Treaty turmoil
Sincere congratulations appear to be in order to Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation for having successfully forced the Harper regime to deal with their treaty [“Federal minister says he is committed to initialling treaty,” March 23]. We all hope that Minister of Indian Affairs John Duncan will see to it that he initials this so it can go to the Tla’Amin people for discussion.
City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard and council must also be applauded for their leadership and steadfast support of the Tla’Amin people. So should Powell River Regional District. Their active involvement demonstrated the tremendous power of partnership. It’s also a reminder of the good that can happen when citizens raise their voices to insist on action for the common good.
Despite these encouraging developments, troubling questions remain about the role of John Weston, MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, in this entire affair.
The Peak has reported that Weston met with people in the prime minister’s office to discuss the treaty. Yet, Weston says that he has never read the treaty. So what were they discussing? And how can he not have read the treaty when mayor and council were completely aware of the substance of it?
He says that he has been working hard to make “the treaty better.” But how can he make it better if he didn’t read it?
He says that the delay was caused by a “federal review.” Can he explain what that review was, who was involved, and who initiated it? And why was this treaty under “review” when the others before it were not subjected to one?
He often cited “constitutional concerns.” Does the Harper regime share those concerns? Does this mark a policy departure from their support of treaties? If so, what are the implications for the other 50 treaties being negotiated in BC?
And finally, will Weston advocate for Tla’Amin to get reimbursed for the cost of an inexcusable delay that is no one’s fault but Ottawa’s?
Dan Veniez
Davis Bay
Leadership counts
Our fire department is a group of dedicated, trained people to care for us in an emergency [“Staff identifies fire hall as priority,” March 2]. Why then should it wait for a safe building? The experts tell us it’s not if, but when we will have an earthquake. Do we want our men and their vehicles under a pile of rubble? Where are our priorities?
Golden Stanley held classes for prevention of damage to books. Moisture was top of the list. A library on waterfront is ludicrous and in the event of an earthquake an unsafe site in case of a tidal wave.
When an election comes, hopefully we’ll remember only one councillor was brave and had the courage to vote according to the public’s opinion.
A teacher once explained the importance of choosing good leaders.
A man addressed a large group of people. He said, “Come the revolution you will have strawberries and cream.”
The crowd said, “We don’t like strawberries and cream.”
Angered, the man roared: “Come the revolution you will love strawberries and cream.”
How many meetings have been held with no results?
Rosemary B. Hawkins
Manitoba Avenue
Who steers the boat?
It is understandable why members of the City of Powell River’s liquid waste management joint local-technical advisory committee should be upset that the city’s application for funding claimed they had already chosen the option of signing a co-treatment deal with Catalyst Paper Corporation[“Misleading grant upsets committee,” March 23]. The committee has yet to make its recommendation to council and the first city public consultation on the options won’t even happen until May.
But who is actually accountable for the misleading statements in the application? In answer to the Peak’s question about who wrote the application, senior staff member Richard Stogre, the city’s manager of engineering services, said it was Al Gibb, an engineer from the consulting firm Dayton and Knight Ltd. But Stogre and the city’s chief financial officer were required to sign the application. In addition, they were required to ensure that “The information provided above and accompanying this application is, to the best of my knowledge, correct and complete and has been submitted with council/board concurrence.” So either city councillors saw the application and agreed with its misleading contents, or senior management at city hall signed the application without getting the necessary council agreement.
This is sort of a replay of what we went through in the fall when co-treatment was added into the bylaw giving Catalyst a tax break. The draft bylaw would immediately have locked the city into a binding commitment to co-treatment, making any kind of public consultation on sewage options pointless. Confronted with this fact, the city’s outside legal counsel took responsibility for making co-treatment part of the draft bylaw. But again, where is the responsibility of senior staff? Do the city’s outside consultants decide to push co-treatment in such aggressive ways completely on their own initiative and with no staff oversight?
Accountability for following the province’s liquid waste management planning process seems to disappear into thin air at city hall.
Ellen Gould
Willow Avenue
Parkland no place for library
I am disappointed to learn that after the public sent a very loud message—no—to this City of Powell River council in regard to proposed zoning changes, which would have opened the door to development of the old arena site (waterfront park), it is now moving toward developing the site by building a library there anyway [“Council selects library site,” March 9].
I was opposed to the zoning changes because of the history of the site and the fact that it is parkland. When you give up waterfront parkland for development, you don’t ever get it back and they certainly don’t make it anymore.
I understand the need to increase our tax base and to diversify our economy. I can’t help but wonder, though, with all the vacant lots in town, and Powell River being a model community for accessibility, why would we choose to build a library at the bottom of a hill? Why would council choose to develop and pave the spot about which so many members of the community have spoken so passionately in its defence?
At the same time, I would doubt that many of those same folks would deny that we need a new library. But do we need a waterfront library? I for one don’t think we do. I understand that many communities are building libraries near recreation facilities or other civic buildings. Do we not have other possibilities in Powell River where the addition of a library would enhance an existing facility or demographic? How about the property adjacent to the pool at the Powell River Recreation Complex? How about the old pool site on Egmont Street? How about near the RCMP building and Town Centre Mall?
I urge our mayor and council to listen to the wishes of the community, build a much needed new library and save this important piece of public parkland for future generations to cherish.
Paul Nassichuk
Duncan Street
Cheap politics
I am outraged that City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard travelled to Ottawa on March 7 to meet with federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff at what can be described as a partisan meeting [“Ottawa trip proves useful,” March 16]. I think it’s shameful of our mayor to engage in partisan politics, meeting at the same table with Ignatieff and the Liberal candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding.
There is one thing that I would like to know: where did the photo come from that appeared with the article? Did it come from the Liberal Party of Canada, from Jean-Marc Carisse who has ties to national Liberal caucus? I’m wondering if the photo is going to be used in campaign handouts by the Liberal candidate in this riding.
The mayor should be ashamed of himself in how he represented our community, as our mayor in Ottawa, engaging in a very cheap partisan way to suit his own political beliefs. It’s very strange that he would not meet in Ottawa with the elected member of parliament who represents this riding, a member of the elected government of Canada, to talk to him about the treaty process. The mayor totally avoided him when he was in Ottawa. The question is: is he is going to be engaging in any more partisan politics that will hurt the community economically? Shame on you, mayor.
Ken White
Harvie Avenue
Plug-ins unnecessary
In the March 16 Peak there was a article about the new school being built in Westview [“Architects reveal Westview design”]. In the article there is a paragraph describing “Among the highlights” are “electric car charging stations” being part of the design.
My question to the designer and the Powell River Board of Education would be why are taxpayers paying for charging up someone’s electric car? Not only the ongoing cost of charging but why are we paying for the associated costs of underground wiring, breakers et cetera? There is no commute in Powell River long enough to need a charge if they are charging at home overnight. In our climate we do not need outside vehicle plug-ins at all.
Terry Roberts
Westview Avenue
