91Ô­´´

Rustad needs to compromise as well

Re: “Kevin Falcon: He sacrificed for the greater good,” editorial, Aug. 31.

B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon swallowed his pride and fell on his political sword in the interest of this province.

Now is the time for Conservative Leader John Rustad to also swallow his pride and offer British Columbia a government with wide support.

The reshuffling of candidates allows him to honourably sideline the extremists in his party.

Most people accept climate change and will follow realistic leadership. Rustad must also pick up the challenges of health care and housing for all.

If Rustad fails to accept facts which are unpalatable to him, he will drive centrist voters to the NDP. “Anyone but Eby” will become “anyone but Rustad.”

Alanne Gibson

Victoria

Falcon represents politics at its worst

Re: “Kevin Falcon: He sacrificed for the greater good,” editorial, Aug. 31.

Realizing that his personal ambitions were not going to be realized in the upcoming election, Kevin Falcon jumped before he could be pushed, taking his whole party with him without even having the courtesy to inform his staff, caucus or election candidates.

This isn’t a compromise. It merely demonstrates that he really doesn’t stand for anything other than defeating the NDP.

The characterization of him as sacrificing for the common good is unworthy. Call it what it is: politics at its worst.

Mary Martin

North Saanich

We need their experience, restraint

The recent decisions made by the leaders of the B.C. Conservative and the BC United parties offer British Columbians a dismal set of choices in the upcoming provincial election.

We have to choose between the free-spending, freewheeling policies of the far left and the climate-change-denying, convoy-supporting, anti-vaxers of the far right.

The incumbent BC United MLAs need to be on the provincial ballots to bring their experience and restraint to this polarized situation.

Patrick McAlister

Victoria

Conservatives, think of our forests

Hopefully, the B.C. Conservatives will embrace some of the BC United election platform and modernize wildfire prevention and suppression to reduce global carbon emissions.

Wildfires are responsible for several times the carbon emissions of burning fossil fuels in B.C. and Canada.

Indeed, axe the tax and give British Columbians a break on affordability. Invest in saving our forests by preventing and suppressing wildfires with more effective laws and resources.

Phil Harrison

Comox

First campaign promise: Restore the E&N line

What will politicians do to secure a ­victory in the polls?

Well, we have our answer: Amalgamate, and different schools of thought must find unity. The solution begins here:

The first item on the combined platform will surely appeal to most people, those in Victoria and those beyond the crest of the Malahat, that infernal traffic stopper, over and over again!

The answer is the restoration of the Island rail line. It’s a no-brainer.

People would move farther north to have cheaper homes, trains will run on time, people will get to and from work on time.

The Malahat would become a secondary artery and visitors from cruise ships and beyond could experience the beauty of the Island.

Soon, the line will pay for itself.

So, leaders, here is your first electoral promise.

Restore the rail line as it was intended to be used!

Seize the day!

Eric J. Ronse

Shawnigan Lake

More trees cut down, despite climate change

I was horrified to come across a row of beautiful mature chestnut trees being cut down on Cook Street between Johnson Street and Yates Street.

They were adjacent to a new building project on the west side of the road, which leads me to speculate the same will happen when the land is developed in the section of Cook between Yates and View Street, those trees will be subjected to the same fate.

It was immediately noticeable how much hotter it was to walk along that section with no tree cover. Heat has been increased, and carbon absorption lost along that busy section of road.

When will Victoria council learn that cutting down these mature trees is contributing toward climate change.

We need to preserve our tree canopy in the city, and planting new smaller trees will not mitigate the effect of climate change effectively for many years.

Joanne Wiggins

Victoria

Education review is seriously needed

Re: “Balancing graduation rates and ­educational quality,” commentary, Aug. 28.

When I read this, my mind was flooded with the memories from the period writers Jerry Mussio and Charles Ungerleider call a paradox — the period from 2011, when the B.C. Education Plan was first announced.

There were flurries of discussions, including international consultants from England and U.S. while redesigned programs were being implemented.

As I was involved with some parent advocacy groups, we saw many parents concerned about standards and a shift to “soft skills,” called 21st century skills.

Parents who worried about reading and math scores and knowledge content were dismissed with simple clichés such as “They can Google it!”

This was a time of experiments and new reporting approaches. Some parents felt unequipped to pursue their children’s best interests.

The result is that the writers — long-time senior educators in this province — report that there are worrying accountability issues, such as the decline in math and reading scores, even while graduation rates are rising.

They are calling for a comprehensive review of the provinces’s education system.

This sounds very much like unfinished business.

While this past decade has seen the publication of at least one book — Educational Transformation, the B.C. Story — and nearly a dozen academic journal articles about this applauded redesigned curriculum, surely we should ask: Is this the direction that parents and public expect — more graduates but declining proficiency results?

Yes, a review is seriously needed.

Tunya Audain

West 91Ô­´´

Many options when you have a bicycle

Re: “Riding a bicycle is not for ­everyone,” letter, Aug. 27.

The author of this letter expressed concerns that various activities are not possible by bike.

There are easy answers for many of her concerns, answers which are pennies on the dollar compared to the cost of owning and operating a car.

There’s child seats, cargo bikes, and bike trailers for carrying the wee ones and pets. Recumbent bikes and adult tricycles for those who feel a bit wobbly. E-bikes so you don’t have to be an athlete to get up Fort Street.

A bit of the right gear will keep you merrily pedalling in rain, cold and snow.

Resumption of rail services will open up 91Ô­´´ Island for exploration to those without a driver’s licence.

But, to be fair, it’s true that cycling isn’t for everyone. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Bikes do not control the road, nor will they.

Let’s not pretend for a moment, though, that driving a car is for everyone.

Older seniors will lose their licences. Children are not allowed to drive. Many adults do not want or cannot get a licence. Many more cannot afford the enormous expense of owning and operating a car (it’s significantly more than you think).

The truth is, no one is trying to force you onto a bike. What’s happening is simply that the city is slowly becoming more safe and accessible for those outside of a car instead of just those inside one.

This benefits everyone, including those who love driving.

Michael van der Kamp

Victoria

Single way to exit is too dangerous

I find the rule change allowing residential buildings to have a single stairwell very concerning. If a fire prevents access to the stairwell within the building, it is irrelevant how well protected the stairwell is.

Someone with compromised mobility just might be unable to get there in time.

This is a terrible move in the interest of building more units. It should be reversed as safety must never be compromised and redundancy is a good policy.

John Ellis

North Saanich

The funny familiar feeling of despair

On Friday I was reading my Times ­91Ô­´´ to get my usual feeling of despair when I was hit with the perfect political storm.

The front page had tales of the B-Cups collapsing into the arms of someone who was asked to leave the party for his outrageous stance on things like climate change and COVID.

Then the federal Conservative leader was asking Jagmeet Singh to stab the Liberals in the back so that he could have an election, “get the power” and get rid of the programs that the NDP brokered.

I guess to him a deal is something to be broken once your purpose has been achieved.

Then the Alberta finance minister saying that “there’s nothing wrong” with accepting VIP tickets to Edmonton Oilers playoff games and wouldn’t comment on who was there with him — apparently a drug manufacturing representative involved in a deal to sell medication to the province. Sounds like a bribe to me … and why are government legislatures allowed to receive any personal gifts, anyway?

And there is the Victoria firefighter who wrote a letter to the premier while Victoria’s mayor has said she has nothing to do with the firefighter’s suspension and the premier should know that this is a local government matter.

I have to ask, therefore, who is the head of this local government that she’s talking about? Where does the buck stop?

If you were having a good day – sorry I brought it up.

Jim Leard

Saanichton

Falcon gave opponents easy ammunition

Les Leyne’s use of the word “betrayal” to describe BC United leader Kevin Falcon in his underhanded way of announcing the end of his party’s election campaign, with no heads-up to party candidates and workers, is right on.

These understandably upset people are making their feelings clear and the NDP and Greens should take a lesson from the recent U.S. Democratic Party convention whereby the Dems very shrewdly let disaffected Republicans speak who cannot stomach Donald Trump’s sleazy shenanigans. They should take videos of, and work with (as in advertising) moderate and irate BC United ex-candidates who don’t want the far right B.C. Conservatives in power.

The word Conservative is an oxymoron for this party as they care little about conserving the environment and air we breath.

They are the real radicals in that their policies will radically change our environment for the worse.

Mark Fornataro

Victoria

Please, politicians, remember ethics

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith thinks it’s OK to accept free tickets to events because previous limits hampered the United Conservative Party’s ability to represent Alberta at events.

If I see an elected official at a sporting event on free tickets, the only thing it represents to me is that they are being bought by special interest groups and their ethics have been compromised.

Simple ethics would dictate that they should accept no gifts and pay for the tickets out of their own pockets.

Gerald Marantz

Parksville

Someone destroyed volunteer work

For more than 50 years, the 91Ô­´´ Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society has maintained and created a rock and alpine garden in Beacon Hill Park.

Last spring, we created a new crevice garden and over the early summer, two of us worked hard to expose the existing bedrock and tie it into the new alpine crevice area.

Lots of work moving soil, placing rocks to create pockets for plants and then waiting for fall to plant.

Did I mention that this is all volunteer work and donated materials?

Imagine my shock and dismay when I came to plant up and saw someone had helped themselves to numerous medium-sized rocks, leaving existing plants hanging by their roots and ruined the transition from bedrock to crevice.

Who would do such a thing!? Not a homeless person, not a druggie – some middle class, entitled, self-absorbed ne’er-do-well who lacks any sense of civic responsibility.

I hope your garden is visited by aphids, cutworms and mould. May invasive weeds fill your crevices.

Donna Humphries

Victoria

If Alto didn’t do it, who suspended him?

So Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto denies responsibility for suspending firefighter Josh Montgomery after Montgomery wrote an open letter to Premier David Eby expressing his concerns over a “harm reduction” facility being placed in his neighbourhood.

Why is nobody trying to find out who at Victoria City Hall ordered the suspension? Should the city manager not be providing an answer?

Chris Walker

View Royal

SEND US YOUR LETTERS

• Email: [email protected]

• Mail: Letters to the editor, Times 91Ô­´´, 201-655 Tyee Rd., Victoria, B.C. V9A 6X5

• Aim for no more than 250 words ; subject to editing for length and clarity. Provide your contact information; it will not be published. Avoid sending your letter as an email attachment.