Ian Gartshore

One Linley Valley pond -soon to be lost? The area pictured here, complete with a beaver dam -yet tucked out of sight- will be destroyed by a proposed housing development this year. Public opposition to the plan is fierce.  Yet the land is privately owned, and the city says it cannot afford to buy it. Competing interests are at work here: tax-payers money, company profit, recreational opportunities, and the future of the beavers and the many others that call this valley home. There are a number of ways that all these interests can be satisfied. Provincial subsidies of the oil and gas industry (about $350 million each year) could instead be used to buy valuable urban spaces such as Linley Valley and the Colliery dams.  Nanaimo is not alone is its concerns about lost urban green spaces. As populations increase pressure only grows on what remains of park-land like areas. Yet green spaces are proven to improve our health and attract companies, amongst other benefits. S

A few organisers who oppose B.C.’s smart meters have been making false statements about me and what I believe about the meters. So that the public might be aware of what truly is my position, rather than trust the gossip circulating, this is what I actually believe about these meters. The wireless meters that have been installed on most of our homes and buildings have certain advantages as well as possible dangers. While it has been many years since I graduated from B.C.I.T. my speciality was in electronic telecommunications. For the amount of money BC Hydro spent on the meters they should have been hard-wired (not wireless). This would have greatly alleviated concerns about privacy and especially EMF (electromagnetic energy). EMF waves are potentially harmful to human and other life-forms. However, there is a great deal of debate presently occurring about what frequencies and what intensities may be harmful. In the meantime the precautionary principal should b