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Should we be concerned?

Murder makes people concerned. When there seems to be no rhyme or reason for a person’s untimely death, murder makes people fearful. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Sheri-Lynn McEwan, who died tragically and too soon Oct. 7.

Murder makes people concerned. When there seems to be no rhyme or reason for a person’s untimely death, murder makes people fearful.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Sheri-Lynn McEwan, who died tragically and too soon Oct. 7. And as a community, even as we mourn a person who touched the lives of so many as a nurse, we look at the terrible events of that day and can’t help but wonder how and why her life was cut short.

More than that, we — again, as a community, but also as individuals — wonder if we should be concerned for our own safety and that of our loved ones.

This is especially true when the OPP, which is investigating the case, initially offered vague warnings that the culprit, potentially armed and dangerous, was still at large. As days pass with no arrest and no new information, some, naturally, feel their concern turning to fear.

For police to withhold information from the public while conducting a murder investigation is understandable. Too much can tip off the culprit and limit the effectiveness of tips received.

But too little leads to the situation Sudbury and area finds itself in today. Police have been particularly quiet on this one, more so than in other murder investigations we’ve seen. And the OPP’s silence is leading to unfounded rumours about the identity of the murderer and unfair speculation about the victim.

We’re willing to give the police the benefit of the doubt for now. But eventually, the community deserves an explanation why so few details were made public.

People want some reassurance, some small release of information, to assuage those fears and quash the rumour mill before it really picks up steam.

But most of all, they want Sheri-Lynn McEwan’s killer brought to justice. 

 

Throne Speech more about distraction than choice...

If the federal Throne Speech had offered voters a choice between Coke or Pepsi, it’s likely no one would have noticed anything different.

After proroguing the government so the Tories could lick their wounds over the senate scandal and wait for the furor to die down, one would have expected a Throne Speech that attempted to galvanize public support behind the government and tackle the issues head on that have so dogged them over the past six months.

Instead, voters were treated to 8,000 words about cellphone bills, television channels, a murky Canada-EU trade deal and vows to keep criminals in prison longer.

It’s the kind of populist pandering that serves to divert attention from Canada’s $20-billion deficit (and the fact Prime Minister Stephen Harper has less than two years to keep his promise to get it under control) and public fears Transport Canada lacks the legislation and resources to keep communities safe from the tonnes of dangerous goods freighted daily through them.

Really? The feds have nothing more constructive to offer us than promises about lower roaming charges and more choice on cable packages (which, even the Throne Speech admitted, industry is addressing all by itself)?

Magicians have a term for this technique — it’s called distraction. Divert the subject’s attention so they don’t see the trick. The Throne Speech was far from magic; it was just sleight-of-hand.


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