Pubdate: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 Source: Review, The (Keremeos, CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Black Press Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/KXEdlhT0 Website: http://www.keremeosreview.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4048 Author: Denise Williams TIME FOR A CHANGE IN POLITICAL PARTIES To the editor: Daily reports of gang violence, people with mental health issues causing problems &/or living in the streets, drug gangs and drug additcts - when will it all end? With a conservative government which believes in the hard line (put them all in jail) we'll likely just continue with more of the same. How many people even know that the Correctional Facility in Kamloops which is meant to house 160 inmates now has over 350? Most of these are living in tents. What will happen this winter? Riots? And we have absolutely no plan of how to deal with our rising number of homeless people, even families, living in the streets, or way below the poverty line. We'll no doubt have more of the same - it's been more money for the rich and less for the rest of us since our Conservative friend Brian Mulroney linked us up with the US Free Trade Agreement. It's time for a change. Let's be radical and try New Democrats. After all, they're responsible for our initial Health Care System, Social Programs, minimum wages, unions and all those things we've taken for granted for so long and are fast losing in Canada. Denise Williams Merritt - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin