Get the facts, then protest
Re: 鈥淧ipeline protesters march up highway,鈥� June 23.
As a member of the silent majority, I can stay silent no longer in the face of the useless protests concerning the Trans Mountain pipeline.
As a group, pipeline opponents and protesters cannot get their facts straight.
None of the pipeline opponents sit on the Boards of Suncor or Imperial Oil and, as such, are completely unqualified to label the pipeline uneconomic or having no business case.
If that was the case, there would be no bitumen flowing through the pipeline, and thus no issue for the environment to deal with.
But the other half says thousands of barrels of bitumen will be pumped through it and constitute a real hazard. Well, which is it? You can鈥檛 have it both ways.
At no time has anyone representing the protesters come forward to specify what they actually want. Their goals are amorphous, having no shape or substance. They don鈥檛 know what they want. It stops at no.
If anyone is seriously concerned about the contents of the pipeline doing damage, then I ask them to do their own research (and not a meta-analysis of someone else鈥檚 work) and publish the results.
In short, have your facts, not your opinions, ready and be prepared to defend them. That is the only way to credibility.
If you cannot do that, will you kindly be quiet and go away, and let the world get on with its life.
M.D. Hansen
Victoria
Disagreement with protest method
Re: 鈥淧ipeline protesters march up highway,鈥� June 23.
After seeing Trans Mountain pipeline protesters walking along Pat Bay Highway, I thought this is not the smartest thing to do and, even, dangerous.
If people want to protest that is fine, but to interfere with people going to the airport and ferries that may miss connections is not the right thing to do.
What do tourists think of a city that would allow this?
The police and other authorities should have stopped this dangerous practice and others planned for the future before it escalates and gets out of hand.
Ken McKay
Victoria
Questioning transport methods
Re: 鈥淧ipeline protesters march up highway,鈥� June 23.
I was looking for words and pictures regarding how the 300 protesters got from Island View Beach back to their homes. Not to mention how they transported their 鈥渇east鈥� to and from Island View Beach.
Ruth Robinson
Victoria
Other side of pipeline protest
Re: 鈥淧ipeline protesters march up highway,鈥� June 23.
Congratulations to the many thousands of local residents who support the pipeline and didn鈥檛 feel the need to close an important highway to celebrate.
Congratulations also to those who would prefer no pipeline but now accept the decision of the government we elected to make tough decisions.
Chris Harker
North Saanich
Protesters do have an impact
Re: 鈥淗ere鈥檚 an export to consider,鈥� letter, June 20.
One of the reasons the writer can sit in Victoria and make snide remarks about protesters is due to the work of protesters over the past 100 years.
Walt Punnett
Duncan
Greenhouse gas worldwide problem
Re: 鈥淎voiding climate chaos means zeroing in on emissions,鈥� comment, June 22.
It was gratifying to read about two items that seldom get mentioned by eco warriors. One was that much of the world鈥檚 carbon emissions come from China, India and United States.
The other was that sa国际传媒 is one of the highest per capita emitters, but, regrettably, the writer did not add 鈥渂y necessity, due to living among the coldest climates in the world and that our transportation routes are among the longest in the world.鈥�
That we must do our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a given. But to declare an emergency is applicable to the entire world, not just to sa国际传媒.
Even if we meet our Paris Accord goals, we will reduce the world鈥檚 total emissions by about .5 per cent. That amount of reduction will have a relatively insignificant effect on the world鈥檚 total.
We must be good environmental stewards and work toward reductions in greenhouse gas but to keep making the Canadian public think a massive effort on our part will somehow have a big effect on the world is deceitful.
Stanley Brygadyr
Victoria
Grandparents also suffered a loss
Re: 鈥淎ir India anniversary: Who remembers the children?,鈥� comment, June 23.
The author lists the qualities and relationships of the children who perished: Daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
I assume the author is still a young person, otherwise it would have been impossible to leave out of this 鈥渓ament for children鈥� the relationships of grandchildren.
The 鈥渙ngoing grief, pain and resilience鈥� of the grandparents living with this 鈥渄ifficult history鈥� and 鈥渦nacknowledged grief鈥� is unimaginable.
The article also describes a fictional character in a book as saying: 鈥淭hese children deserved to live because they were alive.鈥�
This is a statement deserving of a much wider application if there ever was one.
Alberdina Roosegaarde Bisschop
Victoria
Three points to consider
Re: 鈥淚s there a doctor in the house?,鈥� June 23.
As a retired family doctor, might I suggest the following:
General practitioners be paid commensurate with specialists, which they are.
Fee for service payment doesn鈥檛 work for primary care; an alternative needs to be found, and soon.
Medical graduates must be encouraged to embrace the spectacular virtues of wide scope, multi-generational medical care being mindful of detailed preventive health maintenance, the crown jewel of quality family practice.
Neil Finnie
Victoria
听
People are dying because of shortage
Re: 鈥淚s there a doctor in the house?,鈥� June 23.
Last year, my nephew died at 48 years of age. He had a massive heart attack which could have been prevented with a stent. My son died six months later at 54 years of age. He had an infected liver and tumour. Both had attended a clinic, in different cities, and were told they had heartburn.
Both were working, had wives and children. My son had grandchildren.
My son鈥檚 journey included two trips to emergency, where he was given medicine and sent home. After that, he was admitted to the intensive care unit in Port Alberni, then transferred to Victoria where he died. This all happened in six weeks.
Six of my son鈥檚 friends have died within the past four years from heart attacks and cancer. They all had one thing in common: No family doctor. They left wives and family to mourn. Not one reached the age of 60. I鈥檓 75 years old.
I don鈥檛 mind the fact with no doctor, it will be up to the coroner to find out why I died.
I do mind so many young, working men are dying. There has been no progress made in finding doctors in the last 10 years or more.
Carol Kendall
Langford
Remember triumphs of school children
It is end of June. My children are ending the school year by studying for final exams and special events, and award ceremonies.
I find myself thinking about the kids who may not be represented in these special events: The kids with anxiety, chronic illnesses, learning disabilities. The shy kids, angry kids and lonely kids. And others. They won鈥檛 necessarily be recognized in the traditional categories, but they鈥檝e achieved significant successes of their own.
I鈥檝e witnessed one of my children struggle through the entire school year with daily complex pain.
Every morning is unpredictable: How high will her pain be when she awakes? How will it affect her ability to concentrate and to sit in a noisy classroom? How many hours will she be able to attend school?
And yet, she finds her smiles throughout the day, goes to school when she can, and by all accounts does her best. Wouldn鈥檛 it be great to have awards for positivity, adaptability, and determination?
Let鈥檚 remember to recognize all kids for whatever they have been able to put their heart into during this school year. And, to give a huge thank you to every person 鈥� teacher or otherwise 鈥� who has supported them.
Their understanding, kindness and humour made all the difference.
Mechthild Maczewski
Victoria
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