Freedom? What is the real goal?
For whose freedom are the anti-vaccination/masking people demonstrating?
It appears to be their freedom to disturb the peace of the citizenry by snarling traffic, continuously honking their vehicle horns and challenging those who are wearing masks. Do they see how infantile their behaviour is?
“Anti-maskers harass masked students at Okanagan school” in the Feb. 13 edition is not only shocking but threatening to us all.
These people are bullies and their cause has no merit. This has the hallmarks of an insurrection — scary!
Donna de Haan
Esquimalt
Convoy’s aim: Take away your freedom
Evidence continues to mount pointing toward what has long been suspected: The so-called “Freedom Convoy” has very little or nothing to do with vaccine mandates, rather it is a false flag to attract naive people into a movement to displace the democratically elected governments with non-elected ones.
The leaders and organizers of the convoy include avowed white supremacists, western separatists and Christian extremists. This is indisputable.
What is also indisputable is their public pronouncement of their desire to replace the democratically elected federal government with an unelected government composed of themselves.
So I believe it would be prudent for those citizens who choose to drive with flags flying, horns blaring and freedom signs to realize that the real goal of the leaders and organizers of your “movement” is to take away what is arguably your most important freedom, the right to democratically elect your governments.
Terry McTeer
Central Saanich
Fighting back against the honking
Come on, all you gardeners! Get out your noisy leaf-blowers and paint “Virus Germs” on them in large letters, find a honking protester, aim and blow.
Should scare a few.
Margot Clayton
North Saanich
Honk if you realize that support is low
Last weekend, my partner and I ventured downtown to enjoy a rare dinner out. We chose one of the establishments on Belleville Street because it has outdoor seating. We chose this as my age and medical issues put me in the immunocompromised category.
We went early for happy hour, and the late rush-hour traffic was steady along Belleville. It turned out the patio was close to the row of trucks with protesters with signs saying “honk if you support us.”
What was most noticeable to us was how few horn blasts the protest garnered. Hundreds of vehicles passed by the protesters with nary a peep. And then, every 15 minutes or so, a horn would honk and the folks in the pickup trucks would go crazy in response.
I wonder if those anti-vaxxers causing so much noise and grief and traffic issues and negative impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods fully understand what a tiny minority they are. Pathetic, really.
Paul Nicholson
Victoria
Use Trutch’s name as a teaching point
Re: “Victoria considers new name for Trutch Street: Su’it,” Feb. 16.
I was intrigued by the comment by Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps that the renaming of Trutch Street has taken as long as it has because “it wasn’t a priority for the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.”
Joseph Trutch certainly seemed to hold extreme views, even for his era, and perhaps does not deserve the “honour” of having a street named after him.
But a counter-argument to a name change, especially if it is of little priority to local First Nations, would be to retain the name and use Trutch as a teaching point to inform today’s citizens of the venality of views in the mid-18th century in our then-colony.
Cancelling him will not negate the fact that he was British Columbia’s first lieutenant governor post 1867.
David Collins
Victoria
Clean water should be a priority
Re: “Victoria considers new name for Trutch Street: Su’it,” Feb. 16.
In reading the piece by Andrew Duffy on the renaming of Trutch Street I suddenly thought: I don’t think any of the Victoria council members know or understand the admitted meaning of the word Su’it. It does, after all, mean truth.
And not discounting the importance of what they seem to think is compensation on any level for the Indigenous communities, at least the money spent on the renaming ceremony itself might be spent on better things … like access to clean water on the reserves?
Janice Barry
Victoria
Use Trutch’s name to remember his actions
Sir Joseph William Trutch. Engineer. Surveyor. Chief Commissioner of Land and Works.
Author of these words:
“I think they [the Indigenous people of the Oregon Territory] are the ugliest and laziest creatures I ever saw ….”
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1871-1876). Agent of the CPR (1876-1890). Recipient of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (1889).
Agent of these deeds:
1867: Trutch refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the reserves established by former governor James Douglas and had them re-surveyed, reducing their size by 91 per cent.
1870: Trutch denies the existence of aboriginal title and denies natives the right to acquire lands held by non-natives.
So what to do about the little street in Victoria named Trutch?
“Cross out the ‘c’ and save money on street signs,” say clever city hall accountants.
“Cross out the ‘c’ so the street sign proclaims ‘Truth’,” say virtue-signalling politicians.
“Forgive your enemies. But never forget their names,” said John F. Kennedy.
No saint, Kennedy’s observation is pertinent.
Whether the street is named Truth or something more appropriate by the descendants of the Indigenous people he wronged, Joseph Trutch must not simply be erased. He must be remembered.
Install a modest plaque on the street. Identify Trutch for the builder and bigot, surveyor and swindler, knight and scoundrel he was.
His name and story will then create valuable teachable moments from which people today and tomorrow can learn.
Jack Allen
Trutch Street resident
Victoria
West Coast Trail and the right to safety
Re: “Six friends fined thousands for camping on West Coast Trail,” Feb. 13.
Most people are aware that below high tide is provincial Crown land, but few people would be aware that a federal park’s boundaries would be inclusive of a forefront.
Likely, the paddlers were camping under the belief that residents can camp on Crown land for up to 14 days as stated in B.C. law.
However, I believe Parks Canada, who have a deep-rooted respect for First Nations, were likely responding more to the two Nations’ requests to not allow visitors within their traditional territory during COVID times.
Secondly, Parks Canada closed the West Coast Trail, and the paddlers were within the park boundaries and therefore fined. It seemed a little heavy-handed to me.
The stretch of coast from Bamfield to Victoria is fairly challenging for a paddler and there are limited locations to land, especially on a surf-protected beach.
In an emergency, a paddler, as any mariner, has a legal right to land to seek safety. Parks Canada under law cannot endanger a paddler’s right to seek refuge provided that a real situation of emergency exists.
Unfortunately, closing campsites on coastal routes causes sites to be farther and farther apart, thus increasing risks.
While it’s incumbent on an adventurer to find out all relevant details before setting out on a journey, I believe Parks Canada should also consider paddlers’ safety when closing campsites.
The West Coast Trail is not just a land trail, it is accessible by sea.
Dennis Grey
Ladysmith
Thanks for random act of kindness
Recently I took a tumble and due to my age found I could not get up.
Two people came to my aid, a lady and a gentleman.
The lady assisted me to my house (close by) and left me with a great feeling that there are so many ready to assist others.
Shaken up, I did not think to ask their names so I trust this word of thanks will suffice for recognition of their act.
I must use my walking stick in future, like so many other people in their 90s!
Les Quilter
Victoria
Don’t go looking for consistency in the actions of government
I chuckled reading the letters expressing shock at the contrast between punishment meted out to six West Coast paddling scofflaws and trucking blockaders in Ottawa and at the borders.
To progressives who believe that government is all wise and able to fix all that is wrong with the world, this might come as a shock, but not to those who view government as necessary, but not the answer to all ills.
It has been said that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”
Our governments of all political stripes spend increasing amounts of money and time dealing with drug addiction and overdoses, and addictions and overdoses grow.
Greater sums of tax dollars are spent on affordable housing and homelessness, and housing becomes more unaffordable and homelessness more chronic. More laws, more crime. And on it goes.
Maybe government is not the answer, but the problem. Problems ought to be fixed. And we should most certainly not expect consistency in anything government does.
Les Barclay
Nanaimo
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