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Letters Sept. 13: Election campaign, Orchard House, time changes

Orchard House is not a condominium Your photo on Wednesday of the under-construction tallest-in-Victoria Hudson Place One rental building said in error that the once-tallest Orchard House tower in James Bay is a condominium building.
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Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, in Ottawa with his election campaign plane. Sept. 11, 2019.

Orchard House is not a condominium

Your photo on Wednesday of the under-construction tallest-in-Victoria Hudson Place One rental building said in error that the once-tallest Orchard House tower in James Bay is a condominium building.

In fact, our building is a long-term rental or “leasehold” building. We tenants hold the remaining years of 99-year leases, which sounds great, except that we are not covered by B.C. landlord-tenant law, thanks to previous Liberal governments that favoured developers and investment-property owners.

There are five “leasehold” buildings in Victoria-Beacon Hill, which is the riding of NDP MLA and Deputy Premier Carole James, plus several dozen more in the Lower Mainland. If our buildings were covered by B.C. condominium or landlord-tenant law, we long-term renters would have some rights and protections such as those enjoyed by Hudson Place renters and all B.C. condo owners. We hope to hear soon that the provincial government will be legislating on our behalf.

Gerald Rotering
Victoria

Dropping time changes is foolish

Re: “B.C. government embraces year-round daylight time, plans legislation,” Sept. 11.

I cannot believe that our government would be so foolish as to eliminate the twice-yearly time changes for British Columbia. The closer you are to the equator, the less is the need to change your clocks twice a year.

However, on the west coast of B.C., it is required to balance out the daylight hours year-round. Wait until the complaints from parents begin in late November to January that the kids will be leaving for school in the dark.

Permanent standard time is also not beneficial, as in June and July it will be light out by 4 a.m. The complaint about the loss of one hour of sleep is a joke. Why can’t these politicians leave a good thing alone and concentrate on more important issues?

Ron Fritz
Qualicum Beach

Solo sailing and unlikely collisions

Re: “Keeping watch 24/7 at sea,” letter, Sept. 11.

Of course — it would be dreadful if a boat on the open ocean bumped into another boat while the solo skipper was grabbing a few minutes’ shuteye. Real life — and technology via radar, AIS (Automatic Identification System) and all the rest, plus the relative emptiness of the ocean — make the chances of that happening well-nigh impossible.

The letter-writer might reflect on round-the-world sailor Jeanne Socrates’ enormous courage and the infinite planning needed to successfully sail these long solo voyages, and perhaps ask whether Canadians (who once were similar pioneers ashore) still don’t need the same spirit of exploration — never without risk — in these increasingly worrisome times.

Ian Laval
(A fellow ocean soloist)
Brentwood Bay

Getting politicians to listen more

Re: “Less talk, more listening for federal election candidates,” column, Sept. 10.

It is deeply concerning how Canada’s political parties seem mainly to focus on “talk,” rather than on being responsive to needs and concerns of constituents and communities. So it’s exciting to learn that the City of Victoria, the Chamber of Commerce and this paper want to strengthen democracy by making listening a priority.

As a supporter of local Green candidates, I’m happy to share our enthusiasm for what we call a “listening campaign.” We’ve seen how a willingness to listen can help us all learn from each other and work together for the common good.

We’ve also seen how strong party discipline, in the form of “whipping” votes, where elected representatives are told how to vote by party officials, undermines democracy. Green MPs are asked to represent and work for, not just those who voted for them, but all their constituents, hopefully even those who don’t have a vote — future generations and non-human life.

Jan Slakov
Salt Spring Island

Real change starts with real conversation

Re: “Less talk, more listening for federal election candidates,” column, Sept. 10.

I empathize with Jack Knox’s abhorrence of campaign literature and the talking points that political parties bombard us with. However, there is an exception.

In Elizabeth May’s Saanich-Gulf Islands electoral district, this doesn’t happen. When May and her volunteers canvass they employ a “listening campaign.” After introducing themselves, the volunteer canvassers ask the householder if they have any issues or problems they would like their MP to know about.

Volunteers do not ask, or record who the voter is supporting as they consider this to be a private matter between the voter and the ballot box. Instead of the usual literature that ends up in a recycling box, canvassers offer a usable book mark and directions to a website for further information.

As the MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, May holds town-hall meetings twice a year in nine locations. In addition, as leader of the Green Party she has travelled to all provinces and territories on a Community Matters Tour where she asks Canadians to share their priorities, concerns, and visions for Canada’s future.

As May says, “Real change starts with real conversation.”

Shelagh Levey
Cordova Bay

In search of less-violent phrases

During the run-up to this election, can we please stop “holding politician’s feet to the fire” and “killing two birds with one stone”?

It might be helpful if we were to speak in a less violent way. Any clever ideas?

Thelma Fayle
Victoria

Turn on school bus flashing lights

Re: “Cameras on school buses aim to catch drivers passing illegally,” Sept. 11.

As a former school bus driver in Ontario, I can fully understand the angst of the drivers seeing vehicles ignore their flashing lights.

However, part of the problem is that many school bus drivers try to keep traffic flowing by pulling over with only their turn signal on.

Having lived in Campbell River for over 15 years and travelled up and down the Island, I have yet to see a school bus use their red lights and stop arm. The unintended consequence is we have trained traffic to assume it is all right to pass.

It only takes a few seconds to load or discharge the kids. Their safety in paramount. Get those lights on!

Brian Caldwell
Campbell River

Policing costs need to be shared

Re: “Region shouldn’t pay for Victoria’s policing costs,” letter, Sept. 10.

The taxpayers of Victoria and Esquimalt (as well as Saanich, Oak Bay, Central Saanich) pay 100 per cent of their policing costs.

The province provides police services to small municipalities (those with populations under 5,000, like Metchosin) and only collects a small police tax, which does not reflect the true costs of policing those municipalities.

The difference between what small municiplities pay (the police tax) and the real cost of policing those same municipalities is, in fact, a provincial subsidy.

In 2017, Metchosin paid $191,088 to the province for RCMP services received by their 4,708 residents. In fact, taxpayers in Victoria (and other municipalities with their own independent police departments) subsidize the cost of policing these small municipalities through various provincial taxes.

In 2017, Metchosin paid only $40.59 per capita for RCMP services. By way of example, View Royal, which is also policed by the RCMP, paid $165, while Victoria and Esquimalt paid $510 per capita (representing over 23 per cent of their combined operational expenditures).

All residents of Greater Victoria benefit from effective policing of the region’s central business district.

A regional police force would provide consistent services and apportion costs across the region.

Colin Nielsen
Oak Bay

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• Email: letters@timescolonist.com

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