Brexit is headed for听no-deal cliff
Re: 鈥淢ay says she鈥檒l quit if Brexit deal OK鈥檇,鈥� March 28.
It seems that the lemmings are heading toward the cliff edge, and nothing can stop them now. What are these politicians thinking? Are they thinking?
Has someone secretly pushed the auto-self-destruct button and James Bond will not be there to switch it off just as the clock hits 007? Oh my!
John Wiznuk
Saturna Island
How do ferries affect听the whales?
The concerns of our Green/NDP alliance over how orcas would be affected by the proposed increase in tanker traffic (400) are well-known.
Will they release their study, if any, on how 2,700 ferry round trips added to the 79,000 trips every year will affect the whales?
Art Duhame
Campbell River
We need modest clothing for all
Re: 鈥淎rchaic dress code an affront to women,鈥� column, March 29.
It seems female reporters are creating the news now by flaunting unprofessional business attire in the legislature 鈥渋n a show of solidarity and in protest of an outdated dress code.鈥�
鈥淲omen鈥檚 attire is being policed in the halls of the legislature,鈥� and 鈥淲omen are disproportionately criticized based on their appearance,鈥� wrote Katie DeRosa.
Maybe that鈥檚 because they are disproportionately breaking the rules?
Does she imagine that men would not be admonished for the same reason if they wore sleeveless shirts? But they don鈥檛 do that 鈥� because it would look unprofessional.
I agree with former prime minister Kim Campbell that bare-armed female broadcasters 鈥渦ndermine credibility and gravitas鈥� 鈥� particularly next to their jacket-clad colleagues. The same applies in business, in boardrooms and in politics.
DeRosa goes on to write that 鈥渟chool boards across sa国际传媒 have been grappling with the issues of dress codes that unfairly target female students.鈥�
Is there some doubt that there would not be equal disapproval if boys were to bare their shoulders, or chests, or wear short shorts, or have belly buttons showing? But boys don鈥檛 usually let it all hang out at school the way some girls do.
This is not about unfairly making girls cover up at work or at school. It鈥檚 about maintaining the same reasonable standard of modest clothing for all.
听
Lori Hamilton
Cobble Hill
Workers should dress professionally
Re: 鈥淎rchaic dress code an affront to women,鈥� column, March 29.
I find it amazing that there should be an article about what women should wear in the legislature building or any other building or place where you are supposed to look businesslike.
Of course you should wear something that looks as if you are doing a serious job instead of looking as if you are going to a party or the beach. What would you say if men start wearing muscle shirts or other clothes that make them look as if they are going to a party or the beach?
It seems to me that even on TV women seem to think they need to let it all hang out, and for some reason looking professional is out. There is a time and place to wear casual things, but I really would not like to see a woman sleeveless or with a low-cut dress or blouse working at the legislature. If you don鈥檛 think your job is serious enough to dress in a professional way, then find yourself a job where you can dress in a more casual way.
I am a female and most of the time I stand behind women, but not in this case.
Anke Crowhurst
Sidney
Walk the talk on听salmon recovery
Re: 鈥淎 test of mettle on Cowichan鈥檚 edge,鈥� column, March 1.
Chinook conservation is obviously a big deal for the federal and even the provincial governments these days. As go chinook, so go the southern resident orcas.
The Cowichan River is the only bright spot in sight in terms of the status of its chinook stock. The fact it is doing well relative to almost any other chinook stock in southwestern sa国际传媒 has been much trumpeted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and others in recent months.
The interesting thing about those Cowichan fish is they tend to stay near their home waters during much of their ocean life rather than head off to the West Coast and north, as do so many other chinook. In other words, they are a potentially important contributor to orca conservation and recovery.
Beyond that issue, we have the premier extolling the virtues of his Wild Salmon Advisory Council鈥檚 recommendations, and we have federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson talking about the importance of habitat. As expected, both governments are 鈥渟hovelling money off the back of the truck鈥� in that respect.
Meanwhile, we have a proposal to rezone Cowichan Terminal into a marine metal manufacturing centre in the middle of the estuary. That can鈥檛 possibly be anything but harmful to some of the most important salmon-bearing habitat we have in the only major chinook producer still on its feet.
Our federal and provincial leaders are clearly AWOL on this one. What does it take for them to walk the talk?
Robert S. Hooton
Retired sa国际传媒 fisheries biologist
Nanaimo
Try restorative justice for SNC-Lavalin
The federal Liberals promised to adopt a more open style of government, free from backroom politics. The government鈥檚 handling of SNC-Lavalin is a return to 鈥渙ld boy鈥� politics.
We hope that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will pause and take this opportunity to deal with these issues in a more open, accountable and healing way.
As a result of politicizing the situation and following the traditional approach of accusations and denials, we get bogged down in procedural and adversarial tactics and miss the chance to have a conversation and fix what might be broken.
There are other options. In his mandate letter to Jody Wilson-Raybould in 2015, Trudeau called for 鈥渋ncreased use of restorative justice.鈥� If people are willing to accept responsibility for their actions, then a restorative justice or peacemaking process might be the best way to address the damage, provide victims with what they need and find ways to make the system stronger.
Richard Tarnoff and Greg Roberts
Ladysmith
