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Long Gun Registration
Our parliament is back in session. On the agenda, according to the news, is the long gun registration. I will start by admitting my ignorance. I have never owned a gun or shot a gun, and have no intention to do so. I have never registered a gun. I have no hatred of anyone who protects their animals, or that hunts for sport- as long as what is hunted is eaten, as our ancestors would have done. The obvious elephant in the room is those individuals within society that will steal guns from law abiding citizens, or buy the guns on the black market and either use this in crime or to kill another Canadian- this is the real intention of the long gun registry in my understanding- to catch the criminals.
My stand on long gun registration? While many who are honest enough to dislike it and still register their guns say the process doesn’t work, I would argue our Chief’s of Police say it is working- and that is enough for me. The policy might need to be improved- obviously there are problems, or there wouldn’t be so much dislike of the policy.
It is enough for me that the head of the Police say that it is working. I have always had a respect for those individuals who put their lives on the line to protect our safety. The Police are the same as soldiers in the field- they are the ones who are dealing with the side of society we willingly ignore or fear-daily doing battle with an enemy who would like nothing better than to harm innocent civilians. Then the bureaucrats come along- tapping public opinion, and the whims of the current moment, and generate money for their machine by promising to do away with anything that sits badly in the craw of an indulgent public. This is in stark contrast to what the people say who daily put their lives on the line to protect us.
If the Police say this is working, and the people who are honest enough to register their guns (who really are the only ones that should be listened to, as they are following the law) are saying it doesn’t work, then rather than scraping the long gun registry, wouldn’t it be batter to change it? If we scrap everything in our society- every law that was made because of a political promise/process- we would have no laws, no change. If the people who are entrusted with our protection say that this is working there should be no discussion of killing the registration.
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The ‘ick bin’-tales of an environmentally concerned Citizen
I have often been declared a radical by my partner. He doesn’t understand my motivation to recycle. Often I will see him trying to throw away something I would put into the recycling box, only to be grabbed by me, and placed in either the compost bag or the paper/plastic recycling bin. So when we moved to an apartment away from our home it was inevitable that I would attempt to maintain my environmental consciousness even in an apartment.
As fortune might have it, our apartment building had a paper/plastic recycling program. My challenge with biodegradable waste was another matter. Much to my partner’s horror, I decided to buy a tote box, and dispose of the daily refuse on the balcony. When the tote box was full, I planned, I would take the box down to my home that had a compost bin. There were a few factors I had not considered- the one and a half hour smell of compost on the drive to my home, the winter and freezing, and the insect friends that might infest the bin.
After the evolution of two bins, I decided it was time to take one of the bins to my house in another city. Preparations needed to be made: the fondly named ‘ick bin’ needed to be watered down before said partner would venture near. Anyone who saw me on the balcony might consider me a little eccentric- with my yellow dish gloves, hair tied back, and pants rolled up to my knees carrying various quantities of pitcher water and then dumping it over the bin.
After most of our wiggly friends were gone, I decided that it was a good idea to wrap the bin in a plastic bag- to avoid escapees. I would need help. Who knew that household waste weighed so much? Garbage bag and partner in hand, I return to number one ‘ick bin’ to wrap it up. This is accomplished only after approximately fifteen utterances of ‘gross’ from said unwilling partner the bag was at least half on the bin. After much persuasion, my partner would carry the ‘ick bin’ through the apartment, and to the hall. I would then take it down the elevator and to the car. The really interesting part was attempting to lift the bin high enough to fit into the trunk, all the while thinking, “Dear God, please don’t fall.”
After one and a half hours of driving (needless to say) with the windows down – I made it to my home. Again the perilous lifting of the bin out of the trunk. The smell was to say the least- unpleasant-even after the contents were placed ever so lovingly into the compost, the scent of ick was still clinging to the bin. Once more my eccentric costume of gloves, rolled up jeans and tied back hair. Luckily this time I at least had a garden hose. Three days later the scent was starting to dissipate.
When I get the courage, I will tackle bin number two. Let’s hope they fast track the green bins for apartments in Ottawa. I don’t know how much longer my resolve or relationship can handle my home made methods!
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School Busing
Next week my little girl is supposed to go into her first year of junior kindergarten. Chances are- this will not happen. I have moved to Ottawa from Kingston recently to keep my family together. This is contrary to the past eight years that I have driven five hours daily from Kingston to Ottawa and back- leaving at five and returning at seven. I see this as the right environmental choice and the right to choice for me and my family’s health.
I originally had registered my little girl at the Public school closest to our apartment, only to realize there is minimal daycare available- the waiting list is years long. I transferred my little girl to yet another school because it was close to her daycare and more accessible to me in my commute to work. At the end of the school year I was informed that my child had been granted the transfer, and more information would follow. This approval did not entitle her to use the bus- my child had no transportation.
Four days until the end of summer I had received no information. Being new to parenthood and Ottawa-I wasn’t aware that this was out of the ordinary until I talked to a colleague. Waiting until the school was open- two days before school- I found out that there was a package I had not received: I had missed the deadline for a convenient school package that consisted of everything my child would need for school, as well as any other information- such as dates for meeting the teacher. How were we missed?
I finally connected with the teacher and set a date for our parent- teacher child conference which is three days before her official intake day. I still at this point have no information on what I need to get my child for the school year, and I am still under the understanding that she will not be able to take the bus to school- even though the school bus stops outside of her daycare during her intake time.
My little girl and I went to the conference. The teacher was wonderful, and my child loved the school. My only concern was that I will not be able to take her to the school- she will have to wait two weeks until the bus is approved- hopefully it will be approved.
While I realize that this system protects those who live in the area and district where their school is located with access to transportation, I would like to play the devil’s advocate for a few moments.
If my child has been approved to be part of a new school- part of that acceptance should be that the bus should work in tandem with the school’s approval process. To tell a family that they have been approved to be part of a school, only to refuse them access to get there sounds Draconian. Part of the approval process in admitting a child to a new school should be to accept that child as part of the transportation concerns.
To be clear-the bus that should pick my child up for junior kindergarten in the afternoon does stop at my child’s daycare- it is almost empty. For the next two weeks my child will have to stay in her daycare and not attend the first weeks of school. How is this fair? Do the school officials not realize that this is penalizing the weakest members of society: those who might be financially unable to place their child in the closest school, have a nuclear family member able to stay home and drive their child to school or lack the extended family infrastructure to support them as their child attends school for the first year?
While so much talk in the news is about the challenge of the Transpo busses, and the need for better access to transportation around the ever expanding Ottawa and the rural areas, our school transportation doesn’t even acknowledge this diversity of population. What were school officials thinking?
Brushed With Mystery 