Letters

I realize that there are many aspects of Oak Bay’s governance requiring immediate attention (a housing strategy and necessary bylaws, review of the 2014 Official Community Plan, improved public engagement, rework of the terms of reference of our commissions and Advisory Design Panel, asset management, implementing development cost charges, etc.)

In reference to the article BC Transit to install barriers to protect drivers , I am enraged that such installations are necessary.

On a recent Thursday afternoon I went grocery shopping and came out with two heavy bags.

Power outages in Saanich are becoming far too commonplace and are a great threat to both life and the lifestyle of residents. Having multiple power outages in the course of a day or two as a result of a storm is outrageous, and totally unacceptable.

Crime rates have decreased in Victoria over the last decade, yet our city remains one of the most policed cities in Canada. The Victoria Police Department is asking for an increase of $57 million for 2019-2020 (a 6.1 per cent increase over last year). This translates to policing as 24 per cent of the draft budget, while only 0.15 per cent is dedicated to affordable housing.

Sidney is a town of seniors. My understanding has been that businesses will have their sidewalks cleared by 10 am following a significant snowfall. It is now Monday past noon and only about half the sidewalks in downtown Sidney have been cleared.

I read with interest Nina Grossman’s article in the Feb. 6 edition of the Victoria News on the increase in thrift store donations.

Wow, 13 mayors implore the provincial government to get train traffic to move people on the existing tracks from Langford to Esquimalt quickly.

We all like to show off to the world that we can grasp basic mathematical concepts such as percentages. But oftentimes it’s far more relevant to look at the absolute dollar amounts since this better correlates to people’s purchasing power.

I would like to give a shout out to Jesse Couture of Couture Homes Ltd of North Saanich. I was one of a multitude of ferry passengers who were stuck at Swartz Bay terminal the evening of Feb. 10 during the storm. During conflicting news of taxi availability and bus arrivals, which never came, Jesse left the safety and comfort of his home and family to go to the terminal and offer rides to stranded travelers.