11779 replies to this topic

[Stephen James]

Here is one excerpt:

“ Results of the City’s 2022 budget survey were contained in a report received by council December 9, 2021. During that meeting of Committee of the Whole, Isitt asked, “When organized stakeholder groups mobilize in relation to these engagement exercises, should there be a correction factor? Is it just something council takes into consideration?”
Isitt then suggested the existence of a “public safety lobby that’s underway, it involves Victoria city police union, a number of members of the media, and clearly that’s had an impact in this survey.”

I wasn’t aware of any other organized interest groups mobilizing to encourage participation in the survey so that’s why that’s the only one I’ve referenced,” Isitt added, not mentioning his own use of improperly obtained email addresses to encourage participation in the survey which would later be found to have caused a privacy breach.“

What's so stunning, to me, about BI's comments are the level of petulance and disingenuousness.

 

The narcissistic, man-child schooled Stephen Andrew at one of his first council meetings because Stephen asked if the survey allowed anyone, from anywhere, to load it with answers. When the city manager said, yes, the survey could include responses from literally anywhere in the world, Isitt, in typical angry defensiveness, told Stephen "democracy is for those who show up," to justify his strategy of loading every survey, every public forum with ideolidiots who just disrupt everything.

 

Now that the wind has shifted, like any tween, he's whining and throwing all his toys out of the pram. We need to remember that, despite their efforts to distance from him now, Alto, Loveday, Dubouw and Potts have all sat at his feet, lapped it up, and spewed the same. 

[Victoria Watcher]

The narcissistic, man-child schooled Stephen Andrew at one of his first council meetings because Stephen asked if the survey allowed anyone, from anywhere, to load it with answers. When the city manager said, yes, the survey could include responses from literally anywhere in the world, Isitt, in typical angry defensiveness, told Stephen "democracy is for those who show up," to justify his strategy of loading every survey, every public forum with ideolidiots who just disrupt everything.

 

 

What a POS.   

[Stephen James]

That's not a bet I'd be willing to make.

Understood NParker! and you'll keep us from being complacent, and working hard for change.

 

Were you surprised by the results of the by-election? Stephen received twice the TV votes, I believe, and an incumbent is usually especially safe in a by-election due to lack of interest.

 

If my spidey-sense works at all, I suspect the very worst thing for an Alto campaign for mayor today would be a simple billboard, or bus shelter sign, that shows the city of victoria boundary and the general location of her home - outside that boundary. As an educated person, I'm appalled and offended by the narrow and moronic ideas and strategies coming from UVIC social sciences. 

Edited by Taco, 22 January 2022 - 01:09 PM.

[Nparker]

...Were you surprised by the results of the by-election? Stephen received twice the TV votes, I believe, and an incumbent is usually especially safe in a by-election due to lack of interest...

Of course there wasn't really an incumbent (at least in name) during the 2020 by-election, Laurel Collins having long moved on to the federal landscape. Stephen Andrew had more of the "familiar name advantage", which is how most CoV voters seem to cast their ballots. The NDP certainly had no trouble winning here in Victoria during the recent federal election.

...With roughly 92 per cent of polls reporting, Collins was carrying more than 45 per cent of the vote and sat with more than 21,000 votes, over 9,000 ahead of runner-up Nikki Macdonald of the Liberals...

https://www.vicnews....ection-results/

I am willing to be to be surprised by our civic election this fall, but I am not doing a victory dance just yet.

[Stephen James]

Of course there wasn't really an incumbent (at least in name) during the 2020 by-election, Laurel Collins having long moved on to the federal landscape. Stephen Andrew had more of the "familiar name advantage", which is how most CoV voters seem to cast their ballots. The NDP certainly had no trouble winning here in Victoria during the recent federal election.

I am willing to be to be surprised by our civic election this fall, but I am not doing a victory dance just yet.

Well put. I saw TV, at the time, as the incumbent more than the candidate but that may have been wrong.

 

Frankly, I was surprised to see the TV brand was as damaged as it was. My interpretation is the community has become aware of the relationship between TV and the developing dystopian version of Victoria, and has had enough. Supported, it seems, by the quiet flushing of TV, and the recently evacuated GVAT.

[Nparker]

...My interpretation is the community has become aware of the relationship between TV and the developing dystopian version of Victoria, and has had enough...

I very much hope you are right.

[Awaiting Juno]

I cannot believe the city is looking to further mess with Clover Point park by adding an additional split rail fence to the north side of the south path, reducing the "dog park component" to a 2 to 3 meter runway between two fences. It is a very bad plan that will waste $150,000 (plus $5,800 a year thereafter) and will cause Clover Point park to be even less useful to many current users of the park. I'll note that those with dogs requiring off leash activity have recently seen such opportunities at local beaches disappear (notably Gonzales beach) as well as the dog park at UVic no longer being available for use. The argument is that pedestrians on the South Path need protection from dogs and that the path is supposed to be "on-leash" - I'll note that the on-leash nature of the path predates the addition of the North multi-use path that was recently installed (along with split rail fence to protect users of the multi-use path from off leash dogs. 

 

City staff do not seem supportive of this plan.

[A Girl is No one]

This is, once again, Helps’ original plan. A few years ago she wanted to do that because ONE person wrote to complain to her. Due to immense backlash she had to walk it back. Then the city sneakily changed the signs to make the paths « on leash only » and now she is making her move again.

The beach at Dallas road has also been removed from dog off leash.´, along with Gonzales and UVic, Leaving practically no place in the city for high energy dogs to run around.

I’m surprised people didn’t complain (in the past, Victorians were very motivated to protect their dog areas) but I think that during COVID people have been trained to do what the authoritarians tell them to do, and never dare complain.

Dogs have never been allowed off leash in Dallas road park and beach… and we’ve always been at war with Eurasia…
😒

[Nparker]

... I think that during COVID people have been trained to do what the authoritarians tell them to do, and never dare complain....

This is probably going to be the worst long-term effect of the pandemic. You can bet those in power rub their hands together in glee at the public's unquestioning compliance.

[Hotel Mike]

Oh c'mon you guys. Many of us have gone along with the authorities (not necessarily "authoritarians") because we have analyzed the situation, accept that they are trying to take the best approach, and complain plenty if we wish. Science tells me that vaccinations and mask-wearing are the best chance to beat back the virus. When governments go against the science, like the GQP governors in the US or Conservative premiers in Canada, that's when I question long and hard. We're not sheep for doing what we think is the right thing. Let's get away from that mindset.

[mbjj]

When we no longer had a dog, we'd purposely go down to Dallas road to watch them run free and have fun. Another reason to no longer visit that visually-cluttered, unsightly area. 

[Mike K.]

What are you questioning long and hard about conservative premiers in Canada?

[A Girl is No one]

You might think that, so it was easy for you but many people just did it to fit in, to keep their job and not be called racist, misogynist etc

The day they come up with something you wouldn’t want to do anyway, you will understand.

all this COVID « science » was in infancy and data and best opinions changed throughout. The reality is that no one really knew in absolute what the reality was. Everyone, including officials were doing their best and at some point, it became political. That’s the biggest problem. If you let politicians run « the science » you don’t have science anymore.
Rant over (sorry for that) 😀

[Spy Black]

While I despise Helps and all of her ridiculous ideas, let's be frank and be clear that there is ZERO relationship between a split rail dog run on Clover Point - and the COVID pandemic. 

Let's not all get as patently ridiculous as Helps always tends to be.

 

As a side point, the UVIC dog park is private UVIC property, and it's in Oak Bay ... so changing its permutable use has nothing to do with the City of Victoria, Council, or Helps.

 

All that said, the destruction of Clover Point is a "real thing", and all we're really talking about here is just how fulsome that destruction actually is.

In any normal City Government, Council would have listened to the citizenry, and refrained from modifying Clover Point in the first place, and thus any discussion of "destruction" would be a moot point.

[A Girl is No one]

No one said UVic had anything to do with CoV. Just that adding up all these new restrictions leaves essentially no room for dogs to romp around.

And just hypothesizing how a normally extremely vocal dog loving Victoria citizenry has gone completely quiet/complacent. Only a hypothesis. Happy to consider any other ones.

[Victoria Watcher]

Who owns pets during a climate emergency? 

 

Other than Syrian hamsters.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 January 2022 - 12:14 PM.

[Awaiting Juno]

Who owns pets during a climate emergency? 

 

Other than Syrian hamsters.

 

Actually people forego kids and have pets instead. Or so I've heard. Around our house we have both kids and pets - and the kids generally ask that more critters be added to the menagerie, inevitably to add to my to do list of yet another thing I must feed/water/wash. 

[Midnightly]

Who owns pets during a climate emergency? 

 

Other than Syrian hamsters.

pets were one of those things people flocked to when covid hit... the average price for a puppy shot up crazy!, even vets/doggy daycares/groomers took notice of the huge jump in pet ownership

[Midnightly]

Actually people forego kids and have pets instead. Or so I've heard. Around our house we have both kids and pets - and the kids generally ask that more critters be added to the menagerie, inevitably to add to my to do list of yet another thing I must feed/water/wash. 

 

oh that i fully get i currently have "my daughter's dog" snuggled up and sleeping on me.. he spends more time with me then he does with her

[JimV]

While you can question the influence of covid compliance on any given issue (e.g. dog parks), I think Nparker is absolutely right about the larger effect.  We are revealed to be a nation of timid, bootlicking, sanctimonious scolds.

 

I never fully understood how the Reichstad could vote itself out of existence and turn all power over to Hitler.  The pandemic has made that abundantly clear.  Many, perhaps most, people just want to be told what to do.  Initially it may be due to some convincing scare.  Then Stockholm Syndrome sets in and compliance becomes a virtue.

 

Most of the worthy virtues have already been scrubbed out of our culture.  Ideas like democracy and freedom linger on in mythology, but in practice we love Big Brother.