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Viewpoint: Pandemic denials cause anger

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Viewpoint: Pandemic denials cause anger

By LISA SIGURGEIRSON MAXX

You’re walking into the Tuesday Farmers’ Market to get fresh vegetables grown on this sweet little island you live on, and you slow your pace to see what the pamphlets are about that are on this table where the mask-offering table used to stand.

The man behind the table says pleasantly, “Take as many pamphlets as you want.”

You smile behind your mask (though eyes smile, too, which is nice), and you try to focus on what this table is all about. There are no masks being offered here at the entrance to this market today.

Then the man behind the table says, “We really want people to know that there is no pandemic.”

Your blood instantly boils. You lean slightly closer towards him, with your mask on, of course, you look him in the eye and you say, “Don’t even.”

He says something else, which you do not register because your blood is boiling and your ire is up.

You interrupt his rant and lean somewhat closer (you are still 1.5 to two metres away from him) and you say, loudly, forcefully, through your mask, “I am immunocompromised. Don’t. Even. Start.”

You walk away. Your heart is racing.

A woman who has overseen this scene offers you a quiet “Thank you.” She talks with you awhile. Your heart calms. Your breathing slows. You thank her. She was the touchstone of sanity you needed in that moment.

You carry on and purchase your organic vegetables, grown on this sweet little island you call home.

As you leave the market, the man and a couple of his buddies are there, packing up their “information” pamphlets. You decide to say something as you walk by, carrying heavy baskets full of squash and potatoes and other root vegetables, back to your vehicle.

You say, “I have a request of any of you who do not believe there is a pandemic. I ask that you go and volunteer in an ICU ward where they are dealing with COVID patients. Then come back and tell us about it.“

He blurts out a comeback immediately, without even a pause for thought. “They aren’t COVID patients,” he says. “There’s no COVID patients. There’s no way of isolating the virus to know what it actually is that people are sick with.”

If you had more energy, or more interest in engaging further, you would have said, “Oh? and how many years did you study epidemiology?”

But you don’t. So you carry on the last few metres to your car. You are tired. And your baskets are heavy.

He carries on talking as you carry on walking away.

“Just try to have an open mind,” he calls after you. “That’s all we ask,” he says. “You’ll be happier!”

That one gets you.

“Oh I am very happy!“ you call out over your shoulder as you carry on walking.

There is so much more that you would like to say. If it would make a difference. But it won’t. So you don’t.

And, as bizarre as it seems to your brain, he, you see, wants to make a difference in the way you are thinking. Imagine, you thinking there is a pandemic! How silly of you.

So you load the beautiful, local produce into your waiting vehicle, and you drive yourself to your sweet little island home. Yeah, you think to yourself with an unbelieving shake of your head, so that happened.

School district considers new configuration options

Elizabeth Nolan
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School district considers new configuration options

Gulf Islands school trustees received more information last Wednesday on possible school configuration scenarios and how they might impact the operating budget, which is currently projected to produce a $1.1-million annual deficit unless something changes.

Senior staff presented some new cost modelling during the school board’s committee-of-the-whole meeting on Oct. 28, following requests from trustees and community members at the September board meeting.

These included a slight variation on the previous scenario preferred by staff, which would close Salt Spring Middle School, make Salt Spring elementary schools for grades K to 7 and create a junior high program on Pender for all southern Gulf Islands students in grades 8 and 9. The variation would establish the new catchment area but allow some students on the outer islands to attend school on Salt Spring in grades 6 to 9 for special programs like French Immersion and the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts, or if they needed to access learning services.

Both of the above scenarios would additionally require finding $250,000 of savings in school and $160,000 in administration budgets, and consolidating two Salt Spring school bus routes.

District secretary-treasurer Jesse Guy explained a junior high program with no exceptions for outer islands students would allow the district to achieve a modest surplus of $55,000 per year with the additional funding awarded by the Ministry of Education for students attending smaller, remote schools. The revised scenario with some students attending school on Salt Spring would potentially create a $5,000 deficit.

“So we would have less revenue for unique geographical features, but it is still doable and there would be room on the water taxi,” Guy said.

A completely new scenario in the modelling has outer islands students attending high school on Salt Spring starting in Grade 9 as they currently do, but has Salt Spring students start in Grade 8 with the middle school closed. That is projected to create a $50,000 deficit, and would also require finding other savings — imagined in the modelling as cutting all funding for boarding students, charging school bus transportation fees and cutting itinerant staff that serve all the islands.

Creating a Pender hub with completely optional junior high and grad programs would likewise involve finding savings in multiple areas, while attendance is projected to be low, reducing the potential for program offerings at that school.

Guy suggested it’s a question of balancing objectives, and whether having more choice is worth losing other things.

“By reducing the revenue you’re actually reducing the programming that’s available to everyone in the district,” Guy said, noting that includes Gulf Islands Secondary School.

Adrian Pendergast, who is principal of the Pender and Saturna schools, gave a convincing presentation on the Pender facility’s potential as part of the information session. He noted there are separate wings for K to 7 grades and for junior-secondary high school classes. Improvements to equipment mean media arts will be possible at the school soon, and space is being renovated to improve the science lab. There is room for other renovations and repurposing if the fuller junior high program goes ahead.

Pendergast explained that many of the programs parents have specifically mentioned as potentially not being available at Pender are already taking place there. These include a travelling basketball team, drama and woodwork.

“We do have a great facility capable of growth. With increased critical mass, I would be excited about the benefits and the educational experience for our students in Grade 8 and Grade 9,” Pendergast said.

Administrative staff have suggested the school could specialize in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) studies as an attractive feature. Pender has excelled in this area recently: students took home the first-place prize in every age category at the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair in 2019. The music program led by teacher Ben McConchie has also been recognized.

The Pender junior high cohort would average between 35 and 40 students if the mandatory outer islands catchment area was established. Staff said there could be up to five teachers for the different subjects, not just one or two teachers for everything, although those teachers wouldn’t all have full-time hours.

Opposition to the idea of a mandatory junior high program on Pender has been especially high on Galiano Island. Caitlin Pencarrick Hertzman, who chairs the Galiano Parent Advisory Committee and is the District Parent Advisory Committee representative to the school board, observed the board said it would move forward on reconfiguration “with strong support.”

“In terms of support, there’s been strong opposition to these changes,” Hertzman said.

DPAC has repeatedly asked the district to slow down the reconfiguration process.

The school board has identified its Nov. 18 meeting as the date when a reconfiguration motion might be considered.

Salt Spring RCMP provide quarterly stats

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Salt Spring RCMP provide quarterly stats

SUBMITTED BY SSI RCMP

Responding to community interest, Salt Spring RCMP will attempt to provide call volume information at different times throughout the year. This specific news article will include a listing of some investigations and various complaints in the third quarter of 2020.

As of Oct. 1, Salt Spring RCMP have responded to over 2,200 calls this year, averaging eight to nine calls per day. Approximately 700 calls were received by Salt Spring RCMP during the July 1 to Sept. 30 third-quarter period. This number does not include traffic stops, licensed premises checks or park patrols. Some of the calls for this quarter are detailed below:

July

– Salt Spring RCMP assisted Victoria Police Department with their search for a missing person.

– Salt Spring RCMP entered into an investigation involving multiple sexual assaults that occurred on Salt Spring Island this summer. With the help of Vancouver Island General Investigative Service, the suspects were subsequently arrested and charges pending.

– Local constables were requested to assist the local Coast Guard unit regarding an overturned dinghy in the Ganges Harbour and a missing male. The dinghy was secured and the male was later found uninjured.

– Responded to multiple interpersonal disputes during the month of July from various locations across Salt Spring.

– A cyclist vs. car incident was reported to police where the cyclist was thrown onto the hood of a passing vehicle. Police attended the scene; the cyclist was assessed at the hospital for injuries.

– Police responded to multiple reports of “shots fired” firearms calls throughout the island. After investigation, it was determined that fireworks and legal hunting actions represented the bulk of the complaints.

– A local business reported a theft of over $4,000 worth of equipment. Police attended and a forensic-based investigation was conducted.

– Thefts of property, ranging from wallets to vehicles, were reported to police during this time.

– It was reported to police that two local residents were yelling at vehicles and pedestrians downtown, claiming tourists were stealing their cell phone airtime. Police attended and spoke with the males, mediating the situation.

– Police assisted Lady Minto Hospital staff with an aggressive male who was causing a disturbance; the male was subsequently arrested and lodged in cells for the night.

– RCMP attended the downtown Ganges area for a male yelling and screaming. The male was found by police and the situation mediated.

– Police responded to multiple complaints of impaired drivers throughout Salt Spring; warnings, violation tickets and impaired driving charges were laid.

– Due to a domestic violence threat involving firearms, RCMP arrested the male suspect, placed him on conditions not to be on Salt Spring Island and recommended charges to Crown and a firearms prohibition.

– Police responded to three separate incidents of a male exposing his genitalia in public. The identity of the male was determined and charges recommended.

– Multiple complaints involving missing persons and mental health concerns were received by Salt Spring RCMP throughout the month.

August

– Multiple Quarantine Act complaints were received by SSI RCMP of people not acting in accordance with provincial and federal law. These complaints ranged from people not quarantining for the required 14 days to travelling from the U.S.; no charges were laid but formal direction was given to people not complying with the law.

– Three acts of slashed vehicle tires on varied dates at varied locations were received by police; one arrest was made thus far.

– Multiple calls were made to police of 30-40 campers setting up a large campsite at Musgrave Landing. An initial campsite was created by some campers, and then a large group attended for the New Moon celebration in late August. By early-mid September, the campers still had not left the area. Police direction was given again and everyone eventually left the area.

– A CRD bylaw officer was assaulted in Centennial Park; the suspect was arrested and charged.

– Police responded to a local hotel for guests who refused to leave their room after staying the previous night; the guests departed upon learning of police involvement.

– Various complaints were received, including sexual assault, multiple illegal cannabis grow-operations, harassment, and others.

– Multiple complaints were received by SSI RCMP of public drinking, loud noise and disturbances in Centennial Park; police repeatedly attended Centennial Park to address the ongoing issues. Other complaints included sleeping in the park or people sleeping in front of various commercial buildings or stealing electricity.

– Multiple incidents of mischief (vandalism) were reported to police, resulting from thrown rocks through business windows, thrown rocks through a camper window, etc. An arrest was made and charges recommended to Crown for the rocks that were thrown through the local restaurant windows.

– Numerous property complaints, including lost/found wallets and various personal items were received throughout the month.

– Multiple complaints were received throughout the month of different suicidal persons needing immediate assessment and response; police attended and assessed or apprehended persons for assessment as necessary.

– A theft from a residential property was reported to police; the stolen property was valued at over $10,000. The investigation is continuing.

– Multiple traffic complaints were received, including speeding, failing to obey a stop sign, driving without insurance, abandoned vehicles, and people living in vehicles throughout the island.

September

– A report of a stolen vehicle was received by police; it was learned that the keys had been left in the ignition and the vehicle taken by an unknown person. The vehicle was recovered.

– Two SSI RCMP officers were assaulted by individuals and their dog during an attempted warrant execution. Both parties were eventually arrested and additional charges recommended.

– Complaints of individuals juggling fire in Centennial Park were received by police.

– Police responded to multiple reports of car/motorcycle/bicycle/scooter collisions throughout the island.

– Upon request from the Ministry of Child and Family Development, police assisted with follow-up on various child welfare complaints.

– Additional complaints were received by police regarding campers at Musgrave Landing violating environmental laws concerning public urination and defecation.

– Police continued to investigate the incidents that occurred at Island Savings Credit Union (urine dumping) and Beachside (feces smearing).

– Police attended an uttering threats complaint where a person threatened to shoot someone who had asked for loud music to be turned down.

– Multiple bylaw complaints were received by Salt Spring RCMP concerning the ongoing issues in Centennial Park.

– Police responded to multiple vehicle vs. deer collisions throughout the island. These collisions often resulted in vehicle damage and an animal fatality.

In the 92 days of the third quarter: 10 reports of sexual assault were made to police on Salt Spring Island, 22 assaults were reported, 25 check well-being requests were made to police, and 32 mental health-related complaints were received.

In addition to the 700+ reports made to police during the 2020 third quarter, SSI RCMP also conducted 315 foot patrols through Centennial Park and other parks on Salt Spring Island, and conducted 96 licenced premises (bar) checks.

The Christmas season and winter driving conditions will soon be upon us. SSI RCMP personnel encourage residents to ensure their vehicles are in good working order and that headlights, brake lights and tail lights are all operational. The charge for a non-operating headlight is $109; it’s $167 for failing to obey a stop sign, and an immediate roadside prohibition can result in thousands of dollars in fines and mandatory courses, impound fees and a driving prohibition.

Please drive smart and stay safe.

Editorial: Remembrance Day has resurging relevance

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Remembrance Day has resurging relevance

Remembrance Day is just around the corner, with the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War being commemorated this year.

As the number of veterans who served in that conflict continues to dwindle, some people might question what or who is being remembered. Yet the message of honouring sacrifices made by individuals who did so in order to prevent tyrants from ruling the world and upending democracy is as vital today as it ever was.

Clearly, democracy is under threat in many places where it has been established around the world. That is most alarmingly the case in the United States, where the sitting president has stated he may not transfer power peacefully if he does not get the result he wants in this week’s election, and where he appears to have significant support for that position.

Judging by the crowds of people who continue to come out to the ceremony in Ganges, bringing their children and grandchildren, Remembrance Day is still extremely relevant to many. Things will be different this year, with no parade and physical distancing in effect at Centennial Park. But the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, which is responsible for Remembrance Day activities, has done its best to keep the tradition vibrant while respecting rules in order to keep attendees safe.

Salt Spring’s branch of the Legion is also an extremely active organization that has adapted well to the challenges of COVID-19, re-opening under provincial guidelines to provide social opportunities and continuing to raise funds that support so many other non-profit groups in the community. 

Islanders can ensure the local Legion branch is there in perpetuity by taking out a membership, patronizing the Legion as a guest, otherwise donating to the cause or volunteering for specific projects.

Poppy sales are also underway, and wreaths can be purchased for the Remembrance Day ceremony, although they will be pre-placed at the cenotaph this year.

Today, more than ever, we must stand together in defence of institutions and ideals that are once again under threat.

Maxwell lands acquisition explored

Elizabeth Nolan
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Maxwell lands acquisition explored

A campaign to purchase and protect a large forested area on Mount Maxwell arrived before the Salt Spring Parks and Recreation Commission last Tuesday, where local advocates pitched a partnership that could protect more than 100 hectares from development.

A broad community coalition with groups promoting recreation, conservation and education are supporting the proposal, which would both protect the land and establish sanctioned trails for mountain biking and equestrian use, as well as hiking. Spokesperson Elizabeth FitzZaland gave the majority of the presentation about the proposal, to which $1 million has already been offered by a single donor, and another $200,000 in smaller donations has been pledged. FitzZaland reported there is momentum toward the campaign, but a body to take ownership of the property needs to be identified to move forward.

“This property came on the market a while ago and came to our attention at Salt Spring Solutions as a really significant piece of land in that it’s 345 acres of forest here in the Gulf Islands, right next to all this other protected land,” FitzZaland said. “And seeing large tracts of land like this go on the market is really unusual.”

FitzZaland explained the property, comprising four lots, has been owned for over 20 years by people who moved to protect it when the Texada logging dispute was taking place. Community organizations succeeded in protecting adjacent lands in the area, some of which now belongs to North Salt Spring Waterworks District and Mount Maxwell and Burgoyne Bay provincial parks.

The property in question was logged in the past and is now regenerating. FitzZaland noted forest cover has been identified as an important carbon sink, so maintaining it would help the island’s climate action goals.

Mount Maxwell, or Hwumet’utsum in the Hul’qumi’num language, is also important to First Nations. Stqeeye’ Learning Society representative Joe Akerman spoke about the work he and his extended Cowichan family members have been doing at Burgoyne Bay and how more education could take place if the area becomes a park. Co-management between the Capital Regional District and Indigenous groups is one idea that has been raised.

“As much as we would love to acquire land ourselves, we don’t know that we’re ready to take on that level of responsibility and insurance and those types of things, but we certainly are well positioned to help provide some management and leadership, and to share decision-making with local nations,” Akerman said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to do things differently. Reconciliation was mentioned, and local governments have the responsibility and will hopefully take greater steps forward to work with First Nations.”

Other organizations that support the plan to protect the area and designate multi-use trails include North Salt Spring Waterworks, Island Health, School District 64’s Indigenous Education Program and Transition Salt Spring, along with many recreational groups.

The property was originally put on the market at $2.3 million. Local electoral area director Gary Holman asked for clarity on the property’s current status as a purchase offer was known to have been on the table. FitzZaland explained that conditions have been approved and a couple from Vancouver will take possession in January. However, the community group has been in contact with them and learned they had not wanted to purchase all four lots and don’t really need 345 acres.

“They said if the CRD or PARC is interested in a public purchase of some of those [lots], they would be interested in hearing the proposal and talking about it. So they indicated to us to keep moving forward and to come back to them,” FitzZaland said.

She said the community group would be interested in partnering with CRD Regional Parks as well as the Salt Spring parks commission, but felt having local community control might be a better idea since so many local interests are involved. She added the community group would fundraise for the entire purchase if need be.

PARC did not have discussion of the proposal scheduled on Tuesday’s meeting agenda. Members did refer to it later in the meeting, though, in relation to a different land acquisition pitch made by Charles Kahn in September for 49 acres near Peter Arnell Park. While both areas were found to be of interest, commissioners noted the Maxwell proposal has donors and multiple community groups already on board. They voted not to pursue ownership of the land proposed by Kahn, but encouraged parkland dedication if the land is subdivided.

The commission currently has around $834,000 in its parkland acquisition reserve, and has scheduled most of that toward purchasing land for sports playing fields in 2021. Holman suggested there are some parcels PARC owns on the island that aren’t very suitable for parkland and some of them might be sold off for affordable housing purposes. The sale dollars could then be used to purchase more suitable land.

Such decisions must go to ratepayers for approval.

Great Service show comes to ArtSpring theatre

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Great Service show comes to ArtSpring theatre

SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By the men who toil for gold;

The Arctic trails have
their secret tales

 That would make your blood run cold . . . .

— Robert W. Service

Legendary chronicler of the Yukon Gold Rush, Robert W. Service was not, by his own admission, a poet. He was a writer of verse.

“Verse, not poetry, is what I was after . . . something the schoolboy would spout and the fellow in the pub would quote. Yet I never wrote to please anyone but myself . . . .”

Service emigrated to Canada from Glasgow around 1895, initially to Vancouver Island, to seek his fortune, knocking about in a series of discontinuous jobs. At one point, he romanced a woman from Vancouver, but she rejected him in search of a better educated man who could support her in the elegant fashion she desired.

The laugh was on her, though, as Service eventually became very wealthy from his verse, allowing him to take his leisure in Paris and the French Riviera.

All these tales and more are recounted by Service himself, in the person of acclaimed Canadian actor Jeffrey Renn in his one-man show called At Your Service – The Life and Yarns of Robert Service (part 1) running at ArtSpring from Friday, Nov. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 8. Performed through poem, song and story, it’s the first instalment of Renn’s work on the spectacularly popular poet’s life.

Renn is an actor, director, teacher, clown, and master storyteller. Now based on Salt Spring Island, he is an alumnus of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, has an MFA in Directing from the University of Victoria, and has been a member of the theatre companies of the Shaw and Stratford Festivals.

Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s is at 2:30 p.m.

As seating is limited to 50 people per show in order to meet provincial COVID-19 regulations, tickets should be acquired as soon as possible through the ArtSpring website.

Editorial: Not just a bad joke

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Not just a bad joke

It’s Media Literacy Week in Canada, which puts the focus on something that’s more important than ever in COVID times.

The pandemic has created rich ground for people enthused about promoting conspiracy theories and fear about the virus has made us more vulnerable to invalid but “interesting” information. Not only that, but people of all ages are spending more time online, where anyone can say anything with impunity and keep the confusion, fear and anger simmering away on any number of platforms.

A recent U.S. broadcast and web post claiming that a video shot on Salt Spring Island by an island resident two years ago proves that China is amassing troops as it prepares to invade the U.S. shows how far from reality things can get in the crazy free-for-all that is the media world in 2020. It would be easy to laugh off the claim, but when the piece includes a call for Americans to arm themselves in preparation for an invasion, and includes a map pointing to our little island, it becomes harder to treat the story as a joke.

While most adults should be able to discern between fact and fiction, or at least fact and exaggeration or manipulation, the boundaries between them are becoming increasingly blurred. That is especially so when images are viewed out of context and information is skewed to fit a presenter’s chosen narrative.

There’s nothing new about attraction to “tall tales” and conflict. People are hard-wired to be drawn to the dramatic and to prepare to defend themselves against perceived threats. But unfortunately, as observed in the recently released Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, humans are responding to digital media with a brain that is highly emotional and not particularly rational or sophisticated.

Long-term solutions derived from grassroots, corporate and government levels are needed. But in the meantime, just as everyone needs to educate themselves about the prevalence and methods of scammers in order to avoid being a victim, they need to do the same when it comes to media education and manipulation. Resources such as those found on the mediamanipulation.org or mediasmarts.ca websites are good places to start; and sites like the Solutions Journalism Network offer some respite from the conflict-centred news we are bombarded with on all sides.

Svendsen makes waves with two awards

Gail Sjuberg
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Svendsen makes waves with two awards

Salt Spring marine search and rescue volunteer Per Svendsen has been honoured with two major awards arising from his 12 years of service.

Svendsen received the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Leadership Medal and the Volunteer of the Year award at a local event on Thursday. Svendsen was nominated for the leadership award by his fellow Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 25 volunteers and the CCGA granted him the separate volunteer award based on that nomination.

He received strong commendation from fellow auxiliary members.

The Leadership Medal is for members who have “maintained an outstanding level of performance and/or achievement over a period of time to further the authorized activities of the auxiliary.” The Volunteer of the Year award is granted based on submissions received for other CCGA awards.

“Per represents the absolute best in character, volunteerism and marine knowledge, and we are proud to have him as a member of our unit,” said Brad Grindler, president of the Gulf Islands Marine Rescue Society, in his nomination letter. “I recommend him for this medal with the highest regard . . . He also has a great sense of humour, which makes topics more personable and enjoyable. Per is simply a wonderful human being.”

Andrew Ross Collins, the deputy station leader, wrote: “Per has consistently demonstrated effective and selfless participation, often stepping up to volunteer his time and taking a much valued leadership role when called upon. He’s also been hugely supportive to other members in leadership roles, offering wise counsel, innovative ideas and practical help.”

Svendsen has been a RCMSAR Station 25 coxswain since 2010 and was station leader for four years and treasurer of the society for six of the past 12 years.

He has committed more than 2,720 total hours of time to RCMSAR since 2008, with 900 hours of sea time logged and 54 missions undertaken. He was also on call for almost 8,000 hours.

Svendsen has been a training team member, which means he participated in the active development, coordination and delivery of regular class and on-the-water training activities for the unit. He was engaged in 339 exercises and 418 class hours as a result.

He has also been a member of the operations team for five years, which required correcting and pre-authorizing training and tasking reports for RCMSAR headquarters.

Svendsen is also a qualified and active pleasure craft safety checker.

“It has been a pleasure to serve with RCMSAR for the last 12 years and with Salt Spring Ground Search and Rescue for 12 years before that,” said Svendsen after receiving the awards. “They both provided and are providing many many ways in which to serve in leadership positions.

“I am truly thankful for this recognition and truly feel that all the many volunteers that serve on our island deserve this award also. I, as one volunteer, thank all who dedicate their time for making my and our home a better place to live.”

Nobody Asked Me But: There oughta be a word for that, so invent one

Shilo Zylbergold
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Nobody Asked Me But: There oughta be a word for that, so invent one

You know this feeling. You’re walking along the sidewalk, or maybe down aisle 5B at the grocery store, and you make eye contact with someone walking towards you. You realize that unless one of you moves out of the way, you will most certainly bump into each other.

However, just as you step to one side to avoid the collision, the other person steps to the same side. You both apologize and then simultaneously take a step to the other side, which again puts you both in each other’s face. After shuffling to and fro another half dozen times (and repeatedly telling each other how sorry you are), you finally pass by each other.

You’ve been there many times. You know the frustration and embarrassment that go along with the predicament. Is there a word or phrase to describe this back and forth shuffle dance that takes place constantly as you try to go about your business in life? If not, there ought to be. How about the “‘scuse-me tango?” Or maybe the “skip-to-my-lou square dance?”

There’s more. You’ve been lined up at the gas bar, patiently waiting for one of the pumps to become available. At long last, the car in front of you drives away and you nestle your vehicle into place. You open your door, get out and slip your debit card into the slot on the pump. When prompted, you punch in your PIN and await the mechanical click which will allow you to retrieve your card from the machine. Instead, a message flashes across the screen informing you that you have entered the wrong number. You once again punch in the numbers, being extra careful to make certain you are pressing the correct buttons. Again you get an error message. You mutter foul words under your breath as you give it one more try. You can’t help but notice more cars behind you in the lineup with their drivers glaring at you impatiently. Just as you hit the last number of your PIN, you realize that you’ve mistakenly been using your credit card number instead of your debit. To make matters worse, now that you have failed three consecutive times, your pump now suspects you of fraud and won’t return your card. You can almost feel the gas hose wrapping itself around your leg in an attempt to make a citizen’s arrest. You are now in gasoline purgatory. Let’s call this one “PINitentiary.”

Ready for another one? All week you’ve been receiving these annoying phone calls informing you that you can get a better deal on your internet/mobile bundle or that your credit card has been compromised or that your nephew has been arrested for smuggling drugs into North Korea and that your $20,000 CAD is the only thing standing between him and a life sentence in solitary confinement. Some of these uninvited phone solicitations are robocalls with their pre-recorded, mechanical, disembodied voice messages, while others have actual human beings on the other end of the line (although they sound like they are all locked elbow to elbow in a claustrophobic little room somewhere continents away in southeastern Ubo Ubo).

At any rate, the calls always come at the most inconvenient times: very early in the morning, extremely late at night, or during dinner hour. This time, however, when the phone rings, things are going to be different. You are not going to be polite, or just hang up. This time, you are going to expose your “inner demon.” You pick up your phone and launch into a blue streak of language even you weren’t aware you had in you. You cuss up one side and down the other side of the poor schmo who dares to call and you don’t stop until you feel completely exorcized from all those repressed emotions you have held inside you all this time. It’s not until you are completely done with your verbal assault that the voice on the other ends identifies itself as your child’s Grade 3 teacher wanting to know what dessert you would like to contribute to the school Christmas bake sale. Why not coin this major outburst with the name “misplaced phone rage?”

Here’s one that everyone is familiar with. You get that unmistakeable feeling that you are about to sneeze. You brace yourself for the inevitable explosion while deciding which sleeved elbow you are ready to sacrifice to the resulting airway tsunami. However, just in the nick of time, you manage to stifle the sneeze. You slowly lower your arm and feel yourself begin to relax. If there are others in the room with you, there is a sense of calm and relief that begins to settle upon this near disaster. It is right at this point that the sneeze erupts, eliciting world-wide Richter-scale calibrations and subsequent earthquake warnings. A good word to describe this scenario is an “achooation.” A hyperachooation is the same situation except you do it with a mouthful of food.

There are so many more. Try finding the opening to a plastic bag at the grocery store when you have only one hand available. How about ziplock bags that close so tightly that it’s impossible to open them without tearing the plastic? Then there’s that tongue-tied feeling you get when you are about to leave a phone message on somebody’s answering service when suddenly a real person answers.

Computer technology has really increased the potential for new words to describe common events. Everyone must know that feeling that occurs a split second after you’ve clicked the “send” button when you realize you’ve just sent a very personal message to over 300 people.

Nobody asked me, but it just might be the right time to expand our language in order to add a few words and expressions to cover familiar experiences that may have been overlooked back when Oxford and Webster created their dictionaries. In fact, why not create a word that means creating a word when that word is missing? Let’s call it an “oughta-be-a-word-for-ition.”

Opinion: Stronger forest protection needed

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Opinion: Stronger forest protection needed

By Shauna Doll and Chris Genovali

Earlier this year, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation enlisted the help of the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria to conduct a review of the legal mechanisms currently available to the Islands Trust to carry out their “preserve and protect” mandate.

The ELC’s work resulted in a report synthesizing 10 regulatory recommendations for improving forest governance in the Islands Trust Area, but one overarching certainty emerged from the process: provincial law reform is necessary. 

The Islands Trust area includes 13 major islands and more than 450 smaller islands in the Salish Sea. These islands are representative of the Coastal Douglas-fir zone, a unique habitat and climate combo that lines south-eastern Vancouver Island and adjacent islands. It is characterized by tree species like Douglas-fir, iconic arbutus and culturally significant Garry oak meadows. It is also the smallest and least protected of 16 such zones in British Columbia.

Due to this exceptional ecology, the Islands Trust was created by the provincial government in 1974 with the sole purpose of “preserv[ing] and protect[ing] the Trust Area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the Trust Area and of British Columbia.” 

This was, and remains, an unprecedented move. The Trust Act created a governance structure unlike any other in the province, or indeed the country. The Trust qualifies as neither a municipality, nor a regional district. Instead it is identified as a unique special interest federation. This distinction is both a burden and an opportunity.

This uniqueness from B.C. local governments means the Trust does not have access to the same legal tools that municipalities or regional districts use for tree protection, despite tree protection being fundamental to achieving the Trust’s mandate. Attempts by local trustees to implement tree protection through development permit areas have been denied in the past, and currently, the implementation of tree protection bylaws is outside the Trust’s jurisdiction. 

Historically, the province has, in essence, set the Trust up, if not to fail, then at least to flail, by charging them with environmental care without providing the tools to fulfill that obligation. However, according to the ELC’s report, the Trust mandate has court recognized legal effects and puts Trust Council, the collection of 26 local trustees from the 13 major islands, in a unique position to protect some of the rarest forests and habitats in the county.

In mid-September, Raincoast made a presentation to the Islands Trust Council to describe the report and outline recommendations for action. The recommendations are as follows:

Trust Council shall . . . .

1. Pursue Development Permit Areas to protect forest ecosystems and regulate forest practices on private lands. 

2. Seek enforceability of Development Permits.

3. Pursue the implementation of tree cutting permits and forest management regulations.

4. Explore options for using zoning (i.e. “conservation zoning”) as an approach to regulating tree removal and retention on private lands.

5. Prioritize the use of the current tools available for “preserv[ing] and protect[ing] the Trust area and its unique amenities and environment,” such as conservation covenants.

6. Amend the Trust Policy Statement to reflect the dual obligation of local trustees, and the wider Trust federation, to uphold the Trust’s object. 

These recommendations were met with support from many trustees and resulted in two motions passed. This is the first step toward securing stronger tools for the Trust to protect threatened forests and habitat. This news came during a week plagued by wildfires and thick smoke, and only days after the provincial Old Growth Strategy review was released to mixed reviews. 

One of the shortcomings of the Old Growth Strategy review was the failure to capture any of the Coastal Douglas-fir zone in the interim protection measures. As such, B.C.’s least protected forest zone will continue to be subject to unsustainable, under-regulated logging and tree cutting, with its subsequent conversion to housing and commercial development.

Such conversion perpetuates climate change at a regional and microsite level through canopy loss, desiccation of the former understory, soil erosion and compaction, and increased fire risk in degraded forests, all the while furthering habitat loss and declines in biodiversity in a rare and threatened ecosystem.

Shauna Doll is Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s Gulf Islands Forest Project coordinator. Chris Genovali is Raincoast’s executive director.

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