FRIDAY MAY 15, 2015 VOL. 42, NO. 16
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The earth keeps moving
Kate Coffey on fundraising efforts in light of a second quake in Nepal
Dock bylaw
Preview to another public hearing
Generosity at work
Meet the board members of the Bowen Island Community Foundation
Little League season is in full swing down at the baseball field. The Bowen Island Mariners are one of three island teams for kids under 12 years of age. You can catch them in action, alongside the Pirates, every Saturday afternoon. A second team of the Pirates (ages 6 -8) plays on Sundays. From left: Zachary Ross, Escher Lorenz, Sam Jennings. Theresa Liptay, photos
Bowen declares the right of local residents to a healthy environment MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
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s of Monday evening, every resident of Bowen Island has the right to live in a healthy environment including the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, consume safe food, have access to nature, know about pollutants and contaminants released into the local environment and participate in decision making that affects the environment. The cities of Richmond, Vancouver, Port Moody, Squamish and Port Coquitlam have all passed similar declarations, which will be brought forward to the province with the aim of enacting an Environmental Bill of Rights. Councillor Sue Ellen Fast said she looked to the declarations made by other communities and tailored those to meet the specific concerns of Bowen Island. Point three of Councillor Fast’s declaration, that Bowen Island will consider the precautionary principle when making decisions, came under some scrutiny by other members of council. Councillor Gary Ander stated his concern that potential costs might be incurred by declaring residents have the right to participate in decision making that will effect the environment, and asked that someone speak to point three. It is written as follows: Bowen Island Municipality will consider cost effective measures to prevent the degradation of the environment and protect the health of its citizens, and the absence of full scientific certainty will not be viewed as sufficient reason for Bowen Island Municipality to postpone such measures.
Councillor Fast used Howe Sound examples to explain her point. “We can’t say for certain that an oil spill is going to kill all the little larval forage fish. And some organizations would say, well, you’re not sure it’s going to kill them all, so you shouldn’t do anything. That’s an argument we’re hearing from the LNG proposals. We’re hearing claims that the water-filtration system that is going to cool the plant would not harm the marine ecology. There’s other evidence that says it might. How can you have 100 percent certainty? The point is… you don’t need full scientific certainty.” Councillor Michael Kaile followed this up with further concerns that the proposed declaration would simply be another layer of legislation that sits on top of other pieces of legislation that say the same thing. “And I’m sorry but the term, in absence of full scientific certainty is not going to be well understood. It is going to be confusing, people are just going to shake their heads,” said Kaile. Councillor Maureen Nicholson argued that this concept is comparable to risk-management in finance or in the investment field, when professionals are forced to make decisions without 100 percent certainty of the outcomes. “I don’t see much difference from what happens in this context to what happens every day in the financial and investment fields,” she said. Councillor Fast reminded the group that the need for this declaration was brought forward by a citizen, Carolyn Neu, who made a presentation to council in March about the Blue Dot Campaign.
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Delays accompany Queen of Cap’s return to Bowen MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
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om Matzen and his eight year-old son Tyler were so excited about the return of the Queen of Capilano that they made a plan to ride the Bowen Queen for her last sailing, and return immediately afterwards on the first sailing of the Cap. The Bowen Queen was delayed docking at Horseshoe Bay, and with another delay on the return trip, Tom and Tyler had just enough time to grab take-out for ride back to Snug Cove. This turned out to be just one of many delays for passengers travelling between Snug Cove and Horseshoe Bay after the Queen of Capilano’s return to service last Wednesday. One of the cited reasons for the delays is the ramp parking on the boat’s new upper decks, the ones that make it possible for fifteen more cars to board during each sailing. “A few training sessions for the deck crews prior to that first sailing would have helped,” says Adam Holbrook, chair of Bowen’s Transportation Advisory Commitee (BIMTAC). “People don’t like parking on that incline, particularly if they have a problem with their parking brake or a standard transmission. BC Ferries needs to put chalks on the cars on the incline, but the deck crews are still learning. By Monday of this week, the ferry was pretty much on schedule. By this morning (Tuesday), it seems to be running dead on-time.” Holbrook says that another struggle with the new boat immediately upon its return was that the loading area onto the second floor to and from the Horseshoe Bay Terminal could not be used because of low tides. “This is one of the really important upgrades on the Queen of Capilano, and it will really assist with people who are pushing strollers, or using the assistance of walkers or wheelchairs,” says Holbrook. “We’re going to suggest that BC Ferries publish the times when the tides will create a similar situation - which should only happen for one or two sailings a day, one or two days per month.” Holbrook says that while Bowen’s Ferry Advisory Committee will be telling BC Ferries that no matter what happens in the future with the Queen of Capilano, the Bowen Queen is an inadequate replacement, there is some good that came out of the Midlife Upgrade. continued PAGE 3