Letters

In 2011, due to the disrepair of the railway, Via Rail and Southern Railway suspended indefinitely the Dayliner passenger service, the Victoria–Courtenay train. Via and Southern Railway did offer a bus service for several months after the closure, but the service was discontinued the same year as fewer than 10 people a day used their temporary bus service.

I bought my first membership to the RBC Museum over 30 years ago and still have an old book on plant use by First Nations people which I purchased it then and still greatly value today. My wife and I have lived in Victoria now for over 10 years and are currently annual membership holders. However, it seems that is likely to change with an ill-conceived and poorly executed plan to remove most of the existing museum exhibits with apparently no plan to have replacement exhibits in place.

Re: the letter Saanich goes overboard with animal control.

Like most, I’m exhausted by the pandemic: the endless variants, the stream of bad news, and the uncertainty of when this war against the virus will end. And while I remain a steadfast supporter of every public health measures, I am concerned about the inconsistent messaging of Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Sooke and seven other South Island municipalities are complaining about operating costs for E-Comm’s call taking and dispatch services. These municipalities should be the last to complain; they’ve had a very sweet deal for years.

Langford council has OK’d the building of four condominium buildings in neighbourhoods of aging single-family homes. Scafe Road is one of the streets affected. I have been living in an “aging single-family home” on Scafe Road since 1973. Two of the towers will be built on Scafe Road.

In its push to promote a challenged official community plan process and affordable housing, our municipal council has distracted the attention of North Saanich residents away from more pressing and immediate concerns that have become all too obvious over the course of the last few weeks: the management of excessive stormwater on our roads and in our neighbourhoods.

Two days ago I went to the eastern end of Cadboro Bay beach. It was deserted as far as the breakwater. I let my old Labrador retriever off leash. As I deposited my dog bag in the bin near the breakwater, a Saanich animal control officer approached me as he had seen my dog without a leash.

I’m not interested in the value of my home. I chose what was semi-rural because I don’t need amenities many younger people demand.

Kudos to the District of Oak Bay for finally adopting most of the public engagement toolkit recommendations contained in the Mayor’s Task Force Report on Public Engagement submitted to the last mayor and council along with the recent staff report on the same topic.