To the editor:
The problem is the overreach.
It's clear to the vast majority of Canadians, that the government has been overreaching (and not on behalf of the veterans who have done so much for us). They're choosing to champion one cause above all else. DEI, gender and Equity have become their new gods. And they will not be happy until everyone else worships.
They've gone too far and your average blue-collar Canadian can feel it and is tired of it, even if they're too intimidated to put it into words. So when someone finally stands up and risks saying "enough!" with something like a neutrality bylaw, those pushing it are "shocked and dismayed" at how many signatures it gets.
All people are asking for is for it to stop.
It's not that they don't care for their neighbours, no matter what they look like or believe. They simply don't want the government telling them that one kind of neighbour needs to be celebrated by the government more than any other kind of neighbour.
But it takes them a long time to get to that point. It's not until you have a special month that becomes a special season that they start to get fed up. It's not until their Prime Minister blatantly shows partiality and intolerance and this trickles down to the municipal level. It's not until they start painting public infrastructure to represent just one section of society. There are many more examples.
Those in opposition to the neutrality bylaw try to make it sound nice by saying "keep Barrhead colourful and diverse" while actively trying to get everyone to adhere to only one point of view. Try and get a pro-life crosswalk painted, for example, and they'll be singing a far different tune, no matter how many pretty colours you ask to use.
Those in favour of neutrality don't have a problem with any particular group. It's the government (whom citizens need to trust to govern with impartiality) pushing full-throttle for one group over all the rest that has them concerned. Had the government chosen to push this hard for a different group, they would have eventually gotten fed up too. No matter what flavour of dish you're serving, if you push it down people's throats, they won't care how tasty it is.
So they're asking for neutrality. They're asking for people to treat people as people and stop pigeonholing and labeling everyone.
To all those who have suddenly and mysteriously developed a burning angst over Town property in Barrhead not being able to fly a veterans flag, you have only yourselves to blame. There was no need for any neutrality bylaws when the government attempted to treat everyone equally. They didn't do it perfectly (they're just humans too), but most of us alive right now have had the privilege of living in a very brief and recent era of history where there were no laws saying one kind of person gets treated differently than another. Let's not take a step back into that.
There's a long history of civilians being used as human shields in warfare. Those pushing DEI and gender and Equity are hiding behind children and, apparently, now veterans. "Don't you care about the kids?!" they cry when there's any push back on overreach. "All these people hate you" they tell the kids, sowing false fear and division into the minds of our nation's precious, precious children merely to advance their cause. They tell them how afraid they should be and, thus, how necessary it is that they be allowed to change laws and policy "in order to protect them".
Not everyone pushing for DEI, etc, is trying to cause harm – many have simply been caught up in the rhetoric. However, the rest of the world is waking up to how divisive all this is. Canada is lagging behind, but another decade will have us all scratching our heads as to how so many people fell for it.
A look into the statistics on hate crimes in Canada shows a much different story than the one being peddled. This latest attempt to drag the vets into it is merely more of the same.
It's the overreach that's the problem.
If you're sincerely concerned about honouring the veterans, go volunteer at the Legion. Ask if you can make lunch dates with vets to hear about their amazing service to our country. And wear your poppy proudly as you watch the beautiful flag that the Legion is, and always will be, free to fly.
Stephanie Bakker
Westlock