Letters

Having lived on the Saanich Peninsula for over two decades, the debate over North Saanich’s review of their official community plan (OCP) is both informative and interesting.

There is no debate that about 20 per cent of returned merchandise finds its way to landfills, according to BBC Earth, and it is significant. It is estimated 5.8 billion pounds worldwide of this stuff goes into landfills annually but it is not fair to single out Amazon because all large online retail outlets do it.

Thank you for your front-page story, Residents want more done to protect aquifer, in the Oct. 20. Groundwater is a critically important issue on southern Vancouver Island but remains almost invisible to most residents (out of sight, out of mind).

I wonder if there are more people like me out in COVID-land.

There is still one captive orca left in Canada. Her name is Kiska.

There probably is a good reason that the municipality is changing the intersection of Bowker and Cadboro Bay Road. Removing the right turn out will impede traffic and create more pollution.

Conspiracy theories and Internet nonsense aside, significant social change almost always follows the same pattern, the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine included.

Following the removal of the Norway maples on Oak Bay Avenue, I was deeply disheartened to see parks manager Chris Hyde-Lay quoted saying “The replacement trees will likely be ginkgo biloba.” Every gingko planted is a loss to our urban ecosystem, and for the town to be modeling this choice, in a location seen by so many people, is very troubling.

Anyone with a minimal understanding of construction will know the project at 1909 Prosser Rd. is for more than the publicly announced 39 homes for the homeless. The excavation is massive, more in keeping with what one would expect for a multi-floor large condominium project or office building.

I start my weekday mornings in the dark, driving on Cedar Hill Road. And every morning I peer into that darkness, seeking those bike riders who wear dark clothes, flash no lights, and give me the responsibility for their life or death.