Avoid chest-thumping on pipeline decision
Re: 鈥淐ourt says sa国际传媒 can鈥檛 restrict oil shipments in key case for Trans Mountain,鈥� May 25.
I was relieved to see that the sa国际传媒 Court of Appeal ruled that the sa国际传媒 government could not block the Trans Mountain expansion. However, it might surprise some to know that I am a supporter of Premier John Horgan and the NDP. I suspect that there are many centre-left voters who feel the same as I do.
This is not because I don鈥檛 wish to see a wind-down of reliance on fossil fuels or that I am not concerned about the risk of a bitumen spill on sa国际传媒鈥檚 coast, but I am realistic enough to know that such a transition to better, renewable alternatives cannot happen overnight and that both domestic and foreign markets still require fossil fuels during transition away from them.
However, much of the crowing already underway by ardent pipeline supporters should be tempered by several facts.
First, the sa国际传媒 government represents a population deeply split on the issue. It had an obligation to establish, through the court, whether the province had a right to assert itself further in this matter. The top sa国际传媒 court has now rendered its decision and an appeal to the Supreme Court will occur.
The current minority government must balance all competing interests, but they have done well in that regard.
I respectfully caution political opportunists of any political stripe against chest-thumping as, God forbid, in the event of a catastrophic spill, popular opinion will most assuredly turn against them.
Daniel Rowe
Sidney
Premier Horgan is聽just聽losing ground
Re: 鈥淐ourt says sa国际传媒 can鈥檛 restrict oil shipments in key case for Trans Mountain,鈥� May 25.
So in a unanimous decision, the sa国际传媒 Court of Appeal pulled the rug right out from under Premier John Horgan and Attorney General David Eby on the pipeline issue.
Make no mistake: The sa国际传媒 government had only two chances here, slim and none 鈥� and Slim was out of town. The NDP must feel like a penny waiting for change.
I鈥檝e seen this movie. The premier (Glen Clark) loses in court, then gets decimated at the polls.
Keep digging. You are just losing ground.
Grant Maxwell
Nanaimo
This is no way to聽run聽a聽country
In the face of the ongoing SNC-Lavalin scandal and the tragedy surrounding the Vice-Admiral Mark Norman debacle, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers are traversing the country doling out billions of dollars in an attempt to appease Canadian voters.
This largesse is developing with a federal election only a few months away and the financial fact that the federal government has not the funds to support the thousands of projects promised, since it continues to run annual deficits in the range of $20 billion. The recent coast guard announcement on new ships is a prime example, with no stated start date, no statement on where the funds will be obtained and no word on when the first ships will put to sea.
However, bailing out the newspaper industry to the tune of $700 million and giving the most vitriolic anti-Conservative labour union in the country authority as to which newspapers will be subsidized is outrageous in the extreme. This is the same union that presented millions of dollars to various news media attacking the Conservatives in the last election. Does this Liberal government have any moral aptitude at all?
And we have federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May suggesting she will support Trudeau after the next election to ensure a Liberal government.
Canadians deserve better.
H.J. Rice
Victoria
Mayor Helps travels while ships belch
Re: 鈥淗elps on waste-reduction panel at climate conference in Germany,鈥� May 21.
Our mayor was in Berlin for an environmental event while five big cruise ships on the same day were spewing their toxic fumes over Victoria.
Ulla Ressner
Victoria
Nostalgia is attraction of horse carriages
Re: 鈥淗undreds rally to back Victoria鈥檚 horse-drawn carriages,鈥� May 24.
Props to the many advocates for Victoria carriages who showed up to rally in Centennial Square on Thursday. I wish I鈥檇 been there myself.
Horse carriages are such an iconic part of Victoria鈥檚 history and an integral part of our tourism industry. The horses are well-treated and healthy, and have close relationships with their handlers.
The idea of replacing them with e-carriages is just absurd. Interaction with the horses, and a taste of colonial-era nostalgia are the main selling points for the carriages. If the carriages were to be phased out, it would result in an uncertain future for the horses, unemployment for their drivers and a lot of disappointed tourists.
Shelby Lang
Victoria
NDP just delays Massey solution
Re: 鈥淧remier hints at twin-tunnel plan for Metro Vancouver鈥檚 Massey Tunnel,鈥� May 24.
Quick action? Had the latest version of the original plan put forward by the previous sa国际传媒 Liberal government proceeded, the new bridge would be half built by now. So the true meaning of 鈥渜uick,鈥� as per the premier, would be an Uber taxi being the first vehicle over the bridge some time during his fourth term in office, about 2035. Don鈥檛 hold your breath on either event occurring.
Clay Atcheson
City of North Vancouver
Huawei exec should be聽grateful
I am appalled that Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is arguing that she is not being treated fairly as the sa国际传媒 judicial system reviews the request to send her to the United States to face charges there.
She lives in her multimillion-dollar houses while awaiting the court outcome. Meanwhile, at least two Canadians have been imprisoned in China and have not had the same access to a fair judicial system free from political influence in Communist China.
Compared with them, Meng Wanzhou, you should consider yourself very lucky.
Eric Jones
Victoria
Another Victoria fairy-tale ending
Re: 鈥淒ND, cyclists battle over rifle range,鈥� May 18.
It is unfortunate the Department of National Defence-cyclist dispute over the rifle range is in Nanaimo. If it were in Victoria, city council would pass a motion requiring DND to cede the land to the city.
DND would cower against the might of council and turn the land over immediately. The city would budget $5 million to maintain the land, but actually spend $10 million.
That overrun would vanish through the simple act of increasing property taxes 鈥� another Victoria fairy-tale ending.
Scott Clark
Victoria
Retool mills to use second growth
Re: 鈥渟a国际传媒 Greens call for halt on logging Island old growth,鈥� May 14.
As usual, greed is battling 鈥渃ommon鈥� sense. There is a call for a moratorium on old-growth logging, but we can鈥檛 have this because some of the 24,000 forestry workers would lose their jobs and 鈥渢here are mills on Vancouver Island that can only process old growth.鈥�
It follows that if we continue to cut the old growth, then at some time there won鈥檛 be any old growth to cut, and these mills will have to be retrofitted for second-growth trees anyway. Am I the only one to see that retrofitting the mills now would make sense? It would also add jobs for the retrofit projects.
The forestry workers could be given the option to re-train in sustainable careers while retrofitting these mills.
Skilled trades are in high demand, and the sa国际传媒 government is adding incentives for this training. If funding for the retrofits and worker training cannot be justified by the industry and/or government, then we have to embrace the fact that the industry just might not be sustainable.
L.D. Cowley
Oak Bay
Tally the rental fee for聽wood splitter
Re: 鈥淧lecas: Forget about recovering money claimed by former clerk,鈥� May聽18.
Have I misunderstood something?
Former legislature clerk Craig James received more than $260,000 in money and goods (retirement benefit payout in 2012 plus clothing and luggage) to which he was not entitled. He will not be required to pay any of it back. He has now 鈥渁bruptly retired鈥� from his position and will be entitled to his public-sector pension.
I have a question. Will he at least be billed for his use of the wood splitter?
Sharon White
Saanich
