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This week's letters

If it’s broke, fix it I really enjoyed Andrew Mitchell’s attempt to explain the Single Transferable Vote in the Pique of April 28.

If it’s broke, fix it

I really enjoyed Andrew Mitchell’s attempt to explain the Single Transferable Vote in the Pique of April 28. Although I would not pretend to be able to explain the details of the system, I have been able to finally make up my mind on this issue.

Our electoral system in B.C. is indeed broken. In my lifetime in B.C. we have ricocheted back and forth between extreme governments, alternately supported by Big Business and Big Labour. We have never had a democracy of the people, by the people for the people. What we get, as an example, is the Big Labour NDP giving the health unions outrageous concessions in exchange for their support and then the Big Business Liberals ripping up the contracts so that American Health Care can set up shop in B.C. The normal taxpayer/elector like you and I are the losers, both in direct costs of these inefficient swings, as well as the untold social costs of a lack of any long term strategies.

I am to the point that I am willing to give anything a try because it cannot possibly be any worse than the results of how we currently vote.

The Citizens Assembly has reached a compromise solution that they have suggested we try. Although it is complicated, so are the inner workings of the computer that I am using to write this. I could understand what happened in a typewriter, but would never want to go back to writing a letter with one. I do not need to understand everything about how my computer works to recognize that it is a better way of doing this job.

I believe that we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to change the way we govern in our province, and perhaps set an example that will be used elsewhere in our country as well. Even if this turns out not to be the perfect solution, so what, we will have the chance to fine tune it as we go along. If we vote no to this we will be stuck in this morass for generations to come.

It is time for we the people to show some courage and leadership and give this new system a try, there is no downside, we can only make our electoral system better than it is now by voting yes to the STV.

Rod MacLeod

Pemberton

 

An opportunity to move forward

A significant B.C. moment is upon us with the coming election. This is not an everyday occurrence, nor does it happen at every election.

Every now and then human beings are presented with an important decision. An opportunity comes… we can act on it, or we lose an opportunity. The moment is upon us now. In this B.C. election, we can choose another way to elect the people who are given the mandate to make decisions on our behalf.

There are many countries in the world who elect their political representatives through systems of voting that provide for a truer expression of the voters' wishes as compared to the distorted results using B.C.'s current First Past the Post system. What these systems share is a way to value each vote by way of using a proportional method of counting the votes.

A vote for STV is a vote for proportional representation. More people vote because they know their vote counts. More independents get elected because people are actually voting for the person they consider the best for the job. More minorities are elected. More women are elected. A proportional system is decidedly more true to the wishes of the electorate, creating a greater connection between the people and the leaders they elect to serve them. All of this points to a healthier and more inclusive democracy.

Who among us can argue that we humans have created some huge problems because of our tendency to be self-oriented and not look at the bigger picture? Our dear planet is suffering, as are millions of people and animals, because of the appalling behaviour of those in power. At this time in the history of our planet, we must constantly ask ourselves, can we do better? Is there another way that will encourage the more positive expressions of humanity? Can we take responsibility to make the necessary changes that will move us towards being more compassionate to the needs of our human family, the earth and its species?

Let us vote to try out the STV system here in B.C. in 2009. Let us decide to move forward to a higher, more inclusive way of being human.

Tsiporah Grignon

Gabriola Island

 

Further STV confusion

Unbelievably, a second foul-up has hit the referendum on electoral reform.

In the first episode, every B.C. household received, at government expense, the pamphlet "Making every vote count." It tried to explain the new voting system being proposed, called BC-STV. Unfortunately, it showed the change in seats if BC-STV had been in place in the last election in a way that looked good but is now realized to be mathematically impossible, leading to fears that even proponents do not understand how the new system would change the political landscape.

Now, with only a month to go, the government's Referendum Information Office has sent every household the pamphlet "Electoral Reform Referendum." Unfortunately, it begins by describing the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, which came up with BC-STV, incorrectly: "The Assembly was composed of one man and one woman, randomly selected from each of the province's 79 electoral districts." This was not done.

Rather, the members were randomly selected from the tiny proportion of the population that was interested in taking part in the Assembly. On May 17 we decide whether we agree with these enthusiastic reformers.

To confound matters further, the pamphlet listed features of the present and proposed voting systems but failed to clearly describe what some consider BC-STV's biggest advantage, its reduction of vote wastage and vote splitting worries.

These miscommunications put the discussion of voting reform at risk. Readers can learn more about BC-STV at internet sites such as STVforBC.com (for) and KnowSTV.ca (against).

Dr. Max Anderson

Chair, Committee on Voting Equity in B.C.

Vancouver

 

Community in denial

In the April 2, 2005 edition of the Vancouver Sun an article by Janet Steffenhagen covered the trials of the Dufour family of Whistler at the hands of school board officials and various administrative and teaching staff, following the August 1998 severe beating of their daughter, Jamie Dufour, by a gang of other teenagers. The article was composed from well-documented evidence including reports and interviews.

What struck me as strange was the fact that the incident took place only a year after the murder of Victoria student Reena Virk in very similar circumstances, yet the impression created was that many people in the Howe Sound school system at the time were in total denial that such an event could possibly have happened in their town. Instead, their self-righteous statements blamed Jamie and her parents for the incident rather than the perpetrators, who were upheld as shining lights in the community.

In Ms. Steffenhagen's article Superintendent Dr. Rick Erickson claimed that a different attitude now prevails. In this case why is there not an acknowledgement of the past wrongs on the part of the staff and officials at all levels, who subjected the Dufours to such reprehensible treatment? Surely the least that Dr. Erickson and the trustees of School District No. 48 could do, in the spirit of this "new attitude," is to offer an absolute apology for the past wrongs of the thoughtless people involved in this sorry episode.

Ray Eagle

West Vancouver.

 

Stakeholders need to be involved

The most interesting message in my e-mail box today came from SORCA – the local mountain biking group – concerned about the loss of a trail to logging. The Powerhouse Plunge is one of North America’s best trails, drawing thousands of bikers to the area annually, and the Ministry of Forests now has its eyes on the timber surrounding it.

Unfortunately, this is but one thread in a pattern playing itself out throughout the province. Here, kayakers are fighting to keep rivers free of independent power producers. The Sea-to-Sky Land and Resource Management Plan is being rushed through, all the while Land and Water B.C. is rapidly handing out tenures. In the back rooms of the legislature, millions of tax dollars continue to be budgeted to offshore oil and gas development when 75 per cent of British Columbians said "no."

A government that rushes development and abstains from meaningful planning gets us little closer to the golden decade promised by our premier. When proper process is skipped, stakeholders – whether they be industry, recreationalists, or whoever – stall activity and block progress. This hurts us all.

We need a government committed to genuine stakeholder involvement so that all stakeholders, who usually all have legitimate concerns, are put in a position to create solutions. Without a provincial government committed to proper process, our road to prosperity is lengthened, and cases like mountain bikers vs. logging‚ will continue to arise.

Chris Joseph

Squamish

 

Careful what you wish for LWBC

We reviewed the article in the Pique about Whistler Heli Sledder and Land and Water B.C. (Pique, March 31). We wish to state for the record that Whistler Heli Sledder is one of the many responsible commercial operators in the Sea to Sky corridor. They have obtained all of the necessary permits and participated in the public reviews to obtain their commercial recreation license. The owners (like many other commercial operators) have demonstrated a responsible approach to the privilege of using the backcountry.

The reason we are writing this letter is the concern over the comments by Kevin Lee of Land and Water B.C. In the article he states:

"In terms of use, my gut feeling is that (Whistler/Pemberton) hasn’t reached that capacity yet and part of the reason why I say that is that if we had reached those levels of concern we would have been deluged with mail." These types of comments reflect the lack of understanding of backcountry issues by Land and Water B.C.

The Sea to Sky Backcountry Recreation Forum is a stakeholder, consensus based group. It is comprised of commercial operators, public recreation enthusiasts, both mechanized and non mechanized and representatives of many government organizations. The Forum has had input from over 5,000 users of the Sea to Sky corridor, over a period of two years. The Forum has developed a "sharing accord" that respects the use of the backcountry and provides for long term responsible access, both for mechanized and non-mechanized users ,the public, and commercial operators. The local governments (RMOW, Pemberton, Squamish, SLRD) all support the sharing accord.

We suggest that LWBC reconsider the view that everything is OK as long as they are not deluged with complaints. The Forum has communicated to LWBC many times about the issues of carrying capacity, and the requirement to preserve shared access for all to the backcountry. LWBC has demonstrated time and again that they do not understand the issues of over use, carrying capacity, community issues, long term management and environmental concerns. They are determined to approve more and more commercial licenses without due and serious consideration about the public (especially the non mechanized users) and the existing levels of use. They issue the licenses, but do not take any measures to administer or manage the licenses in a logical, effective manner.

If it takes complaints to get their attention then LWBC should be careful what they wish for! The backcountry recreation users have developed logical, fair and proactive solutions for the long term management of the recreation amenities. In the long run, good planning with co-operative, effective management is the key to preservation and enhancement of one of our most valuable resourses.

Waiting until you are deluged with complaints is not a proactive approach to responsible planning and management. It is time attitudes changed!

Pat Harrison, chairman and

The Directors of the Sea to Sky Backcountry Recreation Association (Forum)

 

Tunnels and Games

Re: Tunnel Facts 101

After reading Mr. Corlett's letter (Pique, April 28), I started to wonder about other tunnel facts.

Fact: The real reason you want the tunnel is a simple case of the old not-in-my-backyard syndrome and it will spoil the view of certain residents if an overland route is pursued.

Fact: 64 per cent of Vancouver voted yes in favour of hosting the Olympic Games thereby creating the need for this development in the first place.

And I am willing to bet that Mr. Corlett was a "Yes" voter.

I also challenge his statistics as far as the 74 per cent of Whistler residents wanting a halt to this project as most of the residents that I know would like the highway to be not only finished already, as we have suffered through long and frequent road closures, but to also make it safer for us to travel on.

As far as weather related accidents, I wonder how many of those were caused by inexperienced or bad drivers who were travelling too fast for the conditions or had summer tires on during winter. A not uncommon thing in Vancouver where a 20 cm snowfall would paralyze the entire city.

As far as safety goes, a fire or pile-up in an undivided four-lane tunnel would be a disaster as it would be difficult to rescue the people involved.

As far as the environmental costs go, well Mr. Corlett, the Callaghan Valley was one of my favourite wilderness spots in Whistler and now because of the Olympics it will be changed forever, and they are even talking about putting in an airport there.

Considering that the residents of Whistler had no say whatsoever in whether or not we wanted the Olympics, you really only have yourself and 64 per cent of Vancouver to blame for this.

What I am trying to say is that we have all had to make sacrifices for the Olympics coming here and now it is your turn.

In other words, "Suck it up, buttercup!"

Chris Field

Whistler

 

NDP cuts to tourism an issue

Considering the importance of tourism in diversifying local economies, the NDP’s plan to cut millions from B.C.'s tourism budget is deeply disappointing.

Studies show that for every dollar spent on tourism marketing, another seven to nine new dollars of economic activity are created. B.C.'s current $25 million investment in tourism marketing produces $1 billion in revenue for government in taxes each year. By doubling that investment, as done in this year’s budget, the government will be helping the industry grow and prosper. That means new money back to government to help pay for hospitals, schools, universities and roads.

It's sad that the 18,000 businesses and 117,500 people who work in them are not a bigger priority for the NDP. Many of these are family-owned and operated businesses. They're just bouncing back from the impact of; 9/11 SARS, forest fires and they still face the challenge of a rising dollar.

Should we be surprised by the NDP position? In 1996, they promised to increase tourism marketing funds only to effectively cut them by 10 per cent after getting re-elected. Little wonder why many in the industry have a hard time taking their platform and flip-flops security.

C. Michael Campbell

President

Council of Tourism Associations of B.C.

 

No comparison

I find it interesting that CUPE 2010 took out a full page ad trying to show a comparison between Whistler Muni management and Quesnel’s based on the two towns having a similar population base. But to me population base and being in B.C. is all that they have in common. Whistler is unlike any other town that I have been to. It is a world class destination for skiing, mountain biking and many other activities, and it has been on the cutting edge of developing the CSP. Indeed it is one of the first municipalities to adopt the Natural Step.

Now I have been through Quesnel about six times in the last eight years on my way to my wife's home town and I actually like it – when the pulp plant isn’t stinky. But I don’t think that it is a town that is comparable to Whistler.

My challenge to you Mr. Davidson is why don't you do a comparison with a town that has hosted an Olympics, or is as forward thinking as Whistler? Torino perhaps? Now that comparison is something that I would be interested in seeing in your ad.

Chris Armstrong

Whistler

 

Sustainability at the RMOW

In the last few years senior management at the RMOW have had a very odd way of interpreting their sustainability plan. For example, they replaced one working supervisor (after his retirement) with two, non-field oriented manager positions, each earning in excess of $10/hour more than the previous supervisor. These two "managers" are responsible for 10 workers in total.

Then they give each of these new managers a 4X4 pickup truck for them to drive back and forth to their homes in Squamish. They also welcome them to use these trucks as personal vehicles while in Squamish. Their offices at work are next to each other, and their homes are less than a kilometre apart. They have the same working schedule. Yet no suggestion from senior management that car-pooling would be advisable or, better yet, mandatory.

The cost to the taxpayers is annoying but the cost to our environment is unacceptable.

Shawn Rowley

Whistler

RMOW water operator, CUPE 2010 member

 

If you my support…

If the CUPE 2010 Municipal Workers want my support for a Whistler Living Allowance, it wouldn’t be that hard to get. Just show me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

A photo of CUPE 2010 members looking tough and pissed off, and comparing a select few salaries of RMOW employees to similar positions in Quesnel isn’t going to convince me. I’m sure that the duties of the employees in each town are extremely different. And besides, where are the comparisons for the Water, Wastewater, and Bylaw workers? The whole truth. You won’t get my support by spinning the numbers.

In a destination resort almost every job is an essential service. Our water must be clean, yes. Our wastewater must be dealt with, and our bylaws enforced. But, in Whistler we need everyone. Without any dishwashers, there would be no restaurants, nowhere for tourists to eat, therefore no tourists, therefore no Whistler! We need lifties, servers, T-shirt sellers, snow movers, bussers, prep cooks, housekeepers, and on, and on, and on. Without any one of these groups of workers this town falls apart.

I think everyone in town should get a Whistler Living Allowance, so if you can negotiate one with your employer good for you. I might very well be the first one in line to support CUPE 2010’s need for a living allowance, just tell me the whole truth.

If you want my support, publish your salaries in full page ads, and compare your income to others. If, after I see the whole truth, I think you deserve an extra 4,000 bucks, I will personally show up at the council meeting and tell the mayor that I think you do.

Andrew Doran

Photographer (we need photographers too!)

Whistler

 

Lost Lake is for all

To any and all who participate in the littering of our parks, especially Lost Lake: please stop.

Just because you can't see the litter you are throwing around late at night does not mean it disappears in the morning. Use your brains please. We all want to enjoy this beautiful place no matter whether it is 6:30 in the morning or a bbq late in the afternoon. I am sure all of us would agree that tripping over half burnt beer cans and plastic bags that were not quite burned by one of your fires, which by the way you didn't even put out, is not an ideal way to enjoy our beautiful natural surroundings.

On a related note I would like to thank the amazing people from the municipality that I have seen clean up the awful mess three times this past week before most of us are even out of bed. I couldn't imagine what people would think if they really saw what our parks looked like before you worked your magic each morning.

Jessica Averiss

Whistler

 

Ride on, Whistler

By now I am in Vancouver preparing for my long ride across Canada. I have joined up with an amazing group called Otesha to bike from Vancouver to Newfoundland for the environment. We will talk to thousands of youth along the way about social issues and the environment and how youth can make positive changes within their own lives.

Now I want to take the time to thank all the wonderful people who helped me prepare and who helped me raise money for Otesha. First I want to thank the Re-Use It centre for gathering up loads of bike stuff for us, it has gone to great use already. Secondly I want to thank Evolution, the Whistler Hemp Co, and Great Games and Toys for offering up prizes for a raffle fundraiser. I also want to thank all of those who purchased tickets for the raffle, even if you did not win the money it is certainly going to a good cause. Lastly I want to thank the many friends, family, and acquaintances for your generous donations towards Otesha and my participation with them.

I am continually amazed by the generosity of this community. I hope that on my way across Canada I find some time to share with others my feelings towards Whistler and our unique (if sometimes difficult) approach to the environment and our sense of community that is strong (though sometimes difficult to see). Thank you Whistler, and see you soon.

Sara Jennings

Whistler