Re: “Tickets nearly sold out after prices reined in,” Dec. 26.
While hockey fans rejoice for the excitement of having a second-tier event in Vancouver and Victoria, with benefits praised by everyone on site, including videos from top government officials projected on the giant screens in both venues, soccer (football) fans still wonder why 2018 left such a sour taste after the party in power flatly refused to support a bid to have games of the upcoming 2026 Men’s Soccer World Cup in Vancouver.
If you think these two cities are benefiting from having this tournament, multiply this by 10 or 100 and those are the lost benefits of hosting the largest single sports event on Earth. Ah, yes, it is not hockey.
Daniel Sanchez
Victoria
No word from leaders after storm
Re: “Power will likely be back for all by Dec. 31,” Dec. 26.
Record-breaking winds and thousands without power for over a week, but not a word from MLA Adam Olsen or any official statement from Premier John Horgan. With such poor contact from the local MLA and the premier, could it be any worse under proportional representation?
David Rumsey
Salt Spring Island
It’s FPTP that perverts democracy
Re: “Democracy prevails when PR fails,” letter, Dec. 28.
The writer is correct in his figures and percentages, but illogical and wrong in his conclusions. The Green Party got 16.84 per cent of the popular votes, a significant amount, but got only three seats, about 3.4 per cent of the total under the first-past-the-post voting system. This is not democratic.
Under PR, they would have got about 14 seats, which is representative of the popular vote. The Greens reasonably sided with the NDP rather than the B.C. Liberals, as their views are closer to NDP than Liberal ones, and presumably their voters’ views are, too. This agreement represents a reasonable majority of the total vote at 57.17 per cent.
To call this a perversion of democracy is wrong. The perversion of democracy lies with the FPTP system, not with PR, so the headline is wrong, too.
Charles Simpson
Victoria
PR not too ‘confusing’ for other countries
Re: “Why B.C. voters rejected electoral reform,” Dec. 22.
I certainly, as we all do, accept the democratic rejection of proportional representation — knowing, however, that people have been known to vote themselves right out of democracy. But the statement by Bill Tieleman that it was rejected in part because it is “complicated and confusing,” when it is understood by the citizens of the numerous nations that have adopted it, says more about our educational system than it does about proportional representation.
Sophie Siebert
Saanich
Using credit card at payphone is costly
I’m sure there are plenty of people who have experienced the shock of using a payphone in Victoria, but if not, let this be a cautionary tale.
If you choose to pay with your credit card, you will be charged a $5.99 surcharge payable to a third-party, non-human operator company, you will pay for a minimum call length (two minutes, as an example) charged at $1.29 per minute, you will pay an admin fee of $1, you will pay another fee (unknown because at this point in my conversation with WiMacTel — the primary service-provider for payphones — I had given up trying to remember all the fees and who gets paid what), and you will pay 50 cents plus applicable taxes and further fees deemed necessary by WiMacTel.
My less than 20-second phone call to my husband to pick me up from Royal Jubilee Hospital (literally: “Hi, honey, I’m ready. Pick me up at the front door.” “OK, I’m on my way.”) cost me $11.27.
Moral of the story: Keep your cellphone fully charged and carry a roll of quarters in your pocket.
Leslie Holth
Victoria
Why does populism worry Trudeau?
Re: “Thoughtful strategy will win election: PM,” Dec. 20.
Reading this article, I was unsure of the meaning of “populism” and the prime minister’s concerns. I Googled populism and was informed that it is the support for the concerns of ordinary people.
Asking myself why the prime minister of Canada would have concerns with this, I looked a bit further and found that “populism” is an ideology that presents “the people” as a morally good force against the “elite,” who are perceived as corrupt and self-serving. OK, that puts things into perspective, for me.
I think Justin Trudeau is indeed fortunate to be prime minister of a country where the citizens do as they are told. It will be interesting to see where he resurfaces after losing the next election.
Joe Hronek
Colwood
Canada should lead on ocean power
Anyone would have thought that our federal government would notice that Canada has the longest coastline of any country. Waves pound endless energy on our shores. Tidal currents provide two-way power daily. When the French pulled out of the Bay of Fundy project, they observed that Canada was timid on research.
Better than talk and taxes, why does not the federal government insist that every university in the country, with the scientific potential, focus on this burning issue or have their grants cancelled?
Canada, lead the world. Greens, do something useful.
Michael A. Ross
Victoria
