The Editor:
From where I live, I look out on Birch Bay waters.
I watched all the crabbing boats professional and recreational countless times.
This morning I looked out the water and saw no crab-catching boats on the water with good weather, which made me think about those crabs that give so much of themselves to feed countless people.
Everybody who has ever been involved in getting all the crabs throughout the year, on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day they should give a Christmas party to all crabs by feeding them lots of feed without catching them.
It would be a nice thoughtful Christmas present for all crab (and maybe a future tradition).
Kay Schumacher
Birch Bay
The Editor:
Sorry, I can’t resist; $50,000 for a feasibility study of the 7986 Birch Bay Drive property? Either it’s on a wetland or not. Either it has accessible parking or not. Either it is pedestrian accessible or not. Either the building is sound or not. Either it can be added onto or not. At $10 a pop, I’ll give you the answers and save you $49,950. I’ve heard of trying to stimulate the American economy but $50,000 is ridiculous. Someone needs to get a grip.
Richard Mollette
The Editor:
I want to thank the angels at Stafholt for the amazing care they gave to my mom, Shirley Koerber, during the last six months of her life. Mom was transferred to Stafholt after a really rough 11 days in the hospital. She no longer had the strength to sit up or care for herself in any way.
They welcomed her and celebrated her arrival and immediately went to work. Their team of physical, occupational, speech and dietary specialists had her up and walking after a week, and off oxygen after a month. The nurses, aides, and staff always cared for her with the greatest concern, respect, humor and professionalism. They were emotionally present each and every day.
I have absolutely no doubt that the day mom died, she knew she was among friends and people who loved her. These professionals spend their days caring for people who are the most vulnerable they’ve ever been in their lives. They experience this more times than I can imagine, but their attitudes are always fresh and positive. I can’t thank them enough for the support they provided to both my mom and me and will always be grateful they were there when we needed them the most.
Sandie Wilde
Birch Bay
Editor’s Note: The following letter was extracted from our online comments section. It concerns the December 16 story, “Dual citizens flying to Canada for the holidays could hit a snag.”
The Editor:
The requirement was born as a result of mainland Chinese citizens who subsequently get into trouble in China having re-entered China using their Chinese passports. Mainland China does not allow dual citizenship under any circumstances, and acquisition of another citizenship be it by birth or naturalization results in an automatic loss of citizenship. However, many mainland Chinese find a way to maintain their citizenship in order to maintain their property, or whatever, and when they get into trouble, they cite that they are eligible for embassy protection because they have automatically lost their Chinese nationality due to becoming a Canadian.
While dual citizenship is legal in Canada, these mainland Chinese committing passport fraud not as a citizen of China in China (which in that case it is of no concern to anyone but China) but as a Canadian citizen who is posing to remain a Chinese citizen under the collar of Chinese citizenship, making it a problem for Canada.
The discussion now is for the United Nations and other countries to agree on a convention to disclose to the other countries that they had acquired the citizenship. United States is taking interest in this as they can enforce taxation on overseas assets that could otherwise be hidden, and countries that do not allow dual citizenship could easily discover that their former citizen is no longer with them. This is not an issue of privacy but an issue regarding countering fraud.
Canadian taxpayers are on the hook when it becomes complicated and expensive to prove that their former citizen of China has the right to Canadian embassy protection because Hague’s Master Nationality Law does not apply to someone who is not a true dual citizen if they had indeed lost their citizenship by acquiring another one automatically, and thus becomes the problem of the host country that they had naturalized to. These citizens make it everyone else’s business by expending tax dollars.
Michael Tan
Point Roberts
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