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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 5, 20 20 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar hdunbar@starmetrolandmedia.com Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow, Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, Lisa Humphreys, Sheri-Lyn Blair, Chris Rego Managing Editor Doug Coxson Online Editor Adam Jackson Reporters Bill Jackson Namish Modi CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 475 Thompson Dr. Cambridge, ON N1T 2K8 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-623-9155 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL LETTERS & COMMENTARY TRAVELLING AS SINGLE INVOLVES UNFAIR FEES I like to travel and have done so for many years, but now I am getting angry that I still have to pay extra if I am a single passenger. If I pay for a twin occu- pation in a hotel or on board a ship, I have to add almost half as much of that payment to get to be treat- ed as a single person. Whomever started this practice got away with it, but now with many more older travellers out there and less income, it is an af- front to me. The people that clean the room and the wash- rooms do the same work if it is for twin or single occu- pancy. So why the large extra money amount for just one? If it is something the travel companies do not want to change I will forgo my travelling altogether and only fly to where I have family or friends who will not mind putting me up for a few days. MARINA BARNSTIJN, WATERLOO HELMUT OBERLANDER SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM CANADA My earliest recollec- tions are of life in the Neth- erlands, under German oc- cupation, including some memories that should not be part of anyone's child- hood. Recently, for the first time in about 70 years, I met one of my "sisters." She had been entrusted to and cared for by my brave par- ents from 1942 through 1945, when her real par- ents, a Jewish couple, knew that any day they could be picked up and de- ported to a Nazi concentra- tion camp. They were. Now their daughter, who never got to know her real par- ents, knows exactly the hour of the day on which they were executed, by hanging, simply for being Jewish. It happened in a death camp in Poland, where the Nazis kept me- ticulous records. If only for the sake of common decency, Helmut Oberlander and anyone else suspected of being as- sociated with or having fa- cilitated these atrocities, should be deported to where they can be brought to trial for these crimes. Canada's justice system does us, and all of human- ity, a huge disservice by continuing to entertain the pleadings, appeals and complaints of Helmut Oberlander. Justice de- layed is justice denied! ED GROOTENBOER, KITCHENER The opening of Waterloo Region's first recreational cannabis retail outlet shows that the more things change these days, the more they simply become normal. Consider that less than two years ago it was illegal to buy weed for your own personal enjoyment anywhere in Canada. But last month, more than a dozen people patiently and very publicly queued up outside in the cold, eager to exercise their Ottawa-given right to the product by be- coming the inaugural customers at Tokyo Smoke in Cambridge, the first business of its kind in this region. When the store on Pinebush Road opened, customers had their ID checked by an amiable security guard, then entered a sleek, shining bud boutique. Samples of various strains sat in small bowls waiting to be smelled. And guiding the curious but uninitiated were not just ordinary sales people but staff known as "educators" who could give them the dope on what an- other era disparaged as dope. It all seemed so ordinary, so polite, so Canadian, like a trip to Starbucks but for something considerably more stimulating. To be sure, Tokyo Smoke's start-up was overdue. The long-standing absence of cannabis retailers in this part of Ontario only fed the black-market operations that the end of prohibition was meant to drive out. Waterloo Region Police Chief Bryan Larkin emphasized this point last year. For this unreasonable and harmful delay, blame rests largely on the Ontario government. The people of this province were ready for legal, recreational cannabis. The business community was primed, too. But Premier Doug Ford took his sweet time respond- ing. Recreational cannabis became legal in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018 and people could initially order it only through Canada Post. Yet it took nearly half a year before the first 25 gov- ernment-approved private retail outlets opened in Onta- rio. This in a province with 14.5 million people. For too long, the province drastically limited the number of stores, and locations were chosen according to a lottery. Waterloo Region lost out on the first lottery, which explains why it took 16 months before the first outlet opened to serve a region of 600,000 people. More are on the way, thanks to the province ditching the lottery system and turning to the open market -- something you'd think would be obvious to Progressive Conservatives who want to make Ontario "Open for Business." Meta Cannabis Co. opened Kitchener's first retail outlet this past weekend. The region's third cannabis store, Bud and Sally Cannabis Co., will open soon in Waterloo. And so life goes on. The sky hasn't fallen. Cannabis has become a business, investment and employment opportunity as well as an accepted indulgence. If this represents a revolution, it's a very quiet one. CANNABIS RETAIL REVOLUTION HITS THE AREA WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR TODAY!