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Free speech for everyone

BC Views is a column; an opinion; not a news article. Mr. Fletcher chose a side and defended it.

Tom Fletcher’s column, BC Views, last week (Marijuana ‘reeferendum’ misguided, Oct. 10) elicited the highest number of responses online that we’ve seen in quite awhile. A few defended his position against the Sensible BC petition for a provincewide referendum on decriminalizing marijuana possession, but the majority of you were quite vocal in defending the petition and the man at the heart of it, Dana Larsen.

(Take a look at our expanded Letters section on A11 for evidence.)

Many of you questioned why we would run such a column.

We wanted to point out that BC Views is a column; an opinion; not a news article. Mr. Fletcher chose a side and defended it, much as those of you who provided us with feedback did.

Mr. Fletcher is a provincial columnist for Black Press, and his column runs in every Black Press-owned newspaper in B.C. He presents a side, and we welcome writers who would like to present the other side. Indeed, we included a response from Mr. Larsen in our Letters section this week.

Editorials, columns, blogs—they are all written to engage readers and stimulate conversation.

BC Views last week certainly achieved both goals.

We applaud School District 70 officials for holding back a portion of payment to Yellowridge Construction until heating and cooling systems are running smoothly, and especially until the landscaping is tidied up.

We also give students at ADSS a huge thumbs up for refusing to accept overgrown garden beds and dying trees, and trying to do something about it.

— Alberni Valley News