The Editor,
Re. "Think before you vote municipally in November" (BC Views, The Tri-City News, Sept. 24).
We should not be surprised because columnist Tom Fletcher has, in the past, shown that he is against unions and against social programs that help those struggling, and he is a great mouthpiece for all those science deniers who find the almighty dollar more important than the preservation of the animals and vegetables on this planet.
Now, in his rant from Sept. 24, he has moved into the realm of racism by calling into question the legitimacy of a Coast Salish burial ground on an islet off of Salt Spring Island, defending a rich, "misunderstood" business man from Alberta who continues to deny the cultural significance of the burial ground. True to form, Mr. Fletcher has once again denied scientific expertise, blatantly excluding it from his column.
"'Either [the landowner] is grossly misinformed, or it is another cynical attempt to trivialize and devalue the scientific and First Nation cultural significance of ancient human remains and burial cairns at Grace Islet to help build his house," said Eric McLay in the Victoria Times-Colonist.
Mr. McLay is an archeologist. Other than as a calculating shill for the oil industry, what qualifications does Mr. Fletcher have?
Surely, as a media outlet, objectivity and factual evidence are critical to legitimacy. The Tri-City News needs to prove it and stop allowing Mr. Fetcher his nasty, negative soap box of revision, spit and deceit.
Thomas Howard, Coquitlam
