Re: Monuments to sacrifice deserve proper upkeep

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What a great commentary Charlie Grahn wrote about the condition of some of the monuments to the sacrifices made by those who served Canada in military conflicts. It seems to me that he is right on the mark and that governments at all levels need to make the upkeep of these monuments a priority of their budgeting process.

I am aware that there are many economic demands placed on politicians in this day of scarce resources. However, without the sacrifices made by those who went before us, we would not have the benefit of the freedom we enjoy every day.

Governments do not have to do this required upkeep all at once, but they do need to develop a plan, available to all of us, to carry out the necessary maintenance of these monuments in honour of those who served and lost their lives, or whose lives were changed significantly by their service.

This needs to start now.

Dan Peebles, Langley 

Renewable-resource industries should be prioritized

Re: Natural resource industries have sustained generations

A letter writer made an impassioned appeal for our government and business leaders to do more to support rural communities. He pointed out that “farming, fishing and forestry built and sustained generations of (rural) B.C. residents.”

It is important to note that these economic activities are founded on renewable natural resources. The soil and water, fish stock, and forest ecosystems can regenerate indefinitely if harvesting is done in a sustainable way.

On the other hand, the fossil oil and gas, and mineral-extraction industries are based on non-renewable resources.  While they may provide a brief economic bonanza to some rural communities, in the long run the finite resource is mined out. Our objective should be to replace these non-renewable inputs with renewable alternatives.

Derek Wilson, Port Moody

Kids will benefit from extra hour of light after school

All of this current angst seems misplaced.  We’ve always dealt with time zones flying east or west and now we have the same challenges flying south. Yes, it may be darker for kids going to school in the morning, but they’ll get much more use and ability to play outside with an extra hour of light after school. Our circadian rhythms adapt fine to a four-hour variation in sunrise times through the year, so this simple shift shouldn’t cause any more issues than the four-hour shift.

R.W. (Bob) Garnett, Richmond

Perhaps new government will shift us to standard time for good

It would appear the outgoing NDP government arbitrarily decided on permanent daylight time without much input from health and sleep experts who are now offering their take on why this is not suitable for us in B.C. Personally, I prefer permanent standard time as it syncs with the natural order of things. Was there ever a public consultation at least before the NDP decided on dropping permanent daylight time on us?

The horse is out of the barn now but it does not mean it’s beyond our reach to bring it back inside. Perhaps the incoming Conservative government  might make it a priority to correct this obvious bit of inconvenience as standard time should really be the standard upon which permanent time designation should be based. Daylight time has always been an artificial solution to a problem that no longer exists. With no reproach to pundits, perhaps next time opinions would be aired before a major decision is made, not after it has been implemented already.

Norman M Ostonal, New Westminster 

Even in peace time, members of our military face danger

The grass fire tragedy at the Wainwright base that killed four service members and hospitalized 39 others is a reminder to Canadians that even in peace time, our military can face danger. Our warriors are remembered worldwide for their bravery and courage when defending democracy, however training during peace time can also result in tragedy. Remembrance Day will soon be upon us and during these trying times I hope Canadians wear a red poppy to honour both our past and present military members. Lest we forget.

Peter J Middlemore Sr, Windsor, Ont.