Letters

Re: The article on the student housing crisis (Aug. 19). Student housing is the responsibility of the provincial government.

Two letters in Oak Bay News of Aug. 19 provide even more evidence that council is not attuned to residents’ interests and acting accordingly. However, it may be the administration who are acting as gatekeepers, holding back information and bent on preventing council from interacting with the voters.

Is alien life real? I cannot prove it, but I think probably yes. We as a species (humans) should not be too paranoid. If they really wanted to hurt us they would have done so by now. Perhaps someday we will have a good exchange of knowledge and ideas with alien life and develop a friendship with them.

I love Sidney and always spend most Saturdays there enjoying shopping and the beaches. But not so much anymore. It’s just not the same delightful little town that held its charm.

I noticed that the new Sidney calendar for 2022 is proudly displayed at a local bookstore. That the calendar is about the Town of Sidney is readily apparent in that the cover photo is of the blue and white building housing the fish market on the public wharf.

We have been dog owners throughout the 35 years that we have lived in Saanich. We support the Saanich People, Pets, and Parks Strategy and believe that there are many others in the community who support such a direction and who are concerned for the safety of their children, their elders, and their dogs. We also believe there are many in the community who are concerned about dogs running freely in environmentally sensitive areas in our parks.

I am a patient of Dr. Bourdon with Shoreline Medical Clinic (Brentwood Bay/Sidney). This morning on my Telehealth appointment, my doctor looked exhausted, worn out, frustrated and struggling, particularly due to a decision that the government made to close COVID assessment centres with Island Health.

Choosing not to idle is better for your car, saves money and reduces harmful emissions, says reader

Last week, I observed an indigenous youth, corralled by three burly RCMP officers, trussed up and hauled away from the Fairy Creek blockade. Earlier, Teal Jones employees set a large iron gate blocking Granite Main, the main access road to the upper Fairy Creek old-growth forest.

The recent article on housing and the RCMP was focused obviously on the force requirements, but in reality housing availability and housing costs are a recruiting and retention encumbrance not only for the RCMP but for doctors, nurses and teachers.