If her words were drugs, would you turn away?
Re: “Mayor of town where Munro lived would ‘consider’ amending monument honouring her,” July 10.
At age 25, Alice Munro’s daughter went to her mother and accused her stepfather of molesting her some 15 years earlier.
Munro left him, then reconciled. She is now being excoriated for failing to do something for her daughter.
It’s back to the old question: are a person’s actions part of the person? Or more to the point, is the person part of their actions?
Munro wrote powerful short stories, better than anyone else given the kind of stories they were. That doesn’t change. Ernest Hemingway was, by all accounts, a most unlikable person, but his novels are still fine reads.
Many great people in every walk of life have had serious character flaws.
Let’s put it this way: Imagine you have a medical condition that would see you bedridden but for a drug that allows you to lead a normal life. Then it is discovered the inventor was a pederast.
Are you going to stop taking the drug?
Ian Cameron
Brentwood Bay
Politicians, bureaucrats should get some blame
So Green leader Elizabeth May says “You baby boomers have f—— up this nation.”
I am not a baby boomer. Preceded that group by couple of years so I am part of the “silent generation.”
I find it interesting she accuses all the hard-working boomers of messing things up, yet no blame to the politicians and bureaucrats who served through those years.
I guess she does not want to tick off some old buddies.
Paul Baldwin
Victoria
Two excellent letters for politicians to read
I read the letters to the editor almost daily but on Thursday there were two that need to be reread and reread again.
David Collins’s letter on Canada being the best country was so well presented that looking back at Canada’s younger days makes me sad at how much our wonderful country has deteriorated in such a relatively short period of time.
How do we start to get that pendulum to swing back to what was and could be “a better” time again?
Frank Duerden’s letter with ideas about refurbishing city hall was so well written that even our politicians should be able to understand that what they want to do is not what the public wants.
But sadly politicians seem to lose their ability to read, hear or listen the moment they win an election. Listen to your public — and remember, we elected you!
E.W. Morrison
Victoria
Under David Eby, the deficit makes sense
Re: “All the promises add up to a mountain of debt,” editorial, July 5.
It is unsettling to see so many editorials in this newspaper that depict government deficits as the road to ruin. Especially when no alternative viewpoints are ever offered to balance the discussion.
Spreading deficit hysteria has become a powerful tool for politicians to justify austerity measures and cuts to social programs. Government deficits can also signify that the government is doing some things right, like spending money on necessary services for people.
In defence of the deficit, Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said in February that “B.C. remains on solid financial ground. This is not the time to cut service. We have to govern and we have a responsibility toward the people.”
Considering former premier Glen Clark’s abysmal political legacy, he is a dubious choice for spokesperson on what is best for B.C.
During the years of Mike Harcourt and Clark, barbaric cuts to welfare left people malnourished and destitute. And the three-month residency rule left many new applicants homeless and dying on winter streets.
Premier David Eby has raised the quality of life for many people at the bottom of the food chain.
His policies are reducing the gap between rich and poor: tenancy laws to protect renters; increase to the minimum wage; substantial boosts to assistance rates; more money for families; and an increase to B.C. Housing’s monthly subsidy for seniors.
Voila: The silver lining to having a deficit.
Doreen Marion Gee
Victoria
Teach dangers of drugs so rescues aren’t needed
I’m confused. We don’t give alcohol to alcoholics, so why do we support deadly drugs? Why aren’t we teaching the dangers of drug use in all levels of school instead of putting the onus on uncomfortable students coming to the rescue with naloxone?
Mary Patricia Newell
Victoria
To clean the beaches, let’s hunt the geese
The recent warnings about blue-green algae in Thetis and Beaver Lakes will surely frustrate beach-goers and swimmers.
This issue seems to be quite clear but little is being done to address it head on. It’s all about the soaring numbers of geese in the region and the effect they have on the environment in which they are not native.
According to Capital Regional District’s own literature, the geese were introduced in the 1960s and ’70s for hunting purposes. However, the geese did not learn to migrate and they are now resident year-round and breeding faster than ever.
I have read that they are protected by a piece of legislation dating from 1916 in which all migratory birds in North America are protected.
Well, these geese are no longer migratory so why do we still protect them? They are a pest to our region, they are a health risk, and they are causing significant damage to the regional tidal marshes and Garry oak ecosystems.
They are polluting lakes and leaving their feces in every street and park, it seems.
Isn’t the most effective way to deal with them simply to hunt them, as was originally intended?
Angus Simpson
View Royal
City is unwilling to address problems
Re: “Victoria residents trapped by crime deserve compensation,” commentary, July 11.
Hearty congratulations to Victoria Coun. Stephen Hammond for his letter exposing the glib dismissal of an appeal to council for a property tax reduction for people negatively affected by the catastrophic mess on Pandora Avenue.
Congratulations too for his exposing councillors Jeremy Caradonna, Matt Dell, Susan Kim, Krista Loughton and Dave Thompson as the driving force behind the rejection of any discussion of the disturbances and dangers experienced by taxpaying neighbours of the tent city.
City Hall has long been in the grip of forces unwilling (or unable) to address meaningful issues of city management, so the big questions are: How do these people get elected, and by whom? And what meaningful career or vocation did they have before finding their niche in politics?
Perhaps politics is the last resort of the otherwise unemployable.
Harry Whitfield
Victoria
Property tax increases are a cause for concern
Re: “Victoria residents trapped by crime deserve compensation,” commentary, July 11.
Victoria Coun, Stephen Hammond’s commentary is a wakeup call to taxpayers.
The so-called “gang of five” councillors, Jeremy Caradonna, Matt Dell, Susan Kim, Krista Loughton and Dave Thompson, are leading our city in a dangerous direction.
Without a clear vision or a shared understandable and actionable strategic plan made available to the public, it seems that the city is operating on a piecemeal basis, spending money and considering mega projects with little regard to the present and future tax burden that will result.
This is unsettling after all the noise that has been coming from our governments concerning the lack of affordable housing.
City property taxes increased 10% this year and are projected to increase a further 53% over the next five years for an effective run rate of over 10% a year.
Such increases are well above the Bank of Canada’s target inflation rate of three per cent and the average annual wage increase of citizens, meaning that the current course is financially unsustainable.
Likewise, as Hammond points out, many residents and business taxpayers are not receiving value for their taxes, as their quality of life has been horribly affected by the crime and social unrest that continues to be allowed within parts of our city.
This situation is well known and has existed for many years.
It is time for the majority to demand that the situation be fixed. Yes, it is going to cost money, probably lots of money, but it can and must be done.
In the meantime, put the silly plans for a splash pool for Centennial Square on the shelf and forget about the $260 million Crystal pool. These are nice to-do’s, perhaps for when the city has regained its former quality of life for everyone.
Mark Appleton
Victoria
Centennial Square plan is a great step forward
As a downtown resident, I was very happy to see that there is finally a plan to upgrade the Centennial Square and bring some life back into downtown Victoria.
I’ve been walking through the square for more than 20 years, and it’s one of the most rundown and uninviting civic plazas I’ve ever seen.
While change is hard, I think the new plans look fantastic and will bring many people of all ages back downtown.
My grandkids will enjoy the water feature, and I see many more young families downtown that need spaces like this. Let’s be open minded and positive about the future, because this is one plan that will make it better.
Susan Podmorrow
Victoria
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