Victoria needs to keep its heritage buildings
Re: “139-room hotel might replace two Victoria heritage buildings,” Nov. 22.
I’d caution the City of Victoria against allowing extensive development of heritage buildings in the downtown core.
As a former Victorian turned Vancouverite, I have witnessed what happens when a city shifts from one of charm and warmth to a city that is comprised of nothing but glass and facades. One glaring example comes in the form of 805 West Pender St.
What once was a beautiful heritage building has become a monstrous hybrid. After gutting the interior of the building, a new office tower was built on top, presenting a hideous mix of old world and new. I wholeheartedly agree with heritage advocate Pam Madoff when she says that this mix “starts to look a little bit like a theme park.”
Victoria’s downtown core has largely retained its charm. Tourists arrive in droves during the summer to see it.
Those who are from Victoria (like me) are proud of it. Let’s keep the city a beautiful and unique place to live. After all, once the charm is gone, it will be impossible to get back.
Danielle Dzioba
North Vancouver
People visit because of heritage buildings
One of the reasons we like to visit Victoria is because of the heritage buildings and the care taken with them.
This is the start of a downhill slide in my opinion.
Saving the facade is not the same as saving the buildings.
What a damned shame if the population lets this happen.
M.L. Arnold
Uxbridge, Ont.
No-fault the only credible solution
Re: “B.C. to retool act for limits in ICBC cases,” Nov. 21.
When will this retooling and poking around the edges of the ICBC financial fiasco end?
It is amazing that the only credible solution has been staring us in the face since the corporation’s creation: no-fault insurance.
Of course, this will effectively end the cash cow that ICBC has evolved into for the trial lawyers of B.C. However, their financial welfare is the last thing we, as taxpayers and drivers, need to be concerned with.
Let’s get a mitt and get in the game and resolve this mess once and for all!
John Stevenson
Victoria
Provincial ban on use of lead shot overdue
Re: “Lead ammo poisoning birds that feed on carcasses: wildlife experts,” Nov. 16.
As if hunting was not already highly controversial, it has long been the case that hunters pump lead into the animals they kill and the ecosystems they traverse. Not only can animals that escape wounded from lead shot suffer greatly due to lead poisoning, the animals that may ingest the bodies of these dead animals are further poisoned.
There are no safe levels of lead ingestion or exposure for humans, either. Inevitably, the lead that is wasted ends up in the ecosystem as well.
If hunters are eating the animals they kill, they are placing their own well-being at risk, as there is no easy way to ensure complete removal of all lead contamination from their victims.
Since alternatives readily exist, there is no excuse for the use of lead shot to continue — a provincial ban on its use is overdue.
I do not agree with hunting, but since there are laws that allow people to invade the habitat of wildlife and cause them pain, terror and suffering, hunters should at least have the decency to do so in a way that does not compromise the health of the animals that escape their aim, as well as the rest of humanity and the environment around them.
Jordan Reichert
Animal Alliance of Canada
Victoria
Peacocks move in musters, not prides
Re: “A bard for the birds,” Nov. 20.
The photo of the peacocks was most enjoyable, but please tell your caption writer to consult the dictionary. The correct collective noun for peacocks is “muster.” The collective noun “pride” is for lions. If the sentence is an attempt at some sort of word play, it doesn’t work.
Nicky Kew
Victoria
