A glance in a mirror finds an undesirable
Donald Trump insists that Canada be more diligent in keeping felons and other undesirables from crossing its borders. That is counsel we should heed, especially since it would preclude state visits from south of the border for the next four years.
David Bly
Highlands
B.C. Transit drivers are Santas, every day
Every December, B.C. Transit features the Santa Bus on selected routes in Greater Victoria.
Actually, Santa is on the buses every day of the year. I see bus drivers granting free rides all the time to passengers who have a personal reason to ask for a ride. This is happening more frequently.
There are no other businesses that I can think of that would so readily give away their goods or services.
I think a part of this is due to drivers now being trained to not challenge the passengers and refuse them rides when they can’t pay. That’s to not provoke any negative reactions from the passenger, which may endanger the driver or other passengers.
Unfortunately, I believe that’s because the “say anything you want” negative attitudes on social media have carried forward to in-person situations.
As a long-time transit rider, I never felt unsafe on a bus until last year.
In 2024, I experienced three separate incidents — all in the daytime — when a passenger or passengers started fights.
Again, with the current training, the driver would not intervene and could only quietly radio a transit supervisor for assistance. In each incident, I immediately moved closer to the driver for safety. When getting off, I thanked the drivers for their extraordinary service handling the dangerous circumstances.
Thank you, B.C. Transit drivers. You are the Santas onboard every day and deserve every “thanks” expressed by your passengers as they leave your bus.
Raymond Ho
Victoria
Seven local people worthy of praise
At the start of a new year, it seems fitting to recognize those unsung heroes who are often overlooked when bouquets are handed out.
I’d like to nominate people who have given outstanding and exemplary service to our various communities. It seems these people just get on with the business of their particular jurisdictions with little praise from we residents. Each has, in my humble opinion, contributed to the betterment of our area.
My nominees:
West Shore RCMP Cpl. Nancy Saggar; Victoria Police Chief Del Manak; chief medical officer Dr. Bonnie Henry; Ted Olynyk of B.C. Hydro; musician Daniel Lapp, who has taught hundreds of youngsters the joy of playing the fiddle; long-serving Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins; and Dennis Minaker, long-time leader of New Year’s Walking Tours of Gorge Waterway.
Thank you!
Margaret Spark
Victoria
Victoria can’t afford a new Crystal Pool
The City of Victoria will hold a referendum to borrow $168,900,000 for a replacement for the current Crystal Pool. No doubt, it will be a beautiful facility and be well used. However, can we afford it? It will require, according to the numbers supplied by the city, an additional 7.54% property tax for the next 20 years.
Of course, that assumes there is no cost overrun, which would be a rarity.
The city is projecting a 12% increase in property taxes for 2025. Most employed people and pensioners can expect increases in line with the inflation rate, which is about two per cent.
Even if council succeeds in whittling down the increase to 10%, that is still unsustainable. Property owners pay the property taxes directly; renters will pay indirectly, because landlords will either increase their rents or go out of business.
And that could affect, disproportionately, people already on the margins.
Proposed projects should always be rated as “essential” (maintenance of sewers, water, roads, etc.) or “nice to have.” In challenging times, we cannot afford the latter.
The city is proposing to cut the police budget. I am in favour of that — once our streets are safe again, there are no more homeless, people with severe mental health problems are housed in appropriate facilities, hard drugs no longer can be obtained, criminal gangs have disappeared, and everyone drinks responsibly.
Kenneth Mintz
Victoria
Education deserves more tax dollars
Re: “Higher education should be a priority,” letter, Dec. 28.
The lament regarding the federal government’s funding policy is sad indeed.
There are few priorities more worthy of our tax dollars than education. We are experiencing an imperfect storm of lost foreign revenues and out-of-control government spending.
Strikes, wage demands and now election games, and in the meantime our children will have to suffer. A shame considering the evolutions in learning that await those prepared to adopt and adapt. Canada could attract many students whose fees supplement home talent.
A plus if you ignore the immigration scams that shadow this benefit. The analogy of “Babies thrown out with bathwater” seems to fit the pattern of chronic incompetence.
The bottom line is shabby management and conflicting ideologies. In contrast, China produces about eight times as many STEM students as Canada, all with strong work ethics to build on.
Maybe our students will someday protest this system of engineered mediocrity.
The elites with their hands out are not much hope, but the cure will cost plenty if we persist in not learning and keep on lagging behind.
Russell Thompson
Victoria
Government spending must be reined in
Since Justin Trudeau became prime minister in 2015 the national debt has gone from $616 billion to $1.28 trillion. Interest charges are now $54 billion a year or $1 billion a week.
91原创s are paying more in interest charges than all the medical transfer payments to the provinces and territories.
In 2023, Trudeau overran the budget by $62 billion and this year by $48 billion. The federal Liberals under Trudeau have lost control of federal finances. This attitude of federal government overspending has permeated all levels of government.
In the case of municipalities, they just increase your house taxes above the inflation rate. In the Capital Regional District, increases of eight to 12 per cent a year are common. My neighbour of four years said to me the other day “I think my house taxes have gone up 40% since moving here.”
We need councils across the CRD to rein in spending.
Brian Masuch
Saanich
Victoria city council, stop the big spending
Most Victoria city councillors are quite willing to our spend money on things that are not needed and ignore most issues that are important to the people who pay city taxes.
They seem to think nothing of a budget that will increase our taxes by 10% or more, while the rate of inflation in B.C. is projected to be two per cent in 2025 by the Conference Board of Canada.
How about a two per cent increase in our taxes? How about spending only on what we need?
But no, they want to build a brand-new Crystal Pool at $209 million. For a city of less than 100,000 people this means that each adult and child will pay more than $2,000 each plus interest on the $165 million borrowed. For a family of four, that’s more than $8,000. What family has that kind of money to throw around?
But the damage doesn’t stop there. Despite their professed green credentials, they are willing to cut down 13 mature trees in Central Park to build this new pool.
At the same time, they will be wrecking a great kids’ playground, tennis court and the most popular basketball court in the region.
A new Crystal Pool is not needed, it functions well, it is grade-level disability accessible, which could be easily improved. But like any well-used public facility, it needs regular maintenance and could benefit from a renewable energy upgrade. That would be a lot easier on everyone’s taxes.
Allan Gallupe
Victoria
We need more leaders who have empathy
The discussions surrounding Trevor Hancock’s concept of a “well-being society” skirts around the real issue. The problem isn’t capitalism and never was.
The real issue is people in positions of power who lack empathy. This is a problem that is not easily remedied. If a person who lacks empathy is also high in narcissistic or sociopathic traits, it is impossible to shame them into having empathy.
People high in narcissistic traits and low in empathy are naturally attracted to positions of power. Now, narcissistic traits are not necessarily an entirely bad thing, because the driven types can and do get their jobs done, efficiently.
The lazy types will take credit for others’ work and mostly get away with it on sheer charm. However, until a proper cure is found, it is imperative that people who are being hired for certain high-level positions, or considered as candidates for elective office, are screened out if they lack sufficient empathy — and this must be done by careful testing, as people can and do “fake it ‘til they make it.”
Only when we get the lack-of-empathy-in-society problem under control, will we ever get close to having a “well-being society.”
April J. Gibson
Duncan
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