The voice of reason is leaving Victoria council
Victoria residents should be very alarmed. The mass exodus of mayor and council incumbents smacks of them not wanting to face the music of civic mismanagement.
With Geoff Young opting out of this election, Victorians are losing the voice of reason in City Hall. As an economist, he has had a front-row seat in the diabolical decisions of the outgoing council, and has expressed his views on many occasions.
With a group such as Together Victoria, Geoff has expressed his frustration that public consultation and debates were useless if the decisions were already made by this slate of councillors.
Victoria is going to see the effects of developers and corporate might forever, and the outgoing civic politicians will push through the Missing Middle Housing project before this election. With that being said, we will lose heritage buildings in heritage neighbourhoods such as James Bay, etc.
Therefore, as someone who loves Victoria, we should have an entire cleaning out of City Hall on Oct. 15. I will only vote for non-incumbent councillors, as I feel duped in believing they were doing an admirable job.
Look at the Telus building being built behind the Empress as an example of poor planning, and see who was against this decision.
We will all miss Geoff Young, and his voice of reason.
Mur Meadows
Victoria
Disapppointment that Geoff Young is leaving
It is with disappointment but comes as no surprise that Geoff Young has decided not to run again on city council.
He never “shot from the hip” in his comments on issues, and was never swayed by the majority vote. He researched the issues at the council table.
A thoughtful, modest and practical man with a quiet wit, Geoff didn’t lord his education and excellent qualifications for the work that he continued to undertake over the decades.
How many people are aware that he has a Doctorate in Economics from Harvard?
Hilary Sandford
Victoria
Another comparison of population densities
Re: “Greater density will not make us better,” letter, Aug. 19.
The writer suggests that Victoria’s higher population density (4,722 per square kilometre) as compared to Toronto (4,428) is a strike against densification, especially considering the former lacks comparable public transportation infrastructure in the form of rapid transit.
As a current Toronto resident who spent 18 years growing up in Greater Victoria, I would argue the comparison is flawed because the reported population density for Toronto is based on the amalgamated City of Toronto which includes “inner suburbs” such as Scarborough and Etobicoke.
Two alternative comparisons would be Victoria against the “Old Toronto” district of amalgamated Toronto with a density of over 8,000 people per square kilometre, or amalgamated Toronto against a combination of core Greater Victoria municipalities, which ranges in population density from 1,600 to 1,800 people per square kilometre assuming the two most populous municipalities (Victoria and Saanich) are included.
While good public transportation needs to support densification (noting that Toronto and Vancouver residents rely on buses as much as they do rapid transit), residents of livable cities (which, on a global scale, frequently includes both Toronto and Vancouver) need to accept that making all journeys in a single- occupancy car is not something to which we should aspire nor is it a reliable indicator of a livable city.
Jeremy Wing
Toronto
Dieppe battlefield led to Canadian citizenship
A tour of the battlefield cemetery at Dieppe was the inspiration for unique Canadian citizenship, separate from Great Britain and the British Commonwealth.
In 1945, Secretary of State Paul Martin Sr. observed while visiting the battlefield that most of those buried wore “Canada” on their shoulder. The German defenders had properly buried the casualties marking the wooden crosses with “British Subject.”
Many who perished were children of immigrants to Canada at the turn of the 20th century. The names on the grave markers reflected the hyphenated populace: English-, Ukrainian-, French-, Norwegian-Canadian and so on.
Martin concluded: “Whatever their origin by immigration or birth, they had fought and died for Canada and they should be recognized as Canadians.”
Martin introduced a bill to establish Canadian citizenship as a legal status, saying: “For the national unity of Canada and for the future greatness of this country, it is felt to be of utmost importance that all of us, new Canadians or old, have a consciousness of a common purpose and common interests as Canadians; that all of us are able to say with pride and say with meaning; I am a Canadian citizen!”
The first Citizenship Act passed June 27, 1946, and 75 years ago, on New Years Day 1947, millions across the north half of North America became Canadian citizens.
Gerald W. Pash
Former citizenship judge
Victoria
Look to Ontario rules for municipal elections
I am a recent transplant from Ontario and I am extremely happy living here.
I see that a B.C. resident can run for any municipal office in any community and does not have to reside or be an eligible voter to qualify. I also see that an individual can run for office in any number of positions or in any or multiple municipalities.
Can someone tell me the rationale behind these regulations?
Would it be prudent for B.C. to examine other possibilities to qualify for municipal elections?
I think council members should have to be residents when they are determining how to spend resident taxpayers’ money.
To run for a position on council in Ontario, you must be eligible to vote in that municipality. On the day you file your nomination, you must be a Canadian citizen aged 18 or older, and qualify as a resident or non-resident elector (a person who owns or rents property in a municipality).
Robert Gardner
Sooke
If it’s good for MLAs, it should be for employees
Re: “Be careful of demands in these tough times,” editorial, Aug. 18.
While I understand and acknowledge this editorial, one thing was missing.
MLAs are exempt from wage guidelines that apply to other public-sector workers. Instead, their annual pay increase is indexed to inflation.
Public-sector workers aren’t asking for a raise, but are asking for their wages to be indexed to inflation as well. It’s OK that MLAs get this as the “bosses,” but workers can’t and are told to be careful in these tough times?
I disagree and this discrepancy has bad optics.
Jason Jorgensen
Victoria
Liquor employees could not work from home
I heard Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association, on the radio regarding his thoughts on the strike/job action being taken by the British Columbia General Employees Union.
He said he is “disappointed.”
Yes, pressure on the government is all these employees have in asking for provision in their contract, much like that which provincial MLAs have given themselves, that recognizes the huge costs inflation is wreaking on people, especially the un-wealthy.
Liquor sales are so important to the running of our government that these employees worked all through the pandemic, at first without any protection.
They did not “work” from home, they were not allowed to stay home, and they never received any “pandemic pay” as did many retail workers.
The fact that Tostenson did not acknowledge at all in any way the work these employees have done and continue to do to serve the members of his association is extremely disappointing.
Susan Pollock
Victoria
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