by Pieter Vorster | Nov 2, 2020 | Environment, Member Submitted Articles, News and Events
Mitlenatch Island …a collaboration between Betty Donaldson, Carol Thatcher, and Mark de Bruijn Sometimes called “the Canadian Galapagos,” Mitlenatch Island is a BC Class A Nature Provincial Park located in the Salish Sea between Campbell River and Powell River. This little treasure trove of biodiversity comprises only 155 hectares, with an additional protective 300-metre water “boundary” beyond the high tide line. The tides from the north and south ends of Vancouver Island meet around the island, creating a biological richness in the surrounding waters. The island is in the rain shadow of Vancouver Island’s mountains, resulting in a semi-arid ecosystem that receives considerably more sunshine during the west coast’s normally wet and dreary winters. It is a unique ecosystem in the middle of the Salish Sea. This unique habitat has long been known to Indigenous peoples who made seasonal camps to harvest bird eggs, shellfish, fish, berries and plants. Generally, when SE Camp Bay is windy, Northwest Bay is not, so one of the Salish names means “calm waters behind.” In 1894, the island was acquired by the Manson family of Cortes Island, who used it as summer pasture for sheep and cattle. When post-WWII plans included using the Island for Lancaster bombing practice, in 1959 the Mansons sold the Island to the Province for $1 on the condition it become a nature park. In 1961, it became the first such designated area in Canada. The primary role of Mitlenatch Island Nature Park is to protect a unique island ecosystem and its special natural features. Perhaps the greatest of these is its birds, and it has been designated one...
by Pieter Vorster | Nov 2, 2020 | Member Submitted Articles, News and Events
Persons Day Lunch Virtual Success by Pat Carl Seventy-Five women joined organizer Lisbeth (Betty) Donaldson and the Persons Day Lunch Committee with co-host Heather Ney and the Transition Society (CVTS) for an online celebration commemorating important milestones reached by Canadian women in the early 20th century. Five local Comox Valley women leaders and change-makers shared their experiences during the pandemic. Alex Bissinger, a Comox Councillor and a mother with a 9-month-old just beginning to crawl, described how her professional trajectory has been upended by becoming a mother and how mothers desperately need access to child care as well as early childhood education. “What do mothers like me do who don’t want to stay at home (24/7) when there’s no care for their children available?” Speaking next was Rachel Jancowski, an Early Childhood Education student at North Island College and peer facilitator at CVTS. She acknowledged that she has a safe place to live, while other women face financial instability and have partners whom they fear. Jesse Ketler, a Cumberland Councillor and the current Chair of the CVRD, commented that women are still working within systems structured centuries ago by men (that are not responsive to women’s needs). She’s awoken to the challenges of the pandemic because she and her son are immuno-compromised and her step-father recently died in care, without family support. Dianne Hawkins, the CEO of the CV Chamber of Commerce, said she’s naturally an extrovert who is finding the collapse of community activities challenging. “I suffer from Zoom-fatigue,” she said, “and I’m helping elderly people in my family, so I’m missing work.” She mentioned how the isolation...
by Pieter Vorster | Oct 17, 2020 | Member Submitted Articles, Social Justice
Want to know what Bonnie Henry, our Provincial Health Officer, suggests be done about BC’s opioid crisis? Want to know what Horgan and the NDP have done to follow her advice? Read on … by Pat Carl On July 21, 2020, John Horgan sent a letter to Justin Trudeau requesting that the federal government decriminalize illicit drug possession. Horgan crafted his letter more than a year after Bonnie Henry’s Special Report – Stopping the Harm – dated April 24, 2019. In fact, despite an NDP member driven resolution at their annual convention on November 24, 2019, BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, stated that the Horgan government would neither decriminalize drug possession in BC nor send a letter to Premier Trudeau because changing drug laws is “not our responsibility … it’s up to the federal government.” In contradicting Farnworth, Bonnie Henry said, “In the context of the continuing overdose crisis that is affecting families and communities across B.C., the province cannot wait for action at the federal level … immediate provincial action is warranted.” Since the 2017 provincial election, critics of the NDP’s response to B.C.’s overdose crisis have argued the province could be doing much more to help people addicted to street opioids (synthetic opioids) [by providing them with access to a regulated (and safe) supply of opioids]. While the Horgan NDP Party has received kudos for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic (based on Bonnie Henry’s data-driven advice), they have been slow on the up-take regarding the opioid crisis. According to Guy Felicella, a peer clinical advisor at the BC Centre on Substance Use,...
by Pieter Vorster | Sep 7, 2020 | Member Submitted Articles, News and Events, Social Justice
Greens and unions go hand-in-hand by Tim Larsen Labour Day has been a statutory holiday in Canada since 1894. Originally the holiday was used by organized labour to celebrate the hard-fought rights achieved and to mark the future goals they were pursuing. Working class solidarity was celebrated with parades, games and speeches. Over the years the holiday has evolved into a day for family time and leisure activity. Opinion pieces appear this time of the year that recognize the importance of organized labour. The many rights enjoyed by today’s workforce were won over years of struggle, and often civil disobedience by organized labour. Despite hard-won gains, starting in the late 1970s, workers’ rights have been steadily eroded. The neoliberal agenda has been steadily advanced by the likes of the Koch brothers-funded Canadian Fraser Institute. Union power has been eroded over these years and many governments have introduced legislation to limit the rights of workers. In many cases, back-to-work legislation has been used as a bludgeon to further this erosion. Unions themselves, such as the Christian Labour Association of Canada, have eroded labour rights with their cozy relationship with employers. The Green Party of Canada stands with workers, despite the attempts of others to label us as a one issue - environmental - party. In fact, we have comprehensive policy covering all issues of concern including ones that support workers. In 2013, the Green Party was pressuring the then Stephen Harper government to respect bargaining rights. In 2018, Elizabeth May issued a statement regarding Labour Day:, “Unions and labour groups remain a vital force for the advancement of human and...
by Pieter Vorster | Aug 27, 2020 | Member Submitted Articles
By Pat Carl When I decide how much money I can float to various causes and charities in a given year, I remind myself that money spent in support of political parties and ethical politicians are what I need to fund even before I float monies to charities. Why? Because political parties and ethical politicians are capable of making lasting change, at least between elections, while charities, however valiantly, band-aid the decisions made by privileged, self-centred parties and politicians in the pockets of corporations. The trick, of course, is knowing which parties and which politicians will have the political will, savvy, and ethical fortitude to keep their promises, party whipping aside, once they leave the election soapbox and enter Parliament or the Legislature. On the one hand, our current sunny-days Prime Minister proved himself to be less than reliable as he immediately failed to institute electoral reform, a promise he made hundreds of times from his election soapbox. And, then, over a space of five years, that same Prime Minister has faced three separate ethical crises. On the other hand, our current BC Premier, according to a simple tally of election promises versus action, has kept three-quarters of his election soapbox promises to one degree or another. You’d think that track record would have voters cheering him on to the next election. But, while the Premier has supported workers and worker initiatives from the NDP’s usual playbook, he has done so at the expense of the environment and lost the support of many NDP faithful who have steadfastly promoted the NDP as a party as much about the...
by Pieter Vorster | Jul 27, 2020 | Environment, Member Submitted Articles, News and Events
Opportunities for a green infrastructure investment in BC Ferries The Honourable Catherine McKenna Minister of Infrastructure and Communities January 27, 2020 Dear Ms. McKenna: Re: Opportunities for a green infrastructure investment in BC Ferries. I have read your Prime Minister’s Mandate Letter of December 13, 2019. I noted with interest that the letter contains the request that “your focus must be on the successful, timely delivery of our growth-generating investments in public transit, green infrastructure…” I am writing you to suggest an investment in that would pay great returns in our country’s attack on climate change. BC Ferries is a company contracted by our Provincial Government to provide ferry service to coastal communities. Operating 25 routes with 47 terminals, BC Ferries has embarked on a program to reduce the environmental impact of its fleet. The newest four ships to be added will be diesel-electrics that are capable of being totally electric powered. At this time shore power to charge these vessels has not yet been built. Once these facilities have been built, they will take advantage of our Province’s ample renewable hydro-electric generated power. An investment by our government in shore power facilities would be within your mandate. Historically the federal government has invested in transit facilities and equipment including electric transit buses. BC Ferries is an important part of passenger transit in our coastal communities as transit-ferry connections are being developed in their system. Historically BC Ferries has concentrated on moving motor vehicles, not people. A shift to more passenger traffic facilitated by transit connections will increase the efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of intercity travel. An...
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