105 replies to this topic

[jonny]

I am all for public consultation and public input, but landowners should be able to utilize their land in reasonable manners that conform to applicable laws, bylaws and city plans. They shouldn't be held hostage by special interest groups that hijack the process. If City Councils around the world sat around and waited for the perfect proposal or demanded refinements until we reached a consensus nothing would ever get built.

 

Regarding the speed limit issue, well let's compare it to the hysteria in some circles around vaccinating your kids. To people like Jennifer McCarthy, vaccines are extremely dangerous and in fact gave her son autism. To her, vaccines are a serious issue. Over here in reality land, however, there is zero scientific evidence that demonstrates vaccines aren't safe and effective.

 

"Expressing concern" doesn't make something an issue. I'd love for one of the speed limit proponents to show me evidence (i.e. follow the scientific method we all learned in grade school) which demonstrates that in the City of Victoria vehicles traveling at over 40km/h are causing an increased prevalence of death, injury or property damage. Relying on romantic phrases like saying you "want to make our communities more livable" is a rather weak argument.

 

Regarding the Crystal Pool...partnering with the YMCA rather than running our own show seems like a complete no-brainer to me.

[Mike K.]

I agree with both of you.

Regarding speed, City staff say speeds are already at or below the new limits. So what are we going to accomplish by wasting money to enact the limits if we already know they won't have an effect. And to say this is just a trial further trivializes the whole thing and becomes an even bigger waste of money.

Erik, what should we do about the individuals who loiter next to City Hall? I'd like an immediate resolution to that issue, not a "we need to increase social services" 10 year plan. Lets get some leadership on issues that truly affect us, not boogeyman issues that all of a sudden become problems despite most people wondering what all the fuss is about.

[HB]

Well in the very early 1990s there was a serious problem next to and in front of City Hall with an estimated 200k European Starlings that roosted on the trees all night and left a thick coating of slimy bird crap on the sidewalk and lawn every morning

The City solved the problem by cutting the trees down
The birds never came back
Maybe if they cut the sequoia down the stinky people would not return

Edited by HB, 29 September 2014 - 08:46 PM.

[Mike K.]

For the most part those individuals don't bother anyone, but walking through the square on an almost daily basis, a couple of times per day, I've seen it all and it's a crying shame that our City Hall is literally next to what most people from around the world would associate with a hobo camp. Stolen shopping carts and all, it's crazy. And when booze or drugs are involved some of those individuals get a little out of hand, yell at passers-by or intimidate individuals.

 

Nobody is willing to even speak on this issue. Why is that, if this sort of thing is what really impacts livability in our region, not this silly myth of side swiped sideview mirrors by raging speeders.

[G-Man]

As much as people would freak, I am totally in favour of the sequoia getting cut down. It really ruins the square imo.

[Nparker]

As much as people would freak, I am totally in favour of the sequoia getting cut down. It really ruins the square imo.

+1

[HB]

You know that sqaure of grass with the tree hardly gets used

 

In fact the only time there are lots of people on that patch of grass is every April 20 when 1 thousand or so pot smokers show up for a smoke in.

 

Then the TD Jazz fest attracts a few in the summer

 

This Oct 4 the annual Zombie walk will gather there then

 

At the end of Nov the Christmas Tree light up.

 

The rest of the year nothing happenes...

So my question is why is it so bad that marginalized persons, druggies homeless and can collectors use the grass area.???

 

 

This City is made up of people of all socio economic status all races all shapes sizes etc....why is it that people cant handle it and have to ***** and complain about it....this website is Called Vibrant Victoria and the city is Vibrant due to all that goes on not just the pretty stuff

Edited by HB, 29 September 2014 - 09:01 PM.

[G-Man]

My issue has nothing to do with the homeless there. It is the fact that from urban space perspective, the square is cut off from the busiest street. Create an open sight line and thru way into the square and it's usage would likely double.

[HB]

It looked nice when Cormorant went right through and onto the JSB

 

They tore down a lot of nice old buildings for that Sq.

 

 

I wish the SQ got more use than it does.

 

I used to go for the Christmas Light up and it was nice to see so many people there . I big event all the lights in the trees then for the rest of the winter the lights remain but no people.

 

It woudl be nice if they has a German Style Christmas Village there  all of NOV and Decwith food and drink and events.

 

When I am in  Toronto I always go to the Distillery District which has such a place and it is a destination for people.

 

Victoria is to small and not ready for all night shopping or outdoor events that last beyond 8pm

[Mike K.]

 

Victoria is to small and not ready for all night shopping or outdoor events that last beyond 8pm

 

But it's ready to have the country's only City Hall with a homeless camp next door?

[Jacques Cadé]

Erik, in your post of September 19, you said you didn’t cite your past role as president of the Victoria NDP riding association on your campaign website because you “didn't want to mix partisan politics with a civic campaign”. I find this curious, for two reasons.

 

1) I understand that while you were president of that federal riding association, you were also a key advisor to Victoria mayor Dean Fortin, including during the 2010 Johnson Street Bridge referendum and by-election, and the 2011 civic election. (In fact, one prominent NDPer described you at the time as the mayor’s “right-hand man”.) What exactly was your role as an advisor to mayor Fortin? Were you compensated for this work?

 

2) As you may know from this thread, during the runup to the 2011 civic election, several members of this forum received unsolicited emails urging them to vote for Dean Fortin — and that their addresses could have only been obtained because they had subscribed to receive provincial or federal NDP updates. As the thread points out, sharing federal/provincial email lists with municipal candidates potentially violates privacy laws, and the NDP’s own policies. Did you provide or were you aware of the provision of the federal riding's email lists to a municipal campaign?

 

Look, Erik, I like you, I admire your commitment to this community, and I might vote for you. But if you’re running for elected office, you really should make your political affiliations clear, so voters can decide for themselves whether or not you will put their interests first.

 

With kind regards,
Ross Crockford
PS Sorry for taking a while to follow up on this, but I’ve been out of town for the past month, and had limited internet access.

Edited by Jacques Cadé, 26 October 2014 - 11:12 AM.

[Mike K.]

It's been a couple of days since Ross posed his question. Perhaps someone who is close to Mr. Kaye or has been in touch with campaign organizers/supporters can mention that there is a question waiting to be addressed?

 

It would be best to address this and not leave it hanging.

[NotHudsonMack]

It's been a couple of days since Ross posed his question. Perhaps someone who is close to Mr. Kaye or has been in touch with campaign organizers/supporters can mention that there is a question waiting to be addressed?

 

It would be best to address this and not leave it hanging.

 

Would also like to see this answered. It is one thing to ignore anon internet questions, it is another to ignore somebody so well known in Vic like Ross. Does Erik have anything on his website about transparency or accountability? lol

[Mr Cook Street]

Seeing lots of Erik Kaye signs around town.

[Erik.Kaye]

Sorry for the delay in responding - have been out door-knocking, going to all-candidates meetings and responding to questionnaires pretty much non-stop.

 

While I have supported and volunteered for Mayor Fortin in previous campaigns, I have never been compensated for any work in those campaigns - I have door-knocked and dropped leaflets just like hundreds of other volunteers have done.  I had no strategic role in the Johnson Street Bridge referendum campaign. Any personal volunteer work I did in those campaigns for Mayor Fortin had absolutely nothing to do with my former role as the president of the Victoria federal NDP.

 

As most people know, the NDP membership lists are managed by the BC NDP under the party's constitution - federal riding associations do not control those lists.  I had no knowledge of, or control over, whether the BC NDP shared any membership information with a municipal campaign during the 2011 municipal election.

 

My political affiliations are clear and transparent to anybody who can use Google, Ross.  I simply said, and continue to believe, that we shouldn't mix federal partisan politics with the Victoria municipal election.  The voters will decide whether I am putting their interests first on November 15.

 

Erik, in your post of September 19, you said you didn’t cite your past role as president of the Victoria NDP riding association on your campaign website because you “didn't want to mix partisan politics with a civic campaign”. I find this curious, for two reasons.

 

1) I understand that while you were president of that federal riding association, you were also a key advisor to Victoria mayor Dean Fortin, including during the 2010 Johnson Street Bridge referendum and by-election, and the 2011 civic election. (In fact, one prominent NDPer described you at the time as the mayor’s “right-hand man”.) What exactly was your role as an advisor to mayor Fortin? Were you compensated for this work?

 

2) As you may know from this thread, during the runup to the 2011 civic election, several members of this forum received unsolicited emails urging them to vote for Dean Fortin — and that their addresses could have only been obtained because they had subscribed to receive provincial or federal NDP updates. As the thread points out, sharing federal/provincial email lists with municipal candidates potentially violates privacy laws, and the NDP’s own policies. Did you provide or were you aware of the provision of the federal riding's email lists to a municipal campaign?

 

Look, Erik, I like you, I admire your commitment to this community, and I might vote for you. But if you’re running for elected office, you really should make your political affiliations clear, so voters can decide for themselves whether or not you will put their interests first.

 

With kind regards,
Ross Crockford
PS Sorry for taking a while to follow up on this, but I’ve been out of town for the past month, and had limited internet access.

[NotHudsonMack]

BCNDP and NDP membership lists are one and the same due to the stupid setup where you have to be a member of one to be a member of the other. No other party does this with fed-prov membership lists. As a riding president you would have had access to NDPVote which is the voters database which would contain all membership data. Even if there is a separate access for BCNDP and one for FedNDP the names on the list would be exactly the same and there is no way a riding president does not have access to his own membership data.

[Jacques Cadé]

Erik, thanks for the response. I guess many regular shlubs like me, who have voted for NDP candidates but aren’t party members, don’t really understand the relationship between its federal and provincial branches. I did not know that the BC NDP controls all membership information in the province, including for the federal ridings.

 

I guess I will ask Glen Sanford — Dean Fortin’s brother-in-law, and manager of the BC NDP’s 2011 federal campaign — if he knows about the sharing of the email lists with mayor Fortin’s campaign that year instead. Ross

[Coreyburger]

NDP is the only vertically integrated party in Canada. Have been since day one.

[John M.]

NDP is the only vertically integrated party in Canada. Have been since day one.

Except, you could argue, the federal Liberals and their provincial counterparts in the Maritimes. My brother-in-law was suprised to learn that his provincial Liberal membership in Nova Scotia entitled him to vote in the federal Liberal leadership race last year. 

[Mixed365]

NDP is the only vertically integrated party in Canada. Have been since day one.

What do you mean by this?