Not Needing Oil Has Cost for BC

The following was published October 19, 2012 in the Comox Valley Record.

PREMIER CHRISTY CLARK's stance toward Premier Alison Redford of Alberta (right) comes with a cost, notes Ed Zirkwitz of Royston.  (appeared in Comox Valley Record October 19, 2012) -Black Press

It seems that our Premier, Christy Clark, as of late, is going around the province bragging how great our provincial economy is.

  Is that a great thing to do when she in effect has prorogued the fall sitting of the BC Legislature?  

Recently in Nanaimo, she addressed a Vancouver Island economic summit.  According to the Edmonton Journal: “…Premier Christy Clark took aim at Alberta Tuesday in an election-style speech where she boasted her province doesn't need oil to be the country's top economic generator… She drew mild applause from the business crowd when she said B.C.'s job creation numbers are currently tops in Canada, ahead of Alberta, and B.C. has done it without oil revenues.“

  I thought I would check the facts.

  According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers BC produces about one per cent of the oil produced in Canada.  However, BC produces almost 25 per cent of Canadian natural gas, according to the NEB.

  Then there are plans for 8 new mines and upgrades to 9. Hey, we may even get the Raven coal mine here in our own back yard. 

Apparently there could be more coal extracted from there to exceed ALL the coal ever previously mined on all of Vancouver Island.  Yes, we may not need oil so our premier is able to tell Premier Alison Redford to shove it.  

 But this wonderfully rosy picture rests strongly on natural resources.  Also, don’t forget the forestry and the fisheries.  

So what if we are still hewers of wood and drawers of water you might ask?  

I suppose it is important for the economic pundits to tell us to strike while the iron is hot.  After all there are more seniors and up and coming seniors to support.  

Educate the younger workers to work in the resources and constructions sectors.  That will allow more seniors down the road to work in the service sector.  

Who doesn't want to flip burgers at McDonalds in their retirement years?  Now wouldn’t that be grand?

Happy New Year Comox Valley!

The late Jack Layton, Canada's 2011 Newsmaker, in Courtenay

With 2012 upon us there are many predictions floating about.  Although 2011 was a much more globally eventful year-- no doubt than most people could have predicted -- what can we expect in 2012?  This island life of ours has been a relative safe haven on the world scale and even on the Canadian scale. We have been cushioned from earthquakes, major storms, famines and flash floods or widespread pestilences.    No terrorists lurking in our back yards.  We have survived strikes at Air Canada and Canada Post.

My close friend just canceled a trip to Christchurch, New Zealand because in the last few months Christchurch has had over 6,000 earthquakes.  Our son and his family are on their way home from the Philippines where they have experienced some of the strongest out-of-season typhoons in recorded history.

Financial chaos, for the most part, has not crossed our paths. So what is there to complain about?  Of course there are our politicians. But no Arab Spring in our country.  And then there are our neighbours to the south digging themselves into a hole.  We can, I suppose, take the position that with things so bad around the world things can only get better.  That, naturally, depends on how we define 'better'.  Most events in life seem beyond our immediate control or sphere of influence.  And even though our world is groaning -- but not really so much locally-- we are in some ways affected by circumstances beyond our invisible borders. Mark Twain said that history does not repeat itself but that it rhymes.  Perhaps we can latch onto Biblical prophecy that predicts a world that is going to keep on getting worse.  However, if that will be the case, even in our own neck of the woods, within that scenario, as long as persons within a society care for a better world and step forward, there will be bright spots within the supposed gloom and doom.  Happy New Year.

How To Build a Good Homeless Shelter in the Right Location in the Comox Valley

"Homeless and Hungry" 1869, by Samuel Luke Fildes

Dear Editor:

On Thursday July 7, 30 elected officials, downtown merchants, Chamber of Commerce members, charity and non-profit members visited two homeless and transitional housing projects in Nanaimo and Duncan. Did they actually learn something from this trip more than that it was a good photo op?  I wonder how knowledgeable, informed and experienced are those that are spending the taxpayers dollars and leading out in the building of a shelter? Since there is a thrust to have a shelter, let’s have one set up so that it makes a difference. Make sure that what we get will be better than what we have now.

It appears it was another example of how our local representatives do things backwards. This fact finding journey of discovery should have come before the land was purchased for a proposed homeless shelter.  Get all of your ducks in a row first. 

 Our provincial government has produced several in depth studies on the Causes and Effects of Homelessness in BC with titles such as: “The Relationship between Homelessness and the Health, Social Services and Criminal Justice Systems; The Costs of Homelessness; A Profile, Policy Review and Analysis of Homelessness”.

  These and other studies and experiences from providers of shelters show that about 70 per cent of homelessness is due to drug addiction and mental illness. Drug addicts tend to support their habits with property crime.  Perhaps City Hall employees won’t mind their cars being broken into. If you want to reduce homelessness then prove that you have found effective methods to deal with drug addiction and mental illness. 

 Other factors include availability and affordability of housing, the local unemployment rate, the ability of individuals to either have gainful employment or other means of income or financial means and the individual’s attitudes as to being a responsible tenant. 

Homeless shelters don’t necessarily have to be built close to support services that many of the residents may need.  Successful examples show that required professional services can be provided in house or on premises. Also, there are means of transportation such as the bus, using a bicycle, walking, sharing a ride or volunteers driving them. 

 The reasons to support the purchase of property near City Hall on Cliffe Avenue are not necessarily good or strong ones. Given the flawed process that has taken place so far and the $ 400,000+ price tag for what seems to be a small piece of property in a location that is opposed by many, I suggest that we should start over from scratch and do it right this time. Those in charge and involved, do your homework first, get trained and informed so that you know what you are doing.

(This Letter to the Editor appeared in the Comox Valley Record and The Echo on July 14, 2011)

Losing Access to Stotan Falls

As recently reported in the newspaper, 3L Developments Inc. (LeMare Lake Logging) is planning to close, on January 15, a portion of Duncan Bay Main which would affect access to Stotan Falls, from Forbidden Plateau Road and of course traffic along Duncan Bay Main between Forbidden Plateau Road and Comox Logging Road.

On their website, 3ldevelopments.com names this project “Riverwood”. It is described as proposing about half or 215 acres of proposed development to become parkland/green space. Development includes 618 lots for single family homes, 9 acres for patio homes, walking, hiking and biking trails, river access for kayaking, canoeing, swimming and fishing. There is also reference to sustainable practices to be incorporated.

There are certainly concerns with this size of development and its location beside Stotan Falls and where the Browns and the Puntledge rivers meet.

Will the intention be that where there now is “public access” to some of this area, will this access be cut off?  Will certain enjoyment of this area be available only to individuals living in the new-to-be developed residential area? 

On their website they state that they are protecting fish spawning channels and hiking trails. Will that really be the case?  Under private ownership what obligations do they really have and for whose benefit?

 A partial way to deal with these concerns would be for the owners of the property to donate enough property bordering the Browns and Puntledge Rivers for public use.  This donated land could become a park perhaps along the lines of Roy Morrison Nature Park.  Also, this donation could take place in the not too distant future.

Developers can turn essentially cheaply acquired (i.e. low cost) raw land into very valuable real estate through rezoning and development applications.  Our local elected officials often are more than eager to make this possibility a reality.

 In a little less than a year there will be local elections.  Now is the time for locally registered voters to start thinking about who will be best to serve them at the start of the next term.  There seems to be more interest shown in making the Comox Valley more sustainable in the future.  Perhaps a coordinating group of various environmental organizations should form, call themselves the “Sustainability Coalition” and endorse future candidates that meet the appropriate sustainability guidelines?

Read more at their site: http://www.3ldevelopments.com

Courtenay Traffic de-Congestion Suggestions

Letter to the Editor:
Now that most of Courtenay's 17th Street bridge traffic flow improvements are nearing completion, consideration needs to be given to tackling the growing traffic congestion downtown. This became very evident by the long delays and lineups when Cliffe Avenue was confined to less than the normally available  three or four lanes.

Whatever the historical reasons are, we are now in a situation where much of the the regional traffic (that needs to go from one side of the Courtenay River to the other) finds itself crossing one of the two bridges. Now, the 5th Street bridge seems as busy as ever.  For practical purposes those are the only two options:

•  Adding additional lanes to the 17th Street bridge

                                               or

• building another bridge in downtown Courtenay 

Building another bridge will just encourage more traffic in the downtown or city centre area with all its related problems and at price tag that could easily exceed $ 10 million.

We need to look at ways to divert traffic away from the downtown Courtenay area.  I am talking about traffic that is "just passing through."

For example, an environmentally-sensitive causeway or tunnel could be built connecting the Courtenay Connector (29 th street) to Comox Road and with a road extending up to MacDonald.


 Also, there is no easy means to by-pass downtown Courtenay in the area north of the city. For example, consider the Inland highway exit at Strathcona Parkway to Mt. Washington and Dove Creek Road or the Piercy road exit. There a bridge could be built over the Tsolum River giving good traffic flow east-west linking Merville and area to both of these exits.

Most growing urban areas allow traffic to bypass their core areas because a good portion of the traffic has no intention of stopping and that is the case with Courtenay: otherwise there would need to be many more parking spaces built.  More traffic congestion results in more fuel being burned, higher risk of accidents, more time wasted.  Emergency vehicles would have more difficulty responding. Public transport, cyclists, electric bikes would all be affected too.

Thus it becomes an environmental issue as well.

Another Dilemma for Courtenay Homeless?

Recent action by Courtenay city council to threaten to enforce Maple Pool Campground to abide by their zoning restriction of not allowing year round permanent residents, is passing the buck: the Province no longer wants to continue to pay flood victim temporary relocation costs. However, flooding is usually viewed as a condition beyond most residents' control, regardless of zoning laws. Who can reasonably predict flooding and the extent of it? First of all, for Maple Pool management, to expose residents at lower levels to be at risk of getting flooded out suggests they should bear some responsibility in the event of flooding. Do they require the residents to sign a waiver in the event of flooding or supply some kind of warning of this possibility? What of BC Hydro last winter? Did they give proper and adequate warning prior to release of water and take proactive action in coordinating that process? Not just Maple Pool was flooded. Can the shoreline of the Tsolum River be built up in the flood prone areas sufficiently to provide some prevention and who should pay for that? Are some areas of the Maple Pool campground sufficiently high enough to allow rezoning for some permanent residents but allow the lower levels to remain zoned just for temporary residents? Recent political processes suggest that local governments are interested in addressing the aspect of homelessness but the decision of Courtenay Council, by being confrontative in the way they have done, suggests the opposite. Thus, we are faced with the question: 'In this situation, who will bell the cat?' Here are some clips of last year's flood: Letter to the Editor published in The Comox Valley Record Buck Being Passed Re Maple Pool Campground The Comox Valley Echo: Passing the Buck The Comox Valley Echo Here is an item from Maple Pool Owners.

What is Sage Hills Really Up To?

Letter to the Editor,

I read with interest Kip Keylock’s letter to the editor September 24 in a local paper regarding growth in the Comox Valley and Sage Hills. On page 5 of the document entitled “Regional Growth Strategies” published by the BC Government is a list of 14 provincial goals for RGS. In other words a regional governmental growth strategy is expected to conform to this list.

Let us see what Sage Hills themselves and Kip Keylock are saying about some of Sage Hills goals. On page 5 and page 20 of their (Sage Hills) December 16, 2009 to the RGS is the following statement: "Sage Hills is planned to open with 700 full-time (“permanent”) jobs, many of which are skilled/professional positions, placing Sage Hills as the 5 th largest employer in the Valley. As such Sage Hills will function as a significant employment and settlement node, and not just a residential development or subdivision." Kip states that "the initial estimates for student enrollment are 500-600 students". How is it possible for only 500-600 students to financially support the initial 700 (most likely high paying) skilled/professional jobs, pay off the huge capital it will take to build a university with all its infrastructure and housing units from scratch plus pay off the investors (it is a private for-profit undertaking)?

Kip states that Sage Hills “has modeled itself in part, after a successful Sports Academy in Bradenton, Florida.” That appears to be IMG Academies, a multi-billion dollar facility. One of Sage Hills' management team includes Peter Johnson, who “worked with Mark McCormack for 30 years to build IMG into the global sports business it is today.” I am not aware that any of the management team live close by. Also, their listed “project team of specialists” are based in Vancouver, Toronto and various cities in the United States.

Kip says “decisions must be made in order to keep any momentum going.” Who is the momentum for? There is plenty of momentum already going on elsewhere: Trilogy, Kensington Island Properties, Harbour View Landing, 300 new proposed homes on 73 acres between Fraser and Buckstone Roads, a 143 residential lot project at Saratoga Beach, Longlands and other smaller ones of course. Kip states that Sage Hills will “contribute greatly to our economy.” Translation: this will be a large project.

Will Sage Hills (or for that matter these other projects coming on stream) meet the Provincial goals for RGS: avoiding urban sprawl; settlement patterns that minimize the use of automobiles; the efficient movement of goods and people; protecting environmentally sensitive areas; maintaining the integrity of a secure and productive resource base; economic development that supports the unique character of communities; reducing and preventing air, land and water pollution; adequate, affordable and appropriate housing; adequate inventories of suitable land and resources for future settlement; protecting the quality and quantity of ground water and surface water; settlement patterns that minimize the risks associated with natural hazards; preserving, creating and linking urban and rural open space including parks and recreations areas; planning for energy supply and promoting efficient use, conversion and alternative forms of energy; and good stewardship of land, sites and structures with cultural heritage?

The bulk of the population at Sage Hills will be made up of international students and some short term contract personnel that will “turn over” and have no vested interest in being part of our community but will be of a somewhat transitional nature. Many of the jobs, because of the specialized nature of the facility, will be filled by outsiders.

The 2083 acres owned by Sage Hills near Royston currently are basically raw undeveloped land not zoned for such a large project. IMG academies only has about 400 acres in Bradenton, Florida for their large facility. North Island College, here in Courtenay, has over 5,000 registered students but only needs a few acres of land in which to accomplish that.

Why does Sage Hills need such a large tract of land? Will this be like having an American city created in our back yard?

*published in the Comox Valley Echo September 28, 2010 under "Opinions" and with the header of "Sage Hills: American City?"

Please see the preceding editorial: The Fools on Sage Hills