By Darrell Bellaart
The News Bulletin
Jul 24 2007
A proposal to provide services to the hungry from the old Harewood fire hall is put on the backburner – for now.
Nanaimo city council was expected last night to postpone a vote so the community can have its say on zoning needed for the 7-10 Club to put a soup kitchen and Loaves and Fishes food bank satellite location in the old No. 5 fire hall, now called the Harewood Activity Centre, on Fourth Street.
Some neighbours told city planners at a meeting earlier this month they don’t want those services in their neighbourhood.
Planners are telling council more consultation is needed before going ahead with the project.
Another meeting is expected in late August and city staff asked council to put off the vote until then.
Neighbours are relieved with the news.
“I’m glad it’s on hold,” said Amanda Young, who lives next door to the activity centre.
“I’m quite concerned because I don’t want 600-plus people going through there per week. It’s not just for me, it’s for the whole neighbourhood.”
Barbara Schram, a 29-year resident, was also pleased.
“I like that quite a bit,” Schram said. “Now it’s getting them to think about what neighbours want – what the people who live around here want.”
Peter Kamerman said a soup kitchen and food bank would draw more homeless people into the neighbourhood, so he’s glad the city seems to be backing off.
“I like the idea,” Kamerman said. “I missed the last meeting and we were looking forward to another opportunity to have our say.”
Nor does Chris Mills want social services so close.
“If they move it here, Harewood is going to become crack central,” Mills said. “They should stop it altogether. It would be better if the community gets to decide whether it’s going to be fair, instead of just having it pushed on us.”
The city is under pressure to disperse social services concentrated in the downtown, especially since the New Hope Centre opened on Nicol Street.
Coun. Merv Unger said most of those who attended the July 7 meeting were angry they weren’t properly notified about the meeting.
“The invitation list, in my mind, was very limited,” Unger said. “It was the very immediate area, so I think they have very legitimate concerns about what could be coming into their neighbourhood.”
He said families use soup kitchens and food banks just as much as addicts and alcoholics, without causing problems.
“My focus is to separate the two,” Unger said. “So we need a downtown breakfast club to keep people in that area served, and we need a residential one.”
Gord Fuller, 7-10 Club president, said a broader segment of the community will be invited to the next meeting.
“We want to hear people’s concerns and we want to address them,” Fuller said.
newsbeat@nanaimobulletin.com
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Another side to Afghanistan story
By MERV UNGER
Jul 23 2007
Guns blazing, bombs bursting and body bags make good headlines, but they ignore the fact that there’s another side to the story.
The Canadian military engagement in Afghanistan is a good example – there is more than the combat with Taliban fighters.
Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier spoke recently to elected municipal officials from across Canada, describing the humanitarian side of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
The people of Afghanistan don’t want a hand-out, they just want short-term help, Gen. Hillier said. They are proud and dignified; they want to rebuild their country, but they need help.
When Canadian soldiers go on missions around the world kids come with their hands out wanting candy. In Afghanistan they hold out their hands wanting pencils, pens or paper. They want to go to school.
These children understand an education is the way out of the desperate circumstances in which they find themselves.
They need our help because there is a group of extremists who refuse to come into the political process and are armed to the teeth, and don’t want this kind of progress to continue. The chaos those people have created has led to things like fields of poppies because it allows people to make a living. Afghanistan produces somewhere over 3,500 tons of raw opium per year. This is a weapon of mass destruction, says Hillier.
Canadian soldiers are there because the Afghans have asked us to help them. Canadians are there to give them a helping hand – a hand up, not a hand out.
We’re there to help those families, moms and dads who want to rebuild their families, their communities, they would like to have enough medical care so their children won’t die by the age of five. They would like to have a guarantee that when they go shop for food, they are not going to be blown up by a suicide bomber, and they would like to have a guarantee that life next year, or the year after may be somewhat better.
Canadians do a variety of things including providing direct security in southern Afghanistan with combat operations. Canada’s young men and women are doing a great job. They understand what the risks are, they all want to be there because they believe it is important, and that in the shorter term those direct actions are absolutely essential, removing the Taliban, keeping them at bay long enough for the Afghan capacity to rebuild itself.
C-130 aircraft drop humanitarian supplies, food and water, to people who are stranded in regions where we can’t get food and water to them by land.
Gen. Hillier pointed to outreach clinics in the villages. Canadians also take the people who have some education or some capability to help start educate and train so that they can provide sustaining capabilities long after we are gone.
Canadian soldiers help them organize community councils, and youth.
Afghan children were never inoculated until two years ago, five million kids have now been inoculated against all the basic diseases.
Canada’s military builds roads and provides security, changing the dynamics of an area of about 50,000 and allowing them to turn their lives around. We provided the security, we provided a lot of the impetus to build that road, and we provided a lot of the blood from our soldiers in securing that road while it was being build. It has changed the lives of the people in the area.
Canada’s soldiers are digging wells – 1,000 wells in the last 10 months. Access to clean, potable water changes the life of a village, and that’s quite incredible.
We train the Afghan National Army. We also train the police. We are farther behind with the police who are in a dismal state but we believe that is sustainable security. They are corrupt and not well trained, they have not been well selected and not well prepared, but there have been some successes.
We also rebuild things like soccer fields. The soccer stadium in Kandahar City was pretty much rubble, but Canadians rebuilt it. This is a positive thing and we are enabling that to occur.
That’s the other side of the story, one worth repeating.
Merv Unger is a retired publisher/editor with Black Press, Vancouver Island and the director of media relations for the United Services Institute of Nanaimo and North Island.
Jul 23 2007
Guns blazing, bombs bursting and body bags make good headlines, but they ignore the fact that there’s another side to the story.
The Canadian military engagement in Afghanistan is a good example – there is more than the combat with Taliban fighters.
Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier spoke recently to elected municipal officials from across Canada, describing the humanitarian side of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
The people of Afghanistan don’t want a hand-out, they just want short-term help, Gen. Hillier said. They are proud and dignified; they want to rebuild their country, but they need help.
When Canadian soldiers go on missions around the world kids come with their hands out wanting candy. In Afghanistan they hold out their hands wanting pencils, pens or paper. They want to go to school.
These children understand an education is the way out of the desperate circumstances in which they find themselves.
They need our help because there is a group of extremists who refuse to come into the political process and are armed to the teeth, and don’t want this kind of progress to continue. The chaos those people have created has led to things like fields of poppies because it allows people to make a living. Afghanistan produces somewhere over 3,500 tons of raw opium per year. This is a weapon of mass destruction, says Hillier.
Canadian soldiers are there because the Afghans have asked us to help them. Canadians are there to give them a helping hand – a hand up, not a hand out.
We’re there to help those families, moms and dads who want to rebuild their families, their communities, they would like to have enough medical care so their children won’t die by the age of five. They would like to have a guarantee that when they go shop for food, they are not going to be blown up by a suicide bomber, and they would like to have a guarantee that life next year, or the year after may be somewhat better.
Canadians do a variety of things including providing direct security in southern Afghanistan with combat operations. Canada’s young men and women are doing a great job. They understand what the risks are, they all want to be there because they believe it is important, and that in the shorter term those direct actions are absolutely essential, removing the Taliban, keeping them at bay long enough for the Afghan capacity to rebuild itself.
C-130 aircraft drop humanitarian supplies, food and water, to people who are stranded in regions where we can’t get food and water to them by land.
Gen. Hillier pointed to outreach clinics in the villages. Canadians also take the people who have some education or some capability to help start educate and train so that they can provide sustaining capabilities long after we are gone.
Canadian soldiers help them organize community councils, and youth.
Afghan children were never inoculated until two years ago, five million kids have now been inoculated against all the basic diseases.
Canada’s military builds roads and provides security, changing the dynamics of an area of about 50,000 and allowing them to turn their lives around. We provided the security, we provided a lot of the impetus to build that road, and we provided a lot of the blood from our soldiers in securing that road while it was being build. It has changed the lives of the people in the area.
Canada’s soldiers are digging wells – 1,000 wells in the last 10 months. Access to clean, potable water changes the life of a village, and that’s quite incredible.
We train the Afghan National Army. We also train the police. We are farther behind with the police who are in a dismal state but we believe that is sustainable security. They are corrupt and not well trained, they have not been well selected and not well prepared, but there have been some successes.
We also rebuild things like soccer fields. The soccer stadium in Kandahar City was pretty much rubble, but Canadians rebuilt it. This is a positive thing and we are enabling that to occur.
That’s the other side of the story, one worth repeating.
Merv Unger is a retired publisher/editor with Black Press, Vancouver Island and the director of media relations for the United Services Institute of Nanaimo and North Island.
Downtown security force faces scrutiny
By Toby Gorman
the news bulletin
Jul 17 2007
Nanaimo’s new downtown security initiative could be trampling people’s individual rights by breaking up groups and “keeping them moving,” the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says.
Michael Vonn, of B.C. Civil Liberties, said her organization will look at local bylaws to see if the mandate of hired security is within the law.
Private security began rounds last week in Nanaimo’s downtown streets in an attempt to increase security for shoppers and tourists. The contract ends in September.
“Our concern has two fronts,” said Vonn. “One, is it within the municipality’s jurisdiction and two, is it constitutional? Security guards are private citizens and private citizens can’t tell other citizens what to do on public property if no laws are being broken.”
Vonn said there is also concern that business interests are being put before individual interests.
“Is it right that certain people, in this case the poor, can be asked to move along?” said Vonn. “Everybody has the right to occupy public spaces.”
Merv Unger, co-chairman of the Safer Downtown Working Group, said the security’s presence is there to protect all Nanaimo citizens, including the homeless and the poor.
Unger said security does not make demands on people in public places.
“Nobody is told what to do on the street,” said Unger, who has walked with security on patrol.
“They are only asked to move if they are on private property. If there is something illegal taking place then security calls the police and it becomes a police matter.”
Unger said he believes nobody’s rights are being infringed upon and that most of the feedback has been positive.
Vonn admits she is less familiar with Nanaimo’s downtown security than Vancouver’s, where there were accusations of whitewashing city streets by hired security during Project Civil City.
“We’re acting on a complaint where somebody has contacted us regarding Nanaimo,” said Vonn.
“So without getting our hands on more infrastructure, like bylaws, we can’t say at this point there is a problem but we will be looking into it.”
reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com
the news bulletin
Jul 17 2007
Nanaimo’s new downtown security initiative could be trampling people’s individual rights by breaking up groups and “keeping them moving,” the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says.
Michael Vonn, of B.C. Civil Liberties, said her organization will look at local bylaws to see if the mandate of hired security is within the law.
Private security began rounds last week in Nanaimo’s downtown streets in an attempt to increase security for shoppers and tourists. The contract ends in September.
“Our concern has two fronts,” said Vonn. “One, is it within the municipality’s jurisdiction and two, is it constitutional? Security guards are private citizens and private citizens can’t tell other citizens what to do on public property if no laws are being broken.”
Vonn said there is also concern that business interests are being put before individual interests.
“Is it right that certain people, in this case the poor, can be asked to move along?” said Vonn. “Everybody has the right to occupy public spaces.”
Merv Unger, co-chairman of the Safer Downtown Working Group, said the security’s presence is there to protect all Nanaimo citizens, including the homeless and the poor.
Unger said security does not make demands on people in public places.
“Nobody is told what to do on the street,” said Unger, who has walked with security on patrol.
“They are only asked to move if they are on private property. If there is something illegal taking place then security calls the police and it becomes a police matter.”
Unger said he believes nobody’s rights are being infringed upon and that most of the feedback has been positive.
Vonn admits she is less familiar with Nanaimo’s downtown security than Vancouver’s, where there were accusations of whitewashing city streets by hired security during Project Civil City.
“We’re acting on a complaint where somebody has contacted us regarding Nanaimo,” said Vonn.
“So without getting our hands on more infrastructure, like bylaws, we can’t say at this point there is a problem but we will be looking into it.”
reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com
Gas line fear grows
Martha Tropea, Daily News
Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007
Changes to the way contractors locate natural gas lines on Vancouver Island could cause far more devastation than the recent geyser of crude oil that soaked a Burnaby neighbourhood on Tuesday, according to Nanaimo city Coun. Merv Unger.
Since April 2, Terasen Gas stopped gas line locator services on the Island, passing the responsibility onto municipalities and individual contractors.
Now builders who need to find out where underground gas lines are located will be armed with a map drawn up by the utility company. Previously, a Terasen employee would go to the site and mark the line for them.
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The practice is used on the Lower Mainland, but Unger said the unreliability of maps is a disaster in the making. "We're playing with an explosive substance here," Unger said.
"If maps that are provided are unreliable it is very, very dangerous for all of the communities from Victoria all the way up to Campbell River."
Tuesday's oil spill is proof of that danger, Unger said.
The road crew that ruptured the oil pipeline said it was improperly marked. The company that owns the pipeline, Kinder Morgan, however, has blamed the crew for the rupture.
Since Terasen's policy came into effect three months ago, Nanaimo contractors have hit two natural gas lines, prompting immediate evacuations of the surrounding neighbourhoods.
City of Nanaimo manager of engineering construction Steve Ricketts said the B.C. Safety Authority confirmed one accident was a result of inadequate map information. Ricketts is still waiting to hear back from the B.C. Safety Authority about the second gas line rupture, though he suspects it was also a mapping error.
Less than 1% of all gas line hits are due to inaccurate maps, said Terasen Gas communication manager Joyce Wagenaar. In most cases, she said, they are caused by faulty excavation.
If someone is uncertain, they can call the company and a technician will coach them through the process.
If they still question what the maps say, Terasen will send someone to mark the pipeline.
Terasen always sends an employee to mark transmission lines in B.C., Wagenaar said.
That's not good enough, according to Unger, who wants the provincial government to step in and force Terasen to provide the service in every case.
"We are playing with something very serious here," he said. "Thankfully there have not been disastrous consequences to date. We can't keep relying on luck. Natural gas is much more volatile than the crude oil which spilled in Burnaby, with a much greater risk of explosion."
MTropea@nanaimodailynews.com
250-729-4255
Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007
Changes to the way contractors locate natural gas lines on Vancouver Island could cause far more devastation than the recent geyser of crude oil that soaked a Burnaby neighbourhood on Tuesday, according to Nanaimo city Coun. Merv Unger.
Since April 2, Terasen Gas stopped gas line locator services on the Island, passing the responsibility onto municipalities and individual contractors.
Now builders who need to find out where underground gas lines are located will be armed with a map drawn up by the utility company. Previously, a Terasen employee would go to the site and mark the line for them.
Email to a friendPrinter friendly
Font:
The practice is used on the Lower Mainland, but Unger said the unreliability of maps is a disaster in the making. "We're playing with an explosive substance here," Unger said.
"If maps that are provided are unreliable it is very, very dangerous for all of the communities from Victoria all the way up to Campbell River."
Tuesday's oil spill is proof of that danger, Unger said.
The road crew that ruptured the oil pipeline said it was improperly marked. The company that owns the pipeline, Kinder Morgan, however, has blamed the crew for the rupture.
Since Terasen's policy came into effect three months ago, Nanaimo contractors have hit two natural gas lines, prompting immediate evacuations of the surrounding neighbourhoods.
City of Nanaimo manager of engineering construction Steve Ricketts said the B.C. Safety Authority confirmed one accident was a result of inadequate map information. Ricketts is still waiting to hear back from the B.C. Safety Authority about the second gas line rupture, though he suspects it was also a mapping error.
Less than 1% of all gas line hits are due to inaccurate maps, said Terasen Gas communication manager Joyce Wagenaar. In most cases, she said, they are caused by faulty excavation.
If someone is uncertain, they can call the company and a technician will coach them through the process.
If they still question what the maps say, Terasen will send someone to mark the pipeline.
Terasen always sends an employee to mark transmission lines in B.C., Wagenaar said.
That's not good enough, according to Unger, who wants the provincial government to step in and force Terasen to provide the service in every case.
"We are playing with something very serious here," he said. "Thankfully there have not been disastrous consequences to date. We can't keep relying on luck. Natural gas is much more volatile than the crude oil which spilled in Burnaby, with a much greater risk of explosion."
MTropea@nanaimodailynews.com
250-729-4255
Tougher anti-crystal meth message urged
Nanaimo City Councillor Merv Unger wants children to be given a more forceful message on how dangerous and addictive the drug crystal meth really is‚ the Nanaimo News Bulletin reported.
Unger’s concern stems in part from reports he’s heard from other communities that drug dealers are spraying crystal meth on other drugs and even on candy to try to snare younger users. He wants to stop that from happening in Nanaimo.
“We think we have problems with it now‚ but when you start reaching kids and putting it in candy‚ I think we need to start scaring . . . people,” said Unger‚ who chairs the city’s Safer Downtown Working Group‚ which is looking to reduce problems on the streets.
He is recommending that schools hear a presentation from the group Crystal Meth Society of B.C.‚ which has taken its message to 14‚000 students in other communities on Vancouver Island.
The group’s director‚ Mark McLaughlin‚ said when children are asked by a show of hands if they know someone who uses crystal meth‚ “it’s never less than 15 per cent‚ and it’s often as high as 30 or 40 per cent.”
Unger’s concern stems in part from reports he’s heard from other communities that drug dealers are spraying crystal meth on other drugs and even on candy to try to snare younger users. He wants to stop that from happening in Nanaimo.
“We think we have problems with it now‚ but when you start reaching kids and putting it in candy‚ I think we need to start scaring . . . people,” said Unger‚ who chairs the city’s Safer Downtown Working Group‚ which is looking to reduce problems on the streets.
He is recommending that schools hear a presentation from the group Crystal Meth Society of B.C.‚ which has taken its message to 14‚000 students in other communities on Vancouver Island.
The group’s director‚ Mark McLaughlin‚ said when children are asked by a show of hands if they know someone who uses crystal meth‚ “it’s never less than 15 per cent‚ and it’s often as high as 30 or 40 per cent.”
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Good times for British Columbia
VICTORIA – The second session of the 38th BC parliament was launched with a speech from the throne that calls for major initiatives to transform health, education and other services so they are sustainable and available for future generations.
“In just over four short years, British Columbia has been transformed from a province that lagged behind the rest of Canada to a province that leads Canada,” said Premier Gordon Campbell.
“But in times of rapid global change, we must continue to lead in health, education and economic activity. Our goal is to ensure that British Columbia is recognized as a global powerhouse of innovation, inspiration and wealth creation.”
Premier Campbell said that British Columbia will initiate a provincewide discussion on how to sustain and update the Canada Health Act.
“After four decades of public health care, supported by more than $1.5 trillion dollars of public money, the principles of the Canada Health Act – that the health system be universal, accessible, comprehensive, portable and publicly administered – remain largely undefined,” said Campbell. “We need to update the Canada Health Act to make it stronger and consistent with its original vision and intent to preserve public health care for all Canadians.”
The throne speech includes key initiatives to address the long-term sustainability of the public health-care system, including:
• Define and enshrine the five principles of the Canada Health Act, plus a sixth – the principle of sustainability – in provincial law before the end of this government’s mandate.
• Launch a provincewide conversation on health reform to improve and protect the public healthcare system for the long term.
• Create a new Foundation for Health Care Innovation and Renewal to examine successful health models now working around the world.
Other highlights of today’s throne speech include:
• A commitment by the Premier and Minister of Education to visit every school district in B.C. and meet with educators, parents and students to seek ideas for positive change in education.
• Establish a new provincial “virtual” school to provide a learning option accessible from schools and home, and to provide free online tutoring to help secondary school students complete their studies.
• Establish the BC Hub technology strategy to integrate research, commercialization, and capital
expansion in the province’s resource industries, agriculture industry and manufacturing economy.
• Launch a new B.C. Foundation for Natural Resources and Engineering Research to support advanced training, research and development, technology transfer, and commercialization in natural resources, engineering and applied sciences.
• Create a new digital media centre at Great Northern Way through a partnership with UBC,
SFU, BCIT, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and the private sector that will build on
the global recognition of B.C.’s new media enterprises and expertise.
• Continue pushing the federal government for tough new minimum sentences under the Criminal Code for drug traffickers, as well as for immediate extradition of foreign traffickers.
• Implement a new housing strategy aimed at helping those most in need more quickly and effectively and giving individuals greater choice and new flexibility.
• Launch a federal-provincial action plan to provide for increased training and skills development through a national collaboration.
• Continue to develop B.C. as Canada’s Pacific gateway for trade, education, health and cultural development.
• Make the B.C. Spirit Bear our official provincial animal.
“We must transform our education system to harness the power of new knowledge and creativity and ensure that our students are ready for a rapidly changing world,” said Campbell. “We must also build on the transformational force of Canada’s Pacific gateway by maximizing the opportunity that we have been handed by being at the crossroads between North America and the Asia- Pacific.”
“In just over four short years, British Columbia has been transformed from a province that lagged behind the rest of Canada to a province that leads Canada,” said Premier Gordon Campbell.
“But in times of rapid global change, we must continue to lead in health, education and economic activity. Our goal is to ensure that British Columbia is recognized as a global powerhouse of innovation, inspiration and wealth creation.”
Premier Campbell said that British Columbia will initiate a provincewide discussion on how to sustain and update the Canada Health Act.
“After four decades of public health care, supported by more than $1.5 trillion dollars of public money, the principles of the Canada Health Act – that the health system be universal, accessible, comprehensive, portable and publicly administered – remain largely undefined,” said Campbell. “We need to update the Canada Health Act to make it stronger and consistent with its original vision and intent to preserve public health care for all Canadians.”
The throne speech includes key initiatives to address the long-term sustainability of the public health-care system, including:
• Define and enshrine the five principles of the Canada Health Act, plus a sixth – the principle of sustainability – in provincial law before the end of this government’s mandate.
• Launch a provincewide conversation on health reform to improve and protect the public healthcare system for the long term.
• Create a new Foundation for Health Care Innovation and Renewal to examine successful health models now working around the world.
Other highlights of today’s throne speech include:
• A commitment by the Premier and Minister of Education to visit every school district in B.C. and meet with educators, parents and students to seek ideas for positive change in education.
• Establish a new provincial “virtual” school to provide a learning option accessible from schools and home, and to provide free online tutoring to help secondary school students complete their studies.
• Establish the BC Hub technology strategy to integrate research, commercialization, and capital
expansion in the province’s resource industries, agriculture industry and manufacturing economy.
• Launch a new B.C. Foundation for Natural Resources and Engineering Research to support advanced training, research and development, technology transfer, and commercialization in natural resources, engineering and applied sciences.
• Create a new digital media centre at Great Northern Way through a partnership with UBC,
SFU, BCIT, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and the private sector that will build on
the global recognition of B.C.’s new media enterprises and expertise.
• Continue pushing the federal government for tough new minimum sentences under the Criminal Code for drug traffickers, as well as for immediate extradition of foreign traffickers.
• Implement a new housing strategy aimed at helping those most in need more quickly and effectively and giving individuals greater choice and new flexibility.
• Launch a federal-provincial action plan to provide for increased training and skills development through a national collaboration.
• Continue to develop B.C. as Canada’s Pacific gateway for trade, education, health and cultural development.
• Make the B.C. Spirit Bear our official provincial animal.
“We must transform our education system to harness the power of new knowledge and creativity and ensure that our students are ready for a rapidly changing world,” said Campbell. “We must also build on the transformational force of Canada’s Pacific gateway by maximizing the opportunity that we have been handed by being at the crossroads between North America and the Asia- Pacific.”
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