Iona Campagnolo set a fine example
I was sad to read of the recent passing of our former lieutenant-governor, Iona Campagnolo.
I had the honour of meeting her on various occasions, but one occasion sticks out. I was the president of the Army, Navy and Airforce Unit 302 in Sidney, and requested that she unveil a peacekeeping memorial at the unit in 2003.
The LG came with Rear Admiral Jean-Yves Forcier and the Naden Band. She gave a brief speech, then departed to the club for a VIP reception, with local personalities and officials.
After a short time she went downstairs to the ANAF club room, shaking the hands of and chatting to every military veteran, military member and club member in the building (250 plus).
Truly a classy and approachable act. She represented public service and commitment at a level we never see now from our public figures.
Many politicians could benefit from her example. A great lady.
R.W. (Bob) Jones CD
Sidney
Vimy Memorial is one of the best in the world
The Islander piece on the Canadian national war memorial at Vimy Ridge was very moving, especially for one who has recently visited this sacred site. Walter Allward, a great Canadian artist and sculpture, conceived and executed a fitting First World War memorial that must rank among the greatest anti-war memorials of the world.
Instead of glorifying the victorious generals of battle, it memorializes the fallen by countless name, with allegorical sculptured figures expressing the grief of war and extolling the better angels of human civilization.
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is one of the greatest war memorials of the world and a fitting expression of Canadian sentiments of the futility of war.
Kevin Bishop
Saanich
Buses won’t help reduce traffic on the Malahat
The whole idea of trying to get the rail service back up and running is to get traffic off the Malahat, not adding buses to it.
The messes and carnage caused by accidents and the subsequent massive backup of traffic and time lost is the biggest concern for everyone who has to traverse the “Hat.”
I have missed medical appointments, business appointments and family responsibilities due to traffic being at a standstill, sometimes for hours.
Adding a couple of buses is definitely not the answer to an opinion from someone who doesn’t travel the Malahat daily.
David Buxton
Shawnigan Lake
Buses, rail together can boost the economy
Re: “Buses would be better than a rail revival,” letter, April 8.
Trains need buses. Conversely, buses need trains. They both work best working together.
Trains would enable buses to cater to more passengers more often. This regular, reliable service is absolutely critical to increased ridership. Trains get more efficient when they have more passengers.
Only buses won’t get cruise ship passengers to Malahat Skywalk on time. Transit buses won’t excel with tourists but rail certainly can.
Buses would be hard-pressed getting essential containers to points east also. Similarly buses would be really in great difficulty generating economic growth that rail has been proven to, for a century or two.
Still all this Island prosperity will never happen until B.C. Transit formally recognizes the essential collaboration vital between trains and buses for all this economic growth to happen.
Politicians understand this perfectly. I think B.C. Transit needs to be on board as well. The hallmark of a thriving economy is efficient, safe, reliable and affordable transportation.
Rich Ireland
Nanaimo
Ask those who know about police in schools
The Greater Victoria School Board’s cancellation of the police-school-liaison program is misguided at best, and smacks of kowtowing to lobby groups bent on serving what they see as a “socially progressive” agenda while seemingly ignoring the idea of consulting with school staff and administration, students, parents, the officers themselves, and others with first-hand experience of the program.
I’ve not heard of a trustee reaching out to school communities for advice on anything, anywhere in Greater Victoria. Ever.
My experiences with police liaison officers. over a span of decades in my teaching career, have left me with appreciation for the vital work they do and an admiration for the professionalism and care they extend towards the children they serve, whether delivering safety messages around Halloween, providing interventions for troubled youths, or simply continuing the work of fostering positive role models in the school community and building bridges between young people and law enforcement.
Presence of these officers in our schools is in part aimed at reaching out to the very children who may feel anxiety in the presence of law enforcement officers.
You will never erase anxiety from schools, or any institution housing a cross-section of humanity. But you can work with children to assuage such tensions.
Who better to inculcate in students more wholesome associations with law enforcement than the police officers themselves? If I have a child coming into my class with a history of anxiety towards learning math, does that mean I should banish arithmetic from my weekly schedule?
Rhetorical question.
David Masini
Victoria
Upgrades are needed throughout Oak Bay
Re: “Oak Bay’s many needs matter more than wants,” letter, April 5.
The letter makes an important point about the need to upgrade Oak Bay’s aging infrastructure.
Most of us don’t think about this because mostly the problems are invisible — until there is a crisis.
Drive through Oak Bay in the fall and winter and see trenches being dug around homes where tree roots have grown into, and shattered, old pipes. And worse, it would take just one bad earthquake to cut off our water supply and crumble old sewer pipes.
Without water to drink, wash, and flush toilets, would we still be complaining about tax hikes? In my view, upgrading this infrastructure should be a priority.
Heather MacAndrew
Oak Bay
Infrastructure must be improved
It seems that the provincial government and municipalities do not discuss or seek advice from each other when it comes to developing transportation and infrastructure rules.
I can understand the logic behind the thought that a distance needs to be maintained between a vehicle and a cyclist (1.5 metres or about five feet) on a road where speed limit is 50 km/h.
However, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming is forgetting that due to creating new bike lanes, most vehicle lanes in several municipalities have become narrower. So if someone maintains a distance with the cyclist, there are more chances of collision with another vehicle in the left lanes.
This is a catch-22 situation for many drivers, specially seniors who may not be able to practice quick response in such situations and end up in more motor vehicle accidents.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure needs to think about all road users including drivers and cyclists. My suggestion would be to create bike lanes similar to Amsterdam, with separate road and traffic signals for cyclists, away from the vehicle lanes. This might mean expanding current roads outwards.
The governments spend millions of taxpayer dollars in developing infrastructures. A thoughtful practical and long-term solution must be thought through before implementing any rules.
Mano L. Sandhu
Victoria
Looking out for the needs of everyone
Re: “Oak Bay council listened to its citizens,” letters, April 6.
Sadly, it’s common practice by right-wing populists in the United States and Canada to try to demonize people with derogatory terms and imply they are “them,” not us.
Similarly, it’s false to characterize Oak Bay residents as outsiders and “paid lobbyists” because they want long overdue alternative transportation improvements.
Yes, we have lived here for decades, and we expect our tax dollars to make roads safer for children, grandchildren, ourselves, and even that writer when he or a loved one needs a mobility scooter or wheelchair to get around safely.
We also expect the infrastructure to support everyone who travels Oak Bay roads, using all modes. Just as that writer is able to drive his car around the rest of Greater Victoria roads funded by others, without him contributing a penny.
Lesley Ewing
Oak Bay
Don’t be critical of cats, they are clean animals
I enjoyed reading David Sovka’s April 7 column on “cat and dog people.” As a self-identifying lifelong cat lover, I was pleased to see that cats are holding their own in popularity and that certain demographic groups even own more cats than dogs.
However, I think he made a serious libel against these delightful creatures by sneaking in a comment about how their owners have to put up with the “overpowering odour of urine” in their “carpet, furniture, clothing and hair.”
That was quite uncalled for, Mr. Sovka. A really low blow.
My family having owned numerous cats over many years, I do not recall ever having that problem.
Cats are well-known for being generally quite clean in their personal toilet, as it were. In fact, I would point out to him that cats are the only animal that actually adheres to the Biblical admonition that says: “Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole … and cover the excrement.” (Deuteronomy 23:13.)
Any cat that causes the problems Sovka identified must have an owner that either hasn’t heard of kitty-litter or that owner won’t allow his or her pet to do its business outside – and invariably does what the Good Book says it should.
Barry Gaetz
Victoria
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