I just received an email from the Prince George Citizen saying that a comment I made to Neil Godbout’s editorial ("Dakelh Ti change is worth celebrating”) had been removed for not meeting community guidelines.
I was responding to a comment that someone else had made that Godbout had allowed to stand.
I was offended by the comment that was allowed to stand as a fair comment that I did not think was fair. I responded with strong language.
I was also offended last summer by a race-based question on my Covid 19 vaccine paperwork.
I was so offended that I asked my MLA John Rustad for a face-to-face meeting and he agreed to talk to me.
I spent one hour in his office talking about the direction and in my opinion misdirection that Canada is pursuing in race divisions in Canada today.
That one-hour meeting ended with a very astute comment by Mr. Rustad. He basically said that things will not end well.
Canada is very divided and I am finding that your editorials are contributing to that divisiveness.
Anyway, I am just a dumb retired plumber that has done a lot of work on reserves and off reserves.
I have seen good and bad things on reserves and off of reserves.
If you had hands-on experience with the problems that I have witnessed on and off of reserves, you might be more receptive to multiple views of the many social and economic issues that face both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians in this vast area of Canada. This area is a huge economic driver for Canada and it is also very under-serviced for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.
But since I am just a dumb plumber, my opinion to you do not mean much.
Perhaps I would respectfully suggest that you listen to my MLA John Rustad's opinion.
Things will not end well.
Wayne Martineau
Fraser Lake
(Editor’s Note: Your opinions matter to me, Wayne, as I have always told you when we have spoken. Writing that you wanted to “tar and feather” people who don’t agree with you is what got your comment deleted and I stand by that decision.)
