There’s strength in tradition
Re: “Esquimalt couple launch petition to keep navy’s marching song,” Dec. 8.
The strength of any military organization is its traditions. For instance, the French Foreign Legion is known as an elite unit whose training focuses on traditional military skills and on its strong esprit de corps. Yet its members come from different countries with different cultures and observe traditions that are inherited. Traditions are a vital element of any armed forces.
There is now a move afoot to get rid of a vital component of 91原创 naval traditions and culture, the song Heart of Oak. For generations, Royal 91原创 Navy personnel have sung and marched to Heart of Oak, and today’s sailors still do. It is a bond and tradition that unites all those that served proudly in our navy.
Military tradition is about the practices, the uniform and the music associated with a particular service or unit. It establishes military culture as a dynamic force shaped by shared beliefs, values, behaviours, norms, symbols, practices, and social interactions.
Heart of Oak has been woven into Canada’s naval tradition for many generations. It must be preserved in respect for those who served and died wearing the naval uniform, and proudly marched to this memorable ballad. There may be alterations to the lyrics to reflect societal evolution, such was done with the 91原创 national anthem.
However, Heat of Oak must remain the march of the Royal 91原创 Navy.
Roger Cyr, OMM, CD
Retired naval commander
Victoria
Assessing the value of lower speed limits
Re: “Lower speed limits are a waste of time,” letter, Dec. 7.
I admit not favouring Victoria’s proposed speed limits, but I also think it is wrong to call them a waste of time.
It was clearly said in this paper that the matter is about road safety, not travel time. And contrary to the letter’s assertion, the goal to have zero road fatalities is stated in terms of a quantifiable measure.
A financial analysis of reaching that goal would require putting a price on people’s lives, another quantifiable measure.
I wonder how much the letter writer estimates his own life is worth.
Kai Lamertz
Central Saanich
Admit the mistake with Sooke development
The declaration by Sooke’s mayor and council that they cannot meet the new zoning law requirements is an example of why the province cannot make a broad law that affects all municipalities and leaves them with trying to accomplish what is absolutely impossible due to its own issues.
Sooke is overpopulated now for the infrastructure and traffic crisis. Another highway would be required to be constructed, plus financing of infrastructure needs.
We all make mistakes. John Horgan knew to admit to a mistake and cancel it. Please reconsider, Premier David Eby and MLA Ravi Palmar.
Toni Blodgett
Victoria
Alberta is in the lead in renewables
Re: “Look to the sky for more electricity,” letter, Dec. 6.
Like the writer, I believe that we could be doing a lot more to make use of renewables for our our future energy needs, however, the writer points to British Columbia purchasing additional power from “coal burning sources in Washington and Alberta.”
In defence of our neighbouring province, I should point out that Alberta has phased out all coal-burning generating stations. Furthermore, Alberta leads this country in the development of renewable energy.
Germany does indeed deserve credit for their early push into green technology, however, one could argue that maybe they pushed a little too hard and too fast to reach their goals.
Over the past several years, Germany has had to resort to restarting decommissioned coal-fired generation plants to achieve their electrical requirements. A step backwards.
In addition, it is worth mentioning the unfortunate decision by a previous German government of negotiating with Russia for the supply of natural gas, a decision, which I am sure they now regret.
On the positive side, this supply has now ceased, replaced largely by LNG from other sources.
Peter Howell
Victoria
A recipe for gridlock on McKenzie Avenue
Saanich’s plans to reduce McKenzie Avenue to one lane each way is predicated on a 2011 B.C. Transit plan for the Route 96 McKenzie RapidBus Line. This plan evolved into the 2021 RapidBus Implementation Strategy.
That strategy needs to be revisited to reflect the actual traffic volumes on the McKenzie corridor. These volumes have increased exponentially since 2011 (and from 2021 as we came out of the pandemic) due to significant population growth in the western communities and the Capital Regional District as a whole.
And, as other letters have stated, the McKenzie corridor is a truck route and has high volumes (once again, current data need to be collected before a strategy is finalized) of trucks throughout the day.
As well, the corridor has two secondary schools, a university, and sports fields directly on the route and serves as a commuting route to Camosun College.
People commuting from Sidney, North Saanich and the West Shore are not interested in the Rapid Bus and will clog up neighbouring streets when McKenzie Avenue becomes a parking lot (which it is most days from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and again from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.).
Let’s hope that B.C. Transit and the municipality of Saanich can revisit this. They might look to the City of Toronto to not make the same gridlock mistakes where the provincial government has intervened and developed legislation to remove bike lanes to address traffic gridlock.
Cathy Carson
Saanich
Military spending keeps Canada safe
Re: “Military spending does not offer value,” letter, Nov. 28.
I have to guess the writer of the letter saying military spending has no value has never seen conflict or war.
I’ve been in three conflicts where Canada was present and seen the good of peacekeeping by our armed forces.
Without military spending we are leaving Canada wide open to being overtaken by any invading force and the writer’s way of life will not change for the better.
91原创s deserve a strong, well-manned armed forces, not one that has to choose between defending 91原创 Island or Newfoundland, as the forces in their present condition could never defend the entire country.
James Cooper
Victoria
Let’s support peace, not the war machine
Re: “Military spending does not offer value,” letter, Nov. 28.
What happened to the peace movement that was so prevalent in the 1960s? Today, it’s all about fear and spending money on the military.
It’s time the people wake up and recognize who is behind this campaign to instil fear and force governments to increase spending on the military at the very time people are coping with the high costs of living .
It all started with Donald Trump in his first term. He was/is determined to have all western countries spend as much on defence as the Americans.
If you are part of the NATO club, spend at least 2% of your gross domestic product. There is a sense of group think amongst the NATO members: be fearful the world is coming to an end, World War Three is just around the corner, we must be ready.
This view is based on the unsubstantiated domino theory that after Ukraine comes the next invasion .
Instead of pursuing fear and militarism, why not pursue peace? Why not de-escalate the war rhetoric? Why is peace not an important conversation in NATO?
The sad reality is the United States economy is based on the military industrial complex. It needs to be fed to be sustained.
Spending increases on defence by western countries will largely benefit the American economy.
Carl Eriksen
Central Saanich
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