CHEERS: To members of the public who continue to call the police to report impaired drivers. P.E.I. has a drunk-driving problem and, as at least one judge routinely points out, offenders don’t seem to be getting the message. One message that does seem to be taking hold is that people should report drunk drivers and can use their cellphones to do it, even if they are behind the wheel. Many drunk driving cases that end up before the courts are there because someone decided to call 911. If people won’t stop driving drunk, at least the rest of us can keep doing our part to get them off the road.
JEERS: To Robert Campbell, the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Charlottetown, who referred to university-aged women as “little girls” at The Guardian’s federal election debate hosted by the UPEI student union last week. In probably the most bizarre moment of the debate, Campbell began spouting about professors changing pages in textbooks so they can “jack up the price” to students. Campbell claimed to have learned about the practice from “young ladies” he pointed to in the audience and asked if he shouldn’t believe the “little girl” who told him about book prices. He was quickly — and appropriately — shut down by Green candidate Darcie Lanthier, who asked: “Can we stop calling young women ‘little girls’?” Yes. We can.
CHEERS: To the City of Charlottetown for submitting an application to the federal government’s gas tax fund to create a multi-purpose path that cyclists and pedestrians can use between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and St. Peters Road on Riverside Drive. Right now, there is a paved path that extends along Riverside Drive from Pond Street to Murchison Drive (entrance to the hospital) but stops there. The goal is to eventually extend a path all the way up to the Confederation Trail at Mount Edward Road. The bypass can be a dangerous spot for cyclists and pedestrians. This would not only make things safer but continue efforts to make the city more sustainable when it comes to active transportation.
CHEERS: To Island hockey players Ross Johnston, Noah Dobson and Ryan MacKinnon. Johnston and Dobson made the NHL’s New York Islanders 23-man, opening-night roster on Tuesday. Yes, lightning can strike in the same place twice. It almost struck in the same place three times, but MacKinnon is beginning the season with the team’s AHL affiliate. Even so, this trio is keeping up the tradition of Islanders overcoming the odds of our small population size and playing professional hockey. Their achievements are also a reminder to the countless young hockey players on P.E.I. and their parents sitting in the stands at arenas that with a lot of hard work and some luck, dreams can come true.
