Business first, then happiness
Re: “Towards a well-being society and a healthy One Planet community,” column, Dec. 29.
For several years, I have been reading Dr. Trevor Hancock’s articles on creating a better world. His latest attempt references a “Well-Being” society and a “One Planet” community.
In order to accomplish his plans for Utopia, there needs to be a paradigm shift in the core values of our (your) society, particularly the economic one.
His assertion, that the highest aspiration of government ought to be the creation of a happy populace, ignores the basic fact that governments are instituted among men in order to guide the community in creating an environment in which business can prosper and people can create their own contentment.
Government is not a social engineering organization; it is a servant that provides needed infrastructures.
According to Hancock, our entrepreneurs must abandon the goal of creating wealth in order to focus on creating happy people. He supports the notion that the purpose of a corporation is not to create income for its investors (profit), but to foster socially responsible outcomes.
Pensioners who rely on their investments will beg to disagree.
Hancock, and his fellow travellers, fail to understand what drives humanity; it is the need to survive and prosper as human beings. His world is an unworkable, altruistic community of socially and economically homogenous entities.
It is the embodiment of the age-old conundrum of socialists; their nirvana will work only if there are enough filthy capitalists around to pay for it.
A healthy society is created only after business has found firm footing. Without business, there is no society.
David Hansen
Victoria
Corner stores are nice, but more expensive
Re: “In the quest to remake Saanich, think small,” commentary, Dec. 29.
An excellent commentary about the McKenzie plan, this time by a professional, able to comment knowledgeably on the subject. What he writes is correct overall, but one has to take issue with one point.
The suggestion that people will “shop locally” at the “corner store” flies in the face of reality.
Development of the area as a higher-density, more urban, environment is intended to provide “affordable” housing and result in a larger proportion of middle- to lower-income residents.
As we well know from reports, some 40% of 91原创s are now hard pressed to cope with an unexpected bill — so we can’t expect them to shop at the expensive “corner store” when chains are better value.
Unless a plan such as McKenzie is complemented by large chain stores — such as the environmentally conscious and active Walmart — residents will still need private transportation such as cars.
Roger Love
Saanich
Think small in Saanich? Been there, tried that
Re: “In the quest to remake Saanich, think small,” commentary, Dec. 29.
I have lived on Falmouth Road (between Swan Lake and Quadra Street) since 1979. Then, there was a small grocery store on Quadra across from Falmouth, and another on the corner of Saanich Road and Darwin Avenue, both three or four blocks from my house.
So, yes, if we wanted a quart of milk, a loaf of bread, or a can of soup: a short, pleasant walk — no car needed.
Then came Thrifty in Saanich Centre at Quadra and McKenzie. And later, Save-on Foods in the other direction. Both of those little groceries disappeared.
My guess is that because that milk and that loaf of bread were cheaper at the big stores, people stopped going to the corner groceries, which meant their proprietors couldn’t afford the rent.
Go smaller? We’ve been there, done that. Unfortunately — tragically — it didn’t work.
Anne Swannell
Saanich
O Christmas Tree, Poor Christmas Tree
I can’t be the only one who sees the irony of Victoria city council boasting about a 40-foot artificial Christmas tree in Centennial Square when they plan to cut down the real, live 70-foot giant sequoia, loved by many people, citizens and visitors alike.
Despite all the bright lights in the square, there is not one light on the sequoia. Does council hope we will not notice it is there so we will not notice when it is gone?
Toronto, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Berlin, Krakow, the Vatican, to name a few, are cities that go to great lengths to bring real Christmas trees into their public spaces to the delight of their citizens.
How lucky they must think us to have a real, live tree to decorate in our main public square. How foolish they must think us to ignore our real tree in favour of a poor, lifeless imitation.
Nova Scotia sends a real tree to Boston every Christmas in thanks for their help after the 1917 Halifax explosion. Norway sends a real tree to London in thanks for support during the Second World War. A fake tree just would not express that real and heartfelt gratitude.
Once again, council has found a solution to a non-existent problem while doing little to address the downtown’s real problems.
And once again they have ignored the wishes of a large proportion of the people who pay their salaries.
Noreen Marshall
Victoria
Standing on guard for our country
If you are a supply country, like Canada, you sell what you produce at a price that allows you to make a profit and is affordable for your customer, in this case companies in the United States.
If that country decides that it does not want their people to buy your products anymore, it will apply a tariff of 25%, which their government collects at the border before it releases the goods to the buyer.
It doesn’t take long before buyers decide to no longer buy 91原创 goods because of the higher cost.
91原创 companies will no longer find buyers across the border. 91原创 companies then start laying off workers, searching the world for new buyers and, where possible, moving their manufacturing to other countries.
Farmers, forestry, mining and other immovable suppliers of raw materials certainly can’t do the latter so shut downs, layoffs etc. happen. Does the tariff impact us? Of course it does.
At the moment our dollar is so low that perhaps buyers in the U.S. won’t feel it immediately. Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee and our fellow working 91原创s.
Wendy Wardle
Victoria
Try a different path in the new year
The year 2024 saw humanity travel well down the path of greed, exploitation, hatred, violence, war, and ecological destruction.
Perhaps in the new year, we can all resolve to take a new path of generosity, justice, tolerance, non-violent action, peace, and ecological restoration.
Michael Ross
Victoria
Let’s learn from Europe when it comes to traffic
I have been following the controversy over bus and bike and roll lanes in Victoria and Saanich while on an extended trip across Europe.
Letter-writers have repeatedly implied that seniors and people with disabilities can’t use bike and roll routes or bus lanes.
However, people use wheelchairs and mobility scooters on bike and roll routes in Amsterdam, Paris, Seville and Victoria. And many older seniors and people with disabilities travel on buses and HandyDART vehicles, and would benefit from bus lanes.
Some people think that buses and HandyDART vehicles stuck in traffic, and a lack of safe bike routes, makes things better for people who drive.
However, the best cities in Europe for driving seem to be those that have the best transit lanes, and bike and roll routes.
Paris traffic was a mess in the 1980s, with ambulances often moving at walking speed. Now car and truck traffic flows better, and emergency vehicles can often zoom along in bus lanes.
Deliveries commonly arrive by electric cargo bike using Paris’s new network of bike and roll routes.
If you want to make life worse for everyone, follow Rome’s lead and prioritize the private automobile and ignore the benefits of bus and bike and roll lanes.
We could even allow parked cars to block downtown sidewalks, as Rome does.
If you want to make life better for everyone, acknowledge that traffic evaporation is real and get serious about creating bus and bike and roll lanes region-wide.
Eric Doherty
Victoria
Single-use cups clutter the landfills
What if 2025 became the year we collectively turned the tide on waste by embracing reusable cups? Single-use coffee cups, while convenient, are a significant contributor to our growing waste problem, often ending up in landfills or littering our streets and natural spaces.
Most of us probably have at least one reusable cup sitting in our cupboard. Why not take it out and make it a part of our daily routine? Switching to reusable cups isn’t just an environmental act — it’s a statement of community commitment.
Many local businesses already offer discounts for bringing your own cup, and innovative cup-sharing programs are gaining traction globally. What if we, as a community, decided to lead the charge?
Adopting this small yet impactful habit could save millions of cups from being discarded annually. It’s a simple change that reflects a larger shift toward sustainability and responsibility.
Let’s make 2025 the year of the reusable cup and inspire others to follow suit.
Charlotte Gorley
Colwood
That new Green MLA is off to a good start
A brief acknowledgement of the work of my new Saanich North and the Islands Green MLA.
With actions ranging from retaining an unelected leader who clearly is not wanted by anyone, to ignoring the will of the people of B.C. by shilling electoral reform again, all the way to fiscal and social policies that will render the fabric of our society and economy the continued laughing stock of the western world, I can really see how this iteration of Green is doing things differently.
Mike Houle
North Saanich
No experience, so get the top job
During a speech in Tofino our new health minister, Josie Osborne, said she has no health care background.
That is part of the health care problem. I would have thought the premier would have appointed someone with health care experience.
Amazing. Just think four more years of this.
Don Boyce
Victoria
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