We have much to learn from pandemic
Re: “A new way forward after pandemic,” letter, April 14.
We’re all in flux right now. COVID-19 marched right into our homes, forcing us to confront what it means to experience a global pandemic. I’m grateful to live in Canada, particularly in British Columbia, where daily medical updates show us what calm, collaborative leadership looks like. Regardless of what “getting back to normal” means to each of us, things are going to be different; that’s unavoidable and we’ll have to work with it.
What haunts me is the possibility that once this particular urgency has passed, and a vaccine comes available, we’ll forget the models of leadership that people like Dr. Bonnie Henry are showing us.
I fear we’ll return to our own silos of politics and division. I fear we’ll miss the point that it’s our cultural assumptions, our myth of separation, and our unrelenting (human) push into wider nature that has brought this crisis to doorsteps around the world. This coronavirus is holding a mirror up to us and I pray we use it to reflect a more relational view of the world and our place within it.
Val Murray
Cordova Bay
Home care hard to find in a pandemic
We are caught up in the COVID-19 pandemic and it is not easy for any one of us.
However, the warning signs are descending upon us as to what will happen to those most vulnerable in our society who already need outside help.
Whether it be visits to the health nurse, reduced to once weekly when more attention is required, or personal grooming needs, such as nail- and hair-cutting. This can be carried out in desperation by a partner, but what if that person finds it hard to take care of themselves?
There are endless other reasons that people who are in their own homes need assistance and will have to pay money to receive it. We can’t find this help. Everything is shut down. And there is nobody there to help seniors or those with disabilities.
What will the government do to solve this predicament?
Rosemary Haldane
Victoria
Changes to long-term care system overdue
Changes to the long-term care system are indeed overdue, as I, with a loved one in Comox Valley Seniors Village, which is currently under public administration, can testify.
One of the big changes which needs attention is the compensation to the for-profit facilities. Island Health pays all facilities an hourly rate equal to its own costs, but the for-profit have, until now, chosen to use those taxpayer funds for other purposes.
This needs to change, and there is no reason for the public to pay twice for services not delivered.
Delores Broten
Comox
Permanent tent city on Pandora unacceptable
Almost all elected officials take the position that homelessness can’t really be dealt with unless you deal with root causes, such as mental health and addiction. What that means, in the end, is that multiple blocks of Pandora Avenue are now the permanent equivalent of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street, which has for decades been a blight on that city, and in fact the entire country.
Recall that 15 years ago, Victoria did nothing about homeless people hanging out 24/7 at the AIDS Vancouver Island needle exchange at the corner of Cormorant Street and Blanshard Street. It was the landlord who eventually refused to renew the lease that finally shut down that situation.
Is housing the issue? For many, yes, but some homeless people don’t want to be housed.
Pandora Avenue is a major thoroughfare for both locals and tourists alike. Like Vancouver, we may have to accept in Victoria that there is going to be a few blocks of one roadway where there will always be homeless people hanging out 24/7. However, we should not accept in Victoria that Pandora Avenue is going to be that roadway.
Trevor Amon
Victoria
Thanks to marine traffic controllers
Re: “Big thank-you to marine pilots,” letter, April 14.
As well as a thank-you to the coastal marine pilots given by a letter-writer, we need to remember and thank the marine traffic control division of the Canadian Coast Guard who work 24 hours a day in 12-hour shifts to advise, monitor and guide the marine traffic on our waters.
They are like air traffic controllers. They also assist the search-and-rescue teams. It could be chaos without their essential service.
Evelyn Nixon
Michael Robinson
Comox
The healing power of nature
Is it just me or does anyone else notice that the beauty of nature seems magnified? The sky is so blue, the sea a colour I have never seen before, birds singing louder
There is nothing more healing than nature. I feel so good when I am out for a walk. It’s all so very precious. Let’s all protect and nurture it please.
Anne Forbes
Victoria
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