blog
When property rights conflict with the right to shelter: Victoria’s homeless and Winnipeg’s Derelict Building Bylaw
Published in Fernwood News (Victoria), January 2007 The private real-estate market does not provide adequate housing for low-income people. As the cost of land escalates in Victoria, property owners (like myself) can realize large capital gains, but a growing number of fellow citizens are squeezed into substandard housing and onto the streets. This is the … Continue reading
Stand up to Bear Mountain
Published in Lower Island News (Victoria), December 2006 Earlier this year, I wrote about the need for progressives throughout the CRD to organize a regional force for change. This need was clearly demonstrated in November 2006, when the Bear Mountain Development Group provoked an ugly confrontation with local First Nations. This dispute centred around a … Continue reading
Ignatieff is ideal Liberal
Letter to the Editor of the Globe and Mail (Toronto), 12 October 2006 As Michael Ignatieff scrambles to be all things to all people, courting both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict, we should assess his behaviour in light of the Liberal party’s history. In the 1890s, Laurier waffled over the Manitoba Schools Question, simultaneously pandering … Continue reading
BC Experience shows failure of P3s
Published in Lower Island News (Victoria), October 2006 So the BC Experience has gone “belly up.” Big surprise. Campbell’s giveaway to CFAX millionaire Mel Cooper has left both the City of Victoria and BC government on the hook for uncollected expenses, along with 226 other unsecured creditors. Too bad the political will doesn’t exist to … Continue reading
Congratulation to Quadra-Hillside residents
Letter to the Editor for Hillside-Quadra Community News (Victoria), April 2006 I am writing to congratulate residents of Hillside-Quadra on their efforts to establish a community garden. For years, neighbourhood residents have lobbied public officials to make land available for this important community use. The efforts of PATH (Promoting Action Toward Health) and NAG (Neighbourhood … Continue reading
Understanding needed in Middle East
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 20 March 2006 I feel compelled to respond to an inflammatory headline in your newspaper (‘Terrorist Palestinian leader talks of Israeli peace deal’, March 18). Ismail Haniyeh is the democratically elected leader of the Palestinian people. While I may not agree with his theological approach … Continue reading
Why we need a new CRD electoral coalition
Published in Lower Island News (Victoria), March 2006 Democratic socialists and progressive allies in Greater Victoria have achieved strong representation in provincial and federal politics. At the municipal level, however, right-of-centre politicians dominate public office in the Capital Regional District. The result is inaction in the face of urban sprawl and growing inequality, which conflicts … Continue reading
Fernwood groups fill gap
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 3 February 2006 As a Fernwood resident and parent, I applaud the majority of Victoria city councilors who approved funding for the Fernwood Community Association and Fernwood Community Centre Society. Contrary to the opinions of this newspaper, both groups serve an essential role in our city … Continue reading
Vote ‘Yes’ for CFS
Letter to the Editor published in The Brunswickan (Fredericton), 30 January 2006 Later this month, grad students will have the opportunity to join the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). I firmly believe it is in their best interests to vote a resounding ‘Yes.’ The CFS represents students at universities and colleges across Canada, both graduate and … Continue reading
No such thing as ‘free trade’
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria News, 24 August 2005 Scott Brison, federal Public Works Minister, told Victoria’s Chamber of Commerce that trade agreements prevent Canada from favouring domestic producers (“Canada can’t discriminate,” Victoria News, August 24). This demonstrates once again why our country should withdraw from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), NAFTA and … Continue reading
Social ownership of BC’s resource wealth: A vision for the BC NDP
Published in the Lower Island News (Victoria), June 2005 With 33 MLAs in the BC legislature, five MPs in the House of Commons, and hundreds of activists in local governments, the BC NDP is a powerful force. We must remember, however, that power is never enough on it own. Inspired by recent electoral success, New … Continue reading
Public healthcare still the best system
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 10 June 2005 Lobby groups for private health corporations, such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Canadian Healthcare Association, are celebrating the Supreme Court ruling supporting private insurance. They have called this decision ‘historic.’ Taking a long-range approach to Canadian history, this decision signifies … Continue reading
Reality of drug use
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria News, 8 June 2005 In a recent article (‘Nothing safe about this junk’), newsgroup columnist Tom Fletcher describes safe-injection sites as a ‘questionable bit of social engineering.’ Fletcher has every right to hold this opinion, but it seems to ignore the real-life situation in Victoria today. We do … Continue reading
NDP balanced the budget
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria News, 11 February 2005 Several letter-writers, and columnist Paul Willcocks, have contributed to the misconception that the 1990s were a ‘dark decade’ for BC’s economy. NDP leaders are portrayed as terrible fiscal managers, while Campbell and his cohorts are praised for bringing about an economic miracle. This story … Continue reading
School District 61 and the NDP
Published in Lower Island News (Victoria), January 2007 It is not pleasant to question the actions of fellow New Democrats in a public forum like this newspaper. But sometimes it is essential, particularly when NDP members hold positions of trust and public responsibility. We must question the decision of a majority of School District No. … Continue reading »