Let me put my voice behind those who are calling for a greater investigation into the disappearance of First Nation women in this country. It's an epidemic and it must stop. People that are responsible for these odd disappearances (murders, assaults, etc.) need to be brought to justice and dealt with in a very harsh manner. I don't think there is any question that First Nation women are being targeted because predators know that's the best chance they have at getting away with a heinous crime. The size of your home and the number of people who miss you are irrelevant when it comes to situations like this. All human lives should be valued the same so let's start treating these puzzling matters as such.
If I was a lawmaker, one change that would come into effect immediately is how to deal with folks who have a complete disregard for authority when it comes to RCMP. If you post a video, make a threat in casual conversation, or write something on social media, then you should be prosecuted by the law as though you actually carried out your crime. Enough is enough. We can't let these walking, ticking time bombs intimidate and then hide behind the fact it's 'a joke' or 'free speech'. We now live in a world where these thoughts and words need to be taken very seriously. In the case of the Moncton mad man who killed three police officers a couple of weeks ago, there was a story that he attended a camp fire with friends and brought a rifle with him and kept it by his side the entire time. The friends were a little spooked by this behaviour and never invited him out again. To me, it's easy to look at hindsight but who brings a gun to a friendly campfire? There are people out there who suggest it's healthy to challenge the police just to keep them honest. I disagree. The best way to handle that is to punish any police officer caught abusing his/her power by giving an exponentially higher sentence than that you would give to the average citizen. I have no problem holding a police officer to a higher standard and just about every police officer who has integrity would agree to that because people who aren't worried about being prosecuted are the same ones who don't commit crimes.
For example, I have a track record on my driver's license for speeding and receiving tickets. So, naturally, I'm a little bummed by the reduced speed limit on the Trans-Canada near Pilot Butte as well as any increase in fines for committing a similar offense. But, if you increased the penalty for a break and enter to death by hanging, I could care less because I never have, nor will I ever commit a home invasion.
Air Canada jacked their fares to and from Moncton on June 11th to just about double regular price, according to an email that was circulating last week. I'm told they offered discounts to RCMP members, which is great, but why the need to push prices up so much and capitalize on a dark moment? Some day Air Canada will be in financial trouble and it will be a dark moment for them. They will come calling to the federal government for another bail out. I hope the feds remember this play of dirty pool and lets them go under next time.
Watching the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title on Sunday night was refreshing and proved to me that basketball isn't necessarily the sport where one major superstar can dominate without have a good supporting cast. As a casual observer, I always figured the team with the best player would win (Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Lebron James). Well, the Spurs have won five championships since 1999 without having a single player in the top half dozen in the league. Sure, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard are good players; but it was the bench of Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, and Tiago Splitter that were the difference makers in the series with the Heat, who were dreadful outside of Lebron. Essentially, the Heat had no bench and that was their downfall. In the past, I've always felt that if you are an NBA team with one of the top handful of players in the league, you will be around when it gets to the final four. That was pretty much the case again this year with Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Lebron.
To me, the NHL is the one major sport where you do not need to have the league's best player to win a championship. Heck, you don't even need to be the best team. The Los Angeles Kings have that winning attitude and a solid line-up top to bottom without a weak link. Congrats to Jarret Stoll on winning his second Stanley Cup. Looks like Yorkton will have the Cup for a day again this summer.
Nice person mentions to Shari Bernauer, Mike Malayney, Tammy Forwood, Marty Sveinbjornson, Jeff Bahrey, and Scott Musqua.
