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14 comment(s)

Regulate the replica guns

To The Editor:

Should safety be compromised or improved upon only when many incidents or accidents have taken place?

Regulations concerning situations should be updated and reviewed on a regular basis without the need for an accident to take place first.

In recent months we have heard and read about youths and their real-to-life replica guns. It is a shame that these individuals do not realize the hazards they can bring to themselves and to the public when such devices are transported openly.

I did not find it amusing to have such an event unfold in one of our parks. Imagine taking a quiet stroll in the park and you see this individual walking as if all hell is going to break out, and then he starts shooting at the lights and trees. It turned out to be a paint ball gun. But this is an event that I would not to want see regularly.

I wonder how long it would take for legislation to pass which would govern this new problem if our prime minister or premier were to experience this?

If the product is to be made to look like a real gun, it does not matter what kind of ammunition it expels, it should be regulated and transported like a real gun and should only be used in designated areas.

Restrictions on the design of the product for sale can be achieved. If it needs to be unloaded, do it at the site where you were using it, not in a public place because the holder might get accidentally tasered or even shot by law enforcement.

A trip to the emergency department at the local hospital would not be a way to end a day.

Francis Cormier,

Scoudouc

(Via e-mail)

Student loan help limited

To The Editor:

The new tuition rebate ($10,000) is great news; unfortunately it does not help a lot of people who continue to struggle to repay their student loans.

I, for one, am a University of New Brunswick graduate who depended on student loans to finance the nursing degree I received in 2002. I just happened to graduate three years too early to qualify for this tuition rebate.

Since graduating in 2002, I have been employed full-time as a Registered Nurse in New Brunswick and have filed my personal income tax with the province each year. Will the government consider helping people like me to repay our student loan burdens?

Jenny West-Thompson,

Riverview

Aliens taking over Ottawa

To The Editor:

I was starting to believe that perhaps aliens had taken over Ottawa, but recent events in the U.S.A. have got me to thinking that they may have taken over Washington also.

For years I have watched as brilliant men and women have taken office in government, only to see that within a short time they completely lose every bit of sense they had before. So I am beginning to believe that aliens are sucking their brains out. After being in government for a while they seem to lose ALL contact with the REAL world and REAL people. They become so engrossed in themselves and money that they completely "lose it."

Their only real aim is to accuse the other fellow of doing the same thing that they were doing. Or anything they can, to regain or retain the POWER.

Meanwhile the people who actually pay the bills are being forced to pay for their games. Will we EVER get a responsible government?

I'm not going to hold my breath while we wait. They say a minority government keeps everyone on their toes, but I think it just keeps things from getting done.

Wayne Beal,

Midgic

N.B. Liberals have blown it

To The Editor:

Regarding our New Brunswick Liberal government, I am fed up with their lack of concern for us, the taxpayers and our children.

In the newspaper Mar. 25, it is reported that $765,000 is set aside for the MLA's and the premier's pay hikes! This, on top of the fact that property taxes are out of control, our province has the highest Provincial Income Tax in the country, and they just made one of the biggest mistakes in decades by deciding to scrap the early French immersion program.

It goes on and on. It is obvious that this Liberal party is not looking at being in power for another term; they have blown any chance they had of winning again.

Let us all band together and call our Opposition MLAs and get them screaming in legislature about these topics. Also, we should all e-mail the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the elimination of the early French immersion program and put a stop to it.

French immersion programs should go out for public consultation across the province. Let's wake up; we are the only officially bilingual province in the country and we let our government get away with this?

Our government has a vision of New Brunswick becoming self sufficient some day; but not sure how yet, budget wise . . . and, we will get no equalization payments from Ottawa, but all the other provinces will!

J. Betts,

Riverview