Enforcement means cuts elsewhere
Re: “Saanich eyes 40 km/h speed limit,” March 5.
From where in Saanich’s budget is the money going to be drawn to pay for police officers to enforce the lower speed limit, should the pilot project go forward?
Surely rotating spot checks will be necessary; the mayor and council can’t be naive enough to expect that drivers will voluntarily comply with it.
If that were the case, they would be obeying the current speed limit, which is obviously not the case.
Something that is currently in the budget is going to have to be sacrificed to accommodate this pilot project, which is destined for failure; money currently allocated to something, presumably a worthwhile expenditure, will have been wasted.
Where have we seen that happen before?
I voted for the current mayor because his predecessor’s ideology was too closely aligned with that of Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps for my comfort level; history seems to be repeating itself here.
Lorraine Lindsay
Saanich
ICBC’s new thinking: Doctor? What doctor?
I see that with the coming changes, ICBC will be relying on “your” doctor to direct your primary care.
Perhaps some of the expected savings could be used to fund additional seats in our medical schools to allow everyone to have a GP.
Douglas Anderson
Victoria
City, regional district just keep squeezing
I’ve just paid my water and sewer utility bill. What a shock! City sewer charges rose 45% from October to January. That’s three months! And, the Capital Regional District sewer charge rose 52.25% during the same period.
I’m sure glad the folks at Victoria City Hall and at the CRD are trying to keep my taxes to under a 4% increase per year. They just increase the fees to a modest annual rate of 180% and 209% respectively.
Good money management, guys, and way to be transparent about this “necessary” sewage project.
M.D. Hansen
Victoria
That (blank) Amazon profits from profanity
Am I the only one who wonders why Amazon promotes and profits from dozens of its products that display profanity?
While watching a recent documentary about Amazon, I rechecked to see if a product (an apparel item with a profanity prominently displayed) I had complained about five times had been removed from its site.
I was dismayed to see dozens of similar items displaying profanities that others, including children, would be easily exposed to.
For example, do an Amazon search for coffee mugs, or running sweats, or any number of items, and insert your “favourite profanity” (or two) into the search: Surprised? Dismayed?
For the same few items I also inserted the search words: “Corporate Responsibility.” Nada!
Yes, this former customer has adamantly complained to Amazon but after a couple of weeks, again ... Nada!
But maybe it’s just me.
Gordon Zawaski
Parksville
These are not good choices
The B.C. legislature’s unanimous adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is partly to blame for the present circumstances by providing unrealistic expectations which can’t be realized without bringing our economy to its knees.
Protesters blocking rail lines and highways continue costing our economy hundreds of millions of dollars and is signalling to the world that Canada is not open for business.
Destructive acts are committed such as slashing tires of police cars and fire burning on the steps of the legislature.
The federal and provincial response can only be described as weak at best, but I fear a more dangerous consequence of inaction could be an increasing appetite by voters for populist leaders who would, as per Mussolini, get the trains to run on time.
History has demonstrated that scenario has not proven beneficial either. Brexit (Take Back Control) and Trump (Make America Great Again) are the most recent examples.
Anarchy or incompetence? Neither is desirable.
Wayne Cox
Saanichton
Let’s check arrivals for coronavirus
In light of the state of emergency declared in Washington state, are passengers on all ferries from Washington, particularly the Clipper from Seattle, being checked and tested for the COVID-19 virus before being allowed to disembark in Victoria and Sidney? If not why not?
The U.S. has closed all entry points there to visitors from the worst affected countries, no matter what form of travel, including air, but does not restrict or check its own travellers to Canada or elsewhere, despite the state of emergency.
Allen J. Willcocks
Chemainus
Maybe we will change our ways this time
If we learn nothing else from the latest outbreak, we should learn to stay home when you are sick with a contagious disease.
For years, people have largely ignored colds and flus and just carried on as usual, going to work, school and daycare, when sick.
Many people have been in the habit of just taking some medication to mask the symptoms and then going about their business as usual, spreading their germs to everybody else.
Hopefully this new experience will change people’s behaviour and break the carry-on-as-usual-when-sick infection cycle.
S.I. Petersen
Nanaimo
Don’t let infected people in our city
With ongoing reports of the continued spread of COVID-19 worldwide, and confirmation of new cases aboard cruise ships, the citizens of Victoria should have the right to voice our concerns and refuse entry to the multiple cruise ships planned for arrival starting in April.
Allowing anyone to disembark and wander through our city would be a colossal mistake as we all know that individuals may be carrying the disease without showing signs of the illness.
Yes, industries will lose some business, but the potential for loss of life is something we simply can not bargain with.
Lauralie Bint
Victoria
Is the city ready for the Grand Princess?
The Grand Princess cruise ship is carrying 2,383 passengers and 1,100 crew members, and has experienced a coronavirus outbreak.
Thirty-five of those on board have shown flu-like symptoms and one person has died.
Consequently, the ship was not allowed to go into San Francisco.
According to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, in a few weeks that ship will be allowed into Ogden Point in Victoria where we so far have not had any cases of the coronavirus.
What kind of preparations have our city authorities implemented to meet this challenge?
Ulla Ressner
Victoria
Cruise ships could bring disease
While I think it important that everyone not panic, I do however think that the Port of Victoria should consider carefully how, or even if, we should be disembarking passengers from ships that have had coronavirus outbreaks or are coming from centres of major outbreaks.
We know about a person who has now died after being on the Grand Princess on a previous cruise.
One of two things come to mind. Either the ship was not adequately cleaned after the first outbreak, or (perhaps also) the virus is able to survive on inorganic surfaces for long periods of time.
Do we really want to welcome the thousands of potentially infected persons ashore to wander the city?
Yes, the cruise industry does bring revenue to the city, but we stand to lose much more if we end up with a major outbreak that results in quarantine.
Jean Gotro
Colwood
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