Dear editor,
Too much taxpayer money.
Thus is a letter to the editor headlined (Record, Jan. 9). The beef lies with Indian Affairs. If that sort of complaint would only be confined to that department!
But try National Defence — and locally, not the hypothetical $150-million overkill for a single jetfighter. CFB Comox has awarded contracts for work at 19 Wing.
The projects include a tender for the "deconstruction" of the Wing's former health service clinic: To "remove and dispose of the old building." Estimated cost: $350,000.
That is right — $350,000 taxpayer dollars.
Not far from the clinic lies the base fire hall. Geared to fight many different kinds of emergencies, its equipment is always up to standard.
The firefighters are highly skilled. They keep up with new means and innovations. What they may lack, since the firefighters — fortunately — are not often called upon to tackle great emergencies, is practice that is immediate, close, realistic, yet inexpensive.
Presumably anything of value has long since been removed from the old building, which is a stand-alone structure. So as not to inconvenience other employees, or hinder the smooth flow of base traffic, a burn could be undertaken on, say, a Saturday, perhaps when the wind blows away from other buildings.
On the face of it, saving over a quarter of a million dollars, this appears a no-brainer.
Just the cost of a match and incidentals. And the bonus of dedicated firefighters getting to hone their skills. Inexpensively.
Finn Schultz-Lorentzen,
Courtenay