The Constitution and
the supremacy of God
The Editor,
I would like to add some clarification to Brian Peckford’s article “ The Conservative Party rejects the supremacy of God”.
There is extensive academic research and historical documentation on the subject of how “the Supremacy of God” was included as a preamble in the 1982 Canadian charter; it makes for interesting reading. That a single male deity should reign supreme in our Charter was controversial at the time it was written and still is today.
The 1867 Canadian constitution made no reference to God’s supremacy, in fact God is not even mentioned. Separation of church and state (secularism), and freedom of religion was fundamental.
The monotheistic religions, Christianity. Islam and Judaism may to some extend have aligned with God’s supremacy preamble but there is little evidence any of their governing bodies were consulted or supportive, which suggests the “God supremacy” was strictly political, conceivably to give more weight to the text.
Hinduisn, Buddhism, Shinto, Sikhism, Atheists, Agnostics ,Nontheists etc. etc. all part of the Canadian diaspora would probably be challenged to support a God reference. One could even argue the “Supremacy of God” preamble is in direct conflict with the Canadian Multiculturalism objectives.
Religions arguably have little fluidity. Once a religion has defined its principles it is literally cast in concrete. On the other hand societies, including the Canadian are in a constant flux. Demographics, immigration, education, scientific advances, among others, suggest the need for reinterpretation.
The charter, unlike religious texts is a living document, has been amended a number of times and is constantly being interpreted in the courts. So perhaps it is time to reevaluate the God reference
Interestingly, Prime Minister Pierre Eliot Trudeau’s is privately to have said: “strange, so long after the Middle Ages that some politicians felt obliged to mention God in a constitution which is, after all, a secular and not a spiritual document.
I presume The Conservative Party has recognized the charter as a secular document and rather than rejecting God’s supremacy, has decided to leave it to the individual Canadian’s spirituality to decide.
J.A.de Jong
Lantzville BC
Accessibility and inclusion
The Editor,
I suspect the City staff will be far more concerned about the “rights” of the homeless to remain on streets enjoying the “freedom” to remain freezing cold and wet, vulnerable to the drug dealers selling poison to put into their bodies. And let’s not forget the “freedom “ to access government supplied drugs that ensures that these people will never get off these streets.
Doug Johnston
Nanaimo
Getting ready for the coming ice age
Dear Mayor and Council,
While the five (heavily indoctrinated) climate cult members, aka city councillors of Nanaimo, break out the organic champagne to celebrate their “easy decision”, hopefully the Nanaimo taxpayers are putting their hard-earned dollars into “long coal”. If hell doesn’t freeze over between now and when Nanaimoites start burning coal again, there will be money to be made (in them thar hills)!
Who knows? I’m just glad that I am old. I’ve paid my dues and I’m guessing that a lot of Nanaimo homeowners will suffer because of this irresponsible panic to get off fossil fuels, especially clean LNG. With luck, someone's light bulb moment will save us all from energy doom. Maybe Justin and Jagmeet have that elusive money tree? Last I checked though, money doesn’t grow on trees and Ben Geselbracht is busy cutting them down to heat his home (according to the grapevine). Keep those food banks stocked. We are gonna need ‘em!
A hearty ‘thank you’ to the Mayor and councillors who voted “no” to the Net Zero Building Step Code. Should any of these wiser souls need a warm sweater, let me know . . . I’ll be knitting up a storm to stave off the coming ice age.
Kind regards,
Carol Maier
Councillor Geselbracht replies
Thanks for your email Carol. I’m now a proud owner of a heat pump. Way cheaper than my baseboards, cleaner and less work than my woodstove.
All the Best,
Ben Geselbracht
Nanaimo City Councillor
Those responsible for Chinatown assault need to be held to account
Premier David Eby,
I have no doubt that you have correctly expressed the feelings of most British Columbians about the violent stabbings in Chinatown over the weekend. However, most will not think you are serious unless your ministers
fire the incompetent staff who let chronic offenders off time and time again.
Any Crown prosecutors, judges, bail and parole officials who do not hold "public safety" as a prime factor need to be fired. You need to act and get the pertinent federal government officials to hold criminals seriously accountable as well.
Both governments will lose their next elections if they fail to fix the disgrace of our justice system.
Prime Minister...ditto.
Gary Korpan, Nanaimo
The shocking effect of going electric
I suppose heating our house by electricity is fine, as long as the province will supply a full propane tank to each house mandated to use electricity only. The elderly and parents with young children won’t complain either,
because we accept whatever governments think is best for us. Good thing global warming will keep us warm too.
Frank Stevens
Nanaimo
Development Cost Charges and housing costs
The historical financial motivation for Development Cost Charges is that newcomers contribute to shared previously-constructed infrastructure and that has become distorted to the point that it is impossible to follow the money.
In my own district, streets are being paved in old sections of town, using DCC money collected from new development and homeowners at the other end of town.
The financial impact is obvious, new home owners not only finance new infrastructure for their needs, but also pay to replace those of others. Add the many years of municipal under funding for existing infrastructure (Asset Management) and it is clear when the new home owners are added to the tax base, they also subsidize and pay for the accrued deficits accumulated by municipal governments. Both municipal revenue sources have shades of Ponzi scheme financing.
Private utilities (hydro, cable tv, gas, telephone, etc.) do not charge upfront for common infrastructure. The rate structure provides for both capital and maintenance expenditures. The costs for new and existing customers is the same. Pointedly, they measure their success and profitability by growth and the number of new customers connected. It is safe to say upfront charges would be considered a disincentive to their success.
I would suggest the same financial philosophy should be applied to housing. Clearly if it works in the private sector why not for BC housing?
Jack de Jong
Lantzville
Looking for cause of ferry staff problems
The Editor
Has no one considered the possibility that staffing problems on the ferries are being caused by the union itself?
Frank Stevens
Nanaimo
City needs to enforce litter control bylaws
Even as we witness the devastation to homes and communities from out of control fires, there are negligent morons in Nanaimo who continue to toss their cigarette butts onto tinder dry roadsides.
It is long past time for Council to enforce litter bylaws and legislate smokers to carry and use fire-proof ashtrays to safely dispose of their burning debris. Council needs to direct bylaw enforcement and the police to strictly enforce the laws that better ensure public safety from fires.
Should any fire occur as a result, diligent arson investigation must be undertaken and perpetrators prosecuted and held fully accountable.
Gary Korpan, Nanaimo
Our politicians are complicit in misinformation
Letter to Mayor and Councillors:
We wish to register our opposition to the signage prominently displayed by the city-licensed supermarket Eat Fresh.
This Province has enacted freedom restricting and coercive measures that are arguably some of the most draconian in the nation. Hundreds of peer reviewed studies have been done before and during the pandemic to demonstrate that the Government enacted covid measures were either harmful to health and/or infringing on individual constitutionally enshrined rights and freedoms.
A recent presentation by Dr. Byram Bridle, a world renown researcher in viral immunology, criticized the health orders of Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC Public Health Officer, orders obviously approved by the BC Government. Anyone seriously interested in this field needs to read the book “Turtles All The Way Down, Vaccine Science and Myth” to fully appreciate the extend to which for decades Governments and Big Pharma have colluded to fool the public, a book by the way, whose conclusions have not been challenged in the four years since publication, rather a silence, like we all have experienced in all matters covid that questions the Government/Pharma narrative.
Studies show (Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi, a world renown expert in this field) that covid mNRA vaccines reduce a person’s immunity and cause serious and fatal heart and brain injuries. There are more deaths and injuries from the few covid vaccines in three years than all other vaccines combined over the past 30 years. This information is now indisputable as the VAERS and European Report System demonstrate.
Reputable people in our own Province like Dr. Stev Pelich of UBC and Dr. Douglas Allan of SFU and Dr. Charles Hoffe have publicly voiced their opposition to such measures. Dr. Allan published a study in September 2021 (Covid-19 Lockdown Cost/Benefits: A Critical Assessment of the Literature) clearly shows from the data that “the cure is worse than the disease.”
Dr Pelich is involved with CCCA (Covid Care Alliance) which examined the first six months of the Pfizer covid vaccine studies and titled their study “More Harm Than Good.” Ian Miller, a scholar with The Brownstone Institute, recent book (Unmasked: The Global Failure Of Covid Mask Mandates) puts a lie to the ridiculous mask policy. The Great Barrington Declaration created by three of the world’s leading researchers continues to be ignored to the detriment of mankind.
We bring this to your attention in the full knowledge of Voltaire’s famous dictum: “I disagree with your view but will fight to the death your right to express it.”
However, we question whether this dictum applies in this instance when it is really coercion disguised as free speech exercised under a municipal business license (supermarket) based on flawed medical science causing injuries and death, and involving the blatant violation of a citizen’s constitutional rights and freedoms.
Brian and Carol Peckford
Message for opposition leader Kevin Falcon
Recent belated disclosure shows pathetic efforts by BC Crown Counsel to seek a custody order in the first place, then failing 50 per cent of the time when they do apply. I hope we will see massive improvement in the former since you and your colleagues forced the government to order Crown Counsel seek detention orders.
The main problem remains the lack of judicial rigour in protecting public safety. May I suggest that you research which political party appointed the pertinent judges. I suspect most are NDP appointees.
You might further check which specific judges reject most of the failed detention applications.
You might want to suggest that, when chronic violent offenders are released from custody, they are dropped off in the judge's neighbourhood.
Gary Korpan, Nanaimo
Budget Vigilance 2023 by City Council?
A commentary by Gary Korpan
As I reported in late 2022, I asked pertinent City of Nanaimo Staff: "During the current budget deliberations, do you, or any of your fellow Finance Department colleagues, recall any Mayor or Council motions to cut spending, or in any way reduce the budget? “If so, can you please send me the motion(s) or direct me to the pertinent minutes."
The response I received from the Director of Legislative Services (effectively the City Clerk) was: "I can answer that having attended most of the Council meetings in the recent year(s) there are no specific motions that I can recall that directed staff to cut the budget by a certain dollar amount or percentage . . . to answer your specific question I cannot think of that exact motion being made.
I would encourage you to view the Committee meetings if you can as they have a lot of great discussion by Council."
So I read the adopted Minutes of the meetings where Council could legally move motions to change the 2022 budget.
I was unable to find a single motion to stop wasteful spending by the then City Council.
(It should be noted that some Councillors, particularly Jim Turley, voted from time to time to oppose some budgetary items. However, there is no record of anyone specifically moving a motion to cut spending, or in any way reduce waste in the budget.)
According to audited financial statements available online, the City of Nanaimo spent $181 million of your money in 2021. That is a nine-per-cent increase from $166 million in 2020. With more recent inflation, including wage demands, the 2022 expenditures in the adopted budget spending rose to $188 million, another 3.9-per-cent increase. The latest Financial Plan includes plans for "Big Projects" so the actual increase will be higher.
Large budgets often contain unnecessary, wasteful spending. I have now read the 26 meeting minutes of the "new" Council pertinent to the 2023 Budget. Once again I have not seen a single motion to stop wasteful spending by our City Council. Among the many substantial motions, nearly all increased spending and carried unanimously.
Anyone who can't find significant wasteful spending in the $188,000,000 plus spending spree is incompetent, lazy, or wilfully blind.
On several occasions I have advised recent Council members that I can think of several million dollars of your tax money continually wasted. Not one of them has ever asked for examples.
First three readings of the 2023 – 2027 Final Financial Plan Bylaw – Council Meeting May 1, 7 p.m. at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
If you are up for a personal shock, you can use the Property Tax Estimator on the City of Nanaimo website (Nanaimo.ca) to find out your specific 2023 City taxes. Good luck. Although most have proven that they don't care, you may want to let Nanaimo Mayor and Council know what you think about their handling of your tax money.
On a positive note, there is evidence the new council members are declaring their conflicts of interest. At least in the open meetings.
Since in-camera meeting minutes are not available it is difficult to know if any Council member who sought or accepted election endorsement and/or support from municipal unions declared their conflicts of interest when labour negotiations or issues benefiting those unions is debated and voted on.
Island’s rail corridor can be successfully revitalized
Council’s decisions have set city in the wrong direction
– News Bulletin letter to the editor
Renewal of rail for Vancouver Island
– Times Colonist letter to the editor
The housing crisis
When the investment tycoon Warren Buffet suggested “when the tide goes out you will see who is naked.” The reverse rings true for housing. Supply shortages, arguably the major cause of the current housing crises, boosts the price of both the new and existing supply.
New home construction sets the price reference point. Existing homes values. no matter what their age, rise with tide. The hidden add-ons, including development cost charges, amenity contributions, registration fees, rezoning charges, GST, transfer fees new construction requirements etc. created over the last 40 years, all add value to the existing housing stock.
Add the supply crunch and current home owners disproportionally profit through both capital gain and the substantial tax revenue generated from new construction.
If a current home owner purchases a newly-constructed home, he/she has substantial financial support from their previous purchase. On the other hand, people new to the market, young families, independent young singles and immigrants not only pay the full price for their new home but also directly subsidize ownership for existing home owners.
Is there perhaps is a relationship between our falling birth rates and the housing crisis?
Jack de Jong, Lantzville
Fake News and Lantzville Social Media
23/02/09
“Fake”, the word’s origin is lost to history, most likely French a derivative from “faux” . Fortunately, it has many colourful synonyms: swindled, counterfeit, phoney baloney, scammed, fabricated, two faced, tricked, lying; the list goes on. Combine the words with “news” and you get the gist. The Bible has a more legal poetic definition; one commandment orders us not to bear “false witness”. Obviously, the problem is not new to social media.
The weight of council titles and positions
If a weather forecaster says it is going to snow tomorrow, it is just a forecast, not verifiable until tomorrow. If he makes a number of forecasts and they are all wrong he is just an incompetent forecaster not a liar. If for some reason or other he states it snowed yesterday and it didn’t most people would agree he is lying and distributing “fake News". The deception takes on a meaning of it own, after all he is a weather forecaster. His title reenforces and gives credibility to the lie and many people will believe it snowed yesterday. If you think Lantzville is immune, a 2022 Nanaimo Bulletin editorial revealed Lantzville was sold to Nanaimo, an innocent hoax, many people were taken in. “The sale is still pending.”
Community and council participation
Community letters or social media postings addressed to council that follow the general ethical guidelines (addressed to council not editorials or one liners) can never be classified as fake News. In a formal sense they participate, provide input or ask for news. A councillor is not required to participate on social media but if he or she think it should be constructive and informative, especially when the inputs are non judgmental. The final decision is still in their domain.
Suggesting Fake News may be convenient, but turns the whole process on its head. If the content was in fact accurate or the query legitimate the councillor now owns the narrative because it is a reasonable assumption, he knows the whole truth but is not telling. The point is a fine one, but important in the context of transparency, community participation and access to information, The final decision is still in his/her domain. Fake News used by a councillor in this context is more motivated reasoning and a putdown than fact. The legitimate inputs, request for information or comments being tagged “Phony Baloney.” by a councillor is childish. We can do better than that
Jack de Jong, Lantzville,
We're got our signals crossed
22/12/15
Re: Crash Happy Bunch. Part of the problem is caused by the fact there are three different left turn types of signals, and until they are all standardized to a single one (a red light for left hand turns) this is going to continue. What is sad is the city has spent millions on intersection upgrades and didn’t spend the few extra dollars to install this system, therefore with no red light people continue to turn left through oncoming traffic. Simple obvious solution and apparently engineers and politicians are not able to process this.
Rod Hancock, Nanaimo.
Crypto currencies have no actual value
22/12/15
That's as good an explanation of Crypto currency as I've seen. Crypto never made any sense to me. If currencies backed by nations can collapse, how would a "currency" created by unknown entities have any credible support or value? Just because the coins are coloured gold means nothing. It seems too much like the Dutch
tulip craze . . . valuable only as long as the next fool believed too...until no one did.
Gary Korpan, Nanaimo
Immigration is all about importing Liberal voters
It has been said for years that the Trudeau government has no interest in getting more immigrants into Canada other than harvest their electoral votes at election time.
We haven’t got enough resources to look after our own people, never mind bringing in another 140,000 immigrants annually. Just heard on the news that the new numbers are 500,000 new immigrants in 2025. Due to our low birth rates in Canada, we need immigrants, however we also need to be able accommodate them.
Sufficient affordable housing is not available for the current population. Oil, which was our financial backbone and salvation in the past, is being cut off and taxed as much or more than possible, leaving us with humongous deficits. The Liberals are riding the World Economic Forum’s disastrous ride to a one-world governing system.
The housing crisis created by the Liberals and Bank of Canada is going to carry a very heavy financial burden on the Canadian taxpayers because they are already talking about a new twist in financing which will subsidize the people whose mortgages mature. No doubt the banks will want higher rates on renewals.
So much of this dog and pony show is merely to garner more votes for the Liberals.
Eldon Unger, White Rock, B.C.