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Viewpoint: Police reform needed in Canada

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Viewpoint: Police reform needed in Canada

By JAN SLAKOV

Imagine you were concerned about the mental health of a friend or family member and asked the police to go check in on them, and the person ended up shot to death. 

This can help us realize why some Indigenous or other racialized people have not wanted to call on the police for help, even when they have serious crimes to deal with.

Given such serious problems, does it make sense to climb on the “defund the police” bandwagon? For me, the answer is both “yes” and “no.”

“No,” because some of the problems arise when police forces have inadequate resources for the jobs they are asked to do.

“Yes,” because much of what needs to be done to make our communities safer could be done more effectively with less reliance on policing. (Examples: more social inclusion and mental health supports such as Salt Spring’s Art Jam program; safe, affordable housing; overhauling drug addiction approaches, etc.)

At a deeper level, the slogan “defund the police” is dangerously simplistic. Racism (and other “isms”) permeate our whole society, not just the police. And if we hope for a healthier justice system we need to look at underlying problems. How can we expect a fair justice system when our economic system is so terribly damaging?

We know that Canada’s top 100 CEOs earn, on average, 171 times as much as an average worker. It’s hard to imagine the situation could be getting worse, but it is: Since 1990 the collective wealth of billionaires has sky-rocketed by 1,130 per cent, and the percentage of taxes paid by the wealthiest has declined. Besides economic inequality, our system is too reliant on pillaging the earth and the world’s poorest people. Efforts towards racial and social justice must be linked to efforts to restore ecological health, to protect human rights, to create a healthy economy, to demilitarize our society, to deepen our commitment to fundamental rights, to nonviolence and other core values.

Addressing problems with policing is a key part of the movement we need to build. A good number of well-informed people, including author Paul Palango, police psychologist Mike Webster, retired judge Wallace Craig and MP Elizabeth May, have warned that the way the RCMP is structured is dangerous. It is a paramilitary force which can too easily come under the control of politically powerful interests. It fails to adequately protect its members and our society.

Despite the structural problems, among its members are some of the finest people one could hope to have as police officers. We owe it to them, and to ourselves, to work to reform policing in Canada. That may require disbanding the RCMP and creating totally new policing organizations. How about a group that included police (at least retired police) and other citizens who are prepared to work for a healthier justice system? We might call ourselves PEOPLES: “PolicE, Others, Pursuing Life-Enhancing Solutions.” Just coming up with a good name could be fun, challenging and helpful!

 – contributed by Jan Slovak

Salt Spring spy’s tale bared in Agent Jack

Elizabeth Nolan
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For a small community, Salt Spring has often had surprisingly strong connections to matters of world importance — and the peaceful island environment can attract big players in the arts, politics and beyond who want to spend their latter years in quiet.

Perhaps one of the most undercover influencers to retire here was Eric Roberts, who brought his family over from the UK in 1956. As the Driftwood reported in 2014, documents released by the British National Archives revealed Roberts as “Jack King,” the key military intelligence agent responsible for uncovering and diverting pro-Nazi activity in England during the Second World War.

Roberts’ role with MI5 is now part of the historical record, but the regular public can get a better sense of his extraordinary work thanks to journalist Robert Hutton. Hutton’s book Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter is a well-rounded account that explores how MI5 developed its counter-espionage branch and how Roberts got involved in that work. The research begins but does not end with the declassified documents and sound recordings. Hutton unveils the surprising fact that many British citizens were willing to betray their own country to the Nazis and shows the lengths Roberts and his superiors went to ensure their activities didn’t achieve the desired results.

Roberts was only 50 years old when he brought his family — wife Audrey and children Max, Peter and Crista — to Canada after finishing his spy career. He was a frequent contributor to the Driftwood as a letter-writer up until his death in 1972 at age 65. (He  published his book Salt Spring Saga with Driftwood founding publisher Woody Fisher.) Other than that he didn’t make much of a splash in the community.

Roberts was from a low-income family and didn’t attend the schools that were the main signal of class and privilege in the English society of his day. He started off his working life as a low-level bank clerk and did not enjoy the work, which is why he was happy to accept a side job infiltrating the communist and fascist groups that were operating in the UK in the 1930s. His unassuming personality gave no hint of the very dangerous work he performed in posing as a Gestapo agent. But as Hutton demonstrates, it was that very nature that made Roberts an ideal spy. He was excellent at winning people’s trust and at gently coercing them to follow his lead.

Hutton explains that after Britain entered war with Germany, MI5 was initially concerned with locating a network of German spies embedded in British society — an organized “fifth column” that would rise up if the invading army arrived. Intelligence officials eventually determined that no such network existed. However, there were locals who admired the Germans and were willing to commit sabotage or pass on sensitive information about military sites and technology.

“While it was true that MI5 hadn’t found any evidence of the feared Fifth Column, it did keep finding people who wanted to be Fifth Columnists,” Hutton writes. Roberts and his handlers therefore decided “if the Fifth Column didn’t exist, perhaps they should set it up.” 

Some of the people that Roberts uncovered had one or more German parents and were unhappy with their treatment in Britain. Others were strongly anti-Semitic and/or longtime supporters of homegrown fascist groups. Many admired the Nazi capacity for “order” and felt they would be better governed by Germany.

The would-be traitors had varying levels of intelligence, motivation and potential follow-through, but there was no doubt some of them could have been extremely dangerous. Hutton describes how even Roberts was shocked by one smart young woman from Brighton who was ready to become a German spy just an hour after meeting “Jack King.”

A few months later, “she handed Roberts four hand-drawn maps showing the location of targets in Brighton that she’d picked for the Luftwaffe. They included the fire station, ammunition dumps, places where tanks were concealed and the Army Records Office — where 600 women worked.” Another woman was ready to pass on information about experiments she’d heard of, which turned out to be a top-secret project to build the first airplane with a jet engine. 

The Jack King operation was so clandestine that MI5 made sure it wasn’t mentioned in their reports to then-prime minister Winston Churchill, in case he didn’t approve. And even after the war ended, the English Nazi-supporters never found out the truth. 

Aside from meticulous research, one of Hutton’s great strength’s is his storytelling. Facts are often offset by a dry sense of humour. Chapter openings generally set the scene as if narrating a high-quality thriller-novel. The book includes accounts of known historical figures like Victor Rothschild — the titled Jewish heir to a gigantic banking fortune who based an anti-espionage camp at his manor estate — and charismatic spy manager Maxwell Knight. Hutton also gets into the back stories of those people Roberts was working against, and provides a fulsome overview of the sociopolitical environment in which all this was taking place. 

Agent Jack is distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books and is available through Salt Spring Books.

Pandemic prompts Bonnie Henry hen cartoons

Elizabeth Nolan
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Salt Spring’s Jean Panepinto is one of those people who has used extra time at home over the past few months to do something creative.

Panepinto is used to getting out and doing things, but being in an older demographic, she and her husband kept to self-isolation except for the occasional essential trip. With little else to do, her sense of whimsy was sparked by the flock of chickens on her neighbour’s property. She’s now produced an entire book of cartoon-captioned photos with a pandemic theme titled The Hen Diaries and a starring character named Bonnie Hen. 

“Being a member of the Salt Spring Photo Club, I couldn’t resist taking their photograph and one day a cartoon popped into my head. I sent it to a few friends and suddenly the hens had a fan club. More cartoons were created and soon it was almost a daily event,” Panepinto explained. 

“Dr. Bonnie Henry was on the TV daily with her advice on social distancing and masks so one hen was named Bonnie Hen with appropriate cartoons on her recommendations. Then one friend asked ‘where are her shoes?’ and another cartoon was born.”

Panepinto created on-topic cartoons that reference social distancing, Henry’s mantras and, yes, the health officer’s sense of style. 

When restaurants were permitted to reopen, she made a cartoon warning the chickens they’d better lay more eggs or risk going into the deep fryer.

“Creating the cartoons was a fun distraction during the quiet time we had during the height of the pandemic and hopefully it brought a smile to my friends too,” Panepinto said. 

Since Panepinto regularly puts together photo books of her images she thought it would be fun to make a collection of the pandemic cartoons. 

She ordered a limited edition set featuring 25 cartoons and sent the books as gifts to some of the hens’ loyal followers in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. She also gave one of the limited-edition copies to the farmer who owns the flock and sent one to Dr. Henry, along with a card and a letter. 

While Panepinto had not heard from Henry as of last week, she hopes the gift lands well.

“I think eventually I might hear back from her, but I’m sure she has other things to do,” she said. “I’m hoping she gets a chuckle out of it.”

Editorial: Have your say in climate action plan survey

Gail Sjuberg
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While Salt Spring residents have been focused on the immediate COVID-19 crisis, one group of islanders has been hard at work dealing with a longer-term “emergency.”

About 30 dedicated volunteers have been toiling away on updating Salt Spring Island’s Climate Action Plan through a Transition Salt Spring-led committee. A draft document has now been created and is being reviewed by more than 100 different private and public groups, which forms one part of the consultation process. The other part involves individual islanders completing an online survey using a platform called Ethelo.

Ample background material is provided for each section, and it’s not necessary to have knowledge about all areas or to answer all of the questions. The format emphasizes the need to find a balance between feasibility and impact, and space for comments is allotted. Respondents can view “their” climate action plan taking shape on screen and see where their priorities align compared to others who have done the survey. The process is enlightening and even fun. 

About 500 people have taken the plunge to date, but organizers want even more opinions to work with. It’s safe to assume that highly motivated individuals have participated so far, but it is vitally important that people not involved in environmental or climate-change causes provide input as well. Executive committee member Tarah Stafford couldn’t stress that point enough in a recent Driftwood interview, and she’s right. For any plan to succeed or meaningful actions to be taken requires buy-in from those impacted. If no one is willing to increase their use of public bus service, for example, there’s not much point in directing major resources towards that effort. 

As well, the final plan will have more impact on those it is intended for — local politicians, in particular, as well as higher levels of government — if more people have been involved in its creation and endorsed its recommended actions. 

At present the completion deadline is June 20, with an extension to the end of the month anticipated but not yet confirmed. This plan will impact everyone’s life in some way in the future. The time to add your vision to that future is now. 

More Salt Spring voices wanted for climate plan survey

Gail Sjuberg
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Almost 500 Salt Spring Islanders have completed the Climate Action Plan online survey since it was launched a month ago, but organizers hope to get even more input.

Bryan Young and Tarah Stafford are key members of the Transition Salt Spring committee steering the massive process of updating the island’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Young says it might be a bit of “stretch goal” to be aiming for 1,000 responses, but he and Stafford say getting opinions from as broad a range of residents as possible is critically important.

“We do not under any circumstances just want people who are already in the choir to be talking about this,” said Stafford. “It needs to be everybody.”

The survey — using an Ethelo.net platform and accessible at on the Salt Spring Climate Action Plan website — asks for opinions on topics ranging from transportation to food and agriculture to forests and waste reduction. With the goal of reducing local greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent of 2007 levels by 2030 and a net-zero basis by 2050, the survey site asks “What do you think we can and should prioritize in the next 10 years to reach our goals?”

As respondents work their way through the questions and develop a custom climate action plan as they go, the program indicates whether or not their plan is workable and rates its difficulty level at the same time.  

Stafford points to a question in the transportation section about increasing the number of electric vehicles on the island as an interesting example. Replacing 50 per cent of current gasoline-fuelled vehicles with electric ones by 2030 is rated five out of 10 in difficulty but “workable.” Dropping that level to 25 per cent in the same period gets a difficulty rating of “four” and 75 per cent is a “six.” 

But Stafford stresses reality has a big part to play in climate change planning.

“We’re not going to say we all have to get electric cars,” said Stafford. “There’s a whole bunch of people who can’t afford or don’t want or can’t do it because of their work or something. Trying to find ways for everything to be fair for everyone is a tricky balance. Working that out is the main thing we need to do because everybody needs to be included in this.” 

Stafford said the biggest climate-change concern expressed by respondents so far is wildfire. 

“That might seem obvious, but it’s not obvious to everybody,” she said. “It can really inform what we do about policy.”

That could mean creating a workforce that can clean up forest fire fuel, or purchasing a community wood chipper to deal with the collected debris.

Young said, “One of the things that is becoming clear is that forests feel like they are the lynchpin in the whole thing and not because they are the prettiest thing that we want to see kept . . . but everything comes back to forests in terms of climate-change mitigation.”

Landowners could also be incentivized through tax breaks or other means to maintain their forested acreages rather than selling their trees for their timber value.

In addition to the current online survey, the draft 80-page Climate Action Plan, containing some 250 recommendations, has been sent to more than 100 groups for their feedback.

“This consultation rivals, in scale and breadth and input, many local government types of consultation,” said Young. 

He noted that except for some administrative work required, everything is being done by volunteers. Some 30 people have been involved in writing various plan sections as part of working groups. As well, Catherine Griffiths and Nicholas Courtier have created a series of high-level climate-change maps.

Only $20,000 of local government funding was acquired: $15,000 in gas tax funding through CRD director Gary Holman and $5,000 from the Islands Trust to create the maps, which will then be given to the Trust.

Use of the Ethelo platform has been donated by Stafford’s sister company eDemocracy. 

“Tarah is the chief architect of this whole amazing process,” said Young.

A handful of other communities across Canada have also benefitted from the Ethelo service, which has been supported by some national foundation funding. 

While the level of survey response received to date is high, the committee still hopes to push the response number closer to 1,000. They feel a maximum of 7,000 people would be able to do the survey, so a 14 per cent response rate would feel extremely solid.

“We want to be able to show Peter [Grove] and Laura [Patrick] and Gary [Holman] — ‘Look, do it. You have people on your side,’” said Young.

They also want more younger people to take the survey. At present, only five per cent of respondents are under 30. 

“We really do want everyone’s opinion,” stressed Stafford. “It’s so important that we are all in this together.” 

The initial deadline for survey responses was June 20, but Young said an extension to June 30 is being considered. 

SD64 ponders massive change

Elizabeth Nolan
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Gulf Islands School District staff will be spending the summer analyzing options for changing how schools are configured in the district with the knowledge that decreasing enrolment and government funding pose a major challenge to operations.

School district superintendent Scott Benwell and secretary treasurer Jesse Guy presented a “scope of opportunity” document to the board of education last Wednesday. The board agreed the ideas presented were worthy of deeper analysis and directed staff to come back with a financial and operational feasibility study in September.

“I think it’s really important to understand the challenge we do face,” Benwell said, adding that keeping the doors open to public education in the district will require everyone’s effort.

The opportunities to be explored include closing Salt Spring Middle School and changing elementary schools to cover grades K-7, and high school to grades 8-12. A new high school program and outer island hub is proposed for Pender Island, which would serve students from Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna islands in grades 8 and 9. 

Under the proposal, all district students could choose between attending their senior high school years at Gulf Islands Secondary School on Salt Spring or at the Pender school.

Staff will also review the provision of French programs including French Immersion and create a sustainability framework for all special programs under the scope of opportunity. The district is not contemplating changing the four-day school week but has acknowledged academic success has not been optimal in recent years, so staff will be investigating how to deliver the best programming under that model.

The district is currently under funding protection since an enrolment audit in 2017 caused the Ministry of Education to immediately withdraw nearly $700,000 in operational funding. Guy reported that School District 64 had been receiving transfers based on higher student counts than it currently has, and schools were likewise configured to meet that higher student count. The all-time high was about 1,800 students. There are currently 1,440 students enrolled.

Guy explained the ministry’s new funding model is set to reduce the SD64 budget by an additional $1 to $1.6 million, while data on current demographics suggests a continuing downward trend in students. She said the new configuration needs to support a budget that has the flexibility to absorb unusual events and circumstances, and also allows the district to make choices about what types of extras it can provide in addition to core education requirements. 

“I firmly believe education is delivered best in a stable environment,” Guy said.

Staff and trustees agreed the ideas presented incorporate much of the input collected over months of public engagement. 

But while many participants had supported the potential closing of the middle school, the proposal to send outer islands students to Pender for grades 8 and 9 caught parents off guard. 

“The instinctual reaction is this is another us versus them, have and have-not situation,” said Galiano trustee Shelley Lawson, recognizing many parents on her island are already worried about how the change would impact their children. The ability to join sports teams is one major concern, as some feel outer islands students wouldn’t be given that chance if entering Gulf Islands Secondary School in Grade 10. 

Lawson added that a successful transformation would depend on what programming would actually be made available at the Pender school, and said she hopes for “really juicy equitable opportunities.”

Kadek Okuda, a teacher at Mayne Island School who grew up in the district and attended middle school on Mayne, said there could also be social and educational impacts to joining GISS later.

Benwell said those questions are important. Administrative staff want to take the time to explore the concerns people are raising.

Staff outlined multiple factors as to why a grades 8 to 12 high school for all district students hasn’t been proposed at GISS. Guy explained it would require adding a third large water taxi to transport students for an annual cost of $350,000. At the same time, the district loses “unique geographical factor” funding for the outer islands students whenever they attend school on Salt Spring. 

Benwell added that climate action has been recognized as a concern in the district, and a third diesel-burning water taxi would increase the environmental footprint. A third water taxi could be an option anyway, he said, but that would mean taking $350,000 from elsewhere, and that would probably impact employment.

As to why Pender was selected for the outer island hub when Mayne Island hosted a middle school in the past, Guy said the demographics strongly support the choice. As well, the Pender school is larger and better equipped. It was constructed to host high school as well as elementary school classes. 

No changes to the district’s configuration would take place until September 2021. Families will be able to provide feedback on the scope of opportunity document and on the feasibility study once it is produced. See sd64.bc.ca for more information.

Elder abuse awareness highlighted on June 15

Elizabeth Nolan
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Elder abuse awareness highlighted on June 15

The BC Association of Community Response Networks is asking people to wear purple on June 15 to acknowledge their support for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The international symbol for the day is the purple iris. Wearing purple is a way to bring visibility to a complex issue that is often overlooked.

A Community Response Network is a diverse network of concerned community members, businesses and agencies, including local health authorities, who come together to create a coordinated response to provide help for adults experiencing or at risk of experiencing abuse, neglect and self-neglect. Salt Spring Island Community Services acts as the Salt Spring CRN’s host agency.

Local coordinator Shamana Ali helped raise awareness for 2019’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by creating an information display at the Saturday Market. Although she was hoping to have an event at the library this year, new rules around distancing have forced a change in plans.

“I got into a lot of really awesome conversations last year at the market with people who felt they were on the edge,” Ali said. “What I find is, when you get the conversation going, people are more likely to see the signs of elder abuse, because it’s so subtle.”

Ali said because elder abuse often takes place within intimate or family relationships — the abuser may be the elder’s main contact to the outside world — it can be hard for others to know what’s going on.

The manifestation of abuse can be more insidious than obvious. It can take the form of violence or aggression, but it can also be emotional and psychological. Financial exploitation seems to be more commonly associated with it than with other types of abuse.

Ali, who has worked for many years as an activist against discriminations such as racism and homophobia, said elder abuse is in fact the most complicated issue she has tackled.

“It seems what you might notice in elder abuse is not the presence, but the absence of something,” she said, adding this could mean a senior is suddenly not showing up to events that he or she used to attend regularly, or they’re no longer spending the same $20 on a regular purchase.

Recognizing elder abuse is complicated by the fact that the victims involved are going through a life-stage that calls their very experience into question. They are aging and vulnerable and may also have forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s or mental illness.

“You might not be believed or your credibility is questioned,” Ali said. “So opening the conversations about it is the most important step. It’s an ‘it takes a community or village’ kind of thing.”

Whether under-reported or unnoticed, elder abuse can be a serious issue in communities where the population is aging. Ali notes the Vital Signs report compiled by the Salt Spring Foundation in 2017 found 50 per cent of the local population are seniors. But it can impact anywhere.

“Regardless of how the demographics roll out in your particular community, it is a vulnerable population,” Ali said. “Everyone should be able to live freely without neglect or abuse.”

Another concern is that with people forced to stay home during COVID-19 restrictions, there has been a documented increase in cases of domestic abuse in general, while the usual checks and balances may not be in place.

“Sharing homes, these issues tend to unfortunately come out. That’s why it’s good to raise awareness,” Ali said.

The CRN wants people to know there is help available. VictimLinkBC provides information and referral services to all victims of crime and immediate crisis support to victims of family and sexual violence. Call 1-800-563-0808 toll-free or email VictimLinkBC@bc211.ca for confidential assistance by trained victim service workers. Multilingual support is available in 150 different languages. 

Boil Water Advisory issued for Fernwood part of Highland-Fernwood water service area

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Boil Water Advisory issued for Fernwood part of Highland-Fernwood water service area

Message from the Capital Regional District issued at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, June 13:

A water main break has resulted in the draining of the water storage tanks in the Fernwood part of the Highland-Fernwood Water Service Area on Salt Spring Island (click here for map) and this has resulted in reduced or no water service to CRD customers in this service area. When water service is restored, the CRD Integrated Water Services, in consultation with Island Health, have issued a Boil Water Advisory for the Fernwood part of the Highland-Fernwood water service and residents in the impacted area should BOIL their drinking water until further notice.

 The Boil Water Advisory will be removed when Island Health is satisfied that the drinking water does not pose a health concern and issues an ‘ALL CLEAR’ notice, at which time the customers of the Fernwood Water Service Area will be notified as soon as possible. During the Boil Water Advisory, household tap water may be disinfected by boiling it vigorously for 1 minute.

For updates regarding this advisory,  visit www.crd.bc.ca .

For more information on boil water advisories, please visit www.viha.ca/boilwater

Dr. Bonnie Henry buttons shared

Elizabeth Nolan
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Dr. Bonnie Henry buttons shared

Dr. Bonnie Henry’s message to “be kind, be calm, be safe” seems more appropriate than ever in today’s world, even if COVID-19 fears are easing along with the transmission rates.

People on Salt Spring will be seeing more of those words as well as Dr. Henry’s image in the coming days thanks to a button pin produced and distributed by the Salt Spring Arts Council. The large button features a portrait of the provincial health officer created by local artist Patrick McCallum and Henry’s now famous mantra for helping people get through the challenging and changing pandemic situation.

The arts council is in the process of sending the buttons out to local businesses as a token of appreciation for sponsoring their programming throughout the years.

“We kind of felt it was time to turn the tables on our sponsors; it was time to ask how we could help them out, because a lot of them are hurting right now,” said Kathy Ramsey, an arts council board member and volunteer.

Ramsey noted that frontline workers in essential services often bear the brunt of the anxiety and frustration felt by the people they are serving. Hopefully the buttons will remind customers to be kind and to share a smile with those workers instead.

McCallum is just one of the many people in British Columbia who was won over by Henry’s demeanor, and her ability to balance strong medical knowledge with a reassuring approach. He decided to create her portrait as part of a self-assigned exercise to produce an artwork and post it to Instagram every day during 40 days of pandemic restrictions.

“During that time I was of course also watching Dr. Bonnie Henry every day. She’s not what you’d usually expect from people speaking on behalf of government — she clearly has tremendous experience and knowledge but that’s not where she’s coming from. She’s bringing this sense of empathy and compassion,” McCallum said.

After McCallum posted his image of Henry to Instagram the Dr. Bonnie Henry Fan Club group on Facebook picked it up and spread it even further. Then fellow arts council member David Borrowman informed McCallum that some friends on Bowen Island had seen it and were inquiring about possibly buying a print they could use to poster their local windows with during quarantine.

McCallum did not want to sell the image, but he did make a file available for free to anyone who wanted to use it. That aligned well with the arts council’s desire to do something to help island businesses in recovery.

“I just couldn’t be happier with the response, and at the end of the day as an artist, to have something to contribute means a great deal to me,” McCallum said.

Distributing the button throughout local shops and services serves another famous Henry catch phrase, which is about getting through the pandemic together as a province.

“I love the idea of a unified look for all the businesses on the island,” Ramsey said. “Even though there may be friendly competition, we’re all islanders, we’re all in this in together. And art is such a perfect unifier. This seemed like the perfect moment.”

The arts council ordered 500 buttons for the initial run, which was paid for by an anonymous donor. They may do a second run for heath-care workers but are working through the businesses first.

“Our priority right now is to put a smile on the faces of those people behind the cash register and at the pump, where they are facing other people all the time,” Ramsey said.

“It’s been really super positive,” she added. “We’ve had lots of smiles, lots of thanks. We’re really happy to give back to all these amazing businesses on the island that have done so much to ensure Salt Spring has a vibrant arts and culture community — and it’s still here. It will be back and stronger than ever.”

PALBERG, Gunter

Driftwood Obituary
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PALBERG, Gunter

Gunter Palberg
1934 – 2020

Gunter was born December 22, 1934 in Dortmund, Germany and passed away June 10, 2020 on Salt Spring Island, B.C.

Gunter immigrated to Canada from Germany during the 1950’s, determined to find work as a bricklayer. Canadian sponsors helped him with food and lodging and during this time, he met Rosemarie while working on farms in the Spruce Grove area of Alberta. Gunter would marry Rosemarie in 1957. As he met people and worked as a bricklayer, Gunter gained command of the English language, while also staying close to his European roots by discovering the German community in Edmonton and area. Remaining steadfast in the quest for self employment, Dad initially took on work sub-contracting by night for other companies and during the day, quoting and building for his own customers on their dreams of brick and mortar.

Dad liked to create artwork. His medium was mortar, bricks and blocks. As a self-employed mason, travel was essential. Gunter designed many fireplaces, walls, buildings and custom creations throughout Alberta and British Columbia, going as far as Ontario to make ends meet during the tough times in the 1980’s.

Later on in life, Gunter would channel his creativity into the model railroad he so loved as a child, fabricating dioramas and sets for entertainment.

Gunter enjoyed talking with people. During his retirement years, Dad could regularly be found having lunch at the seniors centre, or coffee “und Kuchen” with his friends and acquaintances.

Peace at last, Dad.

Gunter is survived by wife Rosemarie of Salt Spring Island B.C, daughter Connie (Stephen) Wiwchar, grandchildren Olivia, Jacob and Nicholas Wiwchar, all of Alberta. He is survived by daughter-in-law Heather Palberg of B.C. Gunter was predeceased by son George.

Cremation has taken place. As per Dad’s request, there will be no service. In lieu of flowers please consider donations to The Alzheimer Society for his beloved Rosemarie or the Heart & Stroke Foundation for his son George, who was taken from him too soon.

Condolences may be left at www.haywardsfuneral.com

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