sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

U.S. has control over arrivals there

There is quite a bit of rhetoric regarding Donald Trump’s accusations that sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has to be better at controlling our border.

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is responsible to regulate and keep people out of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½. If people want to transit from sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to the United States, it is the responsibility of the U.S. to monitor its border and let people in or keep them out.

The issue as I see it is that Trump wants other countries to bow to his will and do his bidding. In this regard, Trump wants sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to be responsible for people traffic into the U.S. so that the U.S. does not have to do its job; ergo sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is a puppet of the U.S.

Trump has told sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to tighten up its border with the expectation that this means sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is to stop people from entering the U.S., not sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½’s responsibility, and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has got it right on this issue. As for the illicit drug trade, the U.S. already has a good supply, and not from sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ alone.

I am interested in the rhetoric from Ottawa on this because the Liberals and Conservatives have been mute on the root issue, that sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ will tighten up its border to control who enters sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, not the other way round.

There is talk about helicopters and other initiatives, but no mention of how immigrants/people are going to be kept out of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ — tightening up our borders so to speak. sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is not responsible to control who wants to go to the U.S., that is the responsibility of the U.S. government.

Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre have not made their policy clear.

Ernest Nash

Saanichton

Cover new president, but with discretion

Note to all news media about coverage of soon-to-be President Donald Trump:

When he acts, cover it. When he blusters, don’t take the bait. Ignore him.

Elizabeth A. Bennett

Sooke

Butt out, Trump, we are not interested

I have no idea where Donald Trump gets his information from but I am certainly not one of the “many Canadians” who think sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ should become the 51st state. That is absolutely the last thing sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ should consider doing. Ever.

Our leaders need to put Trump back where he belongs and tell him to butt out of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½’s and Canadians’ affairs.

B.R. Sparkes

Colwood

Prefer the U.S.? Then move there

As the incoming U.S. president continues to mock sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, American children in schools are being killed in mass murders by U.S. citizens at a rate of around one every four days.

They complain about immigrants and people they claim as terrorists killing Americans when they themselves are their own worst enemy.

Thirteen per cent of Canadians are thinking that becoming a U.S. state is a good idea. I think that maybe they should move there if they like it that much.

I admit I’m being a bit harsh to our friends in the south, but they, like every other democracy on this planet, have issues both bigger and smaller than our own. Overall, I am lucky and love living in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½.

Ivan Matkovic

Sidney

Advocates for change have not succeeded

Re: “A new system would make every vote count,” commentary, Dec. 14.

To claim that one’s vote doesn’t count if the candidate voted for isn’t elected seems ridiculous, and it disrespects the voter. When it comes to referendums about changing our electoral system, the votes of both those supporting such change and those opposing it have all been counted.

Despite several attempts, advocates for change have failed to persuade a sufficient number of us to vote for it. That’s democracy, and blaming the result on change aversion, poor communication or unfair rules is disingenuous.

It’s actually possible that a lot of Canadians are capable of considering the various alternative electoral systems that have been proposed, fully understanding them, analyzing their implications for our country’s democratic governance, and quite reasonably concluding that the current “first past the post” system is better for our progress than those alternatives would be.

Nor is it clear why New Zealand’s recently suspended Parliament is something we should emulate.

Robin Farquhar

Victoria

Saanich’s proposals more than just traffic

There has been considerable opposition expressed to the proposed reductions to single lane car traffic on McKenzie and upper Quadra Street.

But wait, there’s more!

Saanich’s Draft Quadra McKenzie Plan, if realized, will bring massive changes to unsuspecting Saanich neighbourhoods. Wading through the 148-page plan, past flowery language and snappy images promoting utopian outcomes, one deciphers that designated “Centre Cores” would be zoned to allow high-rise (12- to 18-storey) buildings; “corridors” would allow mid-rise (three to six storey) developments; and “corridor hubs” would allow for six- to eight-storey developments. Taken as an example, the corridor mid-rise zoning would apply not just along Quadra and McKenzie themselves, but reach hundreds of metres back into single-family home streets and areas.

Images of multi-storey buildings lining main streets and invading currently peaceful neighbourhoods, eliminating mature Garry Oaks and other environmental features is not a future I relish.

Developers are already canvassing areas seeking options on land assemblies. If the above concerns you, and you think there must be better options for densification, go to SaveOurSaanich.com to learn more, and, to let Saanich council hear your voice, sign the petition opposing the plan.

Kevin Neary

Saanich

Unhoused residents need shelter, protection

Confiscating people’s goods and tents adds insult to injury. What a waste of our police force’s time and money.

Harassment of unhoused people only exacerbates mental and physical health problems. Please remember that most unhoused people are without shelter because they are poor, not because they are addicted to drugs or have mental health problems.

And even if they do, it’s our job to make sure they get treatment, health care, sufficient income, and housing.

I know this isn’t easy, but neither is anything worth doing.

Judy Lightwater

Victoria

Drug addicts and dealers are not welcome

Free drugs, clean injection sites and overdose clinics attract drug addicts, their discarded needles and dealers to the area wherever they are established.

We just got rid of the free slot machines dispensing drug accessories from Nanaimo Regional General Hospital emergency entrance and a shoot-up clinic is not welcome.

Surely it is time to consider those living in the neighbourhood, whose lifestyle and property values are diminished by concentrating addicts to one area.

John Bury

Nanaimo

We should have seen the looming shortage

The lack of long-term care facilities is a long-standing problem, not just for sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ but for the whole country.

In 1976, when I was a newly-minted GP fresh out of an internship, I worked as a house medical officer in a community hospital in Winnipeg. On the medical ward, there was a very nice elderly gentleman who was celebrating his second anniversary as a patient in the hospital. He had been waiting two years for a bed in a long-term care facility (then called a nursing home). It seems clear that this is a very long-standing problem which is only getting worse after 50 years of doing nothing to improve the situation.

This, and the fact that seniors are being humiliated by standing in line in food banks, should be regarded as an embarrassment and a disgrace in this wealthy country of ours.

It’s not like this situation was unpredictable. It has been forecast for decades as our older population increases.

How very sad that so many of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½’s seniors, who have lived a long and productive life, are now growing old with so little security and dignity.

Gwen Isaacs

Victoria

Nice film credits, but pricey accommodation

Kudos to Premier David Eby for upping the film industry tax credits to entice Hollywood to make movies in British Columbia. During the meetings in La La Land, did Eby mention that they would have to stay in expensive hotels?

Since the NDP has initiated a moratorium (ban) on AirBnBs and short-term rentals in the entire province, the only alternative is to stay in hotels.

That is, if they can find one, as they are also competing with the tourism industry.

The savings of the tax credits offered will be offset by having to pay for pricey accommodations for the visiting actors and production crew.

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has to revise the decision.

Not only will Hollywood be happy, but also individual owners of short-term rentals.

Lights. Camera. Action!

Mur Meadows

actor

Victoria

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