Victoria police should have a vessel
The recent theft of one of the harbour ferries is another example of why VicPD should have a marine patrol unit.
They had to beg a lift from the owner of the Harbour Ferries in his skiff! Then they transferred to a coast guard vessel. How on earth can a city surrounded by water not have a marine unit?
VicPD used to have two vessels but never properly operated them with a permanent unit and sadly gave one of them to the fire department. How could the Victoria Fire Department have the money to operate a vessel (actually two) and the VicPD none?
Could not the two departments share the vessel? Mount a decal from each department and operate it co-operatively? I understand that the water is under federal purview, but the only RCMP vessel nearby is stationed in Sidney and Transport Canada has no policing authority.
It’s just plain wrong that a city the size of Victoria and surrounding environs not have a marine unit. Sadly, it went the way of the horse‑mounted patrol unit.
Jim Parker
James Bay
After a month, they want more details
The recovery benefit rollout has been a mixed-up incoherent bust.
I have lived in B.C. for more than 30 years. I own a vehicle, property, have a health card, driver’s licence and provincial vehicle insurance, yet a month after submitting my online application, I get a letter asking for ID with my picture on it, my income tax return, and two examples of proof of address.
They say it will be at least 30 days before they even look at it.
A high school student could’ve designed something better.
Alan Fair
Victoria
Significant profits in the financial sector
While the pandemic continues, we collectively struggle with balancing personal freedoms, social activities, protecting our health, and economics.
Recently there have been discussions on restricting inter-provincial tourism, trading health risks versus the economic benefits to impacted businesses.
This is only the most recent issue pitting public health against economic recovery. Many individuals and businesses have suffered reduced work opportunities and income (or gone out of business entirely), while still being required to pay rent, mortgages, and loans.
So here is a sector missing from the COVID relief discussion: banks. While many sectors have been impacted negatively and forced to adjust and redefine a sustainable business model that will see them through the pandemic, the finance sector has sat, almost entirely, quiet.
In the spring of 2020, there were announcements on applying for deferred payments, and a search will show that this remains the only form of financial relief from most, if not all, loan institutions.
A deferral is not real relief, but purely a delayed payment in full, and when interest is considered, in many cases a net increase in full payment (interest and principal) will be realized.
Rent and mortgage payments affect both residential and business leases. I do not count government support to help pay or forgive rent as a valid sector relief effort, as these public (provincial and federal) funds in most cases go directly to the banks, shoring up high profits.
While 2020 financial profits were generally down a little (10 per cent) over last year (2019 was another record profit year, following a series of consecutive record profit years), there were still significant profits in 2020 across the entire financial/loan sector, all on the backs of people and businesses struggling to survive.
Richard Dewey
Gordon Head
We’re better off without that pipeline
As predicted, the Keystone XL pipeline is being cancelled by U.S. President Joe Biden. The outrage by certain politicians is but a last-ditch attempt to save face over a $1.5-billion investment in a foregone conclusion.
As Trans Mountain pipeline CEO Ian Anderson has acknowledged, there is enough pipeline capacity to meet Alberta’s forecasted oil transport needs without either TMX or KXL.
Canada’s energy regulator also states that TMX won’t be needed if the government pursues its climate agenda, and the parliamentary budget officer says it could lose money for Canadian taxpayers in the long run.
This is an opportunity to act in concert with the Biden administration as it rejoins the Paris Agreement on climate and unveils the most ambitious climate plan in American history.
We cannot solve the climate crisis while building new pipelines. Period.
Lynn Taylor
Victoria
The sound of relief from the U.S.
The noises you may have heard in the sky on Wednesday were not the rumblings of F-18 Growler jets on Whidbey Island, but rather collective sighs of relief from our beleaguered neighbours now that Donald Trump’s presidency has officially ended.
The world welcomes America returning to its sense of decency, honesty and civility after the aberration of the past four years that more than just challenged their democracy.
We have faith that President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris will preside over conquering the COVID-19 pandemic, healing the economy and ushering in a more respectful administration for all Americans.
Chris Foord
Oak Bay
Change in the weather, thanks to Joe Biden
I was down at Esquimalt Lagoon Wednesday morning enjoying the calm, mild weather when a sudden gust of warm air accompanied by a strange sound stopped me in my tracks.
I was momentarily at a loss to explain this change in the weather before I realized that it was a concerted sigh of relief wafting over the Olympics from Seattle.
John Winstanley
Colwood
A rabbit for a pet? Remember the work
Thank you for the enlightening and heartwarming article about Amy McLaughlin and her efforts to save as many rabbits as she can.
As a longtime rabbit owner and advocate, it takes a loving, dedicated person to take on such a task.
Although rabbits are the third most popular domestic animal in North America, many people think of them as pests. At Easter, many rabbits are given to young children who want a furry bunny without realizing the work involved.
When Mom or Dad has to take on that responsibility it is much easier, and certainly more dangerous to simply dump the rabbit in a field or on a college campus.
More education is required before adopting a rabbit, and as mentioned in the article, neutering or spaying should be mandatory.
William Jesse
Victoria
Stop blaming others for our own problems
My wife and I have owned a second home in Victoria since 2004. We are not speculators, and have enjoyed Victoria and the surrounding area and supported the local economy throughout this period of time.
We have continued to own our home in Victoria in spite of the Horgan government’s un-Canadian and frankly unfair imposition of the speculation tax on fellow Canadians.
Horgan’s comments where he announced that his government will examine all legal options for banning Canadians from other provinces from entering B.C. is a continuation of his un-Canadian, undemocratic and xenophobic policies.
Apparently, it’s easier to blame others for his and his government’s ongoing failings and thereby distract the electorate from this truth.
I wonder if he is successful with banning fellow Canadians from visiting B.C., if he will also ban B.C. residents from leaving the province? It would seem logical if his only motive is to reduce virus transmission.
Would this policy entail the closure of Vancouver and Victoria International Airports and all regional airports in the province? I wonder how residents and small business owners in Fernie, Kelowna, Vernon, Revelstoke, Invermere, etc. would react to a significant loss of commerce from Alberta and other provinces.
I wonder how B.C. residents who commute to work in the Alberta oilfields would react to this policy? I further wonder if Horgan would waive property tax payments during this period for those Canadians who own a second home in the province if they are banned from visiting their homes?
The more important point is that this policy would have little or no effect on virus transmission in B.C. This will happen only when all B.C. residents, like all other Canadians, follow public health guidelines.
It’s time for the Horgan government to give fulsome thinking to policy making and stop pandering to those who prefer to blame others for their problems.
Ron Myers
Foothills, Alta.
Thanks to a stranger for help on Land’s End Road in 1994
This letter is to the man, whose name I never knew, who came to my rescue in the spring of 1994 when I was involved in a terrible car crash on Land’s End Road in North Saanich.
The man was the first on the scene of the accident, in which my car went off the road into a ditch and collided with a driveway culvert. He pulled over, helped me out of the car, and then went off to get my father — and presumably at some point called an ambulance.
The accident was so traumatic for me that for a very long time thereafter I didn’t want to think about it, but it’s been at the forefront of my mind of late, and I feel terrible that I was never able to truly thank the man for everything he did for me that day.
If you are reading this, please know that I remain forever grateful for your actions.
Ben Freeland
Edmonton, Alta.
(Are you the man? If so, please drop a note to [email protected].)
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