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On April 30, my brother Lee Breen was convicted of violating a bylaw banning skateboarding on city streets.

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My brother has no criminal record and is a solid member of our community. He is very concerned about the environment and has recently opened a zero-emissions lawn-care service (Gas Free Grass Cutters) using a traditional reel lawnmower, hand clippers and organic compost.

He's also committed to zero-emissions transportation, and uses his bike and skateboard to move around the city.

In the May 1 issue of The Daily Gleaner, Mayor Brad Woodside supported bylaw S-9, saying "Skateboarders in busy traffic can be a dangerous situation."

I agree that skateboarding, bicycling, running and walking on our streets is more dangerous than driving a large car/truck/SUV. Those who choose to cut their carbon emissions accept increased risk to their person.

I personally use a skateboard for transportation from my house on Inglewood Drive to my place of employment in downtown Fredericton. I wear a helmet, use hand signals and stay to the side of the street. The argument that this is more dangerous than biking simply does not hold water.

Fredericton's Green Matters initiative on active transportation reads as follows:

"Canadian adults take over 2,000 car trips every year that are three kilometers or shorter. Leaving the car keys at home and pulling out the walking shoes or bike helmet can save you gas money, reduce your emissions by up to 250 kilograms of CO2 per year, and help you become more physically active."

Skateboarding is active transportation. Lee is being incarcerated for adhering to Fredericton's Green Matters and active transportation policies.

I am certain that future generations would support Lee and condemn a city council who jailed a man for using zero-emissions transportation when the perils of global warming and increased carbon emissions had become so apparent.

Bylaw S-9 must be repealed by Fredericton city council.

Fergus Breen

Fredericton

Skateboards are not a nuisance

I am writing in regards to Fredericton bylaw S-9 and specifically section 2.05 of the bylaw, which makes it a crime to skateboard on city streets.

With the environmental crisis facing citizens of the world, as well as gas prices facing citizens' wallets, an emission-free mode of transportation similar to bikes, rollerblades and push-scooters should be encouraged rather than outlawed.

Fredericton resident Lee Breen is willing to face jail time for violating bylaw S-9. It is shocking that a citizen will be spending time behind bars simply for using a clean, fun and safe vehicle to travel through our city.

I urge Fredericton's newly elected city councillors to strongly consider repealing section 2.05 of bylaw S-9, which for the record is a "law to prevent nuisance." Other activities deemed illegal by this law include fighting and throwing snowballs at cars.

Perhaps skateboarding has been placed in the wrong group of activities.

Ben Conoley

Fredericton

Give the proposed Geodex mine a fair hearing

I was in Fredericton last week and read with interest the letter by Lawrence Wuest (May 6) on Geodex's proposed tungsten-molybdenum mine near Napadogan.

His letter is peppered with dire warnings and a general "sky is falling" attitude, which is premature at this stage and generally designed to scare the public unnecessarily.

We started the company's community meetings early in the process precisely to inform the public of what we're doing, and to allow them to follow our progress.

At this stage, the mine is still under study. On the tailings front, Geodex is committed through its independent engineers to the highest construction standards for dams. While there is always some risk of failure, it has to be considered very remote and is hardly an "extremely dangerous threat."

Water is recycled to the process plant and tailings rapidly compact. Any breach would likely produce no more than a short flow of sand-sized rock flour. He comments also on the apparent poor prospects for molybdenum (his projections), neglecting to mention that revenue at the mine would be derived equally from tungsten and potentially from copper, providing a degree of insurance. Again, there is risk in any enterprise, as he must be aware.

However, Geodex will not commit to building a mine without independent metal price and marketing studies. It is not in the company's interest, or that of its bankers, to invest half a billion dollars without due care. Mr. Wuest must also recognize that commodities generally are undergoing historical price increases due to burgeoning economies in China and the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries.

Will this trend be short-lived? It seems unlikely. New Brunswick considers itself to be a mining-friendly province. This means, in essence, that extremely remote risks are reasonable in view of exacting environmental and construction standards. This applies equally to developments other than mines.

The local jobs and tax revenue which would flow from a mine with multiplier effects throughout the economy are likely to be considerable. Mines have a relatively small footprint. It hardly seems that the Bathurst mine has "imperiled the treasure" of rural New Brunswick, to use his words.

I would urge Mr. Wuest and his associates to contact our Fredericton office for progress and perhaps consider a more balanced view of the development.

Jack M. Marr, P.Geol, M.Sc.

Vice-president of exploration, director

Geodex Minerals Ltd.

Electronic voting machines threaten democracy

The Toronto Star reports that New Brunswick is the first province to use electronic tabulation machines for its municipal and school board elections, 229 in all.

I wonder if chief electoral officer Michael Quinn realizes what he is doing by approving and implementing this activity. In my opinion, he has no respect for the sanctity of the secret ballot, a pillar of our democracy, and its tabulation.

To be valid and true, votes are tallied by eye witnesses such as poll clerks, scrutineers and others. A computer machine is not an eyewitness. A machine can easily be "adjusted," as the voters in Ohio found out with those Diebold machines in 2004.

This electronic voting machine exercise will spread to higher levels of government after this. The voters will be told that this method is faster and less labour intensive. Shame on the voters of New Brunswick if they agree with Michael Quinn.

Claudia Hudson

Brantford, Ont.

Thoughts on French immersion 'orphans' of province's decision

A central tenant of Education Minister Kelly Lamrock's embattled plan for French language instruction in our province is that children currently in the early French immersion program will be "grandfathered."

Recent events suggest that it will be more like "orphaned."

Children in Grade 1 should expect to have 11 more years of their program, yet District 2's website has completely expunged any mention of the program. As a hint of worse to come, District 18 has removed all remedial help for EFI students, and similar programs are being cut in District 8.

Studies over the past decade have argued that the proper way of reducing streaming out of EFI is to provide it with better support, as is done today in Nova Scotia.

However, when Lamrock apportioned funds from the joint commission on classroom composition last year, over $1 million was provided for special help in the core program, and only $4,000 for EFI students. No wonder parents of struggling students are encouraged to migrate to the core program.

It seems that if Lamrock is allowed to continue down this uncharted path, he will do even more to ensure that EFI becomes the "elitist" program he has criticized.

Stephanie McCarty

Fredericton