University president takes the high ground
Of the answers to the question posed by MPs to Canadian university presidents about the acceptability of calls for the genocide of Jews and the destruction of Israel, I found the answer from Kevin Hall, president of the University of Victoria, refreshing in its reliance on principle, not political acceptability.
Not limiting his response to the genocide of Jews, he expressed the unacceptability of calling for the genocide of any other “national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”
Both the actions and words of groups aligned with the Iranian government’s call for the destruction of Israel and the “death of Jews” and those of the ultra-rightwing leaders of Israel who want to forcibly remove those Palestinians who survive the brutal destruction of Gaza, are equally immoral and abhorrent.
While Hall will undoubtedly receive criticism from extreme elements on both ends of the spectrum, I applaud his willingness to take the moral high ground.
Howard Brunt
North Saanich
Without fossil fuels, our lives would end
Re: “The fossil-fuel industry is the new tobacco,” column, Jan. 28.
I have to wonder what Trevor Hancock is thinking when he equates the fossil fuel industry with the tobacco industry. Does he mean fossil fuels are just a bad habit that could be avoided with determination and will power?
He seems to believe this ruthless industry kills 8.2 million people with their dirty exhausts every year (we can agree on that) but what he fails to calculate is how many would die if the fuel industry stopped producing.
I think in spite of my Grade 10 education I can make that calculation.
The three essential elements we need for our life on this Earth is air, water and oil. Remove any one of those three and that’s it, end times for us.
So the answer is eight billion people would die one year after fossil fuel production stopped. We depend on oil for virtually everything we need to sustain life.
Play this simple game and you’ll see what I mean: try to find any thing, food or object, that doesn’t have many times its mass in oil at the root of its production.
I thought my two EVs and my solar system with batteries in the basement would get me through, but after 10 years, not even close. Without abundant and cheap oil, civilization cannot stand.
The reality is: fossil fuels = life.
Trust me, Einstein couldn’t have put it simpler!
Brian Town
Victoria
Bollards were installed to prevent issues
Before bollards were installed on Borden Street near the Saanich works yard, I saw vehicles exiting the yard and mistakenly drive down the cycle path. I’ve also seen a moving truck parked on the cycle path near the condo across from the pub.
Bollards were installed to prevent those issues.
An obvious hazard, if bollards are removed, is drivers trying to elude police going down the cycle paths. I don’t know if police have a policy not to pursue fleeing drivers down the paths, increasing the chance of a clean getaway, or if they will increase risk to the public by pursuing them.
In any case, if the bollards are removed and a driver causes a fatal accident on the paths, then councils can use phrases like “our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and survivors of this tragedy.”
Jim Scott
Victoria
SAT and IQ scores are of little value
Re: “Move to ditch SATs raises concerns about relying on school transcripts,” column, Jan. 28.
When I was in high school in California in the 1960s, mediocre SAT scores and a “below-average” result on an IQ test marked me as “not college material.”
Despite this, I managed to gain admission to a local state college, where I was placed on the dean’s list for scholarly achievement.
At that college, I earned a master’s degree before moving on to a major university to earn a doctorate, and then another master’s degree at a Canadian university.
I have published scholarly articles, co-authored a book for B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation, by invitation contributed a chapter in another book, and also won scholarly awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship to study and undertake research at the University of Bonn in Germany.
Can anyone guess what I think of SAT and IQ scores?
Karl Preuss, Ph.D.
Victoria
Spec tax declaration is a net too wide
The provincial government’s demand to fill out a declaration proving home occupancy should be illegal.
I believe a tax might help reduce the housing crisis. My exception runs in a different direction.
As it stands, a demand is issued by the B.C. government to B.C. homeowners, forcing them to submit a declaration form concerning the Speculation and Vacancy Tax.
That should be illegal. Our legal system is firmly based on a fundamental assumption: Anyone accused of wrong-doing must be considered innocent until proven guilty. The proof of guilt lies with the accuser, not the accused.
By their own admission, the government is stating that an overwhelming majority of homeowners is not affected by the speculation tax.
When their property is their primary residence such a tax does not apply. Why is it then, that all of us have to take our time and make the effort to prove we are not guilty of avoiding the tax?
Why inconvenience a majority to catch a few? I think the government threw out too big a net.
But the implication goes much further. A homeowner who misses the deadline, for whatever reason, will automatically be charged the tax.
It amounts to the same thing as issuing a traffic ticket to every driver and forcing them to appear in court proving they did not do it.
Werner Grundmann
North Saanich
Municipal complexity is costing taxpayers
Re: “All that gravy is keeping our MLAs toasty warm,” editorial, Jan. 26.
The analysis which led to the editorial needs to be applied to the region. Transparency of MLAs’ compensation is as important to the taxpayer as it is interesting to all voters.
In this region of about 450,000 residents, the governance structure rewards complexity in the name of democracy at great and unnecessary cost to taxpayers. Many, if not most, of the 100 elected mayors and councillors receive pay and expenses from more than one source by virtue solely of their elected status.
In practical terms elected leaders are rewarded financially for preserving and indeed enhancing complexity. Transparency on municipal compensation structures is as important to municipal voters as it is provincewide, the subject of the editorial.
There is another significant expression of the challenge for transparency and accountability with, for example, 13 chief administrative officers (several of whom are paid more that Premier David Eby), 18 fire chiefs, five police chiefs…
In this region the power of the self-interest always drowns out the voices of taxpayers who are left with the bills.
Do municipal taxpayers keep also too many municipal leaders and public servants “toasty warm”?
John Treleaven
Chair
Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria
Madoff’s commitment is missed on council
Re: “Fountain is the beating heart of Centennial Square,” commentary, Jan. 27.
Thank you to Pamela Madoff for her insightful commentary about the decline of Centennial Square and the cost efficient measures that our city council should take to restore the fountain.
Her commitment and common sense is missed on council these days.
Donna Craig
Victoria
James Bay walkable? What about the cars?
If Victoria council thinks that the five corners shopping core in James Bay should be closed to cars, because it’s so “walkable,” explain why the parking lot at Thrifty is always full of cars.
Diane Ball
James Bay
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