University boards need diverse views
Re: 鈥淲hy faculty shouldn鈥檛 serve on university boards,鈥� column, Nov. 25.
As a faculty member at Royal Roads University, and a former member of the RRU board of governors, I read with interest Lawrie McFarlane鈥檚 column. The column provided an inaccurate and incomplete discussion on the topic.
The column implied that the sa国际传媒 government only recently passed legislation to allow faculty representation on boards of governors. In fact, faculty representatives have long been included as members of the boards of governors for all colleges and universities in sa国际传媒, and across sa国际传媒. The column also fails to mention that university staff, students and the university administration also have representation, in addition to faculty members, and that in sa国际传媒, government-appointed members by law have the majority of seats on the board and thus ultimate decision-making power.
As is emphasized in board training and practice, staff, faculty, administration, student and government appointed representatives do not represent their own interests on the board, but are legally required to always serve the best interests of the university as a whole. From my experience, all board members welcome and benefit from having a diverse set of individuals represented on the board so that issues of importance to the university and its stakeholders can be fully explored and considered.
Having faculty and other representatives on university boards is a form of good governance that ensures that sa国际传媒 universities continue to offer high-quality academic programs, research and service to meet the needs of the people of British Columbia.
Charles Krusekopf
Metchosin
Animosity directed at UVic board member
Re: 鈥淲hy faculty shouldn鈥檛 serve on university boards,鈥� column, Nov. 25.
The late Heather Nicol, who was my mom, served on the board of governors at the University of Victoria. We were told about an incident in which the kind of animosity Lawrie McFarlane describes in his column 鈥� from a faculty member 鈥� was directed at her. Although she was offered a second term, she regretfully declined.
Perhaps another reason for keeping faculty off boards of governors is that good people from the community simply will not tolerate that sort of behaviour.
Christina J. Nicol
Victoria
Suspended officers deserve justice
Re: 鈥淪uspended legislature officers push to be reinstated,鈥� Nov. 24.
The sa国际传媒 government should not be allowed the luxury of 鈥渞epenting at leisure.鈥� MLAs鈥� hasty vote resulted in administrative staff members being 鈥渂ounced鈥� out of the legislature like undesirable patrons from a bar.
This is well beyond simple politics. Do we need to quote the Magna Carta? 鈥淣o free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled. Nor will we proceed with force against him except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.鈥�
Lavonne Huneck
Cobble Hill
Daycare program is an聽investment in sa国际传媒
Re: 鈥淒o homework on all the costs of daycare plan,鈥� editorial, Nov. 25.
The editorial states: 鈥淭aking $2 billion out of the economy to create these [daycare] jobs will force taxpayers and companies to tighten their belts.鈥�
What nonsense. If $2 billion is being spent to create jobs, it鈥檚 not being taken out of the economy. On the contrary, creating these jobs means the $2 billion is being invested in the province, to the benefit of taxpayers and companies.
Elizabeth Woods
Victoria
Electric-vehicle reality is subsidized by oil
Re: 鈥淢ove more boldly on electric vehicles,鈥� letter, Nov. 24.
The highlighting of Norway鈥檚 commitment to ending internal-combustion-vehicle sales by 2025 at first glance might seem to be a wonderful win for the environment. How this is being achieved might not be so wonderful.
The purchase of electric cars is subsidized by the Norwegian government through both direct subsidies and various tax exemptions, which effectively make it cheaper to purchase and operate an electric car than a comparable petrol vehicle. This subsidizing is made possible by the government revenue from the sale of oil and natural gas and the $1-trillion sovereign fund that has accumulated from those sales since its establishment in 1990.
In 2017, Norway鈥檚 net exports of oil were 226,000 barrels/day/person, as compared with sa国际传媒鈥檚 net exports of 71,000 barrels/day/person. It is this accumulated wealth from its petroleum exports that allows the Norwegian welfare state to exist, even though its household debt-to-income level is extremely high at 235 per cent in 2017 (sa国际传媒鈥檚 was 171 per cent).
If not for the tens of millions of dollars sa国际传媒 is missing out on every day due to lack of alternative markets for the sale of its oil, sa国际传媒 could also subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles to a greater extent than currently.
I think 2040 is a reasonable goal for the sa国际传媒 government based on realistic economics. I also believe the development of additional export capacity for Alberta oil is prudent and necessary.
Dan Nicoud
Langford
Southern resident orca population is stable
Re: 鈥淥rcas are on the precipice,鈥� Nov.聽18.
According to the University of British Columbia Marine Mammal Research Unit, numbers of southern resident orcas in the Strait of Georgia have been fairly constant since records began, with 78 in 1960, a low of 66 in 1970 and never more than 98 (in 1996).
It would appear the population (now 74) has been surviving on a precipice for quite a while. Why must we now panic and stop whale-watching and fishing for salmon?
Yes, the population is low, but the good news is that the population of transient orcas that feed on seals and sea lions is increasing, as is the population of northern resident killer whales (salmon-eaters, like the southerns).
So why must we sacrifice whale-watching and sport fishing for the sake of a population that is low, but has been pretty stable for almost 60聽years?
Bruce Pendergast
Victoria
Feces-themed toy is聽inappropriate
Re: 鈥淭oymakers cater to poop obsession,鈥� Nov. 22.
I鈥檓 amazed to see a piece about feces (poop) being considered newsworthy. I don鈥檛 see anything good coming out of games that encourage inappropriate humour.
We see people being disrespectful almost every time we get on a bus or stand in line at grocery stores. We seem to forget that people鈥檚 sensibilities do matter, even if they conflict with our own views.
And yes, I know children like to play with gross stuff. I used to make mud pies with my little friends and probably ate my share of dirt in the process. I can鈥檛 imagine my mom being OK with a game that encouraged laughing at a lump of poop flying through the air when the toilet was flushed.
Judy Westhaver
Saanich
Statistics alone don鈥檛聽tell the tale
Re: 鈥淧revent waste,鈥� editorial, and 鈥溌犫�楤ig problem鈥� for sa国际传媒: One in five children growing up poor,鈥� Nov. 21.
Who could possibly be against preventing waste, especially if it is a waste of food while many go hungry? It tugs at emotions, supported by a statistic showing 鈥淐anadians waste an average of 400 kilograms per person per year.鈥�
But is this 鈥渨asted food鈥� or 鈥渇ood waste鈥�? The Capital Regional District collects kitchen scraps. What fraction is edible? Are chicken bones, vegetable peels, corn cobs, apple cores in this mass considered wasted food? If items begin to decay, is disposal not the correct action?
Child poverty is a statistic, but note it is household poverty, not children鈥檚 poverty that is counted. The UN defines poverty as living in the bottom 20 per cent of income, regardless of absolute income level of a group. The statistic does not say if only the incomes of people with children are counted.
Average incomes are greatly influenced by those without children, or beyond rearing age. Poverty in West Vancouver is different than the same income in, say, Burns Lake. In one, poverty is not having the latest iPhone, and in another it might be no shoes.
Children should not be neglected or go hungry, but in some families, parents sacrifice for the welfare of their children, while others, even with wealth, feed their habits and neglect their children.
If the statistic is the bottom 20 per cent, it should be no surprise that at least one in five children are 鈥渓iving in poverty,鈥� at least, to those who have taken some mathematics.
David A. Kelly
Courtenay
