Island Tides Newspaper

Every Second Strait of Georgia Thursday & Online ‘24/7’ at islandtides.com The Gulf Islands & Eastern Vancouver Island ~ Bridging The Gulf Since 1989 Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement Nº 40020421 Volume 19 Number 2 January 25—February 7, 2007 50¢ at Selected Retailers Tide tables 2 Shadow profit 2 Saturna 3 Letters 4 Geoduck 5 Strip mining 6 40 questions 7 Bulletin board 7 Littoral 8 Next phase of Swartz Bay Photo: Janine Bandcroft terminal changes: A new view of Swartz Bay terminal. Clearing has begun for new toll booth area (see also story this page). rock blasting Commentary by Peter Carter Commentary on MV Quinsam Incident by Patrick Brown until March Status quo on climate If they’d tell us, we’d feel safer Crews are currently working at Swartz n Tuesday evening, January 7, vehicles resulted in only minor damage to the Sturdies Bay ferry terminal preparing the area change; nuke tar sands, were boarding the ferry MV Quinsam at Bay waiting room.) But ferry users have a right south of the existing toll booths to ONanaimo when the ferry, apparently to be a little worried. Given that safety has to be accommodate a new pre-ticket area and says Lunn without warning, left the dock. The driver of the the first priority in operating any ferry fleet, it new toll booths. Canadian environmentalists may have warmed to the Gabriola-bound truck on the boarding ramp would be reassuring if the ferry corporation As part of the preparation, there will new federal Environment Minister John Baird, who was able to escape, but his truck ended up in would talk about it a bit more. be drilling and blasting near the actually says he believes the climate is changing. I the water. The corporation’s silence has been noted by intersection of Lands End and Swartz would think that National Post journalist Andrew No explanation has been given for this none other than former premier Glen Clark, who Bay Roads. The drilling and blasting Coyne’s take is more accurate when he described Mr incident. The results of various investigations hasn’t said anything political (at least in public) activities will commence on Monday, Baird as ‘The man sent to kill the issue: Baird posting of the sinking of the Queen of the North off Gil for years. He felt moved to point out that when January 22 and are scheduled to is all about appearances.’ Island about a year ago have not been released. he was accountable for ferries, a similar incident continue until the end of March. For the record, Baird gave a rousing anti-Kyoto The results of former Auditor-General George at Departure Bay in which a minivan fell in the Blasting is expected to take place three to speech at a gathering put on by The Canadian Morfitt’s overall review of safety on BC Ferries water, and two people were killed, was four days per week and in some cases Coalition for Responsible Environmental Solutions. have not been released. BC Ferry Services Inc investigated within four weeks. more than once per day. BC Ferries has The coalition was a lobby group ‘who’s who’ of big has not replied to accusations made by its MLA Gary Coons, the official NDP Critic for former safety director that its safety culture was Ferries and Ports, has asked Transportation established approved ‘windows’ for Canadian greenhouse gas emitters like the Canadian not what it should be. And the acting auditor- Minister Kevin Falcon to provide some blasting and have scheduled them to Association of Oil Well Drilling Contractors, the general recommended in September that BC assurances that any recommendations Morfitt avoid peak traffic times in order to Canadian Petroleum Association, the Canadian Ferries be more open and accountable. makes will be acted on immediately. Coons is minimize delays to the travelling public. Association of Petroleum Producers, the Coal Considering the thousands of individual MLA for North Coast, and his constituents take a Association of Canada and the Cement Association of In accordance with standard safety voyages made by the ferries every year, any lot of ferry trips. He describes ferries, correctly, Canada. In 2002, the coalition ran a $225,000 a week procedures, vehicle traffic and individual’s chances of being involved in an as our ‘marine highways.’ advertising campaign to pressure the Chrétien pedestrians travelling into and out of the incident are small. (In twenty years of regular But back to the Quinsam and its Swartz Bay terminal area will be government not to sign on to Kyoto. ferry travel, I can only recall one incident where unexplained departure. A remarkably similar temporarily stopped while the blasting Judging from its media releases, that coalition Island Tides’ staff was on board an imminent incident occurred at the same Nanaimo procedures are underway. The delays to could also have written the Harper government’s shipwreck; that time the skill of the skipper of terminal on April 13, 2002, when the Bowen traffic and pedestrians are expected to ‘Made in Canada’ anti-Kyoto do-nothing climate ‘C’ Watch on the Queen of Nanaimo performed Queen, substituting for the Quinsam on the change plan. In a press statement April 7, 2006 Rona be no longer than fifteen minutes. a manoeuvre with amazing panache which BC FERRIES, please turn to page 2 A portion of the employee parking lot Ambrose, the previous environment minister, gave and two small buildings will be relocated notice that Canada’s contribution to the Kyoto to provide space for the reconfiguration Protocol would be to set its own ‘easier to meet’ ‘Right to Farm’ Hearing ~ Christa Grace-Warrick of the holding compound for traffic greenhouse gas emissions standards: ‘My A unusual hearing before a 3-member panel of dying over an increasingly large area bound for the Southern Gulf Islands. departmental officials and the department officials the British Columbia Farm Industry Review surrounding the garden. The East Exit Road, which is utilized by from Natural Resources have indicated that it is Board (FIBR) took place January 17 and 18 at An Intervention in the Complaint by a Southern Gulf Island customers when impossible, impossible for Canada to reach its Kyoto Poet’s Cove Resort at Bedwell Harbour on South second neighbouring landholder, Cheryl two ships are unloading simultaneously, target.’ Under new Minister Baird this non-plan Pender Island. The hearing was a milestone event Grunbock, stated in part: will also be realigned during this phase remains, as do the hatchet jobs to Environment in a 3-1⁄2 year farming dispute on North Pender. ‘runoff from Watt’s vineyard is flowing down of construction. Canada’s GHG control measures. In the winter of 2002, a steep wooded onto my property and dramatically affecting ‘This project will create It is interesting to see what the Honourable Gary hillside was clear-cut logged, destumped and the condition of a substantial number of my approximately 320 additional spaces Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources (and Saanich/ terraced to create a steep slope vineyard. At the trees on the better part of an acre of land. The inside the compound, which will greatly Gulf Islands’ MP), has on his mind at the moment. It bottom of the hill, where four properties met, maturing forest of forty to sixty-year-old reduce traffic backing up onto Highway is Alberta’s tar sands. But the tar sands mega-projects was a moist valley bottom with a tiny pond Douglas fir and western red cedar are 17 at peak times,’ said Manuel have a problem. There’s just not enough natural gas to which irrigated a small but very productive showing stress and are in noticeably poor Achadinha, BC Ferries’ vice president of keep melting the tar out of the sand. But have no fear: organic market garden which had been in condition. The needles are chlortic, the tops of operation for more than twenty years. Terminal Operations. i TAR SANDS, please turn to page 5 the trees are drooping and the canopies are In addition to deforesting and reshaping the thinning, showing excessive needle loss with hillside, in the spring of 2002, Keith Watt, the the trees closer to the site of the drainage field owner of Morning Bay Vineyard, also being the worst affected. The symptoms constructed a dugout pond (see photo exhibited by the affected Fir and Cedar are opposite) at the bottom of the slope directly characteristic of drowning trees which occurs adjacent to the Deverell property, operators of because of low oxygen levels endemic to a market garden. constant soil saturation. Reed Canary grass, a In a Complaint filed last October to the FIRB, species tolerant of poorly oxygenated, Tekla Deverell asserts ‘improper farm practices saturated soil, has begun to thrive along the engaged in by Mr Watt which have been path of the drainage.’ deleterious to my business of organic farming.’ Responding to the Complaint, Watt states Since 2002, Deverell’s garden has become gradually waterlogged and unproductive, which that he has done nothing which is not ‘normal she attributes to run-off from the clearcut hillside farm practice,’ which gives him protection and from overflow or leakage from the dug-out under the Right to Farm Act (the legislation Photo: Exhibit from Complainant’s binder through which the Farm Industry Review Excavation of hillside and pond for North Pender vineyard in 2002 (see article to the right). pond next door, and possibly the use of fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides. Cedar trees are also HEARING, please turn to page 3 Page 2, ISLAND TIDES, Jan 25, 2007 Special Report by Patrick Brown Ferries’ permitted profit of 14% includes ‘shadow’ taxes C Ferry Commissioner Martin Crilly has announced that AT FULFORD HARBOUR the provincially owned private corporation, BC Ferry Fare-Setting BServices Inc, will be permitted to earn a 14% return on The setting of a return rate is the first step in a process that will JANUARY/FEBRUARY equity during Performance Term 2 (PT2), from April 1, 2008 to conclude with fares set for Performance Term 2 next fall.

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