Municipalities need to act on deer
I am sure the owners of the dog recently killed by a deer in Oak Bay would agree that urban deer culls reduce the danger.
For several decades Oak Bay and other municipalities have been incapable of dealing with this problem. Obfuscation, blame/responsibility shifting, word salad excuses, and the Bambi-huggers are the primary drivers of inaction here.
Sadly, the victims are also the deer living in a habitat that remains foreign to them.
Even more sobering is the fact that city and municipal councils can’t manage this relatively simple task, but we trust the lot with the management of multi-millions of our tax dollars.
John Stevenson
Victoria
Clock changing is unhealthy, inhumane
Adjusting our clocks twice a year is unhealthy, according to published reports.
I would suggest it is also inhumane.
These time changes affect us physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically.
Almost five years ago we were told to “trust the science.”
So why can’t we trust that the universe knew what it was doing when it created the cycles of nature?
Lia Fraser
Victoria
Forest fires add to carbon emissions
With respect to the recent request for evidence of non-human factors affecting climate change, forest fires are a major contributor to carbon emissions affecting the climate.
Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California have estimated that in 2023, Canada’s forest fires emitted 647 million tonnes of carbon. B.C.’s share would have been in the order of 200 million tonnes of carbon.
In 2022, Canada emitted 700 million tonnes of carbon from other sources (industry, transportation, heating etc.).
In 2022, B.C. emitted 64 tonnes of carbon from other sources.
Volcanoes and the thawing of permafrost also affect the climate.
Ray Pledger
Courtenay
Those political rants are not working
The rant in recent political letters, and claims of the moral ideological high ground, have really caused me to re-examine my entire worldview and be more sympathetic to the causes expressed — said no one, ever!
Terry Medd
Victoria
Increase tax revenues with two simple steps
The fiscal wall that any B.C. government will soon face must be addressed by increasing revenues. Two components come quickly to mind:
Gas tax is no longer a universal source from road users. In order to capture funds for road maintenance from EV and hybrid vehicle drivers, surely it is essential to change the gas tax to a weight and distance-travelled basis.
Otherwise, gas tax revenue will decline as more efficient vehicles and electric vehicles become a larger part of the provincial fleet.
Reviving the HST will tax the services that now (inefficiently) escape the PST. Richer people consume more services and are better able to pay.
The previous version had a rebate for lower income people, so this can be reintroduced. Exporters get a rebate, making them more competitive. The previous incarnation forecast an extra $1 billion annually.
With a larger economy, we should reap more, without harming lower-income people.
The time has come for a complete revamp of provincial taxation. Let’s start with these two 21st century steps.
Roger Love
Saanich
The devil you know is the better choice
For whatever reasons, many people around the world and here at home are using their votes to show their displeasure with the status quo of government.
I have to wonder what many Canadians are so unhappy about, given that they live in a democracy, their homes and businesses are not being bombed or shelled daily by outside aggressors, and jobs are fairly plentiful, albeit some don’t pay as well as they’d like.
I don’t see the desire for home ownership reflected in some people’s actions to work harder than ever before, learn some new skills, spend every spare hour carrying out activities that will enhance their futures and ability to own a home, much like my 1920s era parents did.
I think the results of the recent B.C. election speak to people’s unhappiness but will the baseless un-costed promises of the provincial and federal Conservative Party leaders really change anything?
So far, all the Conservatives have done is draw attention to what some see as shortcomings of the NDP and Liberals but offer no real alternatives to solve the pressing business of government.
Neither provincial nor federal Conservatives had the responsibility of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting financial impacts on all facets of our lives, but that doesn’t stop them from quietly denying the pandemic’s existence and the efficacy of the vaccines.
Better the devil you know than an unknown and unproven alternative.
Mike Wilkinson
Duncan
Promise to Ukraine was not new
Re: “Defence minister announces nearly $65 million,” Oct. 19.
Isn’t it just a tad disingenuous for our defence minister to announce $65 million in aid for Ukraine at a recent NATO meeting in Brussels?
The money was already promised as part of a commitment of $500 million that was announced in July! Or maybe Bill Blair just prefers to repeat announcements when he has nothing else to offer.
Such announcements would seem to confirm former minister Marc Garneau’s comments that the current Trudeau administration is big on announcements — but not action!
And in terms of not having anything relevant to say to our allies, this reminds one of another NATO meeting where Canada announced it would have a plan to meet our NATO target — but not until 2028 — which is akin to Trump having “a concept of a plan.”
Gordon Zawaski
Parksville
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