidates to address local issues, parties for time during question period. The net effect would be a balkanization of Parlia- ment and successive failed coalition governments. The current electoral system is far from perfect. Notably, minority voices often go unheard in the House of Commons and seat allocation does not always accurately re- present the popular vote. But representation by population or a ‘past the post’ electoral system does offer stability and regional representation which are, in a country as diverse ‘and as vast as ours, domi- saghibe course, in the House of Commons (or 90 seats out of 301 in this example). It would then be up to the individual parties to decide which of their members would be ap- pointed to these seats. As stated, the biggest benefit of such an elector- al system is that it more accurately reflects the popular will. Minor parties would be represented in Parliament with one or two seats to reflect those across the country who voted for them. Unfortunately, there are significant drawbacks to proportional representation which need to be addres- sed. Under such a system, voters would not be voting for candidates but for parties. The parties would determine within their caucuses who would sit in Parliament. Conceivably, there could be local candidates for these parties, but there would be no. guarantee that they would become MPs. Not electing local re- ae presentatives to Parlia- ment would not guarantee any regional representa- tion. Nationally, for exam- ple, if a certain party re- ceived 30 seats under a proportional representation _ system, that party could choose to have: members About the - Mail Bag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address Is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C, VBG 5A2. We are apen Mon- day to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can fax to 638- 8432. And you can e- mali to standard@kermode.net. No attachments please. We need your name, address and phone number for verification. Our deadline. is noon Friday or noon Thursday if It's a long weekend. In. which case, of. such a would be competing with nating concerns, Tom Kalis, Terrace, B.C. party elite tv. Want great tv? 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