Author Archives: Ben
Remembering the Victoria mutiny
On December 21, 2011, I helped commemorate a forgotten mutiny of French-Canadian soldiers that occurred 93 years ago at the corner of Fort and Quadra streets in downtown Victoria, as the 259th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia) embarked for the port of Vladivostok and service in the Russian Civil War. I first discovered … Continue reading
Documentary Film Trailer
Watch the Documentary Film Trailer on Youtube | En Française Learn More! Read about Canada’s Siberian Expedition in the Legion Magazine Visit the Siberian Expedition Virtual Exhibition & Digital Archive
Victoria mutiny of 1918 revived in call for justice
Councillor leads charge to clear names of French-Canadian soldiers who refused to fight in Russia By Derek Spalding, Victoria Times Colonist, December 22, 2011 Victoria city councillor Ben Isitt was sitting in the basement of the University of B.C. library 12 years ago when he discovered a historical event that he thought shed light on … Continue reading
Feds needs to invest in E&N
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria News, 10 December 2011 A letter writer suggests that rail service along the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) corridor “doesn’t seem to fit Via Rail’s mandate” (“E&N track is dead thanks to inaction,” Dec. 9). But what then is Via Rail’s mandate? Is it to focus exclusively on inter-city rail service in vote-rich Ontario and an over-priced, … Continue reading
In solidarity with the 99%
Victoria, like cities across Canada, North America and the globe, has become a site of contestation, where young and old people have drawn a line in the sand against a system they believe is built upon inequality and exploitation. These visionaries offer the brightest beacon in a generation of the possibility for a better world. The … Continue reading
Interview on CKNW Radio: On Jack Layton
Ben was interviewed on CKNW Radio Vancouver on August 23, 2011, the day after Federal New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jack Layton passed away. Isitt comments on the political significance of Layton’s career and death, after he led his party to a historic 103 seats in Canada’s House of Commons — its best showing ever, … Continue reading
On Jack Layton’s passing
The man knew how to eat pizza. With the same seriousness of purpose and concentration that drove his political life, Jack Layton devoured two loaded slices of pizza pie at a hole-in-the-wall place on Rue St-Denis in bohemian Montreal. Jack stacked the slices one on top of the other, face in. I was captivated by the … Continue reading
Canadian Hero
It is with admiration that I read Brigette DePape’s explanation of why she disrupted the Throne Speech in Canada’s Senate chamber. The 21-year-old parliamentary page from Winnipeg has now been fired for her defiant act. On June 3rd, she stood stone-faced in the centre of the sterile red chamber of privilege, holding a sign reading … Continue reading
Race to the Bottom
Letter to the Editor published in the Daily Gleaner (Fredericton), 4 June 2011 Re: Story published May 30 called, “Time to reform public-sector pensions, city told” The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is wrong to attack the pension benefits of city workers. While pension reform may sound harmless, it threatens workers whether they have pensions or … Continue reading
Harper majority bad for Canada
Day 1 of Steve Harper’s “stable” majority government is accompanied by news that the PM has appointed three rejected Conservative candidates to the sheltered unelected refuge of graft and privilege – the Canadian Senate. But today’s major policy announcement is the more ominous – the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board, an important institution founded in response … Continue reading
Predictions of NDP’s death unfounded
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 29 January 2011 Surely Adrian Raeside has been following B.C. politics long enough to know that it is naive to depict the NDP as a “dying party” (cartoon, Jan. 21). The New Democratic Party is no stranger to controversy or internal debate. It is composed … Continue reading
Deal with root causes of homelessness
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 26 August 2010 Re: “Picnic brigade reclaims patch of Pandora Avenue,” Aug. 22. I live in the immediate vicinity of downtown Victoria, with all the social problems of homelessness and substance misuse outside my doorstep. I would, of course, prefer that poor people had housing … Continue reading
WFP land sales haven’t helped mills
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 5 October 2009 A recent article suggests that Western Forest Products wants to sell 2,500 hectares of undeveloped land on southwestern Vancouver Island “to finance mill modernization.” I do not believe this. WFP is as much a land development company as a forestry company. It … Continue reading
The Colonist and the 1952 ‘transferable vote’
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 9 April 2009 Re: “Voting systems aren’t the same,” letters, April 7. I appreciate the interest generated by my op-ed on B.C.’s experience with electoral reform in the 1950s, which was intended to draw attention to this history. Though technically an alternative vote system, the … Continue reading
Lower the speed limit in Victoria to 30 km/h
Letter published in Fernwood News (Victoria), December 2008 As a parent, cyclist and pedestrian, I’ve got a bold proposal for neighbourhood safety – lower the speed limit on all City of Victoria streets to 30 km/h. Unnecessary, excessive, foolish? The current limit, 50 km/h, enables commuters to race along Fernwood’s borders – Pandora, Cook, Shelbourne, … Continue reading
Homeless ruling needs pragmatic city response
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 17 October 2008 Now that the B.C. Supreme Court has struck down Victoria’s anti-camping bylaw, let’s hope that city leaders adopt a more pragmatic and compassionate approach. Too much public money has already been wasted fighting the basic principle of the right to shelter. The … Continue reading
Liberal policies dented incomes
Published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 11 May 2008 Statistics Canada has confirmed what many Greater Victorians have known for some time: B.C. Liberal “downsizing” since 2001 contributed to a drop in incomes. This might be a “puzzle” to economists and employers, likely because they never bore the brunt of Gordon Campbell’s cuts. Across B.C., … Continue reading
Public sewage treatment saves money
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria Times Colonist, 28 November 2007 Why is it that Halifax can build a public sewage treatment system for $400-million (one-third municipally funded) and the CRD considers a $1.2-billion, public-private system? The population of Greater Halifax was 372,000 in the last census, compared with 330,000 in Greater Victoria. Even … Continue reading
Where have all the corner stores gone?
Published in Fernwood News (Victoria), 21 October 2007 Against the backdrop of rising land values and a booming village centre, half of Fernwood’s corner stores have disappeared in recent years. Is this a sign of gentrification? Since 2004, the following small retailers – all operated by Chinese-Canadian families – have closed their doors: Wall’s Food … Continue reading
Big defence spending the wrong priority
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 7 February 2007 The Conservative government’s decision to spend $3.4 billion on four “super-jets” is good news for defence contractors, but bad news for ordinary Canadians who support other priorities. Climate change, child care, housing and health and education require a substantial injection of federal funds. … Continue reading
