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Tuesday letters

University boards need diverse views Re: “Why faculty shouldn’t serve on university boards,” column, Nov. 25.

University boards need diverse views

Re: “Why faculty shouldn’t serve on university boards,” column, Nov. 25.

As a faculty member at Royal Roads University, and a former member of the RRU board of governors, I read with interest Lawrie McFarlane’s column. The column provided an inaccurate and incomplete discussion on the topic.

The column implied that the B.C. government only recently passed legislation to allow faculty representation on boards of governors. In fact, faculty representatives have long been included as members of the boards of governors for all colleges and universities in B.C., and across Canada. The column also fails to mention that university staff, students and the university administration also have representation, in addition to faculty members, and that in B.C., government-appointed members by law have the majority of seats on the board and thus ultimate decision-making power.

As is emphasized in board training and practice, staff, faculty, administration, student and government appointed representatives do not represent their own interests on the board, but are legally required to always serve the best interests of the university as a whole. From my experience, all board members welcome and benefit from having a diverse set of individuals represented on the board so that issues of importance to the university and its stakeholders can be fully explored and considered.

Having faculty and other representatives on university boards is a form of good governance that ensures that B.C. universities continue to offer high-quality academic programs, research and service to meet the needs of the people of British Columbia.

Charles Krusekopf

Metchosin

Animosity directed at UVic board member

Re: “Why faculty shouldn’t serve on university boards,” column, Nov. 25.

The late Heather Nicol, who was my mom, served on the board of governors at the University of Victoria. We were told about an incident in which the kind of animosity Lawrie McFarlane describes in his column — from a faculty member — was directed at her. Although she was offered a second term, she regretfully declined.

Perhaps another reason for keeping faculty off boards of governors is that good people from the community simply will not tolerate that sort of behaviour.

Christina J. Nicol

Victoria

Suspended officers deserve justice

Re: “Suspended legislature officers push to be reinstated,” Nov. 24.

The B.C. government should not be allowed the luxury of “repenting at leisure.” MLAs’ hasty vote resulted in administrative staff members being “bounced” out of the legislature like undesirable patrons from a bar.

This is well beyond simple politics. Do we need to quote the Magna Carta? “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled. Nor will we proceed with force against him except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”

Lavonne Huneck

Cobble Hill

Daycare program is an investment in B.C.

Re: “Do homework on all the costs of daycare plan,” editorial, Nov. 25.

The editorial states: “Taking $2 billion out of the economy to create these [daycare] jobs will force taxpayers and companies to tighten their belts.”

What nonsense. If $2 billion is being spent to create jobs, it’s not being taken out of the economy. On the contrary, creating these jobs means the $2 billion is being invested in the province, to the benefit of taxpayers and companies.

Elizabeth Woods

Victoria

Electric-vehicle reality is subsidized by oil

Re: “Move more boldly on electric vehicles,” letter, Nov. 24.

The highlighting of Norway’s commitment to ending internal-combustion-vehicle sales by 2025 at first glance might seem to be a wonderful win for the environment. How this is being achieved might not be so wonderful.

The purchase of electric cars is subsidized by the Norwegian government through both direct subsidies and various tax exemptions, which effectively make it cheaper to purchase and operate an electric car than a comparable petrol vehicle. This subsidizing is made possible by the government revenue from the sale of oil and natural gas and the $1-trillion sovereign fund that has accumulated from those sales since its establishment in 1990.

In 2017, Norway’s net exports of oil were 226,000 barrels/day/person, as compared with Canada’s net exports of 71,000 barrels/day/person. It is this accumulated wealth from its petroleum exports that allows the Norwegian welfare state to exist, even though its household debt-to-income level is extremely high at 235 per cent in 2017 (Canada’s was 171 per cent).

If not for the tens of millions of dollars Canada is missing out on every day due to lack of alternative markets for the sale of its oil, Canada could also subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles to a greater extent than currently.

I think 2040 is a reasonable goal for the B.C. government based on realistic economics. I also believe the development of additional export capacity for Alberta oil is prudent and necessary.

Dan Nicoud

Langford

Southern resident orca population is stable

Re: “Orcas are on the precipice,” Nov. 18.

According to the University of British Columbia Marine Mammal Research Unit, numbers of southern resident orcas in the Strait of Georgia have been fairly constant since records began, with 78 in 1960, a low of 66 in 1970 and never more than 98 (in 1996).

It would appear the population (now 74) has been surviving on a precipice for quite a while. Why must we now panic and stop whale-watching and fishing for salmon?

Yes, the population is low, but the good news is that the population of transient orcas that feed on seals and sea lions is increasing, as is the population of northern resident killer whales (salmon-eaters, like the southerns).

So why must we sacrifice whale-watching and sport fishing for the sake of a population that is low, but has been pretty stable for almost 60 years?

Bruce Pendergast

Victoria

Feces-themed toy is inappropriate

Re: “Toymakers cater to poop obsession,” Nov. 22.

I’m amazed to see a piece about feces (poop) being considered newsworthy. I don’t see anything good coming out of games that encourage inappropriate humour.

We see people being disrespectful almost every time we get on a bus or stand in line at grocery stores. We seem to forget that people’s sensibilities do matter, even if they conflict with our own views.

And yes, I know children like to play with gross stuff. I used to make mud pies with my little friends and probably ate my share of dirt in the process. I can’t imagine my mom being OK with a game that encouraged laughing at a lump of poop flying through the air when the toilet was flushed.

Judy Westhaver

Saanich

Statistics alone don’t tell the tale

Re: “Prevent waste,” editorial, and “ ‘Big problem’ for B.C.: One in five children growing up poor,” Nov. 21.

Who could possibly be against preventing waste, especially if it is a waste of food while many go hungry? It tugs at emotions, supported by a statistic showing “Canadians waste an average of 400 kilograms per person per year.”

But is this “wasted food” or “food waste”? The Capital Regional District collects kitchen scraps. What fraction is edible? Are chicken bones, vegetable peels, corn cobs, apple cores in this mass considered wasted food? If items begin to decay, is disposal not the correct action?

Child poverty is a statistic, but note it is household poverty, not children’s poverty that is counted. The UN defines poverty as living in the bottom 20 per cent of income, regardless of absolute income level of a group. The statistic does not say if only the incomes of people with children are counted.

Average incomes are greatly influenced by those without children, or beyond rearing age. Poverty in West Vancouver is different than the same income in, say, Burns Lake. In one, poverty is not having the latest iPhone, and in another it might be no shoes.

Children should not be neglected or go hungry, but in some families, parents sacrifice for the welfare of their children, while others, even with wealth, feed their habits and neglect their children.

If the statistic is the bottom 20 per cent, it should be no surprise that at least one in five children are “living in poverty,” at least, to those who have taken some mathematics.

David A. Kelly

Courtenay