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Friday, October 4, 2013 - GOLDSTREAM
GOLDSTREAM NEWS GAZETTE
EDITORIAL
NEWS GAZETTE
Penny Sakamoto Group Publisher Kevin Laird Editorial Director Christine van Reeuwyk Interim Editor Oliver Sommer Advertising Director
The Goldstream News Gazette is published by Black Press Ltd. | 117-777 Goldstream Ave., Victoria, B.C. V9B 2X4 | Phone: 250-478-9552 • Fax: 250-478-6545 • Web: www.vicnews.com
OUR VIEW
Paying the price for infrastructure Most residents in Greater Victoria want public swimming pools that aren’t rusting, fire halls that won’t collapse in an earthquake, and bridges and roads that aren’t crumbling. Those are normal expectations for a relatively wealthy urban centre, but the repair bill faced by Victoria property owners is beyond daunting. The City of Victoria’s asset management report released this week outlined the crisis faced by taxpayers: tens of millions of dollars are needed in a few short years to repair and upgrade amenities like the Crystal Pool, the Bay Street Bridge and the main Victoria fire hall. That doesn’t include niceties like bike lanes or imposed projects like regional sewage treatment, which on its own promises colossal tax hikes. The City of Victoria’s asset management report focuses on its own municipality, but it provides an illuminating reality check for our entire region. Each Capital Region municipality faces increasing pressure to provide services and amenities, to keep roads, bridges and parks in good standing, while keeping property tax hikes in check. Easier said than done. Most municipalities have more infrastructure maintenance at any given time than they can afford. Unlike their provincial and federal counterparts, municipalities can’t run deficits just to meet general operation costs, although they can borrow funds for specific capital projects. There’s also no economic boom on the horizon that municipalities can bank on (again unlike the province and its plans to capitalize on liquid natural gas). As pointed out by Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation: “it’s a bad time to be a Victoria property taxpayer.” Looming tax increases from regional sewage will likely max out residents’ taxation capacity for years to come. Given the limited leeway for municipalities to raise revenue, the province should give serious consideration to a Union of B.C. Municipalities proposal to share more revenue with cities during economic boom times. That could be one part of the solution. In the meantime, municipal politicians and citizens across Greater Victoria will face difficult choices on what gets fixed and what gets deferred to the tax bill of future generations. What do you think? Give us your comments by email: editor@goldstreamgazette.com or fax 250-478-6545. All letters must have a name and a telephone number for verification. The Goldstream News Gazette is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org.
2013
CCNA BLUE RIBBON
Universal health-care proposition the new ‘red scare’ for America Barack Obama from introducing a Some of our neighbours to the medicare bill so badly that they’ll south did everything they could hold the operation of the U.S. this week to prevent the great government for ransom. republic from being tainted by Drop the health-care universal health care. provisions of the budget They forced the closure or the Republicans will of parts of the American shut down major portions government, starting of the federal government with the operation of the by refusing to pass the national parks. budget bill. “America’s greatest Only in America. idea” will pay the price for The Republicans those who would tarnish have agreed (amongst the braintrust of freedom themselves) to a plan that with socialist notions Alistair Taylor would fund government from the north. operations in return for Extend medical benefits Out on a Limb delaying the health-care to everybody! Indeed. provisions for a year. From my cold, dead The president doesn’t want to do fingers. If you can’t afford medical this because health care reform is a benefits, then, well … die. major component of his legislative What is it about universal plan, a plan which the election health care that scares politically campaign was partly fought on. conservative Americans? Is it such You know, the election that the a bad thing? I mean we’re not Republicans lost. It’s not just in talking about allowing, well, I don’t Campbell River where the losers of even want to say what unsavory an election think they still have the behaviours we could draw right to dictate how the city should disturbing comparisons with. be run. I don’t understand it, but if I So, the Republicans are willing to follow the “logic,” the issue goes shut down non-essential services something like this: (like national parks because some Conservative Republicans – as people think national parks aren’t opposed to regular Republicans, essential) in order to prevent I guess – want to stop President
health-care reform. Okay, I get it that universal health care is expensive. But whenever you discuss government spending in the U.S., you can always fall back on that dependable old saw, “If the U.S. government just gave health care (or insert any program) a portion of the money it spends on the military …” It’s not the sustainability debate that puzzles me, it’s the vehemence with which opponents in the U.S. view health care. It’s the red scare of the 21st century, which, of course, has been raging since, well, the red scare of the 1950s and ’60s. It’s an ideological issue. Why do health-care opponents not want to offer health services to all or most of the U.S. citizens who can’t afford it? Why is that such a bad thing? Of course, the fear for Canadians about Republican antics is that our Conservatives start to get funny ideas. Luckily of course, we don’t have to shut down the federal government to get our way, the prime minister just has to prorogue Parliament. Alistair Taylor is editor of the Campbell River Mirror. editor@vicnews.com
2009 WINNER
‘Extend medical benefits to everybody! Indeed.’