The Macdonald statue could go to Kingston
It was a shame that Victoria’s mayor and council had the statue of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, removed from City Hall and put into storage without any consultation from the citizens of Victoria.
Why wasn’t it placed in a place of respect in the B.C. Parliament Building or the Royal B.C. Museum?
Macdonald’s first family home is being renovated for $2.13 million. Instead of the statue being stored, why not donate the statue to the federal government to be placed at the Macdonald house in Kingston, Ont., with a plaque stating that it was donated by the people of Victoria, British Columbia?
Liliane Morgan
Victoria
Bring statue back with perspective
When will Victoria city council return the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald to Victoria City Hall?
I would also like to see a First Nations perspective added, or perhaps another statue.
Orillia, Ont. is going through the same debate with its statue of Samuel de Champlain and have decided to reinstate it.
I thought it wrong to remove the Macdonald statue without public input. The fair and Canadian way would be to return the statue and add the First Nations equivalent so we have the full story.
Jim Parker
James Bay
What would nuns think of Queen City wear?
Re: “Pride Parade bars officers’ uniforms,” June 29.
The photo of the two Queen City Sisterhood members, decked out in nun’s headgear and collars, brought lovely colour to the page, but I wonder what Christian, Buddhist or Hindu nuns thought?
Does the same latitude apply when a non-Muslim dons a chador and hijab for Halloween or a non-Aboriginal wears a feathered headdress and moccasins to a sporting event?
Shannon Moneo
Métis Nation of B.C.
Sooke
Not proud of Pride’s police uniforms ban
Re: “Pride Parade bars officers’ uniforms,” June 29.
I am disappointed in the decision of the Victoria Pride Society to ban uniformed police officers from participating in this year’s parade.
I am a lesbian who has been going to Pride Parades for almost 30 years, long enough to remember how loud we cheered the first time we saw uniformed police walking in the parade.
So no, this is not how we “move forward.”
The society will “allow” police officers without uniforms to walk in the parade. But it is the uniform that tells us they are police.
I am not so naïve as to think that relations between the police and the LGBTQ2+ community are perfect. But as anyone over the age of 40 knows, we have come a long, long way.
Police forces have serious systemic problems in their dealings with marginalized groups, especially racialized communities. These discriminatory attitudes and actions cannot be tolerated in the very people who have the responsibility to serve and protect all Canadians.
But excluding uniformed police from the Pride Parade will not solve these problems. Like putting butter on a burn, it makes us feel better for a short time but actually makes things worse and delays healing.
We pride ourselves on being an inclusive community. Let’s not exclude anyone who will walk proudly with us.
Noreen Marshall
Victoria
Dogs have health care that humans do not
Re: “B.C. working on remedies to heal doctor crisis: Dix,” June 30.
The other day when I took our dog to a local veterinarian, I came to the realization that that our dog has better access to primary health care than my wife or I have.
At least the dog has a doctor who has provided regular care now for several years and knows its history and health issues.
We number among the tens of thousands without a primary health-care professional, and no expectation that will change, in spite of platitudes from Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Nice to pose for photo-ops and spout platitudes, but that’s not a solution to a very real crisis.
A well-accepted premise in management is that if you are trying to solve a problem, ask the people who are actually doing the job and the answers will be there. Those answers were clearly spelled out in the article.
Remuneration for family doctors is at the bottom of the pay scale, they are burdened with endless bureaucratic paperwork and have no meaningful time with patients.
I have heard that from practising physicians and from recent medical school graduates as the reasons they avoided even considering family practice.
I consider primary-care physicians to be the most important members of the medical community, so why are they not among the most highly paid, and why are they burdened with endless paper work just trying to do their jobs?
I guess I can take some solace that at least our dog has primary health care, but too bad for its owners.
James P. Crowley
North Saanich
High cost of housing discourages doctors
One has to look seriously at what we are listing our homes, townhouses and condos for, and think about the consequences.
Why do we have young doctors freshly out of medical school not wanting to set up a family practice here? In Saskatoon, according to a website listing this information, there are at least 20 or more doctors named as willing to take new patients.
Yes, Saskatoon has winters and we don’t. But will we be safe and comfortable for long, living in a community with such extreme housing costs and no family doctors?
Properties are sitting on the market unsold or waiting longer for a sale, other than perhaps the prime single-level retirement-style dwelling that every retired home-owner is looking for. In my beautiful Greater Victoria community, some residents came to a meeting held by an award-winning developer to assess their response to a proposal for a cluster of maybe12 small modestly priced individual homes tucked near a school — perfect for a young doctor.
A small group of nearby residents condemned it for being “awful” and not high-end enough … well, when their doctors retire where will they go for care?
We follow trends unthinkingly and reap the consequences.
Janet Doyle
Victoria
Harry deWolf class beat Sir John Franklin
Re: “Behind the science of the coast guard’s newest vessel,” June 30.
CCGS Sir John Franklin is not the first vessel completed under the federal government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Those kudos go to the Arctic offshore patrol vessels, otherwise known as the Harry deWolf class ships, built by Irving Shipyards on the East Coast.
The class lead vessel, Harry deWolf, is complete and in the water, performing workups. The shipyard is well into the fourth vessel under construction.
The Sir John Franklin is the first vessel of the federal government’s program built on the West Coast.
Jim Parker
James Bay
