Opinion

Grace Lore looks back at the accomplishments and challenges of the past year

MLA grateful to be part of the Saanich community

NDP have a great opportunity to work collaboratively on shared goals, Green MLA Adam Olsen says

MP Laurel Collins looks to focus on climate actions, the opioid crisis and other issues come 2022

Randall Garrison, MP for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, takes a look back at 2021

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.