WHERE THE LEADERS ARE ON DAY 10 OF THE CAMPAIGN

Debate: Things got nasty when Green Leader Andrew Weaver, Liberal Leader Christy Clark and NDP Leader John Horgan squared off in a leaders debate this morning.

Along with verbal zingers being thrown, the debate also featured some unwanted touching. Horgan objected to Clark putting her hand on his arm while she told him to “calm down.”

B.C. NDP leader John Horgan, left to right, Liberal Leader Christy Clark and B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver pose for a photo following the leaders debate in Vancouver.

Postmedia’s Rob Shaw detailed the exchange in his column.

“The premier kept wanting to poke and poke, she was physically pushing me what was I supposed to do?” Horgan said, referencing a point where Clark asked him to calm down and touched his arm.

“What would the response have been if I had laid my hand on the premier? That’s all I‘ve got to say about that, I’ll leave it to your speculation about how that would have gone.”

At one point, Horgan turned to Clark during a debate and said he would simply continue staring at her because that’s what she likes. Horgan said he did that because “she’s photo-op premier and wants to draw attention to herself.”

“I think it was good radio, and that’s what they asked us to do,” he said.

Clark, in her media availability, said she was surprised he felt the brief touch of his arm was an issue. “I’m a little bit surprised he took it that way,” she said. “If he touched my arm and offered me a glass of water, I’d probably have said thanks I appreciate it.”

Greens:

Green Leader Andrew Weaver took part in an online election forum on the economy and climate change.

VANCOUVER — Green Leader Andrew Weaver speaks to media. (2 p.m. at 102 E 1st Ave)

Liberals:

Liberal Leader Christy Clark visited Supreme Steel in Delta where she discussed the George Massey tunnel replacement.

4:30 p.m. — Liberal Leader Christy Clark visits a Surrey retirement community. (Oasis at Elim Village, 9008 158 St. )

6 p.m. — Liberal Leader Christy Clark attends an event at candidate Marc Dalton’s Maple Ridge campaign office. (22561 Dewdney Trunk Road )

NDP:

1 p.m. —  B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan heads to Vancouver Island for a campaign announcement in Sidney. (TBA)

5:45 p.m. — B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan hosts a townhall meeting in Victoria. (TBA)

Related

• Full B.C. Election 2017 coverage

B.C.’s  major political party leaders —the Greens’ Andrew Weaver, the NDP’s John Horgan and Liberal’s Christy Clark — take part in a radio debate this morning.

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY 9 ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

LIBERALS

• Christy Clark campaigned in the Vancouver area on Wednesday, telling an event in Surrey that the Site C dam is necessary for the province’s economic well being.

• It was the second straight day that Clark highlighted the $8.8-billion hydroelectric project after she visited Fort St. John on Tuesday to tout construction jobs it has created.

• The Liberals issued their own analysis accusing the NDP of releasing a platform without costing out how to pay for it.

• Michael de Jong, the finance minister in Clark’s government, said the Liberals’ analysis of the NDP platform reveals $6.5 billion in costs that the party has not accounted for because of what he called costing errors and a failure to account for interest costs on increased spending.

NDP

• John Horgan campaigned at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he promoted his plan to eliminate interest on student loans and offer a $1,000 completion grant to people who finish their studies.

• Horgan says his party would also eliminate fees for adult basic education and English as a second language programs while maintaining a cap on tuition fees at colleges and universities.

• Carole James, the NDP’s finance critic, dismissed the Liberal accusations on its platform as “fear mongering.”

• Horgan said the numbers in the NDP platform are based on the Liberal government’s recent budget.

GREENS

• Green Leader Andrew Weaver campaigned in Kamloops where he released the party’s strategy for sustainably managing the province’s resources.

• Weaver says the party would work with industrial sectors affected by climate change to help them preserve their long term economic and environmental sustainability, and promote best practices; as well as develop an inventory of old-growth forests to determine reserves and protect them.

• The Greens would remove the provincial sales tax from machinery and equipment used for modernizing, upgrading and expanding sawmills and other wood processing businesses, starting Oct. 1.

• Party spokesman Stefan Jonsson says the Greens had 80 candidates officially approved by Elections BC ahead of a Tuesday afternoon registration deadline and were waiting to hear back on the eligibility of up to three more. A final list had not been published by Elections BC by mid-afternoon on Wednesday on all the candidates who are running in the province’s 87 ridings.

VOTING MEASURES

• Only about 48 per cent of registered voters aged 18 to 24 cast a ballot in 2013, but some university campus groups are trying to boost turnout this time, including a group called Young Climate Voters that is urging students to elect climate leaders.

• Elections BC says cards explaining where to vote were being delivered across the province on Wednesday.

• The agency is reminding voters to bring their Where to Vote card with them when to their polling places.

• Registered voters will receive a card that includes the dates, times and locations for advance voting in their district, as well as their assigned voting place for the day of the general election on May 9.

Canadian Press files

BALFOUR, B.C. — Results of water samples taken after an oil spill from a ferry in Kootenay Lake in southeastern B.C., should be available Friday.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay says water samples were taken on three separate days after gear oil spilled from the Kootenay Lake Ferry on April 15 near Balfour, northeast of Nelson.

At the time, Interior Health said a 400 metre stretch of shoreline next to the Balfour ferry terminal should be avoided.

A news release from the regional district says the spill has been contained and did not appear to have affected drinking water intakes in the area.

A faulty piece of equipment was removed from the ferry Wednesday, along with a mixture of about 400 litres of oil and water.

The regional district says any sheen still visible on the lake contains very low quantities of oil and experts have advised the sheen will dissipate or has already disappeared.

Surrey Creep Catchers have posted another video of an alleged sex predator who came to meet a seven-year-old girl Wednesday night.

The video shows a man being confronted about wanting to meet a seven-year-old girl for sex, and then being taken down by two people.

The man refused to admit that he was there to meet a child, but was forcibly kept on the ground until a security guard arrived.

The man claimed he was joking and that he knew he was talking to Creep Catchers.

The video ended after an RCMP officer handcuffed the suspect.

Ryan Laforge, the vigilante group’s leader, claimed in a Facebook post Thursday that an arrest warrant was out for him after the incident. “I’ll go to jail any day for detaining a guy who comes to meet a ‘sexy’ 7 year old. Its how we do,” he said in his post.

Surrey RCMP has refused “to confirm or deny the existence of a warrant unless there is an investigational need or public warning to be made.”

The current video follows two incidents earlier this week relating to allegations of child-luring.

Earlier this month, Surrey RCMP arrested and released Laforge after a similar encounter led to a physical altercation.

Two belugas that died at the Vancouver Aquarium last fall succumbed to a mysterious toxin, according to a five-month investigation.

Aurora, a 29-year-old female beluga, died in late November just nine days after her 21-year-old daughter Qila passed away suddenly.

An investigation involving dozens of veterinary pathologists, toxicologists, genome specialists, medical doctors, and field research scientists failed to find a specific toxin. Toxins are difficult to identify because they persist for a limited time in the blood stream.

The toxin was likely introduced by food, water or human interference, the investigation found.

“The loss of Qila and Aurora was devastating,” said Dr. Martin Haulena, Head Veterinarian at Vancouver Aquarium, in a release. “They were beloved members of our family and the community for more than two decades. Their loss is felt profoundly by our staff, members, supporters, and the public.”

The Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre Program also houses a false killer whale, a Pacific white-sided dolphin and a harbour porpoise in long-term care.

To reduce the risk of further infections the aquarium has introduced an enhanced food-screening process and has removed vegetation adjacent to the habitat. Mechanical water treatment systems are being overhauled as a precaution and a new regime of real-time testing for incoming and recirculating water has been implemented.

The aquarium has also updated security around the habitat to reduce the threat of human interference.

In 2010, Aurora’s calf Nala died just two weeks after her first birthday when her airway became blocked, and in 2005, three-year-old Tuvaq died from heart arrhythmia. Qila’s three-year-old calf, Tiqa, died of pneumonia in 2011.

Once again, fierce debate has ignited over whether the aquarium should continue holding whales, dolphins and porpoises in its tanks. 

In 1996, the Vancouver park board passed a bylaw forbidding the aquarium from capturing its animals. The aquarium currently has five belugas on loan to U.S. marine parks for breeding.

rshore@postmedia.com

With a file from Nick Eagland.

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Aurora at the Vancouver Aquarium in 2002.

At least two people have been seriously injured after a Western Forest Products logging train derailed this morning in Woss, a small community 130 kilometres north of Campbell River on Vancouver Island.

The Coroner has been called to the area which means there’s a possible fatality.

The derailment caused logs to tip off the carts, trapping at least three people underneath, said Woss’ regional district director David Rushton.

“A whole load of logs came down and trapped some guys,” said Rushton, a retired logger. “I know everybody involved, the whole community does. It’s a tough time for our little community.”

B.C. Ambulance paramedics were called to the area of Cougar Crescent just before 9 a.m. One person has been air lifted to hospital while another person has been transported via ambulance.

RCMP and fire crews are also on scene.

Rushton was initially told his 21-year-old grandson Lucas was among the crewmembers but it turned out he had switched to another crew at the last minute this morning.

“All I know is my grandson is home now and I never hugged him so hard,” he said.

Lucas, who has worked for the company for about two years, is now concerned for his friends, Rushton said.

The aftermath of the derailment was confined to the railroad area, but it “came too close for comfort to some of the homes,” Rushton said.

It’s still unclear what caused the logging train to derail.

“Very few details are available at this time but RCMP can confirm that several individuals have been injured,” said RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Tammy Douglas said. “The full extent of those injuries are not known. The cause of the incident remains under investigation and the area has been cordoned off. More information will be released when available.”

Western Forest Products president and CEO Don Demens said in a statement: “We are saddened to report an incident with a train derailment in Woss, B.C. this morning. The train was carrying Western Forest Products’ personnel and materials. The safety and security of our staff and the communities where we work are paramount. We are cooperating fully with all authorities and will continue to do so. We will provide updates as information becomes available.”

Work Safe B.C. spokeswoman Trish Chernecki said the agency received a call from the RCMP at 9:54 a.m. “about a serious incident at a worksite in Woss.” Work Safe investigators have been dispatched to the area.

The train was travelling on the Englewood Railway, a 90-kilometre logging railroad stationed in Woss, which runs from Vernon Lake, through Woss, past Nimpkish Lake Provincial Park to Beaver Cove. It’s the last operating logging railroad in North America.

Rushton, who has been regional director for 15 years, said there have been minor derailments in the past “but nothing like this.”

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Vancouver Island train derailment.

The leaders of B.C.’s three political parties sparred for the first time in the 2017 election Thursday in a radio debate that, at times, turned testy.

B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark, B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan and B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver participated in a debate at News 1130 moderated by retired broadcaster Bill Good.

Clark and Horgan directly attacked one another after their opening statements, when the topic turned to the economy.

Horgan defended his party’s platform as fully costed, amid accusations from the Liberals there’s more than $6 billion in un-costed or improperly costed promises.

“We tabled a fully costed platform last week based on the numbers the ministry of finance tabled in February,” said Horgan. 

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan.

“That is just not true, the NDP plan is not costed,” rebutted Clark. “Just 14 of the promises they laid out were costed, it’s a $6 billion hole in that.”

“Yesterday your finance minster made an embarrassment of himself,” replied Horgan, referencing a press conference in which Mike de Jong was challenged for his estimates on the Liberal platform.

“Whenever she gets in a corner she makes stuff up, Bill.”

“You’ve got to use some real facts,” Horgan said as he and Clark talked over each other. “Where is Sean Spicer?” he added, referencing the U.S. press secretary some accuse of making up facts during his public briefings.

Clark said B.C.’s economy is doing better than anywhere else in Canada, and that the NDP would take it back to when they were in government in the 1990s. “It’s the same old playbook from the 1990s,” she said.

Clark promoted her government’s policies to help first-time homebuyers secure government-backed loans with no interest. Horgan called that disrespectful to renters, who can never afford to buy, accusing Clark of viewing the province from “the first class lounge” and her luxury jets.

Weaver also attacked the Liberals for “16 years of mean-spirited policies” and promises in the 2013 election that failed to materialize on liquified natural gas.

“Four years ago we were being told that we were going to see 100,000 jobs, a $100 billion increase in the prosperity fund, a $1 trillion increase in GD, debt-free B.C…. unicorns in each and every one of our backyards. And here we are years later and what has transpired? Nothing. This election is really about trust,” he said.

“This election British Columbians have an option and that option is the B.C. Green Party.” 

Related

• B.C. Election 2017: Fact checking the leaders debate
• Full B.C. Election 2017 coverage

When the topic turned to the overdose crisis, the three leaders outlined potential improvements to overdoses services. Clark tried to say the issue transcends politics. “You are all politics all the time,” said Horgan, who complained to moderator Good about not getting equal time. “You don’t know anything but politics.”

The leaders also debated tolls on Metro Vancouver bridges. The NDP have proposed to eliminate bridge tolls, where Clark has promised a $500 annual cap for motorists. Clark said she’s proposing a cap because the economy can afford it. Horgan said tolls are unfair to motorists south of the Fraser River. Weaver was not asked to speak on tolls.

Clark and Horgan sparred on tolls before Horgan complained about his speaking time again. Clark told Horgan to “calm down” and Horgan asked her not to touch his arm. 

Liberal Leader Christy Clark.

Clark was pressed to answer why she forced the Metro region to undergo a transit referendum after the 2013 election but charged forward with the George Massey Bridge replacement project without such a referendum. She argued it was because the bridge will be a provincial asset, not owned by TransLink, and spans communities. Horgan said that was outrageous, and that the government should follow the lead of the regional mayors’ transportation plan.

Weaver said Clark’s government has “abdicated” its responsibility for transit in the Metro region.

Weaver said a road pricing scheme for the Lower Mainland would be fair and systems are already used in other parts of the world. “It’s good public policy and doesn’t burden future generations of the promises of today.”

On the Site C dam project, Clark defended pushing forward with the $8 billion project to create jobs and meet electricity needs for 40 years. Horgan repeated his promise to put the project under a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission. Weaver said it’s a too expensive means of producing power.

On the federal government’s pending legalization of marijuana, Weaver said he’d like to encourage a craft pot industry that thrives like craft beer. “This is like saying do you want Labatt Blue or Molson Canadian or would you rather have your local craft beer?” he said.

Clark said her top priority is to make sure children can’t access marijuana. “That’s the number one priority for me, making sure we limit it once government has given it its seal of approval,” said Clark. “We need to have a system that makes sure marijuana is not available to young people.”

Ottawa has suggested an age of 18 for purchase but it is up to the provinces. “I think in British Columbia you can’t get liquor until you are 19, so for heaven sakes lets at least put it to 19,” said Clark.

Horgan said he has had MLAs research the issue and will develop a plan. Clark said the NDP want to sell marijuana in liquor stores as well, which Horgan did not deny. Weaver said the Liberals have done nothing.

On childcare, Weaver said a Green government would provide free child care for young children over a four-year mandate. Horgan said his $10-a-day child care plan will take 10 years to phase in but is what advocates are calling for in B.C. “Our plan will start by focusing on the most difficult places to find care, infants and toddlers, and build from there,” he said.

Clark said the NDP will have to raise taxes. “Do you think our kids deserve child care today?” interjected Horgan.

“But you are not going to deliver it until those kids have a driver’s license,” shot back Clark.

Clark said B.C. will match Ottawa’s new child care funding to create 8,000 new spaces.

Reporters watch Christy Clark, John Horgan and Andrew Weaver debate at City TV. Nick Procaylo, PNG

On seniors health care, Clark said the Liberals have offered tax credits and will keep costs down within government. Horgan said nine out of 10 senior homes are failing to meet standards. “The B.C. Liberals have failed seniors and failed seniors miserably,” he said. 

Weaver said the Liberal policy of boutique tax credits hasn’t benefited seniors, and that many elderly aren’t even aware there are taxes they don’t have to pay or are exempt from.

Clark and Horgan both struggled to explain how they would pay for their promised reductions or eliminations of Medical Services Plan premiums. Clark has promised a 50 per cent cut to some people in 2018, and an elimination of the tax at an undetermined date in the future when the economy could afford it. She did not say how she would pay for that.

Horgan has also promised to reduce and then eliminate MSP over his term. He also did not say how he’d pay for it, and did not repeat NDP candidate Carole James’s comment Wednesday that the MSP costs would be rolled into the income tax system.

In their closing comments, Weaver said the election is a matter of trust between a Liberal party that is beholden to corporate donations, an NDP that has failed to inspire the public for 16 years and a Green party that has followed through on its promises.

Clark warned that you can’t trust promises that aren’t affordable. ”

“People can propose all kinds of plans, but if you don’t have a plan you can afford and pay for its not a plan at all,” she said.

Horgan said there is a stark difference between his party and the others. He said he plans to make life more affordable, restore eroded services and make sure the economy is working for everyone.

“I don’t believe we can afford another four years of B.C. Liberals and Christy Clark.”

At post-debate media availabilities, the leaders answered questions about their performances.

Weaver said he deliberately focused his attacks on the Liberals, with fewer mentions of the NDP, because he saw Horgan under attack by Clark. ” 

B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver.

“How do you expect someone to listen to you if all you do is hurl abuse at them?” he asked.

He also said he deliberately tried to stay out of the back and forth bickering, but thought his opponents were petty in the way they attacked one another.

“It’s not my style to bicker and I find it frankly disrespectful and rude, because you aren’t letting someone get their voices out,” said Weaver. He also said the false comments made by Horgan and Clark about Green issues were “never-ending.”

“The rhetoric, the statements, it’s just the soundbites,” he said. “What we were hearing was never-ending soundbites from the premier. I felt British Columbians deserve more than soundbites.”

Horgan defended his repeated clashes with Clark and the tone of his interjections that spoke over top of her. It was contrary to the advice he said he’d received in advance of the debate.

“It was my sense that the premier was taking liberties with the truth, using facts that were alternative to the reality most people live with,” he said. 

Horgan said people wanted to see a leader who would rise up and be passionate. 

“The premier kept wanting to poke and poke, she was physically pushing me what was I supposed to do?” Horgan said, referencing a point where Clark asked him to calm down and touched his arm.

“What would the response have been if I had laid my hand on the premier? That’s all I‘ve got to say about that, I’ll leave it to your speculation about how that would have gone.”

At one point, Horgan turned to Clark during a debate and said he would simply continue staring at her because that’s what she likes. Horgan said he did that because ““she’s photo-op premier and wants to draw attention to herself.”

“I think it was good radio, and that’s what they asked us to do,” he said.

Clark, in her media availability, said she was surprised he felt the brief touch of his arm was an issue. “I’m a little bit surprised he took it that way,” she said. “If he touched my arm and offered me a glass of water, I’d probably have said thanks I appreciate it.”

“The thing is we’re colleagues in the legislature and we talk outside the legislature, sometimes people touch each other,” she added later, when asked if she’d have been offended by Horgan touching her arm and telling her to calm down.

“For me, this debate was a chance for us to talk about our plans, which I certainly tried to do. I don’t think I would have been offended by that. It’s something that colleagues sometimes do I guess. I certainly didn’t intend to offend him.”

Clark sidestepped whether she felt whether the two male leaders were “mansplaining” issues to her, as Liberal staffers on Twitter alleged after the debate. “Mr. Horgan was the same John Horgan I’ve known for years,” she said, simply.

Clark said she felt she adequately explained her government’s MSP plan and how to pay for it over time, with an eventual phase out if the economy allows.

rshaw@postmedia.com

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The marijuana enthusiasts are starting to roll onto Sunset Beach for the annual 4/20 marijuana demonstration.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the rally which features open drug use and drug sales. 

A man wears a marijuana leaf mask during the annual 4/20 cannabis culture celebration at Sunset Beach in Vancouver.

Police, fire, City of Vancouver, Park Board and BC Ambulance Service staff will be on hand to monitor the event.

Related

• Annual 4/20 pot protest likely to disrupt traffic in two locations Thursday

Postmedia’s Nick Eagland is also on the scene:

 “We are reminding motorists to avoid the area around Sunset Beach, and advising those consuming marijuana not to choose to drive,” VPD Const Jason Doucette said in a release“Additional traffic enforcement officers will be working to keep our roadways safe during and after the events.”

Doucette said, as of 1:45 p.m., there have not been any serious incidents reported at Sunset Beach or the Vancouver Art Gallery

Eagland says the wet weather has led to some muddy conditions at Sunset Beach.

An alternate 4/20 rally has sprung up — complete with retail tents selling marijuana products — at the Vancouver Art Gallery, which was the traditional site of the demonstration until last year.

Postmedia reporter Dan Fumano is reporting live from the Sunset Beach rally. 

The federal government announced plans earlier this month to legalize marijuana — a goal it hopes to achieve by July 2018. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that he has no intention to decriminalize pot until legalization is in place.

Under the proposed legislation, possession of up to 30 grams of pot would be allowed, and up to four plants can be grown per residence.

Fumano caught up with marijuana activist Jodie Emery, Vancouver’s self-titled “Princess of Pot.”

Males are a minority among the more than 50,000 students on the University of B.C. campus, where females make up the majority.

And white males are a smaller minority again, making up only one in six students on the campus, where most students have ethnic Asian backgrounds.

But there have been few complaints about how males, particularly those who are white, are a visible minority that appear to be fair game for ridicule and mockery on the UBC campus.

The staff of the Ubyssey student newspaper this month published a “spoof edition” called Breitbarf, which is a take off on the conservative, nativist U.S. news outlet, Breitbart.

The Ubyssey staff’s version of Breitbart is almost entirely focussed on targeting young males as lazy, self-righteous morons. (Go here to read Breitbarf; scroll down for samples.)

The Ubyssey edition slams young males for having “micro penises,” being dependent on their mothers, adoring Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, being obsessed with video games, making fun of ethnic minorities and generally being creepy.

Excerpt from Ubyssey staff’s ‘humour’

The Ubyssey newspaper staff felt comfortable producing this edition despite frequent proclamations by university officials that everyone on campus must respect “diversity.”

The Ubyssey staff also published this humor edition despite claiming in the masthead of the same edition that no submission can contain “sexism,” “harassment” or “discrimination.” It got me thinking out loud (sometimes an unwise thing to do).

This Ubyssey edition has been distributed on a campus where there are arguably as many white males wearing construction hardhats as there are white male students — an indicator that males form the bulk of the country’s blue-collar class.

Is this humor edition of the student newspaper, The Ubyssey, a new example of a kind of bigotry? Wonder what readers think.

The Oxford Dictionary defines bigotry as “revealing an obstinate belief in the superiority of one’s opinions and a prejudiced intolerance of the opinions of others.”

Could this edition of The Ubyssey (for which I wrote decades ago) be an example of elitist university students mocking others based on their race, gender and in some cases their educational and economic class?

Top of page 1 of Ubyssey spoof edition

The spoof edition appears to have been put together by a crew of regular Ubyssey staff made up of white males, white females, Asian females and others.

I talked this morning to Breitbarf coordinating editor Jack Hauen, who also writes for a satirical magazine. He said the only complaints  received so far are from a UBC free speech group.

“I think there is white male privilege everywhere,” Hauen said, justifying making fun of white males, whom he generally considers more powerful than women or members of ethnic minorities in Canada.

When I mentioned many white Canadian males are struggling (with much higher rates of suicide and workplace deaths, for instance), Hauen maintained the edition is not jeering all white men, but the kind who identify with the values of Breitbart News, which he considers racist and sexist.

The Ubyssey spoof edition, which has a tradition of using fake bylines, also pokes fun at free-speech advocates whom Hauen says like to criticize others but “can’t take the heat” when they’re the subject of scorn.

The edition raises many issues about the ethics of satire. Maybe I’ll have time to get into them further after hearing readers’ views, but for now this quick online post will have to do.

Among other things it reminds me of how feminists long ago decided to hold their ground when males poked fun at them and accused them of being humourless. Don’t hear many anti-female jokes any more.

Below are four samples of the Ubyssey staff’s numerous articles.

What do readers think?

dtodd@postmedia.com

TransLink is more than doubling the number of hybrid articulated buses in its fleet, with the first batch of new vehicles arriving in time for Earth Day on April 22.

The regional transit authority is rolling out a total of 26 new hybrid diesel-electric New Flyer XDE60 articulated buses this month. They will be based at the Burnaby transit centre and serve nearby B-Line and other high-occupancy routes.

The buses, which use 17-per-cent less fuel than the diesel-powered models, will replace buses that went into service 17 years ago.

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• Election: Horgan says replacing Pattullo Bridge is a top priority
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TransLink already has 21 hybrid articulated buses that went into service in May 2016. With the new buses, TransLink will have a total of 252 hybrid buses in service in Metro Vancouver, plus 262 zero-emission trolley buses.

TransLink has also applied to Metro Vancouver for $121 million in federal gas tax money from the Greater Vancouver Regional Fund to purchase 134 new vehicles and bus equipment.

According to a report to Metro’s finance and intergovernmental committee, TransLink intends to buy 105 new diesel-electric hybrid buses — 94 conventional and 11 articulated — 12 gas-powered community shuttles, 13 gas-powered HandyDART vehicles, four electric battery buses and an on-route charging unit, and equipment to retrofit 99 older buses to expand service in the short term.

The electric buses will be part of a national electric battery bus pilot project and run along the 100 Marpole Loop-22nd Street station route. The charging unit will be placed on that route.

The finance and intergovernmental committee recommended that the Metro Vancouver board approve the funding. The board will consider the recommendation at a future meeting. If the board approves, the Union of B.C. Municipalities, which holds the gas tax money in trust, will be notified.

The new vehicles will be added in 2018, and the older buses retrofitted this year.

jensaltman@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jensaltman

B.C. Chief Robert Joseph regrets Canadians are becoming “too positional” about residential schools.

Though Joseph became an alcoholic after suffering abuse at St. Michael’s Residential School in Alert Bay, he worries Canadians are giving into black-and-white thinking about the defunct school system, which was attended by almost 140,000 aboriginals.

Joseph, for instance, would appreciate talking with embattled Senator Lynn Beyak. She caused a furor by saying it’s unfortunate the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report didn’t include a focus on how some residential-school students had positive experiences and many continue to be Christians.  

Since early March, Beyak has been condemned and ridiculed by noted politicians, pundits and aboriginals. Her Conservative party acceded to demands by removing her from the Senate committee on aboriginal affairs.

But Joseph doesn’t believe it’s wise to silence someone for just stating her position, whatever he thinks of it. “I think (Beyak) has a voice we need to reach out to. It might give us ideas about developing relationships with people no matter what camps they’re in.”

After recovering 20 years ago from being a “town drunk,” Joseph began in 2012 to head Reconciliation Canada, an organization (funded in part by Vancity credit union) for educating about residential schools. He’s been awarded the Order of B.C. and an honorary degree from UBC.

Related

• Spotlight movie shows people need to be ready for the truth
• Residential school blues
• First Nations circle heals Bishop O'Connor scars

Joseph emphasizes the federally funded, church-run residential schools were the product of a racist policy of “forced assimilation” that has contributed – however well-intentioned some school staff may have been — to high rates of aboriginal addiction, poverty and suicide.

Ottawa has paid out $1.6 billion in the past decade to almost 80,000 living survivors, with large sums going to the minority who were sexually abused and smaller amounts to those who proved they simply attended.

Nearly every one of the more than 120 schools were closed by the early ‘70s.

But, judging from the media and polls, it seems the further the reality of the schools fades into the past the more over-simplified the national narrative becomes.

Partisanship, positioning and rhetoric seems to be taking precedence over “truth” or even “reconciliation.”

The dangers of black-and-white thinking

It’s common now for scholars to talk about the dangers of “binary” thinking, also known as “dualism.” These terms describe people stuck in divisive either-or mindsets.

But even though many Canadians are encouraging such black-and-white thinking about residential schools, Joseph continues to care about the complexities, which is where he believes relationships can emerge.

“Canadians now see the wreckage of the residential-school past and wonder how are we going to find a new way forward. I wouldn’t want to have a reconciliation that simply balances the ledger and still has hatred afterwards. That would be tragic; that would be same old, same old.”

A member of Vancouver Island’s Kwagu’t First Nation, Joseph recognizes some good people worked at the residential schools.

“I think about them and wonder where they are and, if I had a chance to talk to them, I would like to thank them for their service and their kindness.”

And even though Joseph’s 11 years at Anglican-run St. Michael’s caused him to leave the school with a “sense of hopelessness,” he recognizes some fellow aboriginals credit the schools with teaching them to be leaders.

Nisga’a chief Joe Gosnell and the late MLA Frank Calder, early architects of self-government treaties in B.C., are glad their children didn’t have to go to residential schools, but they’re also clear they learned skills at them and found many teachers to be dedicated.

University of Saskatchewan historian emeritus Jim Miller, author of Compact, Contract, Covenant: Aboriginal Treaty-Making in Canada, suggests Gosnell and Calder are typical of ”the silent majority” of Canada’s aboriginals.

Despite a misconception among urban Canadians that aboriginals hate churches, Christianity is integral to two of three of the country’s 1.4 million indigenous people. Photo: Squamish Nation elder Rennie Nahanee (right), Roman Catholic deacon.

While Miller indicts the residential-school system, he says a tiny minority of aboriginal people hold completely positive thoughts about residential schools, while a slightly larger minority at the other end despise everything about them.

But the vast majority of  aboriginals, suggests Miller, are like Gosnell and Calder: They emerged intact from the schools and remain Christian, with many syncretistically mixing their faith in Jesus Christ with native spiritual traditions.

Squamish Nation elder Rennie Nahanee echoes their approach. He believes aboriginals abused at church-run residential schools “have a right to be angry,” but he nevertheless became a Roman Catholic deacon and serves at St. Paul’s Indian Catholic Church in North Vancouver.

Nahanee regrets that some good things that happened in the schools are being ignored. “People,” Nahanee said, “are now afraid to say positive things.” 

Both gut-wrenching and hopeful stories

Unlike many Canadian journalists in these times of tight newsroom budgets, I’ve had the privilege to visit aboriginal B.C. villages like New Aiyansh, Kitimaat and Canim Lake.

I’ve been able to talk to scores of residential-school survivors, cover numerous abuse court cases and take part in First Nations healing circles; writing more than 100 articles about residential-school crimes and conditions.

Many stories I’ve heard have been gut-wrenching, but some, like those of Gosnell, mix hardship with personal development.

Some aboriginals recognize that by the 1980s, Anglican and United Church leaders (followed later by Catholics) had not only apologized numerous times for their part in operating the schools, but many clergy were at the forefront of fighting for land claims.

It’s part of the reason that last Easter weekend many pews across the country, especially in the north, were packed with some of the almost 900,000 aboriginal Canadians who are Christians.

The ongoing strength of Christianity among the country’s 1.4 million aboriginals is counter-intuitive to the way the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the schools a form of “cultural genocide.”

It’s a term Angus Reid polls show has also been widely adopted by Canadians, even while it has no clear dictionary or legal definition and, for that reason, has never been adopted by the United Nations.

Some commentators suggest that Canadian aboriginals who consider themselves Christian simply continue to be victims of cultural genocide and European colonialism. But such commentators could be accused of being patronizing.

Chief Joseph, for his part, says: “Aboriginals who choose to become Christians should be applauded. They made a choice and it’s a good choice. People need to have a deep love for themselves, and for peace. It doesn’t matter what religion or world view you find that in.”

His own love of peace keeps big-hearted Joseph spearheading Reconciliation Canada, including by working with major resource companies dedicated to aboriginal treaties and ecological sustainability.

Instead of opting for over-simplified thinking about the residential schools, Joseph reminds all Canadians that, no matter how much disgust and blame they might feel toward the country’s early settlers: “No one is leaving.”

In other words, he’s aware that tens of millions of Canadian-born people and immigrants who have indirectly ‘benefited’ from colonialism are not about to depart the country, to leave it to First Nations people.

“Over time we should realize, as people sharing the land, we all belong here,” says Joseph. “The sooner we discover that the sooner we’ll be working together and cheering each other on.”

dtodd@postmedia.com

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Blog: www.vancouversun.com/douglastodd

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Saturday is Record Store Day, a celebration of the world’s independent record stores. Many acts release special 45s or LPs for the event, but the Grateful Dead have really gone to town, with 11 releases between 2011 and 2016.

This year’s Grateful Dead Record Store Day release is from Vancouver: the band’s performance at the PNE Gardens on July 29, 1966. The album cover is a psychedelic masterpiece by Vancouver rock poster legend Bob Masse.

It was the Dead’s first appearance outside the U.S., and they were totally unknown — their debut album wouldn’t be released for another seven months. In fact, the Dead weren’t even advertised on the poster for the show.

The Dead were in town for the Trips Festival, a three-day event that also included future San Francisco legends Big Brother and the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin) and local legend Al Neil.

The poster for the Vancouver Trips Festival.

It was inspired by a wildly successful Trips Festival in San Francisco from Jan. 21 to 23, 1966, that was part of the famous (or infamous) “acid test” parties organized by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. The Ultimate Classic Rock website says the San Francisco Trips Festival “is widely credited with being the start of the hippie counterculture.”

One of the organizers of the Vancouver show was artist Sam Perry, a pioneer of psychedelic light shows — which may explain why the event was promoted as a “multimedia sensorium of music, film, slides, and moving liquid utilizing over fifty projectors and 25,000 square feet of screen.”

Unfortunately, the Vancouver Trips festival was a little too ambitious.

“It bombed financially,” said Jerry Kruz, the promoter behind Vancouver’s first psychedelic club, The Afterthought.

Kruz went backstage to meet all the bands, and “clicked” with Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia.

“I said, ‘Would you hold over (in town) and play in my dance hall next week?’ He said, ‘We’d love to,’” Kruz recounts.

“They were crashing at a place called the Peace House on Point Grey Road. I said, ‘I’ll put you up in a hotel,’ and they said ‘Great.’ So I put them up on Kingsway in (the 2400) Motel, which was owned by a friend of my dad’s.”

Aug. 5, 1966 poster for the Grateful Dead at the Afterthought by Bob Masse.

The Dead’s space was in the basement of the main building at the motel. And it didn’t impress their manager.

“Their manager at the time was Owsley (Stanley), who was notorious at the time for distributing LSD,” said Kruz.

“It was legal at the time, just for the record. He said, ‘This is not good enough for them.’ I said, ‘Well, this is better than what they had! I’m paying them 500 bucks, what else do you want?’”

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The Dead were in town for a week before their gig at the Pender Ballroom. Kruz “hung out and partied” with the band. One afternoon, he was driving down Beach Avenue in the West End when Garcia spotted the gazebo at Alexandra Park.

“He said ‘We want to play there,’” said Kruz.

“I thought, ‘I can’t argue with this man, I’ve already argued with Owsley.’ So we got the truck and equipment, set up, and the police quickly shut it down. They played a couple (of songs). Enough that the traffic stopped. It was the first free show they ever did, anywhere in the world.”

Another poster for the Grateful Dead’s Aug. 5, 1966 show at the Afterthought. The poster was done by Bruce Dowad.

Word got around that the Grateful Dead were happening, and when they took the stage Aug. 5, the place was jammed.

“There was probably a thousand people in the room, more than I would say (were) at the Trips Festival,” said Kruz.

“It was shoulder to shoulder. Everybody (had gotten) hip to who they were — it just took that week to be known.”

It was a wild show. Owsley lived up to his rep as the pied piper of LSD by giving “everybody that opened their mouth up” a tab of acid.

“The entire audience,” said Kruz.

“Really. The police came at midnight and tried to close the dance hall down. They came up to me and said, ‘Kruz, you know you’re supposed to stop at midnight.’

“I took them into the foyer at the Pender Auditorium, opened the doors and you could feel the energy of the room vibrating. I said, ‘Do you want to shut this down?’ The Dead, coincidentally, were jamming on (Wilson Pickett’s) The Midnight Hour.

“The police looked at me and said, ‘Just let it die down.’ And they left. That was the one and only time they never hassled me.”

Alas, the Dead’s show at the Pender Ballroom wasn’t recorded, “because Owsley was pissed off at me.” But now the world has the next-best thing — a recording of the Grateful Dead a week earlier at the Trips Festival.

jmackie@postmedia.com

Bob Masse’s psychedelic poster for the Grateful Dead’s appearance at the Trips Festival in Vancouver has been used as the cover for a recording of the show.

July 29-31, 1966 handbill showing the lineup for the Trips Festival in Vancouver.

1967 handout photo of the Grateful Dead.

WOSS — Three people have been killed and two people are seriously injured after a Western Forest Products logging train derailed Thursday morning in Woss, a hamlet between Port McNeill and Campbell River.

RCMP confirmed Friday morning that one of three men flown to hospital has died, bringing the total fatalities from Thursday’s derailment to three. Two men remain in hospital.

The train was in a re-load yard when it suddenly rolled down the tracks and collided with a track maintenance car where men were working. The collision caused logs to spill across the railway tracks, trapping at least three workers underneath, said Woss regional district director David Rushton.

“A whole load of logs came down and trapped some guys,” said Rushton, a retired logger.

“I know everybody involved, the whole community does. It’s a tough time for our little community.” He said it’s too early to identify the victims.

B.C. Ambulance unit chief Nat Pottage said by the time he arrived, two men had been rescued from under the logs. It took about 60 loggers, firefighters, police and paramedics just under five hours to get the last man out from under the logs, he said.

Western Forest Products crews used excavators to carefully remove logs one by one so the pile didn’t collapse.

“It was a bad scene and all things considered it went well,” Pottage said.

“The RCMP would like to acknowledge the significant efforts by first responders to deal with those trapped,” said RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Tammy Douglas.

Paramedics were called to the area of Cougar Crescent just before 9 a.m. Two people were airlifted to Victoria General Hospital while one person was transported to Campbell River hospital via ground ambulance.

Dr. Brendan Carr, CEO and president of Island Health, said this morning that he wants to thank the doctors, nurses, clinical and support teams and site leaders “who responded with professionalism and compassion.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the emergency response efforts of the residents of Woss and neighbouring communities, the RCMP and victim services, B.C. Emergency Health Services, North Island Critical Incident Response Network, North Island Crisis and Counselling teams and all of those who rallied during this crisis,” Carr said. “Woss is a very small community and this tragic accident will no doubt have a devastating impact on all residents in the region,”

Counsellors from the Upper Island Counselling Services Society are in Woss today offering support to anyone who needs it. Woss has a population of under 200 people.

Rushton was initially told his 21-year-old grandson, Lucas, was among the crew members, but it turned out he had switched to another crew at the last minute Thursday morning.

“All I know is my grandson is home now and I never hugged him so hard,” he said. Lucas, who has worked for the company for about two years, is now concerned for his friends, Rushton said.

The aftermath of the derailment was confined to the railway area, but it “came too close for comfort to some of the homes,” Rushton said.

It’s unclear what caused the logging train to hit the track maintenance car and derail. “The cause of the incident remains under investigation and the area has been cordoned off,” Douglas said.

The RCMP, B.C. Coroners Service, Work Safe B.C. and the Transportation Safety Board are all investigating.

Western Forest Products president and CEO Don Demens said in a statement: “At this time, we express our deepest concern and condolences to the families, friends, and co-workers of those whose lives were lost this morning and who are injured. Our hearts and minds are with them.”

In an earlier statement, Demens said: “The safety and security of our staff and the communities where we work are paramount. We are co-operating fully with all authorities and will continue to do so.

Work Safe B.C. spokeswoman Trish Chernecki said the agency received a call from the RCMP at 9:54 a.m. “about a serious incident at a work site in Woss.” Work Safe investigators were dispatched.

The train was travelling on the Englewood Railway, a 90-kilometre logging line which runs from Vernon Lake, through Woss, past Nimpkish Lake Provincial Park to Beaver Cove. It’s believed to be the last operating logging railway in North America.

Rushton, who has been regional director for 15 years, said there have been minor derailments in the past “but nothing like this.”

kderosa@timescolonist.com

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Several people injured in logging-train derailment north of Campbell River.

Several people injured in logging-train derailment north of Campbell River.

Metro Vancouver spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year dealing with problems caused by the strange things people flush down their toilets.

To prevent clogs, equipment damage, sewage overflows and environmental damage, the regional district has launched a campaign targeting “The Unflushables.”

“You wouldn’t believe some of the items that people flush, but it’s the everyday objects that people often don’t think about that can cause the biggest problems,” said Metro Vancouver utilities committee chair Darrell Mussatto in a news release.

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The campaign focuses on the worst offenders for clogged drains: wipes, paper towels, dental floss, hair, tampons and applicators, and condoms. Metro Vancouver spends at least $100,000 annually to de-clog sewage pumping stations, and hundreds of thousands on top of that to replace damaged equipment.

The campaign also discourages people from flushing medications down the toilet.

“Flushing medication is problematic as it is difficult for wastewater treatment systems to fully remove them and they may end up in the aquatic environment,” said Mussatto. “Unused and expired medications should be disposed of properly at a local pharmacy.”

The campaign will build on Metro Vancouver’s “Never Flush Wipes” campaign and the “Wipe It, Green Bin It” grease pilots in Richmond and Surrey.

jensaltman@postmedia.com

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B.C. SPCA officers seized 25 sick and neglected animals, including nine pigs, from a Mission property on Thursday.

Senior animal protection officer Eileen Drever said the animals were suffering from a wide range of medical conditions, including “serious malnourishment, parasites, skin and eye conditions, lice, flared hooves and heavy matting,” while the property was strewn with hazardous debris.

During the raid, the owner of the animals allegedly pepper-sprayed several SPCA staff.

Drever said officers seized nine pigs, three goats, three turkeys, two alpacas, two horses, a llama, a miniature horse, a miniature pony and a calf, as well as two dogs.

The farm animals are being cared for at the SPCA’s Surrey branch in the Good Shepherd large animal barn as the investigation continues. The SPCA will be recommending animal cruelty charges against the owner.

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VANCOUVER — The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial in a defamation lawsuit against the National Post by climate-scientist and politician Andrew Weaver, who was originally awarded $50,000 in damages.

The lawsuit involved four articles published by the Post in 2009 and 2010 that Weaver claimed defamed him by implying he fabricated stories about the fossil fuel industry and allegedly engaged in deceitful, unscientific conduct.

A B.C. Supreme Court justice found Weaver was defamed, but the appeal court overturned the decision, saying the judge made a mistake by considering the four articles together.

At the time the articles were published, Weaver was a University of Victoria professor who had participated in a U.N. panel on climate change, but he’s now the leader of the Green party in B.C.’s legislature.

The unanimous ruling from the panel of three judges says the trial judge should not have taken a combined approach to the articles, noting there was no case made of a conspiracy or concerted action by the authors.

Weaver called the decision interesting today, but says he’ll have to leave the appeal to his lawyer as he has an election campaign to run in B.C.

Gunfire is being blamed for a smashed window at a Kitsilano photography shop on Friday.

At around 5 a.m., Vancouver police were called to Kingdom Photo at 3263 Broadway following a report of breaking glass. Officers determined the store’s front window had been shattered by gunshots.

There were no reports of injuries.

Investigators are trying to figure out a motive for the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Vancouver Police or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-8477.

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan boosted his transit promises Friday by saying his government would immediately fund a replacement for the aging Pattullo Bridge. 

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan.

The funding, which is part of the NDP’s proposed $10 billion capital plan, would mean the bridge is replaced before the second phase of the TransLink Mayors’ Council transit plan, said Horgan.

“The B.C. government has not committed to helping the mayors in this regard, and I will,” he said.

“I’m committed to making sure we end the chaos in traffic in the region by replacing the Pattullo Bridge. The mayors know it needs to get done, Christy Clark has not been at the table. We’re going to make sure that happens, that mayors understand they have a partner when it comes to replacing this critical piece of infrastructure in the Lower Mainland.”

The move means an NDP government would fund 40 per cent of a new Pattullo bidge. A 2014 estimate pegged a replacement bridge between New Westminster and Surrey at more than $1 billion, with the cost to be covered by tolls. The B.C. Liberal government has, in the past, promised one-third funding for the project but has not attached specific dollar figures.

The Mayor’s Council says immediate action on the Pattullo replacement is needed, so that procurement could begin this fall to start a five- to six-year construction schedule. That would coincide roughly when engineers say the old bridge has reached the end of its lifespan.

“It’s positive news that we’re talking about the Pattullo Bridge,” said New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote, who chairs the Mayor’s Council subcommittee on funding strategy.

“It has kind of become the forgotten piece of transportation infrastructure in Metro Vancouver and the reality is its reached the end of its life.”

Further complicating the Pattullo project is that mayors had originally intended to recover half the cost with tolls. But the NDP has promised to scrap Metro Vancouver bridge tolls and the Liberals have promised to cap them at $500 a year per driver. Both promises throw into question a key source of bridge financing, said Cote.

“All of that funding for the new bridge should be made up by whomever forms the next provincial government,” said Cote. “If that’s the case, we’re close to moving forward to starting the procurement stage. If that’s not the case, that could be a huge problem for us.”

Horgan also reiterated his promise of 40 per cent provincial funding for the TransLink Mayor’s Council’s 10-year transit plan, which includes more B-line buses, Seabuses, and major projects like the Broadway subway line and Surrey light rail.

The NDP promised the 40 per cent funding several months ago, which was more than the 33 per cent provincial funding the B.C. Liberals had promised for the Broadway and Surrey transit projects. The Liberals have since bumped up their share to 40 per cent. The federal government has promised $2.2 billion. It’s still unclear how the municipal governments and mayors would fund their local share of the rapid transit expansions.

However, the Liberals have charged forward on the Massey Bridge tunnel replacement project, which the mayors say is a lesser priority, rather than Pattullo.

“We’re focusing on the Pattullo Bridge because the B.C. Liberals have failed to do that,” said Horgan.

“Instead of focusing on the needs of the community and region as outlined by the work of the Mayor’s Council, they are picking pet projects and putting those ahead of others in the queue. We need to give assurances to the mayors we are fully on board. And we have to get moving on Pattullo, its decaying and will be past its useful life by 2023. We need to make funding commitments now so we can get that built.”

rshaw@postmedia.com

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VICTORIA — City council is calling on the province to immediately impose a 15 per cent non-resident buyers tax here to cool what has become one of the three hottest real estate markets in the country.

The request comes after what some councillors see as the success of the same foreign buyers tax imposed last fall in Vancouver, and as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a 15 per cent foreign buyers levy in the Toronto area.

“We all know that we have a housing crisis and that the cost of home ownership and rent is getting higher and higher and the dream of home ownership is getting further and further away for many of our residents,” said Coun. Jeremy Loveday, who sponsored the resolution with Coun. Ben Isitt.

“This is asking for action to be taken so that our residents can afford homes here.”

Isitt said there’s increased urgency to bring the tax to the Victoria region, given the other two hot areas, Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, will have the tax.

This week, Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter said there is no question the Vancouver tax is affecting the Victoria real estate market. Porter noted in a Financial Post article that Victoria is the only city outside of Ontario with a double-digit percentage average price gain in the past year, with the home price index up 20 per cent year over year.

But several councillors worried the non-resident levy will be viewed in the same light as the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants by the federal government between 1885 and 1923.

Why call it a foreign tax? Why don’t we just call it a Chinese tax?

“I really think we may end up being seen to be on the wrong side of history on this one,” Coun. Geoff Young said, adding that the head tax was a popular measure in its day. “It (the head tax) wasn’t primarily implemented for racial purposes, I don’t think. It was because people felt that new immigrants were presenting competition for jobs. It was an economic impulse,” Young said.

Real estate agent Tony Joe, who in January wrote to Victoria opposing the tax, said it simply is not needed here. “The tax was in (place in) Vancouver in August and it did not cause a spike in foreign interest over here in Victoria.

“The reality is that the people that were doing the speculation or land banking in Vancouver were only looking in Vancouver,” Joe said, adding that Vancouver and Toronto are global cities while Victoria is not.

The vast majority of people buying properties in Victoria are not holding them vacant but are moving here, he said. He said the tax is not unlike the head tax. “Why call it a foreign tax? Why don’t we just call it a Chinese tax?” he said.

Mayor Lisa Helps said the non-resident tax should not be seen as anti-immigrant or racist but rather as a “speculative tax.”

The B.C. government announced in January that the tax does not apply to people with work permits, Helps noted. “This does not apply to people who are becoming residents of British Columbia — who are becoming residents of our communities.”

Young said the idea that a tax can be limited to speculators is a faint hope. “Basically, anybody who buys a property is speculating.”

Coun. Marianne Alto said she agreed with the intent of the tax and efforts to try to solve “an extraordinary extreme crisis.” But, she said: “I have to say that the identification of foreigners in this case makes me very uncomfortable.”

Coun. Margaret Lucas said she doesn’t believe “there’s a lot of evidence yet to tell us that this has been the solution.”

Last week, Capital Regional District directors postponed a decision on whether to ask for the tax to be imposed until their municipal councils weigh in. Several directors argued that municipalities such as Langford, Sooke and Metchosin aren’t facing the same affordability issues and escalation in housing prices that Victoria has.

Victoria’s resolution, passed Thursday, asks the province to immediately impose the 15 per cent tax to curb speculative property purchases by non-residents in either the entire capital region or in just the city of Victoria, whichever is more expedient.

Read more Island news at timescolonist.com

I like a big first bite. I like sauce, gravy, broth and spicy heat. Give me the satisfying slurp of soft tofu, the chew of crusty bread and the salty, crispy edges of just about anything and I will be one happy guy.

I learned these things about myself on the road, during two years of living out of a backpack eating on a budget that was meager by any reckoning.

But I ate well.

You have to keep your eyes open for those little corner restaurants, hole-in-the-wall dives packed with locals eating the specialty of the house. Sometimes they are a little dingy, though not always. Often they have poor signage or none at all.

THE passage above is the opening introduction of my new cookbook Home and Away: Simple, Delicious Recipes inspired by the World’s Cafes, Bistros and Diners. Correction: This one is co-authored by Darcy, my wife and partner in all things, especially cooking and travel. 

I have never been able to travel with a big budget. I’ve never been to a Michelin-starred restaurant, but if I did I guarantee I’ll be looking for a cheeseburger on the way home. I love diner food and when it’s good, the locals will let you know.

Darcy

On a recent visit to Turkey, my wife Darcy and I ensconced ourselves in a local hotel sandwiched between an acreage of wholesalers and Istanbul’s old fishing port, a stiff walk from the city’s main attractions.

Around 9 pm, we could see a large knot of laborers forming down the block, what turned out to be the line up for a local cafeteria. We joined a fast-moving queue and arrived with shocking efficiency at the cash register. Our tray was loaded with half a roasted chicken, fried fish, green salad, beans in a delicious sauce, bulgur pilaf and freshly baked bread for about the price of a fast food combo for one. Travel rule: Follow the hardhats. They know where to eat.

The same thing is true in Hong Kong, London and Los Angeles. 

Mario Batali

In the course of writing this book, I interviewed about a dozen chefs and gourmands. From the United States, Mario Batali, Anita Lo and Edward Lee; from Vancouver, Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala (Vij’s), Mark Brand (Save On Meats Cafe), Brad Miller (The Red Wagon) and Pino Posteraro (Cioppino’s), along with many others. They all admit their love of the same working class dives and diners that I grew up with and continue to love today. Gwendolyn Richards‘ profession of love for cheeseburger is nothing short of poetry. 

And the amazing this is that no matter where you go in the world, there is a local equivalent of the classic diner, busy, informal and slinging the food that real people really want to eat.

Mario Batali put it very succinctly:  The fancy three-star Michelin restaurants and five-star hotels are great. What they do is never diminished by the fact that something else can be done simply. But when you see people make it with one cook, working with no kitchen at all, none of the amenities—no dishwasher, no cutting boards, no sous chefs and walk-in refrigerators—you realize that delicious things can be made with very little other than human ingenuity and, more important, a human touch. The human hand makes the most remarkable stuff, and when you get as close as possible, you can feel the pulse of that magnificently authentic food, wherever you happen to be.

Couldn’t have put it better myself.

To give you an idea of what to expect from Home and Away here is a recipe to get you started: 

SWEET POTATO TAGINE

Tracey Kusiewicz/Foodie Photography

Simultaneously sweet and briny, this North African stew is a satisfying vegetarian meal or side dish. Serve with rice or couscous.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup (250 mL) chopped onions

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp Ras el Hanout 

1 cup (250 mL) chopped stewed tomatoes 

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup (250 mL) vegetable stock

1 lb (500 g) peeled and chopped sweet potatoes

1 cup (250 mL) canned or cooked chickpeas

1 tbsp minced Moroccan preserved lemon

1/4 cup (60 mL) pitted Kalamata olives

1/4 cup (mL) fresh cilantro leaves

In a large frying pan on medium heat, warm oil. Sauté onions until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and Ras el Hanout and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Mash mixture with a spoon. Add stock, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and lemon and simmer until sweet potato is tender, about 10–20 minutes. Top with olives and cilantro.

Makes 4 servings.

• To prepare dried chickpeas, soak overnight in plenty of water, drain, and simmer in fresh water until tender, about 1 hour.

• African and Middle Eastern markets nearly always stock preserved lemons. If you can’t find them, check online retailers such as Amazon.com for hard-to-find gourmet foods.

Find Home and Away in major bookstores or you can buy online in Canada from Amazon.ca, Chapters-Indigo, and in the United States at Amazon.com

A pair of cougars strolled through the Inlet Centre SkyTrain station in Port Moody early Saturday morning.

Security camera footage released online by The Buzzer, TransLink’s free newsletter, shows the two cats sauntering along the tracks through the deserted station on the new Evergreen Line.

The cougars’ trip took about two minutes as they moved from the entrance of the station to the exit, disappearing into the night without encountering a train or person.

TransLink said the pair triggered an intrusion alarm at about 4:15 a.m., but it’s unclear how they were able to access or leave the tracks. Staff searching the line could not find them. 

“While cougars are a first for us, this is not the only time wildlife has been spotted on the system,” said a TransLink statement. “There have been coyote and raccoon sightings in the past. We also see domestic animals on the tracks now and then.”

The Evergreen line runs through less populated areas, making encounters with wildlife more possible. TransLink said staff contacted conservation officers to report the incident.

Cougars, the largest wild cat native to the province, are capable of killing a 600 pound moose or elk but avoid human contact, according to the B.C. Ministry for the Environment.

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• Two juvenile cougars caught and destroyed on Sunshine Coast

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