Bridge too far north to make a difference
Re: “Forget the ferries, let’s build a bridge,” letter, April 8.
A bridge from Vancouver Island to the mainland will never work from Nanaimo south to Victoria. The straits are 300 metres deep and the currents are too strong for a floating span.
Anything north of Parksville puts the mainland end into the coastal range with too much expense to build roads into the Interior. Better to consider new ferry terminal locations from Nanaimo south and Vancouver.
Colin Cameron
James Bay
Don’t expect a bridge to replace the ferries
Re: “Forget the ferries, let’s build a bridge,” letter, April 8.
The writer will be relieved to learn that sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Ferries has not been sold to private enterprise. In fact, it is still fully owned by the province. The sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Liberal government, back in 2003, “privatized” the old British Columbia Ferry Corporation and created sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Ferry Services.
But the buck still stops at the provincial government.
As for the bridge idea: Good luck. It’s been studied and rejected as too costly and infeasible.
Sean Gimbel
Mill Bay
Even with a bridge, P.E.I. still needs ferries
In answer to the question about a bridge to the mainland: The depth of water under the Confederation Bridge between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick is about 90 feet. The Georgia Strait/Salish Sea depth is up to 1,200 feet.
Also, they still have a ferry between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Richard Parsley
Nanaimo
Saanich should ask voters about a lobbyist registry
The issue concerning supporting a lobbyist registry should be of great concern to all citizens of Saanich.
It is an issue of public welfare compared to the private benefit of such interests as developers, contractors, consultants, and potentially even council members.
Just because there may not has been public support of a registry expressed does not logically lead to the conclusion that people do not care. Rather it seems more reasonable to conclude that most people were unaware of this issue coming before a council vote.
Even four of the nine council members voiced concerns about public perception and public protection. Yet, apparently the remaining five dismissed their concerns as signs of “not caring” about the issue.
Perhaps council should consider putting this issue to a ballot, an issue which protects the city from potential corruption. This issue is, to my mind, more important than council’s latest proposal to allow citizens the opportunity to provide input into where trees should be planted.
Instead, I can feel comforted that decisions such as these will be made by professional staff who will not be under the influence of a lobbyist.
Mona S. Goode
Saanich
Think of police officers who dealt with this case
Re: “None of this makes any sense,” April 8.
This was a touching tribute to a man who rammed cars, police cars and property in a residential neighbourhood in Duncan. The information provided was worthy of front page coverage.
However, as usual not one word of sympathy or understanding was offered for the many police officers and first responders who had to deal with the aftermath of the bizarre and life-threatening actions of this person.
That is wrong, unacceptable and doesn’t “make any sense.”
The grieving spouse lamented that she “wants the cops to know they hurt some kids pretty bad.”
I assure the lady any and all cops know that.
Perhaps the article could have offered some respect for the despair of so many individual officers who responded to this freakish behaviour.
For one or more officers, the shots fired will remain with them for the rest of their lives. No doubt many of their children will be affected, too.
Max Miller
Saanich
Isobel Mackenzie has helped many seniors
Re: “Assessing the value of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½’s seniors advocate,” letter, April 6.
I think Isobel Mackenzie, the seniors advocate, has done a fantastic job within the parameters of her appointment.
She was extremely helpful when I contacted her regarding a placement of a family member in a long-term care home 2019. The LTC home was insistent that the only thing they could provide was a shared room with a person with advanced dementia who would flash the lights on and off all night long.
Our family knew that would be a recipe for disaster. After the care home was contacted by Mackenzie, miraculously a single room was found and he was moved in the following week.
I am sure there are others who have received help from the advocate’s office. I certainly agree that the office needs more clout in making the case for more assistance for seniors and moving forward, perhaps reporting directly to the legislature as the child and youth representative does makes sense.
The government needs to remember that those in the seniors demographic will soon reach 25 per cent of the population, a significant block of voters to consider.
I also agree that the measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. I am working with a group of volunteers in the Canadian Federation of University Women researching access to home support for seniors across the province and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ does have a dismal record in that regard.
Donna Miller
North Saanich
Ship replacement cost would be much lower
Re: “Navy, coast guard plans carry a huge cost,” letter April 11.
There is a significant inaccuracy in the line about vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard.
The letter references “three offshore scientific vessels at $3 billion,” however, the total project budget for all three vessels is $788.5 million.
Craig Macartney
Media Relations
Fisheries and Oceans sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½
We need new ships, whatever the cost will be
Re: “Navy, coast guard plans carry a huge cost,” letter April 11.
The litany of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½’s shipbuilding aspirations ignores a couple of points.
To start, a country’s first responsibility to its citizens is to ensure the security and defence of the country. That involves investment in military capability, and it is not made at the expense of health care or other social development initiatives that benefit the citizenry. The two must travel in tandem.
Secondly, we have a huge backlog in building the new ships we need for the navy and the coast guard because successive governments have for several decades not made the investment required on a sustained basis in a timely fashion.
As a result, the overall bill now for these ships, when aggregated, is huge, if not horrendous. But make no mistake, we need to build these ships, however late in the game it might be.
Thirdly, no one has suggested nuclear-powered submarines for our navy. That would indeed be beyond our financial, if not technical, reach.
David B. Collins
Victoria
Finland’s fine example comes at a high cost
Re: “Finland sets an example for sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to follow,” letter, April 6.
The writer opines that Finland is an excellent example of a NATO partner and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is not. I don’t completely disagree. However, I feel context is needed.
Finland has been directly oppressed/invaded/threatened by the Russian Empire/Soviet Union/Russian Federation for hundreds of years. They have an urgent need to protect their physical border with a belligerent and hostile Russia.
Importantly, the Finnish people understand that all those troops, artillery pieces, battle tanks and missile systems have to be bought by the taxpayers.
OECD data from 2021 shows the average net tax for a Finnish taxpayer was 30.8 per cent. The same average net tax for Canadians was 25.1 per cent. The effective corporate tax rate in Finland was about 5 per cent higher than the rate in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½. Sales tax was apparently an astonishing 24 per cent.
The question then begs: Are Canadians willing to take a 20 per cent increase in income tax and a doubling of sales tax to meet the Finnish example? Or perhaps a cut in social spending?
Anyone think our political parties are willing to take that heat?
I didn’t think so.
Terry McTeer
Central Saanich
Maybe the good doctor should go elsewhere
If Dr. Brian Day remains unhappy with our health-care system after his several legal challenges to it have been denied, now by the Supreme Court of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, then I might suggest he seek employment more to his liking in another country or jurisdiction. His continuing commentary on this subject is now becoming tiresome.
John Stevenson
Victoria
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