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Viva Chorale sings with joy in multiple ways

Gail Sjuberg
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Viva Chorale sings with joy in multiple ways

Viva Chorale community choir is ready to thrill audiences this weekend in its With Joy concert.

“The whole idea is to have a joyous concert,” said group director Caroni Young.

As if uplifting musical choices weren’t enough to create that joy, Viva Chorale has asked the Jubilate Vocal Ensemble from Vancouver to join them. 

“It’s a pun because we are singing songs about joy but also ‘with a choir called joy.’”

The two choirs with approximately 45 members each perform at Fulford Hall this Saturday night, April 27 at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday afternoon, April 28 at 2 p.m.  Young said some songs are designed to make audience members laugh, like a folk song called Flunky Jim that’s about a guy trying to buy a new outfit by saving the government bounty paid for gopher tails. A dance-like Irish tune about a fellow marrying an older woman for her money also aims to be fun.

A couple of the pieces express joy in a different way.

“Tabula Rasa talks about having a child and holding them in your arms for the first time and imagining the whole world opening up in front of them,” said Young.

That piece is by Nelson, B.C. composer Don MacDonald, who is one of Young’s favourites and whose work the choir has performed in the past.

“There’s a real mix of songs to make you laugh and songs to make you reflect about life and songs to celebrate special moments in your life too . . . and what it means to appreciate the way you live your life.”

The collaboration with Jubilate came about because Young was a former member of the choir.

“They are my Vancouver choir family, so they are all very good friends and we have stayed in touch and it is nice to invite them over to Salt Spring.”

Jubilate also performed with Viva Chorale four years ago.

Jubilate’s director is now Eldon McBride, who is a very accomplished musician and was Ben Heppner’s personal rehearsal accompanist.

“It’s a pleasure to work with him and the choir,” said Young.

The two groups plan to do three songs as a mass choir, so that will mean the sound of 90 voices will fill Fulford Hall.

Young says the hall is a great venue for singing and has a lovely community feeling when you walk into it.

The concert will close with the ultra-joyous gospel tune I Sing Because I’m Happy.

Tickets for the show are at Apple Photo or the door.

Bill Coon & Caroni Young

After the Sunday rendition of the Viva Chorale concert is over, director Young will get ready for another performance that night.

Young will sing jazz standards with renowned guitarist Bill Coon at All Saints at 7:30 p.m.

“Singing with Bill is such a real treat. He is such a great musician,” said Young.

Salt Springers do the work on Earth Day

Gail Sjuberg
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Salt Springers do the work on Earth Day

Although the island had no official Earth Day festival this year, Salt Spring Islanders still took to the streets and schools to do their part for the planet.

Leading up to Earth Day, islanders took part in the Driftwood’s Greening Salt Spring campaign. Participation this year was more than double that of the inaugural year. More information about that successful event is available in a separate story in this week’s Driftwood and online.

The Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce organized a Ganges clean-up to help foster a more inviting environment for local storefronts. Businesses and members of the public were invited to participate.  Local business owners were asked to clean up garbage and recyclables from their premises, as well as sweep sidewalks and clean up any dust from the winter. Islanders met at the Ganges Fire Hall at 10 a.m. to clean garbage and invasive species from around town. Volunteers came out even though it was raining.

The Salt Spring Island Elementary School got in on the action too, with tree-planting, garden work and an Easter egg hunt for the little ones. Trees were planted from the school’s nursery, and parents helped out in the garden.

Saanich MP Elizabeth May gets married

Driftwood Staff
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Saanich MP Elizabeth May gets married

Local MP and Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May was married to John Kidder, a co-founder of the B.C. Green Party some 35 years ago, on Earth Day at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria.

A number of Salt Spring Island residents were in attendance, and snapped some photos for what was dubbed #MyBigFatGreenWedding, or “Elizabeth and John’s Big Fat Green Wedding,” a play on the My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie from 2002.

Intuitive intelligence informs eco-friendly land

Gail Sjuberg
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Intuitive intelligence informs eco-friendly land

All Bastien Simoneau wants to do is leave his daughter with land that is functional, beautiful and sustainable.

He is in the process of transforming his land in the Burgoyne Valley from a monoculture farm to a functional ecosystem for both humans and wildlife. Over the better part of a decade, he has created six functioning ecosystems on the property, with eight different ponds, wetlands, a food forest, a prairie ecosystem and a natural west-coast forest. His philosophy is what he calls “intuitive intelligence,” which is doing things that just make sense. To him, something that makes sense is working with the land so that it can provide for him, his family and the natural world around them.

“Eventually it’s a system that is going to be self-sufficient,” he said. “When I’ll be done doing the structural aspects of it and all my systems are in place it’ll be a bit more natural. I’ll be able to focus on food, so canning, jerky, my trout and everything.”

Through Simoneau’s approximately 20 acres, the evidence of mingling human and natural needs is evident. Near the house, what initially looks like a pond is revealed to be, under closer inspection, a swimming pool surrounded by natural wetland plants. Simoneau explained that the pool has given people a place to swim in the summer, and has also provided a habitat for frogs, salamanders and newts. To add to the balance between human and nature, he also built a wood-fired oven next to the pool/pond.

“It’s food for us and an ecosystem for newts and frogs. I think there are red-legged frog, that’s a blue-listed species, and we’ve got an over-abundance of them. We’ve got tons of newts. When I vacuum the pond I can see all of the creatures,” he said.

The swimming area is just one of Simoneau’s ponds and water features on his land. Every year, as a birthday present to himself, he builds a new pond somewhere on the property. His ponds are all used for different purposes. He lets his dogs play and swim in one pond, while another is turning the former farmland back into a wetland. He has also stocked one pond with rainbow trout. Eight water features dot the premises, with more coming in the near future.

“Water is so so beautiful. It brings so much life. As soon as we built the ponds, swallows came. They’re eating all the bugs on the surface. Then the frogs, salamanders . . . when I see things like this it’s kind of epic.”

Beyond the human-meets-nature aspect of his swimming pond, Simoneau has also expanded that idea to food. A traditional garden with raised beds sits in the sun near the house, but further into the property is the beginning of a food forest. Food forests are a complex and ultimately self-propagating way of growing food. With multiple kinds of food-bearing plants in the same area, food forests simulate natural habitat for animals, while providing organic and healthy food for people.

“If you don’t bring diversity to a system, then you deplete it,” Simoneau said.

“At the end, it’s all a question of will: what do you want to do in your free time?” he added. “We have been taking for so long from Mother Nature . . . You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to balance it, especially when you can afford it.”

For more on this story, see the Spring and Summer Fixup section April 24, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

NSSWD candidates make their cases

Contributed Article
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NSSWD candidates make their cases

Four candidates are chasing two spots on the North Salt Spring Waterworks District board in this Saturday’s election. The voting will be held for district ratepayers at the Community Gospel Church from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The annual general meeting of the district will also be held that day, beginning at 2 p.m. Only ratepayers in the district can vote in the election.

Answers to four questions posed to candidates Garth Hendren, Michael McAllister, Bob Patterson and Sandra Ungerson by the Driftwood are published below.

GARTH HENDREN

Q. What are your qualifications for joining the North Salt Spring Waterworks District board?

A. As a resident for over 30 years on Salt Spring Island and under the jurisdiction of the NSSWD, I have become personally involved in the consumption and management of this limited resource that is delivered by NSSWD. During my time on Salt Spring I have served in various capacities on numerous boards ranging from the library to Community Services and, incidental to these, all of the water districts that operate under the jurisdiction of the CRD.

Note: In the print version of this Q&A, Garth Hendren stated in his answer to this question that he was a founding member of the Salt Spring Water Council. The council’s coordinator, Murray Reiss, advises that is not true and newspaper reports from the time back up his claim. The council was initiated in 2003 by then CRD director Gary Holman, with support from the Salt Spring Local Trust Committee. Hendren served on the council years later when he was the CRD director.

Q. Why do you want to serve on the board?

A. The fundamental concerns I have with respect to water are the limited nature of the resource and the costs. The average ratepayers’ consumption on NSSWD is in excess of 300 litres per household per day. This is approximately twice the national average. Costs to deliver water to consumers continue to rise, for example, the recent commissioning of a new filtration plant on St. Mary Lake.

Note: The 2017 water audit conducted by the North Salt Spring Waterworks District states that the average water consumption on Salt Spring for a single family dwelling was 227 litres per person per day, below the 2015 Canadian average of 235 litres per person per day. The average consumption for single family dwellings (with an assumed 2.1 people per dwelling based on census data) on Salt Spring in 2017 was 473 litres per day, compared to a Canada-wide average of 447 litres per day. 

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the district?

A. NSSWD faces a couple of challenges: limited supply of water and limited resources to improve and increase the supply. These challenges are fuelled by an ever-increasing population.

So the question is what to do about it. Should NSSWD further limit consumption?  It already limits it by charging a sliding rate on increasing consumption. It has signalled to the Islands Trust that it will withhold hookups to new housing projects and commercial projects that come before the Islands Trust for approval. Are there other measures that could be taken? Could our local building code be amended to mandate use of water-saving devices on all new and renovated building projects? From my perspective that is my challenge. 

Q. Do you believe that the district should fall under the governance of the Capital Regional District?

A. The problem of limited resources is much more challenging. Across our country in most communities, water is viewed as a utility and is managed for that town or city. So when the time comes for local upgrades and improvement, the local government determines the amount of money needed to upgrade the pipes or build a new processing plant. It then applies to the federal and provisional governments seeking the necessary funds. However, it does not work that way for NSSWD, which cannot receive resources from the provincial or federal governments and therefore the ratepayers must underwrite all the associated costs.   

If I am elected to the position of trustee I see my job as figuring out how to solve this problem so that our tax dollars that flow to both the provincial and federal governments can be returned to underwrite the upgrades and new projects such as a second filtration plant for Maxwell Lake.

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MICHAEL MCALLISTER

Q. What are your qualifications for joining the North Salt Spring Waterworks District board?

A. I have spent the last 31 years, as a lawyer, advising local governments (including improvement districts like the NSSWD) on virtually all matters of importance and relevance to the NSSWD. I also have extensive experience in dealing with government funded social housing projects.

I also believe that, at this stage of NSSWD’s history, having a lawyer with extensive experience in dealing with local governments and the provincial government would be of significant benefit to the NSSWD and its ratepayers.

Finally, as an incumbent trustee at the NSSWD, I believe I have gained the confidence and respect of my fellow trustees and senior staff at the NSSWD.

Q. Why do you want to serve on the board?

A. While I initially had only planned on serving one term as a trustee with the NSSWD, I have been asked by a number of people to reconsider that decision. As noted below, I believe the most important issues facing the NSSWD are infrastructure funding,  governance and strategic island-wide water management. I believe I can be of real assistance to the NSSWD over the next term on all of these issues as well as many other issues.

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the district?

A. Without question, the three most significant issues facing the NSSWD are the lack of capital infrastructure funding, governance and the development of an island-wide plan for the management of water resources.

Q. Do you believe that the district should fall under the governance of the Capital Regional District?

A. When I was first elected to the NSSWD board in 2017, I stated very clearly that I firmly believed that decisions about SSI should be made on SSI. I remain of that view for many reasons but most importantly because local decision making provides for greater accountability of the board and of NSSWD staff to our ratepayers.

However, our provincial government has made it clear that infrastructure funding will not be made available to the NSSWD without the NSSWD first considering a change in governance that would see the winding up of the NSSWD and transfer of governance to the CRD. So while I am personally not in favour of such a transfer of governance to the CRD, as a trustee I feel that I am obligated to consider that option at least.

_________________________________________________________________________

BOB PATTERSON

Q. What are your qualifications for joining the North Salt Spring Waterworks District board?

A. I meet the requirements of the NSSWD to be a trustee and want to contribute to the wellbeing of the water system.

Q. Why do you want to serve on the board?

A. I would like to see us with a system that provides more water for the existing and future ratepayers and believe a desalination system would be the answer. Having done some research, I think this is feasible. There seems to be little additional water available on our island and we all know there is no shortage around us!

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the district?

A. Some of many challenges are the restrictions on usage for current rate payers, restrictions on new hookups, and maintaining reserve levels. These restrictions seem to have forced the water system into a situation where they are restricting any development on the island. Whether we get more development or not should be the responsibility of a different level of government, not defaulting to the water board.

Q. Do you believe that the district should fall under the governance of the Capital Regional District?

A. I am not up to speed on which level of government does what. I have listened to water board people talking about the many groups and departments that are needed to approve things. I have also heard about the lack of funding available to us under our current governance. I would suggest a great deal of streamlining with various levels of government would be a good idea.

_______________________________________________________________________

SANDRA UNGERSON

Q. What are your qualifications for joining the North Salt Spring Waterworks District board?

A. I am the current chair of the SSI Conservation and Efficiency Working Group for the Salt Spring Island Watershed Protection Alliance. We are in the final stages of preparing a detailed report titled Technologies and Methods of Conserving and Improving Efficiency of the Water Resources on Salt Spring Island. Part II of that report is titled Recommendations for Conservation. I see these skills and this knowledge base assisting NSSWD in advancing water conservation and efficiency practices and policies.

I am a multi-disciplinary MSc. in Sustainable Energy Development, focusing on water resources, and provide knowledge and a practical background in implementing water conservation projects on Salt Spring. These are key assets for the NSSWD mandate. I am also vice-president of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Foundation and we advance the mission “to serve as the global resource for rainwater and stormwater harvesting by promoting research, education and thought leadership.”

Through my international speaking engagements on rainwater harvesting for potable purposes, I bring globally recognized best practices to the table, designing and installing water conservation technologies on Salt Spring Island, including rainwater, stormwater and greywater.

Q. Why do you want to serve on the board?

A. I see the NSSWD facing increasing challenges to do more with less. I have been approached for a number of years to run for a board position. The time has come to act on behalf of the people who have urged me to do this. I care passionately about our water resources and want them to be reliable, sustainable, safe resources that aid the people who live on and visit this island.

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the district?

A. As the water demands increase, and the water resources are being increasingly taxed, many on the island face water restrictions and shortages that demand a new look at the issues. I pledge to look outside of the box, at what is being done successfully at scale, globally, to meet the needs of ratepayers locally.

Q. Do you believe that the district should fall under the governance of the Capital Regional District?

A. No. Based on my experience working with ratepayers from Cusheon Lake and Cedar Lane, I fail to see how CRD involvement would provide the resources and expertise needed to make NSSWD a better utility for ratepayers. Having one vote on the Capital Regional Board in Victoria means we simply won’t have the clout to move key water issues up to a priority level needed by Salt Spring Islanders.

Islanders embrace green campaign

Elizabeth Nolan
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Islanders embrace green campaign

With Earth Day now behind us the Driftwood’s Greening Salt Spring campaign is officially closed for another year. We would like to congratulate the many islanders who stepped up for the extra challenge, as well as those who make litter pickup part of their usual practice.

Participation this year more than doubled from our inaugural campaign in 2018, which is inspiring us to think about how we can get bigger and better in 2020. A focus on the main arteries is one suggestion, while ongoing education around plastic reduction is something we intend to work on year-round.

Heroes of this year’s efforts that deserve special mention are the team of Jérôme Dupuy, Rosamund Dupuy, Joann Grey, Caroline Hickman and Jordan Soames. They bravely took on Fulford-Ganges Road all the way from Fulford Hall to Burgoyne Bay Road and came back with 10 full garbage bags plus a lot of large things that were too big for bags. Kudos to the team for wearing safety vests for maximum visibility on a busy road.

Juliette and Rick Laing meanwhile collected a pickup load of garbage from party areas under the power lines at the end of Wilkie Way, taking away plastic, pop cans, broken TV sets and more.

Further congratulations go to Suzie Gagnon, who was the very first to sign up for the 2019 campaign and wound up covering much of Sunset Drive.

We should also mention that our elected officials aren’t too high and mighty to pick up trash. Peter Grove and his wife Mary were spotted working on a very problematic stretch of North End Road on Easter Sunday.

Some of our participants elected to donate their recycling proceeds to local charities, such as the food bank and societies with environmental initiatives.

Once again, we also thank Laurie’s Recycling and Waste for generously donating the cost of disposal of all the trash collected during the campaign.

For more on this story including the full list of participants, see the April 24, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Bazan Bay Sneakers finish in top 10 of age groups

Contributed Article
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Bazan Bay Sneakers finish in top 10 of age groups

SUBMITTED BY SS SNEAKERS

The Salt Spring Sneakers ended the Island Series winter race series on April 14 with a bang after limping into the final event with injury and illness.

The Island Race Series finale is the Bazan Bay 5K in Sidney, traditionally run in rainy and windy conditions, which also threatened in this year’s forecast. At only five kilometres, this event is essentially a sprint event, with competitors running nearly flat-out from beginning to end. To everybody’s surprise, 14 Sneakers registered for the event, it was sunny and only slightly windy for the start of the race. Every Sneaker who entered finished in the top 10 of their respective age groups.

Leading the Sneakers to the finish line was our coach, Susan Gordon, in a time of 20:53 for a first place of 20 in her 55-59 age group and 113th of 472 overall. Pat Peron was the second Sneaker to finish and one of only two Sneakers to complete all eight races. His time of 21:14 earned him an eighth place among 22 in his ultra-competitive 60-64 age group and 122nd overall.

Lise Fraser was the third Sneaker to cross the finish line in a personal best time of 21:22 for a first place of 24 in her 60-64 age group and 126th overall. By the end of the race, four Sneaker women finished in the top 10 of this age group.

The fourth Sneaker to cross the finish line was Donna de Roo, this being her first island race series competition. Donna is the 11-year-old daughter of triathlete Marcia Jansen. De Roo’s time of 21:37 earned her a third place of 16 runners in the under-15 age-group competition, 36th place of 221 women, 142nd (top third) overall and the moniker of “Rocket.”

Donna’s mother, Marcia Jansen, was the fifth Sneaker to finish, 25 seconds after her daughter, in a time of 22:02 for a fifth place of 22 in her 45-49 age group and 152nd place overall. 

Duncan Elsey, finishing his first Island Race Series, was the sixth Sneaker to cross the finish line. His time of 22:46 earned him an eighth place of 16 in his age group and 175th overall. 

Eric Ellis, still struggling with the aftermath of the flu, was the seventh Sneaker to finish in a personal worst time of 23:57, earning him a third place among the 14 in his 70-74 age group and 215th (top 50 per cent) overall. 

Taking another break from her triathlon training, Marion Young was the eighth Sneaker to cross the finish line and second of four Sneakers in her 60-64 age group. Her time of 24:12 placed her fourth in her age group and 220th overall (top 50 per cent).

Anna Ford was the ninth Sneaker to finish and the third Sneaker in the women’s 60-64 age group where she earned seventh place. Her time of 25:33 was one minute and nine seconds better than her last year’s time on this course and recommends her for the informal competition for the most improved Sneaker of the year.

Nina de Roo was the 10th Sneaker to finish, her time of 26:03 earning her an eighth place in the under 15 age group and 280th place overall. 

Thirteen seconds later, Peter Freeman in his first running competition since the devastating bike versus car accident that required the entire reconstruction of his hip, crossed the finish line, his time of 26:16 earning him a 10th place of 19 in his 65-69 age group, and 283rd overall. 

Doreen Peron was the 12th Sneaker to finish and only the second Sneaker to finish all eight races, earning her the title of Sneaker stalwart. Her time of 27:02 was a personal best for her at this distance and a 46-second improvement over her previous best time. She was the fourth Sneaker and top 10 in her 60-64 age group and 307th overall.

Mary Freeman was the 13th Sneaker to finish, her time of 27:22 earning her seventh of 11 in her 65-69 age group and 313th overall. 

Karen Clark was the 14th Sneaker to cross the finish line, her time of 31:46 earning her an eighth of 11 in the 65-69 age group and 398th overall.

The massive 211 points the Sneakers earned from these 14 persons in the top 10 of their respective age groups vaulted the team over the second-place team in the small team competition, but while it was more points than the first-place team earned in this event, it was not enough to return the Sneakers to first place.

As this was the final race of the series, the Vancouver Island Runners Association also awarded the series awards to those who completed five or more races based on converting finish times to an international scoring standard. In this competition, Fraser and Ellis won first places in their respective age groups for the series. Young won a fifth place in her age group, while Pat Peron won sixth place in his age group, Elsey eighth place in his age group, Ford 11th place, and Doreen Peron 13th place in their shared age group.

BC Ferries announcements amuse and confuse

Shilo Zylbergold
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BC Ferries announcements amuse and confuse

“This is an important announcement on how to be safe at sea.”

Sounds familiar, right? Now where have you heard these words before? Oh, of course, this is the message you have become accustomed to hearing over the loudspeaker while you are waiting in the ferry lineup for the parking lot attendant to wave you forward onto the ferry. Or maybe while trying to relax in the passenger lounge. Or while “freshening up” in one of the public washrooms. Maybe even in the privacy of your own living room as the peaceful silence is broken by the annoying sound from the loudspeakers of the MV Coastal Celebration chugging her way across the waters.

We’ve come a long way since the days when ferry announcements were delivered by a mechanical monotone voice that made you ignore the message because you couldn’t hear or understand the meaning it was trying to convey anyway. Today’s ferry announcement is much more personable; it’s like being contacted by an old high school buddy who wishes to renew your friendship and really wants to make sure that the bygone years have been treating you fairly.

Why else would it tell the travelling passengers that “Your safety is important to us”? Of course it is, and just in case any of us have been so distracted by being part of this ocean cruise, we are reminded to remember that we are on a moving vessel. Lest we may have forgotten, the Titanic was another moving vessel that just happened to plough into a floating chunk of ice while crew members were busy rearranging the deck chairs. As a result, other than spawning successful disaster movies, she has done nothing other than rust away on the Atlantic sea floor for over a century. A friendly public address announcement starting with “Your safety is important to us” could have made all the difference.

Maybe it’s just me, but any time I hear an announcement begin with the phrase “In the unlikely event of an emergency,” I feel anything but reassured. My blood pressure skyrockets up to infinity and the accompanying adrenalin rush makes me regret that I hadn’t thought of boarding the ferry with a flotation device already strapped to my body under my clothes and a complete set of scuba gear within easy reach at the slightest hint of danger.

We are informed that “There is a lot of safety knowledge behind every ferry crew member,” but we don’t know exactly how much is “a lot.” And seriously, can enough safety knowledge be imparted to us hapless passengers to help save our sorry lives should a real maritime disaster scenario ensue?

BC Ferries does actually have a plan. First of all, we are to stop what we are doing (even if we are in the final stages of purchasing a throughfare transfer ticket from the “never-get-it-right-the-first-time” machine in Lounge #4 on the Skeena Queen and having to restart the entire process after the disaster is dealt with) and then follow the directions of the crew in an orderly fashion to the designated assembly stations.

We are assured that, if necessary, a crew member will instruct us on how to put on a life jacket so we don’t end up floating upside down with only our legs sticking out of the water. We are also informed that ferry decks can be slippery and we should watch out for strong gusts of wind that can knock us off balance. Other potential hazards include the high door sills that could trip us up as we enter or exit the lounges and washrooms and end up causing serious bruises to our bodies as we try to navigate ourselves around the oversized side view mirrors protruding out into the foot-traffic passageways.

Speaking of bruises, remember hearing the announcement that drivers should park no more than 24 inches or 60 centimetres behind the vehicle immediately in front of them so that they can squeeze as many cars and trucks onto the vessel as is humanly possible? This, of course, makes it all the more likely that you won’t be able to pass between vehicles on the car deck without breaking at least one kneecap.

My favourite ferry announcement was always the one that warned passengers that the ship’s horn was about to sound. That was usually broadcast about one nanosecond before the deafening horn was blasted. There was no way you could get your hands up over your ears in time to try to protect yourself. The announcement might just as well have been “Attention passengers, the ship’s horn has just sounded.”

Nobody asked me, but there’s a BC Ferries story that made the rounds back when the Queen of Nanaimo used to ply the waters between Long Harbour on Salt Spring and the mainland terminal at Tsawwassen, making scheduled stops at Galiano, Mayne and Pender islands. It’s difficult to determine if this really happened, or whether it’s just another one of these urban myths that keeps getting recirculated and gets better with the passage of time.

Apparently, one of the novice deckhands was up in the wheelhouse as the ferry was being guided into its berth at one of its outer island stops. The captain pointed to the deckhand and asked her to make the announcement that the ferry was now docking and passengers disembarking at this stop should commence to make their way down to the vehicle deck. The pressure must have gotten to the deckhand, because she momentarily forgot the name of the island. Unfortunately, she also neglected to turn off her microphone as everybody on board that day heard her announce, “We are now arriving at … um … er… what %#$&ing island is this anyway?”

I’ve experienced so many ferry trips in the past year that the auditory details of this type of travel have blazoned themselves into my brain. But best of all is: “Thank you for sailing with BC Ferries.” I always wonder what the alternative is!

Editor’s note: Shilo Zylbergold writes a HUMOUR column for the Driftwood. He is not a journalist and did not intend to personally insult ferry workers. 

Viewpoint: Trust lacks forestry powers

Contributed Article
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Viewpoint: Trust lacks forestry powers

By SUSAN YATES

I am concerned about Peter McAllister’s comments in the April 3 Driftwood regarding the recent clear-cut logging on Salt Spring.   

No one could be more horrified than I am about this activity taking place on any of the islands in the Trust area, and I could not agree more with Mr. McAllister’s (and many others’) sentiments about the logging. However, his statement that “the Islands Trust takes no responsibility and our Local Trust Committee turns a blind eye” is off-target or perhaps misguided.

At the last two Trust Council meetings (January in Nanaimo and March on Gabriola) I noted that both Laura Patrick and Peter Grove’s comments for the report on their island focused on their grave concern over the logging in the Beddis Road area. They are most definitely not “turning a blind eye” to this travesty, nor are any of their colleagues on council.

The Local Trust Committee cannot just “stop the logging by simply enforcing its own bylaws and declaring that the logging operations are an unauthorized use of the parcel under its present zoning,” as the Allen/McMillan Law Corporation purportedly states. Cutting down trees for agricultural purposes is entirely legal, even if it means a clear-cut on an agriculturally zoned property.

Logging is an activity regulated by the provincial Forest Act. It is not a zoned “use” on any parcel of land, and it is allowed in Rural, Agricultural, Forestry and almost any other zone in the entire Trust Area, unless that parcel is protected by a development permit area with very specific and reasonable restrictions. Even in a development permit area, logging is permitted if it meets the guidelines of the DPA, and of course DPAs are not retroactive. 

Please be assured that I have watched similar horrifying logging activities taking place on my own island of Gabriola, and on other Trust Islands, for the past 38 years, and I could not be more sympathetic to the need for immediate restrictions on clear-cut logging, especially when that is happening on environmentally sensitive terrain. However, those restrictions need to come from the province, with changes to the Forestry Act, or by the granting of better regulatory tools to the Islands Trust.

The Islands Trust has an honourable and necessary mandate to “preserve and protect” our precious islands in the Salish Sea from inappropriate land use and human activities, and those of us who take that mandate seriously feel heartbreak when we see that the means to achieve that mandate are sorely lacking.

The writer is a Gabriola Island resident and a former Islands Trust trustee.

Editorial: Boozey cruises

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Boozey cruises

Last week’s news about beer and wine being sold on some major-route ferries as a pilot project was disconcerting to hear.

BC Ferries confirmed a leaked memo on the subject was no joke and that it will make beer and wine available in the Pacific Buffet area on the three vessels sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen beginning in June.

Critics of the idea are supposed to be comforted by the fact that sales won’t start until 11 a.m., that no more than two drinks will be sold to one person and that food must be purchased along with the booze.

In addition to the obvious boost in revenue, BC Ferries is no doubt imagining that adding beer and wine sales to the buffet area will enhance the voyage experience for tourists, along with the corporation’s TripAdvisor rating. But visitors who are unfamiliar with disembarking procedures and roadways at and beyond the Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen ferry terminals are the last people who should have more opportunities to cloud their vigilance behind the wheel.

It’s hard to imagine how BC Ferries will evaluate the pilot. Will the question be whether it makes enough money to justify the potential tragedy of a drunk-driver-caused accident at the other end? Or at least enough money to justify the stress on employees having to police the consumption or sobriety of buffet area patrons? Or enough money to justify the issues arising when RCMP have to pluck a suspected impaired driver from the disembarking traffic?

BC Ferries staff and RCMP officers already deal with cases where impaired drivers are suspected on vessels. And with more people likely to be driving when impaired by cannabis now that it’s a legal substance, it seems foolhardy to add more fuel to the impaired driving fire.

According to Statistics Canada, impaired driving rates steadily declined between 1986 and 2016. Sustained education and policing efforts have had a positive impact. Still, an average of 65 people per year die in B.C. in car crashes caused by drug or alcohol-impaired drivers. It is still a serious social issue whose solution cannot rely solely on individuals’ discretion and ability to make sound judgements on every occasion.

Making beer and wine available before sending drivers on their merry way is just plain irresponsible. Let’s hope BC Ferries determines that it’s not worth the risk.

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