Not everyone earns six-figure salaries
Re: “You should live where you can afford to live,” commentary, Dec. 28.
The author appears to take for granted the many essential services provided by those citizens of Victoria who do not necessarily command six-figure salaries.
Yes, its a ridiculously expensive place to live, let alone achieve home ownership. But if all the people who contribute so much here, working lower-paying jobs, be it in hospitals, emergency call centres, grocery stores, restaurants, hair salons etc., suddenly moved to where they could find affordable housing, put food on the table and, God forbid, save a penny or two for retirement, a huge number of businesses and services in Victoria would collapse overnight for lack of staffing.
Spare precious Victoria and build low-rent apartments, duplexes, fourplexes only in outlying municipalities? Let’s take it one step further: “Are there no prisons; are there no workhouses?”
ΚΌTis the season!
Phil Redgrave
Cordova Bay
Many longtime residents can’t afford Victoria
Re: “You should live where you can afford to live,” commentary, Dec. 28.
There are many citizens of Victoria who were born and raised here and cannot afford to live here. These are people with family and roots in the community.
There are many service workers who cannot afford to live here. These are the people that serve you coffee, wash your clothes and guard you while you sleep.
There are many elderly citizens who have lived here all their lives and cannot afford to live here anymore.
So should all these people pack up and leave the Island? Even if they could afford to move, where would they go?
Patrick Ferguson
Victoria
Don’t drive out the services we need
Re: “You should live where you can afford to live,” commentary, Dec. 28.
The commentary helps me to understand why we have many of the problems we do.
My wife and I are fortunate enough to be able to live in Victoria, but are well aware of the struggles many face who can’t afford that same “luxury.”
To suggest that those that can’t afford to live here should live somewhere else is one of the main reasons there is a shortage of many services we all need to live day to day. Many who can afford to live here drive up house and rental prices, therefore driving out the people we all need as we age: Service industry, trades, education and health-care professionals, etc.
Ron Vermeulen
Victoria
Let government run the intercity bus service
I am concerned about the suspension of the Tofino Bus and Vancouver Island Connector service on Jan. 3. It leaves the citizens of the Island without a reliable transportation system and is a major problem for the disabled, older, young, poor, and any other person who does not drive and own a car.
In March 2021 the B.C. government tried to help the company through the financial difficulties of COVID with a grant of $1.15 million, but that has run out. It is not profitable during this coming season, so they are suspending service for four months until May.
The company is a private business and therefore has to make a profit, so can’t be blamed. The government says they are still looking for ways to help and they have tried to shore up the transportation companies so as to keep the provincial infrastructure in place.
To me this is a clear indication of the need for an interconnected, affordable, provincial public transportation system. Throughout the province in any rural areas, it is close to impossible to safely travel to and from medical services, employment opportunities, and family visits without a car.
There are a few private companies, but they are unconnected with other parts of the province and country, are often expensive, and usually only run once or at most twice a week.
There are some things that are better done by a public government body that can do these kinds of things more efficiently and at lower cost, as they are in the business of serving citizens rather than making a profit.
Saria Andrew
Victoria
Not the best time to plan a vacation
The many stories of stranded travellers makes it appear that everyone is to blame but the travellers.
If some of these people applied a modicum of common sense to their decision-making to travel at the holiday time of year, in the middle of winter and at a time when many businesses, including airlines, are struggling to get enough employees in place, they would have reconsidered those poor decision.
Why do these people feel they are owed a holiday regardless of everything that is going on in the world?
Looks like selfish decision-making with predictable results. I wonder how many Ukrainians feel they are entitled to a holiday, never mind a day without bombings in their towns and cities.
Mike Wilkinson
Duncan
A note of thanks to WestJet staff
This holiday season has been filled with disappointment for many people travelling to visit family or spend Christmas in a holiday destination. I flew round-trip Victoria to Calgary to visit family Dec. 24-27 and the delays definitely caused a little tension.
But, through it all, without exception, every WestJet employee I encountered was happy, positive and maintained the sense of humour that they are famous for.
WestJet employees were also struggling with trying to get to the flights they were working on, along with making sure they were adequately rested to be able to fly at their optimum efficiency.
I was grateful to know I wasn’t flying with an exhausted pilot. So, WestJet, thank you for all you did to make some Christmas miracles come true.
Sue Webber
Saanichton
Limit travel from China to Canada
With the huge COVID resurgence in China, why is nobody questioning the travel from there to Canada? Not one mention of possibly slowing or stopping it by this government.
Do we need to wait like last time until it hits Canada in a big way before somebody actually realizes what’s going on? On the news last night they talked about the huge numbers of people buying flights from China to Canada because of COVID.
We never seem to learn.
Donna Mason
Saanich
Conservation needed to save the planet
On Nov. 15, the global human population reached eight billion, the largest number of human beings in recorded world history.
By the first day of winter, on Dec. 21, the world population had increased by more than seven million. With a daily increase of about 215,000 people, the Earth’s natural ecosystems, biodiversity and resilience come closer to a complete collapse.
Every day we have to find more food, water, shelter, space, education and employment for this growing mass of humanity. B.C. is not exempt from the pressures of overpopulation and its deleterious effects.
COP15 has finished with a flourish, with Canada endorsing the 30 by 30 Agenda, that is, to conserve 30 per cent of its biodiversity by the year 2030. British Columbia has only about 15 per cent of its Crown land preserved in parks and ecological reserves, so will have much work ahead in the next eight years if we are to save, protect and conserve such ecosystems as its diminishing old-growth forests and other once-pristine areas for future citizens.
Recent deferrals have not stopped the unsustainable colonial system of TFLs and clear-cut logging, and the provincial government has shown no attempt to enact an endangered species act for the many B.C. plants, animals and microbiota at risk of extirpation or extinction.
New NDP Premier David Eby has promised to take action on climate change. As climate change is in part caused by the excesses of clear-cut logging as well as the loss of forest services to both ecosystem maintenance and humanity, it behooves all of us to take corrective actions now, before it’s too late.
One simple way is to establish legal rights of nature to our remaining old-growth forests, which have insufficient protection.
One method is to use moratoria as a legal means to attain conservation. If you agree, contact your local and provincial leadership in all parties with proposals to reverse the present pattern of destruction. Not much time is left.
Thor Henrich
Victoria
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