Shis issue: ( Toys R Us breaks bad news to children (YW Hockey, an Americanized sport ( Celebrity over community and style over substance And more! Have your voice heard! Contact: Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca www. theotherpress.ca Canada: the ‘true north’ stays strong and forever free » Terror incidents in Quebec, Ottawa touches all Canadians : and the shared values that : make us distinctly Canadian. I share with all Canadians : a sentiment of anger, disbelief, : and sadness at these events. : Our hearts go out to the fami- : lies and friends of those killed : in last week’s attacks: Warrant : Officer Patrice Vincent _ } of Quebec and Corporal * : Nathan Cirillo of Ontario. While many in the world : have commented that, in : comparison to other terror : attacks around the world, the : events of last week constitute a : mild attack, such a distinction : doesn’t comfort Canadians, : nor does it bring our soldiers : back. As bad as the deaths of our two uniformed military men were, I’m glad it wasn’t any worse—and it could have been much worse. The attack on Parliament Hill, for example, was excep- : tionally bold. The gunman : was less than 50 yards away : alerts from news networks. : week, but the latter one would : Everything seemed to be abuzz, : make headlines worldwide : andthe peace that was7a.m. _: because it struck at the very ; : in Vancouver was halted with = heart of Canada’s democracy. QO nthe morning of October? the headline: Terrorist strikes : This wasn’t a simple shooting, 22, my phone gotawfully ? pgrtiament Hill. It would be busy with Twitter notifications: : the second “terrorist” act last Patrick Vaillancourt Senior Columnist : every citizen of this country : from the committee rooms : being occupied by the federal _ : political parties for their : weekly caucus meetings. All of : : our elected officials, the Prime : Minister included, would have : been walking the same halls : roamed by the gunman only : one hour later, once the caucus : meetings were concluded. It’s in times like these : that our vast country seems : but anact of aggression against : *° shrink, where people from : Vancouver Island to the : Maritimes share in the anguish : felt by those in the country’s : heartland. The outpouring : of emotion was as real on the : streets of Victoria as it was : inthe streets of Ottawa, and : I, having adopted Vancouver : as my home 11 years ago, was : all-too-mindful of the day’s : events in Ottawa—it hap- : pens to be my hometown. But it’s also in times like : these that people tend to : unjustly seek someone or some : group to blame. Canadians : should come together, under- : standing that included in the : Canadian family are persons : of various background and : ethnicities, of differing faiths : and creeds. These events : were perpetrated by two men : hell-bent on causing death : and destruction and ruled : by hate. They conveniently : invoke their own bastardized : version of Islam to rationalize : their activities. We must : reflect carefully, understand- : ing that Islam didn’t kill our : soldiers—two sociopaths did. We're a nation of diversity, : and we all call Canada home : because we share in its ideals. : As we continue to process this : heinous act, let’s remember : to keep our country’s values : of diversity and tolerance : in mind. Let us, as Warrant : Officer Vincent and Corporal : Cirillo have for us, stand : on guard for each other. Target Canadas troubling charity policy » Target says ‘No soup for you’ to Canadian community charities : their premises. For all those shopaholics : out there, you might remember : that Target, an American : corporation, purchased Zellers : in 20u1, and replaced the various : Zellers stores throughout : Canada by the end of 2013. : organizations can't just move : on to the next store. High : traffic areas like malls and : department stores are limited, : and losing even one site results : in thousands of dollars worth : of loss for people in need. : The last year the Zellers site : in Maple Ridge was open, it : provided approximately 20- to : 30-thousand dollars worth of : donations for the Christmas : Kettle Drive put on by the : Salvation Army. This year that : won't be possible. Needless to say, I was a little shocked by this, so I decided to check out the Target Canada website and read about how they’re giving back to the community. Funnily enough, right there in big bold letters was a notice about how they support several charities, including the Salvation Army— Brittney MacDonald Staff Writer Wwe you live in a small community, like I do, seeing charity collection outside of major department stores and mall entrances is a common : Recently, a family member who thing. In fact, up until it closed, : volunteers for the Salvation Zellers used to play host to many : Army told me that Target charity events year-round. This; actually has a policy that does included firemen raising money : pot allow third-party solicitors for the BC Children’s Hospital — : on their property—a fact and Vancouver Burn Unit, girl! which affects charities which guides and boy scouts selling traditionally collect outside big- candy and cookies, and the name stores. Remembrance Day poppy drive, For all those cold, heartless just to name a few. If you’ve people that are cheering missed out on boosting your because they won't have to give karma recently, it might not out of guilt every time they be because youre oblivious; it go in to just pick up a pack of might be because Target Canada _tybe socks, you might want to hasa rather troubling policy think about the big picture. concerning charity collectionon — [y small communities, charity : just not enough to accommodate: : them outside their door around : : Christmas, apparently. After : further reading, I realized that : their charity activity is near : exclusively limited to large cities, : ? not the small communities : they’ve encroached on. Instead : they rely ona trickle-down : : effect; the amount they give will : : somehow be enough for all the : poor people in the city that the : remainder can then go to the : smaller communities. If that : sounds ridiculous it’s because it is. And what about all those charity organizations that aren't national? Those various volunteers looking to raise money for books for the local library or hospital? Well, they’re just out of luck. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m against all these big stores coming into our communities. Not all of them are bad; Thrifty Foods : for example has fully embraced : the spirit of charity. They send out notices encouraging their : own employees to give, give : incentives to customers who : bring in canned goods for the food bank, and even go as far as providing snacks and hot : coffee to the charity volunteers : who sit outside during winter. I : know this because I’ve seen it. : I just want to let all these big companies know that it’s not enough to donate $100,000 out of the tens of millions of dollars that you make in a year; you have to respect the communities youre busting into. So maybe all you American companies, like Target, need to learn to bea little more Canadian.