FRIDAY MAY 22, 2015 VOL. 42, NO. 17
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Friendly docks
Cartoonist Ron Woodall is back on the rock... see page 4
Bowen Island Trail Guide
Rotary’s latest project will be enjoyed by tourists and locals alike
5 years ago...
Another flashback to Undercurrent headlines in days gone by
“Derelict vessels bill” voted down in House of Commons MP Weston proposes criminalization approach, instead
MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Bowen Islanders witnessed yet another epic battle between winter and spring this past Saturday. It ended with a joyous romp around the May pole, led by none other than the May Queen. For more on the Green Man Festival, see pages 6 and 7. Kristin Jarvis, photo
Supporters of docks bylaw ask council to proceed despite legal threats MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
O
n Thursday evening, members of council listened to Bowen Islanders and legal representatives of Bowen Island property owners express both their support and disagreement with the proposed Bylaw 381, 2015, to ban all future dock construction along the shoreline at Cape Roger Curtis. In the face of lawyers representing the Cape on Bowen and waterfront property owners, Bowen Islanders who support the measure urged mayor and council to act on behalf of the public and move forward with the Bylaw 381. Don Ho, the owner of the Cape on Bowen, was the first speaker
to address council. Ho stated that he has enjoyed his relationships with the four previous mayors and councils, and hoped to continue working with this council over the next four year term. He proposed that the passing of Bylaw 381 be deferred, allowing the developer to work on a compromise. “I respectively submit that mayor and council keep an open mind on this issue, and do not fast-track the passing of the bylaw. However, please note that if I have to take measures to protect the devaluation of the properties of my company, it will be with great reluctance and not by choice. I will have to do it, only if I am cornered, because I have to fulfill my duty as the president, and be accountable to my shareholders as well as to the owners who have purchased property from my company.”
Sea to Sky MP John Weston was the only Conservative MP in Ottawa to vote in favour of a private members bill proposed by NanaimoCowichan MP Jean Crowder that aimed to regulate the removal, disposition and destruction of abandoned and wrecked vessels. With the support of only one Conservative MP, the bill did not pass, however, Weston says that he intends to move forward on an alternative approach. “I wanted to give Jean Crowder credit for raising the profile of this issue in Ottawa,” says Weston. “I voted in favour of her bill, but was concerned that it would impose a mandate on the Coast Guard that would be required to move all vessels without limitation. When it comes to moving and disposing of vessels, there are significant liabilities, clean-up concerns and costs associated with that.” Weston says that he is working on a bill that would ammend both the Criminal Code and the Shipping Act, and impose jail time for people who abandon vessels. “People in Mannion Bay want a level of accountability that currently does not exist,” says Weston. “Of course, we will have to work to clarify definitions and there is a clear distinction between someone who acquires a boat and realizes he or she doesn’t have the resources to take care of it, and someone who thinks they can make a profit off a boat, then dumps it. There’s one individual in Squamish, for example, who has abandoned four vessels. And I hear from people, that it is just criminal and something needs to be done.” He adds that this measure is just “part of the solution” and other measures would follow. In February, Bowen Island’s Municipal Council passed a resolution to convey its support for Crowder’s bill to the Minister of Transportation.
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