Lighted truck parade a hit with first-timer
I went to my first Truck Light Convoy on the weekend. Right away, it became a tradition that will be introduced to our family, who reside in Vancouver.
Thanks to all of you who spent so much time and effort in creating unbelievable moving pieces of lighted art. Thank you to those who drove their rigs with family members in the cabs waving back to the crowds gathered and wishing us all a Merry Christmas. They looked so proud to be part of the festivities.
Thank you to all the first responder groups who cleared the way, who woop-wooped their sirens, to the joy of the kids waiting for things to start, and who rode proudly in their decorated fire and police trucks. And thank you to all who organized and co-ordinated the event.
All of you helped kick off my Christmas season and make me very proud to live in our wonderful city. First rate!
Rob Edwards
Victoria
Imbalance of power has favoured men for centuries
Re: “Why isn’t there a Ministry of Men? We have everything else,” Lawrie McFarlane column, Dec. 8.
I had to double-check the calendar to see if it was April 1 and Lawrie McFarlane’s piece was a tongue-in-cheek joke. But no. He seems genuine.
What a shame that he fails to address the historic imbalance of power that has greatly favoured men for many centuries, and still does. If he had, then we might not have been subjected to his ridiculous notion.
Will he next advocate for a Ministry of Caucasians?
Chris Johnston
Ucluelet
Halifax council oversees 4 former municipalities
Re: “Halifax provides best comparison for Victoria,” letter, Dec. 8.
The letter-writer is incorrect in suggesting that Victoria council can be compared with Halifax council when determining what salary Victoria city councillors should be paid.
The mayor and 16 councillors of the Halifax Regional Municipality oversee the amalgamated areas of Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford Basin and Halifax County, collectively composed of more than 200 communities and neighbourhoods with an approximate population of 403,131 in 2016.
These four former municipalities were amalgamated in 1996.
The mayor and council oversee all services for this entire area, not just the city of Halifax. The HRM is responsible for police, libraries, regional fire, water, transit, parks, recreation, public works and waste management.
The HRM recently approved a $793.71-million operating budget and $163 million in capital spending with a 2.3 per cent hike in the average residential tax bill.
The mayor and eight councillors of Victoria are responsible solely for the city of Victoria with a population of approximately 92,141 in 2017. The proposed 2020 budget for the city of Victoria is $285.7 million for operating expenses and $42.1 million for capital expenses.
Victoria has 23 per cent the population of the HRM, has an operating budget 35 per cent the size of the HRM and capital expenses 26 per cent the size of the HRM.
The Capital Regional District is the regional government for the 13 municipalities, not the mayor and council of Victoria.
Maybe the time has come for the 13 municipalities to amalgamate under the CRD banner. At that time, the structure of the CRD could be reviewed to ensure that those individuals are no longer appointed but rather voted in by the municipal electorate and salaries would be determined based accordingly. Only then would the CRD (including the city of Victoria) be comparable to the HRM.
Derece Powell
Esquimalt
Comparing Victoria to Halifax council misleading
Re: “Halifax provides best comparison for Victoria,” letter, Dec. 8.
It’s misleading to justify a huge pay hike for Victoria councillors by comparing their salary to Halifax Regional Municipal Council.
The 16 full-time councillors of post-amalgamation Halifax are now paid $92,258, while eight part-time positions in Victoria earn $46,492 as of Jan. 1.
The mayor and 16-member Halifax Regional Municipal Council are responsible for all aspects of regional government for 437,000 residents, and that includes three community councils that consider local matters. Each community council has five or six regional councillors representing neighbourhood districts.
On the other hand, Greater Victoria is saddled with 94 politicians — 24 of which are CRD directors — to conduct municipal government in our region of 413,000.
Of note, the pay for Halifax council is all-in, and any compensation for outside committees or boards is returned to the municipality. Pay is understandable and fully transparent.
By comparison, the pay for Victoria council and various other roles they assume is not understandable or fully transparent.
By virtue of their position on council, three Victoria councillors also earn about $20,000 by sitting on the Capital Regional District. They also earn meeting stipends for just showing up, top-ups for committee responsibilities or serving as alternates. Others have various paying roles outside council and the CRD, such as the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.
Bottom line, once the top-ups are added, and current population numbers and current consolidated budgets are considered, councillor salaries for Victoria are perfectly adequate.
Stan Bartlett
Chair, Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria
Alberta wants a unicorn for Christmas
Enough already, Alberta! It has been almost two months since you turned your back on the family and ran to your room, and all you’ve done since is complain that you don’t have a place at the table.
I understand that you really want a unicorn for Christmas, that world oil prices will rise and that the cost of renewable energy will stop falling, that others will pay more for your oil, that the courts will trample Indigenous rights and that climate change will simply go away.
Truth is, it won’t and they won’t, so you won’t … be getting the unicorn.
You’re asking for things that aren’t within our power to give, but what we can do is help you diversify your economy, re-train oil workers and adapt to the global heating we have already set in motion.
Not just Albertans but Canadians from coast to coast are being rocked by droughts, wildfires and thawing permafrost, not to mention powerful storms, heat waves and rising seas, and things are going to get worse.
Times have changed and so must you, and perhaps, with fundamental reform, we can still turn climate crisis into climate opportunity.
Mike Ward
Duncan
A plea from Central Middle School’s climate club
Year-round, we use our gas-powered cars a lot. For many, we use our cars too much.
Here at the Climate Club, we encourage you to use green vehicles as much as possible. That could include: electric cars, bikes, scooters, skateboards, plus walking and more.
Even taking the bus is good. It takes individual vehicles and their individual emissions off the road. We understand that this may be hard to do now that it is getting colder, but we still encourage you to do your very best.
We commend students who are already making the choice to use people-powered transportation to come to school, and want to point to the lessons we can learn from Finland, where students routinely ride their bikes to school in -17 C weather.
Please consider doing all you can to contribute to solutions rather than problems.
The Climate Club
Central Middle School
Victoria
Still seeking fossil-fuel alternatives that work
Re: “Trudeau government pandering to Alberta,” letter, Dec. 6.
The Canadian government is not pandering to Alberta or the oil industry. It is simply recognizing reality. Oil is not going away anytime soon. As much as climate activists want it to, it will not. There are no alternatives that meet the world’s needs for energy.
Solar and wind power are great and a wonderful start. But that energy must be stored, as it cannot be produced on demand. Fossil fuels supply the tractors that plow, fertilize, plant and harvest crops around the world. To think there is an acceptable alternative in today’s world is just plain silly.
I would truly love to read a letter from the climate-change community with serious and doable alternatives. All I ever read are letters lambasting the energy industry, never offering an alternative that makes sense.
Ron Sleen
Victoria
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