JEERS: To those who carry pellet guns that look like the real thing. These weapons can not only be harmful and cause damage if used improperly, but they have also led to police responses that could have ended with someone getting killed. People who see the realistic-looking pellet guns often have no idea they aren’t real, leading the police to respond accordingly. That’s what happened during a recent standoff in Charlottetown and during a standoff earlier this year in Souris, both of which, thankfully, ended peacefully. They also both involved a heavy police response. In another case this year, provincial court Judge Jeff Lantz told a man he was lucky the police didn’t shoot him when he was seen carrying a BB gun they didn’t know wasn't real. It may only be a matter of time before someone is killed in one of these situations.
CHEERS: To the Charlottetown police for their response to a recent report of a man carrying a gun and sword. At a time when stories of police using excessive force in other jurisdictions have become almost commonplace, officers in Charlottetown brought the standoff to an end peacefully. Although the weapon, in that case, was only a pellet gun, the police didn’t know that at the time. Seeing heavily armed officers in the streets of Charlottetown may have been unsettling to some and while the gun might not have been real, the potential for a violent end was.
JEERS: To the elected Three Rivers official who made what seem to be xenophobic remarks at a recent public meeting. Coun. Gerard Holland, in response to a proposed residential building the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (GWBI) wants to construct on its Brudenell Point Road property, said: “whether we want it to look like Brudenell or whether we want it to look like downtown Hong Kong.” 2020 has been a year of protests, with people around the world standing up and speaking out against racism. Holland should be forced to explain his comments and offer the members of the GWBI, his constituents and all of P.E.I. an apology if not his resignation papers.
CHEERS: To Tony Dolan and Liam Dolan, two brothers from Ireland who came to live in P.E.I. more than four decades ago. They recently donated 14 hectares of hardwood forest in Kingsboro to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, where it will join the Camilla and Mel MacPhee Nature Reserve. Their reason: the gratitude they both have for their adopted home. “We just feel a sense of giving back to Canada,” said Tony Dolan.
CHEERS & JEERS: Aug. 31, 2020
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