11779 replies to this topic

[LJ]

I think we should put up those mobile police cameras in every known location of these criminals including all the hotels etc. that have been bought to house these vulnerable people, you know, for their safety.

[Midnightly]

https://www.iheartra...taff-1.16069663

 

So mayor and council likely knew, going as far as September of last year, that the public safety situation in downtown Victoria was very serious, but they spent the next year trying to placate the public over their concerns, experiences, and perceptions of danger in the community.

i can't help but think this was around the time that the tent city in centennial square was given the boot (sept 2020)... city hall suddenly decided that the criminal element had entrenched the camp and it was time for it to go so with the help of the city staff they packed people up then dropped them off at other parks around the city (one of them being central park at crystal pool)

[Mike K.]

And being a draft report, the full report has not been delivered yet. It makes you wonder why the report is still another year in the making. The crime situation in Victoria has gotten markedly worse since September of 2020, and we thought that was already bad then (don’t forget the pellet gun incidents targeting City Hall, the McPherson and CTV’s studios across from City Hall).

The chief is now publicly saying his officers are struggling to do their jobs and are now dealing with more disdain/lack of respect towards them than ever before.

[spanky123]

^ All manufactured. You think that Our Place shutting down for the day was anything but a stunt? It is a well coordinated effort to make the streets appear as violent and uncontrollable as possible so that everyone can get more money and you will support it because you are too afraid not to. Too bad for the downtown business that gets caught in  the crossfire. Their "leaders" might call this for what it is but then again their future political plans might be impacted if they spoke up.

[Mike K.]

We’ll see how Victoria votes, I guess. A vote for Collins is to confirm the electorate likes what it sees.

[A Girl is No one]

^ All manufactured. You think that Our Place shutting down for the day was anything but a stunt? It is a well coordinated effort to make the streets appear as violent and uncontrollable as possible so that everyone can get more money and you will support it because you are too afraid not to. Too bad for the downtown business that gets caught in the crossfire. Their "leaders" might call this for what it is but then again their future political plans might be impacted if they spoke up.

That thought crossed my mind too… part of the extortion campaign to get the government to fund their next level of expansion, with services for the every hard to house/dangerous - where of course there will be absolutely zero expectations of tangible results or transparency.

[A Girl is No one]

We’ll see how Victoria votes, I guess. A vote for Collins is to confirm the electorate likes what it sees.

I think most people of unaware of the policies and automatically vote NDP.
I wouldn’t see this as an endorsement of policies.

[Nparker]

...A vote for Collins is to confirm the electorate likes what it sees.

Maybe the electorate is too frustrated to care who represents them in Ottawa.

[spanky123]

I think most people of unaware of the policies and automatically vote NDP.
I wouldn’t see this as an endorsement of policies.

 

I would suggest that a very high % of people have no idea what / who their local candidate is when they vote.

[JimV]

We’ll see how Victoria votes, I guess. A vote for Collins is to confirm the electorate likes what it sees.

Unfortunately a vote for the Libs or Greens sends the same message.  They all have supported the federal government on almost every bill.  Of course Collins is particularly useless, but even having a personally credible candidate like Macdonald wouldn’t help.  Once in Ottawa the all become trained seals.

[Awaiting Juno]

We’ll see how Victoria votes, I guess. A vote for Collins is to confirm the electorate likes what it sees.

 

Not necessarily, I've heard some voting that way for the purpose of not wanting it to go Liberal. In my books both options (Liberals and NDP) are non starters - so I voted otherwise. 

[mbjj]

I think most people of unaware of the policies and automatically vote NDP.
I wouldn’t see this as an endorsement of policies.

Sadly true. I was talking to someone the other day who didn't even know that rubber draining boards existed to put under a dish rack! How can they expect to take voting seriously? 

[Awaiting Juno]

I really don't put a whole lot of stock in the Federal election results as many have pointed out: the federal Conservative candidate was practically a ghost in the riding, and the Green candidate also did not seem overly competitive. Even the PPC candidate seemed to have more presence (if judging by the signs). So people could choose between supporting Liberal (and extension, Trudeau), or NDP (and by extension Laurel Collins). What would have been interesting is if Nikki MacDonald had run as a green candidate as last election the green vote was very competitive with the NDP vote. Many people aren't even associating Collins with Together Victoria any longer, in part as she was elected to federal office very shortly after being elected to council (was it even a year later?).

 

With respect to the city - it is my understanding that they discussed neighbourhood boundaries this past week. It is also my understanding that Gonzales would prefer to be their own, at least for the purposes of CALUC's.  Given how Fairfield-Gonzalez is right now, that position is quite understandable.

[JimV]

I hope your views on the disconnect between federal and municipal politics are correct, but there are grounds for concern.  Voting for a completely useless candidate running for a party with a fantasy platform and which has supported Trudeau at every turn does not speak well of the political acumen of Victoria voters.

 

She may, of course, have benefitted from the popularity of the Horgan government. It’s hard to read the entrails.

 

Whatever the case, the TV crowd has a fairly significant and reliable zombie vote.  Replacing them is going to require a high profile mayoral candidate, a team (and I use the term advisedly) of credible council candidates, a platform with a clear message and a strong turnout of voters who haven’t forgotten the last two or three years.  

[rmpeers]

I hope your views on the disconnect between federal and municipal politics are correct, but there are grounds for concern. Voting for a completely useless candidate running for a party with a fantasy platform and which has supported Trudeau at every turn does not speak well of the political acumen of Victoria voters.

She may, of course, have benefitted from the popularity of the Horgan government. It’s hard to read the entrails.

Whatever the case, the TV crowd has a fairly significant and reliable zombie vote. Replacing them is going to require a high profile mayoral candidate, a team (and I use the term advisedly) of credible council candidates, a platform with a clear message and a strong turnout of voters who haven’t forgotten the last two or three years.

Hopefully they won't form another "tenants' rights group" or whatever was allegedly done last time to assemble a voters list. But they are sly, and many voters in this city aren't the sharpest.

[Nparker]

...many voters in this city aren't the sharpest.

Truer words were never uttered.

[rmpeers]

Has the mayor ever confirmed if she intends to run next year?

[Nparker]

Stephen Andrew plans to host a series of virtual engagement sessions. Schedule is yet to be announced. He is looking for discussion topics. You can add your suggestions here: https://www.facebook...ephenAndrewNews

 

 

[Stephen James]

Maybe the electorate is too frustrated to care who represents them in Ottawa.

I don't think people vote federally to fix issues locally, and I'm certain Laurel stayed as far away from the odour of Ben's crew just like Stefanie Harman tried to, unsuccessfully.

 

The local issues are a result of childish local decisions to concentrate homeless people in a small community and raise the "visibility" of the issue.

[Stephen James]

I believe every Canadian has heard for decades that, since we closed institutions in the 1980s and 1990s, the homeless population includes (depending on the research) between 25% and 40% people with serious mental health and addictions issues, and that many of these unfortunate folks are also dangerous. 

 

Was it reasonably foreseeable that a strategy to concentrate homeless people in the downtown core of a small city would result in damage to property, injury to persons and death?  We now have plenty of information, despite council's best efforts, to prove this strategy is directly responsible for the destruction of property in downtown Victoria, assaults on children, assaults on the elderly, and even murder.

Could a reasonable person have foreseen this would be the result? 

 

So my question, really, is is it worth the assaults, rape, murder, drug dealing, the destruction of local business properties, churches, public buildings, parks, to advance this dogma?

 

In my opinion, and except for the reluctance of the courts to hold even the creature of the legislature accountable, these decisions should be actionable in court. We have little, and less as time passes, "sunlight" on unprofessional, often corrupt, behaviour by municipal politicians and their worsening behaviour is the result. (We all need accountability.)

 

Either Mr. Isitt, and the rest of the UVIC Sociology department, are intellectually  dishonest, or they don't understand elementary philosophy; dogma and religion are the same and separating them both from politics will save us untold suffering.

 

We should have recourse for this stupidity outside the ballot box and I suspect we will, in time.