Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 17 | Page 7

September 1 - 15, 2018 OPINION PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY  Rey Fortaleza - Publisher Carlito Pablo - Editorial Consultant Rosette Correa - Senior Editor Jun Cordero - Associate Editor Writers - Crisanta Sampang ; Columnists - Geoff Meggs, Ben Berto, Editha Corrales, Mon Datol, Fr. Jerry Orbos SVD, DeeDee Sytangco, Alan Samuel, Erie Maestro, Sandee M. Ed Malay, Jayne Anastacio, JJAtencio and Willie J. Uy (Manila Bureau Chief) Alvin Barrera / Mon Correa - Graphics and Layout ; Rolly Fortaleza - Graphics Design JoelCastro - Website; Julian Fortaleza - Sports Editor; Ricardo Fortaleza- Sports Photography Editor: Dean Guzman; Photograhers- Charles De Jesus/ Christian Cunanan Reyfort Publishing & Entertainment Office Add: 9955 -149th Street, Surrey, B.C. V3R 7N2 Email: [email protected] Website: www.philippineasiannewstoday.com http://www.reyfortmediagroup.com Tel: (604) 588-news (6397) Fax: (604) 588-6387 Copyright of letters and other materials submitted and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the Publisher may freely reproduce them in any other forms. Opinions and views expressed are of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY. E-mail: [email protected] No kid gloves Breaking Point By Rosette Correa It’s alarming. The number of young people dying in Canada has risen in the last few years, and not because of illness, but pure and simple neglect by the government. Canada’s reputation in the world as a healthy place to raise children is belied by statistics showing high rates of suicide, child abuse and struggles with mental health. According to a report compiled by Children First Canada and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, the study, which analyzes data from major research organizations including Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute of Health Information, said all orders of government need to do more to ensure that children benefit from the country’s overall wealth and prosperity, in particular, children’s health. Children First pointed to a UNICEF ranking of 41 Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development countries that placed Canada 25th on the list when assessing for children’s well-being. There have been various research agencies that have documented many troubling markers of kids health over the years, with mental health emerging as an area of increasing urgency. The report found the number of mental health-related hospitalizations among people aged five to 24 had soared 66 per cent over the last decade. The lack of stats focusing specifically on those 18 or under, highlights one of the many shortcomings in the government’s efforts to keep tabs on children’s health. According to the Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative between Sick Kids Hospital, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto, many of these cases are youth OP-ED Better transportation for everyone in Surrey is one step closer to reality. Last week, the Surrey-Newton-Guildford Light Rail Transit (SNG LRT) Project reached a critical milestone with the forma l approval of the Business Case by the governments of Canada and B.C. The Project is now fully approved and fully funded with backing by all three levels of government. The procurement process officially began last week and my team is working to have B.C.’s first light rail project carrying passengers across Surrey by 2024. We all know that Surrey is growing. We see it every day. More people, more jobs, and, yes, more traffic. There’s another 400,000 people expected to live in Surrey by 2040. That makes it B.C.’s fastest growing city. With this in mind, we worked with the City to carefully study population and employment growth, detail Surrey’s transportation needs and establish its livability goals. Years of work and discussion have gone into the decision that a light rail system would be the best solution for Surrey to reduce congestion, who are not given the proper counseling and attention that they need in order to address their problems. Many of these cases result in suicide attempts, and sometimes death. Despite documenting high prevalence of mental health issues in kids as far back as 1987, Canada has taken comparatively little action to get at the root of the problem. The results also show not only a red flag, but an ongoing shortfall in the way mental health is handled in schools and primary health centres. Many institutions today, as well as parents, fail to give their children the necessary tools to cope with these things when they’re still minor. We are a crisis-driven health care system, not a public health system, that should aim to avoid and prevent these things from happening. Helicopter parents have enabled their children to think that as long as they speak their mind and raise their issues, something will be done about it by a third party. These parents forget that the best way for their children to cope with issues is to allow them to fall, to seek help, and to give encouragement to rise from them. As well, instead of exploring psychological assessment and the appropriate therapy to cope with issues, young people are simply given what they think they want, rather than the remedy they need, because parents simply do not want to deal with the harsh criticism of social media when they don’t “support” their children’s choices. This leads to the child’s further confusion, and more issues rise from them. In the end, when the child becomes more mature in age and intellect, and is ready to face his/her problem, they realize that there is no turning back from a decision that they were allowed to make when they were at an age that they needed guidance, not approval of their ill-advised decisions. Many data shows that a growing number of young people are ultimately resorting to suicide. Suicide is the second-most common cause of death among children, and Canada’s child suicide rate is among the top five in the world. Suicide is a result of desperation and frustration over issues that young people needed to resolve with the help of a responsible adult, one that is capable of giving them the courage to face a problem, to deal with it in the best way possible without changing their lives forever, and to help them get through crises that does not involve permanent damage to their lives. Alas, social media wins the day, and the death of a young person will live in the news for a few days until a new, more controversial issue takes over the papers and grapevine. As Canada gears up for the legalization of marijuana, many responsible parents fear the worst. Marijuana is a drug because it contains tetrahydrocannabinol or THC that creates the mind-altering effects that classifies marijuana as a “drug.” The medicinal part of marijuana used for pain management is CBD or cannabinol, and does not have the effects that gets you high. Big difference. As well, recent studies on young adults that smoke marijuana, found abnormalities in the brain related to emotion, motivation and decision-making. Marijuana smokers have poorer memories and mental aptitude than do non-users. This will make the next generation dumber and dumber, and the next Liberal government not any smarter. If the Canadian government spent less time on implementing laws legalizing marijuana and more on children’s physical and mental health, these mental and physical health issues would not be happening. As it is, the Trudeau government is giving numerous mixed signals to children regarding how they should take care of themselves, and legalizing marijuana and many issues regarding physical health and identity, are some of the issues that continue to confuse young people. With a poor mental health care monitoring and preventative system to begin with, children really don’t have a fighting chance. If it is true that Canada is no longer a country highly recommended to raise children, then my husband and I made a mistake choosing this country to be our home. We hope and pray we weren’t wrong. New Surrey LRT meet growing transit demand, and support the development we all want: complete, connected and livable neighbourhoods. People look for convenient public transit options when deciding where to live, work, and spend time. Light rail transit in Surrey will stimulate economic development, job growth, and density. This boosts transit demand, but also increases employment and housing options. There will be more than 28,000 jobs within 400m of a LRT stop in 2024 and more than 34,000 jobs by 2033. Surrey LRT will serve 104th Avenue and King George Boulevard, connecting three of Surrey’s largest town centres. Three-quarters of all transit trips that start in Surrey end in Surrey. That confirms the need for better, more frequent local transit services and connections. The SNG LRT will replace the 96 B-Line once it’s open. This B- Line is the fastest-growing B-Line in TransLink’s network. It saw about five million passenger boardings in 2017 –a 50 per cent increase from 2014. At this rate, ridership demand will outstrip B-Line capacity within a decade. LRT, which can move more than four times the number of B-Line passengers, will meet forecast de mand well into the future while providing accessible and comfortable service along two important corridors. Customers don’t want to have to wait long for a ride. LRT will be more frequent with five minute waits during peak period and a travel time of 27 minutes or less. Travel times for the 96 B-Line during peak congestion range between 29 minutes and 50 minutes. B.C. is joining cities and regions around the world that are choosing light rail transit to create more vibrant, connected communities. We will learn from the experiences of the more than 400 light rail projects around the world to make sure we can build this Project in the least disruptive way. This is an historic opportunity. The SNG LRT Project is the greatest infusion of transit funding for the area south of the Fraser, and the largest capital investment in Surrey. There is much work to do over the next few years before we WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM Stephan Mehr can ride LRT in B.C., but we are closer today than ever before and are thrilled to say: LRT is on the way! Stephan Mehr is TransLink’s Director of the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT Project