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2 March 2014 • FOCUS contents STERLING & GASCOIGNE March 2014 VOL. 26 NO. 6 Certified General Accountants 4 A PIVOTAL MOMENT editor’s letter 4 Moves by Esquimalt and Colwood around the sewage treatment plan readers’ views 8 will make March a great month for political theatre. Leslie Campbell talk of the town 10

10 THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY NEWS culture talks 24 Documents recently obtained by FOI show the City of Victoria was warned by engineers of two of the three companies bidding on the Johnson Street Bridge project the arts in march 26 that the floating-ring design was too risky to build. The City went ahead anyway. curtain call 34 David Broadland palette 36 16 GROUND ZERO: ISLAND TIMBERLANDS International courts and BC teachers try to make up for government coastlines 40 and corporate abuse of human and environmental rights. urbanities 42 Briony Penn in context 44 Kim Sterling, FCGA, and Alison Gascoigne, CGA 18 DID THE PROVINCE FAKE LNG NUMBERS BEFORE LAST ELECTION? Emails between top-level BC civil servants show Premier Clark’s 100,000 LNG jobs finding balance 46 Experienced • Knowledgeable • Approachable were based on dubious assumptions thrown together at the last minute for her 2013 throne speech. Were those civil servants working Accounting and Income Tax for the public interest or Clark’s election campaign? for Individuals and Small Businesses David Broadland 307 – 1625 Oak Bay Avenue 22 THE ECONOMICS AND ETHICS OF TROPHY HUNTING Studies call into question BC Liberals’ plans to expand bear hunting. 250-480-0558 Judith Lavoie www.sg-cga.ca

24 SPEAKING POETRY The art of moving words around—out loud. Chris Creighton-Kelly

34 A STOP ALONG THE WAY Touring productions enrich and enliven the local theatre scene this month. Monica Prendergast

36 CLOSE TO EUPHORIA Painter Lindy Michie works her particular magic with addition, subtraction and intuition. Aaren Madden

40 PEOPLE WHO ARE TREASURES ON THE COVER Grant Hayter-Menzies’ biographies of women give readers “White Flowers and Oranges” a glimpse into fascinating lives. by Lindy Michie, 20 x 24 Amy Reiswig inches, acrylic on canvas. Photographed by John Taylor. See story on page 36. 42 CITY: PREPARE FOR THE SILVER TSUNAMI Good design helps make good citizens. Gene Miller

44 TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST TYRANNY Read deeper and BC Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin’s ruling in support of teachers against the provincial government is about much more than just our schools. Rob Wipond

46 THE DARKER SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY Gone: our freedom to live anonomously. Trudy Duivenvoorden Mitic

March 2014 • www.focusonline.ca 3 editor’s letter

A pivotal moment LESLIE CAMPBELL Moves by Esquimalt and Colwood around the sewage treatment plan will make March a great month for political theatre. ast month I told you about a forum at received applause from the 400-strong audi- which Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA DENYING autonomous cities ence despite being requested not to clap. LAndrew Weaver and others urged the Given that McLoughlin Point is the main CRD to at least ask for an extension of the time their right to serve their own plant site, the whole project is at risk if rezoning frame demanded by upper levels of govern- isn’t successful. The CRD can appeal to the ment to finalize the region’s sewage treatment citizens could prove the province to appoint an arbitrator. But that may plans. Unfortunately, while a motion to that undoing of some political be seen as an outrageous abuse of power over effect had been made by Victoria City coun- a democratically elected council. It will also cillor and CRD director Marianne Alto, it was careers in this election year. trigger delays that will jeopardize the CRD’s voted down by the majority of the CRD board plan. So Esquimalt’s decision, expected in in mid February. March, could serve as a dramatic turning point. Not a good sign. That vote will just add to the growing cynicism But the Colwood bid to go it alone is also a pivotal moment, for it and distrust of local residents. The CRD seems intent on damaging its doesn’t just provide a stumbling block on the path forward, it provides own credibility. Some sort of demonstration by the board that it is something many citizens warm to: an inspiring alternative plan. Together hearing the dismay and discord it has generated is needed—a sign that they could reroute the path forward. it is open to modifying its plans in light of new information, reason, and community concern. ON FEBRUARY 12 the City of Colwood officially asked the CRD to It’s worth noting here that the debate has shifted. While there are support an amendment to the CRD Core Area Liquid Waste Management still some—including highly credentialled marine scientists—who claim Plan that will allow for the construction of a resource recovery and the present “primary” sewage treatment poses no environmental prob- sewage treatment facility in Colwood. The documentation presented lems for the ocean, most of us have accepted the need to deal with our to CRD directors states: “Colwood is planning for a facility that sewage in a different way. The main division now is between the CRD, will treat water to near potable standard and eliminate the need for with its “secondary” sewage treatment plan, and citizens who think a ocean discharge.” Instead it would use recycled water for “toilet more effective, innovative “tertiary” treatment should be embraced, flushing, irrigation and other low public contact uses, reducing the one that would end up being less costly over time, partly due to revenues need for potable water by up to 40 percent in buildings…Recycled from heat and water recovery. heat from the treatment process will be provided to buildings through The CRD has two upcoming opportunities to rebuild our trust, by a district energy sharing system in Colwood’s business core. This will showing they are not wilfully blind to new data and good ideas. reduce energy requirements by up to 60 percent in buildings that use These two opportunities—or challenges—come in the form of it. Particular targets are the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre and Royal Esquimalt’s possible refusal to rezone McLoughlin Point as the CRD’s Roads University.” wastewater treatment site; and Colwood’s request to exit the CRD The facility, Colwood predicts, will be up, running and selling recov- plan and do its own tertiary treatment. If the CRD denies both munic- ered resources by 2016—a good two years before the CRD’s main ipalities’ choices, the trauma to the region could be severe. Certainly, plant will be in operation. The proposed location is under the denying autonomous cities their right to serve their own citizens could municipally-owned parking lot at the transit exchange near the Juan prove the undoing of some political careers in this election year. Yet de Fuca Recreation Centre. acquiescing, particularly to Esquimalt’s refusal to rezone, will be seen The plan, which will be discussed and voted on at the CRD on March as highly risky as well. 12, makes sense both for Colwood and the region. As Colwood Mayor Judging by the first night of two public hearings in February, it is Carol Hamilton has noted, this proposal benefits Colwood taxpayers by no means assured that Esquimalt’s council will have the confidence by ensuring that they only pay for capacity that city needs now. Only or heart to rezone the McLoughlin Point site. Speaker after well-informed 25 percent of Colwood homes are currently on sewers, so many Colwood speaker weighed in on the irrationality of turning a significant chunk residents have voiced opposition to paying for a service they will never of the harbour’s shoreline into a wastewater facility—without first use. Councillor Judith Cullington, who chairs their transportation and seeing the design—or even knowing the route the pipeline to Hartland public infrastructure committee, stated, “The City of Colwood has will take. They dismissed the $13-million worth of “amenities” offered received advice from many experienced experts both locally and inter- by the CRD as “mitigation” that should be paid for anyway. A number nationally and is confident that we can provide sewage treatment to spoke on the risk of tsunamis, presenting slides and arguing that the our citizens at a lower net cost than the current CRD plan will, both only study done was very narrow in scope and did not address climate in the short term and in the long term.” change or sea level rise. Most commented on how the facility had far But Colwood also argues that their plan benefits taxpayers in other too large a footprint for the small 4-acre site. Virtually all begged for municipalities. As explained on the Colwood website: “The current more time to find a better solution, utilizing less invasive up-to-date CRD plan anticipates the need for an additional facility to be built on technologies. One speaker noted that CRD directors are obviously the Westshore as the main plant nears capacity in 2030, to cope with so tired, they are settling for a third-rate plan—which another labelled regional growth. Colwood’s plan would create a plant in the Westshore the “McLoughlin Point Monument to Sewage Madness.” Speakers now, using a small-scale, modular design that would allow for addi-

4 March 2014 • FOCUS furniture and 40 walls of art

SAGER’S Financing O.A.C. Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun noon-4 HOME LIVING 1802 Government St 250-386-3841 www.sagers.ca tional modules to be ‘plugged in’ as the commu- state-of-the-art membrane filter technology, nity grows. This would relieve the rest of the producing near potable water which could be region of paying for the cost of the proposed A rejection of Colwood’s sold or used for irrigation, toilets, etc. The future Westshore plant. It would also extend bid by the CRD will be seen sludge that’s left would be further dewatered the life of the main plant by freeing up Colwood’s in another small machine, resulting in an odour- capacity for other municipalities.” by many as mean spirited less semi-dry material. Corps estimates (worst Colwood will pay all costs and revenues and irrational. case), one to three daily truck visits to each associated with the finance, design, construc- site to pick up sludge and transport it to one tion, operation, maintenance and future of two relatively compact state-of-the-art gasi- upgrading of its treatment plant—and is not fiers—ideally one behind the Legislature and seeking any part of the grants promised to the go through public consultation and need the other at Uptown. There, the resultant heat CRD by the provincial or federal governments Ministry of Environment approval. energy could be easily used—producing revenue. nor any financial assistance from the CRD. A rejection of Colwood’s bid by the CRD There is virtually no residue in such a process— Since Colwood’s share of the current core area will be seen by many as mean spirited and irra- unlike the CRD’s plan, which still hasn’t found plan is only about four percent of the total, it tional, a decision based on fear that one or included in its costs a disposal method for argues, its proposal would cause “only minimal municipality might actually be able to prove the biosolids left after anaerobic digestion (a financial impact to other municipalities.” it has a better solution. With political careers $38-million incinerator has been proposed). Noting that the Province has consistently riding on the outcome, watch for some inter- There is also no need for the huge biodigester asked for demonstrations of innovation as one esting political theatre in the weeks ahead. out at Hartland—or the 18-kilometre pipeline. of its funding conditions, the background When a full business case is done, where paper notes: “The Colwood approach will THERE’S PLENTY OF EVIDENCE TO suggest annual revenues are taken into account, as are provide the opportunity to demonstrate addi- that Colwood’s type of plan will work, both operating and maintenance costs over 50 years, tional innovation within the Core Area Liquid environmentally and economically. The Sewage along with the initial capital costs, Corps and Waste Management Plan at no cost or risk Treatment Action Group is led by Richard Atwell say that such a system would certainly to the CRD.” Atwell, who, when it comes to the history and cost far less than the CRD’s. Reading through this document and the issues of sewage treatment in the Victoria Unfortunately, comparing well-defined apples motion itself, it’s hard to fathom how CRD region, seems to possess encyclopedic knowl- to apples is impossible. For one thing, the CRD directors could rationalize voting against edge (aided by an ipad full of documents and has not done a full 50-year analysis of its plan. the motion (though stranger things have been schematics). STAG has been researching solu- Corps also condemns it for its unusually high known to happen there). tions internationally and holding public forums 7.5 percent “discount rate,” which ends up Councillor Cullington told Focus: “The presenting their RITE plan—a plan involving discounting the cost far too much as time moves proposal has many advantages for the other distributed sites offering tertiary disinfected on. He says it should be no higher than five or members of the plan and the rest of the region, level treatment of water, with a price tag in six percent. Corps says even using the CRD’s and so we are hopeful of a supportive outcome.” the neighbourhood of $350 million compared 25-year analysis and high discount rate, “the If the CRD accepts Colwood’s plan, it will still to the CRD’s $783-million plan. actual life cycle cost is in effect $2.4 billion— Land economist Chris Corps, a member of not $783 million. Now by the time you add in STAG and one of the authors of the 2008 the other 25 years which were omitted from Editor: Leslie Campbell Publisher: David Broadland Provincial study on integrated resource manage- the business case, it’s $2.7 billion. If you normalize Associate Editor: Rob Wipond Sales: Huntly Ketchen, Bonnie Light, Rosalinde Compton ment, says he priced Colwood’s plan using some of those components it’s more like $3.2 technologies like Zeeweed membranes (used billion. But we don’t really know...” ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTIONS at Dockside Green—and in Edmonton, Another advantage of the RITE plan approach 250-388-7231 Email [email protected] Singapore and over 800 other cities), and puts is that it is more adaptable to reality. CRD EDITORIAL INQUIRIES and letters to the editor the cost at roughly $8 million. Colwood’s growth projections have been known to be [email protected] share of the CRD plan is about $36 million in wrong. In fact there is a misconception that capital cost (minus grants), but Judith Cullington most of the growth is happening in the western WEBSITE www.focusonline.ca notes, the “current [Liquid Waste Management communities; it’s now occurring in the core. Plan] requires a future Westshore plant in the If we do as Colwood seems intent on doing, MAIL Box 5310, Victoria, V8R 6S4 2030s which will add probably another $12 creating just the amount of treatment that is SUBSCRIPTIONS million to the Colwood share and likely without necessary now, we could reduce costs signif- (Tax included): grant support.” icantly. If, for instance, it saved $100 million $36.75/year (11 editions) Under STAG’s plan for the whole CRD, off the current plan, it would be a huge bonus: $63.00/2 years (22 editions) wastewater would flow to about 12-15 small There are things other than sewage that need tertiary treatment plants. Small means small— our community’s attention and dollars. Copyright © 2014. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission and virtually invisible. They believe that many of the publisher. The views expressed herein are not necessarily of the current pumping stations could be WHENEVER A DISTRIBUTED TERTIARY those of the publisher of Focus Magazine. converted to treatment plants, and that the model is proposed, CRD politicians and engi- Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement rest could be housed on municipality-owned neering staff are quick to dismiss it. In the first No. 40051145 land, largely underground. These would use “fact” presented on a “Facts & Myth” sheet

6 March 2014 • FOCUS handed out by Seaterra, the commission charged clear that they wouldn’t actually cost less over Colwood seems to get all this. Its request with implementing the CRD’s plan, states the their 50-year lives. That’s because the CRD represents an important chance for the whole rationale for the dismissal: “The CRD completed has not done that for its McLoughlin plan. community to gather more information on a comprehensive analysis of a decentralized what works. It, along with Esquimalt’s possible approach to wastewater treatment in 2008- IN 2009, COMMUNITY SURVEYS SHOWED refusal to rezone McLoughlin Point, presents 2009. Three options for tertiary treatment that the public rated the environmental impact the CRD with two opportunities to show it is were explored with 4, 7 and 11 treatment of the sewage treatment system as more impor- not so hell-bent on finalizing a sewage treat- plants. Each option was examined to develop tant than the cost of the system. Somehow ment plan that it ignores the evidence and detailed capital and operating costs and poten- the politicians didn’t get the message. But the desires of the public it serves. tial revenues…The 11-treatment plant option irony now is that the most environmen- resulted in capital costs of approximately $2 tally-friendly solution is also likely the most Editor Leslie Campbell billion with annual operating costs at $33 economic one. It is also the quickest to get up is looking forward to million, both over 225 percent more than the and running: Besides the simpler, modular moving on from this current plan.” technology, the nature of a tertiary distrib- topic as well. Email her It has been difficult until recently to verify uted model means finding the suitable small at [email protected]. this because the CRD hadn’t produced these parcels of land is comparatively easy, relying studies. With the help of a Freedom of on municipally-owned properties and avoiding Information request filed by Atwell, a 69-page expensive pipelines to the sea. discussion paper (based on a much larger docu- ment) came to light recently. What it appears to show is that the options the CRD examined and costed back in 2008-09, bear little or no resemblance to STAG’s ideas. In fact it does not even mention the word “tertiary.” Instead, virtually all the plants, in all three options, appear to offer only secondary treatment. While there is some suggestion that some of the treated effluent will be able to be used for irrigation and toilets, most of it—and this can be seen in the maps supplied in CRD documents—must be shipped via expensive pipelines and outfalls to the sea from the various plants. As Atwell notes, “The engineers preferred outfalls to tertiary disinfected treatment and never costed the latter. With disinfection they would have opened the door to changes in design.” With proper tertiary disinfection, he continues, “Savings start with $106 million in marine outfalls you don’t need and there’s a big chunk of the $87 million in conveyancing you reduce…If we are talking Zeeweed, just one of many membranes out there, the cost has come down by half [since 2008].” He also noted that space requirements and popu- lation were overestimated (648,000 by 2065). Said Atwell, “All of these factors completely upset the cost of what was proposed to the CRD in 2009, which wasn’t an integrated resource management approach to begin with. They started with sites they didn’t own and that didn’t make sense, like Ogden Point, because they were dependent on marine outfalls.” Seaterra’s “Myth & Facts” sheet also fails to mention the annual revenues for the plan. Because these 2009 distributed-system plans include a full life cycle analysis (4 percent discount rate) for each of the three options and because there are annual revenues, it’s not www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 7 readers’ views

Christy Clark’s terrifying math police. It stands as a fundamental issue in a If you’ve never been to a slam, you will be I want to thank David Broadland for clar- democratic society. History has shown us struck by the passion and talent of these high ifying “Christy Clark’s terrifying math.” As what types of regimes utilize such forces. school spoken word poets. [See pages 24-25 David says, “Twenty-odd years doesn’t leave Indeed, one has seen examples of this in the for more on this art form.] much time to reshape the world economy to not too distant past with the G20 in Toronto. I encourage everyone, whether you have run on low- or no-carbon energy.” To stay The US police are now becoming so milita- children or grandchildren in school or not, within the range of a 66 percent chance of rized that at times they are indistinguishable to attend arts events in schools in your school keeping temperature rise to 2˚C we need the from the army, and Canada, through bilat- district. No need to wonder where the arts leadership of the Premier in promoting alter- eral agreements with the US, is now in public education went: they’re alive and nate forms of energy, not an active joined-at-the-hip with our neighbour’s police, well in a school near you. encouragement of the exploration and devel- military, and security services. If you listen Diane McNally opment of traditional fossil fuels and the global carefully to the reasons for this you will warming that form of industry brings. discover that it is for “domestic terrorists”— Future, please. Hold the chaos Bob Peart that is, anyone who opposes the government Gene Miller’s article is so, so funny—in a Executive Director, Sierra Club BC or corporate policies. Those boys-in-blue Kafkaesque way. He made my day with the peace officers have metamorphosed into cosmic singularity analogy. This should be Food Instead of pipelines, please black-clad storm-trooper-type law enforce- turned into a play for a local venue, possibly The Associated Press calls it California’s ment officers over the years. We need to be the Belfry; cast of characters as the usual polit- most crippling drought in modern times. In ever vigilant about policies and procedures ical suspects—could be hilarious! other words, get ready British Columbia, that apply to the police and their relation- Richard Cane climate change is about to hit us with food ship with the public in a “free” society. shortages and higher prices. But it’s not going R.D. Wraggett Focus addict got fix to be a one off. California has been running How can I thank you enough? It’s my habit short of water for years and it’s going to get Arts alive & well in schools to read Focus cover to cover—I applaud its worse, as will their extreme weather events. How could H.U.P. Edwards have got it continuing excellence, but this February As BC’s climate warms and California so wrong about public education and the arts? edition consumed me.Kudos to David struggles, let’s take advantage! (readers’ views, February 2014) Possibly by Broadland, Briony Penn, Trudy Duivenvoorden Instead of more oil, gas and coal, let’s turn not ever checking a public school website for Mitic, and Katherine Palmer Gordon. And BC into one of the world’s great food producing school arts events and attending a few of those I’m addicted to the mind of Gene Miller. regions. From Fort St John to Midway, we events? Possibly by not ever going in to a public Thank you for supplying my monthly fix. already do soup to nuts. Let’s do more! school and seeing the outstanding student- Valerie Sullivan And not just fruits and veggies. More cheeses, produced visual art on the walls of schools? game, pickles, legumes, hay, wine, fish, and Students do not graduate from high school Moving beyond multiculturalism even seedlings. Small operations. Value added. art classes never having heard of Rembrandt, It was quite surprising to find one of Focus’s Certified local, organic and sustainable. and have hands-on opportunities to study columnists espousing a racist understanding Instead of wasting water on fracking and important compositions in depth. of humanity. Chris Creighton-Kelly writes: mining, let’s use it for irrigation, canals December school concerts showcase accom- “Yes, we are a multiracial society but our arts and transportation. Instead of wasting our plishments in music, and the productions I’ve system is primarily uni-cultural” (Feb 2014). substantial made-in-BC green hydro on LNG attended in School District 61 Greater Victoria Canada is officially a “multicultural” society, plants, let’s power up farms, greenhouses, schools have been outstanding, a demonstra- not a “multiracial society.” To equate race farm equipment and trains with electricity. tion of the level of dedication from music with culture as he does goes beyond the long Let’s take the $9 billion from Site C and put specialists in our public schools and of the discredited 19th century anthropological it into food production infrastructure, training focus and talent of students. High school racial theory which served as the ideological and incentives. drama teachers and students produce basis for the Euro-American Christian There will always be a demand for food. outstanding results. The Esquimalt High missionary-colonialist enterprise. Not so with fossil fuels. So let’s choose fertile School annual event “Music at the Dockyard” Since racial theory posited but four races, fields, pristine waterways, old-growth forests, showcases music, drama and culinary arts. then by his logic there are but four cultures birds and bees instead of tailings ponds, oil Public school arts events are open to the public; among the entirety of humanity, an utterly spills, toxic waste dumps, tanker accidents I invite anyone who wonders about the status absurd understanding. The number of cultures and endangered species. of the arts in public school to attend. is vast and even macrocultures break down We have an abundance of everything required If you’re wondering where school choirs into many subcultures. In Victoria alone, to make it work. Now we need the leader- went, 250 singers came together from four there are different Chinese linguistic-cultural ship and the will. School District 61 secondary schools— entities. Contemporary genetic research Dave Secco Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Mount Doug, and demonstrates that all humans are to varying Reynolds—and from Belmont in SD62. Alix degrees mongrels, that there is no such divi- Police being covertly militarized? Goolden Hall was packed. sion as a small number of distinct races. Many thanks to Focus and Rob Wipond Victorious Voices produces Victoria’s city- Racism means identifying cultural traits and for the article on the militarization of local wide high school spoken word poetry slam. human worth by physical appearance, partic-

8 March 2014 • FOCUS ADVERTISEMENT Focus presents: Self-Heal Herbal Centre

Offering trusted herbs and expertise ularly skin colour. But none of the so-called racial colours exists among normal human beings. I have lived on and off in East Asia for years, but I have never seen a yellow person. Such hue only appears among those with serious liver ailments. Similarly, I have spent much time among First Nations people in the Great Lakes area, but I have never seen a red person…Finally, why are sub-Saharan Africans called black when they are obviously varying degrees of brown? Black is a pejorative term in the English language. Black denotes evil and sub-human beings…It had nothing to do with skin colour. So called “white people” call themselves “white” not because they are albinos but because white in Western culture symbolizes purity and good- ness, the opposite of evil blackness. Recent genetic theories turns these racist values on its head, for light skin colour may indicate a

greater proportion of Neanderthal genes. Tony Bounsall Photo: To take the cultural focus of the article, there Self-Heal’s staff (l-r): Paloma Vita, Angelika Pimenta, Juniper Coletti, Jian Zhang (owner) is no aboriginal/ First Nations race. Indeed, there is no single culture. The indigenous peoples ince 1976, Self-Heal Herbs has established herbalist, gained at the Dominion Herbal College and of the Americas before contact were more cultur- itself as the prime source of herbal remedies the precious two years she spent working alongside ally and linguistically diverse than in any other Sin the Victoria area and across Canada. It offers Angie at Self-Heal. part of the globe. If Creighton-Kelly desires to the most extensive local arrays of medicinal and culi- The other herbalist on staff is Paloma Vita, who see a non-ethnocentric funding of the arts in nary herbs to its Victoria clientele as well as ships its just rejoined Self-Heal after three years of travels. Canada, perhaps he should first look to his own herbs and products across the country. Founded Paloma’s love for herbs began at 19 when her midwives use of racist terminology, even though he appears by herbalist Don Ollsin and lovingly tended by Angie recommended some herbs to her; it soon became a opposed to racism, when writing on the topic. Sewell for the last two decades, Self-Heal Herbs is passion and she now offers over 30 years of self- Jordan Paper now under new ownership and ready to continue directed herbal studies and practice which received Professor Emeritus, York University its tradition of excellence—in both quality of product Angie’s seal of approval! and personal service. Rounding off the team is Juniper Coletti; a recent Chris Creighton-Kelly responds: Just to be In October 2013, Angie Sewell passed the torch addition and a newcomer to Victoria with a passion clear, I did not equate race with culture. Why to Jian Zhang and opened a new era for this Victoria for herbs and customer service who is loving every would I? I did not suggest that there are only institution. Jian came to us from China looking for a minute of her apprenticeship. Together they pool their four cultures in the world. Why would I? And healthier lifestyle for her family and in search of a love for herbs, and their years of experience in health of course, I did not use “racist terminology.” local business to support and grow. She fell in love care and customer service to ensure Self-Heal Herbs Professor Paper does shine some light on with Self-Heal Herbs because she intuitively sensed keeps its now 38-year-old promise to its clientele: anthropological racial theories that have been its importance to the community and also because continue the tradition and standards of excellence the backbone of the colonialist project of the herbalism and natural healing are deeply ingrained only a small, locally-owned shop can provide for many last 500 years. Most Focus readers already in the Chinese culture. She also spent the last 14 years to come. know that “race” is a social and political construct years in the field of medical equipment, which has Self-Heal Herbs continues to be stocked with a with no real genetic basis. But merely pointing sensitized her to the health issues many people face wide array of top-quality herbs—many of which are that out does not wave a magic wand that in their fast-paced urban lives. Jian is committed to sourced from Canadian organic herb farms that hand- somehow causes contemporary racism to vanish. keeping the same standards of quality and makes pick the herbs, or from local wild-crafters. Also in store The legacy of those racial theories is still it clear that nothing will change in the way the store are the hand-made tinctures that have made the with us. Post-colonial scholars, anti-racist is run. (A few cosmetic updates are to be expected renown of this oldest herbal shop in Western Canada, activists and now, even human rights bureau- and Self-Heal Herbs’ clientele can look forward to and essential oils, homeopathic remedies, flower cracies elaborate how people continue to be a gradual transition to the new look over the spring.) essences, salves and more. racialized by the powers that be. And it is not Jian is looking forward to building a new incarnation You can now find Self-Heal Herbs online at “racist” to point this out. of the Self-Heal family where everyone works together www.selfhealherbs.ca, You can also follow them on I will write about this complex process of in an atmosphere of team spirit and love—love for Facebook (facebook.com/selfhealherbalcentre) and racialization in April’s column. the team, the herbs and the clientele! Twitter (@SelfHealHerbs). The Self-Heal Herb family includes Angelika Pimenta, LETTERS the new store manager, who brings a wealth of expe- Self-Heal Herbs Read more letters at focusonline.ca rience both in customer service—thanks to her years 1106 Blanshard Street (at Fort) Send letters to: [email protected] at Triple Spiral—and her extensive knowledge as a 250-383-1913 • www.selfhealherbs.ca www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 9 talk of the town Briony Penn 16 David Broadland 18 Judith Lavoie 22

The good, the bad, and the ugly news DAVID BROADLAND Documents recently obtained by FOI show the City of Victoria was warned by engineers of two of the three companies bidding on the Johnson Street Bridge project that the floating-ring design was too risky to build. The City went ahead anyway. he good news is that the City of Victoria finally released the three November T2012 bid proposals for the new bridge contract. Those proposals were the only chance for City councillors and interested citizens to hear what experienced bridge engineers thought about the design Wilkinson Eyre and MMM Group dreamed up in a hurry back in 2009. The bad news is that whatever the engi- neers said probably wasn’t heard by City councillors and is now irrelevant. There’s no going back—the bridge is being fabricated in China and steel support pilings drilled into the harbour as you read this. Focus requested these documents in November 2012. They were released to us by the City last month. The ugly news is what the engineers said. The three companies chosen to submit bids—PCL Constructors Westcoast, Kiewit Infrastructure, and Walsh Construction— were required to provide an “Indicative Design Review” as part of their bids. Each of the companies was paid $50,000 for their The mechanical scheme of the Wilkinson Eyre-MMM Group “Indicative Design” participation. The “Indicative Design” was the final version of the design the City Code of Ethics from publicly commenting on Meyboom: “...elements of the proposed contracted MMM Group to develop with the work of other engineers) and a rare oppor- mechanical system have been developed to Wilkinson Eyre. There’s a drawing of the tunity for the public and their elected represent- be simple and robust. They are based on most contentious element of that design— atives to get independent reviews of MMM’s applications from heavy industry such as the lifting mechanism—to the right. claim that it would be reliable and durable. foundries where similar mechanical arrange- Providing proof that nice guys finish first, Kiewit’s and Walsh’s critiques of MMM’s ments have been used for decades under PCL didn’t have much criticism to dish out. design contained several concerns that were conditions that are considerably more aggres- Instead, they offered up a reworked MMM addressed in PCL’s proposal, so in the summary sive and demanding than anticipated at design that Victoria is likely going to regret below I am including only criticisms that PCL’s the Johnson Street Bridge.” in 30 or so years. Why? Because that’s the final design did not address. But in their bid proposal to the City Walsh’s design life for critical “subject to wear” parts As mentioned, the Kiewit and Walsh proposals engineers noted, “To the best of our knowl- of the lifting mechanism that PCL had to both broadly rejected the heart of MMM’s edge, the only other application of this bridge incorporate in order to meet the City’s “afford- Indicative Design, the mechanism used to raise type, also designed by Wilkinson Eyre, was ability ceiling.” And for reasons that I’ll tell and lower the movable section of the bridge. built for the City of London’s Canary Wharf you about towards the end of this story, MMM’s design called for the lifting part of development. That bridge is significantly smaller replacing those critical parts may be impos- the bridge to be attached to two 50-foot-diam- than the proposed Johnson Street Bridge. sible short of taking a cutting torch and a eter rings, each of those supported by four Maintenance of the support rollers might be wrecking ball to the bridge. large rollers. By rotating the 50-foot rings, the very difficult since the entire weight of the The big story here is that Kiewit and Walsh bridge could be raised or lowered. bridge rests on these supports. Should repair both ditched the Indicative Design’s funda- Since 2009 the mechanical concept has or replacement [of the rollers or their bear- mental mechanical concept: the two big rings gone through several iterations, indicating ings] be necessary, jacking of the entire truss floating freely on supporting rollers. This was uncertainty. Project watchdog Ross Crockford, will be required to remove the load from these the first time engineers had been able to publicly a director of johnsonstreetbridge.org, called supports. The depth of the bridge pit will make voice their professional opinion about the the design “experimental,” in 2010, which shoring of the truss difficult and expensive and design (engineers are constrained by their brought this response from MMM’s Joost increase maintenance cost for this critical item.”

10 March 2014 • FOCUS KIEWIT IS OF THE VIEW that the “Indicative Design may represent a fundamentally high risk and expensive design approach.” —Kiewit engineering team Kiewit said it had consulted with “a number of steel and machinery fabricators, who are experienced in movable bridge design and/or construction. All expressed the opinion that there were likely more cost effective mechan- ical concepts for a bascule bridge than the one used as the basis for the Indicative Design.” COMPLETE EYE Kiewit said “unknowns and/or unexpected EXAMINATIONS BY costs” of MMM’s “unconventional design” DR. JASON MAYCOCK would “conflict with the City’s mandate OPTOMETRIST to remain near or below the indicated Affordability Ceiling. In summary, Kiewit is of the view that the Indicative Design may represent a fundamentally high risk and expensive design approach.” Kiewit’s engineers said their “comprehen- sive” review “resulted in the decision to propose a bascule concept based upon a more proven bridge type—the Strauss Bascule with under- deck counterweight. Joseph Strauss was a pioneer in bridge engineering who is best known as the Chief Engineer for design of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Strauss was also responsible for many inno- vative design patents and design of several movable bridges, including the existing Johnson Street Bridge.” Kiewit provided detailed draw- ings of the mechanism they were proposing (see drawing next page). Besides the Indicative Design’s unproven lifting mechanism, Kiewit noted that the coun- terweight in the Indicative Design was attached to the truss rings in a way that “would load the truss ring eccentrically, which could distort the ring—a highly undesirable condition.” The Strauss mechanism, they said, would provide a fixed axis on which the bridge could rotate, eliminating the complex arrangement of rollers beneath the rings. Kiewit noted their mecha- nism would reduce “seismic challenges” as well. Walsh, too, advised the City to use a mechan- ical design with proven reliability. They proposed to convert the design to a “rolling lift,” which, they said “continues to be used on numerous rolling lift bridges throughout the world.” Because “the drive system is a proven concept, it will meet the life expectancy requirements of the project and potentially lower overall maintenance costs over the life

www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 11 of the Walsh and Kiewit engineers’ warnings and concerns, or whether they were told that PCL’s proposal included a 30-year design life for the many parts of the bridge’s mechanical system subject to wear. Councillor Lisa Helps told Focus that councillors had previously agreed to let City staff do the digging through the proposals; councillors were to confine them- selves to voting on the evaluation committee’s recommendation. Did this hands-off approach serve the public interest? The substance of the Kiewit and Walsh proposals, along with the maintenance liabil- ities inherent in PCL’s adaptation of MMM design, suggest MMM had spent millions of taxpayer dollars developing a bad design. If councillors—who hold office to represent the public interest—weren’t told the truth about the problems, whose interests were being served? There were both private political and economic interests at stake that didn’t neces- sarily work well with the public interest. The mayor and councillors who supported the bridge project from its inception would have lost political face in a public humiliation of the project. But the bigger loser likely would have been MMM. Three days after the closed meeting at which City staff briefed councillors on the bid proposals, the City announced a new $9.1 million project management contract with MMM Group. That was on top of $2.1 The mechanical scheme for Kiewit’s remarkable, apparently too-costly design. million for project management and design services performed between 2009 and 2012. of the bridge.” Walsh did not include draw- “unnecessarily complicated,” and “introduce If City engineering staff had provided coun- ings of its proposed design. the possibility of harmonic oscillation that cillors with as full an account of what the bid There were other aspects of MMM’s design could be very uncomfortable for pedestrians.” proposals contained as you have just read, criticized by the companies. This is the vibrational phenomenon that trou- would councillors have agreed to renew Walsh provided the City with a sobering bled the Millenium Bridge in London which, MMM’s contract? warning about the light-weight bridge deck after being opened for just three days, closed Councillors could still vote to “rise and specified for the bascule leaf: “The orthotropic for two years while modifications were made. report” on what they were told at that meeting. deck will impose significant ongoing costs for Kiewit’s solution was to widen the south side In the meantime Focus has filed an FOI for maintenance of the roadway coating. It is pedestrian walkway to match the north side the evaluation committee’s report and the expected that the deck will require recoating and place both walkways at the level of the minutes of that meeting. We will report on every five to ten years. In order to accomplish road deck, as in the existing bridge. those when we get them. this, portions of the bridge will have to be Walsh’s bid proposal totalled $91.6 million; From other FOI requests filed in the last closed, the deck sandblasted and new coating PCL bid $63.4 million. Kiewit withheld its few months, more information about the design applied. We believe this will have significant bid price from the record released to Focus. of the bridge has emerged. long-term maintenance costs for the City.” After receiving and considering the bid We have learned that no seismic assessment Their solution? “An open grating deck with proposals from PCL, Kiewit and Walsh, an of the PCL design has been performed. Given concrete-filled pathways for bicycles has a evaluation committee of City engineers—Peter the political promises to build a bridge able lower initial cost, easier erection, longer life...” Sparanese, Dwayne Kalynchuk and Ken to withstand a magnitude 8.5 earthquake, the Kiewit worried the difference in widths Jarvela—delivered a report and made recom- absence of even theoretical confirmation that of the pedestrian walkway and the multi-modal mendations to a closed meeting of City the bascule leaf would indeed remain on its pathway would “destabilize the balance of the councillors in November 2012. Since the rollers in the so-called “Big One” is a surprising bridge in both the static and dynamic condi- meeting was closed, there’s no way for the oversight. The ring truss isn’t physically tions.” The “overhanging walkways” were public to know if councillors were made aware attached to the substructure of the bridge in

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Hardesty & Hanover’s mechanical scheme for the new bridge. Each ring is now supported by twelve 42-inch-diameter steel rollers (black) which bear on steel segments supported by an epoxy grout strip (red) that’s 12 inches deep by 55 inches wide by 80 feet long. The rings are rotated by hydraulic motors (yellow).

any way—it simply floats on the rollers—and the drawing above, to support all those the only thing keeping it from sliding off to big, heavy 42-inch-diameter rollers there is one side or the other is a lip on the rollers now a forest of machinery beneath the rings. about one inch high. This could be tough on future taxpayers: Engineering drawings obtained recently there appears to be no way of jacking the have revealed certain features of the bridge rings off the rollers to do necessary repairs that could make it “iconic” in a way not like replacing the bearings; the space where intended by the councillors who pushed for jacks and shoring would go is filled with a signature bridge. The bridge could also rollers and other unmovable machinery. The become an international symbol of poor plan- task that Walsh’s engineers warned would be ning, a miniature Fukushima. “difficult and expensive” is now going to be This stems from the way in which the central even more difficult and more expensive. The design feature of MMM’s mechanical system— wheels of progress grind on. the rollers under the rings—have been Another fundamental change Hardesty & reconfigured (again) by PCL’s engineering Hanover made to MMM’s design was to consultant Hardesty & Hanover. They initially change how the rollers contacted the rings. proffered a support system that had 32 rollers MMM’s design had the rings sitting directly under each ring instead of the four MMM on top of the rollers; they specified that a envisioned. Now Hardesty & Hanover have replaceable wear plate be attached to the rings. changed their minds and believe 16 big ones A simple, elegant idea. But MMM’s design is the magic combination. As you can see in required very precise—and expensive—fabri-

14 March 2014 • FOCUS Left: Hardesty & Hanover’s unusual solution Exciting new container for meeting the City’s affordability ceiling: a of old Chinese furniture thick bed of epoxy grout (red) will support bearing surfaces and a gear rack. H&H has GREAT SELECTION designed wearing parts to last 30 years.

cation tolerances for the rings. Hardesty & Hanover called them “impossibly tight...and impossible to maintain.” To get around that, and to stay within the City’s imposed afford- ability ceiling, Hardesty & Hanover came up with a truly bizarre cost-saving solution. Around the outside of each ring 11 U-shaped steel “support segments” will be attached. Each of these segments consist of about 85 separate pieces of steel that will be subject to rusting: lengths of crane rail, gear track, bolts, nuts and washers, flat metal plates, curved metal plates, etc, etc. Aesthetically, it will be messy. The segments will be arranged around one- half the outside circumference of the rings and—this is the truly strange why-is-this- happening-to-us? part—the strength to transfer the weight of the bridge to the rollers will be provided by epoxy grout pumped into the void between the segments and the rings. Not just a little epoxy grout, mind you, but iconic, mind-blowing amounts. Each ring will be swaddled in a semi-circular slab of epoxy grout that, if laid out flat on the ground, would be 12 inches deep, 55 inches wide (at its widest) and 80 feet long—the red collar around the ring in the drawing to the left. The critical elements that connect the rings to the support segments will be forever encased in that epoxy grout, un-inspectable and inac- cessible for the life of the bridge. And, because epoxy grout and steel have different thermal qualities, the grout will become fractured and separate from the steel. Water will get between the grout and the metal parts and corrosion will occur. How much corrosion? Since the parts will be inaccessible, no one will ever know. Has this technique ever been used on a bridge before? I posed that question to the profes- sional engineer whose stamp appears on the construction drawings. He’s Sean Bluni, CEO of Hardesty & Hanover, working out of their New York City headquarters. I also asked Bluni how the bridge could be jacked to repair or BEST OF BOTH replace subject-to-wear parts. Bluni said, “As we are contractually required to do, we will WORLDS discuss your questions with the parties to whom we are providing service on this project.” IMPORTS AND DESIGN Most likely, this will require a closed council 2713 QUADRA (AT HILLSIDE) meeting. 250.386.8325 WWW.BESTOFBOTHWORLDSIMPORTS.COM David Broadland is the publisher of Focus Magazine. www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 15 talk of the town

Ground Zero: Island Timberlands BRIONY PENN International courts and BC teachers try to make up for government and corporate abuse of human and environmental rights.

he extraordinarily rich forests of hearing—and we can anticipate that this Vancouver Island have been fought court’s judgment might point to a lack of Tover since James Douglas had 14 good corporate citizenship. Vancouver Island chiefs sign a blank piece Island Timberlands’ third worry is a of paper. The frustration in losing virtu- cluster of community groups up and down ally every battle by four generations of the island, who, under the slogan “No First Nations and concerned citizens has community stands alone,” have been seeking bred some sophisticated new approaches an improvement in forest practices of the to the old task of protecting Indigenous company. On February 4, Jane Morden, rights and nature. These reach out inter- spokesperson for Watershed Forest Alliance

nationally and to corporate shareholders. PHOTO: BRIONY PENN out of Port Alberni, released in a letter As a result, 2014 is off to a difficult start Island Timberlands’ logging on McLaughlin Ridge to bcIMC and IT “the evidence for our for Island Timberlands, the corporation concern regarding Island Timberlands’ most in the news these days for questionable logging practices. logging practices on private lands in the Alberni Valley area.” First, a resolution on an ethical investment issue was passed unan- In the documents submitted to bcIMC and IT, the Alliance detailed imously on January 31 by the BC Teachers Federation. The resolution the history of the IT lands in question. In 2004 the provincial govern- urged BC Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC), which ment removed 74,000 hectares of Island Timberlands private land invests the teachers’ pensions and is a majority shareholder in Island from Tree Farm License 44 with a letter of intent that grandfathered Timberlands, to send the company back to the planning table over the protection of 2400 hectares of critical wildlife habitat (old growth) its liquidation of old growth forests on Vancouver Island, specifically for wintering ungulates (deer and elk) and the nesting Northern around Port Alberni (near Cathedral Grove and McLaughlin Ridge). Goshawk—a red-listed species at risk. After long negotiations between This resolution built on a 2012 recommendation that “the BCTF 2005 and 2008, and upon acquiring these lands, IT agreed to the seeks legislative or regulatory changes that would clarify the defini- boundaries of the 2400 hectares of ungulate winter range (UWR) tion of fiduciary duty to include consideration of long-term financial and wildlife habitat area (WHA) for goshawk as the minimum sustainability through environmental, social, and governance respon- area required for protection. Shortly after, however, IT began clearcut- sible investing principles.” Since pensions are fuelling the logging ting these lands. rates, this hits at the heart of the problem. In a document obtained by FOI, government scientists Darryn In support of their resolution, members of the BCTF used the argu- McConkey and Erica McClaren stated “negotiations ceased because ment presented in the 2008 Supreme Court of Canada judgment that we could not agree on the management regime within these bound- the directors must resolve to balance stakeholder interests “in accor- aries. Island Timberlands wanted to extract timber resources from dance with their fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the within UWRs and WHA 1-002 and Ministry of Forests could not corporation, viewed as a good corporate citizen.” scientifically rationalize how the quality of these areas could be main- This leaves it wide open for the courts and citizens to define “a tained.” Ministry scientists go on to say that IT’s proposed management good corporate citizen.” “did not incorporate any input from the Ministry of Environment” Another case brought by Robert Morales, chief negotiator for and “is not supported by the best available science.” six southeast Vancouver Island First Nations of the Hul’qumi’num Island Timberland’s spokesperson Morgan Kennah, in answer to Treaty Group (HTG), might do just that at the international level. this claim of unscientific forest practices, stated IT stands by its forest The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (Focus, November certification process, Sustainable Forestry Initiatives (SFI). SFI has 2011) will assess the culpability of Canada and three corporations received strong criticism for being an industry-financed certification (including Island Timberlands) who are the “successors in interest” system. ForestEthics, for example, has stated, “The SFI certifica- in breaching human rights. Morales explains that after the original tion program actually assures its timber company customers that it application to the international tribunal was filed in 2011, the govern- does not prohibit logging in old growth forests, wild areas that do ment of Canada objected on the grounds that the native groups not currently have roads, or other places in which ecological values had not exhausted all domestic remedies. are especially rich.” Morales states, “We argued that no Canadian court has ever recog- When asked about these critiques and industry ties to SFI, IT’s nized Indigenous people’s rights to private property. The Inter-American Kennah responded, “Many people would say that it [SFI] is indepen- Commission agreed with us, and were satisfied that there were no dent. The board is made up of economic and environmental interests. domestic remedies. Canadians don’t realize the gravity of this We feel strongly, as [do] others, that it is not controlled by industry.” statement. Here is an international body of human rights experts On the SFI board various non-profits are represented, including Bird stating that in Canada a situation exists where a group of people’s Studies Canada whose website states that SFI is a Gold Donor with human rights cannot be effectively dealt with under the existing legal donations of over $50,000 for projects like their Bird Atlas, which and political structures here.” The case is now awaiting the final ironically would include the goshawk nesting site that the Alliance

16 March 2014 • FOCUS seeks to protect. Bird Studies Canada President George Finney, defended his role: “From Bird Studies Canada point of view, we are just giving them bird information and how they can be less detri- mental to various bird populations.” He said, “Complaints could be registered and they will be investigated.” The Kwakiutl First Nation also added their voice to the chorus of disenchanted Vancouver Islanders with an ongoing peaceful protest when Island Timberlands started to log cultural sites, traplines and cedar trees in their territory. The Douglas Treaty (signed 163 years ago to the day of their February 9 press release) stipulated “that lands and waters were to be set-aside for the exclusive use by Kwakiutl to maintain livelihood ‘as formerly’ and for ‘generations to follow.’” Chief Coreen Child of Kwakiutl First Nation stated: “The people of Kwakiutl have been left with no choice but to protest and stop Canada and BC from allowing Companies to cut and remove cedar trees from our land.” IT’s response to this was: “We have done due diligence by sending in an archaeologist to do an Archaeological Impact Assessment with members of the band attending.” Focus asked to view the report or the terms of reference, but was refused. Chief Child argues that these studies don’t address cultural land-use issues granted in the Douglas Treaty. Morales and the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group are also pointing to these cultural land-use issues as the nub of the case: “The Inter- American Commission is not judging whether the action of transferring the land to private corporate hands was legal or not, but whether the ability of the people to practice their culture has been significantly affected by this action today.” He argued that the privatization resulted in a situation in which First Nations cannot practice their culture due to the losses that they have sustained. “How can you teach your chil- dren how to build a canoe when there are no longer any cedar trees? That is the loss that the Inter-American Commission is considering.” Finally, Cortes Islanders, who have successfully fended off Island Timberland’s clearcutting plans for the old growth on their island to date (Focus, January 2013), celebrated—after 20-plus years of nego- tiation—realization of a community forest agreement (CFA). The agreement covers Crown lands adjacent to IT’s land and includes equal partnership with the KIahoose First Nation. The partnership is in the process of developing a Community Forest Operating Plan that reflects community values and will guide forest management within the CFA. Cortes Islanders had asked IT to bring their own forestlands under a similar value-added ecosystem management and certification system, Forest Stewardship Council, but IT has consis- tently rejected that idea, citing increased costs. Today, with shareholders demanding this type of ethical management, IT’s excuse of fiduciary responsibility is sounding less and less convincing. Documenting all these examples of citizens fighting back is Dan Pierce who, with producer Cari Green (of the award-winning docu- mentary The Corporation), is developing a feature documentary (through crowd sourcing) on these initiatives. That gives hope to the idea that community involvement could finally supplant the old corpo- rate model—from how we invest our pensions and how we run our timber companies to how we fund our films. See www.heartwoodfilm.com.

Briony Penn has been writing about controversial issues surrounding bcIMC and Island Timberlands since 2006.

www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 17 talk of the town

Did the BC government fake LNG numbers before last year’s election? DAVID BROADLAND Emails between top-level BC civil servants show Premier Clark’s 100,000 LNG jobs were based on dubious assumptions thrown together at the last minute for her 2013 throne speech. Were those civil servants working for the public interest or Clark’s election campaign?

he BC Prosperity Fund got barely a mention in last month’s Speech from Tthe Throne. But a year ago Premier Clark’s apparently far-sighted plan to develop a massive LNG industry that would create “100,000 jobs for BC families” and pump billions into Provincial coffers fuelled the launch of the Liberals’ election campaign. Their compelling clean-energy-and-jobs message brought them from 20 points behind to a surprising victory in last May’s election. Now, though, Clark’s government appears to be stepping back from all that. The legisla- tion to introduce a new LNG-supportive tax regime has been postponed a second time, for no apparent reason. Although Finance Minister Mike de Jong outlined the tax regime in his February budget speech, his plan to intro- duce it is vague. Were the Prosperity Fund and the job claims operations. Grant Thornton’s report allowed After the election, inquiries to the Ministry part of an elaborate election ploy? It wouldn’t the Premier to say in her February 2013 throne of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas about the be the first time a government made an elec- speech, “LNG development is poised to trigger LNG job figures used by Clark revealed that tion promise it didn’t intend to keep. A more approximately $1 trillion in cumulative GDP a third report, also by Grant Thornton, had troubling possibility, though, is that Provincial within British Columbia over the next 30 years provided the mathematical substance for public service employees and public funds were and that means more than $100 billion will the previously released studies of potential used to create that election ploy, contrary to flow directly to the Prosperity Fund. Province LNG revenues. But this report had been secreted the BC Standards of Conduct that govern what wide, LNG is expected to create on average away. There wasn’t a single reference to it in civil servants can do while on the job. Documents 39,000 annual direct, indirect and induced BC media coverage of the election. The Ministry recently obtained by Focus through an FOI, full-time jobs during a nine-year construction sent us a link to its hiding place. and our independent analysis of a consultant’s period. As well, there could be as many as After we read the report, which had the report done for the Ministry of Energy, Mines 75,000 full-time jobs required once all LNG deceptively simple title Employment Impact and Natural Gas days before Premier Clark plants are in full operation.” Review, Focus filed an FOI for the record of announced the Prosperity Fund in February communications between the Ministry of 2013, suggest that might be the case. Was the report credible? Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Grant The documents suggest that an initiative to Before I tell you exactly what was in those Thornton as they developed the study. The produce reports from independent consul- emails, let me tell you why we were looking report contained many warnings to the reader tants who would validate the potential for for them and how they came into our posses- that it was based entirely on assumptions large revenues and massive job creation from sion. Back in February 2013, all we knew was provided by “the Province and its advi- LNG projects was launched only a month what the Premier said in her speech. For many sors.” We wondered who those “advisors” before Premier Clark announced the Prosperity of us it was the first time we had heard “LNG.” were and whether the Province and its advi- Fund. The initiative appears to have been over- After Clark’s government had delivered its sors had pushed the process toward some seen by Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance election budget, it released two reports—one desired outcome. Doug Foster. Foster outsourced the work to authored by Grant Thornton and the other There was good reason to believe they three private firms and delivered the numbers by Ernst & Young—that purported to vali- had. Grant Thornton had arrived at ques- for Clark’s speech only days before it was date the LNG revenue projections underpinning tionable conclusions in its report. For example, made. Foster appears to have been reporting Clark’s Prosperity Fund. Oddly enough, those it had checked the validity of a key assump- to Neil Sweeney, Deputy Minister, Corporate reports didn’t contain any job creation numbers. tion provided to them by the Province Policy in the Premier’s Office. Throughout the subsequent election and its advisors by comparing it with the The report that provided the numbers was campaign, Clark had repeatedly stressed her Australia Pacific LNG project, which was authored by Grant Thornton LLP, a presti- plan would create “100,000 jobs for BC fami- being built in Queensland. Grant Thornton gious accountancy firm with world-wide lies.” But where did those jobs come from? concluded the assumption was supported

18 March 2014 • FOCUS by the Australian numbers. There were, of creating the report might have been pushed Thornton said the Ministry had provided: however, problems with how they applied to create a 100,000-jobs election platform The information had come entirely from the Australian comparison. rather than function as a careful and reasoned outside of government. In its commentary about the comparison, analysis of the potential for LNG to produce Grant Thornton noted the ratio of direct jobs in BC. If it was the former, had taxpayers Cooking with gas jobs to tonnes of product for BC was only paid for a Liberal campaign expense? If it was Hansen’s emails show that Assistant Deputy “slightly higher” than the Australian case. the latter, why had the jobs report been kept Minister of Finance Doug Foster first contacted “Overall,” they concluded, “the estimates in a drawer during the election? Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young on or are comparable.” about January 11, 2013 to enlist their profes- Actually, the BC ratio is 36 percent higher FOI adventures sional services in developing reports that would than the Australian number. If BC’s significantly We filed that FOI for communications project revenues that might flow to the Province higher number had been adjusted to actually between Ministry employees and Grant from an LNG industry in BC. About a week be “comparable,” 36 percent of the direct jobs Thornton in May of 2013. But the FOI was later, Foster realized employment projections in the assumption would have vanished. assessed a very high fee by the Province, which would also be needed. Another of those key assumptions was that Focus declined to pay. Our efforts to ask for So on Sunday, January 20, Foster emailed a capital expenditure of $98 billion in BC fewer records were thwarted by a Ministry Patti Daum of Grant Thornton’s Vancouver would create the capacity to produce 82 mega- information gatekeeper who said he would office. Grant Thornton describe themselves as tonnes of LNG per year. That, too, seems to help but didn’t. “a leading Canadian accounting and business be unreasonable. So we FOIed instead for records that should advisory firm, providing audit, tax and advi- Australia Pacific is a two-phase, $35 billion have been slam-dunk easy for the Ministry to sory services to private and public organizations.” project expected to eventually produce 16 find: the “Documents and information relied Foster asked Daum, “Is it possible that megatonnes annually. At that ratio of capacity upon” listed in the Grant Thornton report. GT may be able to answer the following?” per dollar of investment, the Province’s Most of the entries on that list had been provided, Foster wanted to know how many direct and assumed $98 billion would only create capacity Grant Thornton said, by “the Province and indirect jobs might be created by “five to seven for 45 megatonnes per year. Yet Grant Thornton its advisors.” It defined “Province” as “the LNG plants/pipeline projects into the future.” had accepted that $98 billion would build Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas.” Fifteen minutes later, Foster fired off another 82 megatonnes of capacity. We were again rebuffed by the Ministry’s email, this time to André Powell, a partner in Australia Pacific’s likely costs, by the way, information gatekeeper, who, this time, refused The Deetken Group, a business consultancy are significantly lower than BC’s would be: to respond to our request. To make a long firm in Vancouver. Deetken describe them- Australia Pacific is building a substantially story short, the Office of the Information and selves as providing “services to a broad range shorter pipeline and will sip on coal seam gas, Privacy Commissioner ordered the gate- of private sector, venture capital and public not shale gas. Coal seam gas doesn’t require keeper—under threat of a $13,000 fine—to sector organizations,” including “energy infra- drilling horizontal wells and fracking, so the release the record. structure and markets.” Foster’s email to Powell wells for Australia Pacific LNG are about one- The package we received in early February said, “You have been copied on my commu- third the cost of wells in northeast BC. 2014 was surprising: It contained none of niques to EY [Ernst & Young] and GT... Can Grant Thornton’s estimation of long-term the “documents and information relied upon” you begin preparing presentations that combine employment is also puzzling. According to an by Grant Thornton. We protested. Then, the work of Deetken and those of EY and GT? extensive study by KPMG of the $35 billion through the mediation of OIPC, the Ministry [I] think (in fact know) we will need these this Australia Pacific project, ongoing operations revealed it had no such information in its week. Also, we will need to incorporate employ- of the LNG plant would employ 325, the custody and control. How could the Ministry ment forecast to the extent that we can get pipeline 20 and the gas fields 520. Extrapolating not have the information Grant Thornton these from third parties too. Can you let me from that example, a $98 billion project in claimed the Ministry provided? know your thoughts?” BC would create 910 long-term operational What the Ministry seemed to have Later that day, Powell emailed Foster: “...with jobs at LNG plants, 56 pipeline jobs, and 1456 provided, however, were the communica- respect to employment, we have estimates of gas field extraction jobs. That’s direct, long- tions we originally requested last May: emails direct labour (mostly from proponents) and term employment. between high-level employees of the Province, have developed estimates of indirect and If the pertinent BC Stats Input/Output Model their “advisors,” and employees of Grant induced [jobs] using [input/output] multipliers. multipliers are applied to these long-term Thornton. Fifteen pages of the records were This analysis might be a good start and accel- employment figures, the total number of long- fully severed on the claim of “cabinet confi- erator for EY and/or GT’s work. Happy to term jobs—direct, indirect and induced—rises dences.” The emails were copied from the package this for them.” to 21,000. files of Brian Hansen when he was Assistant On January 23, following conference calls It’s difficult to see how Grant Thornton Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines and (referred to in the emails) involving Foster, arrived at the conclusion $98 billion would Natural Gas. (Hansen is now Assistant Deputy Powell and Grant Thornton employees, Doug bring 75,000 long-term full-time jobs to Minister and Lead Negotiator, LNG Task Bastin, a partner in Grant Thornton’s Vancouver the province. Force, Ministry of Natural Gas Development). office, emailed Powell an eight-point list of It seemed possible, then, after analyzing the Hansen’s email record explains why his information he wanted, which included LNG Grant Thornton study last May, that the process Ministry didn’t have the information Grant plant sizes and capacities, production volume www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 19 estimates, development costs, project timing, Sweeney emailed Foster and Hansen and asked: aggregated information from proponents to and direct, indirect and induced employment “Guys, can we get the actual drafts from GT be given a more opaque attribution is that estimates. Note that Bastin asked Deetken and the other folks?” no specific information from individual propo- for this fundamental information; he didn’t Foster emailed back: “Neil, the drafts are nents was included. Fair enough. But how ask Foster or Hansen. But Bastin did copy in various stages and continue to evolve due could the public interest be served in this his request to both Hansen and Foster. to:” and then Foster listed three issues that taxpayer-funded exercise without trans- Later that day Powell emailed Bastin: “We were causing delays, including: “Reviews by parency and accountability? Asking Encana, are currently pulling this data together and them [presumably “them” refers to GT and for example, for objective information about will get it to you by end of today.” E&Y] to ensure that details are removed to how many drilling jobs an LNG industry On January 26 Powell emailed Hansen with protect proponent information sources...” would create is like asking Goldman Sachs an update, noting: “With respect to employ- whether reducing regulation of investment ment, we had a call yesterday and we have Who provided what to whom? banking would be good for the economy. provided additional details; also BC Stats are Focus emailed Deetken’s André Powell, By disguising the source of the information, helping them; GT said they will shoot for Grant Thornton’s Doug Bastin, and the the exercise became political. Friday [February 1] next week for results.” Province’s Doug Foster questions about how And, as mentioned earlier, the numbers Late on February 4, Powell, after consid- the Grant Thornton reports were developed. seem to have been manipulated, or fudged as ering Grant Thornton’s draft report, emailed Neither Bastin or Foster responded to emails. British Columbians prefer to put it. Doug Foster four suggestions, copied to I asked Powell why he had suggested Grant Thornton, Deetken and Foster seem Hansen. Powell’s suggestions included: “We removing any reference to “proponent” infor- to have created, intentionally or not, a should remove all reference to ‘proponent’ mation from the final reports and instead “fudge-it budget” for LNG. information, this should be described as data suggested attributing all information to “the For whose benefit were such arithmetical provided by the Province and its advisors Province and its advisers developed from indiscretions performed? Well it wasn’t for developed from industry benchmarks and industry benchmarks and other sources”. Adrian Dix’s sake. other sources.” Powell added that removing Powell said, “[T]he proponents did not all reference to proponent “should also apply provide information to GT and EY. To state Is fudging the numbers political activity? to E&Y’s final report.” otherwise in the final report would have You might recall the scandal the Liberals If any of Foster, Hansen or Bastin raised been inaccurate and I therefore provided a were embroiled in just before the last elec- any objections to this apparent switch in the corrected description for inclusion in the tion involving public service employees doing attribution of the source of some of the infor- final document.” partisan work on the job. The Deputy Minister mation Grant Thornton was using, it does not Powell added,“In providing information to the Premier John Dyble wrote a report appear in the records Hansen provided. In the and assumptions to the consultants (GT and about that affair in which he said the public final report, as mentioned above, Grant EY), Deetken considered a variety of sources. service oath “expressly includes the Standards Thornton credited assumptions and informa- This included aggregated information from of Conduct, and requires public servants to tion to “the Province and its advisors.” proponents, industry benchmarks and other conduct themselves in a manner that main- Late on February 4, just 8 days before Premier research and analytics.” tains and enhances the public’s trust and Clark announced the Prosperity Fund, Hansen Powell explained that “Deetken used aggre- confidence in the public service.” emailed Powell: “On the jobs and revenue and gated information collected on the Province’s The BC Standards of Conduct state, the GT and E&Y work, are we close to being behalf to assist it in evaluating other informa- “Employees must not engage in political activ- [ready] to advance some validated metrics? I tion it had already compiled as to reasonableness ities during working hours or use government ask as there is a meeting tomorrow with folks before passing specific assumptions to the facilities, equipment, or resources in support from the centre around these metrics and I consultants. The consultants [Grant Thornton of these activities.” assume Doug [believed to be a reference to and Ernst & Young] themselves were also free If a public service employee oversees devel- GT’s Doug Bastin] is close to finished.” to accept or adjust such received information opment of a study, and if that study misrepresents Early the next day Powell replied to Hansen: based on their own analysis and research of the facts about the employment potential “The GT labour market work is almost ready, industry information.” arising from LNG development in the province, we are on a call with them this morning to Powell confirmed that “Deetken was not and that misrepresentation then becomes the make some changes/updates to their work. EY under contract with any LNG proponents political position of the governing party seven is not intending to provide labour market fore- or developers at the time the report was days later—and the key component of their casts. For your meeting this [morning], I would developed.” election campaign—was that employee engaging go with the GT numbers as provisional/work With the “Province” claiming it had none in political activity during working hours? in progress.” Powell then listed numbers which of the information Grant Thornton said it had, Did he conduct himself in a way “that main- are virtually identical to estimated LNG employ- Deetken seems to be the sole source of infor- tains and enhances the public’s trust and ment figures presented in Clark’s Speech from mation used by Grant Thornton, aside from confidence in the public service”? the Throne on February 12, and in the 2013- their consideration of the Australia Pacific This is a question that Premier Clark needs 2014 BC Budget. project. Deetken’s information, then, provided to answer, or democracy will continue to wither Early on February 6, with less than a week the fundamental basis for Clark’s Prosperity in BC. before Clark would announce the Prosperity Fund and her successful election campaign. Fund, Deputy Minister to the Premier Neil Powell’s explanation of why he wanted David Broadland is the publisher of Focus Magazine.

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The economics and ethics of trophy hunting JUDITH LAVOIE Studies call into question BC Liberals’ plans to expand bear hunting.

he magic of watching black bears adversely affect his—and government— overturning rocks and scooping up revenues. Markel can’t keep up with the Tcrabs on a Tofino beach, the once- demand for trips now, but an incident near in-a-lifetime excitement of seeing a Spirit Bella Coola last May left tourists shaken. “It Bear near Klemtu or witnessing the awe- was a horrible situation. People used the area inspiring power of grizzlies feeding on for bear viewing and so the bears got used salmon in the Great Bear Rainforest are to it and then some random guy with a rifle vignettes of BC that both tourists and resi- turned up and a bear was killed,” he said. dents carry close to their hearts. The Guide Outfitters Association of BC, So it is not surprising that a study by the however, states: “Guide outfitting and wildlife Center for Responsible Travel at Stanford viewing have co-existed for two decades University in Washington concludes that live and can continue to do so…It is important bears are worth more in cold, hard cash than we separate the emotion from the science.” dead bears. Not surprising, that is, to anyone But the science is not settled and there is except BC’s provincial government. long-standing controversy over the accu- Instead of boosting the profitable busi- racy of population estimates and veracity ness of bear viewing, the government is of kill numbers. looking at extending the length of the spring Grizzly bears are listed federally as a species black bear hunt and is re-opening the grizzly of special concern. Yet in BC, between 2001 hunt in three areas of the Kootenays and and 2011, out of an estimated population one in the Cariboo—all formerly closed of 15,000 bears, more than 3500 animals because of over-hunting. were killed, including 1200 females, according Another indication of where provincial sympathies lie came during to a Raincoast Conservation Foundation study. More than 2800 of the first week of the spring sitting of the Legislature, when government those animals, including 900 females, were killed by trophy hunters. introduced changes to the Wildlife Act—changes that will allow corpo- Others were killed by poachers, accidents or conservation officers. rations, not just individuals, to hold guide outfitting areas, making it A Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations easier for a group of people to jointly purchase territories and reducing spokesman said in an email that the decision to re-open hunts is based liability for individual owners. Assistant guides will no longer have to on the best available science and is focused on areas where increasing be licensed, allowing guide outfitters more flexibility during peak grizzly populations can sustain a conservative hunt. A recent peer- periods, something the industry says will reduce red tape. reviewed study, co-authored by two provincial wildlife biologists, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve re-affirmed that grizzly populations are being sustainably managed. Thomson said in the Legislature, “Proposed amendments to the Wildlife But Raincoast Conservation senior scientist Paul Paquet scoffs at Act will help provide the guide outfitting industry, an industry that such claims. “Regional kill rates for sub-populations that are being generates $116 million in economic activity each year, with additional hunted are much higher and not sustainable,” said Paquet, who co- business certainty.” authored a paper showing that, over the last decade, kills frequently What he didn’t note is that bear viewing is far more lucrative for BC. exceeded targets. In 2012, the Center for Responsible Travel found that bear viewing in As for black bears, the province estimates there are 120,000 to the Great Bear Rainforest generated 12 times more in visitor spending 160,000 black bears in BC and the harvest in 2012 was 3876—a number than bear hunting and 11 times more in direct revenue for the BC based on a sample survey of hunters—which is well below the sustain- government than bear hunting by guide outfitters—$7.3 million for ability level, said the ministry spokesman. bear viewing and $660,500 for non-resident and resident hunting Raincoast Conservation executive director Chris Genovali ques- combined. As for jobs, bear-viewing companies in the Great Bear are tions the numbers and said kill numbers could be much higher. “They estimated to seasonally employ 510 people while guide outfitters shouldn’t be considering extending the season when they have no reli- generate only 11 jobs. able or accurate estimate of the number of black bears in BC. That’s Despite such statistics and a growing antipathy to allowing well- disturbing,” he said. heeled hunters to slaughter top predators for the sake of a rug on the NDP environment critic Spencer Chandra Herbert is also uncom- floor or head on the wall (a 2013 poll found 88 per cent of BC resi- fortable with government numbers. “Government does not have the dents opposed trophy hunting, up from 73 per cent in 2008), the evidence to back up what it’s doing because it has cut about 25 percent government seems determined to expand the hunt. of the folks who would be out counting bears, looking at habitat issues, Russ Markel of Outer Shores Expeditions, a company that takes and enforcing poaching laws,” he said. But Chandra Herbert stopped tourists to wild areas of BC’s coast on a wooden schooner, feels trophy short of committing the NDP to ending the trophy hunt. “We would hunting adversely affects bear tourism, so expanding hunting could actually do the science,” he said.

22 March 2014 • FOCUS THE CENTER for Responsible Travel has found that DISCOVERY ISLANDS LODGE bear viewing in the Great Bear Rainforest generates 12 times more in visitor spending than bear hunting.

Growing awareness of the trophy hunt is fuelled by media pictures of slain bears and anyone picking up a hunting magazine is bombarded by images of jubilant hunters trying to make the animal they have just blown out of existence appear lifelike. Barb Murray of Bears Matter, a group spearheading a petition asking the province to end the hunt, said, “We have wealthy people from the US and China coming to BC to kill our biggest and best.” As pressure mounts for a close look at the ethics and rationale of Quadra Island’s Kayak Inn trophy hunting, many question government’s insistence on continuing and expanding the hunt. Is it a leftover from the Liberal’s 2001 deci- Discover affordable backcountry comfort sion to immediately scrap an NDP-imposed moratorium on grizzly hunting or pressure from interest groups? at our truly-green kayaker’s inn near “Given widespread public disapproval for this ethically and Quadra’s best sea kayaking! culturally unacceptable trophy hunt, current provincial management of grizzlies seems to be driven more by bad political science than good • Friendly, oceanfront B&B biological science,” said Genovali. Change may lie in the hands of First Nations. In 2012, Coastal First • Guest kitchen & sauna Nations banned trophy hunting in the territories of nine member • Parks, lakes & hiking trails nations—an area covering most of the Great Bear Rainforest—but the province continues to claim jurisdiction. Heiltsuk tribal councillor Jess Housty hopes the recent economic www.Discovery-Islands-Lodge.com study will bring change. “Last fall we learned the science used to justify the bear hunt is deeply flawed. Now we see the economics are completely backwards,” she said. Coastal First Nations are trying to educate hunters, including approaching them in the field. “If the Coastal First Nations’ Bears Oriental Bar Therapy Forever campaign has taught trophy hunters anything, I hope it’s that 9 out of 10 British Columbians support the Nations on the front “The deepest, most luxurious massage on the planet” line and that their unethical and unsustainable practice of killing bears Ashiatsu - Oriental Bar Therapy is a centuries-old for sport will no longer happen in the shadows,” Housty said. barefoot massage technique using deep compression effleurage The First Nations campaign complements Raincoast Conservation’s strokes that glide over the body. Relying on ceiling bars, skilled effort to buy up guide-outfitting licences, which, so far, has eliminated practitioner Marcelle Welch trophy hunting in about 30,000 square kilometres of the BC coast. uses gravitational force and Another tactic is pressure on other countries. In 2004, after fluid, Swedish style move- intense lobbying from NGOs, the European Union banned importa- ments to provide deep tion of grizzly bear parts and the ban stands today, despite challenges relaxation, the release of by the federal and provincial governments. muscle tension, and increased Meanwhile, Barb Murray of Bears Matter is pinning her hopes on stimulation to the lymphatic local pressure. “The senseless killing of grizzly bears is morally inde- system. This technique is a fensible and has no place in modern wildlife management practices and good choice for those with policies. Killing these magnificent creatures for sport and bragging chronic inflammation or rights does not, in any way, contribute to the conservation of the species Ashiatsu neuromuscular problems. or increased safety for humans,” says the petition going to Premier “The deep, consistent, flowing pressure is exquisite. My posture Christy Clark. has changed, and chronic tension released. With a series of treatments I have reached a state of comfort in my body that Award-winning journalist Judith Lavoie was an environment I have not had for many years.” —D.Christie and First Nations reporter for the Times Colonist for many years. Twitter @LavoieJudith Marcelle Welch Certified & Licenced Therapeutic Bodyworker 250-386-5600 • email: [email protected] www.spiritdevelopment.ca (see Ashiatsu video) www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 23 Creative Coast culture talks 24 the arts in march 26 curtain call 34 palette 36 coastlines 40

Speaking poetry CHRIS CREIGHTON-KELLY The art of moving words around—out loud.

t’s a cool night in Berkeley over 40 years The remarkable Lillian Allen, one of De ago, but I still remember it vividly. Walking Dub Poets, clarified, “I have been reluctant Ion the University of California campus, to commit my poetry to the page over the the smell of a eucalyptus grove, the gentle, years because…these poems are not meant but insistent breeze, the anticipation of to lie still.” The word is alive; it just does not hearing them. live only on paper. It is birthed by utterance. “Them” being The Last Poets, a quartet of Which is probably how poetry was born. African American poets, ready to raise more Before written language, before anyone wrote than a little hell, ready for a revolution in the anything down. Maybe the first poet tried USA. We were in the Greek Theatre, up in to speak her feelings, looking in the face of the cheap seats, on the grass. They hit the her newborn child. Or maybe she was explaining stage, conga drums ready and started to…well in anger the dissatisfactions with her partner. what? Perform their poems. Or the movement of the wind. Or the sounds It turned out, that fresh Pacific evening, in her head. Or perhaps, unabashedly, trying that all those half alive/half dead high school to explain the inexplicable. years of Keat’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn”: It seems that speaking poetry is making a ...a friend to man, to whom thou sayst, comeback in Victoria. I asked Aysia Law, an “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” – that is all articulate and passionate-about-spoken-word Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. poet, about this. She offers, “I agree with ...were not quite complete. There was a lot that. Poetry on the page can be exception- more ye need to know. And that was blowing ally boring. There is so much more that my young, impressionable mind. Their words Aysia Law poetry can do. It can be three-dimensional.” were not just being spoken; they were leaping She declares that young people are drawn off the page. Like jazz—scatting, syncopating, riffing but always to all kinds of spoken word because, “it is like watching a spectacle. solid on the beat. Grandfathers of rap—a music not already It is definitely more accessible, more interactive. When I organized a named as such—extolling Afro-centricity as if there were no other diversity slam a few months ago, the place was packed, overflowing.” vision but theirs: Aysia just recently finished her stint as the first Youth Poet Laureate When the revolution comes for Victoria. How was that? “It was a bit chaotic and disorganized, Some of us will probably catch it on TV, with chicken hanging from our which was to be expected for a pilot project,” she explained, “but it mouths. was an amazing opportunity for me. I never thought that I would You’ll know it’s revolution cause there won’t be no commercials have been considered or chosen, so it was an awesome surprise.” When the revolution comes She organizes and facilitates a weekly writing group (5 to 7pm, The Last Poets were part of the invention of rap, itself a river with Thursdays at Solstice Café) for young, queer writers. Is it a meeting many inbound tributaries. Sound poetry, talking blues, dub, perfor- for writers to discuss queer issues? “Of course, they can if they mance poetry, spoken jazz, scratching, DJ patter improvised over want to…but no, not really. My goal is to create a safe space for queer tunes—to name just a few. All became part of the spoken word move- writers under 25 to discuss and define their writing, whatever it ment of the last 30 or so years. happens to be about.” This movement continues the poetic arc that stretches back centuries But what about poetry on the page? “I take great stock in the written into Western Africa—the tradition of the griot. The griot is a person word. Not every poem can be performed well out loud. When I was of the oral tradition who blends being a poet and a historian; some- young, I told my dad that I wanted to be a writer and he insisted that times a musician and a storyteller. Africa, where all humans ultimately I learn how to type,” she reveals, almost sheepishly. “I enjoy moving have roots, is where, for the first time, the poetic power of the word words around almost like a puzzle. It was quite literally ‘making your was made aurally incarnate. mark’ on the page.” In 2014 it is nearly impossible to imagine that a spoken word artist Aysia concludes, “Still, I feel that I am a visual learner. That is how would not be considered a poet. But in 1984, the Canadian League we all interpret the world around us. I have to see the words as I speak of Poets refused membership to De Dub Poets on the grounds that them out of my mouth.” they were “performers not poets.” I wonder if it had anything to Here she is YouTubing, envisioning the impossible demands made do with them also being black poets/performers. on women’s bodies:

24 March 2014 • FOCUS Holistic dentistry will help you greet Spring with a beautiful smile

POETRY ON THE PAGE can be exceptionally boring. “There is so much more that poetry can do. It can be three-dimensional.” —Aysia Law

...Because we both know That it almost looked good on me once When I bought it three years ago; Because we both know That if I put enough work into it I can turn heads—in a good way; Because we both know That there is no such thing As a fat anorexic. While working on this column, I started to find poetry in unex- pected places. With a deadline approaching, I wanted to include a certain voice, the voice of one of those particularly Victoria-crafted, seasoned writers. With my piece more or less written, I head off to lunch with a colleague. A woman with a bright smile comes up to us saying, “Hey aren’t you the guy who writes...?” Turns out she is a poet! I recognize her but cannot recall her name. We smile, exchanging art-type pleasantries for a few minutes. But it is cold and we want our hot lunches. Later that day, back tapping the keys, I suddenly remember who this poet is—she started the remarkable and enduring Random Acts of Poetry project. She had imagined that poets all across Canada could commit “random acts of poetry” on strangers by reading them WHETHER IT’S A DAZZLING SMILE through cosmetic a poem and then giving them a book. And they did exactly that. treatments like whitening and veneers, or regular dentistry And so I phoned her up, this writer—Wendy Morton—and work, you and your loved ones are sure to appreciate Dr. invited her to make a random act of poetic intervention to end Deanna Geddo’s gift of a healthy, beautiful smile. my column. As a holistic dentist Dr. Geddo’s aesthetic work empha- She laughed. She agreed. She sent this. sizes helping patients regain their youthful, individual smiles Two strangers at the parking kiosk. through bite restoration, veneers, natural-looking dentures, The February sun, the ice air. I speak to them, we laugh, and whitening. turn toward the light. Sensitive patients benefit from her empathy and coaching Just as poetry often does—turn toward the light—and so it makes in relaxation methods; they actually look forward to going the world more luminous. And warmer. to the dentist. Spoken aloud or not. Amalgam removal, metal-free crowns, bridges and dentures, aesthetic work, and regular cleaning (by Dr. Geddo herself) March 4-9, 2014 The Victoria Spoken Word Festival brings together are all offered. more than a dozen spoken word artists from across North America Dr. Geddo believes a visit to the dentist should be a plea- to create and perform innovative and inspiring spoken word. In addi- surable and healing experience. From her comfy waiting room tion to performances by the festival ensemble, the festival features where she serves you herbal tea, through her wise counsel and Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion RC Weslowski, inter- expert hands, to the lavender-scented hot towels at the end national spoken word celebrity Mighty Mike McGee and Poet of of a treatment, she creates just that. Call her today to arrange Honour Barbara Adler. See www.victoriaspokenwordfestival.com. a consultation—or a gift certificate for your loved one. Chris Creighton-Kelly is a Canadian artist and writer who lives in the Victoria area. Along with France Dr. Deanna Geddo, DDS • 389-0669 Trépanier, he is co-author of Understanding Aboriginal 404 - 645 Fort St (across from Bay Centre) Arts in Canada Today. He has just begun writing a www.integrateddentalstudio.ca book on the Canadian art system.

www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 25 theatre Continuing to March 9 March 14,15 PROUD MURDER MYSTERY Belfry Theatre The Berwick/Mary Winspear Centre Award-winning playwright Michael Healey (The Peninsula Players Presents: The Farndale Avenue Drawer Boy) takes on his biggest subject yet: The Right Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Honourable Stephen Harper. His sexy, cheeky and Murder Mystery, a comedy directed By Matt Watson. surprising play will have you rolling in the aisles–regard- Playing at The Berwick in Royal Oak March 7,8 at 7:30, less of your politics. 250-385-6815, [email protected]. and March 9 at 2pm. In Sidney, Mar 14, 15, 7:30pm and March 16 at 2 pm. www.peninsulaplayers.ca or Continuing to March 8 at the door 1 hour prior to curtain. WHAT HAPPENED WAS Theatre Inconnu March 17–30 This is a first-date encounter story like no other, in SPARK FESTIVAL 2014 which two co-workers find unlikely common ground Belfry Theatre in what at times is more of a surrealistic joust than a The Belfry’s festival of new plays and new ideas. date. $14/ $10 sen/stu/unwaged (+surcharge) at 250- This year plays include Halifax’s 2b Theatre’s When it 590-6291, ticketrocket.org. 1923Fernwood Rd, Rains, described as “a live-action existential graphic 250-360-0234, www.theatreinconnu.com. novel” and Terminus, a lyrical rap opera from Toronto’s Outside the March Theatre. See “Curtain Call” on page Feb 27, March 30 & 31, April 11 &12 34 and www.sparkfestival.ca for more info. 250-385- THE DEEP END PRESENTATION SERIES 6815, [email protected]. Metro Studio Intrepid Theatre presents: Feb 27: The Show Must March 18–30 Go On; Mar 30 &31: Gary Has a Date; Apr 11 & 12: THE FLICK Winners and Losers. 8pm. 1411 Quadra St, $15. Roxy Theatre www.intrepidtheatre.com. Blue Bridge Theatre presents ITSAZOO Productions' The Flick. In a run-down movie theatre in central March 1 Massachusetts, three underpaid employees mop the WORDPLAY floors and attend to one of the last 35mm film projec- Intrepid Theatre Club tors in the state. Their tiny battles and not-so-tiny Pick of the Fringe Winner Kerploding Theatre (Best heartbreaks play out in the empty aisles, becoming Family Fringe) is back with three shows! WordPLAY more gripping than the lacklustre second-run movies tells the story of three furry monsters through song, on screen. http://bluebridgetheatre.ca, 250-385-4462. dance and poetry. 11:30, 1:30 & 3:30pm, $10/$7 THE GALLERY under 12. #2, 1609 Blanshard, www.intrepidtheatre.com. March 21 to April 26 JEEVES IN BLOOM AT MATTICK’S FARM March 5–22 Chemainus Theatre THE GRADUATE The peaceful English countryside will never be the Langham Court Theatre same after Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet, The Graduate was the coming of age movie of the Jeeves, pay a visit. The stakes are high as romantic entan- 1960s. Terry Johnson’s adaptation confidently trans- glement, hilarious escapades and begrudging burglary lates the film’s humour and longing to the stage. Directed come together and only Jeeves can save the day! by Judy Treloar. 8pm with matinees Mar 15 & 22 at www.chemainustheatrefestival.ca, 1-800-565-7738. 2pm. 805 Langham Court, www.langhamtheatre.ca or call 250-384-2142. dance

March 12–22 March 14 & 15 WELFAREWELL ROMÉO ET JULIETTE St Luke’s Players Royal Theatre A charming but bittersweet comedy about Esmerelda The world-renowned Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Quipp an 80 year old pensioner by Canadian Playwright Genève, a company of 22 classically trained dancers,

“Wild Irises” (detail), 48 x 30 inches, Kylee Turunen Kylee 48 x 30 inches, (detail), “Wild Irises” Cat Delaney, directed by Michael King. 8pm; matinees: is rarely seen outside Europe. In Shakespeare’s classic Mar 15, 16, 22 & 23 at 2 pm. 250-884-5484 or tale of love and loss, choreographer Joëlle Bouvier has www.stlukesplayers.org. abstracted the Prokofiev score and concentrated on the The Gallery in Bloom story's essential turning points, allowing the medium of March 13–22 dance to speak directly to the audience’s hearts. 7:30pm Original Florals by Kylee Turunen, April Ponsford, UNITY (1918) both evenings. www.rmts.bc.ca or 250-386-6121. Wendy Oppelt, Jennifer McIntyre, Taryn Brown, Phoenix Theatre, UVic Soleil Mannion, Tammie Hunter, Nancyanne Cowell Written & directed by Kevin Kerr, associate professor, March 22–23 Opening Reception Writing Dept, this 2002 Governor General’s Award- THE RITE OF SPRING winning play is a touching, intensely human and darkly UVic Farquhar Auditorium Saturday March 8, 1 - 4pm comic portrayal set in the final few weeks of World War Ballet Victoria presents new classical and contempo- 109-5325 Cordova Bay Road I, with the global Spanish Flu pandemic spreading rary works, plus a world premiere by Canadian choreographer (250) 658-8333 across the country. It has the entire town of Unity, Bruce Monk. Stravinsky's infamous Rite of Spring score www.thegalleryatmatticksfarm.com Saskatchewan, under siege from an invisible enemy, takes on a West-Coast flavour with unexpected, passionate Open 10am - 5:30pm every day more horrifying and deadly than the war. 250-721- and fierce dancing. March 22 at 7:30pm, March 23 at 8000, finearts.uvic.ca/theatre/phoenix/plays. 2pm. www.tickets.uvic.ca, 250-721-8480.

26 March 2014 • FOCUS readings & presentations March 3–8 March 17 UVIC'S IDEAFEST 2014 STORIES AT FERN STREET University of Victoria 1831 Fern St This annual festival of ideas will pique The Victoria Storytellers Guild welcomes curiosity and probe new and emerging you to hear and tell stories. $5 /Stu $3 ideas. Most events are free with no regis- (includes tea/goodies). 250-477-7044 tration. 50 events, from panels, workshops www.victoriastorytellers.org. and exhibits to lectures, performances, screenings and tours. Festival details and March 25 program of events: www.uvic.ca/ideafest. TOWN HALL DIALOGUE COOK STREEY ACTIVITY CENTRE March 4–9 A panel on transparency and account- VIC SPOKEN WORD FESTIVAL ability in local government. 7pm, by Metro Theatre donation. See openvictoria.ca for details. The 4th Annual Victoria Spoken Word Festival brings together more than a March 27 dozen spoken word artists from across FRANCIS RATTENBURY’S YUKON North America to create and perform VENTURE innovative and inspiring spoken word. New Horizons Centre This year's theme is Inside Story. Highlights John Motherwell, a Victoria surveyor include Canadian Individual Poetry Slam and engineer, worked in the Yukon for Champion RC Weslowski, international many years. His recently published book spoken word celebrity Mighty Mike presents an account of Rattenbury’s activity McGee and Poet of Honour Barbara Adler. in the north. 234 Menzies St. 7:30pm. www.victoriaspokenwordfestival.com. www.victoriahistoricalsociety.bc.ca.

March 4 & 18 film MARCH AUTHORS Russell Books March 26 Mar 4: The Nature of the Land panel MY PRAIRIE HOME focuses on places lived in and ruminated Victoria Event Centre on by guest authors Julian Hoffman, Open Cinema presents Chelsea Maleea Acker, and John Schreiber. Mar McMullan's documentary-musical. Indie 18: The Way of the Camino de Santiago: singer Rae Spoon takes us on a playful, Everything You Need to Know about meditative and at times melancholic Surviving the Camino. 734 Fort St. 7:30pm, journey, set against majestic images of 250-361-4447 www.russellbooks.com. the infinite expanses of the Canadian Prairies. Interviews, performances and March 6 music sequences reveal Spoon's inspiring TAMAS DOBOZY process of building a life of their own, as Open Space a trans person and as a musician. 7pm, In partnership with the UVic’s Dept of 1415 Broad St, www.opencinema.ca. Writing, Open Space hosts Tamas Dobozy at Open Word: Readings and Ideas. He Mondays in March will read from his recent book of short MOVIE MONDAY stories, Siege 13. Set both in Budapest Eric Martin Pavilion before and after the siege, and in the Screenings at 6:30pm Mondays, present day–in Canada, the US, and parts including March 3: Marion Bridge; March of Europe–Siege 13 traces the ripple effect 6: William Kureluk’s The Maze; March of this time on characters and their adop- 10: Asian Canadian short films. Fort St tive countries. Followed by an interview by Lee Ave, by donation. Further listings by local writer Lorna Jackson. 7:30pm, and info: www.moviemonday.ca. by donation. Dobozy will also read at 8:30am, UVic, Human and Social Through March Development Building, Room A240. NIGHTLY FILMS The Vic Theatre March 5, 8, 9 To March 6: Inside Llewyn Davis. COLOUR + SOUND EVENTS Nominated for 69 awards, and winner Templed Mind of the Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes Kelly Parsons, a medievalist, Buddhist Film Festival 2013 and Best and poet, died before completing her Breakthrough Performance for Oscar meditations on the paintings of Carle Isaac. With his guitar and little else, Hessay. This book launch (7pm, Mar 5) Llewyn Davis struggles to make it as celebrates her life with readings from a musician in an unforgiving winter local poets, art display and music. On against internal and external obsta- March 8 & 9, more at 2pm. 2006 Fernwood cles. 7pm, 808 Douglas St. Check Rd. Facebook.com/templedmind. www.thevic.ca for further listings. www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 27 “ROMANCE” MICHAEL ROZENVAIN, 24 X 48 INCHES, MIXED MEDIA ON CANVAS March 29–April 10 MICHAEL ROZENVAIN West End Gallery The vitality of Michael Rozenvain’s paintings mean his scenes stay in our minds’ eye long after we have left them behind. Cobbled streets, busy cafés and lively musicians fill each canvas with the warmth of treasured memories. Rozenvain was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and it was there that he attended art school and later continued his studies at Lvov Academy of Applied Art. Whether it’s his Mediterranean street scenes, cafe orchestras or intimate date settings, his works fill the canvas with subconscious as well as conscious memories. 1203 Broad St, 250-388-0009, www.westendgalleryltd.com.

“BOATS AT OAK BAY MARINA” PETER DOWGAILENKO, 16 X 20 INCHES, OIL ON PANEL UNTITLED, TOBIAS LUTTMER, 18.5 INCHES HIGH, BLACK WALNUT, STAINLESS STEEL March 10–April 5 Throughout March PETER DOWGAILENKO + LINDY MICHIE TOBIAS LUTTMER Eclectic Gallery The Avenue Gallery Peter Dowgailenko, an Oak Bay artist and active member of the Canadian Federation Sculptor Tobias Luttmer says of his work: “The seemingly endless ability to of Artists’ Victoria branch, exhibits oil paintings of familiar scenes from around our add and remove stainless steel, the beauty of that moment when the metal is community. His depictions of Victoria’s shoreline, meadows, boats, waterways and about to flow, to add, push or let gravity work on the puddle allows me to express Oak Bay’s tree-lined streets show he is a master of light and shadow, with the ability such intricate shapes and textures. The potential of this moment is infinite and to see beauty in the nature around us. Lindy Michie’s style is very different in format. wonderfully matched by the sheer physicality of carving. To start with a tree and She creates abstract landscapes, and quirky floral still-life paintings. Her work (see remove everything from chunks with my chainsaw to dust on sandpaper and story on page 36) makes a dynamic counterpoint to Peter’s contemplative work. find my vision at the end is very exciting. Using these two vastly different processes Reception with artists on March 13, 6-8pm. 2170 Oak Bay Ave, 250-590-8095, to realize a piece of sculpture is a completion and a beginning at the same www.eclecticgallery.ca. time.” 2184 Oak Bay Ave. 250-598-2184, www.theavenuegallery.com.

“ATLAS” MADELEINE WOOD, 16 X 49 INCHES, OIL March 15–29 MADELEINE WOOD: GROWTH PATTERNS Madrona Gallery Madeleine Wood has built this collection of recent work based on explorations of the arbutus tree and plant life indige- nous to this region. Through her masterful use of rich, vibrant colours, her warm and intimate canvases invite the viewer directly into an abstraction of nature. She captures sharp, exquisite and dramatic details and patterns often over- looked with underlying themes of renewal and growth. Madeleine Wood studied Fine Arts at Emily Carr Institute of Art and earned a Masters in Fine Arts from Concordia University in 1996. 606 View St. 250-380-4660, www.madronagallery.com.

28 March 2014 • FOCUS “Cerne Abbas” Lindy Michie, 16 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 inches, Lindy Michie, Abbas” “Cerne Peter Dowgailenko + Lindy Michie March 10 – April 5 Reception: Thursday March 13, 6-8pm eclectic gallery 2170 Oak Bay Avenue 250.590.8095 • www.eclecticgallery.ca

nancy ruhl

Madrona Gallery, Victoria at Blighty’s” by Nancy Ruhl, 48 x 36 inches, acrylic on canvas “Twilight www.nancyruhl.ca www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 29 Fitness you can music Continuing to March 8 March 6-9 ACTUALLY DO! 2 SPECTACULAR WEEKS OF JAZZ PACIFIC BAROQUE FESTIVAL Hermann's Jazz Club Alix Goolden Hall/Christ Church Cathedral In honour of Hermann's 33rd anniversary the line- Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Festival will up includes musical acts that have been part of Hermann's explore the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, feature history for the last 3 decades, including Dixieland four days of enlightening performances by renowned Express, Sarah Rae “Take It Easy” EP release, Tom Vickery baroque musicians: Canadian soprano Shannon Trio & Jazz Jam Live Recording, David Vest, Kim Pacheco, Mercer, Victoria-raised Tyler Duncan (baritone), organ virtuoso Edoardo Bellotti, Soile Stratkauskas (baroque For Nordic Pole Walking CanUS, Mark Berube & the Patriotic Few, Island Big Band, Olivier Clements “Dissonant Histories” album flute), Festival Artistic Director Marc Destrubé (violin), Poles & Instruction call: Pacific Baroque Orchestra and the internationally- Nordixx Canada Master Instructor release, Cory Weeds Quartet, Sean Drabitt Quintet. & Olympian Linda Schaumleffel www.hermannsjazz.com. acclaimed Victoria Children’s Choir. For concert info, including locations, times and ticket prices: [email protected] www.pacbaroque.com. www.nordicpolewalkingvictoria.ca Continuing to June 2014 AUDIOSPACE 10: NOT ALL THERE March 7, 8, 9 Open Space LE VENT DU NORD & VIC SYMPHONY To celebrate its tenth year, Audiospace 10 is leaping Royal Theatre out of the digital and into the physical. Audiospace 10 Juno-award winning Quebecois folk quartet Le Vent is a new single-serving exhibition space dedicated to du Nord pair with conductor Giuseppe Pietraroia and sound located at Open Space Art Society’s exhibition the Victoria Symphony for the first time. Le Vent du Nord space. Audiospace 10: Not All There is curated by Paul is led by Nicolas Boulerice (vocals, hurdy-gurdy, piano, Walde. Our second presentation is Dave Dyment's Piano piano-accordion), Simon Beaudry (vocals, guitar, Tacet, a found poem comprised of the non-dialogue bouzouki), Olivier Demers (violin, foot tapping, mandolin, sounds from Jane Campion's 1993 film The Piano, vocals) and Réjean Brunet (button accordion/jaw which tells the story of a mute pianist in mid-19th harp/acoustic bass, piano, vocals). Mar 7 & 8, 8pm; century New Zealand. The work consists of closed Mar 9 at 2pm. 250-385-6515, www.victoriasymphony.ca. captions for the hearing impaired, with the piano sounds removed, read by the artist. 510 Fort St. By donation. March 8 www.openspace.ca. GREATER VICTORIA CONCERT BAND First Metropolitan United Church March 1 With special guests Brasstastic Brass. Each group FACULTY CONCERT SERIES WITH MAY LING will perform a variety of works and then unite to present KWOK, SOLO PIANO Shadowcatcher: A Concerto for Brass Quintet and Wind Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, UVic Ensemble by Eric Ewazen, inspired by the photography Acclaimed for her musicality and sensitivity, Canadian of Edward Curtis, an American photographer who trav- pianist May Ling Kwok is a faculty member at both elled throughout the American West during the early UVic’s School of Music and the Victoria Conservatory 20th century. 7:30pm, 932 Balmoral Rd, by donation. of Music. Active as a soloist and chamber musician, Kwok has performed and given master classes in North March 9 America, Europe, China, South East Asia and Russia. On AVENTA ENSEMBLE: STRANGE NEWS March 1, this UVic music school alumna will present a Phillip T. Young Hall, UVic solo concert of works by Brahms, Chopin, and Liszt. Strange News tells the story behind the news–about 8pm. 250-721-8480 or tickets.uvic.ca and at the door. youths drawn into militias and gangs, about the asso- ciated violence and terror, about forces breaking down March 1 the ability to feel, and finally the path to healing and COOKEILIDH—A BLARNEY KISS empathy. Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin, Director Becoming Intimate with the Earth Fairfield United Church Josse De Pauw and Ugandan actor Arthur Kisenyi with author Pauline Le Bel This concert of Celtic & Irish music will include special join Aventa in the presentation of this work, which Date: Saturday, April 5 guests, the O’Connor O’Brien Irish Dancers. Don’t forget features video, live electronics, surround sound, and local media. Seen here prior to performances in Ottawa to be wearin’ your green! 7:30pm, 1303 Fairfield Rd. Time: 9:30 – 3:30 and NY. 8pm, MacLaurin Bldg, UVic, www.aventa.ca. Cost: $60. Please bring your lunch $17.50; www.rmts.bc.ca or 250-386-6121. (refreshments provided) March 15 Location: 5575 W Saanich Rd. Please contact us March 2 CONCERT: ANDREA YOUNG if you would like to car pool. STUDENT RECITAL, ORGAN & PIANO Open Space Alix Goolden Hall Composer/performer Andrea Young will premiere Coming Home to Love On the 104-year-old Casavant organ Irwin Henderson Through the Window and the Wood by Victoria with Margaret MacIntyre will play music spanning four centuries, including works composer Daniel Brandes with text by poet Benjamin Date: 4 Tuesdays, April 8 – 29 by Buxtehude, J.S.Bach, and César Franck; pianist David Brandes. Throughout this hyper-minimal and trans- Time: 10am – 12pm Watson will play movements from concertos by Mozart parent work for voice and live electronics, audience Cost: $75 or $20 drop in and Beethoven and a Mozart sonata accompanied by members will be invited to sit or lie down, quietly Location: Friends Meeting House, 1831 Fern Street his teacher Robert Holliston, giving a great chance to wander about the gallery, coming and going as they hear both of the Conservatory’s Steinway concert grand please. The entire performance will last 2hr40min, pianos. Leonard Takoski, a pianist who has just begun after which there will be a short Q&A with Andrea [email protected] organ studies with Nick Fairbank, will also perform. Young, Daniel Brandes, and Benjamin Brandes.1-4pm, 250-220-4601 • www.earthliteracies.org 2pm, 900 Johnson St. Free or by donation. by donation, 510 Fort St. www.openspace.ca.

30 March 2014 • FOCUS music March 14 & 15 March 28 & 29/April 5 & 6 ORPHEE HMS PINAFORE McPherson Playhouse Mary Winspear /McPherson The Boston Early Music Festival comes This comic operetta, presented by to Victoria for the first time as The Early Victoria Gilbert & Sullivan Society, jabs at Music Society of the Islands and Pacific the British class system, parliamentary Opera Victoria present that company’s politics and the rise of unqualified people performance of a double-bill of operas to positions of authority. The production by baroque composer Marc-Antoine is directed by Chris Moss with music direc- Charpentier. Charpentier’s La Descente tion by Tom Mitchell and choreography d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne by Heather-Elayne Day. $42 with discounts de Fleurs, originally presented for the for seniors, students & children. March Countess de Guise in 1687, will be semi- 28 & 29, 8pm; matinée March 30 at 2pm staged and performed in a period style at Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney, 250- by one of this leading baroque music 656-0275 or www.marywinspear.ca; ensemble. Paul O'Dette and Stephen April 5, 8pm with matinée April 6 at 2pm Stubbs, reigning authorities on early at McPherson Playhouse, 250-386-6121 music, lead the internationally acclaimed or www.rmts.bc.ca. singers, instrumentalists, and dancers of the Boston Early Music Festival. 8pm, March 30 $65 to $85 at www.rmts.bc.ca. NANA MOUSKOURI UVic Farquhar Auditorium March 22 & 23 Internationally acclaimed singer and CHOOI BROS PLAY BACH humanitarian Nana Mouskouri has sold Royal Theatre over 200 million records and is one of These rising local stars (and brothers) the best-selling and most-loved recording are featured alone and together in three artists worldwide. 8pm, $69.50+; UVic violin masterpieces. Timothy Vernon Ticket Centre conducts the orchestra in Ravel’s delightful Mother Goose Suite; the evening concludes with Schubert’s Symphony No. 4 Tragic. $35+, www.rmts.bc.ca, 250-386-6121.

March 23 THE FLUTE Open Space Nana Mouskouri Ever wanted to know what a jet whistle has in common with the flute? Or how to execute a tongue ram? Virtuoso flautist Mark McGregor will demonstrate some Sunday nights in March & April of the stranger sounds the flute has ever FOLK MUSIC CONCERTS made through technical demonstrations Norway House and examples from flute repertoire. 2:30pm, Mar 2: Dan Frechett & Laurel Thomsen; 510 Fort St, $5. www.openspace.ca. Mar 9: Anjopa; Mar 16: Black Angus; Mar 23: Aaron Murray Project; Mar 30: March 28 Linda McRae. $5/ under 16 free, doors and sign-up for Open Stage at 7pm, 1110 ONE WORLD Hillside Ave, www.victoriafolkmusic.ca, Royal Theatre 250-475-1355. Pearson College's annual celebration of One World—with 160 students from Wed Lunchtime Concerts 80 different countries, including every MUSIC FOR A SACRED SEASON province and territory in Canada. St Mary's Anglican Church www.rmts.bc.ca or 250-386-6121. Mar 12: University Strings; Mar 19: Organ Concert with Curt Bergen and March 30, April 27 Guests; Mar 26: Strings & Piano; Apr 2: JAZZ AT THE GALLERY 2014 Ensemble Laude–choral, directed by Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Elizabeth MacIsaac; Apr 9: Jamshed with The U-JAM Society, in conjunction with Kariatis Dancers–Balkan Folk Music directed The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria presents: by Tony Booker; Apr 16: St. Mary's Mar 30: chanteuse Miranda Sage, joined Singers–choral: Pergolesi Stabat Mater, on piano by Phil Dwyer; Apr 27: west directed by Catherine Young with Warren coast jazz greats Oliver Gannon and Ian Steck, organ. 12:10-12:50pm, 1701 MacDougall. 2Pm, 1040 Moss St. $25 Elgin Rd. By donation to benefit Alzheimer's Art Gallery & U-JAM members; $10 stu; Assoc of BC. Bring lunch; coffee & tea at Gallery or 250-384-4171 ext 1. provided. 250-598-2212. www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 31 visual arts Continuing to March 5 Continuing to April 28 REFRACTIONS: MUD, CAROLE SABISTON BRUSH AND NEEDLES Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Arts Centre at Cedar Hill “Everything Below All of the Above,” Cathy Miller, Eileen McGann, and Louis guest curated by Patricia Bovey, is a retro- Parson. 3220 Cedar Hill Rd, 250-475- spective exhibition speaking to the various 7123, www.cacgv.ca. perspectives from which the artist sees the world, underlining the simultaneous Continuing to March 8 connections and contrasts present in FALLEN AND FOUND all of her production. A generously illus- Deluge Contemporary Art trated catalogue is available.1040 Moss Daniel Laskarin returns to his preoccu- St, 250-384-4171, www.aggv.ca. pation with the role of the sculptor as matterist–or as artist Carl Andre articu- Continuing to May 19 lated, “to deal with the varieties of matter WINTER IS AN ETCHING in the way that a good painter deals with Art Gallery of Greater Victoria varieties of colour.” Open Wed-Sat, 12- Bringing together the work of 5pm, 636 Yates St, 250-383-3327, Rembrandt, his contemporaries and some www.deluge.ws. of his printmaking heirs. 1040 Moss St, 250-384-4171, www.aggv.ca. Continuing to March 14 “Aglaia” Madeleine Wood, 60 x 36 inches, oil on canvas 60 x 36 inches, Wood, Madeleine “Aglaia” ROBERT DAVIDSON February 28–March 26 Alcheringa Gallery A WATERCOLOUR TRIO Renowned Haida artist Robert Davidson Goward House has made more innovations to silkscreen Art show and sale by Joe Girard, Anne Madeleine Wood ~ Growth Patterns printing than any other NW Coast Artist. Millar and Pat Routh. Reception Mar 2, March 15 - 29 This serigraph retrospective spans 1969- 1:30-3:30pm. 2495 Arbutus Rd. 250- 2000. 665 Fort St, 250-383-8224, 477-4401; www.gowardhouse.com. Opening reception March 15, 1 - 4pm www.alcheringa-gallery.com. March 1–27 606 View Street • 250.380.4660 • www.madronagallery.com Continuing to March 30 WILL GORDON CROSSING TERRAIN Martin Batchelor Gallery Art Gallery of Greater Victoria New paintings and assemblage with A collaboration with MediaNet, co- found objects presented by Will Gordon. curated by Catlin Lewis and Michelle Opening reception Mar 1, 7-9pm. 712 artopenings.ca Jacques. 1040 Moss St, 250-384-4171, Cormorant St. 250-385-7919; www.mart- tell your story to the world www.aggv.ca. inbatchelorgallery.ca. Continuing to April 6 March 7–April 12 Kate Cino with HONOURING PATRONAGE GIFTS FROM OUR ANCESTORS Eva Campbell’s painting Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Open Space “Listening and Seeing: Recent Asian art acquisitions, curated As part of the Indigenous Youth Artist Filmmaker Kemi Craig” by Barry Till. 1040 Moss St, 250-384- Showcase, a mentorship program for 4171, www.aggv.ca. youth participants (ages 17–24) working with Indigenous artist mentors, elders, Continuing to April 6 and senior artists. 510 Fort St. 250-383- WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER 8833, www.openspace.ca. OF THE YEAR Royal BC Museum March 7–24 This visually striking exhibit from the REFRACTIVE ANAMNESIS Natural History Museum, London, show- Slide Room Gallery cases the world’s best wildlife and nature A group exhibition of performance images. 675 Bellville St, 250-356-7226, and video artists curated by Laura Gildner. www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Artists include: Sky Fairchild-Waller, Sarah Jay, Brandy Leigh, Leslie Wiegand Love, Continuing to April 25 d bradley muir and Blair Taylor. Opening ADASL reception Mar 7, 7:30pm. 2549 Quadra Legacy Art Gallery Downtown St (lower level of VISA). 250-380-3500. Showcasing the world’s largest button blanket. In collaboration with traditional March 8–April 26 button blanket makers, including Tahltan CAROLE SABISTON Kate Cino promotes creative people & places artist Peter Morin and undergraduate Winchester Modern with visually dynamic web content and design students, the blanket was created at First This exhibition of new works coincides Peoples House at UVic. 630 Yates St. with the public exhibition at the AGGV. 250 598-4009 [email protected] Wed-Sat 10am-4pm, 250-721-6562, 758 Humboldt St. 250-386-2773; 250- www.legacy.uvic.ca. 382-7750; www.winchestergalleriesltd.com.

32 March 2014 • FOCUS visual arts March 8–29 March 17–April 12 HERBERT SIEBNER: LESSLIE / DYLAN THOMAS A 60-YEAR LEGACY Alcheringa Gallery Winchester Modern New works by Coast Salish artists Opening Mar 8, 2-4pm. Angela Nielsen, lessLIE and Dylan Thomas that were last daughter of Herbert Siebner, will be in seen at the ground-breaking exhibition attendance. 758 Humboldt St. 250-386- at the AGGV: Urban Thunderbirds. Also 2773, www.winchestergalleriesltd.com. featured will be works by Robert Davidson, Susan Point, Rick Rivet, Mark Preston, March 11–29 John Marston and Teddy Balangu.The WILL MILLAR: SCENES FROM MY gallery feels privileged to announce the IRISH ROVINGS availability of the limited Remarque and Winchester Galleries, Oak Bay Artist Proof editions of lessLIE’s serigraph Opening Mar 15, 1-5pm. Will Millar prints “Cultural Conundrum” and “Whole will be in attendance. 2260 Oak Bay Ave. W(((h)))orl(((d)))”. 665 Fort St, 250-383- www.winchestergalleriesltd.com, 250- 8224, www.alcheringa-gallery.com. 595-2777. March 19 March 13–27 ARTIST TALK COHERENT CHAOS Slide Room Gallery Polychrome Fine Art Jordan Strom, curator of Surrey Art Donna Eichel solo exhibition of paint- Gallery, will talk about his curatorial prac- ings. Opening March 13, 7-9pm. 977-A tice. Helpful for any artist wanting to show in a public gallery. 7:30, 2549 Quadra St Fort St. www.polychromefinearts.com, (lower level of VISA). Free. 250-380-3500. 250-382-2787.

March 29–May 1 48 x inches, oil on canvas Lemons” Karen Rieger, “White Blooms With March 12–23 WENDY SKOG: NUANCE JURIED SPRING EXHIBITION Martin Batchelor Gallery Introducing KAREN RIEGER Coast Collective Art Centre A collection of new abstract paintings The Federation of Canadian Artists on canvas and prints on aluminum. 2184 OAK BAY AVENUE VICTORIA Victoria Chapter presents their annual Opening Mar 29, 7-9pm. 712 Cormorant www.theavenuegallery.com 250-598-2184 spring show and sale featuring the best St. www.martinbatchelorgallery.ca, 250- works of 30-40 of the region's top artists. 385-7919. 3221 Heatherbell Rd; www.victoriafca.com; www.coastcollective.ca. Throughout March THE GALLERY IN BLOOM March 18–23 Gallery at Mattick’s Farm WEST END GALLERY VICTORIA SKETCH CLUB Artists include, Wendy Oppelt, Jennifer Glenlyon-Norfolk School McIntyre, Soleil Mannion, April Ponsford, More than 100 original oil and acrylic Taryn Brown, Kylee Turunen. Reception paintings will be on view. Wed-Sat 10am- March 8, 1-4pm, artists in attendance. 7pm; Sun 10am-4pm. 1701 Beach Dr. www.thegalleryatmatticksfarm.com, www.victoriasketchclub.ca. 250-658-8333.

NORMAN YATES: 1923-2014 The recipient of numerous awards during his long and creative life, Norman Yates, age 91, passed away in February. Norman was a radar technician in World War II, a Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta for 33 years, and, after moving to Victoria in 1987, continued as one of Canada’s most respected artists until his unex- pected and sudden passing. His paintings continue to radiate the passion for life that he brought to all of us. “Landspace 199” Norman Yates (2006) 36 x 78 inches “Lamplight” Michael Rozenvain, 36 x 36 inches, mixed media on canvas 36 x inches, Michael Rozenvain, “Lamplight”

Michael Rozenvain Premier Victoria Exhibition March 29 – April 10, 2014 Gallery Hours: Mon - Fri 10 - 5:30, Sat 10 - 5, Sun 11 - 4 1203 Broad Street • 250-388-0009 • www.westendgalleryltd.com www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 33 curtain call

A stop along the way MONICA PRENDERGAST Touring productions enrich and enliven the local theatre scene this month.

performed by the Boston ensemble with period orchestration including viola de gamba and harpsichord—will be sure to add this event to their calendars. The fifth out-of-town production arriving here in March is actually here-in-town just as much; that is, commissioned by our own Blue Bridge. Now firmly based in Vancouver, ITSAZOO Theatre began in Victoria as a UVic theatre student company, co-founded by Chelsea Haberlin, Sebastian Archibald and Colby Wilson in 2004. A number of Pacific Opera Victoria and Early Music Society of the Islands host Orphée March 14 and 15 ITSAZOO shows were successful in Victoria, including their site-specific comedies at Mount ur local theatre artists give us substan- Alexandra Theatre. In that imposingly large Douglas Park, (Grimm Tales, The Road to tial seasons to enjoy all year round. Toronto space, Terminus was performed with Canterbury). They have also presented orig- OI am grateful for this, but I must admit all audience members sitting on stage along inal plays, often written by Archibald, an that I also look forward to what the touring with the actors, an unusual approach that intelligent young playwright. Having recently circuit brings to Victoria. Travelling produc- was well received. The play itself is chal- completed her MFA in directing at UBC, tions are generally supported by the Canada lenging in both form and content, as it explores Haberlin occupies that chair in the company. Council and other arts granting agencies three characters whose poetic monologues ITSAZOO’s former mentor, UVic professor because the shows are already acknowledged reveal the darker side of a night in Dublin. Brian Richmond, also artistic director of Blue in their hometowns as worthy of national Another must-see. Bridge, shows his loyalty to this group of attention. March brings no fewer than five The third road show pulling into Spark is dedicated alumni by inviting them back to productions to Victoria, all of which promise Little Iliad. Constructed as a Skype conver- Victoria to present the Canadian premiere to enrich our theatre-going experience. sation between two friends, one of whom is of The Flick. This play had its Off-Broadway Halifax’s 2b Theatre has been hosted here shipping out to Afghanistan, the audience debut only a year ago. It usually takes much before by both Intrepid Theatre and The taps into the connection via headphones. The longer for a cutting-edge critical success like Belfry. 2b’s collaboration with musician duo of Ontario-based actor/creators Evan this to reach Victoria, so we are indeed fortu- Hawksley Workman in a musical version Webber and Frank Cox-O’Connell explore nate to have the chance to catch this play’s of the Myth of Bacchus, The God That Comes, the “theatre of war” on at least a couple of first production north of the border. was a recent hit at Vancouver’s PuSH Festival levels: as dangerous territory literally shared The New York Times describes playwright after scoring at Intrepid. I regret missing this by soldiers, and thematically by these two Annie Baker as “one of the freshest and most piece since I have been impressed by 2b’s artists. The Spark Festival runs at the Belfry talented dramatists to emerge Off-Broadway other productions in previous years. An adap- March 17-30. in the past decade, [who] writes with tender- tation of a classic play, Revisited, a new version Also in March, Pacific Opera Victoria and ness and keen insight about the way people of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, and a play Early Music Society of the Islands are co- make messes of their lives—and the lives of by one of Canada’s hottest young playwrights, hosting a touring production, which is a rare people they care about—and then sink into The Russian Play by Hannah Moscovitch, treat. At the McPherson Playhouse on March benumbed impotence, hard pressed to see were both very compelling. This year as part 14 and 15, the Boston Early Music Festival any way of cleaning things up.” The Flick of the Spark Festival at The Belfry, 2b is is performing Orphée, a blend of two French takes us into the lives of three staff members presenting When it Rains, described as “a Baroque operas by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. at a single-screen movie house in Worcester live-action existential graphic novel.” Not La Couronne du Fleurs, based on a text by County, Massachusetts. In an inspired matching to be missed. Molière, depicts a musical contest in which of play and location, The Flick will be The second highlight at Spark is the Irish shepherds sing and dance to the glory of the performed at the Roxy, itself a movie house play Terminus from Toronto’s Outside the Sun King Louis XIV. La Descente d’Orphée currently in transition to a live theatre space March Theatre. On the basis of reviews of aux Enfers, an unfinished opera, is woven in (March 18-30). productions in Toronto and Vancouver, I am as a segment of the contest and tells the familiar Clearly, March is exciting for the wealth very intrigued to see Mark O’Rowe’s “lyrical mythical tale of the musician Orpheus of theatre created by artists from elsewhere rap opera.” This small company had the great descending into the Underworld to rescue who are bringing their work to us here. We fortune to be invited by producer David his wife Eurydice from Pluto, the ruler of who care about the performing arts should Mirvish to remount the show at the Royal Hell. Those who love opera and early music— be very appreciative that these shows receive

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the public funding necessary for us to be given the opportunity to see them. This holds for other performing arts series, such as the wonderful Dance Victoria series that I have subscribed to for many years. Dance Victoria producer Stephen White took on the chal- lenge of convincing dance companies to cross the Georgia Strait. If not for his efforts, and those of arts funding agencies, dance lovers would still be travelling to Vancouver and Seattle to see internationally recognized performances that now appear downtown as a stop along the way. I moved to the Island 15 years ago from Toronto (one of the great performing arts Both men’s and women’s designs feature natural comfort, made in Canada. cities in the English-speaking world), and have made regular trips back there, as well n an era when so much clothing manufacturing line, along with other clothing lines, jewelry, food, as to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and has been moved overseas—and often produced and personal care products, many from other Canadian occasionally further abroad to London and Iwith little regard for human rights or the environ- producers. Says Lorna, “We are grateful to be in one Sydney, to encounter world-class perfor- ment—it’s inspiring to learn that one company is of Victoria’s most prominent retail locations—we mance. I make these journeys to Broadway going in the opposite direction. can bring maximum exposure to products that are or the West End, or to catch Toronto compa- That company is the locally-owned Hemp & Company, good for the Earth and good for people.” nies such as Soulpepper, Tarragon, Canadian which offers comfortable natural clothing that doesn’t In an exciting new initiative, Hemp & Company’s Stage and Factory Theatre, to fill myself up cost the Earth. In business since 1999, this eco-friendly owners have established a wholesale manufacturing with dramatic art I would not otherwise have clothing store carries its own line of made-in-Canada company, It’s Only Natural Clothing (i.O.N.), in order the chance to experience. hemp and organic cotton casual wear: H&C Originals. to offer their ecofriendly designs to companies and Yet, writing this Focus column is helping Today’s educated consumers want to buy clothing organizations looking to put their own brands on me to better recognize how much home- that is high quality, fairly priced, and made in a manner quality Canadian-made sustainable clothing. grown theatre we have to celebrate here. In that is not harmful to the environment. Hemp & The factories for i.O.N. are located in Victoria, addition to that, I respect how Victoria’s Company owners Bill Finley and Lorna Knowles under- Vancouver and Winnipeg. Lorna and Bill have paid artistic directors and producers understand stand that. Bill says, “We sell farmed goods as opposed close attention to every aspect of the manufacturing the importance of bringing productions to to mined natural resources.” Explaining their commit- process. Fabrics are imported in their natural condi- their audiences from other places whenever ment to hemp, Lorna says, “It’s a durable, versatile, tion. And Bill notes, “Our Canadian dyer uses low possible. This is how an audience and a theatre natural material. And, it’s easy on the planet, and our impact dyes in a 100 percent uptake dye process, community become better educated, enlivened ecosystem. Hemp does not need excessive water or which means there is no residue left.” and enriched. The takeaway here for me, agricultural chemicals.” Spas, businesses with an ecological or local focus, and perhaps for all of us, is to be vigilant H&C Originals include everything from tunics and and environmental organizations, says Lorna, “can about protecting public funding for touring hoodies to flowy cardigans and polo shirts. They print their own messages and logos on this clothing, productions. If you too value performance are designed by three talented, experienced Vancouver knowing they are supporting a Canadian company culture visiting us, perhaps you might call Island designers: Gabriel Conroy, Aaren Madden and and not harming the planet.” or email your representatives in government Mary Joyce, who have created an attractive contem- H&C Originals, while manufactured by i.O.N., are to tell them so (I trust you have already porary look, while insisting on comfort too. 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All in delicious colours— Hemp and Company theatre for CBC Radio’s On the from rich jewel tones to earthy shades like Mulberry, 1102 Government Street Island, teaches and researches Lichen and Ochre. “Every season we present new 250-383-4367 drama/theatre education and individually selected colours that will look good on www.hempandcompany.com applied theatre, and has worked the West Coast,” says Lorna. as an actor or director on many Hemp & Company’s beautifully inviting store on It’s Only Natural, Wholesale stages in Victoria and beyond. Government Street (at Fort) features the H&C Originals www.ionclothing.ca www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 35 palette

Close to euphoria AAREN MADDEN Painter Lindy Michie works her particular magic with addition, subtraction and intuition.

This was 20 years after moving from England to Vancouver. “I just came on an adventure, travelling with a friend,” she says, and simply fell in love with the place. I was so attracted to the landscape because it was so dramatic—I had never seen mountains before,” she recalls (though it’s the Dorset landscape she’s most compelled to paint right now). In 1979 she married, and four years later, moved to a farm in Qualicum Beach, where she lived for 18 years. During that time, she immersed herself happily in raising her son and daughter. Once her children became more independent, Michie started seeking. “I always felt there was something [in me] that needed to come out, I just didn’t know what it was,” she shares, adding with a laugh, “I didn’t for a second think it was painting. I was scared of it, because I hadn’t painted before, and I came from this background of painters, and I thought, something really ugly is going to come out!” It made her wary of formal training, which she has never had. “I wouldn’t want anyone to tell me what I was doing wasn’t right. I would have been easily discouraged,” she admits. Instead, she asked an artist friend to do some informal painting sessions with her, just to get started. Sparks flew. “It was a moment that changed my whole life. It was close to euphoria,” she says. “I just thought everything about me made sense. I felt such joy, I just loved it so much, applying paint to paper.” Twenty years on, that feeling hasn’t left her. Over that time she has developed a process that she has described as, borrowing a phrase from

“Sheep Farm” 30 x 30 inches, acrylic on canvas (John Taylor photo) PHOTO: TONY BOUNSALL Lindy Michie

soft violet sky shimmers over lush green trees, while verdant hills tumble over the canvas in Lindy Michie’s acrylic on Acanvas painting titled “Cerne Abbas.” In the middle ground, a ploughed field is represented in playful yet minimal wriggling lines. The economy of form, combined with a saturation of colour, work to heighten each other, resulting in both a particular landscape and archetypal representations of hill, tree and field. Michie is a Victoria painter who grew up surrounded by these very rolling hills in Dorset, England, and by the vivid colour palettes found in the artwork of her grandmother, Anne Redpath, and her father, Alastair Michie. Redpath, one of the great Scottish artists of the twen- tieth century, was favourably compared to Matisse in her use of colour and composition, while Alastair Michie was a sculptor and abstract painter who was referred to as “a gifted colourist.” One might assume, with such genetic predisposition, that Michie the younger would have been flinging colours about from birth, but that was not the case. Her path would be very much on her own terms. In fact, she did not pick up a brush until 1994, when she was 40 years old.

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“Green Coffee Pot” 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas (John Tayor photo)

Vancouver painter Gordon Smith, “a series of corrections.” She heard him say that during an interview, and found it affirming, knowing it was true for her work as well. “I haven’t ever heard anybody say that before,” she says. “There are some artists who are so polished and so sure of what they do…there is a beginning, a middle and an end, and Seek culture, creativity, community. they are very clear about [this]. For me, it’s not necessarily that way.” Find it at the Farquhar Auditorium. She doesn’t start with a sketch, but sees where her materials and imag- ination lead. “I work in a very loose way. I might start with something Nana Mouskouri in mind, and it doesn’t work out, so I might end up with something very different in the end. I just go into my studio, and what will be will be.” “Addition and subtraction. That’s what I do,” she explains. Addition in layer upon layer of highly-diluted acrylic paint (and, lately, exper- iments with gouache) and subtraction in the manipulation of those layers. She paints on the flat in order to let colours pool, removing portions with paper towel to allow highlights or depth to emerge. She uses a wide, rubber-tipped “brush” that can function almost like a squeegee in delivering a minute layer of colour to the canvas, and then she moves it into just the right location. Using the fine tip, she delineates edges and differentiates forms and shadows. The whole result is a surface that is nearly perfectly smooth, yet viewed head- on can often clearly show the individual painterly mark, which makes a delightful deception of its simplicity. Many still life works, espe- cially “Green Coffee Pot” show this, as do the hills in “Sheep Farm.” The sheep in the latter scene are simple, economical gestures of light one of the best-selling and shadow that offer the most basic suggestion of sheep-ness. “People recording artists worldwide will enjoy the primitive sense of her composition,” says John Taylor, co-owner of Eclectic Gallery. Michie’s first show with Eclectic—she March 30, 8pm has shown at Winchester Galleries in the past—is opening March 10. Taylor notes the animals and architecture of Michie’s Dorset land- tickets.uvic.ca • 250.721.8480 www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 37 Sensible conflict resolution for families, estates, and workplaces.

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“Lilies In Bowl” 20 x 16 inches, acrylic on board (John Taylor photo)

scapes resonate with a blend of sophisticated Explains Michie, “I get a feeling which I yet childlike magic due to her ability to pare can only explain as complete satisfaction. I down to basic elements. “It’s an abstraction leave it alone, walk away, and do this over of what the landscape is—sheep, trees, so on, time. If I reenter the room and do not feel that you recognize as landscape, but it’s really the need to change anything, then it is done.” just forms,” he observes. It can take months or, “if I’m very lucky,” “It’s the relationship with colour that really mere hours for Michie to find a work finished. makes [her work] pop,” he continues. “There The moment that perfectly balances simplicity is a certain illumination that comes through of form with intensity of colour arises as part that you notice in particular in her floral of her highly intuitive process of addition compositions; they are too vibrant to be called and subtraction. ‘still life,’” he argues. “They are very strong; they jump off the page.” See Lindy Michie’s work with Peter About 16 of Michie’s works, Taylor Dowgailenko’s at Eclectic Gallery, 2170 mentions, will be shown along with oil on Oak Bay Avenue, March 10-April 5. canvas paintings by Peter Dowgailenko. Opening reception March 12, 6-8pm. “Lindy’s are abstract and loose, [while] Peter’s Online at www.eclecticgallery.ca and are exquisitely detailed; a romantic view of www.lindymichie.com. the landscape.” Such contrasts will highlight each artist’s particular and divergent approach Aaren Madden hopes to take most powerfully. her family to the castles, rolling Taylor notes how Dowgailenko can work hills (not to mention the Cerne with a painting over years, never declaring Abbas Giant hill figure) Lindy a finish to it. “The wonderful thing about oil Michie told her about, and is you can just keep adding to it. But with expects a similar sense of awe Lindy, she says she absolutely knows when as what Michie experienced she is finished, and that’s it,” he relates. in the mountains.

38 March 2014 • FOCUS An appeal to our readers... Please help keep investigative journalism alive in Victoria by becoming a Supporting Subscriber We thank all our donors & subscribers Help keep for your generous assistance! the ARTStoo! healthy Sustaining donors Mel McDonald, James Tully, Debra Higgins, Doug McPherson, George Heffelfinger Quentin Lake, Denise Stocco, Steve Koerner, John Keay, Evelyn Andrews-Greene Felix Reuben, Alan Dolan, Gordan MacNab, Dennis & Roberta McCarthy, Jane Baigent Recent Supporting Subscribers Noel Parker-Jervis, Annemieke Holthius, Gwen Barlee, Joan Gilbert, Suzanne Couch, Bob Crane, Sandra McPherson, Norman Ellensen Lon McElroy, Ann Nolte, Deb Hull, Kelly Mitchell, Karen Muntean, Irene Cates, Carole Martin, Hendrika Nyhof, Brian Groos, Bill Wallace Delaney Tosh, Maria & David Squance, Pam & Brian Allen, Marilyn Whitehead, Nigel Seale, Maggie Cameron, Robin Fells, Blaise Salmon Ann Kujundzic, Connie Morahan, Margaret Stevens, Helene & John Harrison, Elizabeth O'Neill, Catherine Fairfield, Don McKerracher Mary Leppington, Gary Holman, Rita Marshall, Norman Finlay, Gary Northcott, Laura Clarke, David Tremblay, Gillian Smith, Randall Foote Carolyn Kowalyk, Helen Neville, Paddy Bruce, Cynthia Alger, Wayne Templeton, Georgina Montgomery, Lorrie Bell-Hawkins, Janet MacLean York Jane McIntosh, George Kyle, Anne Hansen, Barbara Barton, Myriam Parent, Liz, Rykert, Nina Dobbs, Peggy Brackett, Steve & Cathy Murphy Rudolf & Marguerite Dyke, Marjon Blouw, Larry Wartels, Max Urbanoski, Lindy Sisson, Anne Parkinson, Linda Travers, Penny Pattison Floyd Martin, Fran Baskerville, Jack Meredith, Richard Callow, Julie Douglas, Diane Smardon, Whitney Laughlin, Michael Damant, Dorothy Harvey Caroline O’Fallon, Dr. Les Malbon, Virginia & Donald Miller, Jane Sterk, Betty Person, Ian Barclay, Patricia Houston, Cam Warren, Alan Clair Fran Grady, Michelle Colussi, Barb Stevenson, Herbert Matthews, Mia Pearce, Wally Taylor, Alan Hodgson, June Wing, Nabhraj Spogliarich Cynthia Izard, Douglas Campbell, Valerie Lewis, Lynne Rauch, Yolande du Gardein-Matson, June Rogers, Diane McNally, Gillian Sanderson Robin Blencoe, Mark Ammen, Lind Miller, Gary Cork, Richard Mably, Margaret Provan, Susan Paynter, Seb Bonet, Gillian Cohen, WCB Smith Judith Phillips, Nigel Denyer, Paul Mably, Thelma Fayle, Frances Hunter, Marne St. Claire, John Scheiber, Bill McEwen, Mary & Gerald Walter Jean Melvin, Dave Skilling, Jane Francis, Heidi Roemer, Maureen Swayze, N. Claire Hughes, Robert Pr eston, Norman Dunn, Christine Francis Mark Vogel, Joan Sandilands, Sue Brown, Marilyn Goode, Fionnuala Hogan, Renate Eulig-Tolman, Ian Phillips, Jim Ricks, Dan Dickmeier

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People who are treasures AMY REISWIG Grant Hayter-Menzies’ biographies of women give readers a glimpse into fascinating lives.

For example, Li Tuochen, with whom Benton later studied, expressed concern that his figures would end up “scattered in curio shops and picture stalls, sold for a few coppers as toys for children, or to foreigners who do not know Kuan Yin from the Dragon Princess.” Several years of meticulous research in both China and the US allows Hayter-Menzies to truly animate Benton and many of the other human players in this drama, letting us hear their voices raised from articles, archives and special collections. “You have to look through a million pieces of paper to get the essence of a person,” Hayter-Menzies laughs over green tea in his Sidney sitting room. It’s what he does. His biographies (he has written four others) introduce us in detail to people, specif- ically women, who have done extraordinary

PHOTO: TONY BOUNSALL things—including, perhaps most importantly, Grant Hayter-Menzies with shadow figure “Sun Erniang” opening their hearts to other people, other cultures. “These are the personalities I love,” uthentic cultural creation—to para- behind, masters brought to life stories of he says, noting that he grew up influenced by phrase Albert Camus—is a gift to the deities, battle dramas, comic tales and tragic strong female figures in his own life (his mother Afuture. And so is cultural preserva- romances—the repository of hundreds of and grandmothers). “Women especially have tion. In Shadow Woman: The Extraordinary years of storytelling. “To know their theatre to face so many obstructions. Everything’s Career of Pauline Benton (McGill Queens, is to know, in no small degree, the Chinese been set up for men, and women have to try October 2013) Victoria biographer and histo- people,” read a quote Benton often included and jump on the train. If you can make it despite rian Grant Hayter-Menzies pulls back the in her performance programs. With similar all that, you deserve to be celebrated, to be a curtain on an exceptional artist practising, sentiment, recently-deceased contemporary role model to men as well as women.” preserving and promoting an exceptional and shadow performer Cui Yongping told Hayter- Benton perfectly fits this bill. For what’s threatened art. As a result, we are reminded Menzies (to whom he bequeathed 20 spectacular extraordinary is not just that she became the that individual commitment remains the figures): “Shadow theatre is about China— only female shadow master in the world— key to our cultural wealth. it is China. It is our art, our history, our manners upon her death in 1974 musical collaborator The woman of the title is Pauline Benton, a and mores.” Victorians lucky enough to get Lou Harrison called Benton “one of the most university professor’s unmarried daughter who in were treated to such a performance, sadly important theatre artists of the century”—but first encountered the art of Chinese shadow Cui’s last, at Merlin’s Sun Home Theatre in that she, an American, became conservator theatre in 1920s’ Beijing when she was 25 years Fairfield in 2012. and protector of a valuable element of Chinese old. She was smitten. “I cannot imagine any Despite the art’s durability, which Hayter- culture. With Red Gate, Benton brought an explorer having more thrilling adventures,” Menzies describes as “tied to rituals that had old art to a new, North American audience, she wrote, “than I experienced on my journey survived so many vicissitudes as to appear as performing all across the United States (as well of discovery into China’s rich and glorious past indestructible as the immortals whose romances as Toronto and Ottawa), eventually even at through the medium of the shadow play.” it enacted,” shadow theatre’s “little actors” Roosevelt’s White House. She devoted over Benton then took the unlikely step of devoting (Benton never called them puppets) haven’t 50 years to researching and sharing the endan- herself to an ancient art that was only for men had it easy. Hayter-Menzies therefore chron- gered art out of love for its emotional and and never for foreigners, ultimately founding icles not just Benton’s journey but the art form’s artistic beauty and its unifying power. As Red her own company in 1932 in New York: the battle with changing cultural and political Gate’s performance programs often said: “We Red Gate Shadow Players. climates in both China and America. And while ask you all to laugh as we laugh, weep as we Shadow plays are a very old tradition which the UN and the Chinese government have weep, love as we love, and live with us our Hayter-Menzies traces through dynasties and finally called for shadow theatre’s preserva- simple truths and homilies as we recreate them legends. With exquisitely-carved articu- tion as part of China’s intangible cultural for you in our Shadow World.” lated figures of painted donkey parchment heritage, some early 20th-century shadow Hayter-Menzies is now doing his part to manipulated behind a small screen lit from masters feared for the art’s survival even then. keep Benton’s contribution to this mysterious,

40 March 2014 • FOCUS ADVERTISEMENT Focus presents: Changing Gears Transportation Expo

Helping you make the shift playful, powerful artistic tradition alive, and though the book came out in fall of last year, Hayter-Menzies is still a busy man. This month alone finds him travelling to a festival in Montreal, to New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College, and to the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut. He’ll also be participating in the Pacific Northwest Regional Puppetry Festival being held here in Victoria this September. But being busy is nothing new for the impas- sioned writer. A Victoria resident since 2005, Hayter-Menzies spent two decades as an arts journalist for publications in the US, UK and Canada; has worked for several non-profits in areas like adult literacy and helping under-

employed youth; and has published four other Anne Photo: Hansen books on notable women since 2007, the most Public bicycle racks in Delft, Netherlands recent being The Empress and Mrs Conger: The Uncommon Friendship of Two Women he road ahead for sustainable transportation stimulating forum for new ideas on transportation. and Two Worlds (Hong Kong University Press, is a busy but bright one. Walking, cycling, car- “We will have a large range of organizations and 2011). His manuscript on Lillian Carter, mother Tsharing, transit, and electric vehicles are all prominent thought-leaders speaking and exhibiting of former US president Jimmy Carter, is currently ways we can change gears into a less carbon inten- under one roof, all with the same goal of encouraging with a publisher, and he is already at work on sive, car-centric culture. change. It will also be a great family outing; there several other projects. He has given talks all The Capital Regional District (CRD) has announced will be lots of fun things for youth to get involved in.” across the continent, from the Seattle Asian funding for the Changing Gears Transportation Expo Laura Parker and Thomas Teuwen of Kandf Art Museum to the Smithsonian and even (for on March 22, 2014 at Pearkes Recreation Centre. Sustainable Lifestyle Strategies have been car-free his biography of Billie Burke) a Wizard of Oz The Changing Gears Expo, organized by the BC by choice for over 14 years. The two will be speaking convention in, of course, Kansas. Sustainable Energy Association and numerous part- at the event to share their story and offer advice to With a job in communications at Victoria ners in the Regional District, will give attendees a help mitigate the anxiety around giving up the last Hospice Society, Hayter-Menzies’ working fun-filled afternoon of hands-on workshops, presen- car. Laura says, “We just want to share how we did life continues to be rooted in that involve- tations, displays and engaging discussions that will it. People think that going without a car means being ment and opening outward of the heart which challenge us to re-think how we get around. deprived when, in fact, it reconnects you with so much he so admires in others. “I like to take for my In Canada, Victoria has been a step ahead of other and makes your life richer.” motto in all this as well as my writing the credo cities for a long time, and has been able to establish If you’re looking for other options to replace your of a medieval saint, Elisabeth of Hungary, progressive policies to improve support for alterna- gas-fuelled vehicle, check out the electric vehicle who is also my direct ancestor through my tive transportation methods. However we still need displays and speak directly with electric vehicle German grandmother,” he explains. “Elisabeth more encouragement to compete with American owners and dealers to have all your EV questions often said, as she worked in the hospices she cities such as Portland, Tucson, New York, or Copenhagen answered. Christina Ianniciello of the Ministry of founded by selling her jewels and treasure, and Amsterdam in Europe. Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources will be ‘Wir muessen die Menschen froehlich machen’ To help give impetus to this progressive change, speaking at the event and show how EVs are a very [we must make people happy]. That has always the expo will include displays of electric vehicles, over realistic option for families today. “Charging stations resonated with and inspired me. I only write 40 booths on sustainable transportation themes from are popping up everywhere these days. In the greater because I want to celebrate something that local businesses, municipalities, bicycle advocacy Victoria area there are about 70 charging stations,” deserves it—people who carry treasures, who organizations, UVic and government. It will also she says. “You can charge your car almost anywhere, are treasures.” That individual commit- feature a speaker’s series on such topics as trans- from grocery stores to community centres, all for a ment to recognizing and honouring others’ portation innovations from around the world, bicycle small fraction of the cost of gas.” cultural contributions is part of what makes and pedestrian master plans in the region, car share Victoria has both the political and community Hayter-Menzies’ books so engaging and is, and ride share options, and increasing bicycle rider- interest to make it one of the world’s leaders in sustain- to my mind, his gift to the future. ship in Victoria. There will also be workshops on bicycle able transportation. The Changing Gears Expo will safety, helmet-fitting and bike-tuning demonstra- act as a catalyst to further that discussion. Writer and editor Amy Reiswig tions, along with the opportunity to test drive electric now feels even more disap- vehicles and even Segways. The changinggears2014.org Changing Gears Transportation Expo pointed to be one of the website describes a story-telling contest on people’s Saturday, March 22 unlucky locals who tried to see active transportation experiences for which prizes Pearkes Recreation Centre the 2012 shadow play perfor- will be awarded. www.changinggears2014.org mance but was turned away Tim Roberts, one of the Changing Gears orga- Follow @Changing__Gears2014 on Twitter, and because of the large crowd. nizers, hopes the event will provide a friendly and Changing Gears 2014 Transportation Expo on Facebook. www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 41 urbanities

City: prepare for the silver tsunami GENE MILLER Good design helps make good citizens.

id you know that in the City of Victoria, six of every ten dwellings people will enjoy being in and around. No formal part of a developer’s are rental units and a rumoured seven of every ten people— education bears on knowledge of a building’s impact on the human Despecially in and around the city core—are renters? Look over psyche, or its contribution to the city’s appearance and character. there, 10 o’clock. For God’s sake, don’t look right at them! Yes, yes, This is a special irony in Victoria—a soul-stirring city whose entire right there: renters! reputation is built on the charm of its preserved architectural heritage— Humanity’s wiring diagram may have its mysteries, but there is yesteryear’s sensibilities, really—and the accident of a fabulous physical no missing that property ownership (“a piece of the rock,” we say) setting. No one says to visitors: “Ah, I have to show you Bay and is a desired status and an elevated form of tenure. It confers grav- Blanshard, run you past the apartment blocks on Cook Street, and itas, true citizenship that reduces renters to a ghost-class—folks “just finish the tour at View Towers!” Victoria’s reputation hangs almost passing through.” entirely on good urban character, too much of it inherited from earlier Actually, my interest in this has nothing to do with class issues; and generations, too little of it created now. jokes aside, I want to be careful not to convey the false idea that renting I’m tempted to describe developers as the innocents (two words that means a diminished engagement in community life. normally repel each other like same-pole magnets). They create what No, my interest is on the urban design side and begins with the premise policy tells them they may, or must. The City of Victoria’s rules and that every bad building in Victoria diminishes both the city and its design guidelines are mute on the subjective and borderless topic of people; that is, reduces citizen expression. People are citizens—active, creating dramatic, handsome, surprising, warm and welcoming build- engaged members of the public life—only to the extent that a place is ings, but endlessly chatty about view corridors, build-to lines, ground-floor worth caring about; and this requires an emotional stakehold—in a commercial, shadowing, and other “measurables.” building, a neighbourhood, a civic community. If buildings isolate or Here’s an energy theory: Exhaustion is built into policy and regula- alienate people, file and forget them, we shouldn’t be surprised if the tion. Policy requires policing, and with every erg of planning department atmosphere in the public realm starts to feel strange. energy dedicated to applying the rules, there is almost none left over Allow me a calculated digression: the level of amenity at Victoria to insist on and negotiate for fabulous buildings (deserved applause bus stops. The architecture of bus stop shelters—where shelters are here to Victoria Councillor Pam Madoff who has made this concern even present—is a case of unambiguous Dickensian social messaging: her mission). “Public transit users, you are human refuse meant to suffer. However No preamble in the City’s land use manual warns developers they cold and wet it is here half the year, you don’t deserve protection, don’t have the right to produce bad or nondescript buildings. Nothing warmth or dignity. You don’t deserve the niceties of design. You are in the approval process solemnly reminds them that buildings are public lumpen and powerless and deserve only a bench, not seating that would statements, and that bad ones diminish both occupants’ lives and individuate you. Yours is a future of frustrated hopes and groundless Victoria’s soul and good looks. expectation. Welcome to your shitty little life on the ‘loser cruiser.’” Still, not every building is a “fail,” and there is room for praise. After When I was a kid, my parents and I and their friends Joe and Anne all, developers are not vandals, and urban planners are not Sovietized. Braunstein were out one evening for dinner at Katz’s Delicatessen in Leaving many unsung, I single out just-retired Heritage Planner Lower Manhattan. We were next up in the cafeteria-style sandwich Steve Barber (congratulations, Steve!) and Chris Gower, senior line, and a slightly abstracted Anne was having trouble making up urban design planner, as two who, freed from workplace prohibitions, her mind. Joe, his eye on the impatient counterman, elaborately waved would likely deliver blistering reproach when presented with spirit- for the people standing behind us to go ahead. Anne apparently took less, utility-grade building designs. this as criticism and disloyalty, and she fumed throughout a ruined On the market side, a well-earned shout-out to developer and tortured dinner, complaining loudly to Joe, “That was an act of deliberate intent!” artist Don Charity and co-developer Fraser McColl, responsible for Joe kept denying it, claiming with theatrical innocence that he was just the Mosaic on Fort Street, the adjacent Jigsaw, the Reef in James Bay being polite to the couple behind, since Anne obviously needed more (across from David Butterfield’s iconic Shoal Point) and their immi- time to decide. The conflict was electric, and threw open the doors nent project, Jukebox, near Vancouver and View. Charity shares with of adult disharmony—scandalous and thrilling to this nine-year-old: all developers a love of opportunity and profit, but his imagination is “acts of deliberate intent!” fired by grand design visions, starting right at the front door. Now, 60 years later, like Anne Braunstein, I see “acts of deliberate Don’t you want developers to have design ego, fighting to outdo intent” in the design deficiencies of public transit amenities and in each other in producing distinctive, beautiful, livable buildings? The the barracks-like, soul-crushing presence of hundreds of both rental Jawls have done this with every project they have undertaken. Ian and owner-occupied apartment buildings in and around Victoria’s Gillespie (The Falls, Shutters, etc) clearly loves making flamboyant central area, regardless how their developers, architects, and the City’s statements. Fred Rohanni and Bijan Neyestani have given us the graceful urban land use policy folks may try to justify them. Aria and now the clever and referential Mondrian. Gordon and Chris There is no School of Developology. In a world where you can hardly Denford did wonders with the new Cherry Bank on Rupert Terrace make dinner without a professional credential, developers are un-obliged and McClure Street. Chris LeFevre continues to expand his remark- to demonstrate they understand what it takes to create buildings that able Railyards in Victoria West. David Price has produced the beautifully

42 March 2014 • FOCUS ADVERTISEMENT Focus presents: Triangle Healing

High quality water is vital for optimum health scaled Swallows Landing buildings on the Esquimalt waterfront, framing and facing the Inner Harbour. Ric Illich has painstakingly resur- tructured water is the ultimate health food. Diane Regan, owner of Triangle rected the empty Hudson’s Bay building, now The Hudson, and is Healing Products, compares it to water that is tumbling down a waterfall— building new residential at the rear. Pioneering Dave Chard at Sif you can capture a glass and drink it, you feel invigorated. several downtown locations and Ken Mariash on the ridge above “Our tap water is dead. It sits in a holding tank and is then forced through old Songhees both have added quality to the Victoria skyline. pipes in order to get into our homes. Structured water is the most impressive thing Given some good developers and successful projects, then, what I have found, after four decades in the business,” says Diane. brings fresh urgency to this matter? Natural Action Water units are easy to use in your shower, under your sink, in You mean, you haven’t heard of the “silver tsunami?” your garden or at your house’s water main inlet. The most popular is the hand- That’s downtown pub owner Matt MacNeil’s phrase for it. MacNeil held portable unit. Simply pour your water into the unit, where it tumbles through believes there is an enormous wave of new retirees from Toronto and geometrically-designed balls, becoming structured along the way, mimicking the other eastern urban centres who are “tired of the cold, tired of shov- way water moves in a waterfall. The water itself is the only thing that moves— elling” who will be moving here very soon. He contends that they’re there are no mechanical parts and urban, well-heeled, and don’t want the burbs or Oak Bay monocul- nothing to replace. ture; they want stylish condo and apartment living close to Downtown When water is “structured” in this with its shopping, services, amenities, good dining, cool coffee joints way, all its “negative memories” are and energy. He tosses out the number 10,000 and envisions a “belt- erased, allowing it to return to its natural line” of buildings loosely ringing Downtown. It doesn’t take much state of perfect balance. Anything unsup- imagination to appreciate the economic and social transformation such portive to life (such as chloramine) becomes numbers would bring to the core. benign, its harmful effects neutralized, The math is this: 10,000 people would represent another 75 to 100 and all beneficial mineral activity is fairly hefty buildings shouldering the downtown core. That’s a lot of enhanced and more easily absorbed. buildings! Few downtown streetscapes would remain unchanged; and Positive effects are numerous. Structured promising though it might be economically and culturally, can you water prevents and removes corrosion imagine the consequences and impacts to Victoria’s visual and social of pipes; improves crop and garden identity of getting the architecture and urbanism wrong? growth; coffee tastes better; cut flowers Can you sense the potential for our laggard city (with the best of last longer; pets and livestock are healthier; intentions, of course) to be locked into “my mouth says yes, but my and fish tanks are cleaner. People find eyes say no” mode, insanely policing the bonus density rules and regu- that they drink more water yet make lations, when it needs instead to be setting the design terms and conditions fewer trips to the bathroom. This is because for all these buildings, and planning and executing extensive public structured water is properly absorbed by realm improvements? the cells within your body, making it a Good as it would be to have so many new people calling Downtown truly effective hydrator. Athletes love it. their home, we must ensure that these newcomers are given not only Diane invites you to visit Triangle Downtown living opportunities, but also legitimate grounds and an Healing Health to taste a glass of struc- Top: Kenrico Ion Shower Head authentic social framework that will connect them to both the plea- tured water, while you check out the Bottom: (r) Portable Natural Action sures and responsibilities of city life here. large leafy plant whose sparse branches Water unit; (l) Kenrico Water Purifier These concerns may seem hand-wringy and abstract, but it took a and thick rubbery leaves have been televised conversation last month between celebrated journalist and dramatically transformed to plentiful branches covered with dark green soft commentator Bill Moyers and David Simon, creator of The Wire leaves. Plants, notes Diane, are immune to the placebo effect! and Treme, to help me to work out the human calculus. Said Simon, On the topic of water, Triangle also offers the Kenrico Ion Shower Head, a fully acidly reflecting on the state of the commons in these winner-take-all transparent showerhead filled with natural quartz, citrines crystals and rare times, “There is no society; there’s just you.” Japanese hot spring minerals. This unique showerhead promises to refresh, At its best, Victoria is a place where society and common cause still reinvigorate and revitalize as it soothes away stress, stimulates blood circula- prevail. People often read Victoria’s social cues simply as charming tion and even treats certain disease symptoms—all with a lifetime warranty. architectural heritage coupled to a dozy lifestyle; but society, as Simon Kenrico also makes the Forever Alkaline Water Stick Purifier often referred to means the word, is actually our “secret sauce.” as “A Magic Wand that lasts for a lifetime.” Not only does it transform regular Making the case for great buildings, I finish by invoking poetics: We water into alkaline water; it also adds magnesium and purifies water by reducing can lose the charm of our city a building at a time, and insidiously lose bacteria and other contaminants. The mini cylinder can be used with your water its character in an even smaller increment: a citizen at a time. bottle, thermos and other containers. It too comes with a lifetime warranty. Spring is a fantastic time to cleanse and renew your body. Come to Triangle Healing Gene Miller, founder of Open Space Cultural Centre, Products and find out more about how water is a vital part of your healthful journey. Monday Magazine and the Gaining Ground Conferences, Triangle Healing Products is currently writing Massive Collaboration: Stories That Divide Us, Stories That Bind Us and The Hundred-Mile 770 Spruce Avenue, Victoria, BC Economy: Preparing For Local Life. 250-370-1818 • www.trianglehealingproducts.com Triangle Healing Products, its owner, its employees do not provide medical advice or treatment. They provide information and products that you may choose after evaluating your health needs and in consultation with health professionals of your choosing. www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 43 in context

To safeguard against tyranny ROB WIPOND Read deeper and BC Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin’s ruling in support of teachers against the provincial government is about much more than just our schools.

t seems appropriate that the late-January BC Supreme Court ruling that there was “a plethora of tools” available to both sides to resolve won by the BC Teachers Federation has received attention in our impasses, such as mediation and arbitration. However, Griffin said Inews media. But there’s an undercurrent that permeates Justice the government’s actions for the past ten years were “not in good Susan Griffin’s Reasons for Judgment that hasn’t been discussed nearly faith” and flatly “unlawful”. as much as it should be: Her very worrying evaluation of the state of Griffin further determined that, particularly in the past few years, our democracy. the government’s representatives delayed unnecessarily, “wasting For those who haven’t been following the story, the BC Liberal time,” wouldn’t engage in meaningful dialogue, didn’t listen or make government passed legislation in 2002 that seemed to be a blatant attack any reasonable efforts to reach agreements, and often simply “ignored” against the most basic civil rights of teachers to freely associate and take the BCTF. The government even engaged in efforts to sabotage nego- action collectively. It deleted hundreds of agreements from existing tiations by refusing to repeal the unconstitutional legislation, and contracts and stripped the BCTF of virtually any powers to bargain on trying backdoor routes to reduce teachers’ pay and cancel teachers’ key issues about teachers’ working conditions—primarily with respect leaves and professional development days. Indeed, with access to confi- to the number of students in classes, and the learning environments for dential cabinet documents and the capacity to compel testimony, children with special needs. Those are issues that, obviously, do dramat- Griffin heard enough evidence to state unequivocally that the govern- ically affect not just teacher working conditions, but also classroom ment was in fact “preoccupied” with such sabotage. “From the start…the management, children’s education, and probably the emotional state government had a strategy in mind that it would be to its benefit if of many schoolchildren. So they’re issues worth discussing. negotiations failed and if collective bargaining resulted in a strike and But the government legislated otherwise. It was as if your boss were impasse,” wrote Griffin. “The government representatives thought not only to refuse your requests for office supplies, but were to suddenly this would give government the opportunity to gain political support threaten to have you dragged to jail if you so much as tried to for imposing legislation on the union.” discuss or negotiate issues concerning office supplies. All of the news coverage that I’ve seen of the court decision essen- It wasn’t a reasonable approach from the government. And that’s tially stopped at this point. Those are certainly already damning enough what the courts said, too. In fact, the courts determined that the BC findings to report, but as I reflected on these insights, and read more Liberals’ legislation violated teachers’ basic civil rights under the of the Reasons for Judgment, I saw an even darker, more broadly signif- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. icant undercurrent emerging. But the provincial government ignored the courts. Repeatedly. First, it’s important I think to really absorb some of what we’re When, in 2004, the BC Supreme Court first struck down an arbi- hearing. The BCTF is one of the biggest unions in the province, repre- trator’s decision upholding the government’s legislation, the government senting 41,000 people. It has immense funding, paid staff, ready access simply re-wrote the legislation anew and made it apply retroac- to volunteers, researchers and lawyers, and a professional commu- tively. And for good measure, they wrote into this new version of nications arm. Essentially, the BCTF is one of the bigger and more the legislation that it would remain in force, “Despite any decision of powerful political entities in British Columbia apart from the provin- a court to the contrary…” It was like kamikaze legislating: The BC cial government itself, the federal government, or some major corporations Liberals enacted a law that was deliberately aimed at destroying the and their lobby groups. But the BCTF’s attempts to understand the authority of our own legal system. government’s positions were constantly deflected. The government After a challenge brought by the BCTF in 2011, the BC Supreme frequently simply ignored the BCTF for long spans of time. The govern- Court struck down the legislation as contravening teachers’ constitu- ment flouted the law in teachers’ faces, tried to upset them so they’d tional rights. (Er, didn’t I say that already?) The government reacted act rashly and discredit themselves in the public eye, and then tried to by basically changing some words here and there and passing the same undermine their source of income. Basically, the government kicked unconstitutional legislation all over again. So the BCTF had to take the mighty teachers’ union around like it was no more significant than, the government to court all over again. And the BC Supreme Court say, to use an example I can personally relate to, a lone freelance jour- struck down the legislation as unconstitutional—all over again— nalist writing for some small publication. this January. Even more sinisterly: Our government was actually covertly working It’s crucial to understand that relatively little substantive was hard behind the scenes trying to orchestrate a province-wide, full actually being negotiated during many of these years. Rather, the teachers’ strike, in order to justify a harsh crackdown on the teachers. teachers were for the most part simply trying, again and again and It’s really the most deceitful, duplicitous, publicly manipulative and again, to win back their basic right to at least be able to discuss and pernicious way of governing possible. It’s like employing undercover negotiate their working conditions with government. police to launch a riot at a peaceful demonstration, so you can Appropriately, then, Justice Griffin’s January 2014 decision was justify sending in the riot squad to bash heads. If you’d seriously argued hard on the government. She acknowledged that government “has a at the time that the government was secretly trying hard to provoke role and responsibility” to establish “some fiscal and policy parame- a strike, a lot of people probably would have mocked you as a cynical, ters” around the teachers’ collective bargaining process. And she noted feverish conspiracy theorist.

44 March 2014 • FOCUS Focus presents: Victoria Hospice ADVERTISEMENT

JUSTICE GRIFFIN WROTE that political forces often Donors—Essential for Hospice Care desire “to consolidate and gather more power and to seek to diminish any restraint on that power.” n the Fall of 2013, Stephen and Betsyn Clark sent a letter to their close friends. It read: “Dear Friend, this time of year, when leaves are turning and falling, Conversely, she wrote, “A democratic system has insti- Iand we’re looking to spend the coming holidays with family and friends, it’s tutional checks to counter that tendency and to safeguard important to remember that for some, the passing of time means something very different. For people living with life-limiting illness and for the people who love against tyranny.” them, each moment becomes a season to be savoured as much as possible, as long as possible. This is one of the many reasons why Betsyn and I support Victoria With these perspectives in mind as I waded deeper into Justice Susan Hospice, and why we are asking that you help support it, too. Whatever you may Griffin’s nearly 50,000-word decision, I started to think that she was think Victoria Hospice is, trust me, actually trying in her own way to warn us all of the seriousness of this it is so much more than you could situation we’re in with our government. ever have imagined.” Griffin’s ruling described part of what was at stake in this legal case The letter issued a friendly chal- as being Canada’s democratic structure itself “which requires that lenge: The Clarks, along with three governments must act legally, within the supreme law of the country, anonymous donors, would match the Constitution.” She wrote that “Democratic institutions and demo- donations up to $100,000. When cratic philosophy are at their root based on a belief that society should the Clarks’ friends opened their be structured in a way that is fair”—and she described our govern- envelopes, they also opened their ment’s actions as “fundamentally unfair.” wallets. In total, more than $200,000 Discussing the historical context for her decision, she wrote that polit- was raised to support Hospice’s end- ical forces often desire “to consolidate and gather more power and to of-life and bereavement programs. seek to diminish any restraint on that power.” Conversely, she wrote, When asked why Stephen and “A democratic system has institutional checks to counter that tendency Betsyn chose to support Hospice, and to safeguard against tyranny.” And one critical check on tyranny, Stephen replied: Griffin wrote, is our Charter of Rights and Freedoms—which our provin- “Betsyn and I had a tour of cial government has for ten years running deliberately spurned. Hospice and we were so impressed When Griffin considered what level of financial penalty against our by the people that go to work there government would be appropriate, she cited the moral and legal context every day. They don’t treat their for her determination as government conduct that could be placed work as another day at the office. somewhere on a spectrum between negligent “wilful blindness” and These people are defining their lives a clearly wrong “abuse of power.” And without substantial penalties by the care and compassion they for such actions, she argued, it was simply “too tempting” for govern- give to patients and their loved ones ments to dismiss and extinguish the basic civil rights of the governed. as life draws to a close.” (Griffin ultimately fined the province $2 million, indicating under- The Clarks’ friends—many of standing that there could also still be substantial costs for the government whom are business people—knew in making re-dress to teachers, and expressing reluctance “to that the Clarks would only ask for Tony Bounsall Photo: unduly take from the public purse and other public programs.”) support for a charity they had Stephen and Betsyn Clark Absorbing all this, I thought, how much more dire a warning about researched and one where they our government could a high-ranking representative of our judi- had reviewed the financial statements. Stephen confirms, “People want to know ciary give us? And isn’t this the kind of court finding that 20 years ago that their money will be used carefully and that it will go to the cause. That is got governments scandalized and politicians turfed from power? the case with Hospice.” Yet no sooner was this BC Supreme Court judgment rendered, than Tom Arnold, Senior Development Officer at Hospice, agrees: “Donations are Premier Christy Clark (who was a principal architect of the legisla- critical for Hospice to continue providing its programs. People are surprised to tion) announced that the government would appeal. It shows how learn that approximately one half of Hospice's annual operating costs are funded emboldened our governments have become in their disdain for demo- by donations. It is thanks to the generosity of people like Steve and Betsyn—and cratic process and their comfortable confidence in our collective all Hospice donors—that Hospice can provide palliative and end-of-life care for passivity or ineffectualness in protest. people in Victoria who need it.” And now add to this disturbing reality the fact that the students in Stephen and Betsyn wish to thank the three other anonymous matching donors this year’s high school graduating class were in kindergarten when all and everyone who took the time to make a contribution to such a worthwhile this began; their entire schooling has been shaped by these circum- organization. As Stephen notes, “People in Victoria care and appreciate the excep- stances. So what have the BC Liberals taught an entire generation of tional work that Victoria Hospice does.” our children? And where is it leading us all? To learn more or to donate, please contact Tom Arnold, Victoria Hospice, at 250-519-1744 or donate online at www.VictoriaHospice.org. Thank you! Rob Wipond can be reached at [email protected]. Victoria Hospice 250-519-1744 Give online at www.VictoriaHospice.org www.focusonline.ca • March 2014 45 finding balance

The darker side of technology TRUDY DUIVENVOORDEN MITIC Gone: our freedom to live anonomously.

few mornings ago I was (think surveillance and espionage) rushing myself out the partnered with its American coun- Adoor while trying to terpart to use the Canadian public decide if I needed a warmer jacket. in a “game-changing” experiment “How cold is it outside?” I called on new ways to find the bad guys. out to my guy while rifling through Traditionally, the search has been the hall closet. He, being a hobby for the rogue needle in the haystack. meteorologist, relishes any But this experiment showed that weather-related question. Out of doing the opposite is more effi- the blue he’ll share that the roads cient, that systematically eliminating are icy in New Brunswick or the haystack—all of us whose elec- record heat is shrivelling Cairo tronic devices give away our or the temperature in downtown location—is the quicker way to Victoria is three degrees warmer expose the needle. This finding has than at the airport. potentially devastating implications On this day, however, no imme- for anyone who happens to be diate answer was forthcoming. tracked near the wrong place at the The computer had not yet been wrong time. It also showcased how turned on, the iPad was down on cheaply and effortlessly we can all its charge and the clock/weather be monitored. widget on the buffet (yeah, I know, Meanwhile on the home front, nice decorator touch) had flat- every time we buy another “smart” lined on its outdoor information. appliance our walls become more Seems the sensor on the patio had transparent. We think it’s just the lost its sense. The only remaining fridge that knows all about our option was to glance out the kitchen buying, eating and wasting habits, window at the old-fashioned ther- and we don’t want to hear about mometer and take note of the real people at real corporations ILLUSTRATION: APRIL CAVERHILL ILLUSTRATION: mercury sitting at five degrees. who are collecting and compiling We’ve had similar meltdowns with (and over) the GPS, a mulish navi- this data for profit. It’s when that information boomerangs in the gational device that has probably done for map sales what the internet form of customized marketing from the food industry or stern admon- did for the encyclopedia set. Our most dramatic malfunction involved ishment from the health-care industry that we’ll realize the fridge has a rainy, night-time trip to an airport in unfamiliar territory that resulted been ratting on us. in a counter-intuitive drive right into town and then the computerized Avner Levin, director of McGill University’s Privacy and Cyber pronouncement in the middle of a mall parking lot: You have reached Crime Institute, cautions that our outdated privacy laws and enforce- your destination. I have a particular loathing for the GPS. To use it is ment powers do not address any of these emerging issues. Always be to drive with blinders on. It leads you through one small grid of map aware, he says, that as soon as you plug anything into the cyber world, at a time so you never really have a clue where you are in the larger the information begins flowing in both directions. landscape. Like so much of our technology it feeds us timely bits of It’s easy to see how smart technology can gently roll us over until our knowledge and has no connection to the bigger picture. soft underbelly is perfectly exposed to all the faceless saints and sinners The more we increase our reliance on single-minded devices for who have the potential to toggle everything from the bank account to even the most mundane of tasks, the more we also risk devolving our the electronic pacemaker to the freedom to live anonymously. brain into the same organ category as the appendix. That has hugely So often what starts out being helpful and convenient bares its serious implications for society, not just in the aftermath of a system- menacing side once we’ve all bought in. We serve ourselves well by wide malfunction but also for the day we discover that the information proceeding with caution. highway has long been a stealthy two-way street. Yes, our devices are not just working for us. Trudy marvels at anyone who can manoeuvre a If that sounds like the realm of Chicken Little and other paranoid grocery cart up and down the aisles while blasting types, consider the revelation that Canada's electronic spy agency CSEC away on a cell phone about nothing. Occasionally recently used the free wireless service at a major Canadian airport to she wishes she could multitask like that. pinpoint thousands of unsuspecting passengers, and then tracked their movement for several days. It seems this developer of “tradecraft”

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