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Letters Oct. 18: Bernier and climate change, dangers of digital voting

Bernier goes down denial wormhole Re. “ Reject global warming alarmis m, focus on concrete improvements ” opinion, Oct. 16. I appreciate the TC’s presentation of each federal party’s position on climate change ahead of the Oct.
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A demonstration calling for action on climate change, at the B.C. legislature grounds on May 3, 2019.

Bernier goes down denial wormhole

Re. “Reject global warming alarmism, focus on concrete improvements” opinion, Oct. 16.

I appreciate the TC’s presentation of each federal party’s position on climate change ahead of the Oct. 21 election, including that of the People’s Party of Canada.

If leader Maxime Bernier’s intent was to fully distance his party from the others, he has certainly done so on this vital issue. Let’s hope that few follow him down his wormhole of denial.

While I am somewhat disappointed that the Times Colonist allowed him to drag out the same old tired distractions about ice ages and the benefits of more CO2 in the atmosphere, at least all Times Colonist readers know exactly where the PPC stands.

And to think that the Conservative Party came within a hair’s breadth of selecting Bernier as their leader.

Clair Wakefield
Oak Bay

Bernier’s arguments easy to rebut

Re. “Reject global warming alarmism, focus on concrete improvements,” opinion, Oct. 16.

Maxime Bernier presents three of the most common slogans by cracker barrel climate-change deniers, all of which are easily rebutted.

1) That climate has always changed is true, but never over such a short period of time and in all regions of the world simultaneously as in the past half a century.

2) That CO2 is a natural part of a healthy atmosphere is true, but even though it constitutes a mere 0.04 per cent of the atmosphere’s volume, it is the only atmospheric gas that absorbs heat and therefore the only gas that can be responsible for warming.

3) Disagreement is a necessary part of conducting good science through debate, but recent studies by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others have shown that more than 97 per cent of scientists agree with more than 95 per cent certainty that global warming is real and that it is caused by human activity.

Kai Lamertz
Victoria

Digital voting raises hacking risks

Re. “There must be a better way to vote,” letter, Oct. 15.

I am a professional cybersecurity analyst. It is important our voting systems stay simple and manual. Given sufficient motivation, any electronic device can be hacked.

Nation states have immense resources dedicated to breaching computer systems. Their daily skirmishes are invisible to the public at large. Their activities range from theft of intellectual property to military espionage. There is growing evidence they also meddle in political affairs.

Interested readers will find an internet search of “voting machine hacking” to be revealing. If voting moves into the digital realm, we introduce grave risk to transparency and fairness in our democracy.

Paper-based voting systems might seem archaic, but isn’t protecting our democracy worth a small inconvenience? Thank goodness we can entertain ourselves on our smartphones while we wait in line.

Jeff Johnson
Esquimalt

Avoid waits — vote on election day

To those complaining about delays at advance polls, I have an simple solution — vote on election day. There will be ample booths in multiple polling stations, well-staffed to ensure they run smoothly.

Advance polls are designed for those who cannot participate on election day. This is a very small number, hence limited access. Everyone else has no reason to attend advance polls — employees by law have to have four clear hours to vote.

I have voted in every election that I have been eligible for over the last 50 years and am hard pressed to think of one case, here or on the mainland, where the wait on election day has been more than 10 minutes.

Doug Row
North Saanich

Transit users being left in the cold

Re. “Maintenance issues sideline buses,” Oct. 16.

It boggles the mind that our first line of defence in reducing traffic volumes is unreliable.

Where have the management of B.C. Transit been? Surely they can plan ahead like the owners of cars?

We have a city fighting to reduce climate change, spending oodles on bicycle lanes, yet those citizens who travel by transit are being left in the cold.

Nanaimo got a whole new fleet of buses several years ago. Why not Victoria?

Michael Rogers
Nanaimo

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• Email: letters@timescolonist.com

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