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Letters Dec. 27: ‘Essential’ travel; vaccine safety; shocks to the economy

Essential travel? And yet, the variant is here The new COVID-19 variant recently identified in Great Britain has reached the island via an international flight despite all the precautions the majority take diligently here every day.
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A health worker extracts a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the military base in Queretaro, Mexico, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. The first batches of vaccines produced by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech arrived to Mexico the previous day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Essential travel? And yet, the variant is here

The new COVID-19 variant recently identified in Great Britain has reached the island via an international flight despite all the precautions the majority take diligently here every day.

Having dutifully stayed at home and only seen our granddaughter in Vancouver via Zoom during Christmas, one has to wonder what “essential travel” actually means.

Derek Chapman
Oak Bay

Stop spreading the virus, it is not a joke

I can’t believe that we haven’t locked down our borders from international flights. Our own country is spreading COVID-19 by allowing people to travel by air.

Is COVID a joke? Ask those families who have lost someone they love.

Ask those people who think a lockdown and mask wearing isn’t important. Ask our front-line workers who have to risk their lives every day. Ask those people we have trusted to run our country.

What’s important? I thought it was the people. We need to wake up and be smart, and be strong in making decisions that may not to everyone’s liking, but are protecting us from the devastation of COVID.

One world. Our world.

Rebecca Evans
Victoria

Vaccine will be safer than getting COVID-19

“Bet your sweet bippie” I will be getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Sure there might be some side effect, but too many beers has side effects and COVID-19 has some which are irreversible.

Robert Irvine
Metchosin

Planet being reset while we are masked

It’s getting harder and harder to trust any politician and any government. I’m referring to Lawrie McFarlane’s column on Finance Minister Selena Robinson’s “hide and seek” plan with the next budget.

According to McFarlane, the government might spend as much as $5 billion of public funds (our money) without getting legislative permission. As he correctly pointed out, this is illegal.

Robinson wouldn’t have made this move without the approval of John Horgan, of course.

Globally, our hard-won democracies are in peril. With people distracted by the pandemic, governments are flying under the radar and enacting all kinds of legislation — legislation that if brought to light in normal times, would probably meet with great public resistance.

While we are busy social distancing, wearing our masks and doing what we are told, governments all over the world are busy pushing through some questionable legislation.

Unless we become more informed and stand up to the tyranny that’s occurring in governments at all levels, we will wake up one morning and our freedoms will be gone. I do not say this lightly.

Some people have wondered if the global reset is real. It is and it’s happening right underneath our masked noses.

Lia Fraser
Victoria

Shock the economy to restore reality

Irrational and prolonged “artificially” low interest rates are dramatically increasing real estate prices and unaffordability, killing insurance companies and putting pensions at risk.

Interest rates need to rise and real estate values need to drop — significantly.

Historically speaking, our Victoria homes are only worth one third of their current market prices.

It is only a matter of time that this gross distortion needs to be addressed. 1981 interest rates addressed out-of-control inflation. Today we need to address out-of-control public debt. And it needs a shock today to bring us back into reality.

John L. Krysa
Oak Bay

Jack Knox provides an essential service

After reading Jack Knox’s “Flight Before Christmas” I propose that, for the greater good during the pandemic, we make a special request to Dr. Bonnie Henry to place him in the essential worker category for vaccination.

Joan Richardson
Victoria

Knox shows his unique sense of humour again

Once again, Jack Knox has knocked it out of the park with his writing!

His “ ‘Twas the flight before Christmas” was right on the money. Loved it. All in rhyme too: Who knew of this hidden talent?

Mind you after all his years of writing both in the Times Colonist as well as his published books, he has shown great skill on many an occasion.

It was all very COVID-relevant. He even talked about the recently unemployed Mr. Floatie.

Knox has a way with words, and he also has a way with pleasing and entertaining those of us who enjoy our coffee whilst reading the morning paper. While not all of the TC readers are huge fans of his writing, I am confident most would find the humour in this piece.

I lived many years in Kamloops and met both his parents. I can understand where his talent originated.

Well done, Jack, and compliments of the season to you and your family. May we all look forward to a welcome COVID-free 2021.

Fern Anderson
Cobble Hill

No business as normal as we help the climate

I admit that during my 70 years, I have contributed to my share of global warming greenhouse gases. My hobbies had seldom been green activities, which I now regret.

In recent years I have become quite alarmed at the unprecedented and obvious out-of-control changes to our Earth.

I am modifying my lifestyle to reduce my carbon footprint, though not yet enough, it is a start and I challenge others to do the same. I see most of my neighbourhood still buying and driving pickups and other large vehicles as basic transportation, in what appears to be poorly organized multiple trips per day.

Though global warming awareness has been overshadowed by COVID-19 we cannot lose sight of the reality of global warming because when COVID-19 is behind us, we will still have to deal with global warming, which will make all other catastrophes mankind has faced, seem minor by comparison.

Before COVID-19 activities such as recreational fishing, trying to catch the ever more elusive salmon, or going on cruises multiple times annually, or buying recreation vehicles and driving great distances cross-country makes little sense and only confirms as a westernized society we exhibit an strong sense of entitlement to the potential detriment of a survivable Earth.

The COVID-19 restrictions instituted to curb an overpowering pandemic may seem draconian to some but may be minor compared to the restrictions we may face in order to pause or reverse global warming.

Without a well-thought-out plan even the chaotic requirements for the sales of new vehicles which must be electric only by a specific date will not do much toward curbing global warming as much of the generation of electrical power in the world uses fossil fuels.

Mike Wilkinson
Duncan

Churches should be part of the solution

I am getting sick and tired of religious groups whining about not being able to attend their churches or synagogues, mosques or whatever. They say the practice of one’s religion is not entertainment.

Do they not think that everybody is in the same boat? We all have had to give up our socializing.

Do they have to go to a church or mosque to get in touch with their beliefs?

It appears the religious among us are asking for special favours in regards to socializing. I would expect the religious to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

Dr. Bonnie Henry has only asked them to give up socializing.

Ernie Burnett
Port Alberni

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