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Waterloo‘s latest attempt is a waste th the unceremonious Wdumping of MP Carolyn Parrish from the Liberal caucus last week, perhaps it‘s time we had some civil discourse with the U.S. over the disagreements we‘ve had over the past four years. Nameâ€"calling isn‘t in anybody‘s interest, as even Parrish acknowlâ€" edged after one of her many outâ€" bursts. While she‘s entitled to her opinâ€" ion, it was done with the broad strokes that tarred an entire nation instead of just a U.S. administration she disagreed with. And with four more years of George W. Bush and his policies staring us in the face, it‘s time for constructive engagement instead of the destructive disagreement Canaâ€" Bicycle bylaw should be enforced There are better ways to disagree On Keats Way near University Avenue, for example, there are dozens who ride in the bicycle lanes, but on the wrong side of the street. Unfortunately, the city does not deserve any further restitution Notwithstanding the reams of accusations of fraud, misrepresen tation etcetc.. nane which have Why is there zero enforcement of traffic bylaws regarding bicyclists near the University of Waterloo? There are hundreds who ride on the sidewalks; they are an unexâ€" pected and serious hazard at driveâ€" ways and intersections. fter working in structured Afnance for many years, being ery familiar with the type of financing that (RIM) Park is now subject to and knowing many of the players involved, I find the the City of Waterloo‘s most recent actions concerning the RIM Park financing appalling. 1 can only assume that the legal advice that the city is receiving has indicated that if they happen to get a judgement against any one of these people. their respective cor porations will likely the claim undes their liability policres and the city will be able to reap more restitution on the financing that they think they deserve S C o I find it especially appalling that the city has named employees of Sun Life, one of the city‘s largest and most supportive employers. after they (as Clarica} have already made concessions on the financing to help dig the city out of its own errors. The latest attempt by the City of Waterloo to take a scattergun law suit approach against people in their personal capacity is both embarrassing and a definite contin ved waste of taxpayer money CHRO! da has had with the U.S. in the past couple of years. _ Was Canada right to stay out of the war in Iraq? Yes, based on the spurious _ assumptions _ that launched the invasion. But we also believe our neighâ€" bours were wronged on Sept. 11, 2001, and supported their effort in Afghanistan, and in fighting terrorâ€" ism in general. Unfortunately, it reinforced the unilateral goâ€"itâ€"alone approach the Bush administration was already engaged in. But that doesn‘t mean the U.S.‘s friends can throw up their hands. failing to see if some kind of Because there is zero enforceâ€" ment, most people in Waterloo probably did not know there is a bylaw banning riding bicycles on sidewalks until local news media reported earlier this year that a judge involved in hitting one with his vehicle was acquitted. You can blame the victim as much as you want, but the U.S. didâ€" n‘t deserve what happened that fateful day. Nobody does. 1 feel certain that some cyclist or pedestrian is going to be seriously injured or killed. _I pity the driver who hits one of these cyclists because he or she will been proven, there are a few undeâ€" niable facts in this situation, some of which are still not known by the citizens of the City of Waterloo. The city signed a valid legally binding obligation that disclosed all costs, fees, payments etc., which the city‘s legal counsel opined on as well. The deal that the city bad, pmor even to the out ofâ€"court settlement reached with MEP and Clanica inow Sun Life). was a fair market deal Uhe fact that it wasn‘t what the city thought it was is irrelevant. Anv reasonable man signing a inultiâ€"millhon dollar inancing do« ument does a full and complete review before signing. deadlines or not The legal system then should not be used to cover up any incompe tence at taxpayer expense Financing over 30 years with a specialized payment structure, such that it mimicked the park‘s project must stop using taxpayer money to further a political "saveâ€"face" campaign. The City of Waterloo COMMENT UNET And, as the U.S.‘s biggest trading partner, it‘s Canada‘s role to broker some of those solutions, especially with the crossâ€"border issues Canaâ€" da currently faces with softwood lumber and access to Canadian beef still in question. Bush has struck some conciliatoâ€" ry notes, especially internationally, and surprised everyone by acceptâ€" ing an invitation to visit Canada. And while peaceful protests of his policies would be the Canadian way, anything else threatens the mending of fences that must occur. no doubt be traumatized and filled with remorse. Yet the greater blame ought to rest with those who are shirking their responsibility for law enforceâ€" ment. understanding can be worked out We don‘t live on this planet alone, and we can always agree to disagree. But it‘s the way that we do it that‘s important. ed revenues, could not have been done at the rates that a straight debenture financing could have provided. Also, to assume that the city was receiving an implied rate over 30 years that would be lower than the Government of Canada could get is simply ridiculous. The inquiry costs that the city authorized to find out what everyâ€" one already knew could have been used to pay down the outstanding obligation on the park. which would have had a huge effect on the aggregate payments that the city faces. Instead we had very expensive lawyers and a judge opining on a financing with absolutely no capital market experience to their credit (Almost) $4 million down the drain to accomplish nothing, and the taxpayer will now face even more burden because of it The bottom line is to admit that mistakes were made by city officials and get on with life The City of Waterloo must stop using taxpaver money to further a political "save face" campaign The Patterson family Waterloo Jim Romahn Waterloo _ It worked so well last year I vowed that from henceforth I will always have my Christmas lights up by the first week of November. Yeah, right. â€" â€" ‘- .flkes. a month to go until Christmas and 1 still haven‘t put up the Christmas lights. Come to think of it. I only moved the deck furniture into the house at the end of October. Last year I had the great idea of putting up the Christmas lights right after Halloween, when the weather was still warm. You know the holidays are getting closer when Santa Claus is coming to town. Thanks to the Kitchener Lions Club, who resâ€" cued the local Santa Claus parade from oblivion when the Twin City Jaycees could no longer find the people power to pull it off. With new leadership, parade organizers may want to think of having a nightâ€"time parade next year. Faced with dwindling crowds many communities switched their daytime Christmas parades to nightâ€"time. The switch paid off and parade watchers and participants have increased. â€"If y(nfare‘going to the Santa Claus parade this Saturday, please remember to bring a nonâ€"perishable food donation for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and a new toy for the Knights of Columbus & m toy drive. STRI CI\L\ No more detours It truly is amazing how drivers adapt to road construction. Roads are blocked, detours hapâ€" pen, routes are slowed down and driâ€" vers dutifully shrug our shoulders and just deal with the delay. Thanks to the persistence of some area residents, who championed a progressive environmental design, the work the crew did on protecting and enhancing Laurel Creek as it goes under the road looks top â€"notch. With a local nightâ€"time parade, families can make an evening of it and perhaps take in the lights at Waterloo Park, Let‘s face it, parades in the middle of the day in late Novem:â€" ber are pretty dull. Switch it to night and have the floats all light up to truly capture the spirit of the holiday season. _ What a pleasure it is to drive the new Westmont Road extension north of Bearinger Road to Northfield Drive. Not everyone is used to the new road yet, since 1 still see the odd person making a left onto the former road and quickly having to turn around and search frantically for the new road. _ Then eureka, construction is over and the new road is opened, and it takes us a few weeks to catch on. P : : xm Only after putting up with the conâ€" struction for months do you realize how nice it is to drive a newly constructed more efficient road. It‘s also amazing to see drivers struggle with lanes divided by safety barriers. â€" â€" On one occasion, 1 came nose to nose with a car traveling north in the southbound lane. The new roundabout at Erb Street and Ira Needles Bouleâ€" vard is open and apparently causing some extra amusement for area residents. [ swear I saw a couple of drivers with too much time on their hands go around the roundabout for a couple of laughs. Thankfully the end is near and we will soon be able to drive from Westmount Road and Columbia Street all the way to Northfield Drive. Congrats to Hawks and Knights [t is great to see that football is alive and well in Waterioo The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks â€" with 21 players from local high schools â€" won the Yates Cup before a record crowd at University Stadium a couple of weeks back. The Hawks fell short to a powerful Laval team in the Uteck Bow! inamed after the late Larry Uteck, former CFLer, St. Mary‘s coach and City of Halifax councillor) this past weekend. but nonetheless had a great season It‘s no wonder the Hawks are doing so well with excellent local high school programs. Congratulations to the Bluevale Knights Senior champions who went on to win the quarter final and the semiâ€"final to earn an appearance in the first Western Bowl in 39 vears By the way, the Tra Needles extension from Erbsville Road to Erb Street is also a pleasure to drive For a great football weekend next weekend. it‘s worth the drive to Hamilton to check out the Vamer Cup between the University of Laval and the University of Saskatchewan on Sat urday. and watch the Bluevale Knights play in the Western Bow! on Sunday. Go Knights! bâ€"mail your sean@seanstrickland.com. Just a month to go questions/comments to