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Routley, old-growth protestors engage in heated debate at MLA’s office

Nanaimo – North Cowichan New Democrat MLA Doug Routley said it’s going to take time, consultation and public support to stop the logging of B.C.’s remaining unprotected old-growth forests, and he urged a gathering of about 30 protestors at his constituency office in Southgate Mall to work with the NDP, getting legislation in place that will give government the controls it needs to implement sustainable practices.

Sierra Club Conservation and Climate Campaigner Mark Worthing said a halt to old-growth logging is well overdue, that he and other spokespersons for environmental groups have been put at the ‘kid table’ when it comes to negotiating an end to what he sees as destructive logging practices in B.C.’s ecologically vital old-growth forests, and that he’ll believe the government’s commitment to ending old-growth logging when he sees incremental signs of action.

“I feel deeply violated, I feel deeply disappointed, and I feel that I have been lied to,” Worthing said to supporters, just before Routley arrived to listen to their concerns and speak to them on behalf of his party. “I feel that I have been tricked, I feel that I have been swindled, by this illusion of government management or mismanagement of the forests.”

Routley cautioned the protestors about simplifying a complex issue, and assuming everyone on Vancouver Island feels the same as they do about harvesting old-growth. Unless people ‘buy-in’ to a process for protecting trees, and shifting to other sources of timber, passionate advocates for ancient forests could end up driving voters whose livings are derived from forestry, to supporting organizations and parties that don’t want to see any constraints on logging.

“What we need to do is collaborate,” he urged. “This is a complex problem. Communities up and down this coast do not support your position, and they have a right as well.” That drew an angry response from the protestors, but Routley insisted. “That is true. There are many different views on this issue.”

Worthing said he is not convinced the NDP is doing all it can to end old-growth logging and challenged the government to take interim measures to save what forests can be protected now. When Routley pointed out that a moratorium on old-growth logging – which some of the protestors called for – would be challenged legally, and that some First Nations do not want to see a ban, Worthing argued the government should end the practice in areas where there is a strong consensus.

It’s not difficult to figure out how quickly B.C.’s remaining old-growth is vanishing Worthing argued. “Twenty-two years – at the current rate of cut, all the old-growth is gone,” he said. “So, there’s your deadline. So, you just basically work backwards from that, and figure out: How much do we want left? What’s the line?”

Routley empathized with the protestors demand to end old-growth logging, but said the government has been hamstrung by changes to legislation and regulation that were put in place by the previous Liberal government during its tenure. “They had 16 years… to disarm the ability of government to intervene in the industry; we have had a year and a half to restore all that.”

Progress on issues like forest management is frustrating, because passing legislation is a grindingly slow process, Routley reminded. “If any of you was elected as a government, say all of you were cabinet ministers, you would not be able to go in and very simply do what you’re saying. It would be a complex, difficult task that takes a long time.”

He pointed out that the risk of throwing B.C. back into the control of a less progressive government is real and immanent, and asked again the protestors to work with the NDP despite their impatience. “As Jason Kenny gets elected to the east of us, as we have Trump to the south, as we may have conservatives federally, we have conservative governments all over Canada, we are the only government of this kind. So, while we’re not perfect, I would ask you to take the spirit here of: what do we do to make this happen?”

June Ross, Chairwoman of the Vancouver Island Water Watch Coalition, said she takes “partial hope” from the dialogue that took place during the protest. “I hope that he hears that we need to sit down collaboratively. I want First Nations at the table, I want the Sierra Club, the Ancient Forest Alliance, the Wilderness Committee, and some community groups, like the one I head up. We all need to be at the table to talk to them.”

In an interview after the protest was winding-down, Routley and Worthing committed to further dialogue. “I’m here to let the B.C. government know that they’re need in this solution to old-growth logging,” Worthing said. “It’s really encouraging to hear MLA Routley say that he’s willing to be part of that solution.”

Routley repeated: “…the only way that a solution will be sustainable, is if people buy-in.”

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Point of Departure

Sometimes, when we come across a magical place, we want to keep it secret – like a gem, cushioned inside a velvet-lined case. And sometimes these secret places are in plain view, thousands of people passing them by without ever imagining their hidden wonders.

Jesse Island is like that. It’s part of the rocky outcroppings that ring the northern curve of Departure Bay. Millions of people have steamed past them on the BC Ferries route from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, but – like me, until recently – few suspect the inner secrets of these seemingly typical, coastal islets of the Salish Sea.

My partner Di and I set out from the popular kayak launch near the Kin Hut, just off Departure Bay Road at Loat Street. A leisurely 5 kilometre paddle took us by the Brandon Islands, Inskip Rock, around Jesse Island and back. We’d discovered in the BC Coastal Recreational Kayaking and Small Boat Atlas that there were ‘caves’ you could paddle through on Jesse Island, so off we went.

As we skirted the shoreline, we pulled away from the traffic sounds, and the people enjoying a beautiful summer day on the beach. It wasn’t long before we were immersed in a quiet zone of marine wonders. A flock of cormorants sunning on a rocky outcropping; geese, to lazy to fly away as we approached; a pack of seals watching our every move, cautious, but too curious to dive for safety.

The first hint of the inner spaces of Jesse was a basking seal, protected by the ramparts of a rocky formation. Just round the corner from there, we found the entrance to one of the ‘caves’. This isn’t the Grande Canyon we’re talking about; the channels are little spaces, perhaps twenty metres long, that kayakers can explore. But these niches offer their own sense of wonder – a convergence of geology and marine biology that makes you feel connected to the natural world.

On the return paddle we discovered a few more passageways and caves to poke our bows into and squeeze through… a delightful way to spend a sunny, summer afternoon, all within sight of the Island’s second largest city!

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B.C. poets, authors gathered in Nanaimo for Spring Writes May 2-5

The Federation of B.C. Writers held its annual Spring Writes conference and AGM in Nanaimo May 2 to 5, and writers from all over the province converged on the Vancouver Island Convention Centre for four days of workshops, presentations, blue pencil sessions and hobnobbing.

Presentations and workshops included everything from the art and craft of writing, to strategies for pitching your manuscript to publishers, to 21st Century promotional tools writers can use to get their work into the hands and minds of readers, to discussions about the relevance of literature in an era of digital entertainment.

As a novelist, Fed member, and MiF reporter, yours truly took in as much of the action as was humanely possible on the conference Saturday,  and – as much as I learned sitting in on the workshops and panels – I had to admit I missed out on much more than I took in. Kudos to the Fed, and to the Nanaimo area members in particular, for pulling together such a rich program of events.

My observer’s day started at 8 a.m., with a Morning Write, facilitated by Keith Liggett. The day before participants had been assigned a 200 word ‘show, not tell’ writing assignment, which they were to read to the group during the Saturday session. The stories were good, many would have earned a high grade in any course or contest… but Liggett could always find something to offer to improve the pieces, or at least for the writer to consider.

“It’s about habits, and it’s about opening creativity and opening doors, and being forced to do things that you wouldn’t do on your own, if you were just sitting in your closet and writing,” he said.

A raison d’être of the FBCW is to get writers out of solitary, bring them together, and help them engage, though collaborative learning and sharing, the realities of writing as an art and a discipline. Inspiration is a spark that ignites the creative naphtha; then the work of putting all the pieces together into a superbly crafted story begins.

Poet and Author Betsy Warland, during a panel on the whys and hows of publishing, said the vital role of creative writing in the 21st Century has not been diminished by the deluge of new media bringing entertainment and information to audiences.

Literature takes us places no other media can, places we need to go. “There’s so much that’s still missing in our collective narrative – that is forbidden, stereotyped,” she said. “We need to have these narratives present in our collective brain and understanding. So that’s why I think it’s important to publish a book.”

The sources of inspiration and information may be different, but youth are still drawn to creating and reading literature. Said Adam, to a gathering of youth at Literacy Central Vancouver Island, “Really, if you want to get to know a character, and get to know a world, reading is the best way to do it.” And bringing those kinds of penetrating experiences to readers is what drives him to write. “What’s closer to magic than being able to do that for someone else?” he said.

You can find out more about the Federation of BC Writers on their web site. For writers and poets who want resources and camaraderie along the way, it’s an organization that’s there for you.

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Haunted Vancouver Island


In this video Craig Spence, Mid-Island Focus Editor, interviews Shanon Sinn, author of The Haunting of Vancouver Island.

Gord Barney’s ghost didn’t have quite the dramatic flare of Macbeth’s Banquo, who took the seat of honour at his Lord-and-murder’s table, drawing the culprit’s terrified denial, “Thou canst not say that I did it; don’t shake thy gory locks at me!” Nor did he respond to the specter’s appearance with the bulldog suavity of Winston Churchill, who, emerging from a bath during a post-war visit to the White House, was surprised by the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, and is reputed to have said coolly: “Mr. President, you seem to have me at a disadvantage.”

But the Nanaimo retired logger still has a pretty good tale to tell. He had deked downstairs during a friend’s house party to ‘drain my bladder’, but when he looked into the nether bathroom mirror, a withered crone glared back, threatening to scare more than the piss out of him.  “Get out of my house!” the hag shrieked, convincing Barney to evacuated the loo as quick as he could. “I was shocked,” he said. “The music from the living room was blasting, but I heard those five words so clear I’ll never forget them.” He ran upstairs, where he complained to the party’s hostess. “Well that’s not very nice,” she grinned. “I’ll have to have a talk with Lucy when I see her again.” Continue reading “Haunted Vancouver Island”