A8A8• •www.saanichnews.com www.saanichnews.com
Wednesday, May 18,18, 2016 - SAANICH NEWS Wednesday, May 2016 - SAANICH NEWS
VIEWPOINT
The Saanich News is published every Wednesday and Friday by Black Press Ltd., 104B - 3550 Saanich Rd., Victoria, BC V8X 1J8 Phone: 250-381-3484. Fax: 250-381-8777. Web: www.saanichnews.com
OUR VIEW
Distracted drivers may soon get the message We applaud the provincial government for strengthening penalties for distracted driving. There’s nothing worse than looking in your rear view mirror and seeing a motorist hurtling toward you as they’re looking down, eyes transfixed on their phone. Texting drivers are a plague on our roads, no better than drunk drivers. In fact, it’s the leading cause of death on British Columbia’s roads. Effective June 1, each distracted driving offence will carry a base fine of $368 – up from $167 – and will also tack four penalty points onto the offender’s driving record. First-time offenders will be slapped with a minimum of $543 in financial penalties. How that works is, the $368 will be combined with escalating ICBC penalty point premiums starting from $175 for the first offence and climbing for additional infractions within a 12-month period. Repeat offenders will pay the $368 fine plus $528, for a total of $888 in penalties on a second offender, escalating with each additional offence. And repeat offenders will also have their driving record reviewed, possibly resulting in a driving prohibition of three to 12 months. The sharp increase in fines for distracted drivers will not, unfortunately, eliminate the texting driver from B.C.’s roads. If jacking up the fines was all it took, we could increase fines for speeding through school zones, drunk driving, and texting to $1 million per infraction. Problem solved. But hopefully a few of those tickets, plus the four points on their driver’s licences, plus the escalating fines for additional tickets, will give some people pause. Jacking up the cost of tickets isn’t just about sticking it to awful drivers, it’s about acknowledging that too many people can shrug off the cost of a $167 ticket. Some can still deal too easily with the more expensive penalties. Considering distracted drivers killed 66 people and injured more than 630 on B.C.’s roads in 2014, the new penalties can’t be put into law fast enough. What do you think? Give us your comments by e-mail: editor@saanichnews.com or fax 250386-2624. All letters must have a name and a telephone number for verification. The SAANICH NEWS is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact: editor@saanichnews.com or call 250-4803262. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.
A bitter election year begins in B.C. the NDP was on the attack about Clark’s There is a nasty edge to proceedings support from the chief executive of mine as the B.C. legislature session winds owner Imperial Metals, who also has down this week, with the 2017 election major Alberta oilsands holdings and has campaign already effectively underway. been one of the B.C. Liberals’ biggest Premier Christy Clark and B.C. Liberal donors. ministers have been under attack over Energy and Mines Minister Bill their links to big corporate donors, Bennett was as indignant which will be a major theme as Forests Minister Steve for the NDP in the next year. Thomson at the suggestion You’ll hear more about forest these corporations were companies West Fraser and getting lenient treatment in Canfor, which escaped without exchange for political cash. fines after a 2014 audit found Bennett points out that they over-cut their northern the Mount Polley dam was timber licences by close to inspected and permitted in one million cubic metres. the mid-1990s under an NDP Much of this was during government, with a design salvage logging for pine beetle flaw that went undetected. damage, where healthy trees Tom Fletcher And it remains to be seen what were taken as well, at a time B.C. Views if any charges or fines result when forest companies were against the company, which is consolidating, trading Crown already paying a steep price with a long timber rights and closing sawmills. shutdown and expensive environmental NDP MLA David Eby, who knocked repairs. Clark out of her Vancouver-Point Grey It also remains to be seen if Bennett, seat even as she was winning a fourth Thomson and other cabinet veterans straight B.C. Liberal majority in 2013, will run for another term, after what will has put the media focus on her posh be 16 years in government. private fundraisers. Bennett is adept at needling the NDP, “Was this decision made at a dinner reminding them that mining giant Teck party?” Eby asked of the leniency to Resources managed to find almost forest companies, prompting a rare “out $60,000 to donate to them. He referred of order” ruling from Speaker Linda to John Horgan as the “ceremonial Reid. leader of the NDP,” implying that Horgan Even before the last election and the later Mount Polley tailings dam collapse, has lost an internal struggle in a party
Oliver Sommer Publisher 250-480-3230 osommer@blackpress.ca
Dan Ebenal Editor 250-480-3262 editor@saanichnews.com
Travis Paterson Reporter 250-480-3279 reporter@saanichnews.com
Jacob Zinn Reporter 250-480-3212 jacob.zinn@saanichnews. com
that has turned away from its industrial worker roots. Horgan was a reluctant replacement after Adrian Dix flamed out in 2013 with the sudden Earth Day declaration to oppose the TransMountain oil pipeline expansion. This may have won Eby his upset in leafy Point Grey, but the decision and a wordless weather-vane ad lost Dix the province. One of the traditional highlights of the spring session is the premier’s spending estimates, where the opposition gets several hours to grill the premier on political staff, private jets and anything else they want. Horgan kicked this off last week with his familiar list of criticisms on increased BC Hydro and medical services premiums, soaring house prices in Metro Vancouver and the state of seniors’ care, plus a lengthy examination of Clark’s recent trip to Haida Gwaii. Clark treated the exercise mainly as an extension of question period, firing back at Horgan on his apparent inability to lead his own caucus in support of major construction projects. Horgan abruptly threw in the towel at the end of the first of what had been scheduled to be two days, and fled to Whistler for meetings that were suddenly more important than his legislature duties. Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press.
Sarah Taylor Rod Fraser Deryk McLeod Advertising Consultant Advertising Consultant Advertising Consultant 250-480-3226 250-480-3235 250-480-3290 staylor@saanichnews.com
rod.fraser@saanichnews.com deryk.mcleod@saanichnews.com
Creative Services: Teresa Laird 250-480-3284 teresa.laird@saanichnews.com • Circulation 250-480-3277 • Classifieds 250-388-3535