After the citizens speak, expect no change
The Dec. 24 update on the citizens’ assembly that’s examining amalgamation of the municipalities of Victoria and Saanich was greatly appreciated.
This costly process, which is being chaired by a Toronto-based consultant from MASS LPB, will no doubt provide a small number of well-meaning citizens with a mountain of work in their review of the pros and cons of amalgamation.
Unfortunately, and regardless of their conclusions, the ultimate outcome of the process will no doubt result in the status quo.
My prediction: the good citizens of Saanich, already struggling with planning missteps by their own council, would undoubtedly reject amalgamation with Victoria, whose council has taken incompetent planning to a whole new level.
The alternative outcome of the citizens’ assembly, to reject amalgamation, would similarly lead to things staying as they are.
The only winner here is Peter McLeod, the well-paid consultant from Toronto, who should spend more time helping improve his home town’s infamous municipal decision-making processes.
Howard Brunt
North Saanich
Impact of kindness in a Victoria restaurant
My partner and I moved to Victoria from the mainland almost two years ago, and the sense of community and belonging we’ve discovered here was reinforced the other day by an unexpected act of kindness.
It’s been a challenging time for us recently. She’s been undergoing chemo and is recovering from what we hope is a successful cancer surgery. Meanwhile we’ve been navigating a highly distressing legal dispute, and just last week we had to make the heart wrenching and unexpected decision to have our adored 10-year-old Siberian husky humanely put down after being diagnosed with an aggressive osteocarcinoma.
So we decided in the midst of all this to go for a walk through this city we’ve come to love. We ended up downtown and while we seldom dine out, decided to treat ourselves at Finn’s.
Perhaps they overheard some of our conversation, or perhaps they noticed my partner’s head covering. Whatever the reason, as we finished our meal and prepared to leave, our server informed us that the couple sitting across from us (who had just left) had taken care of our bill.
There are always those worse off, whose challenges make our own seem trivial, as we are often reminded of. It’s easy to get caught up in the emotional turmoil of current events. We don’t often know the impact of kindness, or what someone else is going through.
So to that couple, a sincere thank you for that moment; a touching act of generosity.
Erik Minty
Victoria
Saving the lives of millions of children
One of the great accomplishments of humanity is the decline in child mortality, by half in just 20 years. That’s half of the children that would have died without global efforts.
Keeping children alive is the first step. Ensuring adequate nutrition is the next. Malnutrition in children perpetuates the cycle of disease, poverty, and wasted potential. Malnutrition is estimated to cost global economies over a trillion dollars, more than 10 times the cost to provide adequate nutrition.
Canada has saved the lives of millions of children through a long history of vaccine and nutrition funding. In 2025, a nutrition summit in Paris is Canada’s chance to continue with this tradition, with a funding of $750 million over five years.
Nathaniel Poole
Victoria
Province must look after health care
While I applaud Colwood for addressing the shortage of family doctors by setting up their own medical clinic, I must ask: Why is this necessary?
Medical care is clearly the responsibility of the NDP government. The fact that a municipality must step in highlights the provincial government’s failure to address this crisis.
Will municipalities have to set up their own ambulance service next?
Before the last election, Saanich South MLA Lana Popham said that the NDP’s response included opening an Urgent and Primary Care Centre in Saanich.
However, it has been my understanding that the NDP has been unable to fully staff and run the first such centre in Royal Oak to its promised potential.
To be fair, I checked online to see if I might be mistaken. Surely, if the clinic were now fully staffed and connecting patients as initially promised, they would proudly announce it.
Unfortunately, I found no current information on the success of any of these NDP clinics in providing care. The information might be there, but it has not been highlighted, which certainly makes me concerned.
I hope the NDP have not forgotten their promise to prioritize health care and are not content to simply download the problem, like the housing crisis, onto municipalities.
Bruce Kennedy
Saanich
Driving a vehicle carries responsibility
Re: “Pedestrians have responsibility, too,” letter, Dec. 2.
Lowering speed limits in Victoria will decrease the frequency and severity of pedestrian car incidents.
Regular people are driving heavier cars these days (pickup trucks and SUVs), and an increase in mass necessitates a decrease in speed to result in the same severity in the case of an accident.
Additionally, many such vehicles are not well-designed to mitigate the damage caused to humans when struck head-on by a car, nor do they provide appropriate visibility to the driver of what’s directly ahead of them.
Never text and drive, and drive cautiously at an appropriate speed anywhere where there are sidewalks and crossings to ensure you don’t hit a pedestrian.
Naturally, more responsibility lies on the person operating a metric ton moving at 50 km/h to avoid an accident than an individual outside of such a protective metal cage.
Alexander Darby
Saanich
Americans will lose if tariffs are imposed
The country that imposes tariffs pays the tariffs on imported goods.
For example, if the United States wants 91原创 oil at $100 a barrel, then U.S. consumers pay $125 a barrel. Canada still gets $100 a barrel.
The tariffs do not affect Canada. If Canada imposes tariffs on imports, we, 91原创s pay the extra price, not the Americans.
Imposing tariffs on goods from other countries is not good for Canada.
Allow the U.S. to impose as much tariffs as they please, there are 159 other countries to trade with. The U.S. is just one of many.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford should allow the U.S. to tariff all it wants, because fighting them with retaliation is a game we will not win.
Imposing tariffs will not make your nation richer, it just drives customers to other places. Shop at home as much as you can, your neighbours will appreciate it.
J.I. Hansen
North Saanich
Repeat shoplifter in a city no longer safe
How is it possible the police had to arrest a shoplifter in Victoria twice within an hour?
This is why I had to stop going downtown in Victoria, and have moved to the Gulf Islands.
The city is no longer safe, and the police are no longer supported by the mayor and council, the provincial government, or the federal government.
Our governments that should be protecting people have given freedom to all lawbreakers with not even a slap on the wrist.
This has got to end.
S.P. Glover
Saturna Island
Voters need a say in how money is spent
It makes no sense to follow a party that spends taxpayers’ money on killing others. It makes no sense to follow a party that thinks about its own financial increases.
They all earn a lot anyway for what they do. It makes no sense to follow a party that doesn’t ask taxpayers where our money is going.
The party in charge should discuss spending with us! We don’t elect them so they can look good spending our hard-earned money on other countries’ needs.
Canada first! I would definitely vote for a party that would take into account our opinion on spending.
What happens to our finances cannot be the decision of just a few people in government. We all have the right to decide about our money in a democratic system.
Stefan Mieczkowski
Langford
Singh’s no-confidence idea seems odd
The NDP announcement, that they will vote no confidence in the Liberal government, is very odd.
The Liberals and NDP are quite close in philosophy, except that the Liberals aren’t in bed with unions.
Imagine what would have happened with the dock, rail and postal strikes if the NDP had been in power. We’d still have no trains, no shipping, and no mail.
But if the government falls, there is every chance the Conservatives will take over, and the NDP is about as far from the Conservative view of the world as one can get.
Canada under a Conservative government will be much further from whatever Jagmeet Singh would view as nirvana than what he’s got now.
Ian Cameron
Brentwood Bay
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