Thursday, June 14, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Deadly, not magic, mushrooms
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Page: A14
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
When young Morgan Jayne Makowecki died last year, it was thought that a rare liver disease had killed her. Now, after toxicology tests, it turns out to be something quite different: Amanitin poisoning.
Makowecki died after eating a mushroom that was almost identical in appearance to a hallucinogenic magic mushroom. The toxin in the mushroom attacked her liver, eventually killing her. Except for brief flu-like symptoms -- the only signal that treatment is needed -- there was no warning.
The B.C. Coroners Service says the poisonous mushroom was probably a Galerina autumnalis, which grows in the same woody habitat as magic mushrooms.
Coroner Barb McLintock says there is not much information on mushroom poisoning. The Makowecki report took a year to complete because it was difficult to determine the origin of the amanitin.
And the North American Mycological Association says since most mushroom species are rarely eaten, many toxins are poorly documented. McLintock says it is likely other deaths have occurred because of mushroom poisoning, but been blamed on other causes.
Over the past five years, drug awareness and prevention programs have focused almost exclusively on methamphetamine, ecstasy and heroin. Magic mushrooms have fallen down the list of priorities, although they are still popular among students and many are barely aware of the risk.
Users are playing a form of Russian roulette whenever they pick or consume mushrooms.
School drug programs should include information that would help potential users increase their chances of identifying the bad mushrooms.
And the programs should remind them that there is no sure way to avoid the risk except avoiding the mushrooms.
There are times when young people need to hear the blunt truth.
A greener future for Victoria's port; Other ports are co-operating on pollution, and the city can't afford to be left behind
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
Three West Coast ports have agreed to work together to curb pollution. Unfortunately, Victoria is not one of them.
Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver will work together to develop a joint strategy to reduce pollution in the Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia by reducing ship emissions.
The goal is to create a clean-air action plan that will target all sources of emissions, including cruise ships, container trucks, trains and cargo handlers.
But instead of turning away non-complying ships, the three ports will work with industry, customers and the public to develop a common standard for all the ports.
The common goal is cleaner, less-polluting ships ahead of international emission standards, which are expected to be introduced by the International Maritime Organization in 2011.
While Victoria's commercial traffic is tiny when compared to Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, Victoria's share of cruise ship traffic is large.
According to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, 163 cruise ships and 324,000 travellers will stop at the Ogden Point terminal during the 2007 season. On May 11, an estimated 12,000 eager cruise ship passengers disembarked here. Paul Servos, general manager of the harbour authority, estimated $1 million was spent over the 17-hour visit.
While cruise ship operators are regularly fined for their sewage, garbage and bilge dumping practices, environmental and consumer pressure will inevitably steer the industry toward lower emission standards and greener ports -- in other words, ports such as Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver.
The technology to reduce emissions is already out there. In a recent two-week stay in dry dock in the Esquimalt shipyard, the Holland America ship Zaandam was fitted with a $1.5-million scrubber system that uses seawater to remove virtually all sulphur oxide and a significant portion of particulate matter emissions. The sea water is then treated to remove harmful components.
Money from the work came from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Puget Sound Clean Air Authority, Environment Canada, the provincial Environment Ministry, the B.C. Clean Air Research Fund and the Port of Seattle.
There is clear, widespread interest in making cruise ships cleaner. Victoria would be well-advised to get on board.
Unfortunately, we are already lagging behind the competition. In San Francisco and Seattle, cruise ships plug into shore power and turn their engines off while docked. The Port of Seattle estimates this reduces cruise ship air emissions by about 30 per cent.
Seattle Commission president Bob Edwards says the reduction in emissions is equal to taking 1,100 cars of the road for a full year.
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority has rejected installation of similar cabling at Ogden Point, claiming that power demand exceeds current capacity.
So our cruise ship-competitor, Seattle, has scored another green point -- and Victoria is forced to play catch up.
A new direction for Island forests; Proposal to shift to second-growth harvest a useful effort at ensuring a stronger future
Friday, May 25, 2007
Page: A18
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
Despite the risks and uncertainties, there is reason to welcome the province's second effort to revitalize the coastal forest industry.
Forests Minister Rich Coleman acknowledges that a major 2004 forest renewal plan has been slow to result in the promised investment and growth on Vancouver Island and the coast. The move to market pricing and reduced obligations for tenure holders has not resulted in the anticipated new, more efficient mills, despite some investment.
Now Coleman says that a new plan, to be revealed next month, will try a different approach. The government hopes to steer forest companies away from old-growth forests, restrict the export of raw logs from Crown land and encourage intensive forest management practices similar to those now in place in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
It is a major shift. The coastal industry has been built on old-growth timber, a highly valued resource. But much of the old-growth forest has been harvested and what remains is harder to access and more likely to be deemed environmentally sensitive. Uncertainty about the future timber supply has made companies unwilling to invest in new mills.
The goal now is to shift the focus to second-growth forests and their smaller, more uniform trees.
For a vision of the proposed future for forestry on the Island, look southward to the B.C. coastal industry's main competition in Washington state.
According to the Coast Forest Products Association, forest companies in the U.S. Pacific Northwest now rank in the top 25 per cent in the world in terms of efficiency. Those productivity gains follow 15 years of retooling to better handle second-growth. For the American companies, the change was largely triggered by a watershed event: The loss of access to old-growth timber supply in order to protect the spotted owl.
Coleman's new policy might constitute the turning point for B.C.'s coastal industry.
The required changes will be significant. Companies will now have to retool and refocus on second growth. Because of the past reliance on large-circumference logs, many companies have been exporting the smaller logs to jurisdictions, such as Washington state, better equipped to handle them.
This is not to say the B.C. coastal industry has been standing still. Over the last three years, companies have spent more than $350 million on equipment upgrades, including about $190 million to improve small-log capacity. In 2002, the largest 29 sawmills cut 3.3 billion board feet per year; in 2006, after four closures and one new sawmill, the largest 26 plants cut 3.5 billion board feet.
Some major questions about the new policy remain. Coleman says that logs exported from Crown lands will be subject to a 15-per-cent export tax. But he has yet to reveal the government's position on the soaring exports from private lands. Operators want a free hand; communities claim that the exports are costing them badly needed sawmill jobs.
Both the province and industry acknowledge changes are needed, but the transition will be controversial and sometimes painful.
However, something has to be done. Coleman's proposed policy changes appear to offer a useful starting point.
Recycling through taxation
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Page: A14
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
The Capital Regional District's recycling program is, it appears, a victim of its own success.
The diversion of enormous amounts of recyclable waste from the trash stream has reduced tipping-fee revenue at the Hartland landfill. This creates a problem, since those tipping fees underwrite the CRD's recycling programs.
To maintain funding for recycling programs, the capital region needs to cut costs. It is proposing to close the landfill to the public on Mondays and increase tipping fees.
The closure proposal has upset the union representing the 17 full-time, part-time and auxiliary workers at the landfill, and should upset users as well. The CRD needs to reconsider how it pays for its recycling program.
When the blue box program was launched in March 1989, only glass bottles, tin and aluminum cans and newspapers were collected in Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and Esquimalt. By 2000 the program had expanded to include corrugated cardboard and rigid plastic containers in to all CRD municipalities.
A survey in 2004 showed that more than 90 per cent of eligible households use the service. Alan Summers, the capital region's solid waste senior manager, says 34 per cent of waste is being diverted. The goal is 60 per cent diversion by 2012 -- which would mean even less collected through tipping fees and result in higher recycling costs.
Summers says the CRD is the only jurisdiction in B.C. that pays for recycling entirely through operational fees. Along with tipping fees, sources of revenue include the sale of recyclables collected in blue boxes, royalties on methane gas collection at the landfill and fines.
Other regional districts, such as the one in the Cowichan Valley, receive funds through property taxes to maintain recycling programs.
The CRD should develop a financial plan that will ensure the long-term sustainability of its successful recycling program. Higher tipping fees and a Monday closure might provide relief, as will quarrying and aggregate sales.
That's not enough. In the end, everyone here benefits from the program, and everyone should bear some of the costs. The best way to do that is through property taxes, not tipping fees or service cuts.
No quick answer on DND land; Sewage treatment plants need room -- and there is plenty of it at CFB Esquimalt
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Page: A14
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
If the federal government is serious about supporting sewage treatment for the capital region, it won't balk at providing unused Department of National Defence land for a treatment plant.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised support for treatment, including one-third of the $1.2-billion cost.
And one of the critical issues is going to be finding land for sewage treatment plants, whether the plan eventually involves one or two large sites or several smaller locations. Few people will want a sewage plant in the neighbourhood, no matter how much they are assured that modern technology means that it will have little impact.
The Department of National Defence (DND) could help solve that problem. Its under-used holdings in the Esquimalt area could provide the best available site for at least part of the project.
But while the DND says it is open to the idea, officials also sound remarkably reluctant to part with any property. The military would have to consider whether it might ever need the land, they say, and consult widely. The final decision would involve a number of government agencies.
Don't get your hopes up, they might as well have added.
It's not certain at this point that DND land will ultimately be needed. Esquimalt residents can be expected to argue, for example, that they should not be the only ones with a treatment plant nearby.
But it would be helpful now to have a clear indication from the federal government that it will look favourably on any requests.
The DND holdings at and around Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt stretch over about 40 square kilometres -- an area four times as large as Oak Bay. Much of that land is under-used. There is no realistic prospect of any changes in our military that will require the use of all that property.
So it should be available not only for sewage treatment but for a range of other uses. In a region where land is at a premium, it makes no sense for a government to be hoarding unneeded holdings.
Even if the DND agrees to free up land, the Capital Regional District must consider its options.
The land would probably come at a cost, with Ottawa most likely deducting its value from the federal $400-million contribution to the project. The waterfront property could be assessed at a significant value.
And the CRD must also weigh the risks in trying to strike this kind of deal, particularly the potential for long delays as the wheels of government grind slowly on. In this case, it's likely First Nations will also argue that any surplus Crown land should be available to address treaty issues.
The first step should be a clear statement from Ottawa that it is prepared to make a serious effort to make land available if that will help advance the project.
Clashing rights and gypsy moths; The battle over spraying challenges government to balance interests of individuals and public
Monday, May 28, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
The great Saanich gypsy moth battle goes beyond a simple dispute over pesticide spraying and raises important issues of property rights and the challenge of balancing individual interests and the common good.
Despite a compromise solution this time, the issues deserve attention.
The battleground was the Cedar Hill area, where the provincial government planned a spraying program to slow the spread of the gypsy moth. But the issue has surfaced before in other parts of the capital region and on Saltspring Island.
The conflict takes the same basic form. Provincial officials believe that spraying with a Btk-based pesticide will eradicate gypsy moths, preventing environmental and economic damage.
Inevitably, some residents oppose spraying. They fear health damage or argue that years of effort put into maintaining organic gardens will be undone. They cite their right to enjoy their own property without intrusion.
All are compelling arguments.
But what of the broader public interest? Provincial officials warn that without spraying, the gypsy moth population will increase. Accepting a request not to spray in one area might mean increased destruction for neighbours.
Balancing those interests is difficult enough, but the issue becomes more complex. The Forests Ministry warns that if moths become established agricultural producers would be subject to Canada Food Inspection Agency restrictions on movement of products off the island. This could devastate nursery and logging operations. In 1999, the U.S. threatened to close its border to B.C. timber after a gypsy-moth outbreak.
A compromise was reached in this round of the battle. About 150 properties in the Cedar Hill area will be sprayed with one kind of pesticide, 12 others will be sprayed with a different version deemed to be organically friendly and two won't be sprayed at all.
The pesticides at issue are both versions of Btk. Foray48B, the newer one, has some landowners worried about its impact on their gardens and health, even though it has been endorsed by the ministry. DiPel, thought to be better for organic gardens, is an older version.
The 14 residents opposed to Foray48B have organic gardens. Some of them confronted government-contracted spraying crews earlier this month to halt spraying. Twelve were eventually willing to accept the use of DiPel, which advocates claim is not harmful to wildlife or to beneficial insects.
Compromises usually have a catch. In this case, the refusal to allow application of Foray48B might force the need for more aggressive applications in future. And what of the property rights of the adjacent landowners, the ones who support the use of the newer pesticide? If the older pesticide is not as effective, gypsy moths are more likely to spread to their gardens and trees.
DiPel -- the older pesticide -- was used last summer on Saltspring Island. Traps placed on the island in 2005 captured 40 gypsy moths and in 2006, captured 32 moths. The modern version of Btk usually results in almost complete local gypsy moth eradication. The government says the ability to eliminate the gypsy moth from Vancouver Island is compromised by the holdouts.
Ultimately, competing rights must be balanced, with science playing an important role. Both sprays have been judged safe
A compromise often means that nobody wins. In the Cedar Hill case, if DiPel turns out to be as unsuccessful as it was on Saltspring last year, everyone loses.
Go slow on marine park
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Page: A12
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
Parks Canada must consider how British Columbians use the southern Strait of Georgia before creating Canada's third National Marine Conservation Area.
The federal government is considering creating a 900-square-kilometre marine park that encompasses the Gulf Islands up to Gabriola Island, reaches into the middle of the Strait of Georgia and south to the U.S. border and Cordova Bay.
Bill Henwood, the project manager for the proposed conservation area, told a Sidney public meeting that most marine activities would continue to be permitted. Just so long as participants abide by new regulations.
Meanwhile, in its project "visioning" statement, Parks Canada says that if the waters are designated a marine conservation area, commercial purposes could be restricted. Everyday coastal-community activities, such as shipping, dumping sewage and some forms of fishing could also be affected.
Any new regulations must be concise, clearly stating residents' rights and obligations.
Parks Canada staff have been careful in the past to play down the impact of marine conservation designation. Prior to the 1998 creation of Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park in Quebec, residents asked how it would affect their lives. Parks Canada said marine conservation areas are not national parks; they are meant to "conserve" special areas while still allowing their use.
However, Parks Canada recently unveiled a draft framework that requires that each marine conservation area include a "special preservation" zone for limited research -- with no public access. If the plan goes ahead, which Strait of Georgia island, reef, wreck or estuary will be deemed off limits? And will B.C. residents have any say?
And will there be fees to enter areas or to scuba dive or camp, as there are at Ontario's Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada's first national marine park? Unless improvements are evident or new services included, charging fees for activities and access to areas island residents previously considered free and open will create animosity.
Habitat and environmental conservation are laudable goals. But a marine park and new regulations will affect residents' lives. Full and meaningful community consultation is needed.
Listen to police on fireworks
Monday, June 4, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
Saanich has become the latest Greater Victoria municipality to ban the sale of fireworks. It's a step in the right direction, but too small a step.
Saanich residents who want to set off fireworks will be able to do so -- as long as they buy a $10 permit, go through training, and buy the fireworks somewhere other than in Saanich.
View Royal, Colwood and Langford have also banned the sale of fireworks. The Songhees Nation plans a similar ban, making it the first reserve in Canada to take such a step.
But that leaves plenty of other areas where fireworks shops will be able to do a bang-up business. And if all the municipalities in Greater Victoria bring in bans, people will still be able to get fireworks up-Island or the mainland.
So don't expect the ban to reduce the noise around Halloween, the number of injuries to be treated or the property damage that results. We won't see real progress until there are consistent, hard regulations from all municipalities -- or better yet, the provincial government.
Have we forgotten what happened last fall? In Oak Bay, a group of youths fired Roman candles at public works staff and police officers. In Saanich, a pipe bomb packed with fireworks exploded in the face of 18-year-old Stuart Skillings, sending copper shrapnel into his brain. In Victoria, a community centre's bus was burnt after vandals set off fireworks inside it. There was similar mayhem up-Island.
That prompted the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police to call for a province-wide ban on fireworks sales -- an idea that has been rejected by Solicitor General John Les.
Les has said it's up to individual municipalities to draft fireworks regulations. He is wrong. It is time for the provincial government to take a stand.
There is a place for fireworks displays, of course -- as long as they are organized on a community level and run by people who know what they are doing. The same day that Saanich introduced its ban, it was announced in Vancouver that the Celebration of Light will return this summer. Five nights of fireworks are expected to be seen by two million people.
Events such as this make sense. If a community can produce a spectacular show there is no need for amateurs to waste their time and money, and possibly their fingers, making things go boom.
Yes, we know there is a thrill in setting off fireworks, just as there is a thrill in racing through residential areas in a car. Thrilling, but irresponsible.
It's time for a province-wide ban. It's time for Les to act.
Firefighting sense on West Shore; An aid plan to ensure a co-ordinated response to fires will save money -- and perhaps lives
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Page: A12
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
The proposed automatic-response aid pact between three West Shore fire departments is pragmatic and timely.
The agreement specifies in advance the equipment and personnel from Colwood, Langford and View Royal fire departments that will respond to emergency calls from particular types of buildings, such as a highrises or big-box stores.
Changing times -- and landscapes -- demand such an agreement.
Residential and commercial development on the West Shore is growing both up and out. Colwood has approved a 23-storey residential tower for Wale Road, another highrise in the Colwood Corners area is under consideration and two highrises are being built at Bear Mountain. Langford is also home to most of the region's big-box stores.
These buildings present special firefighting and emergency-response challenges. It makes sense for the region's fire departments to set out in advance how they will respond together to an emergency in these kinds of buildings.
Colwood Fire Chief Russ Cameron notes that co-operation and rapid co-ordination, more than equipment like aerial ladder trucks, are critical. Modern highrises are concrete and have full sprinkler systems and stand-pipe hose connections on every floor, he notes. Most firefighting is done floor-by-floor, within the building. Personnel are needed on the ground, to run hoses and supplies to support firefighters in hallways and suites. A battalion of firefighters is more important than a motorcade of aerial trucks, Cameron notes.
But the pact will allow the departments to co-ordinate their equipment plans as well, avoiding any unnecessary duplication of costly trucks and firefighting gear. View Royal and Langford fire departments already have aerial trucks equipped with 32-metre ladders capable of reaching about seven storeys.
The three fire departments co-operate now under a mutual-aid agreement. If an individual department responds to a fire call and finds the blaze beyond its capabilities, it calls for help.
But a fire can double in size every minute. Calling for help from the scene means a wait while neighbouring departments assemble and dispatch personnel and equipment, when minutes can determine firefighting success or failure -- and even life or death.
The proposed automatic-response agreement -- which only Colwood has signed so far -- ensures an immediate response to major fires. Each department sets out what equipment and personnel it will provide. The response is co-ordinated and immediate.
Someday, the fire services will be fully integrated.
But a systematic, structured response to fires is needed now. This agreement will improve safety for all three communities. Langford and View Royal should be quick to sign on.
Hartley Bay needs answers on ferry; B.C. Ferries must prove its case for leaving the Queen of the North beneath the ocean
Monday, June 11, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist
The decision by B.C. Ferries not to raise the sunken Queen of the North from the bottom of Wright Sound has created anger and suspicion in Hartley Bay.
The corporation says lifting the ship more than 400 metres is too risky.
And since there is little or no diesel fuel left on board, it argues that there is little environmental risk if the ship is left underwater.
B.C. Ferries says its decision is based on information collected during an extensive environmental and technical review by international scientific and salvage experts.
Gitga'at chief councillor Bob Hill sees it differently. He says the corporation's claims that no fuel is left in the ship are "simply bull."
The area's shellfish and seafood industries are jeopardized by long-term leaching of fuel, oils and contaminants, Hill says.
The first step in resolving the dispute is openness.
Frustrated Gitga'at First Nation members and residents of Hartley Bay -- and all interested British Columbians -- should be shown all the evidence that B.C. Ferries relied on to reach its decision.
The corporation should post all its studies and technical reports on its website and let those interested reach their own conclusions.
Contamination has already occurred. After the sinking last year, the bay was fouled by a visible oil slick estimated at up to 340 square kilometres. The oil contaminated the beaches of Fin Island, where the Gitga'at dig for clams.
Hill and other Hartley Bay residents are worried about a sudden release of the 150,000 to 200,000 litres of fuel some believe could still be on the ship.
And they're worried about even the perception of contamination. The lucrative spawn-on-kelp fishery produces herring eggs sold primarily in Japan for sushi restaurants. Any hint of pollution is damaging.
The residents deserve comprehensive answers.
B.C. Ferries must demonstrate that the wreckage of the Queen of the North is safe and that it will not continue to contaminate the waters around Hartley Bay. It must explain why, if there is no fuel on board, salvage has been rejected as an option.
The first step toward allaying concerns and creating certainty is for B.C. Ferries to make public all the data and information gathered by the scientific and salvage experts.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Ladysmith's contaminated harbour comes with a tiny price tag
The Globe and Mail has learned that the province has reopened negotiations with the Town of Ladysmith to sell a highly valuable and highly contaminated waterfront property. The province may be willing to part with the land for a dollar if the buyer pays cleanup costs.
Jessica Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, said the province "cannot confirm the $1 amount." She agrees that talks are under way to revive the remediation and development process that was terminated last year.
"We are just starting to work with Ladysmith again and feel it is premature to comment at this time," Ms. Woodburn said.
Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins did not respond to messages left at his home and at city hall.
If a deal is reached to put 98 acres of waterfront on the market, prospective buyers should be forewarned: plug your nose and don't eat the shellfish.
The town clings to a steep hillside overlooking Ladysmith Harbour 88 kilometres north of Victoria. James Dunsmuir built it in 1899 for his Vancouver Island coal miners. In April, 2000, Harrowsmith Country Life magazine named Ladysmith one of the 10 prettiest towns in Canada. Tourists from the United States consider the town of 7,500, with its steep streets and Edwardian architecture, to be San Francisco writ small.
Originally known as Oyster Harbour for its abundant bivalves, Ladysmith Harbour was converted to heavy industrial use over a century ago. Activities included a copper smelter, coal washing and load-out facilities, and a log dumping and sorting area. Until the 1960s, Ladysmith discharged raw sewage into the harbour.
From the crest of Roberts Street, looking east, bracketed by Slag Point to the south and Williams Point to the north, the Strait of Georgia backdrops Ladysmith's weedy, derelict harbour foreshore.
Slag Point - officially Slack Point - is a triangular spit. Tides force water to eddy along the northern edge.
According to Agriculture and Lands, Slag Point is a 13-acre parcel of landfill, built from coal slack and is on the province's Contaminated Sites Registry. Soaring remediation costs have derailed provincial, aboriginal and municipal plans to develop it.
Dozens of red well-heads, each about a metre tall, probe deep into Slag Point, monitoring emissions and toxicity. Along the north edge of the spit, the bizarre constitution of the landmass is revealed in a two-metre-deep trench. Beneath a 20-centimetre veneer of topsoil is coal and black aggregate. Where the ocean meets the spit, the seabed and shallows are also black.
Ed, 77, worked for Comox Logging & Railway Co. for 50 years - 10 of them in Ladysmith Harbour, on and around Slag Point. He says the "sludge" runs deep into the harbour.
"Slag Point was used as a dry-land sorting yard for logs and a place to wash coal, but it was sinking. So they brought in material, like gravel and rocks. But it still kept sinking and squishing out," said Ed, who declined to give his last name.
Peter and Yvonne Cox, who walk the municipal park south of Slag Point with Ed, believe Ladysmith Harbour is irreparable. Mr. Cox says developers who had investigated the site left with their noses plugged: "They discovered that when the tide goes out, there is a tremendous stink."
A 2005 site analysis report prepared by Golder Associates Ltd. for Agriculture and Lands found hydrogen sulphide odour in the coal fill at depths beyond 12 metres.
About 180 metres north of Slag Point is Ladysmith Community Marina. "The odour is still bad, but it has been getting better," said wharf custodian Marv Mielnichuk, who has lived on a boat tied to the dock for three years.
Mr. Mielnichuk says that as redevelopment talk gained momentum in 2004, commercial activity has changed. Logs are being dumped outside the harbour before they are brought inside. Still, the industrial nature of the harbour remains: "Some days the bay is full of wood waste. That is not from 20 years ago, that is from last week."
Mr. Mielnichuk believes Slag Point and the waste dumped in the harbour have interrupted tides and eddies, creating pockets of slow-moving water. He points to areas where, when the tide is down, peninsulas of coal stretch hundreds of metres into the water.
Mr. Mielnichuk is optimistic. Walking along the docks, he points out starfish and red rock and Dungeness crab: "It is not dead, animals are returning."
Similar optimism ruled in 2006 when, with great enthusiasm, the province, natives and the Town of Ladysmith initiated a process to redevelop the harbour.
Eventually, six development companies were short-listed and First Principles Development Group, a consortium of B.C. builders, was invited to make a pitch. It included a 130-room hotel, 120-seat restaurant, 500 residential units, a 400-ship marina, a senior's centre, commercial village and 200-seat conference centre on the harbour.
Most Ladysmith citizens attending a public meeting on the proposal spoke passionately against it. They expressed concerns about First Principles' financial commitment to the project and remediation plans - even though its remediation cost estimates were triple the $8.95-million estimated in a 2005 government-commissioned report.
First Principles estimated costs in excess of $30-million. The redevelopment process was terminated on July 24.
Bud Bell says Ladysmith Harbour and Slag Point should be left alone.
"If we leave it like it is, it has been like this for a long time, it will not hurt us," said Mr. Bell, a commercial diver and owner of Sealegs Kayaking Adventures, one kilometre south of Slag Point. He regularly takes kayak tours around Slag Point, and says he is not worried about toxicity or heavy metals. He believes scrapping or cleaning could release hazardous silt.
However, Mr. Bell knows what is at stake: "This is the last bastion: there ain't nothing like Ladysmith Harbour on the entire coast. This is it."
