Re: “Seniors must pay their own way,” letter, July 8.
In an ageist culture that devalues older people, it is devastating to see one of our own compounding that injustice. The author’s erroneous and insulting statements about seniors are not supported by reality.
As a 74-year-old woman, I am fed up with my demographic being the scapegoat for all of society’s ills.
“Ageism — stereotyping or discriminating against people based on their age — is widespread in Canada and the most tolerated form of social prejudice,” says the International Federation on Aging.
Seniors who believe and internalize these biases become their own worst critics. The letter merely rehashes the same old groundless drivel, branding every senior as a rich selfish parasite sucking on the public teat.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2022, the B.C. Seniors’ Advocate reported that “Almost half of seniors in B.C. have an income below minimum wage.”
Local shelters and food banks have seen a sharp uptick in poor, homeless seniors during these lean and mean times. The writer’s attempt to speak for all “baby-boomers as a group” is audacious and ludicrous. Everything I have in my life is hard-won. Nobody ever “paid my way.”
Most of my numerous senior friends have endured terrible hardships in their past and have worked hard to forge a good life.
The July 8 diatribe does a serious disservice to all of them.
Doreen Marion Gee
Victoria
In response to the letter writers who say Canada will be annexed and we will be the 51st state must not feel the words of our national anthem when they sing it. Strong and free.
They are prepared to crumple like paper cups at the first rounds in the negotiations with the bully next door.
I love Canada, always have. It took until this year to realize just how much.
I would be willing to be that crazy old granny making Molotov cocktail bombs in my garage if it was needed or helpful to the cause of saving us from becoming American.
If you love your country don’t lay down and roll over at the first sign of trouble!
Cindy Lebel
Sidney
In this smartphone era, the Broadmead district has been lacking in cell service signal with no public information on how or if Saanich might work with the cell carriers to improve service.
Those residents who are aware of it and whose phones provide the setting can use “wi-fi calling” on their smartphones, but that too is often not satisfactory. How about fixing that? Will the new PKOLS/Mount Doug cell tower help, whenever functional? What about repeaters along streets if surrounding hills are a problem? We all have pleaded with our carriers to no avail.
Janet Doyle
Saanich
This could be the tragic year our precious Cowichan River dies due to low flows and the lack of a long-overdue weir.
Mother Nature has thankfully saved our heritage salmon-bearing river for decades. Local and provincial leaders and First Nations elders perennially talk about, and study, the need and funding for a new weir at Lake Cowichan.
Apparently funding is in place. Some designs are drafted, but there’s still no weir as we enter Drought 2025.
Some folks deny climate change and foot-dragging are to blame. However, everyone seems to agree a new weir will save spring and winter rainfall, plus snow-pack meltwater, to provide fish-spawning flows through our annually brutal dry season.
We needed our new weir years ago.
Please stop studying and talking, start praying, and begin building our urgently needed weir now — before it’s too late for our river.
Peter W. Rusland
North Cowichan
B.C. Ferries have banned damaged electric cars from their ships even if they are on a trailer or being towed, due to fire hazard.
These are the ships B.C. Ferries brags about converting to EV, so EV cars are banned from EV vessels due to fire hazard. I love it.
Kerry Butler
Salt Spring Island
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