Investigations of police need to be independent
Re: “Delta and Surrey police to review VicPD handling of drug case,” March 21.
It is good to see that an investigation into the complaint brought by former board member Paul Schachter against the Victoria Police Department. Paul Faoro, chair of the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board’s governance committee, is right, “This is a serious, serious issue.”
However, we must question the appropriateness of having this investigation conducted by the Delta Police Department and Surrey Police Service. This gives off the unsettling whiff yet again of police investigating police.
This is a time of growing calls for thorough and transparent police oversight and accountability. It is also a time of some distrust of police, as acknowledged by police forces themselves in recent statements about recruiting difficulties. Having police investigate police does nothing to relieve these concerns.
Then there is the issue of the involvement of the Surrey Police Service. This is a force that is not even full up and running and is embroiled in an ongoing dispute between the city and province. What resources will they be drawing on to do this, and who’s paying for it?
Once again, we need to stress the need for completely independent investigations of police misconduct and the creation of a body that is fully empowered to do so. In terms of transparency, it is disappointing that the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board has not yet committed to make the review public.
Dr. Jeff Shantz
Department of Criminology
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Surrey
With your council, you get what you pay for
I hear and read a lot of whining about the salary increases of Victoria councillors, and on the face of it, I can understand why. However, just dig a little deeper and one ought to agree they are more than warranted; they are needed. They haven’t had a salary review in six years!
If you want to attract quality candidates, you have to compensate them fairly. It really boils down to an almost overused but, seldom recognized idiom “you get what you pay for.”
The realization of that very idiom is ever-present when you go downtown and see the state of things. Downtown Victoria is a disaster and all the colourful crosswalks and sidewalk art in the world isn’t going to cut it.
The nightly local news pays daily testament to that. Why not try attracting better candidates for council for a change. So all I can say to the citizens of Victoria is this: you got exactly what you paid for.
Stu Shields
Saanich
Let the public be judge on council remuneration
In the discussion of the rather tone-deaf raise Victoria councillors awarded themselves, seemingly lost is the fact that it is not a post where pay is allotted based on hourly output, but is more akin to a contract job where an agreed upon price is paid for a specific task.
When candidates stand for office and accept the role of councillor they are agreeing to the contract price and the citizenry expects them to perform to the best of their abilities.
How many hours this one, or that, puts into the job is entirely up to them – and often varies widely between individuals depending on circumstances. They are not, however, paid by the hour!
Discussion of how much time they do, or do not, spend on council matters is entirely irrelevant. What is relevant is whether or not they are meeting the expectations of the public in the performance of their duties.
That is something best judged by the public at the next election – as should be the matter of their remuneration.
If this group of five councillors feel that they are deserving of an increase, then they should pass a motion to increase the pay for the next term of council as is custom, stand for re-election and allow the voting public to be the judge.
If they simply ram through such a self-serving motion I daresay that same voting public will still be the judge.
The result, I would expect, will be entirely different.
Tom Braybrook
Former council candidate
Victoria
Why did we get those councillors?
Victoria Coun. Jeremy Caradonna has said the pay has to be bumped up in order to entice qualified candidates to run! So there you have it!
The pay was so low that Victoria got what they paid for, an unqualified bunch of incompetent people! No wonder this city has so many problems.
Robin Goldie
Victoria
Community plan survey does not reflect reality
As an interested and engaged resident of Victoria, I was looking forward to completing the survey for input to update the Official Community Plan. I was particularly interested in questions pertaining to possible areas for future low, medium and tall buildings.
However, I was disappointed that the survey’s definition of a “tall” building is a building only 14 storeys high. This is exceedingly disingenuous as over the past year council ignored the OCP and approved at least two developments with proposed building heights of up to 32 stories. These are the Harris Green Village and the Bayview-Roundhouse developments.
Perhaps the OCP survey should be rewritten to ask the community for input on the maximum height of buildings and to be more honest in defining a “tall” building.
An OCP is a strategic plan, necessary to the growth and well-being of the community. A council that ignores the community’s strategic plan places the community in great peril.
Michael Shepherd
Victoria
Hospital back then: Turn off the Leafs game
When I read about Eric Roberts’ time spent in the hallway at Victoria General Hospital, I could relate, only in a small way. My wait at Royal Jubilee Hospital some years ago was in hours, not days.
Yet his story, along with the recent TV debacle, reminded me of my first hospital admission back in 1966.
Following an auto accident, I was transferred to Sunnybrook Military Hospital in Toronto, where there was no shortage of beds or staff.
The procedure back then was, for those of us able, to stand by our bed as the medical officer made his rounds. A fellow patient on my ward had his arm in a cast. Contrary to instructions he had allowed it to get wet and as a result got such an earful from the doctor that we were all shaking in our hospital slippers.
Those not confined to bed were assigned small tasks, mine being to deliver juice to the other patients. When ready for discharge, we had to strip our bed to the frame and thoroughly wash it.
What stayed with me most, however, was a foreign nurse, unfamiliar with Canadian culture, who insisted on turning off the communal TV at 9 p.m., before the end of our beloved Maple Leafs hockey game.
I can sympathize with those today who, when lucky enough to be assigned a room, still can’t watch the games because their TV won’t work.
Eric Ballinger
Victoria
Let’s design roads to reduce greenhouse gases
As someone who has lived my 60-plus years here in Victoria, I am scratching my head about the strange anomaly that exists in Victoria.
Many groups preach about the climate emergency and the need to have more cycling infrastructure. But there are some of us who still need a car or truck for a variety of reasons.
Yet the new designs for roads, especially in Victoria, makes no sense. There are several bike lanes that prevent a car from turning right via a stop light because of a bike — yet there are no bikes in sight.
So, I sit in my car and spew more greenhouse gases. Does that make any sense?
Likewise, roads are now closed off to vehicle traffic so that my journey from A to B takes a very convoluted route. How does this help the climate emergency?
Could there not be some thought to make things inclusive for everyone, not just cyclists?
Jeff Barnett
Victoria
Have you tried making your outrage heard?
Ever since the last municipal elections there has been a lot of outrage expressed through letters to publications and social media.
But what good is it doing? Do you feel better after hitting send?
Why not exercise your right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and have a peaceful protest outside city hall?
We have no recall mechanism when it comes to elected municipal officials, and the province seems to be sitting on its thumbs with regards to changing that, so let’s make our voices heard.
Remember when the topic of downtown’s horse carriages future came into question? People very loudly protested outside city hall and guess what? The Victoria councillors backed down.
So if you are truly outraged by the slap in the face pay raise that recently was approved, I would suggest you grab some poster board and sharpies, grab a blow horn, grab a friend, head over to city hall and be very vocal in your outrage.
You may need to wait until these so-called full-time employees are back to work on April 4, but when they are make your voices heard through the windows.
Sarah Sorensen
Langford
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