Strait of Georgia Every Second Thursday & Online ‘24/7’ at Uniting The Salish Sea ~ From Coast To Coast to Coast islandtides.com Canadian Publications Mail Product Volume 21 Number 9 May 7-May 20, 2009 $1 at Selected Retailers Sales Agreement Nº 40020421 Tide tables 2 Saturna 2 Gardening 3 Letters 4 Liquor stores 5 Ukraine cook 5 What’s on? 5 Footprint 12 Bulletin board 15 Trail and campground closed this summer Two popular southern Vancouver Island recreation sites will be close this summer, The Galloping Goose Regional Trail, Photo: Susan Banjavich north of kilometre 49, and Sooke As the days warm and the sun shines, gardeners are reaping the rewards of their toil. Potholes Campground will both be closed due to the construction of the Sooke water supply pipeline. Sooke Potholes Regional Park will First-Past-the-Post could produce a re- Younger citizens also vote remain open, however visitors may The province’s youngest citizens are leading by encounter short delays, dust, noise and run of the 1996 election example and inspiring their families and school heavy equipment. Caution is advised Angus Reid polling numbers released April 27 Bruce Hallsor, past president of Fair Voting BC. communities to get involved in the provincial near construction activity. were remarkably similar to the results of the ‘Under our flawed first-past-the post system we election and referendum this May. The Capital Regional District has 1996 election which produced a majority can get these 39% majorities for second place More than 75,000 students are expected to take taken steps to ensure that pipe government for the second place finisher and parties, or things like the near wipe-out of all part in Student Vote BC, a province-wide parallel installation contractors working along rocketed electoral reform onto the political opposition in 2001. Neither situation was a fair election. Students will have an opportunity to cast the road and trail will create a minimum agenda in BC. result or representative of what the people two ballots: one for a local candidate and one for the of disturbance and will leave the trail and According to the results, the Liberals, led by actually voted.’ referendum question. The results will be tabulated by park road in better condition after Premier Gordon Campbell have the support of The skewed results of the 1996 and 2001 district and compared to the official results. construction is completed. This is the 42% of the electorate, the same percentage Mr campaigns were the focus of a new TV ad In preparation for the vote, students are studying third phase of the new supply line and it Campbell received in 1996. The poll also puts launched by the BC-STV campaign on April 28. the electoral process, party platforms and the is expected that the project will be NDP leader Carole James at 39% support In the past three elections, all of the main referendum choices in their classrooms, with many completed this fall. today, the same percentage the NDP received in political parties in British Columbia have fallen schools planning candidate visits and forums in the The Sooke Water Supply Pipeline 1996 when they came in second, yet formed a victim to the flaws of the current system. lead up to their vote. Project will increase the capacity and majority government. Liberal voters will remember the majority On Student Vote Day, Monay May 11, some security of the water supply to the ‘It was when those results were announced that was awarded to their opponents despite students will take on the role of election officials and District of Sooke. The total project cost is on election night in 1996 that many people, capturing the popular vote in 1996. coordinate voting for their peers using official approximately $20 million, and is including the current premier I believe, started New Democrats will remember being comprised of 14.5km of water supply to look seriously at electoral reform in BC,’ said VOTING, please turn to page 2 STUDENT VOTE, please turn to page 2, TRAIL, please turn to page 2 First Nations—what now, and who? Patrick Brown A few weeks before the election, Premier land they claim since before 1846. Campbell announced that he would be The move to introduce the ‘First Nations introducing the ‘First Nations Recognition and Recognition and Reconciliation Act’ was Reconciliation Act’ in the provincial legislature. triggered by a BC Supreme Court judgment last But on March 14, following meetings with November. The court ruled, for the first time in resource industry representatives, Campbell Canada, that aboriginal title exists and that announced that introduction of the legislation 200,000 hectares of the land claimed by a would be delayed until after the election. small band in the BC interior qualified. Implicit Reports indicated that industry felt that the in this decision is that a substantial portion of new legislation would give First Nations a ‘veto’ BC could be aboriginal title land. over new development. Since then, little has The proposed legislation almost certainly been heard. represents a significant—some would say BCLiberals, the NDP, and the Green Party daring—leap forward in structure and all state that they favour recognizing aboriginal approach to dealing with First Nations’ land title and rights in the province, and title and rights throughout the province. implementing the ‘New Relationship’ which But what does it really mean? It’s not just an stems from the Kelowna Accord, signed by both economic issue, not only a social justice issue, the federal and provincial governments in and not only an environmental issue—it November, 2005. fundamentally affects how both government The NDP and the BCLiberals say that they and business is organized in BC. would no longer require First Nations to spend FIRST NATIONS, please turn to page 13 years in court proving that they have used the is available at these SERIOUS COFFEE locations — look for the ‘Island Tides’ yellow boxes or racks inside! Sidney—Beacon Avenue Mill Bay—Island Highway @ Frayne Rd Parksville—Heritage Centre Mall Nanaimo—Across from the Hospital South Duncan—Sun Valley Mall Courtenay—Southgate Centre, Cliffe Ave Nanaimo—Hammond Bay Rd Duncan—Cowichan Commons Mall Port Alberni—Shoppers Drugmart Plaza, 10th Ave Nanaimo—South Parkway Plaza good reading, great coffee — it’s time to get SERIOUS! Campbell River—Island Highway near Larwood Rd Page 2, ISLAND TIDES, May 7, 2009 Saturna Notes ~Priscilla Ewbank Apology We have had several days of sunny weather! It has been grand to Island Tides extends a sincere apology to the family of the late get into the garden to carry through more-than-one-day projects. Edmund Crocker for any distress caused by an article printed You can go out of the house without donning your coat over two in our April 23 edition. Mr Crocker died of a heart attack in his other layers and come back in without removing gumboots. sleep on April 9. Weeds come flying out of the still moist earth and the soil tills up beautifully for raking, digging and seeding. I love dirt! I am in Mark McLean played percussion and Marc Rogers played seventh heaven patting seeds into the firmed bed of soil laying a bass—both accomplished and respected. What was so powerful softer cover of dirt over them setting out the strings for the rows about the performance was the stellar virtuosity and the joy and and identifying with tags when and what is planted and what are ease that the three musicians had among themselves and their best characteristics. extended to the audience. Beans and carrots, marigolds, chard, kale, violas, calendulas, Several years ago when Michael Kaeshammer was last here, potatoes, parsleys—flat Italian and moss curled—and peas! Peas he gave a very talented and interesting performance. This time, are prized in our garden. The grandchildren come over for the added to the splashy piano virtuosity, there is depth and Lamb BBQ on July 1 and eating fresh peas is part of this ritual. authority. Last time he hardly sang and this time he sang lots of The sugar-snap peas are on a long trellis that runs alongside a fir songs, Stop that Train, Be Your Husband, Lovelight—excellent log and a garden path so that the kids can stand on the log and songs meshed with tight playing. An audience favorite was called pick to their heart’s content. The Cut. Each year, there is a review of pea-picking protocol. ‘The Then he and Mark McLean got together with the snare drum, sweetest peas look like this. You can hold the stem with one hand brushes and piano. ‘Start slow’ I heard him say and they were off: and pull the pea off with the other—or eat the pea while it is on solo answering solo, faster and faster. You could see the curious the vine!’ The path and log provide a firm base for enthusiastic minds and the listening ears creating a dazzling conversation. pea-eaters to pull that pea off of the vine without standing on At one point the audience was invited to get up and dance or whatever they felt like. Then there was a pause and Mr. roots or tromping the fluffy growing soil—which makes the Kaeshammer said, ‘I usually say who will remember you and AT POINT ATKINSON grandmother gardener very happy on both accounts! what you did the next day? Clearly that isn’t the case on Saturna One of the glories of gardening is all the attendant creatures MAY Island!’ that call the garden home.