As a Sooke voter, I for one appreciate Councillor Reay’s position of wanting to hear more and not get swept along with a very visible “No More Tankers” campaign which painted the issue as black or white.
The comment by Dr. Alcock “her lack of respect for the knowledge of Sooke voters” is off the mark.
I have no particular beef with the Dogwood Initiative and assuming of the many commuters to and from Victoria, with most being car and driver only, were part of the “savvy” voters he refers to. The dependency on fuel is not changing in the short term for our local population.
When speaking of the intelligence of the voters, we should not have to remind people that we live on an island. The fuel we put in our cars, trucks, boats, etc. has to get here somehow. The likelihood means it has arrived over water. Do you call that by tanker, barge or a BC Ferries with a tanker truck? It has to be moved somehow.
I spend a good deal of time in, on or around our local waters and do not want to see any marine mishaps. Where I think the emphasis needs to be is on mitigating the risks involved with supporting our modern way of life, and then the “well informed voters” along with the less informed public will need to change their approach to transit and lifestyle if the general public are to impact climate change.
Waving banners and voting “no” isn’t going to cut it.
Roy Sinke
Sooke