Its been a tough month for me as a blogger. Lots going on in my own life means not a lot of time for following all that's going on around me. Truth is though, there hasn't been that much going on that I've found exciting. It seems to me that local media has run out of things to talk about and so they just keep dragging up the same issues over and over again. All in all pretty boring.

Of course there are a couple of things of interest to me (outside of cycling which seems to dominate the few posts I've done lately). I've also had a few ideas bouncing around my head for future posts. I just can't seem to find the energy to bring them to life. (I thank Garibaldi School for this) I'm very concerned about the state of the provinces rivers and the communities surrounding them as this years spring freshet brings water levels to near record highs. As of today eight communities in the province have declared states of emergencies. As a volunteer with the Provincial Emergency Program I am prepared to go and help wherever I'm needed and asked and as a human being I feel for those affected by another example of the power of nature.

Of course last week the provincial legislature finished for the summer with a significant raise and pension plan for our MLA's. Good for them, I believe its deserved and as a voter I expect to get what I pay for. Many comparisons are being made between MLA salaries, highly paid executives and those making minimum wage but in reality this is like comparing apples and oranges. We have expectations that our elected officials are going to work for us 24/7 and therefor they should be paid to reflect that. If they are not fulfilling these expectations (as many opponents to the raises say) then it is incumbent upon us to do something about it. Perhaps if we held our local representatives more accountable they would have no choice but to work for us and the money we pay them.

If the NDP is willing to do the job for less money then fine, let them however I would caution that when you give a job to the lowest bidder you don't always save in the long run! The truth is that despite the BC NDP attempting to demonstrate moral superiority by donating their raises to charity, I would argue that most (if not all) of them felt deserving of the raise. Lets not kid ourselves, this year the raise was given to charity but what about next year, the year after, or how about the year after that. What about the pension? As NDP MLA's retire (or more likely get defeated) will they then donate a significant portion of their pension to the same charities? I doubt it!

So how about the comparison between the new MLA salary and a $10 minimum wage suggested by the NDP and many leaders within the labour movement? This one is a little bit tougher for me. I do believe that people should be able to make a decent wage in this province and I don't believe that anything under 10 bucks is decent, but I don't believe that a $10 minimum wage needs to be necessarily legislated. The fact is that in today's market the employees are in charge. As someone who hires workers (mostly in the mid range between $10 and $20 and hour) I know painfully well how difficult it is to find people. As this situation gets worse and skilled and unskilled labour becomes more and more difficult to find employers will be forced to become more and more creative in order to attract and retain their workers.

I'm sure that Jim Sinclair knows this, but this won't give him any press.

I would like to talk about safety and security and the lack there of in the community of Vancouver-Hastings. I'd also mention the fact that neither our NDP MP Libby Davies nor our BC NDP MLA Shane Simpson seem to give it much thought. As crime in our community seems to get worse and worse we have one representative with her head buried in the DTES while the other is off somewhere fighting run-of-the-river energy plants, fish farms and flooding rivers. All important issues for sure, but not a great deal to do with the people who voted for them. I'd like to talk about these things but will save them for later. Right now its back to cycling.

As most of you know my commuter bike was stolen last week during Bike to Work Week. As angry as I still am about this I did learn a few lessons from it. First, check your insurance deductible against your bike limits. In my case both were $1000 so I got nothing and unfortunately my bike was valued at about $3000. Second, don't buy a cable lock. Even though the big Kryptonite lock is going to add some pounds to your ride it will be worth it in the end. Third, never assume that your bike will be safe just because you've locked it up outside of the police station!

Good news though, I bought a new bike this past Tuesday. Its a Trek 7.5 disc and while it is very different from anything I've ever ridden, so far I love it. I would like to mention the amazing service that I received from James and his staff at Obsession Bikes in North Vancouver. You can visit Obsession on 1st and Lonsdale or go to http://www.obsessionbikes.com/

Finally. I have found the opportunity to combine one of my passions (cycling) with a cause that I feel is extremely important. I have recently registered for the 23rd annual Bicycle Trek for Life and Breath with benefits going to The Lung Association of British Columbia. This is a 2 day 200 km ride designed to raise money in support of lung health and I couldn't be more excited to participate. Tobacco use has directly impacted my family and my wife and oldest son are among the 1 in 20 British Columbian's that have asthma. According to the Lung Association smoking kills 1 in 10 adults worldwide and air pollution causes 5000 premature deaths in Canada each year. Every hour 2 British Columbian's die from tobacco related disease.

Its a great cause and I would encourage cyclists everywhere to consider registering for the event by calling 604 731 5864 or going online at http://www.bc.lung.ca/ . If your not a cyclist but would like to help out anyway I would encourage you to consider a donation, you can even sponsor me if you like by going to http://www.bicycletrek2007.kintera.org/ . Just click on "Sponsor a Participant" and enter my name (Ray Henderson). The Lung Association (and I) certainly appreciates any help that you can give.

Until next time...

a crappy end to an otherwise great week...

The 1st annual Greater Vancouver Bike to Work Week has come to a close and by all accounts it seems to have been a success. 587 teams and 3494 participants is impressive for a first effort and should make the organizers proud of all the work that they have done. Never mind the fantastic weather that we were blessed with all week. At Grouse Mountain we managed to enlist 13 staff to participate which is great considering the seemingly insurmountable hill(s) that must be tackled on the way to work. Over the week (and including the weeks leading up to the event) our staff managed to clock just over 600 km's, burning 17,295 calories and preventing 143 kg's of green house gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.

So why the less than enthusiastic start to this post?

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time all week and am proud to have been involved with such a worthwhile activity. Unfortunately, for me Bike to Work Week came to an abrupt end last Wednesday. Somewhere out there is a bike with my name on it... literally. More likely, somewhere out there are a bunch of parts floating around from the bike that was once mine!

Last Wednesday I got up nice and early and rode to the commuter station located in West Vancouver at the Lions Gate Bridge, where I had agreed to volunteer. Admittedly, I didn't really want to ride that day as I was pretty sore from the previous two days of riding and I thought one day off might be a good idea. However, being that I was actually participating in a BTWW activity and that I am on the Board for the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition I thought I had better ride. Once finished at the commuter station I proceeded to the North Vancouver RCMP detachment where I had a meeting at the Emergency Management Office.

Imagine my surprise a little more than an hour later when I entered the courtyard in front of the detachment only to find the empty space where my bike had once been locked! Amazing that it would happen in front of the police station and ironic that it would happen given what I had done in the interest of cycling up to that point. Also interesting (to me at least) is the fact that this post comes one year after my very first which talked about the theft of my wife's pansies from the front deck of our house.

The pictures I've attached don't really give the bike justice but they are all I have. I also don't hold out much hope that the bike is still in one piece, it may not even be anywhere near the area. The bike is a Santa Cruz Chameleon, the frame is gray and it has red Kooka cranks and headset. Rhino lite rims with slick tires and Hayes hydraulic disc brakes.

It also has my name on it, in red. The same color as my anger over the fact that it no longer has my butt on it.

bike to work week May 28 to June 3




Wow! Almost a month since my last post, unfortunately the end of the ski season, preparations for a new fiscal year and, most importantly mountain biking have kept me pretty well tied up over these past 4 weeks. But here I am.

Today was the first day of the first annual Greater Vancouver Bike to Work Week. It was also the first day in a long time that I managed to pedal my butt the whole way from my home in Hastings-Sunrise to my work at Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver (I have ridden part way there and all the way home several times). I've been dreading this almost 18 km (mostly uphill) trek for weeks but, now that its been done I've got to say that it mostly wasn't that bad. Besides whats uphill one way is all downhill the other right? (hopefully I still feel this way tomorrow morning).

The Greater Vancouver Bike to Work Week event has been modelled after a similar event, now in its 12th year in Victoria. Sponsored by the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, Bike to Work Week is a fun event designed to create friendly competition between organizations and individuals to get people onto their bikes as a healthy alternative for commuting to work. According to the VACC, some of the most important reasons for biking to work is that it allows us to:

1. Get out of traffic.
2. Get healthy. Cycling to work allows us to use our commute as a part of an exercise routine.
3. Cut down on our personal greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Engage our communities, meet our neighbours, breath some fresh air and enjoy the beauty of our landscape.

During Bike to Work Week the VACC and local businesses, municipalities and volunteers will be hosting commuter stations throughout the GVRD. These are essentially gathering places for cyclists that offer up free refreshments, mechanical expertise and opportunities to win prizes. For more information on Bike to Work Week, the VACC, the location of commuter stations and cycling in the community go to http://www.vacc.bc.ca/ . Its not too late to get involved and keep in mind that Bike to Work Week also marks the beginning of Bike Month, another reason to keep the car parked for a while.

One note of concern regarding many of the fellow cyclists that I encountered on my ride this morning... we're an awfully serious bunch aren't we? Not a smile or a wave from a single person that I met and I just can't understand why everyone seemed so serious on such a fantastic day. Cheer up everyone, just think of all the great things that you are doing for yourself and our environment!

...using less - living better?



A rhetorical question if I may... How many people out there are, like me, fed up with the vast amount of unsolicited junk mail that seems to clog our mail slots and fill our recycling bags each week? Judging by the number of "No junk mail" signs in my neighbourhood I'd say there are a lot of you.

Really though! Does anyone actually read it? Do any of you really care how many houses realtor A has sold and do you actually compare this information against the flyer from realtor B? Just how many credit cards, consolidation loans or mortgages does the average person apply for? If you need your house painted or your gutters cleaned, do you go digging for that flyer that you know came a couple of months ago? How many people actually make decisions based on the things they've taken from their junk mail?

Most of the unwanted stuff that we get goes directly, unread and often unopened, to the recycling bag. I barely have the time to read the things that I want to read or that I should be reading these days. Never mind everything else. Each week it gets carried out to the curb so that it may be returned, recycled and reprinted so that it may be re-delivered another day. Sadly, our yellow bag is often more full than the blue bag, blue box and the garbage can combined. I'm not kidding! Frankly, in this day of electronic access to nearly everything, I find the scale of this waste a little disturbing.

Which brings me to the point today where I had decided it was enough. I don't even know how I got on this mailing list, but now for the second time in just over a week I received a newsletter from East Vancouver's own Libby Davies. Champion of everything, protector of all, but apparently a poor environmental steward. I guess that's not completely true, there are three names on the envelope mine, my brother in law's (lives downstairs) and a name I've never heard of but can only assume that he used to live here, so I guess the intention is that I read it and pass it on to the other two guys. That's called reducing. Anyway, the title of today's bulletin for those interested is...

Eco-energy - Using Less - Living Better

A bulletin that describes a new residential energy efficiency assessment service for Canadian homeowners in order that we may improve the energy efficiency of our homes and... reduce our homes impact on the environment!

Wonderful! I've always been a bit suspect when it comes to the NDP's true position on the environment and this just makes me scratch my head a little more. In the Community Links bulletin that I received from Libby Davies last week she tells us about some of the very important things that she's been working on for all of the citizens of East Vancouver. These include workers rights, affordable housing, environmental sustainability, and so on.

Anyone that's followed my ramblings up to this point knows that I am very fond of recognizing the small steps, since they all lead to bigger things, especially where the environment is concerned. So while two bulletins (3 pages and 2 envelopes) in a little over a week may not seem like a big deal to some, to me its ridiculous especially when the information could easily be sent out electronically and further since it came without my asking for it in the first place. An information pamphlet sent out during an election to inform voters of their choices is one thing, a steady barrage of letters and bulletins is another thing entirely.

OPERATION: Clean Sweep!

Yesterday (Saturday April 28) Aiden, Jack and I spent a couple of hours with the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) helping with its contribution toward this years Pitch-in Canada week. It was a beautiful day to be out for sure, and after our experience at the bank machine earlier it felt really good to be doing something positive for the community. It also provided me with the opportunity to try and drive some good values and positive morals into my boys and I think it worked. By the end of the day Jack, my youngest was telling anyone who'd listen how "we're never going to litter!"

This year marked the 41st anniversary of Pitch-in Canada week. According to the Pitch-in site this is the largest and only multi-province environmental improvement campaign in the country, involving some 3.5 million volunteers. The objectives of this years campaign, entitled OPERATION: Clean Sweep include to:

1. involve millions of Canadian, young and old in local projects which clean-up, restore and/or preserve the environment, thereby promoting environmental sustainability and involving both young and older people in local partnerships which benefit and enhance their communities.
2. clean up, restore and beautify the environment by cleaning up litter and other garbage from urban, rural and wilderness areas and by initiating local projects such as habitat preservation and restoration and urban renewal activities, thereby promoting respect for Canada's natural and urban environments.
3. encourage voluntary action as a means of resolving environmental problems.
4. stress the value of waste as a resource by encouraging Canadians to refuse, reuse, recycle and properly dispose waste.
5. educate Canadians to pack-in/pack-out their waste when they enjoy the natural environment.
6. encourage civic pride and develop long-term working relationships for the future which will help local communities develop in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner, thereby leaving lasting benefits.

I'd have to say that these objectives were accomplished in our little part of the greater operation! As I said, it felt great to be out doing something positive for the community and for me, it was even better that the VACC chose a part of my own community to clean up. By the end of the afternoon our group had amassed an impressive (yet somewhat disturbing) pile of rubbish from the area of the TransCanada trail between North Kaslo and the Second Narrows Bridge. We all had a great time in the process.

A lesson in line-ups...

I can hardly believe this one myself!

How many lines do you think should form at a bank that has more than one Automated Teller Machine (ATM)? I have to assume that the majority would agree that one line is all it takes. As a machine becomes available the first person in the line takes it, the next person takes the next machine and so on...right? Seems like common sense to me but, today being a day for lessons I learned a valuable new one about ATM line-ups.

Today my sons and I walked into the TD Canada Trust at Hastings and Kamloops and, seeing a line for the 2 ATM machines, did what came naturally and stood behind the last person in the single line to wait our turn. The fellow in front of us was at the front of the line so it wasn't that big a deal for us and we weren't in that big of a hurry anyway. At some point as we waited another man (a large white man) entered the line, only instead of standing behind us he took up a position to the left of the guy in front of me.

Soon the machine on the left became open but, against traditional ATM line etiquette the guy that had just recently joined the line went for it, ahead of the fellow that had been waiting before me! Well the natural thing happened of course, the guy who had been waiting longest said "Excuse me, I was here first." This is where my years of ATM Line experience were suddenly cast into doubt. The large white guy (LWG) then replied "You were standing in the wrong line." The fellow in front of me, who happened to be a middle aged Asian guy (AG), answered (as I would have) "There's only one line."

So the LWG, seeming to realize his mistake, let the Asian guy go ahead and thankfully, all seemed right once again in the land of the ATM line.

The machine on the right opened up and I took it. As is usually the case when I go to the bank with my two sons (Salt and Peter), my attention was pretty much absorbed with preventing them from pushing buttons out of turn, stopping them from taking all of the deposit envelopes out of the rack, handling my transaction and grabbing the cash before one of them can do it. Needless to say I had pretty much forgotten about the exchange between the LWG and the other guy, that is until the Asian fellow was finished with the machine beside me and the LWG took his turn.

As the large white guy approached the ATM and the Asian fellow headed for the exit, the former made some kind of strange comment that none of us really heard that clearly. But although we may have missed the actual words I think the intent was pretty loud and clear. The Asian guy asked "What?" and here is kind of what followed...

BWG: "You were in the wrong line."
AG: "There's only one line!"
BWG: "There's 2 machines, there should be 2 lines"
AG: "There's only one line!"
BWG: "Why don't you go back to where you came from."

Thats right... I couldn't believe it either!

AG: "What? I've probably been here longer than you have." (in absolutely perfect English)
BWG: "I doubt that, I've been here since I was born 63 years ago."

At some point during the last statement the Asian guy had left the bank, and me, standing there in complete astonishment at what I'd just heard. As much as I really like to look at my community through rose colored glasses sometimes, I'm not an idiot (unlike the BWG) and I understand that sadly, attitudes like this still do exist. But while attitudes like this are absolutely unacceptable anywhere, they seem especially out of place in a community like Vancouver-Hastings whose population is approximately 48% Chinese, 10% Italian, 5% Vietnamese, 3% Filipino, 3% Aboriginal, 3% East Indian, 2% Portuguese and a mere 14% English (whatever Elections BC means by English)

Finishing my transaction and gathering my boys, I turned to the BWG and said "There's only one line." Its not what I really wanted to say... but my kids already had one crappy experience that I would have to spend the day explaining and de-programming. Although it probably made no difference to the attitude of the BWG, I had to say something!

All about the ride!

A few months ago, thanks to Volunteer Vancouver and BoardMatch, I was introduced to the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. I was looking to gain some experience with a volunteer Board and exploring ways to get more involved in my community and so, being an avid mountain biker (frequent mountain bike crasher) this seemed like a good match and a great opportunity.

Established in 1988, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) is a non-profit, volunteer operated organization that has committees in municipalities throughout the GVRD. Members are all passionate cyclists from all walks of life and with a variety of cycling experiences, passions and stories to tell. The goal of VACC members (as found at http://www.vacc.bc.ca/) is to "work to improve conditions for cycling in the lower mainland."

Before joining this Board, I attended a couple of meetings with the Vancouver committee. Not being much of an urban cyclist (unless you count a few trips around Stanley Park) and being relatively new to the area, I was still surprised by how much I didn't know about cycling in a city, within traffic and in all types of weather and conditions. I had never before even considered what some of the challenges faced by daily (or occasional for that matter) cycle commuters could be and, being a mountain biker I have largely focused my riding attention on things like "hucks", "skinny's", "teeters" and slippery roots and logs. Railroad crossings, traffic bulges and circles and cycle route signage just haven't been within my frame of reference, until now that is.

The VACC is made up of an incredibly intelligent and passionate group of people that seem to put the greater issues of cycling before all of the little reasons why people cycle. Our main purpose is simply to get more people out on their bikes. The work of the VACC is grounded in these following values:

1. We support a variety of styles and approaches to cycling.
2. We value education and role-modelling for safe cycling.
3. We respect those who use other forms of transportation.
4. We value cycling as a community building tool, and as a healthy practice for individuals and our environment.
5. We avoid funding or support that could compromise the integrity of our mission, purpose or values.
6. We seek positive legislative and policy change to make a lasting difference.
7. Our membership is open to all who share our goals and values.

These values are important as one of the things that drew me most to the VACC was how little it mattered that I was ignorant to a lot of the issues facing urban cyclists and cycling. That the people making up the VACC come from all points of many different spectrum's doesn't seem to matter since we are all joined somehow by a love for the ride. In all of its forms! My early experiences with this group have inspired me to "urbanize" one of my mountain bikes so that I may use it to be come more familiar with this great city that I call home. I would encourage cyclists from all stripes to check out the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition at http://www.vacc.bc.ca/ . Become a member, join a committee or just get inspired to go for a ride.

Volunteer Vancouver

When I moved to East Vancouver a few years ago I found a community like none I'd ever experienced before. Our little piece of Grant Street is friendly, our neighbours talk to us and to each other and everyone seems genuinely concerned about each other. All-in-all, despite what we thought we knew about East Vancouver before moving there, we were made to feel at home. I'm not saying for a second that there aren't other communities like ours, its just that I've never lived in one quite like it before.

Considering that this community was to be the one that we would call home, the one that we would raise our kids in, I thought that the best way to ensure that it stays friendly, clean and safe was to find a way to contribute and become a more active member of the community at large. I have volunteered in some capacity in other areas where I've lived so I decided to explore the various volunteer opportunities available in Hastings-Sunrise and Vancouver in general.

One great source of information for organizations looking for volunteers and volunteers looking for organizations is Volunteer Vancouver. This is something like a "help wanted" site for the voluntary sector but it also offers much more. According to their web site:

Established in 1943, Volunteer Vancouver has evolved into an organization that is proactive and innovative. We also continue to respond to the community and enhance the contributions of volunteers by working with organizations to maximize volunteer involvement.

Volunteer Vancouver offers a wide range of services that include training workshops, BoardMatch, a resource library and an online newsletter called Vantage Point. Interested people can sign up for regular updates and be made aware (by email) of volunteer opportunities in their communities.

As mentioned, I have volunteered for pretty much my whole adult life. Today I am involved with 6 different organizations in Vancouver and on the North Shore (I have trouble saying no sometimes) and despite the challenges that all of these present sometimes, all are very important to me for their own reasons. My wife would love for me to cut a few of them back, but which ones? Trouble is there just aren't enough people like me (or the 7.5 million (1997) other Canadians) willing to give up some of their time for a worthy cause. Worse, competition for good volunteers is fierce, as I have found out trying to find volunteers where I work. I'm not suggesting for a minute that everyone need give up as much as I do and I understand that there are probably some very good and valid reasons why people don't volunteer, but I personally believe that this world would stop rotating if it weren't for the efforts of volunteers.

According to Volunteer BC, in 2000 some 845 000 (26% of the population) British Columbian's volunteered about 142 million hours of their precious time. This is equal to 74 000 full-time jobs. The national contribution of British Columbian volunteers is an impressive 13% and this includes all of those wonderful people on the PAC's at your kids school, little league coaches, Search and Rescue members, people on the board at your favorite Rec Center, people providing valuable public services at no charge so that you may participate in the activity for low or no charge. Sort of makes you want to hug a volunteer doesn't it?

But back to Volunteer Vancouver and their significance for me... this is were I first found out about the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. The subject of my next post.

More of the same from the NDP

Can someone please give Carole James a nudge, her record is skipping again! I don't know why I do this to myself (OK I do) but the other day I decided to spend some time learning more about our provinces official opposition, so I spent about an hour visiting the BC NDP home site and the site of the official opposition.

I'm pretty sure that I was there less than 10 minutes before my eyes started bleeding and I became short of breath. I needed water, badly! I want to call my venture into NDP territory research, at least that's how it was intended but unfortunately this would imply that I learned something useful from it. In fact all that I may have learned I knew already.

That Carole James and the NDP don't really like Premier Campbell and the BC Liberals is pretty obvious and, to be fair I guess it comes with the job. The problem that I found is that the NDP don't really seem to bring anything tangible to any of the arguments that they try to present. Even the message is the same, regurgitated from one issue to the next, "Gordon Campbell can't be trusted!" What is this, grade 9?

Lets look at health care, the one issue that the NDP keep trying to claim as their own. On their home site the NDP (correctly) observe that Gordon Campbell is promising to listen to our (British Columbian's) ideas on health care. (Presumable referring to the government Conversation on Health). In true NDP fashion they take it that one extra step by saying "Why should we believe him this time?"

Hmmm...

Well to begin with I guess we can look at the amount of money that the BC Liberals have thrown at health care since inheriting a sinking ship in 2001. Most recently $9.5 million announced for First Nations health initiatives. Fact is Gordon Campbell has increased health care spending by $3.8 billion since 2001, doubled doctors training spaces, increased training for nurses, eliminated MSP premiums and reduced prescription costs for nearly 300 000 low income British Columbian's, to name only a few. I know why the NDP shouldn't trust the government when it comes to health care.

Instead of encouraging people to take part in the Conversation on Health and bring meaningful dialogue and possible solutions to fix an ailing system to the table, the NDP choose to focus on looming shortages of health care professionals and place blame for this problem squarely on the shoulders of the premier. Here's a news flash Carole! Labour shortages are an increasing reality in all sectors in this province and it has everything to do with an aging population and, thanks to this government, a hot economy. Within the next few years BC and Alberta combined will realize a shortage of up to 350 000 skilled and unskilled laborers, who will you blame for that?

Next comes the challenges faced by lower income British Columbian's. Carole James, the NDP and the BC Federation of Labour have all jumped on the minimum wage band-wagon. According to them the "BC Liberals don't care about our lowest paid workers." Don't care? Seems to me that not so long ago the Liberals introduced a 10% tax cut specifically aimed at helping these people, a tax cut opposed by Jim Sinclair and the BC Fed. Gordon Campbell also increased the maximum income level for rental assistance to $28 000 and increased monthly shelter allowances and basic rates for single employable people by $50 each. This was the first increase of its kind since 1992.

Then we come to a personal favorite of mine, the environment.

So far, the BC Liberal government has contributed more than $500 million towards the development of greener communities. During its first term in office our government reduced its own greenhouse gas emissions by 24%, the same amount that emissions increased under the previous NDP government. Carole James says that "Gordon Campbell has failed on climate change" yet he is behind what is arguably the most aggressive plan at reducing carbon emissions in North America. Carole James hasn't even managed to reduce her own vehicle emissions.

I love this one!

"Gordon Campbell can't be trusted to deal with growing homelessness in our streets."

Homelessness due to things like mental illness, drug addiction, and all other contributing factors combined represents a very serious challenge to all communities throughout the province. Those of us in Vancouver-Hastings are patently aware of the reality of this problem and despite what the NDP would have us believe, its a problem that has been growing steadily since the early 90's. The problem of homelessness has been passed from government to government and until now, none have done much to solve it. During their turn at the wheel, the NDP acknowledged the challenge of homelessness and admitted that they didn't really know what to do about it.

Under Gordon Campbell, the BC Liberals have realized the problem of the homeless. They've stood up and taken responsibility for solving the problem and they've put their money where their mouths are. Recently to the tune of some $80 million and despite what the likes of the NDP and the Anti-Poverty Committee say, this is a significant first step and to quote the premier, "This is not the end."

At the beginning of this post I said that I didn't learn anything from this exercise but that's not entirely true. A couple of things did emerge after an hour or so in NDP web space. First, our official opposition is very heavy on criticism yet extremely light with useful suggestions. The NDP, for lack of any tangible argument cling to an over-used, now stale "can't be trusted" angle that doesn't allow for any intelligent debate on any of the important issues. Its like George Bush saying the the United States is "fighting evil" or worse, like trying to reason with your three year old who doesn't want to eat his/her vegetables.

Second, all it takes is a little digging (and a little common sense) to learn that while some of the challenges now facing our province did in fact become more difficult within the last 7 years, none of them were actually created during this time. Many of these challenges of been growing for decades but then does anyone really believe that a troubled health care system, global warming or the plight of the homeless magically appeared in 2001 with the changing of government? The NDP does. The reality is however, that the NDP was very aware of these problems while in government but they didn't have any money to do anything about them.

Which brings me to my final observation. The BC Liberals have turned our province around. We have money, the government is aware of the issues and they are taking all of the right steps to try and create positive change. The problem for the NDP is, that it leaves them with nothing but a bunch of old government credit card receipts to sift through, hoping beyond hope to find something, anything that can help breath a little life into a party full of old ideas and outdated ideologies.

1 person screwing up East Vancouver

Its been a crazy couple of weeks for me. I've barely had the time to keep up with whats going on in the world, nation, province, community... so it was great to find a few minutes yesterday to scan some headlines and I wasn't disappointed. The first one that caught my eye (and apparently a lot of other peoples) read "Pro 9/11 column may oust Green candidate."

I immediately thought of East Vancouver's own Kevin Potvin!

It had to be! He's written so many ridiculous things I just couldn't think of anyone else that would want to be within miles of any essay, article or thought out loud that would hint at anything but absolute remorse for some 3000 innocent lives lost in the twin towers. You may not agree with the current American administration's style of politics, capitalism, consumerism, militarism or any other ism for that matter, I don't necessarily, but most people recognize the events of 9/11 for what they truly are, a tragedy.

So I clicked on the story and sure enough... Kevin Potvin!

I wasn't surprised to see him, nor was I surprised that he would attempt to bring context to the ramblings of his "little voice". I guess he had to do something to try and fill in the hole that it has dug for him. What does surprise me is the fact that the Green Party of Canada was even willing to consider him as a viable candidate for Vancouver-Kingsway, or anywhere else for that matter. It also surprises me that party leader Elizabeth May would even consider giving Potvin the "benefit of the doubt" over his comments. While I am not a member of the party, nor do I vote green I will admit to a certain amount of respect for the party and some of the things that they stand for (more than I can often muster for the local orange party). Kevin Potvin, co-founder and regular contributor to the "Republic of East Vancouver" does nothing good for the credibility of the Green Party, just like he has done nothing good for the "Community" of East Vancouver.

Even if Potvin does manage to hold on to the Green nomination for Vancouver-Kingsway it is extremely unlikely that he would be elected. Too bad for East Vancouver and Vancouver-Hastings because that means we are likely stuck with him. The rest of this great country may never realize the star that is Kevin Potvin and so sadly, he will likely never make Spinks' list of 101 People that are Screwing up Canada. Too bad because lists like this were made for people like Potvin.

Identity in Crisis...

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about (if you think about) East Vancouver?

Almost 3 years ago, as my wife and I frantically searched for a house big enough to accommodate our growing family without breaking the bank, our realtor mentioned East Vancouver. We were moving from the North Shore as it was obvious we wouldn't be able to afford a bigger place there and we were considering going as far east as Cloverdale. We looked in Burnaby, New Westminster, the Coquitlams and even Langley. But East Van???

Like many people, the image that came to mind for us back then was one largely created by what we'd seen, heard and read about in the news. Aside from the annual trip to the PNE, our East Vancouver experience was somewhat limited and our impression of the community was unfortunately shaped by a stigma perpetuated by the media, poor political representation and, in many cases the communities own residents. How many people can conjure up an image of East Vancouver that doesn't include the Downtown Eastside? Needless to say we had our reservations.

Since moving here and become active members of our new community we have realized just how wrong this negative perception of East Vancouver really is. It is extremely unfortunate that a large and otherwise vibrant, culturally diverse and lively community must carry the label provided by a very, very small (geographically speaking) part of it. The challenges of homelessness, drug abuse, prostitution and so on that plague the DTES (and beyond) are undeniably real and they certainly need to be addressed and dealt with in a way that works for everyone. But it is important to understand that these problems are not (nor should they be considered) exclusive to our community and therefor they should not be used as the stick by which to measure the entire community of East Vancouver.

Forget the media for a second, the problem is that our own elected officials and, in many cases residents often focus too much of their efforts on the worst parts of our community forgetting that there is so much more to East Vancouver than homelessness, drug abuse, prostitution and so on.


Not long after moving in I read an article in the Vancouver Courier outlining the history of Hastings-Sunrise and its important part in the shaping of Vancouver as we know it. I know that I've talked about this before but it's certainly worth repeating some of the proud historical achievements of a community now famous for what it doesn't have. Hastings, formally New Brighton has laid claim to many Vancouver firsts such as the first road, wharf, post office, museum, sub-division and hotel. Our community was even the first one in the area to have a telephone. In the latter part of the 1800's, Hastings played a critical role in transportation as stage coaches made their way from the capital of New Westminster to New Brighton to catch the ferry to Stamps Mill and to the logging operations at Moodyville (now North Vancouver). How can one not be impressed (and perhaps a little bit surprised) but such a proud history. Learning of my communities past played a large part in my desire to learn and do more but at the same time, I am often curious and somewhat disappointed that so many of my neighbors seem unaware of this past or have otherwise chosen to forget about it.

Recently I was talking with a person much more familiar with the area than I am and after our conversation I believe that I have a greater understanding of the community and the East Vancouver identity crisis. Or at least one possible explanation for it. According to this person a lot of the challenges that we face today (in respect to who we are and our place within this city) can be traced back to those early days at New Brighton. Although our community was the one to get the ball rolling for what would eventually become Vancouver, for whatever reason we weren't able to hold onto that ball and it rolled away. Somehow, a city that was supposed to take shape on our shores moved west leaving what would later become East Vancouver, in its shadow.


Today we are recognized by the outside world as the community surrounding the DTES or, more accurately from the outside all of East Van is the DTES. This identity is unfortunately legitimized by our own elected representatives like NDP MP Libby Davies who despite her obligation to the entire community, can't seem to pull her head out of the very small part of it that is the DTES. That's the look from the outside anyway.

From the inside, our identity goes back to our being denied right to the city itself. Ever since we have chosen to describe ourselves by all of the things that we are not or that we don't have. We are not the West End, we're not as affluent, we don't get as much money, our services aren't as good, we're forgotten, Hastings Park isn't Stanley Park, the government(s) ignore us... you get the picture. At least this is the impression that I have after attending a few meetings in the community, talking to people and listening to other people talk. We want so badly to be recognized like the Vancouver west of Main street that we fail to see the beauty within our own back yards, or at least the potential for beauty there. Worse, in our efforts to be more like them we (or some of us anyway) are actually working to destroy some of the great institutions still alive that helped create us in the first place and that continue to remind outsiders that there is a reason to visit East Vancouver. There is more to us than the DTES. That we are home to Hastings Park race track and the PNE is something that should be celebrated (I'll save them for another post I think).


Of course I am new to the community and the lens through which I view it hasn't yet become clouded over by visions of private enterprises setting up shop, attracting visitors that spend money here and making a little money of their own in the process. I love this community and couldn't be happier about the decision that we made to become a part of it. While at times its easy to get bogged down by the false identity of East Vancouver and forget about our significance to all communities surrounding us I do believe that the times are-a-changin and we can rediscover our proud past and rightful place in the future of the City of Vancouver. But first we have to work on our own views of ourselves. We need to start celebrating all that we have along with the things that we don't have, recognizing that these are the things that make us unique. We need to participate in creating and maintaining a vibrant community that is safe and that people want to visit and we need to celebrate the private and public partnerships that help make us strong. We need to elect federal, provincial and municipal representatives that recognize all parts of our community and not just the aspects that further their own agenda's. The problems of the DTES will be fixed when they are made a part of a greater community plan and not as long as they are the only part of the plan.


Finally, we need to tell other people what we have. We need to encourage people to visit, move here, set up shop, do business here. We need to encourage growth and move on. The city may have passed us by, but where would it be without us?

Go figure!

"People in this province want action on climate change. That means taking real, concrete steps toward reducing emissions. It means coming up with meaningful strategies to address the consequences of climate change."

That was BC NDP MLA and Environment Critic (Vancouver-Hastings own) Shane Simpson back on January 13 2007, before the speech from the throne and before the unveiling of the BC Liberals 2007 budget. Back when the opposition, in desperate need of something, anything that would allow it to claw itself back into relevance on the political landscape of this province chose the environment as one of three platforms that it would use to show British Columbians that the NDP still gave a "you know what" about our future and that it had an edge on the current government.

The weeks and days leading to the opening of the legislature this year provided us with a steady barrage of what would prove to be not so well thought out challenges by the NDP for the government to do something about climate change, the health care system and poverty. These were the areas that the NDP felt they had the greatest chance at making a difference in BC politics at least, and the areas that they hoped would allow them to gain back some of the support that has been slipping through their fingers lately. As the gears began turning on a new year in BC's political machine the NDP demanded action on the environment, changes in health care and support for the homeless. The foot stomping was relentless! After a year of near obscurity the opposition seemed fired up with a new energy and it had clearly identified the areas that this energy would be challenged. And here are some of the things that our own Shane Simpson said about the governments action on climate change.

"When you get to the substantive aspects of the actual actions they've taken, you'd be hard pressed to point to many things that this government has done that will actually deal with reductions in emissions" Shane Simpson 24 hrs 19 January 2007

"This government has an absolutely atrocious record on climate change, we should be long past arguing that climate change is an issue worth discussing, we should be working at getting some real results." Shane Simpson 13 January 2007

And then came the throne speech and the budget for 2007...

Since then it seems to me that the markers identifying the NDP's position on such things as climate change, health care and the plight of the homeless have become noticeably grayer. Despite the fact that these three things are arguably the most significant issues in the minds of many British Columbians, the lines that divide what the NDP says in public and what they are actually practicing themselves just seem to get longer and wider.

Consider the environment!

Carole James has, on more than one occasion blasted the BC Liberals for what she refers to as government inaction on climate change. She states on the official NDP web site that "BC is falling behind the rest of Canada (in respect to climate change and the use of clean energy)" yet she herself still drives an SUV. Remember that it was Carole James who demanded the government set greenhouse gas emission limits, and on her parties own site she identifies the need to "examine and invest in clean technologies today so that we don't have to play catch up tomorrow."

Carole James announced six priorities for action to help cap emissions (one of which encourages the use of alternative fuels and fuel efficient automobiles) and she has challenged the Premier to "work with us to do better". Interesting...

And then we move to health care...

According to Carole James she (and the NDP) is listening to the concerns of people in BC. Ms. James has "innovative and practical new ideas that will get results now." Wow! We just don't know what they are. Carole James is going to reverse BC Liberal cuts to health care and make the system more affordable for years to come. The same system that, during the 90's under the NDP saw a reduction in the number of long-term care beds, was promised $125 million dollars for a mental health plan that never materialized and witnessed scores of doctors leaving rural communities across the province.

The NDP demands the Gordon Campbell work with them to fix a system that they broke in the first place. A system that the Liberals have since poured $3.8 billion extra, dollars into, that has seen an increase in the number of doctors in training and has created 2500 new nurse training spaces. Among other things.

Finally we have affordable housing and the issue of homelessness...

Carole James has called on the government to "put more money into solving the shortage of affordable housing and the problems of addiction and mental illness in this province." Times Colonist 19 Feb 07. This was before the budget at a time when the BC Liberals had already spent 54% more on social housing than the NDP government before it. The NDP have called on the Premier to fix the very problems that it began to create while in office even though former NDP MLA's admitted that the problem may not be so easily fixed.

But, despite all the money spent up until now, the 2007 budget still provides more money for low income families, more money for affordable housing, decreases in income taxes for low income earners, increase in shelter allowances, millions of dollars for an increased number of shelter beds and so on.

Why am I bringing this up? After all it shouldn't be too terribly surprising for those of us familiar with the tactics of the NDP and the way that their position on key issues changes with the wind. I only bring all of this up again as a point of reference. The NDP has made some very serious demands of the government to make changes that it feels necessary to reverse damage that it feels has occurred/is occurring in a few key areas. On the environment alone Carole James has said that "Working together through the legislature we can freeze emissions now...BC can be among North America's climate change leaders. That's what British Columbians want us to be."

Carole James wants to work with the government yet her party has unanimously voted against a throne speech and a budget that will accomplish the very things she is asking for. She has voted against a budget that is committed to climate change, that provides an additional $870 million for health care and that clearly addresses some of the key issues surrounding affordable housing and homelessness.

This is called working together...

"We will be looking for meaningful action from the government and if its there we will support it..." Shane Simpson on News 1130 12 Feb 07.

Shane Simpson also voted against a budget that is committed to climate change, that provides an additional $870 million for health care and that clearly addresses some of the key issues surrounding affordable housing and homelessness.

Go figure.

101 people screwing up BC?

A few weeks ago I came across a very interesting site that is counting down the 101 people that are screwing up Canada. I was so impressed by what I was reading that I had to add it to my links and this list is part of the reason for this particular post.

I've been very interested in provincial level politics for some time and I have spent an almost ridiculous amount of time following it over the past few years. My family and I moved to East Vancouver two years ago and since that time I have been especially interested in the interaction between this new community of mine and its politicians but, to my detriment I have largely ignored the going's on at City Hall and the doings (or lack of) of our Federal MP Libby Davies.

I've been so focused on the lousy job being done by our provincial MLA that I haven't realized the impact that Libby may be having across the country. But thanks to Ms. Davies and google alerts I discovered the 101 people list.

Libby makes the list at number 55 and reading her contributions to the demise of our country it became clear to me Why I've ignored her up until now. Libby Davies is not on my radar largely because I'm not on hers. Like the vast majority of the population of Vancouver-East I am not a resident of the Downtown Eastside, I'm not addicted to drugs, not a prostitute and when it comes to child care I happen to prefer methods that encourage and allow my wife and I to do the majority of it ourselves.

Outside of these issues (all important and deserving of attention) it is very difficult to determine what, if anything Libby has done for East Vancouver and for this reason, while deserving of number 55 on the national list, I'm not sure that she would even register if a similar list were created identifying 101 of the people screwing up BC. After all, you have to do something in order to screw it up. But don't take my word for it. Sign up for google alerts and see what comes up for Libby Davies, I guarantee that it will be one of the same 3 issues over and over again.

As to a list for BC, Libby may not make it but BC NDP MLA Shane Simpson... that's another story entirely.

more green baby steps...

Like watching an old M*A*S*H re-run sometimes the classics are hard to resist. So here is yet another post about the environment, climate change, sustainability... you pick the buzz phrase.

This past Saturday I went to the 1st EPIC Sustainable Living Expo under the sails, at Canada Place. I kind of had to go, given the amount of space I've provided for the environment here and the lengths I've gone through to make a difference in my family's lives, but really I wanted to go to see what a first (presumably annual) expo would have to offer and I wanted to learn of anything else that I could do specifically in my life and of what I could bring to the place that I work. The Expo was certainly interesting and I did get the answers to a couple of my questions but, surprisingly perhaps I also learned a couple of things about current environmental trends and the potentially negative side of a movement recently thrust into the limelight.

I arrived at the Expo in time to see the "Greening your home" presentation on the main stage. It was interesting and I learned a bit about paints and some of the chemicals that we use to clean our homes but I'll admit that it was hard to follow for long, especially given the environment of the Convention Center and especially when you hearing is less than perfect like mine is. So my friend and I decided to skip out early and check out some of the exhibits instead. It didn't take us very long to realize the first hard lesson about a life totally green, it costs a lot of money! Looking at just a few of the products on display made us realize that current trends in sustainability don't come cheap.

I know, and I can already envision the responses to this post... Yes I do believe that the earth is worth the money... I understand that at the end of the day its a small price to pay to ensure a future for our children and generations to come... and yes I understand that we have neglected our planet for so long now that we really can't afford not to do it. But I am sorry, walking through the displays and exhibits at the EPIC fair it didn't take me that long to do the math and I was never that terribly good at math. $30 000 for a Toyota Hybrid... I guess that seems reasonable! $500 for a lamp made solely from recycled agricultural waste (who knows what that is)... I don't know! $1200 for a coffee table made of recycled industrial materials... It was a nice looking coffee table but I paid $149 for the one I have now at IKEA. $1800 for a partition made from old cross walk signal lenses... pushing it for sure. $45 for a t-shirt made out of bamboo? Enough... I don't care how soft it felt or that it had natural odour control properties. The fact is that if this is the face of the environmental movement it is doomed before it gets off the ground, no one can afford it!

Don't get me wrong, I think its great that there are some innovative people out there that have found a way to create products with low environmental impact and some that actually have social conscience as well. The fact that my friend and I found it a bit of a stretch to connect sustainability to some of the products that we saw doesn't mean that we don't give them credit for trying.

The cost of going green may be one thing but the second, and possibly the most puzzling lesson learned surrounded the fact that a lot of the stuff that we saw at EPIC really had to travel a long way to get there. One can only question the validity of the claim of "sustainability" by a product that has travelled from literally the other side of the world and then costs a small fortune for the consumer. Bamboo flooring makes a great deal of sense to me, its attractive, its durable but is it environmentally friendly? I loved the quilts that I saw that were made from used sari's and I appreciated the social causes under which they were presented, but sustainable? I didn't even try the potato chips shipped from Malaysia although they looked delicious. Face it, most of these things, all of these things are presented with the best of intentions and they are probably all great products, but dig a bit deeper. Isn't the manner in which most of these things are transported to us the most significant contributor to climate change and global warming?

Despite these lessons I did get out of the Expo exactly what I had hoped to get. It was the last booth that I visited, but not only did it provide me with the answers that I needed, but it also cast aside a lot of the negative impressions that I have been left with recently after talking to some of the "really green" members of my community. This last booth was, in my opinion the only one delivering the real message, for no reason other than the fact that the message needs to be delivered.

As I have mentioned in perhaps too many posts now, I have unfortunately encountered a few "green" people of late bent on delivering an all or nothing message when it comes to individual efforts at reducing our impact on the environment. These people are more than a little reluctant to recognize those little steps that some of us are trying to take on the road to becoming more environmentally responsible. I have had more than one conversation where I have been told that what I was doing wasn't enough and several conversations where I've been told that our current BC Liberal government is moving too slow, despite the fact that they are moving faster and with greater resolve than anyone preceding them. The really green people want it all and they want it to happen right now. I applaud their ambition but...

Back to the Expo. I have always been one to recognize the small steps and that is why I almost fell in love with the One Day Vancouver booth. When we stopped in at this exhibit we became immediately aware of how important individual contribution was/is. The booth seemed to not only recognize it but to celebrate it as well, as the entire back wall of the display was covered with Polaroid's of real people with one sentence explanations of what they are doing to contribute towards a sustainable planet. The message was clear, it was sincere, it had impact and I was impressed. So I went to onedayvancouver.ca to learn more (I've added it to my links if your interested)...

One day's purpose so incredibly mirrors my own feelings that I have to print it here. According to their site, One day:

...is about small first steps. Its about individual actions that each of us can take in our every day lives. Its about what is possible, and will reward and applaud each and every action, no matter how big or how small. Its about momentum and shared success.

...is about values - about protecting the best place to live in the world, about preserving our unparalleled quality of life for our children and grandchildren, and shared effort and enterprise.

...is about health, fitness and well being. Walking and cycling are easy ways to stay fit, lose weight and help cut down on the amount of energy we use. Changing the way that we move through our day also helps us slow down and take more time with our children, neighbourhoods and communities, reminding us that life doesn't need to be as hectic as we make it out to be.

...is about leadership. One day, Vancouver will be a model for how urban populations use and consume energy. Together, business, neighbourhoods, individuals and communities will showcase Vancouver to the world at the 2010 Olympic Games as a model city for sustainable energy consumption and urban development.

...is working with partners - youth, community groups, business leaders - to start this movement from the ground up, seeding the idea in schools, workplaces, businesses, neighbourhoods, coffee shops and more.

The one day web site provides some simple suggestions to the things that we do everyday at home, at the office and on our way in between. Things like, if you have to drive make sure that your tire pressure is correct, or how installing low-flow shower heads can save you money (so you can afford that bamboo t-shirt) or about the benefits of switching to cold water washing. One day Vancouver tells us that we don't actually have to drop everything that we have learned up to this point to become overnight environmental extremists. It does tell us that there are reasonable and practical things that we can do right now, that will reflect in immediate positive impacts on our environment.

EPIC must be rated as a success by all measures. Any gathering that would cause people to reflect on what they are doing and on what can be done to make our world a better place must be considered as a good thing. My hope is that the "really" green people will take a look at some of the things that organizations like One Day Vancouver are doing and realize that if they hope to actually gain momentum and win the support of that huge portion of the population that is currently sitting on the fence they will have to start celebrating these small steps. Change will not occur overnight and, whether the climate demands it or not, people will not buy into any ideology that is shoved down their throats.

is labour out of touch???

On February 28 the Federal government announced long-awaited changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Essentially these changes extend the amount of time that someone from another country can be employed in Canada, from 12 months to 24. It also helps simplify and speed up the application process. As a manager in the tourism industry I am one of many people that are relieved to see these changes. The past two years (at least) have been extremely challenging in finding new skilled and unskilled workers for us and I know that this has been equally difficult for other areas similar to ours throughout the province.

I know it... and most people that hire (or try to hire) workers in the tourism, restaurant, construction, retail and other industries know it as well. Strangely enough though BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair and Wayne Peppard of the Building and Construction Trades Council either haven't been told about this growing problem or they have chosen to ignore it. You would think that anyone with their fingers on the pulse of labour in this province (as I would assume these guys have) would be very aware of the nearly 350 000 person shortfall that BC and Alberta combined will face within the next few years.


Wouldn't they?

In the tourism sector alone, in this province it is projected that we will need to fill some 84 000 skilled and unskilled positions leading up to and beyond the 2010 Olympics. This is significant considering that about 1 in 14 British Columbian workers are employed in or otherwise rely on tourism. Worse, according to the Globe and Mail's BC Editor Patrick Brethour after the Olympics if things continue as they are now, employers will look back on 2007 and reflect on how "easy" they had it way back then. Meanwhile, here in 2007 the restaurant industry is reporting a 13% shortfall in labour and the construction industry is scrambling to find the 20 000 extra workers that it will need within the next 3 years.

One of the key reasons that the likes of Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Peppard oppose changes to foreign worker rules is because they feel that the workers are vulnerable to their employers. The fact that many of these people may not speak or understand english means that they will not fully understand theirs rights and responsibilities. They become a gift to employers looking for "cheap labour". This is the most ridiculous accusation I have heard recently and speaking for my workplace (where I am responsible for employee Health and Safety) and in part for my industry, I can quite honestly say that the foreign workers employed by us are paid and treated exactly the same as their Canadian counterparts. They receive the same health and safety orientations and training, the same benefits, the same safety equipment and they are made to feel part of the same team. To suggest otherwise is simply insulting!

Employers within the province are not only competing with the site down the road for workers as shortages exist east of the Rockies as well. For this reason it seemed to make perfect sense to me that our provincial government come up with creative ways to attract workers from other provinces into the BC labour force. Creating an environment where our citizens pay the lowest tax in the country thanks to a 10% tax break seems like a pretty good way to start. Did I mention that Jim Sinclair opposed this tax break when it was introduced by Minister of Finance Carol Taylor?

No doubt the lowest unemployment rate in some 32 years is beginning to show its marks on all business and industry sectors across BC. It means that we are going to have to get creative in finding and retaining workers in a variety of ways and we will have to start exploring options and looking in places that we haven't really looked that hard in before. Extending the length of time that a foreign worker can stay in Canada is one option that seems to make sense to most of us however, it is a concept that the heads of the labour movement may never fully grasp. The numbers will likely never really add up to them and they won't justify what is seen by the likes of the BC Fed as a "cheap labour strategy", even when those foreign workers do receive the same benefits as we do.


So you tell me... is the labour movement out of touch with the reality of labour today? I'm sure beginning to think so.

quit now!

Most of the things that I've posted here so far have been about things that I have a certain amount of passion about. They are things that I've studied, I'm involved with personally or that I feel are interesting enough to share with the world, or at least the small part of it that cares what I think. Whenever possible I try and back up what I say with facts but still, at the end of it all if your reading my blog your getting my views on the things that I feel are important. What a great place we live in! That said, given the number of times that the topic of this particular blog has presented itself to me in the past two days alone, it seems as though this blog was meant to be posted.

Nothing that I have said so far on these pages means anything, compared to what I am about to say. Nothing!

Two years ago I devised a plan to make my workplace tobacco free. It was an ambitious plan that wasn't really received that well by a lot of the people that I work with (roughly 15% of them at least), but the Executive Team liked it and so we began taking steps that would eventually see the end of smoking at the place where I work. Two years later we have significantly changed the way that people smoke there but smoking is still permitted and lately I've found myself faced with a pretty big challenge in implementing the next step. Yesterday I had a telephone conversation with the person at Coastal Health Authority heading up the Tobacco-free sports program. It was a great call and I was very pleased to hear how far ahead we are compared to other companies similar to ours, but at the end of it I really wasn't that much closer to solving the problem I'm faced with right now.

First thing this morning I decided to drop in on our General Manager and get his advise on how to proceed with this project. We talked about the programs successes so far and the challenges we've faced along the way and, most importantly what we can do next. It was a very productive session and I left feeling really good about the idea and motivated to come up with the way to move it forward. Timing being on my side today, I arrived in my office shortly after only to read about yesterdays introduction by the BC Liberals of tougher legislation surrounding tobacco that will make tobacco products "invisible" by January 2008.

I was absolutely ecstatic!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for about the last 60 years or so, you know that tobacco use (especially smoking) is bad for you. You know that about 6000 British Columbian's will be killed this year directly or indirectly due to tobacco related illness and that some of these people will have never smoked in their lives. Canada wide 50 000 people will die from tobacco use and about 1000 of them will be non-smokers. You may know that tobacco accounts for 90% of all lung cancers, 75% of all emphysema deaths and 25% of all cardiovascular deaths. You may not know that about 4.9 billion people worldwide will die this year because of tobacco.

Then again, you may not care!

Climate change, global warming and other environmental issues being the hot topics these days, you may understand that the cultivation of tobacco has a significant negative impact on the world. Most tobacco is grown in the third world so you may not know just how much land is cleared and fuel is burned to grow and cure the leaf, land that could be used to grow food. You may not know that it is actually difficult to grow tobacco and therefor farmers tend to use a lot of pesticides to guarantee their crops. Since this occurs in the third world most farmers aren't protected from harmful exposure to toxins and pesticides. You may have an idea about the amount of waste smoking and tobacco packaging produces. In Canada its about 2 billion empty cigarette packages and some 50 billion butts, worldwide cigarette butts pile up to a staggering 954 million kilograms.

You may not care that much about this either!

British Columbian's are concerned (with good reason) about the state and future of our health care system. You may know that tobacco use gobbles up about $2.3 billion health care dollars in BC every year, Canada wide the number is about 6 times higher and I can only imagine what the cost world wide is. According to a study completed by the Conference Board of Canada in 1995 tobacco use costs the average employer about $2 565 more per year to employ a smoker versus a non-smoker. Two years ago I figured that my employer probably pays about $7 000 per year just to clean up after our smoking staff and customers.

Its quite possible that you don't care about this any more than my other points!

I took the bus home today. The number 16 down Hastings was packed, noisy and it didn't smell too terribly great either. About halfway through the trip my phone rang and in the midst of all that was around me I tried to listen to my Mom, clearly upset, tell me about her day. She spent it at Vancouver General Hospital where my Dad was getting a biopsy on his throat to hopefully determine the extent of damage that over forty years of smoking has done to him.

This hurts! I can't begin to tell you how much and hopefully you'll never find out on your own.

So... Excuse me while I climb up onto my beloved soapbox! To the 15% of British Columbian's that still smoke and more specifically to those that would like people like me to shut up because its "your habit", "your life" and "your right" to do whatever you want since you are only harming yourself... Your wrong! Your not only harming yourself you are killing everyone around you, including those you love physically, financially and emotionally. Quit Now!

To those of you out there that feel the need to continuously compare the supposed small impact of your habit towards respiratory disease to that of vehicle emissions... Stop it! This is not about comparing apples to oranges and the fact that one thing is probably worse in one respect than another doesn't mean that the other thing is suddenly OK. Then again, if you want to go and take a long haul off of someones tailpipe I guess you'll say that its your right to do so! Quit Now!

To those of you still out there that think we need you to keep smoking because of the supposed significant contribution that you are making to our economy in the way of the taxes you pay on cigarettes... Stop being stupid! The approximate $8 billion dollars of tax revenue generated annually from the sale of tobacco pales considerable when compared to the $15 billion spent in Canada each year to treat tobacco related illness. Quit Now!

After smoking for about 15 years I quit. It took me about 8 different tries and it was probably the most difficult thing that I have ever done, but I did it. Its been 4 years or so since my last cigarette, If I can do it anyone can... Please, quit now!