Invest in a new museum, do not renovate the old
I was deeply disheartened to hear that the proposed rebuild of the Royal B.C. Museum had been suspended due to public protest.
While it is essential that governments consider the concerns of their constituents, I am concerned that this represents a misguided desire to prioritize short-term savings over long-term investment in our community.
The museum not only provides economic benefits; it also plays an important role in public education. It has not always fulfilled that role as inclusively as it should have. But surely that is a reason to improve it, not neglect it.
Many argue that the $789-million price tag was too high. However, as proponents argued, renovating an out-of-date building could be more expensive than building a new one.
And considering the systemic, safety and accessibility issues the museum faces, just maintaining the status quo no longer seems viable. I would rather have a substantial investment in a building that will serve our community well for decades, than a cut-rate renovation that still entails significant expenses for an inferior result.
Of course, this assumes that one is interested in investing in the museum at all, and not simply maintaining the status quo by any means, or ensuring that it is shut down altogether.
The specifics of any proposal can and should be debated, but substantial improvements are necessary. Too often, we wait until disaster strikes, and then ask why nobody did anything to prevent it. Let us not do so again.
Anton Brakhage
Victoria
Don’t bring back the museum idea
Good call to abandon the museum project. Thank you.
But please do not resurrect it. Don’t need a referendum. Don’t need alternatives. Let the museum staff work with what they have.
Roger Emsley
Tsawwassen
What is the museum lesson learned?
We should be thankful that Premier John Horgan abandoned the $789-million museum project, citing public sentiment during a time of soaring inflation as well as chronic doctor and affordable housing shortages. The premier also said he didn’t want the museum to be the subject of dinner-party jokes.
Seismic deficiencies and asbestos were reasons initially given for tearing down the existing building, but seismic upgrades and asbestos removal take place in schools and other buildings all the time.
Now that the decision has been reversed, is it now seismically safe and is asbestos no longer a threat? This proves that the initial reasons were not the driving force behind the tear-it-down plan.
I can’t help but think that the main reason to tear down the museum was it was perceived to be a symbol of colonization and partly due to an allegation of racism by the previous museum management.
I have no knowledge of whether the allegations have any truth, but even if so, spending nearly a billion dollars is very extravagant for an exercise in symbolism. It is notable that this symbolism exercise was not greeted with open arms by Indigenous groups, which I would imagine was a surprise to those who were promoting this misadventure.
It is my hope that the lesson learned is the public will support and reward good management, not political correctness gone amuck.
Horgan has demonstrated good management until this museum misstep, and I congratulate him for his second thoughts. I look forward to continuing to view wonderful movies in the Imax theatre and new museum exhibits well before 2030.
Wayne Cox
Saanichton
Horgan should embrace the maritime museum
Now that the Horgan government has withdrawn plans to build a new Royal B.C. Museum, they should revive the almost moribund Maritime Museum of British Columbia by moving it to the CPR Steamship Terminal Building — a beautiful and historic building located right on Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
The province already owns the building. The maritime museum could quickly become the Pacific equivalent of Halifax’s Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
Thomas O. (Tim) Davis
Victoria
Here’s an idea for a museum display
So if First Nations want their sacred artifacts returned, as is surely their prerogative, and Old Town-style exhibits continue to appeal to many who tour the Royal B.C. Museum, maybe the people running the place have themselves become museum pieces?
Certainly, their vision has.
Earl Fowler
View Royal
Civilization in decline — or maybe not
Re: “What is happening to our civilization,” letter, June 23.
I was amused by the list of things going wrong. It was always thus.
I am of the generation that studied classic Latin, which happened in my case to include the myth of the Golden Age. This posited the past as a wonderful, trouble-free period.
Thus the Golden Age myth is the opposite of the current disaster myth. They are both just that — myths.
However, I have to agree with one old idea: War is hell. I am shocked not only at the current vanity war in the Ukraine but several others across the globe. I wish I could do something about them.
But I have solved the problem of airport congestion. Vancouver Island is one of the top destinations in the world for living or vacationing. I never leave.
Life is good, folks.
Joe Harvey
Victoria
Rail does not make sense for freight traffic
Bringing freight in by rail has long been dead on southern Vancouver Island since the 1980s. The staging grounds for the rail cars at the rail yards is now condos and townhouses, as it should be in a livable, not a workable, harbour.
The warehouses along the tracks removed their loading docks long ago as it was simply more efficient to bring freight in by truck.
Bringing freight to Vancouver Island by rail is a pipe dream by a few who can’t let it go.
Mike Briggs
Comox
Forget the rail idea, there is no case for it
There is no business case for a single-line railway and everyone knows it.
No business case for commuter rail because a single-line railway can only move 500 people near downtown during rush hour.
No business case for freight service because trains do not solve the problem of door-to-door delivery.
If the federal government funds restoration, they stand in the way of reconciliation. I don’t see that happening. Premier John Horgan has already said the province won’t contribute.
Let First Nations enforce their right of reversion over the small sections of the right-of-way that is carried over their lands and let regional districts up and down the Island covert what remains to a trail system as proposed by FORT-VI.
Russell Lyon, CPA, CMA
Saanich
Legal guns are not the problem in Canada
The reality that is rarely published regarding firearms ownership in Canada: The ability to own firearms has been stringently administered for many years and legally, licensed, RCMP-vetted firearm owners are one-third less likely to commit a crime than the general population.
Homicide with illegally criminally used firearms in Canada in 2020 was 231. Homicides with legally owned firearms in Canada in 2020 was 31.
Yet all that is published is banning and confiscating legally owned firearms from those who do not commit any crimes.
Gary and Sybil Kangas
Metchosin
No need for lengthy waits for those blood tests
I found recent letters about wait times for blood testing very confusing. One writer commented about interminable wait times for testing at the Royal Jubilee Hospital and another person saying how easy it was to get testing done through Life Labs with a pre-booked appointment.
Due to COVID, many Life Lab offices were either closed, had limited hours or didn’t permit pre-booked appointments, and offices had wait times in excess of two hours. I tried many times and finally gave up. Even now, appointments in some locations are filled weeks ahead. This is not a criticism of Life Labs, just the reality of COVID.
The medical lab at RJH also has an online appointment booking system which I can attest works very well and eliminates the need for exhausting wait times. Patients with scheduled appointments have priority over walk-ins.
Both labs provide a critical service and both do an excellent job.
Pat Jackson
Victoria
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