Difficult times afflict region?s food banks
Re: ?Victoria food bank fighting for donations,? Oct. 11.
The service the Mustard Seed Food Bank provides is commendable. However, other food banks are also facing financial difficulties.
St. John the Divine Anglican Church has had a food bank since the mid-1990s. We are thankful that we have been able to serve in this ministry but it is a ministry that needs to be self-sustaining.The people we serve are primarily on social assistance. Some have disabling conditions and have difficulty feeding themselves and their families on what the government provides. They are able to access our program once a month. It is open for two hours on most Tuesdays and Fridays.
Our numbers increase each year. As of Sept. 30, we had served 4,159 guests, an increase of 15.4 per cent over 2011. Our costs have significantly increased due to higher food costs and no longer being able to obtain food at a significantly reduced price from a major food store.
To date we have spent more than $29,000 for purchase of food and we are operating at a deficit. Our food bank is funded by tax-receipted financial donations from members of our church, other churches and non-church people. We also receive food donations from individuals and occasionally the Mustard Seed. The program is operated entirely by volunteers with all donated funds being used to purchase food.
John Sylwester, co-ordinator, emergency food service, St John the Divine Anglican Church, Victoria
Government careful with advertising dollars
I would like to clarify recent misleading articles concerning Government of Canada advertising.
During this time of economic uncertainty, we are committed to the prudent expenditure of taxpayers? dollars. Projected advertising spending this year is down 46 per cent from 2009-10 and advertising expenses for 2010-11 ($83.3 million) were well below the last full year under the former Liberal government ($111 million).
Advertising is a key way for the Government of Canada to communicate to Canadians on the things that matter most to them. Canadians will agree that the government has a responsibility to notify the public on government programs, such as Canada?s Economic Action Plan and serious issues that could affect their healthy and safety. Advertising spending increases in prior years included extraordinary initiatives such as H1N1 preparedness and vaccines.
The Government of Canada will continue to communicate openly and transparently with Canadians in a way that respects their tax dollars.
Tony Clement, MP, President of the Treasury Board, Ottawa
Train B.C. workers to take mining jobs
Re: ?Chinese workers approved for B.C. coal mines,? Oct. 11.
Shortly after she became premier, I recall Christy Clark making many promises about the importance of jobs for the people in B.C., including retraining and skill development.
Yet here we have a project that has been on the books for years (these do not happen overnight) and we find that the province has again let us down. Where were the apprenticeships to train unemployed residents for these jobs? Mining is not the back-breaking work it used to be ? today it is skilled equipment operators in a variety of classifications.
Clark says she wants more economic benefits from the pipeline. These mining projects are within our control and in our province and again the Liberals have been asleep at the wheel and missed the mark.
By not ensuring that unemployed B.C. residents are provided with the appropriate apprenticeships as part of the long-term plans to develop and operate these mines, we again continue to keep people on the dole. We bring in trained people from other countries, which is a logical response for a business to make when the skills are not available.
It is not too late to implement a training program for those mines on the drawing board in 2015.
We can avoid another disappointment.
Glenn White, Shawnigan Lake
Freedom and nutrition go hand in hand
Re: ?Nutrition and trade can change the world,? Oct. 5.
Columnist Kate Heartfield correctly points to trade barriers as hurting individuals.
The ultimate way to improve nutrition around the world is to foster individual freedom supported by defence and justice. There has never been a famine in a society with a relatively free press. That correlation comes from the ability to spread information and the absence of severely control-minded officials. Africa continues to struggle with the aggression of tribalism and totalitarian Islam takeovers that lead to oppression.
Countries like Canada practice mercantilism to a mild degree ? blocking individuals trading values on the notion of supposed good to society. That?s exploitation of individuals, founded in a negative view of humans. South America is an example of what happens with stronger mercantilism, as chronicled by Hernando de Soto.
Far worse is Marxism, which never fed anyone on its own. North Korea is the poster society for that today ? people are starving in the dark, forbidden to accept food from relatives in Communist China. (Cuba is not an example, as it is propped up by outsiders such as Canadian tourists and, in the past, the Soviet Union.) Yet many media people here promote the economic fallacies of Marxism, such as fixed-pie economics and drive-to-the-bottom ethics.
Keith Sketchley, Saanich
Will China be concerned about B.C.?s coastline?
The Enbridge and Northern Gateway talks continue, but I?m wondering if we?re missing another important consideration.
If the pipeline does go through, despite all opposition, I understand that arrangements for the transportation of the bitumen will be made after the fact by those who are buying the product.
Those in favour of the deal would have us believe that well-insured, double-hulled oil tankers crewed by individuals knowledgeable about local restricted navigable channels would be in charge of transporting the bitumen to Asia.
Hmm. I wonder.
China is not known for its immaculate ocean-side ? quite the contrary, in fact. Why should we feel assured that the China Petrochemical Corporation and Sinopec will worry a lot about keeping our British Columbia coastline pristine?
What exactly prevents buyers from hiring the cheapest possible and least responsible form of transportation for their oil products?
Jean Jenkins, Victoria
Equalization formula won?t be changed
Re: ?Billions on the line in power play,? Oct. 11.
I am writing to reiterate the Department of Finance?s comment that the alleged changes to the equalization referenced have no basis in fact.
Our government has been clear, as stated in Budget 2012, that the equalization program will continue along the existing formula and the upcoming renewal will focus only on technical aspects of the existing program.
The documents referred to in the article were prepared in relation to media stories and third-party reports from earlier this year related to equalization. They were not prepared as advice on renewal of the program and its technical updating.
Chisholm Pothier, director of communications, Ministry of Finance, Ottawa
Water-system problems should be investigated
?CRD administration in for management change,? Oct. 4.
The article documents recent resignations by high-level staff at the Capital Regional District. Is this an attempt to solve the problems that caused the huge cost overruns and mismanagement of water system construction projects on Saltspring Island?
The CRD was also accused of failing to consult with local commissions and being unresponsive to local needs. Salt Spring is addressing the problem by hiring an on-island engineer to oversee CRD construction projects here.
An investigation by a neutral party is still needed to identify the causes and corrective measures to prevent such problems with engineering projects for the entire CRD area. Aren?t all CRD directors concerned that their engineering projects be handled effectively? Now is the time for an investigation.
Maxine Leichter, Saltspring Island
Canadians should be trained for mine jobs
Re: ?Chinese workers approved for B.C. coal mines,? Oct. 11.
The use of ?temporary workers? described in this article has reached a new and insulting level. It states that the federal government has provided approval for up to 2,000 Chinese workers to find ?full-time? work in the four coal mine projects proposed for the northeast of the province.
It also states that there are expected to be 480 to 800 mining jobs for Canadians. In other words only 24 to 40 per cent of the jobs would be for Canadians. This is an outrage.
These mining projects are being proposed and supported by the provincial government as an aid to providing well-paid employment for British Columbians, not foreign nationals who will only be here on a transitory basis. While it is true that Canadian miners will have to be trained, this should be a short-term effort that can be completed probably within a year or so.
Most other mining projects have to train their staff on the job, so what is the big deal? It is an affront to think that Canadians are not trainable and are not willing to work in the resource industry in the more remote areas of the province. If, in fact, Canadians don?t want the work, then leave the coal in the ground.
It is time for both the federal and B.C. governments to stop this takeover of Canadian companies and resources that will only provide minimal long-term benefits for us.
Bruce Tutt, North Saanich
Learning French gives students better education
Re: ?Class composition sparks French-immersion rush,? Oct. 6
The letter demonstrates the need for parents and educators to continue to help make French second-language programs accessible to all. French immersion enrolment in B.C.?s education system has been on the rise for 14 consecutive years.
In learning French, students develop a lifelong ability to communicate, to share, to better understand and to excel. It is a gateway to social, cultural, and economic opportunity both within Canada and around the world.
Parents need to keep the pressure on their local school trustees and educators to ensure that French immersion is available to families who want the same opportunities for their children. On the flip side, educators, parents, and decision makers need the right resources and strategies to support children with learning challenges. Research has shown that students with most types of learning challenges can equally excel in French as they can in English.
I have a child with significant learning challenges and he continues to do well in the French-immersion program. Having the ability to speak a second language gives him the confidence he would not otherwise have experienced in school. I enrolled my four children in French-immersion to give them the gift of a second language; never did I perceive French Immersion as an elitist program.
Second language education gives all students a competitive advantage in life. Together we can do more to ensure all children have that opportunity.
Debra Pool, president, Canadian Parents for French, B.C. & Yukon, Vancouver
All options for policing should be considered
Victoria police Chief Jamie Graham is right ? there should be a debate over his 2020 regional police plan, with a formal government study comparing all the options.
One such option is to have the RCMP provide policing for all municipalities, and those independent police departments would provide policing of our highways. That would reduce the cost of policing to municipalities and the costs of the more expensive independent police departments would then be shared equality among all municipalities.
This isn?t just an exercise in abstract thinking. There are real-world concerns that could very well lead to simple organizational streamlining.
Every B.C. municipal council is dealing with budget issues, yet only a handful have been following police budgets closely. Police budgeting is controlled by a board which has closed-door meetings, not open to the public. The gap between council concerns and police governance is apparent.
We?re talking about an organization that has a worryingly high costs, and we need radical changes to fix the problem. But change should not be undertaken without first having long conversations with the public, so it?s understood what people want and that their concerns are addressed.
William Perry, Victoria
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