Consider recent service this Remembrance Day
Recently we have heard from people about the lack of poppies being worn by younger adults.
The fact is that we have focused so much of our thoughts on the two world wars and Korea that these experiences are no longer relevant to younger people.
We in old age had fathers and grandfathers who fought in these conflicts while younger adults do not. I believe that those responsible for promoting this solemn occasion need to focus on more recent sacrifices by our military in order to resonate with these younger adults: peace keeping efforts in places such as Croatia, Bosnia, Cyprus, etc.
These have all been dangerous missions where sacrifices were made by our military. Lest we forget.
Les Swain
Malahat
Bloodthirsty mobs on Canadian streets
“I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear.” Thus spoke John Diefenbaker.
The Chief would probably be surprised that today in Canada you can be fired when refusing to use the prescribed alternate pronouns in official settings, or be ostracized for publicly speaking out against the ever-changing flavour of the day in general. He would be equally surprised that by contrast entire mobs are allowed to march unhindered through our cities chanting “Death to the Jews” while waving foreign flags.
Members of our military, past and present have fought, lost their lives, and were maimed to defend the right to freedom for Canada and other nations.
In the opinion of many, what the bloodthirsty mobs are doing is a far greater offence than parking a bunch of trucks downtown Ottawa, but nobody is stopping them.
Lest we forget.
Hans Rysdyk
Qualicum Beach
What did council do? No recent minutes
A small group of like-minded citizens decided it was time we began attending Victoria council meetings.
I sent the agenda for the Oct. 26 meeting to our group. When I tried to send the minutes of the previous meeting, I could not find them.
Assuming I was on the wrong web page, I contacted City Hall and was transferred to someone who could direct me to the minutes.
The clerk I spoke with assured me I was on the correct page and that the minutes just hadn’t been posted yet. She explained that sometimes it may take several weeks as the minutes go through a review process by several departments.
I scrolled down the web page and was flabbergasted that there were no minutes posted since June 8, four and a half months ago. The clerk explained that they’ve been short-staffed and are working on them.
I said that this was not acceptable as it makes it difficult for citizens to be actively engaged in city affairs if there is no timely access to the information required.
She took my contact information and stated that the city clerk would be in touch with me.
Victoria citizens should be aware of this, and concerned about this lack of transparency.
Katie Swanson
Victoria
Housing battering ram is not the NDP way
Housing Bills 44 and 47 were recently introduced after a year of teasers and municipal naughty lists. The legislation is skimpy on details, those will only be released to the public in a policy document after the bills become law.
Within a week of Bill 44 we saw Bill 46 appear in order to patch an enormous hole in infrastructure funding caused by the poorly constructed Bill 44.
Now, all Official Community Plans created by municipalities, and the people that live in them, must be scrapped and replaced on short notice. Public consultation on developments is curtailed and, in some cases, forbidden, banned.
Costly new Official Community Plans and Zoning Bylaws are required – but what is the point if the province has already abolished zoning, public hearings, density regulation, and parking requirements? Futility.
It would be one thing if this provincial overreach was coupled to carefully crafted legislation that actually built affordable housing. Instead, it takes a battering ram to municipal planning and jurisdiction and couples it with a gag order on citizens and municipalities.
It is the opposite of municipal planning. It is the opposite of public engagement. It is the opposite of democratic principle. It is the opposite of functional legislation for affordable housing.
This shameful and lazy legislation is not the New Democratic Party way. The bills should be withdrawn, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon should be fired.
Go back and create a housing bill that explicitly recognizes and addresses the complex issue of affordable housing.
Doug Wilson
View Royal
Costly parking in downtown Victoria
My husband took two parking passes to Victoria City Hall, where staff combined onto one new card ($30).
The next day we tried to use the new pass in the View Street parkade. We logged in, did our business, but then were unable to log off. Other people were having the same problem.
We phoned the trouble number, registered the pass number and time and location, and were told to bring the pass into City Hall. The parking staff then charged my husband $10.50 for another new card.
Can someone please explain Victoria’s parking reasoning here?
Jude Somers
(weeping for downtown businesses)
Oak Bay
Don’t let Canada become a second front
Canadians have always taken pride in the fact that our country is diverse and inclusive. This sentiment mostly holds until a cataclysm occurs, and the conflict in Israel and Gaza is one of those.
To be pro-Palestine is not necessarily to be pro-Hamas, and the two should not be conflated but it appears though that they may be to some. And any expression of anti-Jewish sentiment in Canada is as shameful as it is unacceptable.
Our social cohesion in Canada is currently at risk as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.
While one understands that diaspora communities may hold strong feelings about what is happening in their former homelands, Canada should not become a second front where frustration and animosities, sometimes violent, hold any place in our society.
David Collins
Victoria
Paging Andrew Weaver to lead Greens again
After the latest epic fail of the B.C. Greens — the deputy leader likening Dr. Bonnie Henry to a psychotic Nazi — I think it’s time for Sonia Furstenau to step down as party leader.
Under Fursteneau’s “leadership” the B.C. Greens have suffered a series of embarrassing gaffs, next to zero profile and not one significant accomplishment.
It’s clearly time for Andrew Weaver to return and clean house before the B.C. Greens get cancelled in the upcoming election.
Andrew Brown
Victoria
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