FRIDAY JANUARY 2 2015 VOL.41 , NO. 51
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The Bowen Queen
Surviving the small boat and medical assured loading
Kayak
The Jessie Award winning play with the Bowen-lead hits the stage, again
Digging deep
Resolutions from the couch
Sean Delaney and Louise MacIntosh work hard on dealing with all the post-Christmas recycling at BIRD. Maureen Sawasy, photo
A constitution to create an even “happier” isle? MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Gustaaf Tasseron considers himself a mere visitor to Bowen Island. He has been traveling around the world for 35 years, and has a base here because of the presence of his daughter and four grandchildren. With this in mind, he has an idea for creating a happier, more peacable island, which came to him in October upon return from his last journey (to Denmark, the Republic of Djibouti, and Kenya). Tasseron says that he attended a series of dinner parties at which the subject of conversation was Bowen politics, community and of course, divisions within the community.
“It occurred to me that by proclaiming democracy, we are in fact splitting up people into different groups, instead of building community as we always claim to want to be doing here,” says Tasseron. “Democracy is not a guarantee that everyone will be listened to or even that we will have outcomes that reflect our values.” Tasseron says that as he followed the developments and the conversations surrounding the municipal election, he began to see this separation more deeply. “This division between developers and environmentalists,” he says. “To me it seems an irrelevant difference. You can not develop without taking care of the environment, and you can not, as an environmentalist, simply attempt to keep people out
in the effort to keep things clean.” With this in mind, Tasseron started looking for a goal or a word that might unite the community of Bowen Island, instead of divide it. “What came to mind was the word HAPPINESS: happiness for my self, my family and my community,” says Tasseron. This conclusion led him to investigating the Kingdom of Bhutan, a constitutional monarchy that uses “happiness” as opposed to economics, to determine the success of its governance. continued, PAGE 8
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Hondro hits the
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Plannin the futug for the Sou re of nd
The 11 gov erning bod Howe Sou ies that ma nd ke up the Bowen, are Community For um, includ committed ing to
co-operati MER IBET are on H DEE N s will be revea those detail ntal assessment proEDITO H DEEN R MER IBET cted by the ucted the environmeit is cond condu Howe Soun R ncial govish cess, whether d is a place EDITO Bowen is nment, Provi wher mill near Squam one Federal gover A former pulp shores of Howe erning this of five governing e watersheds and both. boundarie West ernment or Ngo says Woodfibre s converge. estry distr region are the Islan municipalities on on the North a chance at a secicts, First Howe Soun provide get ds However, to Trus Gas o may al d ts, Hydr Elected offic Nations, Natur three regio Soun d. as y, is expecting BC d to compress the a Liquefied nal districts,Also govSound have ials from the com well as provincia ond life as ssing and export facilit neede three l and munities form (the gas the power est, they combeen meeting for whose wate federal governm for(LNG) proce National Energy Board into liquid ximately a anatural gas Forum. At e together unde decade to discuss rsheds feed into theents. now that the the company’s applic cooled to appro r the bann issues of their last needs to be Celcius). common palities, regio er of meet has approved t LNG. The Canadian es inter cy nal governming, the eleven signethe Howe Sound -160 degre on, Bowen’s representoget tion to expor Assessment Agen Commun her ents es (which to Peter Frint to Sky Clean Air ntal ity include mun coordinatedurge the federal andand the Squamish Environme g for public comment to the Sea the Society is coniciNation) agree provincia strategy for ntative askin onme 14th now is l governm n while d to work , they are the Sound. a federal envir ents Society, says the re-industrializatio hoping to to give to on whether is required, and hear what At their next meet to help build a the cerned about d in general, the use y ing, higher level al tal assessmentrequest by the Province Bowen munprocess. s of governmon January d for the annu the of Howe Sounsource of power largel icipal coun meeting as ent are willin whether the a to conduct d be Howe Soun as cillor zed bia of rs locali a hydro Wolf representa of g illy wate Trust. rns about of British Colum ment, shoul tive of Bow gang Duntz will e the chilly be attending alleviates conce en but also mers brav onmental assess envir “Part Swim r)! spetion. this as of the a trustee wate air pollu rd, from the wanted to the reason I ran as approved. need to know think if inside (the suka, photo Islands a trustee ct goes forwa change the I “We really Baby it’s cold with the Islan focused on If the proje 3-4 tankers – each fact that Frinton, “butal gas to dip. Kami Kanet ely cifics,” says Polar Bear “And I can the issues just affec the organization was ds Trust is beca approximat and a half times the burning natur use they were plant they would likely the region tell you that that hasting the specific Gulf so inward looking, I roughly one Ferries Coastal Class is seeing . From power their an avalanchechanged drastically Islands,” says Dun so opposition The “thre size of a BC the ferries that tz. as , I am a lot in the past of threats. face a lot more he says peopats” Duntz points Ferry (such perspective big pic” shoe bay and year as now to my personal between Horse by Bowen about the years ago. le in the Southern include shellfish travel rned and y, the ty, pass in farm quali Gulf Islan - will more conce comes to air qualit ds were relat ing, whose impa “After a num Nanaimo) month. Propelled by the paramedics it gas ct directly to ture when ively naive ber of these lance. l as a does to the say, greenhouse Island every the patient about five proje using diese of the ambu , we call the thee age of questions about d through the natual gas and lled nger seats debris and landscape and they cts have gone throu an emergency the message,” natur fuel, the double-hu tonnes ions create a whole.” iverr and passe paged forKare dam don’t drive gh, emiss age peop like up n ed that gets get Duntz says backtry as n receiv Hug , we left behind it,” he says. “And le see what it “When we n-based carry 2.1 millioChina lance new prop ral gas indus and rm that we’veeth the hes H DEEN ambu they see all geoducks , the Bowe when they aasfew tankers will osals for gas to MER IBET her to confi n weMerib tcher it of her get into Deen photo , which is the ispatc Merran Smith Energy with dispa ied natural “homies “Whe entirely new similar projects close down.” will mean dispatcher of liquef R Clean ” at the 225 was (incl tank EDITO ays Donohue. ation collected by the says the thing to comdirector of end ofofthe ce Station through the ers shipping, coal,to the region), plus uding the farm every year. da, says that that it is a ulance Servi up to New Year’s eve the manager scho ing of al olTides ted softarea have get the inform indu oil and liqui day Cana he BC Amb lead LNG is Marion Ngo, Woodfibre Natur at BICS “Before we raise offer is upda says that about d natural strial plans that busy in the . comes in.” new system does not es the ambulance make judg d the alarm. remember an Donohue 29th gas will be cations with project is still in unusually tion,” says ements on edic Brend mber going ons. muni that ensur Duntz. What the fossil fuel. these thing system gency locati is Gas Ltd., says the planning, so elethis year. Paramen midnight on Decended to four PAGE 2 The islan MERtIBET s, we need routeHemer for the GPS s of continued, il, this ds in How ware direc phase he respo shift betwe O’Ne DEE engimore , most his en early that 30th, g lly the e Soun ology the informacould drast r Colle N durin E D I T inato g the typica ding techn on December drivers take Circle coord cts OR ically chan d face a whole othe ments regar and midnighthe says, is unusual durinto those calls in the ge the regio cts of the proje r For Caring , 2 neering and impa a n’s landscapset of projects prop rn. a com- a large hote hue drove On the last whole othe calls, which ued, PAGE osals e: a major conce equipped with r l-marina r season. Dono of school Hughes said daycontin - a gravel Hughes saidstory.” slow winte ambulance, which is . This device relays befor mine in McNcomplex in Gibs goodbye on’s landing - the Woo threats were she learned quick to her ‘home Christmas, Kare Her hom station’s new (CAD) systemgh the telephone disdfibre LNG ab Creek n not ly that, for ies.’ d dispatch every day, ies are the kids she - a massive proposal “I remembe the answer. is the puter-aide ation collected throu of emergency, and her yetatit least and when gets to scho some brok - the Sea-t waterfront re-develop homies were r one rainy ocula she r diseases, and eye occur,s ol and back all the inform as the address, the type afternoon e down and told them she o-Sky Gon nosed parti men Dry such r-diag early er, t cular says. was in the city - a proposed the most unde dola en “Then I -on cried. patch leaving side of wild. 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