Those beautiful birds are peafowl
Re: ‘Feral peacocks ruffle feathers,’ May 3.
I would have thought that the Times Colonist would understand that “peacocks” are male, “peahens” are female, and the collective is “peafowl.” The Mainland might be grammatically ignorant, but this is Victoria. And if the paper doesn’t care about grammar, how about political correctness?
Ian Cameron
Brentwood Bay
Library plaza has become depressing
The indoor plaza at the Central Branch of the Victoria Public Library has become a distressing place to visit.
The containers of shrubs have not been watered in months, and many are dying. What was once a lush garden is now very depressing — not a welcoming entrance to the complex.
Who is in charge? As taxpayers, we are being cheated. I protest.
John Veillette
Victoria
Good intentions, poor solutions
Re: “Feeling pain of health tax,” editorial, May 3.
The B.C. NDP is right to eliminate Medical Services Plan premiums. B.C. has long been out of step with the rest of Canada in charging a premium.
The solution, however, is not a targeted payroll, quasi-property tax. The solution is through provincial income tax, where people earning more pay more. The government’s decision is political because it doesn’t want to defend an income-tax increase at the next election.
The government is right to be concerned about housing affordability, but the speculation tax is going to hurt affordability because fewer building projects are going to go forward, as pre-sales to Canadians and foreigners dry up. As with the MSP, the intentions are good, but the fix is poor or will have the opposite effect.
Last, the B.C. government’s effort to kill the Kinder Morgan pipeline is allegedly pursued in the cause of protecting our southern coast. However, when it comes to supporting pipelines to Kitimat or Prince Rupert, which is where they should go to new refineries to export refined products and ensure B.C. is no longer reliant on U.S. imports, the B.C. NDP is held hostage by three members of the Green Party who oppose pipelines to anywhere.
And the NDP wants to lock in this captivity through proportional representation. Another bad idea.
Wayne Cox
Saanichton
New plasma facilities are planned
Re: “Don’t pay plasma donors,” editorial, May 4.
Some additional facts regarding plasma proteins in Canada: Canada currently sends plasma to the U.S. and Switzerland for fractionation, and has three fractionation plants undergoing licensing activities: Green Cross (Montreal), Prometic Life Sciences (Laval) and Therapure (Mississauga). All three companies anticipate supply of plasma products to Canadians in the near future.
Canadian Blood Services and HemaQuebec do have a significant challenge ahead with collecting 50 per cent of Canada’s future needs. Developing a new business unit to collect large amounts of plasma takes time and significant funding.
Demand for plasma is increasing annually, with expanding indications of immune globulin, as well as novel plasma proteins in clinical development. To meet this demand, Canada should be looking beyond a 50 per cent domestic target in light of growing global demand and the finite capacity of paid U.S. plasma to supplement the Canadian market in the future.
Blood collectors such as CBS can coexist with other plasma collectors if there is a harmonious plan to attract the much-needed healthy Canadian plasma donors in a sustainable manner. Prometic operates a plasma centre in Winnipeg that has operated in harmony with the Winnipeg CBS blood centre for more than 30 years.
The funding of these programs and the products can stay in Canada to benefit all Canadians.
Bill Bees
Vice-president
Prometic Plasma Resources
Winnipeg
Projects suffer paralysis by analysis
Readers need only research the fate of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project to see what studying something to death achieves.
Originally conceived in the 1970s, the Mackenzie Valley pipeline was the subject of an inquiry conducted by Justice Thomas Berger and then scrapped, much to the glee of its opponents. The project proponents (Imperial Oil, the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, ConocoPhillips, Shell Canada and ExxonMobil) subsequently filed for regulatory approval of the pipeline in October 2004 and received final regulatory approval in 2011 — seven years later.
While the project certificate remains valid until 2022, with the collapse of commodity prices and the seemingly never-ending study and analysis required by regulators and environmental opponents (Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club of Canada) the main proponents had finally had enough, and, in late 2017, they walked away.
The sorry history of another Canadian resource-project failure. Also known as paralysis by analysis. Sound familiar?
Randy Morriss
Sooke
The pipeline and the plea of the unborn
The unborn plead for a hearing and consideration in the Trans Mountain pipeline decision. We are your future children, grandchildren and all future life on this planet, and we plead with you: Do not destroy our environment.
We do not want to get sick and die from the poisons our parents and grandparents are allowing to be pumped into our atmosphere. We want to inherit an atmosphere that is clean and healthy for all life on earth to enjoy. No amount of money can compensate for a poisoned, polluted atmosphere.
The people of B.C. have a golden opportunity. You can stop the Trans Mountain pipeline from being built, which will prevent the piping and shipping around the world of vast quantities of poisonous Alberta oilsands oil, which will be burned and its deadly pollution pumped into our earth’s atmosphere to accumulate, causing sickness, climate change, and economic and social disaster.
People of B.C., please speak up to your leaders, tell them to protect your children, grandchildren and all future life on this planet. Tell them never to allow the Trans Mountain pipeline to be built.
Francis Blundell
Victoria
Petroleum makes more than fuel
Re: “We must face our fossil-fuel addiction,” letter, May 4.
It sounds all very noble, but what about our “addiction” to aspirin, toothbrushes and deodorant? Protest using fur as barbaric and inhumane? Where did you think that artificial fur comes from?
Oh, and that electric car the self-righteous, politically correct, anti-fossil-fuel folks drive — it’s not going far without tires, but not to worry, you’ll be driving on dirt roads anyway (blacktop is petroleum-based). Nor is it too comfortable driving a car without fabric seats; no plastic components, either.
You won’t be painting your house. Going au naturel at the beach will get you a day in court (bathing suits are out because the fabric is petroleum-based). Sunscreen is out, and no beach umbrella, either.
No water-skiing, unless you can row really fast; outboards run on gas. Go sailing instead? No sails, and anyway the boat is made of fibreglass. Can’t have that.
So how about just walking? That will be barefoot, please. What did you think the soles of your shoes are made from?
Have a heart attack? No heart valves, no anesthetic and no bandages.
Yup, we gotta stop this “addiction” to petroleum. We’re going solar — that is if we can make a solar panel without any plastic components.
Peter M. Clarke
Victoria
Sharing rides would cut traffic
For all of those folks who commute by car from the West Shore and farther, and complain about the cost of gas, I wonder why more don’t share their rides.
I catch the bus on Burnside Road East at 7:30 a.m., and often count the cars between cars that have at least two people in them. Very often it is anywhere between four and 10 vehicles that all have only the driver. That’s ridiculous.
I understand many have appointments or have to pick up their children from school or day care after work. If there could be only one car that had a single driver between all the other shared rides, it would sure cut down on the traffic, and a very good bus system would really get utilized, as well as saving on gas.
Cheryl Pardue
Victoria
