Leslie Campbell's Content - Page 13

Amber Lomax: Hit and Sunk

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Oct 04

Friday 04 October 2019, 07:00 AM until Sunday 20 October 2019, 07:00 AM

Amber Lomax: Hit and Sunk October 4–20, Xchanges Gallery In a series of otherworldly paintings, Lomax explores our connection to our subconscious side and the internal struggle between who we are and who we think we are. Lomaxwas recently selected by the City of Victoria to participate in a project that brings emerging artists and public art together. An image of her painting “The Call” wasdisplayed at a Downtown bus shelter for four months. Opening reception Oct 4, 7-9pm.Otherwise, Sat & Sun 11am-4pm. 6E-2333 Government St, 250-382-0442, xchangesgallery.org Shown here: “Hit & Sunk” Amber Lomax, 36 x 36 inches,acrylic on canvas

We Carry Our Ancestors: Cedar, Baskets and Our Relationships with the Land

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Sep 28

Saturday 28 September 2019 until Saturday 21 December 2019

We Carry Our Ancestors: Cedar, Baskets and Our Relationships with the Land Legacy Downtown: September 28–December 21 This exhibition weaves together generations of Indigenous women through cedar basketry. For the first time ever, Legacy Art Galleries will exhibit Nuu-chah-nulth and Salish historical baskets from the collection, alongside portraits of theweavers including Alice Paul, Rosie Ross, Mary Jane Jackson, Mathilda Jim, Julianna Williams, Liz Happynook, Lena Jumbo and Ellen Jumbo. The photographic portraits are bydocumentary photographer Ulli Steltzer from Germany, who lived in Vancouver from 1972 until her death in 2018 at age 94. She used an unobtrusive hand-held Rolleiflexcamera while photographing many First Nationsartists at their work inBC. Contemporary baskets by Salish artists Angela Marston and Brenda Crabtree, among others, will also be exhibited. Through new and intensive community research, this exhibition honours the resilience of women who have carried their cultures forward by passing down the art of cedar basketry to future generations. The exhibit is curated by Lorilee Wastasecoot, BC Arts Council Curatorial Intern. Opening Celebration:Saturday, September 28, 3-5pm. Legacy Downtown, 630 Yates St, Lekwungen territory, www.legacy.uvic.ca, 250-721-6562. Show here: Alice Paul, 1975, photograph by Ulli Steltzer. Image courtesy of University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries

Megan Dietrich: Analog Us

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Oct 11

Friday 11 October 2019 until Friday 25 October 2019

Megan Dietrich: Analog Us Madrona Gallery: October 11–October 25 Megan Dietrich is a Vancouver-based artist whose expressive paintings examine relationships of line, colour, and texture through influences of modern art history, pop culture, and personal experiences of life on the West Coast. Megan grew up in Powell River, and much of her painting and material language comes from that experience—surrounded by community, nature and a multitude of rich organic elements. There is always a fluidity to her work; room for mixture, variation and expression. She uses acrylic paint, pencil, ink, charcoal and other media to produce emotional and introspective mark-making that carries the eye. After a brief stint in studio art training, Megan finished her degree at the University of Victoria in 2012 and worked in a number of creative industries including film/television, art education and graphic design. This will be her first solo exhibition with Madrona Gallery and will feature over 20 new works. Analog Us is an attempt to be fully human, focusing on colour, sensory texture, and composition. The works explore connections between mental wellness, creativity, and the environment. Opening reception Oct 11, 7-9 pm. 606 View St, 250-380-4660, www.madronagallery.com. Shown here: “Oh, I Could Never Say” Megan Dietrich, 24 x 24 inches, Mixed Media on Canvas

Rod Charlesworth

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Oct 05

Saturday 05 October 2019 until Thursday 17 October 2019

Rod Charlesworth West End Gallery October 5–17 Blending techniques from the Impressionist school, mixed with Group of Seven sensibilities, Rod Charlesworth’s splashes of bright colour perfectly describe the wild texture of the Canadian landscape. From Haida Gwaii to Peggy’s Cove and up to the Northwest Territories, Rod’s sensitivity for capturing the vast Canadian landscape is unparalleled. His work, whether bold landscapes or whimsical images of children at play, is now collected world-wide and he is more committed than ever to painting images that have a strong Canadian cultural influence. 1203 Broad Street, 250-388-0009, www.westendgallery.com. Shown here: “Bright Hillside” Rod Charlesworth, 36 x 24 inches, Oil on Canvas

Strong sanctions needed for destroying public records

Leslie Campbell posted an article in Focus Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

The “duty to document” may sound like boring bureaucratese, but it’s crucial to a functioning democracy. SOMETIMES A MEDIA STORY TAKES SO LONG TO UNFOLD that readers might well wonder why it’s still being told. I imagine that’s the case with the story of former Chief of Police Frank Elsner’s fall from grace. Court battles kept most players—including the Office of Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC)—quiet for years. But policy-wise, we can lay a lot of the blame for dragging out such stories to highly imperfect access-to-information laws. Information that government relies on to make critical decisions is often just not available to journalists or citizens. Unless the public, often via journalists, has access to all the records behind such decisions, it’s impossible to shine a light on how and where costly mistakes were made, or poor judgement was exercised, and thereby hold public officials accountable—essential ingredients for a healthy democracy. The Elsner case implicates both the City of Victoria and Mayor Helps, as well as the provincial government, for denying the public’s right to know. That denial was made possible, in particular, through a lack of legislation around what’s called “duty to document.” In October 2018, Focus’ David Broadland filed an FOI request with the City (shortly after the OPCC issued its investigation report) for communications between Mayor Helps and Mayor Desjardins during their three-month internal investigation of Elsner. The City transferred that request to the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board. In the Board’s response, there were virtually no communications between Helps and Desjardins about the drama unfolding around them during September, October and November 2015. When Broadland asked about this, he was told Mayor Help’s emails had been deleted due to “email retention schedules.” But when he asked to see those schedules, the Police Board admitted there were none. Moreover, the Police Board did not have custody and control of Mayor Helps’ emails. The City of Victoria did. In January, Broadland submitted a formal complaint to BC’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) that the City of Victoria had failed to provide complete records. As he pointed out in his January/February Focus report, the City of Victoria has a policy requiring that both electronic and paper records created to “document the operations of the mayor” must be “retained for 10 years overall, and then transferred to Archives for selective retention.” The email record in question was only three years in the past. Finally, in July, we received a response from OIPC Senior Investigator Trevor Presley. He wrote, “Subsequent to your complaint, Rob Gordon [the City’s Information Access and Privacy Analyst] did a second search with a relatively new eDiscovery tool, which did a much more thorough and comprehensive search, including searching for deleted emails. After doing this, he found an additional 271 emails plus 152 pages of attachments which he believed were responsive.” Those emails were released to Focus and, though highly redacted, they did allow some details to be filled in, including around both mayors’ knowledge of sexual harassment and bullying charges against Chief Elsner in the fall of 2015. This is all covered in Broadland’s July/August feature report. Broadland then asked OIPC for an inquiry because he questions some of the redactions. The inquiry has been granted and a date set for October 2020. But right now I want to draw your attention to the way Investigator Presley summed things up: “The main problem here seems to be the deleted emails. I would note there is nothing in FIPPA [Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act] which would require either the City of Victoria or the VEPB [Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board] to retain these emails, nor can the OIPC enforce record retention schedules set by public bodies.” Therein lies a big problem for a functioning democracy. The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) and other like-minded groups have been advocating for years that FIPPA legislation must include the duty to document, which “would compel government to document their decision making process so that citizens can exercise their information rights.” As the non-profit organization notes on its website: “The original lawmakers who drafted the FIPPA did not anticipate that government would hold meetings in person and over the phone without writing anything down (a phenomenon known as ‘oral government’), use personal email addresses to conduct government business, and maliciously delete records in order to circumnavigate freedom of information laws (a practice known as ‘triple-delete’). But unfortunately that is now the reality in which we are living.” The NDP promised two years ago to amend the almost-30-year-old FIPPA to include a duty to document. When the Liberal government was caught in 2015 purposely “triple deleting” communications about the Highway of Tears, the NDP had a lot to say. And well they should. It involved willful destruction of publicly owned, government records—records essential for transparency and accountability. (In the end, one government employee got fined $2,500—not for destroying the records, as there are no rules or penalties for that, but for lying about it under oath during Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham’s investigation.) Current and former Information and Privacy Commissioners have urged the provincial government to amend FIPPA to include a duty to document. Denham’s cogent and strongly worded Access Denied report describes it as necessary to restore public confidence and make clear that the government does not endorse an “oral culture” devised to avoid accountability. BC’s current Attorney General David Eby, as part of an all-party special legislative committee on the subject in 2016, made a specific recommendation to include a duty to document within FIPPA. Among the many risks of poor record retention cited in that all-party report was this one from David Loukidelis, QC (a former Information and Privacy Commissioner): “Loss of public confidence in government over time due to the perception that the absence of documentation reflects a deliberate tactic to hide, among other things, wrongdoing (including corruption or favouritism).” During the 2017 election campaign, the NDP unequivocally committed to updating FIPPA and including a duty to document. Unfortunately, since they’ve been in power, nothing has been done. In fact, they muddied the waters last spring when they passed changes to another act, the Information Management Act, bragging about them as a Canadian first. Vincent Gogolek, FIPA’s executive director, called the changes “a pathetic excuse for a response to massive pressure for action on this issue. A legal duty uses the words ‘must’ or ‘shall,’ not the word ‘may.’” BC’s current Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy condemned the NDP’s legislation as ineffective and cynical: “As it now stands, the Information Management Act designates the Minister herself as primarily responsible for ensuring her Ministry’s compliance with the duty to document decisions. Citizens would find it very surprising that, on its face, the current law makes a Minister responsible for investigating her own conduct.” And it gets worse: guess who, within a couple of months of the bill passing, was found to be using her personal email address to conduct government business in order to circumvent Freedom of Information laws—laws which she oversees? Minister of Citizens’ Services Jinny Sims—who had a year earlier already been caught doing the same thing. Seriously. Perhaps the capper is that the Information Management Act applies to only 41 public bodies, not the 2,900 that come under FIPPA legislation, where duty to document really needs to be enshrined—as mandatory (the City’s non-mandatory records retention policy illustrating why). And it has to have significant penalties to be meaningful. Finally, implementation and enforcement of proper documentation must come under the jurisdiction of the independent Information and Privacy Commissioner. Unfortunately, it seems once a party is in power, at any level of government, the public’s right to know how decisions have been made sinks way down the priority list. Looking at the federal situation, a duty to document was never part of Bill C-58, the long-overdue federal attempt to update information access legislation dating back to 1983. In 2016, federal, provincial and territorial commissioners issued a joint resolution calling for—the third time, they noted—a legislated duty to document accompanied by effective oversight and enforcement provisions. Passed in June 2019, the new federal regulations were largely panned by those on the side of transparency for, among other things, excluding prime ministers’ and cabinet ministers’ records from access coverage, and for not including a duty to document. In my research, I was surprised to come across an example used by the federal Information Commissioner to illustrate the importance of duty to document. It related to Transport Canada’s behaviour in relation to the Victoria harbour airport, the focus of my feature report last month. The investigation of Transport Canada, the commissioner’s report stated, “revealed that the institution had taken no notes or minutes at some of the regular meetings officials had held with the City of Victoria, especially meetings related to the expansion of the harbour in 2010.” At the commissioner’s urging, Transport Canada eventually came up with 10 pages. I could give more examples of how journalists and citizens alike have been frustrated—perhaps disgusted is a more apt description—at the seeming disregard of public officials, all paid by taxpayers, to maintain proper records of how they arrived at their decisions. Given the paucity of records, it sometimes seems decisions are made in a cavalier fashion. A recent Victoria example of this, shown through a citizen’s FOI, was the removal of the Innovation Tree at Humboldt and Government Streets. And there’s always the worry that some sort of corruption or influence from improper quarters is being applied. How can we know—unless it’s all fully documented and accessible under the law? Did you know September 28 is Right to Know Day? Editor Leslie Campbell recommends the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association’s website fipa.bc.ca. Empower yourself through one of their free FOI workshops.

September 7, 2019

Letters to the editor

Leslie Campbell posted an article in Focus Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

An airport in our midst Leslie Campbell’s article on Victoria’s harbour airport in the July/August edition was very informative. I live overlooking Victoria’s middle and outer harbours, and have clear views of both Middle Harbour’s Alpha Runway (East-West) and Outer Harbour’s Bravo Runway (NE-SW). Campbell’s article quotes Transport Canada’s Simon Rivet on the subject of “noise mitigation strategies” implemented by Transport Canada for Victoria Harbour air traffic: “We only allow three-bladed turbo-prop aircraft, which is the quietest version of a floatplane in existence.” It is true that turbo-prop aircraft make up most of the traffic in Victoria Inner Harbour Airport, but there are also a number of smaller piston-engined aircraft that take off. Hence, I challenge Rivet’s statement “we only allow…” One’s attention is certainly attracted to the piston-engined aircraft; one’s hearing suffers when these noisy beasts take off. It is time to enforce the ban on aircraft that do not meet the three-bladed turbo-prop rule. Rivet is also quoted as saying: “Best practices include the reduction of reverse thrust when landing, with sufficient room to allow for a natural slowdown, rather than have to put it in 'reverse’, which is quite noisy.” According to Rivet, “The preferred runway for landings is eastbound on Alpha Runway”—that’s the runway right through where people live. But an important percentage of landings are westbound on Alpha Runway, taking advantage of the wind from the south. This means that aircraft are now heading west, away from town. There is then every incentive for pilots to stop as quickly as possible on landing, because they’re going the wrong way—away from their destination. I would estimate that eight out of ten landings from the east involve pilots reversing engines to stop as quickly as they can, creating completely unnecessary, high-decibel noise, to the annoyance of all who live on both sides of Middle Harbour. Pilots and airlines are their own worst enemy. If they keep on behaving this way, they’re going to get themselves kicked out of the harbour because of the noise they create. The use of reverse thrust should be prohibited except in the case of an emergency. Leslie Campbell interviewed a few of the thousands of people who live and work on both sides of Middle Harbour. Many are concerned about the safety of mingling aircraft with boats, canoes, the Coho and other harbour users. We are told that aircraft fly within 50 metres of buildings on the Songhees side. This means that airplanes are passing within only a few metres of the boats tied up in the Victoria International Marina at the foot of Cooperage Place in Middle Harbour. The alarm clock for the occupants of those boats will be the 7am flight out of Victoria—the first in the day. In my mind’s eye, the thousands of inhabitants on both sides of Middle Harbour will one day rise up and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” (from the movie Network). They will take to small boats and fill the harbour, preventing all aircraft movement. The problem is, where are they going to go, these airplanes, if they get chased away? To solve the problem of the safety and noise in Middle Harbour, Alpha Runway should be closed. The aircraft will simply have to use Bravo Runway. Donald Shields That was a most informative and thorough article on our centre-of-town water airport. A fine piece of reportage. No matter how much the lady harbour master says that everything is hunky dory, I agree with the chap who says it’s a disaster looking for just the right conditions to explode. Ross Smith My congratulations and sincere appreciation to Leslie Campbell for an exceedingly well-written article, which presents for public viewing many of the safety and health concerns related to the design and operation of Victoria Harbour Water Airport. In 2017, Transport Canada (TC) advised that, by the end of that year, there would be an amendment “to raise the current certified water aerodromes safety level to one comparable to that found at certified land airports.” This was yet another in almost 20 years’ worth of unfulfilled promises, but this was the first time that TC actually admitted to applying a lesser level of safety when certifying water aerodromes, which, to me, was and is reprehensible, especially when the water airport is located in the heart of a city with planes approaching at greater than 100 mph within 50 metres or less from a popular walkway and multi-storey residences, a distance that could be closed in less than a second! I’ve seen and reported to TC on too many close-call incidents to think anything other than it’s a case of “when” not “if” a crash will occur here. I firmly believe that TC’s recently released notice of proposed amendments “to establish regulatory requirements for the operation and certification of water airports in Canada” is no coincidence. TC media relations staff were approached by Focus months ago, so TC was well aware that the article would soon be made public. TC has had more than 19 years to prepare the text of such an amendment and, I believe, had it ready just in case. I think “just in case” arrived in the form of the Focus article, which now has made TC take the first step to right the wrong I believe they’ve perpetrated here since 2000 when TC certified Victoria Harbour Water Airport. Thank you Leslie Campbell and Focus for this achievement! I urge all those who have similar concerns about our water airport to respond to Transport Canada CARAC’s invitation [despite the September 2 deadline]. Susan M. Woods Did the mayors obstruct the Elsner investigation? Thank you for keeping this dreadful waste of money and deceitful behaviour in the public awareness. Our current police force could have had the benefit of the funds instead of keeping an arrogant lout on the payroll. Betty Young More entertainment, less art Thank you, Ross Crockford, for such an insightful, enlightened piece. I am sharing it far and wide in hopes it reaches the general population of the CRD. It is time to tell it like it is when it comes to the underhanded tactics of the Royal and McPherson Theatres Society. Jennifer MacLeod Great article; a really great summary of the situation as it has unfolded. I have one question though: where do you get the figure of $580,000 for the municipal support of the theatre? According to the Royal McPherson Theatres Society’s own online annual reports, the amount the three municipalities (Victoria, Oak Bay, Saanich) contribute to the Royal is only $100,000, and Victoria alone contributes $350,000 annually to the McPherson Playhouse. Is there another $480,000 coming in some form that doesn’t appear on their financial statements? Full disclosure: I am a 29-year veteran musician of the Victoria Symphony and president of a national organization of symphonic musicians, and I have seen this scenario play out in similar fashion across the country. We all pay lip service to how much our communities value resident arts companies, but we provide terrible infrastructure for them to serve the community from. This whole situation feels like a “renoviction” except that we have only one choice of where to move to next, and the opera and dance companies have no choice. Robert Fraser Ross Crockford responds: Thank you for the kind comments. I’m not an accountant, so I can’t speak to how the RMTS breaks down its financial statements, but it did state in its presentations to the three owner municipalities that it receives $580,000 annually from them, via the CRD—$480,000 for capital expenses, and $100,000 for its operating budget. A part of the problem may be that this amount of funding has not increased since 1998, when it was established by a bylaw. The RMTS is proud that it has not asked for an increase in this funding. Maybe it needs to be increased anyway—and more municipalities need to pay for the services the theatres provide. Not your grandpa’s wildfires Urban wildfires are certainly a horrifying possibility. I appreciate the information Stephen Hume shares with us about it. However, his article may have left an impression that we might be better off reducing urban trees due to the possibility of wildfires. I asked two forest ecologists and a professor of urban forestry whether urban trees dry out vegetation, as the article suggests. All replied that the issue was complex and does not lend itself to generalization. UBC urban forest professor Cecil Konendijik wrote: “It’s very bold to state that trees dry out the ground. In many places forests are the natural ecosystem, and actually help maintain the proper water cycles. The question is more to imitate nature where possible, and develop close-to-nature forest systems rather than planting a lot of non-native tree species that require more water and are less drought tolerant.” He adds: “I am not a forest fire expert, but the solution is definitely not to just remove trees. There are many ways to deal with forest fire risks, including ecological processes, working with the reality of fire as part of ecosystems, as well as e.g. the FireSmart program to minimize fire risks. In urban forestry, we always have to deal with risks (e.g. fire, falling trees), but these have to be considered in the wider context of the many essential benefits forests and trees provide.” California’s Sierra Club says a home itself is often “more ignitable than the vegetation surrounding it.” A common sight after wildfires in urban areas can be smoking holes in the ground, where houses once stood—still surrounded by living, green trees! Well-spaced plant life can actually block wind-blown embers from reaching one’s home. On the other hand, a yard completely devoid of vegetation can create a “bowling alley” for embers. Burning embers can float in on the wind from as far as a mile away. If people are considering cutting down urban trees, please first read the Sierra Club’s “5 Ways to Protect Your Home from Wildfires.” It suggests fire-proofing from the house out, including replacing or treating flammable shingles, keeping gutters cleared of dry leaves and needles, considering external sprinklers, not piling firewood beside or near the house, and making sure embers won’t find an easy entry point. Let’s make well-thought-out decisions about trees. Mature trees are not easily replaced. They take decades to grow. And most importantly, they may well be the key to reducing climate change. A recent study found that planting trees, and preventing further deforestation, are by far the best climate mitigation tools we have. A lead researcher said, “I thought restoration would be in the top 10, but it is overwhelmingly more powerful than all of the other climate change solutions proposed.” Last year, the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change warned that we have only 10 to 12 years (now 9 to 11) to make drastic changes, in order to prevent catastrophe. Wildfires are a possibility, and we should do all we can to protect ourselves. But the climate crisis is here now. It is more important than ever before to preserve and protect every tree we can, and to plant many more. Grace Golightly Stephen Hume responds: It is true that any one home itself may be more ignitable than the vegetation surrounding it, particularly if it has wooden sidings, decks and a cedar shake roof. Or it may not. However, this depends upon the house, the type of vegetation and the proximity of that vegetation to the structure. Municipal and provincial fire authorities are quite clear that among the most significant urban wildfire hazards are non-fire resistant vegetation adjacent to, touching or overhanging structures. This becomes more significant during prolonged drought and hot spells. Leaf and needle debris on roofs, in gutters and so on pose major hazards in urban-wildland interface fires. Let us indeed make well-thought decisions about trees, their type, placement and management. That’s why the article calls for a “vigorous, mature, adult conversation at the community level about the danger zone at the fringes of Greater Victoria.” I have the greatest respect for the Sierra Club but, as a former volunteer firefighter, I believe fire safety information is best obtained from fire safety experts. Two excellent sources are the Saanich Fire Department (summer-fire-safety.html) which deals with extensive urban-wildland interface zones and the provincial government’s fire safety website: (firesmart) The letter suggests that I imply “that urban trees are nice and all, but that we might be better off without them due to the possibility of wildfires.” What I said was that while the urban forest is beneficial, not all trees are the same and drought-intolerant trees that are not fire resistant can pose a risk that deserves discussion. I said: “Does that mean we should mow down the urban forest? Of course not.” Regarding the impact of certain kinds and species of trees on groundwater in drought conditions: A study published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences found that fast growing exotic tree plantations, in this case eucalyptus, had water budgets over a three-year period which exceeded rainfall replenishment of subsurface moisture by 62 percent. “These results have obvious implications for the long term sustainability of growth rates from these plantations and the recharge of groundwater.” One of the implications is that deep-rooted non-native trees which use more water than is replenished by rainfall may pose a threat to more shallow-rooted—and fire resistant—native species like Douglas fir. Local gardeners and horticulturists may find a 2012 article in National Geographic, “Plants That Will Suck Your Yard Dry,” of interest. Finally, climate-driven urban-wildland interface fires are not a possibility, they are a fact. They occur with increasing frequency and intensity on every continent and while, as with weather, there is variability from year to year, the trend has been relentlessly upward along with global temperature. Adapting to wildfire threat is not a zero sum equation. It doesn’t mean removing urban forest and all its benefits. It does mean thoughtful strategic planning regarding appropriate tree species and types for available water budgets, placement in built environments, and management within the highest risk zones where thinning, pruning and judicious removal of ground fuel can reduce fire risk substantially. How and where to do this seems a reasonable subject for public discussion. Rare but serious side effects of “Cipro” Thanks so much to Alan Cassels for a very valuable article. However, given that officialdom has even admitted that as low as one percent of adverse drug and vaccine events ever gets reported, I doubt that casualties from these fluoroquinolone antibiotics are rare at all. Just within my own circle of contacts, I know of several people who’ve seen their health devastated by Cipro, Levaquin etc. Some years back, when I had severe ear infections in both ears, I was given a prescription for Cipro with a loud warning from the specialist that if I didn’t take it, I would end up with “cauliflower ears.” Having successfully avoided antibiotics for decades and knowing how serious Cipro’s side effects could be, I opted for an internal homeopathic remedy and herbal ear drops which cleared things up in days. When the ENT—who was totally ignorant of Cipro’s dangers—saw me, she was shocked and meekly said, “Well, whatever you did, it sure worked.” Roxanne (name withheld) Fun and loafing in the BC public service I was amused by Russ Francis’ article in the July/August 2019 Focus. It reminded me of advice I received during a middle management course many moons ago in the federal public service. The instructor informed his astonished class that it was possible to get by in the public service by putting in only a 35 percent effort—and that anything less might draw attention to the employee! More important in Francis’ article, is the damage he notes being done to the historical record in the public service by the advent of electronic means of written communication. Most business is now done by e-mail and most e-mails never end up in a record management system. While bad for maintaining a corporate memory, it will also be impossible for historians in the future to analyze and write about how public policy has developed in these decades. That will be the real shame. David B Collins Cruise ship emissions need City’s attention If Victoria City Council is so concerned about the environment, why don’t they make it mandatory for all cruise ships to hook-up to shore power when parked at Ogden Point? Compared to modern cars, cruise ships are environmental dinosaurs and spewing their exhaust in a residential neighborhood is unacceptable. If Victoria wants to keep expanding the number of cruise ship visits then authorities should install adequate shore power facilities and require all cruise ships to use them. Steen Petersen Open letter to Victoria City Council This is an urgent request to have the Victoria City Council approve the expropriation of the lot at 1980 Fairfield Place, which lies adjacent to Gonzales Hill Regional Park and resides within a degrading mature Garry oak ecosystem at the top of Gonzales Hill. As you would presumably know, the City has the right under the BC Land Expropriation Act (RSBC 1996 and current to August 7, 2019) to carry out this action, even without the approval of the lot owner. I would submit, in light of its declaration recently of a Climate Emergency, my tabling of numerous scientific studies and reports, and neighbourhood presentations (particularly focussing on ecosystem resiliency, water runoff and blasting legal co-liabilities to us and another immediate property owner, and dealing with the Climate Emergency), the City has a duty to approve such an action. To date, when this topic has been brought up, emails to individual councillors have been mostly ignored (which is disrespectful, discourteous, and unprofessional). Regardless, no tangible and precise reasons have been given by council regarding the reluctance to expropriate in this exceptional instance (especially dealing with a highly unique and rare greenfield site), other than the timid excuse that the situation doesn’t warrant such an action. Repeated requests have been made to the City for evidence that formal offers were made to the owners to purchase their lot. Councillor Isitt claims three offers were made and Mayor Helps claims five or six offers were made, while the owners claim no offers were forthcoming. To date, in spite of related requests, no evidence of any such offers to purchase has been provided. To date, and on a broader related note, there seems to be focused political will and concerted actions to continue to support developers who ransack our region’s natural assets. “Densification” continues to serve as a convenient excuse and talking point for the lack of fortitude of any of our local politicians, including this council, to deal with discouraging, not overtly encouraging, at every turn, continued significant increases in population growth. The benefits of densification are entirely offset by continued population increases in addition to the need for additional municipal infrastructure and higher possible fire risks with the proliferation of downtown high-rises. Council encouraging and endorsing continued regional population growth is the antithesis of dealing with a Climate Emergency (as is encouraging a cruise ship industry, and as was approving an Inner Harbour luxury lot marina). Anyone who understands ecology and the concept of ecological carrying-capacity would appreciate this science-constrained fact. Our regional ecosystems, including our watershed, can only stand so much adverse impact before the resiliency of the region’s ecosystems are undermined. Council needs to “walk the talk” on dealing with the council’s declaration of a Climate Emergency. Our neighbourhood has shared dozens of studies and presented the latest scientific evidence for the need to preserve the ecosystems within an urban setting and the urgent need to deal with Climate Catastrophe. Yet the City continues to encourage and allow the literal scouring of soil and vegetation on individual lots, replacing it with a lesser number of immature tree species and mostly sterile topsoil. Some egregious examples of tree, vegetation, and soil lot scouring include: Abstract’s “Belvedere Park” development at 1201 Fort Street and the complete removal of a mature urban forest, except for two large trees, with the City’s full blessing; the scouring of the two lots connected to the Rhodo project along Fairfield Road. Another lot scouring is the apparent entitlement of the owners of 1980 Fairfield Place to build an additional structure (i.e., a 600 square foot garden suite). In light of a bona fide Climate Emergency, there comes a time when a politician has to come down on the side of ecosystem legal rights and the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, in this case, it is to the detriment of individual rights. There are, however, two good options: (1) the purchase of the lot by the CRD and/or the City of Victoria (to make up for the initial, ill-considered mistake of creating this polygonal lot in 1955 and then not putting it on its Land Acquisition List over a 64-year period) or (2) expropriation. Victoria Council needs to act urgently. Show you actually have the foresight, wisdom, and strength to expropriate this lot. Please act like you actually believe there is a Climate Emergency! Brad Atchison

September 7, 2019

NRITYA by La Caramelita Flamenco Company

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Sep 27

Friday 27 September 2019, 03:00 AM

North American Premiere of NRITYA by La Caramelita Flamenco Company One Night Only: September 26, 2019, 8 pm Denford Hall, Glenlyon Norfolk School, The 800 Block of Richmond Ave., Victoria Deborah Dawson-Mourocq (flamenco dancer “La Caramelita”) believes that cross-cultural music and dance can bring people together in unexpected ways and connect them to their ancestral roots. Her new flamenco solo show, NRITYA, is the result of 10 years of introspection of how her Indian background influences her life as a flamenco dancer. At 14, she was drawn to the fiery, “gypsy” energy of flamenco, only later discovering that flamenco’s roots could be traced to the Romani people from India who settled in Spain. "As a first generation Canadian, born to Malaysian parents of Indian descent, I struggled to find my way with my multicultural background,” explains Dawson-Mourocq. “It’s the story of many Canadians. I stumbled upon flamenco in my early teens, which initially felt foreign and distant. When I discovered flamenco has roots in India, it was like I had come full circle with my own familial ancestry.” NRITYArefers to “storytelling” and “emotions created by movement” in Sanskrit while the literal Hindi translation is “dance.” Taking inspiration from the sensuality in flamenco, Latin passion and her Indian heritage, Dawson-Mourocqexplores a journey in search of her origins. At the same time, she reconstructs bridges that disappeared between flamenco and Indian dance years ago. The result is a flamenco show unlike anything experienced before. Familiar Indian songs are intermingled with traditional flamenco rhythms. In one section, the traditional Indian chant (Konnakol) matches the percussive staccato of flamenco footwork. “This is not a traditional flamenco show. We've created a new language - a new algorithm - mixing various Indian influences with flamenco,” explains singer Alejandro Mendía. Dawson-Mourocq began with a structure of three flamenco styles: tarantos, martinete and alegrías. Award-winning flamenco guitarist Guillermo Guillén, percussionist Alex Carrasco and flautist Lara Wong composed original music and rhythms, using their own interpretations of the historical Indian and flamenco art forms. Mendía’s verses speak of distance, travel, the connectedness of music across cultures, and how being apart can bring you closer together. “Through the creation process, we’ve realized that the possibilities are endless. The art form has potential for so much growth,” explains Mendía. NRITYAwas presented at the 31stArte Flamenco show in south France in July to great acclaim for its originality while Dawson-Mourocq “has mesmerized people worldwide with her graceful and passionate performances" (Petrina D'Souza, Darpan Magazine). As a Vancouver native and Flamenco Rosario alumni, Dawson-Mourocq is excited to return to her roots, with Victoria and Vancouver holding special places inher heart. “I’m so proud to perform NRITYAin Canada,” she says. “Canadians have a beautiful capacity to embrace multiculturalism. It means so much to perform this new creation at home.” TICKET OPTIONS: Advance tickets: $30 & $35 | At the door: $35 & $40 | Students: $5 discount Online: www.caravanbc.com | Phone: 604-241-7292 In Person: Munro’s Books, 1108 Government St. & Ivy’s Book Shop, 2188 Oak Bay Ave. About La Caramelita Flamenco Company The versatility ofDeborah Dawson-Mourocq(“La Caramelita”) and La Caramelita Flamenco Company has taken them worldwide, performing in Ecuador, Portugal, Canada, Spain, Malaysia, Russia, Morocco, France and Switzerland. The Company introduced new audiences to flamenco at the 2016Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver folk festivals where their shows reached over 15 000 spectators.La Caramelita performed at the Rolex Trophy in Geneva,Pacha Uchukin Ecuador, the Western Canadian tour of Mis Hermanas,at international flamenco festivals in Europe and North America, and is the winner of the 2009 Isadora Award for Excellence in Choreography. Dawson and her husband, flamenco singer Alejandro Mendía, are from Bordeaux, France. Together, with a group of award-winning musicians from France and Spain, they are creating a new language and artistic expression joining various Indian influences with flamenco. Performers includeLa Caramelita;Alejandro Mendía (singer); award-winning guitarist Guillermo Guillén(Lámpara Minera Award); multi-instrumentalist Alex Carrasco(cajón drum/percussion) andLara Wong(flute). Additional resource links: Video Teaser 1:https://youtu.be/2YDgzIlpAF4 Video Teaser 2: https://youtu.be/cUXQOaifLyA Artist Website: https://www.lacaramelita-flamenco.com Artist Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/deborahlacaramelita Caravan Event Page:http://caravanbc.com/2019/06/la-caramelita-flamenco-company-nritya NRITYAWestern Canadian Tour - Fall 2019 with support from Spedidam September 26 - Victoria - Denford Hall, Glenlyon Norfolk School September 27 - Vancouver - Waterfront Theatre, Vancouver International Flamenco Festival September 28 - Gibsons - Heritage Playhouse October 2 - Kelowna - Rotary Arts Centre October 3 - Oliver - Frank Venables Theatre October 5 - Canmore - artsPlace About Caravan World Rhythms Caravan World Rhythms is a B.C. non-profit presenter of world music and dance events, featuring artists from diverse cultural backgrounds from across Canada and around the globe. We would like to thank our funders, the Canada Council, the City of Vancouver and Canadian Heritage. Upcoming Events:Sept 2- Huun Huur Tu (Tuvan music), First Church of Christ Scientist, 1205 Pandora Ave., Victoria Tickets: www.caravanbc.com

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Nov 15

Friday 15 November 2019 until Saturday 16 November 2019

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Royal Theatre, November 15 + 16, 2019, 7:30 pm Single tickets for Dance Victoria’s 2019/20 Dance at the Royal Series are on sale now through the Royal Theatre and McPherson Playhouse Box Offices. Act now to get the best seats at the best prices. “Aspen Santa Fe Ballet accompanied by Grammy nominated pianist Joyce Yang on stage; Kidd Pivot’s bold physicality in Revisor; Ballet BC’s fresh retelling of Romeo + Juliet; and Tania Pérez-Salas Compañía de Danza’s sensitive aestheticism invite us to experience dance in unexpected and innovative ways,” says Dance Victoria’s Executive Producer Stephen White. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s (ASFB) contemporary ballet mixed program on November 15 and 16, 2019 at the Royal Theatre is an unforgettable mix of live dance and piano virtuosity with classical pianist Joyce Yang performing live on stage to works by renowned choreographers Fernando Melo, Jorma Elo and Nicolo Fonte. Nicolo Fonte’s Where We Left Off created for nine dancers reflects on the decade-long dance between the company and guest choreographer. The dance is a product of Fonte’s experiences – his anxieties, and ultimately, his trust – with ASFB. Melo’s Dream Play invites the audience to experience a constantly shifting theatrical experience and to consider contemporary dance from a different angle. Dreamlike scenes emerge as the dancers lie on the floor (their feet never touching the ground) while their movements are filmed from above and projected on a screen in real-time. Jorma Elo’s Half/Cut/Split to Robert Schumann’s Carnaval is at times joyful, and has notes of humour in it, but it’s reminiscent of Schumann’s struggle with mental illness. The composer suffered from multiple personality disorder and composed as various personalities. The music has been called “unchoreographable,” but Elo captures that duality in the dancers’ movement, aiming to find the tension between joy and madness. “This program with Joyce Yang has been one of the most rewarding projects of our company’s history,” said Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker. “Joyce explained that although she has been playing these pieces for many years, after working with the company, she sees them in a completely different way, and it’s really changed the way she plays. It was the same for our dancers.” Joyce Yang is an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. Praised by the Los Angeles Times for her “compelling virtuosity and sensitivity,” she came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant at 19 years old, she took home two additional awards: the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takàcs Quartet) and the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for Best Performance of a New Work. Since her spectacular debut, she has blossomed into an “astonishing artist” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), who captivates audiences all over the world with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive sensitivity. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet has fostered a jewel of a dance company in the American West. A deep commitment to curating new ballets while cultivating choreographic talent has resulted in a catalogue of adventurous repertoire. European sensibility glossed with American ebullience forges ASFB’s aesthetic, as the company has come to epitomize the contemporary-classical genre. Dance education is a priority with well-established ballet schools training children and adults in both markets. An outreach program steeped in Mexico's rich folkloric culture fortifies community connections. Pre-Show Chat: Join us for a free, pre-show chat with a member of the company at 6:45 pm in the West (Blanshard Street) Lobby of the Royal Theatre prior to both performances on November 15 and 16, 2019. Check the Royal and McPherson Box Offices for ticket availability and visit DanceVictoria.com for complete details on our ticket options. Single tickets are from $29 to $95.

September 6, 2019

Land, Sea & Sky

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Sep 05

Thursday 05 September 2019 until Wednesday 25 September 2019

Land, Sea & Sky Dorothy Knowles, Greg Hardy, Nathan Birch and Terry Fenton September 5 - 25, 2019 Winchester Galleries Please join us for our opening reception Saturday, September 7, 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Nathan Birch and Terry Fenton will be in attendance. Brent Jarvis, piano; Ross Mcdonald, bass Refreshments will be served DOROTHY KNOWLES, Bow Valley Series, 1991, oil on linen, 12 x 16 inches GREG HARDY, Evening Hum, acrylic on linen, 36 x 48 inches NATHAN BIRCH, Driftwood Hiding in Tall Grass, acrylic on canvas, diptych, 21.5 x 38 inches TERRY FENTON, Resolve, James Bay, oil on panel, 24 x 39 inches View Exhibition winchestergalleriesltd.com

Nicole Sleeth - ALL EYES ON YOU

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Sep 06

Friday 06 September 2019 until Sunday 29 September 2019

Nicole Sleeth - ALL EYES ON YOU åfortune gallery is proud to present Nicole Sleeth - ALL EYES ON YOUNicole’s work centers the female figure as an exploration of power, connection, and lived experience.The works in All Eyes On You are, at their core, about giving agency to the female subject. This body of work confronts and challenges societal constructs including this age old pearl: the passive and decorative object – a.k.a the female nude. In painting history these ‘objects’ are traditionally called models. In this show, these models have transformed, shedding this label and many of its objective associations. Each model is a confident individual, simultaneously strong and unapologetic. These women intentionally fix their gaze on YOU, the viewer. In turn, you no longer see just a body. You connect directly with a sentient being. September 4-29; opening reception, September 12, 7-9pmPlease review the exhibit at www.fortunegallery.ca

Arden Rose: Artwork

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Sep 25

Wednesday 25 September 2019 until Saturday 12 October 2019

Arden Rose: Artwork The work of Arden Rose will be on display in the Langham Court Theatre Lounge during the run of Over the River and Through the Woods, Sept 25-Oct 12. The pieces will be available for viewing and purchase at the reception, pre-show, during intermission or post-show during the show run and during Box Office hours. Artist Statement My paintings celebrate our human spirit. As humans we often forget to take the time to find our joy, yet it surrounds us. We can find it in the colours of spring, along a forest path, or in the face of another. It’s in child’s play, laughter, and love. I want my images to stir your soul; is there a trace of you in a brush stroke? If it whispers to you, then you will find your joy. Arden is a Victoria based artist and member of VAC, Zebra Arts Collective, and SPAC. She has been painting for 10+ years and has taken part in the Fairfield Artist Studio Tour, Bowker Creek Brush Up and was the Artist is Residence at the Parkside Hotel & Spa. She has also participated in several Live Painting shows including Art Battle. Art Show and Reception Sunday, September 29, 1–3 p.m. in the Lounge.

Aura Arindam: Paintings

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Sep 07

Saturday 07 September 2019, 07:00 AM until Thursday 31 October 2019, 07:00 AM

Aura Arindam: Paintings The artist’s acrylic seascape, landscape and skyscape paintings will be displayed and for sale at the Fernwood Inn from September 7 to October 31, 2019: 1302 Gladstone Avenue, Victoria BC www.fernwoodinn.com www.auraart.net

Doing Things ‘n Stuff: John G. Boehme

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Sep 13

Friday 13 September 2019 until Saturday 12 October 2019

Doing Things ‘n Stuff: An accumulation of actions, relics, recent work, and more from John G. Boehme Open Space presents Doing Things ‘n Stuff: An accumulation of actions, relics, recent work, and more from John G. Boehme. Opening on September 13 with a reception on September 20, the month-long exhibition will highlight the international practice of Victoria-based performance artist John G. Boehme and cast a light on the vibrant performance art community within the city.Over the past twenty-five years Boehme has created a body of work that explores his own physicality in relation to materials and processes. Often situating his work in critical response to current issues and concerns of contemporary performance art, Boehme works with sculpture, video, and live action, at times simultaneously, integrating materials, media, and processes into installations and time-based events.For Boehme, “physical involvement is the most thorough and embodied way in which to create meaning.” In his durational works, “both the artist and the audience become privy to knowledge available only through this kind of commitment.”Boehme is an undeniable presence in the Victoria performance art community, and the Open Space exhibition will offer the opportunity for the public to witness a series of past and current works, including installations, sculptures, videos, and printed matter. Exhibition: September 13-October 12, Tues-Sat, 12-5pmOpening reception: Friday, September 20, 7-9pmPerformance: Thursday, October 10, 7:00pm See www.openspace.ca

September 6, 2019
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The Children by Lucy Kirkwood

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Ongoing Events

Sep 17

Tuesday 17 September 2019 until Sunday 13 October 2019

The Children by Lucy Kirkwood ★ ★ ★ ★ "The Children should be seen for its simple take on powerful questions" Chicago Sun-Times From September 17 to October 13, 2019, the Belfry Theatre will present The Children by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood. Directed by Michael Shamata, The Children stars Nancy Palk (Hazel), Brenda Robins (Rose), and Joseph Ziegler (Robin). Brenda Robins starred (as the delightful 90-year old Vera) in our production of 4000 Miles earlier this year. Nancy Palk and Joseph Ziegler (who are married in real life) are returning after making their Belfry debuts in Da (in 1979). The three actors are longtime friends. Robin and Hazel are two retired nuclear scientists, living in a seaside cottage on the east coast of England. But all is not as it seems. Their electricity is restricted to evenings, and they have a Geiger counter in the kitchen. On a warm summer’s evening, Rose, an old friend and colleague, arrives from America with a startling request. Inspired by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima Japan, The Children is a pressure cooker that asks powerful questions of us all. Playing out in real time, by turns it is a mystery, comedy and drama. The play opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London in November 2016 and transferred to Broadway a year later. In New York the play was nominated for the 2018 Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding New Broadway Play and the 2018 Tony Award for Best Play. Last year, Kirkwood was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. Her 2013 play Chimerica examined the relationship between the US and China. It won the 2014 Olivier Award for best new play and was subsequently adapted as a TV miniseries, airing on the UK’s Channel 4 this past April. WHY I CHOSE THIS PLAY Award-winning playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s brilliant play asks big questions about the responsibility we face to leave a better world for the next generation. How do we reconcile our mistakes with their impact on the future, and who is meant to clean up after us? -- Michael Shamata Creative Team Lucy Kirkwood - Playwright Michael Shamata - Director Christina Poddubiuk - Designer Alan Brodie - Lighting Designer Tobin Stokes - Composer / Sound Designer Jennifer Swan - Stage Manager Carissa Sams - Assistant Stage Manager Jacques Lemay - Choreographer Adrienne Smook - Dialect Coach Molly McDowell-Powlowski - Assistant Director* *Molly McDowell-Powlowski’s participation made possible through the Belfry’s Emerging Artist Enhancement Program, funded by the RBC Emerging Artists Project. Ticket Information Tickets for The Children range from $20 to $55 (plus GST). Tickets are available at 250-385-6815 or online at tickets.belfry.bc.ca. Prices are subject to change. Tickets for The Children - https://tickets.belfry.bc.ca/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent1085.html

PoleCraft: Aerial Artistry & Other Spells

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Sep 28

Saturday 28 September 2019, 02:00 AM until 07:00 AM

PoleCraft: Aerial Artistry & Other Spells A professional aerial and pole show is coming to the Metro Studio Theatre featuring performers from Cirque de Soleil and iconic pole dance studios on September 27 and September 28, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. PoleCraft: Aerial Artistry & Other Spells (“PoleCraft”) is a celebration of aerial artists who defy gravity, leaving audiences captivated, curious and spellbound. Using hanging equipment like hoops, silks and stationary poles, and incorporating high energetic acrobatics, complex choreography unfolds in an abstract narrative otherworldliness, illusion and transformation. This is the Island’s only professional pole dance production. Canadian ballerina Tara Meyer will perform as well as other award-winning performers representing studios from across Vancouver Island and Canada. They will offer workshops in Victoria while here.

In Search of Woo: Monkey, Muse, Mystery

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Sep 27

Friday 27 September 2019, 02:15 AM

In Search of Woo: Monkey, Muse, Mystery The Victoria Historical Society presents a talk, “In Search of Woo: Monkey, Muse, Mystery” by Grant Hayter-Menzies, Thursday, September 26, 2019 at James Bay New Horizons Centre, 234 Menzies Street, Victoria V8V 2G7. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. for refreshments and conversation. A short business meeting beginning at 7:45 will be followed immediately by the speaker. In 1923 Emily Carr went to a Victoria Pet Store and traded one of her dogs and $35 cash for a young Javanese macaque. For the next fifteen years, the monkey, named Woo, formed a bond with Carr that proved crucial to her artistic legacy. Using Carr's own writings, newspaper accounts, memoirs and archives, the author will reconstruct the fascinating story of Woo. For over a decade, Grant has specialized in biographies of extraordinary people. His recent biography of Woo was published by Douglas & McIntyre; Grant live

September 6, 2019
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Garry Oak Trees & Habitat

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Sep 26

Thursday 26 September 2019, 02:00 AM

Inspirational Explorations: Garry Oak Trees & Habitat Wednesday, September 25, 7 pm Church of Truth Community of Conscious Living, 111 Superior St. Garry Oak Trees and Their Habitat: How We Can Help Endangered Ecosystems Transition to Recovery Patricia Johnston, retired Native Plant Gardening Consultant and Community Trees Matter Network member, will speak on Garry oak trees and the native plants that are part of the ecosystems. By learning about Garry oak ecosystems and their plants, as well as how to grow them in our gardens, we contribute to the recovery of fragmented ecosystems. Facilitated by Frances Litman as part of the community Inspirational Explorations Wednesday night series presented by the Church of Truth, Community of Conscious Living. See Community Trees Matter Network National Tree Day September 25 September 25th is National Tree Day! We encourage our supporters to plant a seedling or tree and encourage your local municipal and regional governments to protect and preserve trees. Local events will be announced soon by The Community Trees Matter Network. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

September 6, 2019

An airport in our midst

Leslie Campbell commented on Leslie Campbell's article in Focus Magazine July/August 2019

It’s probably just a coincidence but on July 8, Transport Canada announced its Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) - Water Airports. It’s only been 19 years in coming. Citizens and community bodies have until August 22 to provide feedback to the proposed amendment: see https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/NPA-APM/actr.aspx?id=57&aType=1&lang=eng

PURCELL - HAIL BRIGHT CECILIA

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Aug 11

Sunday 11 August 2019, 02:30 AM

PURCELL - HAIL BRIGHT CECILIA Saturday, August 10 2019 at 7:30PM - Christ Church Cathedra PERFORMERS Alexander Weimann, music director Pacific Baroque Orchestra Suzie LeBlanc, soprano Dorothee Mields, soprano Alex Potter, counter-tenor Samuel Boden, tenor Sumner Thompson, baritone Matthew Brook, bass-baritone PROGRAMME Matthew Locke (1621-1677): EXCERPTS FROM THE TEMPEST Introduction Galliard, Gavot, Sarabrand, Lilk Curtain Tune John Blow (1649-1708): Welcome, Every Guest Matthew Locke: EXCERPTS FROM THE TEMPEST Rustick Air, A Martial Jigge Conclusion Henry Purcell (1659-1695): Hail, Bright Cecilia “Collegial, collaborative music-making of the highest level.” – The Vancouver Sun A Gentleman’s Journal The person of Saint Cecilia and her association with music is shrouded in mystery. She had been venerated among the saints since the fifth century, but only began to be regularly identified as patroness of music in the sixteenth century. The first documented music festival held in her honour occurred in Normandy in 1570. In 1585, Sixtus V established one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, issuing a papal bull invoking Gregory the Great and Saint Cecilia as the two saints most prominent in the history of western music. Yet, it was in Protestant Restoration England that the celebration of Saint Cecilia flourished especially colourfully. Between the years 1683 and 1703, the Musical Society of London hosted annual festivities including a service at St. Bride’s Church featuring an anthem for choir and orchestra and a sermon in defense of music, followed by a performance at Stationer’s Hall of a newly composed ode in praise of music. The celebratory ode, a genre of formal lyric poetry borrowed from antiquity, had become extremely popular in the court of Charles II. The times were unsettled; the monarchy newly re-established amid persistent conflicts over succession and religion. The ode served to express political power and loyalty, linking the security of the developing British nation to the king and his divinely ordained authority. Ancient Greece and Rome were often elevated as models for the modern state. Odes written in praise of Saint Cecilia similarly connected English artistic achievement with Cecilia’s patronage and with divine blessing. She became a secular figurehead, conflated with the muses of antiquity. Further, the texts of the Cecilian odes, always commissioned from Britain’s greatest poets, elevated music, particularly the collaborative process of music-making, as a model for the creation of a healthy civil society. Music unified the arts and sciences, involving diverse disciplines from poetry to instrument technology. Ensemble music harmonized the varied timbres and abilities of instruments and voices. Musical composition knit together a range of influences – music theories traced from antiquity, traditions of musical genre and style, the composer’s own inspiration… Emulating, adapting, reworking, or enriching existing music and text was, in fact, privileged over conspicuous originality. Artists situated themselves and their work within community. So, Nicholas Brady’s text Hail! Bright Cecilia (1692) reworks John Dryden’s famous poem A Song for St. Cecilia’sDay (1687), and Henry Purcell’s setting of Brady’s text dialogues with the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day (1691) composed by his teacher John Blow. Hail! Bright Cecilia (1692) is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the power of music to move the emotions. Purcell uses an exceptionally large orchestra and all sorts of combinations of vocal solos, duets, trios, and choruses to paint the purported universal power and cosmic significance of music and the characters associated with different instruments and musical genres. The piece concludes with a bass duet and chorus encouraging the unity of disparate instruments and human voices with the music of Saint Cecilia and her heavenly ensemble. Matthew Locke’s incidental music for The Tempest formed part of a similarly exemplary collaborative project. During the 1650s, the Commonwealth government forbade spoken theatre, though musical performances remained permissible. Lovers of Shakespeare “operatized” his plays as a way of circumventing the restrictions, and the new genre proved a winning combination of excellent spoken drama with music and spectacle. The most successful of these pieces was the reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, premiered in 1674. Poet John Dryden and playwright William Davenant revised the play line by line, modernizing the language and incorporating references to contemporary politics and recent scientific discoveries. Matthew Locke provided instrumental music, including the Curtain Tune, a realistic depiction of the storm so central the play’s plot, while Pelham Humphrey, Pietro Reggio, and John Banister all contributed vocal music. Perhaps, amid the fantasy and myth associated with the Cecilia Day celebrations of the seventeenth century, there is a timely reminder for us too about music’s potential to model unity and to create links across the span of history. The hope that Nicholas Brady expressed in his sermon for St. Cecilia’s Day of 1697 remains rather poignant. “Peace then is restored to us within our Walls, Peace, that Banisher of Discord, that Mother of Harmony, that Band of Union to consenting Minds, that Nurse and Patroness of useful Arts and Sciences. And O! That all the several parties in this kingdom, however formerly divided by interest or design, would Resemble the Trumpeters and Singers in the Text! That they were as one!” — Notes by Christina Hutten PURCHASING TICKETS Tickets for the Pacific Baroque Series concerts at the Cathedral can be purchased: Online Here By calling the Ticket Rocket Box Office: 1.855.842.7575 In person: At the Ticket Rocket Box Office (1050 Meares Street) Or at the Cathedral Office (930 Burdett Avenue) And at the following outlets: Ivy’s Bookshop: 2188 Oak Bay Ave Munro’s Books: 1108 Government St

BOOM X

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Jul 30

Tuesday 30 July 2019 until Sunday 18 August 2019

BOOM X Belfry Theatre, July 30-August 18 Rick Miller’s multimedia masterpiece BOOM struck a chord with Belfry audiences in the summer of 2015. Picking up where BOOM left off – at Woodstock in 1969 – BOOM X tackles the music, culture and politics of Generation X. Surrounded by stunning visuals, Rick plays more than 100 famous people – musicians, celebrities, politicians – in his own story of growing up and trying to navigate the tangled legacy of the Baby Boom. Presented by: KIDOONS AND WYRD PRODUCTIONS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THEATRE CALGARY AND THE 20K COLLECTIVE PRESENTS Tickets and information at www. belfry.bc.ca

Frances Beckow: Draw a Breath

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Jul 27

Saturday 27 July 2019 until Saturday 03 August 2019

Frances Beckow: Draw a Breath Gage Gallery, July 16 - August 3 “Draw A Breath” connects the focus of drawing with the breath work used for calming the mind and body in meditation. The drawings in this show represent the artist’s exploration of the theme that drawing is a calming and harmonious practice. Quiet, peaceful and solitary, the act of implement on surface has the power to take down stress and power up creativity. ReceptionSunday, August 21, 1-4pm. Daily Tues-Sat 11am-5pm. 2031 Oak Bay Ave, 250-592-2760, wwwgagegallery.ca.

Sooke Fine Arts Show

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Jul 26

Friday 26 July 2019 until Monday 05 August 2019

Sooke Fine Arts Show SEAParc Leisure Complex, July 26–August 5 Celebrating it’s 33rd anniversary in 2019, the Sooke Fine Arts Show is Vancouver Island’s longest-running juried fine art show, and one of the region’s premier summer arts event. The show provides the opportunity for the finest artists from Vancouver Island and BC’s coastal islands to showcase and sell their work. More than 380 works of original island art will be on display in the 17,000-square-foot gallery. Daily artist demonstrations, talks, guided tours, live music, and gift shop. http://sookefinearts.com.

The Ground Above Us

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Jul 27

Saturday 27 July 2019, 02:00 AM

The Ground Above Us: Charles Campbell and Farheen HaQ Legacy Downtown, Lekwungen territory July 26–September 14 This collaborative project intersects the practices of Farheen HaQ and Charles Campbell as visual artists, racialized bodies and guests on Lekwungen territories. They ask the question: How does our creative work of making space for our voices and experience meet the ground and history here? Opening reception Friday, July 26, 7-9pm. Wed to Sat 10am-4pm; Thurs 10am-8pm until August 29. 630 Yates St, 250-721-6562, www.legacy.uvic.ca.

July 6, 2019

Colours of Summer X

Leslie Campbell posted an event in Upcoming Events

Jul 27

Saturday 27 July 2019 until Saturday 17 August 2019

Colours of Summer X Madrona Gallery July 6–August 17, Every two weeks new work is rotated in from Madrona’s large stable of leading artists from across Canada. Included are new works by Rick Bond, Nicholas Bott, Karel Doruyter, Meghan Hildebrand, April Mackey, John Lennard, and more. These works are complemented by historic works by the Group of 7, Emily Carr, E.J. Hughes, Takao Tanabe, Ted Harrison, Robert Genn, and David Blackwood, as well as Inuit drawings, prints and carvings. Opening reception: Saturday, July 6, 1-4 pm, 606 View St, 250-380-4660, www.madronagallery.com. Show here is: “Passage” Karel Doruyter, 36 x 60 inches, Acrylic on Canvas

An airport in our midst

Leslie Campbell posted an article in Focus Magazine July/August 2019

Victoria boasts one of the busiest water airports in the world—some think it’s too busy. IT’S QUITE UNUSUAL—and ambitious—to have an airport smack in the middle of any city, on water or land. According to Transport Canada, which runs the harbour aerodrome, “Victoria Harbour is Canada’s only certified water airport and port that is home to cruise ships, floatplanes, passenger ferries, recreational boaters and kayakers.” And don’t forget the big yachts in the new marina. Did you know Victoria is now the busiest port of call for cruise ships in Canada? Or that the airport has earned the title of Canada’s, and sometimes the world’s, busiest water airport, averaging 100 flight movements (take-offs or landings) a day? Floatplanes coming and going on the busy Victoria Harbour Airport (Photo by David Broadland) As Transport Canada’s graphic depiction of the harbour’s transportation avenues shows (below), all of the traffic in the harbour is occurring in a small space, one surrounded by dense development of the waterfront, including hotels and thousands of condos. Note the pinch-point between Songhees Point and Laurel Point, a narrow channel that all vessels, including aircraft, must squeeze through to get into or out of the Inner Harbour. And notice that airport runways are superimposed on the lane for boats over 20 metres in length. Transport Canada’s “Traffic Scheme” for the Public Port of Victoria The airport might even get busier if recently-announced plans to convert Harbour Air’s fleet to electric motors come to pass. Harbour Air is the main airline operating out of the harbour, with flights to downtown Vancouver, South Vancouver (YVR), Pitt Meadows, and Whistler. With over 40 aircraft, it is possibly the largest seaplane airline in the world. It has won numerous awards over the years, including Canada’s Best Managed Companies (for 10 years), and Business of the Year in Victoria. Its founder and owner, Greg McDougall, was just inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame. It claims to be the world’s first fully carbon-neutral airline (accomplished through an offset program). And now it plans to become the first commercial airline to be powered by electric propulsion. When electrification of its fleet is complete, flight costs could come down as much as 70-80 percent, according to Roei Ganzarski of magniX, which is developing the new engines. If flight costs were reduced, it follows that fares might come down, too—certainly the offset charges would be eliminated. That would likely translate into greater demand—from tourists, business people, government employees, and even for freight. Typical fares now are over $200 to Vancouver, but imagine a $100 fare: the 30-minute trip could become enticingly convenient and affordable to a lot more folks. When I suggest such a possibility to Harbour Air President Randy Wright, he said, “Fuel costs will come down, but it will take a while to convert the entire fleet. There is also a significant capital cost involved in this refit. As a result, at this point, it’s difficult to say what the impact will be on fares.” He also doesn’t think flight numbers will increase. Residents with ringside seats on the harbour have expressed concerns for many years about the airport’s safety, noise and exhaust fumes. While Harbour Air’s electrification plans—if they are carried out—will eventually help on some fronts, the safety concerns will not go away, whether flight numbers increase or remain the same. IN THE EARY 1990s, when construction of condos began on the Songhees, floatplane flights numbered about 11,000 annually. Though they have ranged as high as 34,000, they’ve been hovering around 25,000 in recent years. (Helicopters not included—they add another 9,000 or so.) In 2000, the harbour aerodrome was certified as an airport by Transport Canada, which regulates the Port of Victoria—basically from Ogden Point to the Selkirk Trestle Bridge. In 2008, the City of Victoria, in response to growing citizen concerns about safety, noise and emissions, set up a committee to look at the airport. In the minutes for a meeting that included representatives from Transport Canada, the anger of residents comes through loud and clear. One resident, an experienced pilot with over 1600 hours of flight time, including in floatplanes, stated: “it’s an accident waiting to happen…Any experienced pilot is astonished. If it was grass between the shores there’d be no airport.” He and others commented that they had given up complaining because of the apparent futility. As one person put it, “Complaining to Transport Canada is a big black hole, nothing happens.” Another argued, “There has to be some limitation [of flight numbers] and some people think the carrying capacity has long been exceeded.” A Songhees resident described how “on a typical day I wipe off my balcony and the rag is filthy [from plane exhaust].” That committee’s final report in 2009 made clear that the City had no real power over the airport. It could ask Transport Canada to play nice, but that was about it. Among the things it “urged” Transport Canada to do were conduct an independent aeronautical study, and study the impact of noise and air quality. No such studies have been done. Former Councillor Pam Madoff, who chaired the committee on the airport, describes the issue as “one of the more frustrating files to have dealt with” over the course of her 25 years on council—largely because of Transport Canada’s “lack of responsiveness and a level of disinterest that was quite extraordinary.” Another key “urging” of her committee was to finalize the Water Airport Regulations and Standards, after adjusting them to address “quality of life factors and the dense urban environment.” The regulations have never been adjusted or formalized—they have been in draft form since 2000. Songhees resident Susan Woods has shown me an almost comical two-decade record of annual promises from Transport Canada that the final regulations, along with a 30-day public comment period, were just around the corner. The continuing delay led Victoria City Council, in July 2017, to pass a resolution to ask “the Government of Canada move forward with publication of Canadian Aviation Regulations and Standards for the Victoria Harbour Water Airport, to allow for public comment…and provide certainty for residents, operators and passengers.” In May 2018, after a motion by Councillor Ben Isitt, who noted the years of “runaround” by Transport Canada, the City sent another request for the regulations. Madoff believes the reasons for the delay—19 years now—is the legal requirement that the regulations and standards will be subject to a 30-day public notice and thereby be held up to scrutiny—scrutiny, it’s implied, that could upset the airport applecart. Marg Gardiner, president of the James Bay Neighbourhood Association, has been studying the harbour and the airport for decades. She uses words like “shameful” and “depressing” to describe how neglectful both the City and Transport Canada have been in addressing and protecting local residents from unhealthy levels of exhaust and noise, as well as potential accidents. She believes the City encouraged development around the harbour knowing about the liveability issues around a busy airport. She says it’s only through citizen action that airport traffic hasn’t increased more over the years: “It’s a political game.” Referring to the City’s committee and its recommendations, she adds, “There was lots of talk, but in the end nothing…no one demands anything from Transport Canada.” HARBOUR MASTER MARIAH McCOOEY, who also acts as the airport manager, assures me that, over the years, Transport Canada has developed measures to ensure all harbour users can coexist safely. Key among these measures is “a detailed traffic scheme, which has been in place for almost 20 years. It includes runways, lanes, and different zones that keep traffic flowing for all the diverse users.” She admits, “From shore it looks a bit random, but it’s actually well organized.” Victoria Harbour Master Mariah McCooey (Photo be Leslie Campbell) Besides wall-to-wall windows on the water side of her Fisherman’s Wharf office, McCooey, who holds a Masters in Maritime Management, has a number of large high-resolution video screens providing views from 23 cameras around the harbour. The Coast Guard has access to these videos as well. The data is kept for 120 days so recent incidents can be reviewed if necessary. Victoria Harbour Airport operates under a “Prior Permission Required” system: not just anyone can land their plane. All pilots flying into the harbour airport do special studies and take an exam, McCooey tells me. NAV Canada provides “flight services” including up-to-date weather and water conditions for pilots, but, unlike at larger airports, no air traffic control (though NAV Canada’s tower on the harbour looks like an air traffic control tower at a regular airport, it isn’t). Pilots can communicate with NAV’s flight service advisors and with each other. NAV Canada facility at Shoal Point looks like an air traffic control tower—but isn’t. (Photo by Leslie Campbell) McCooey oversees on-the-water patrollers—a couple in the winter and seven in the summer. The biggest safety issue, she says, are “transient” boat operators who don’t know harbour rules. Towards their enlightenment, she and the patrollers give out 2,500 brochures over the summer. These include the map, with its highlighted warning telling boaters to stay away from runways. McCooey is not worried about the amount of traffic. “We have a lot of coordination [among partners], with lots of safety meetings…A lot of top professionals are looking at the harbour to make sure it works and is safe,” she says, mentioning representatives from NAV, the Coast Guard, City of Victoria, and the RCMP. All the partners meet every six months to make sure everyone’s in the loop about any developments and issues. There’s also a database that includes all reports of infringements that is available to all the partners. “It’s pretty fantastic,” says McCooey. Every incident in which a runway is crossed, or there’s been a misuse of boat lanes, is included and analyzed. There were 700 such non-serious incidents last year, but no real accidents. The incidents are recorded, says McCooey, as they do pose some risk. “We’re always asking what we can do to reduce it.” Regular users, she says, are well-versed in proper procedures. Tug operators know they can go “right up the middle,” for instance. The whale-watching boats also use the middle lanes. Harbour ferries have to regularly traverse runways, so are heavily involved in safety meetings, she notes, telling me in all, there are 120,000 ferry movements per year. Each ferry has a two-way radio. A few years back Randy Wright described the arrangements as “working like a Swiss watch.” Still, there are barges coming and going and there will be, eventually, some mega-yachts. As well, the Coho and other big ships have to use the airport runway. It seems an incredible amount to choreograph. SUSAN WOODS, who lives in a condo on the Songhees and has a masters degree in marine science, is not reassured by the Harbour Master’s confidence. Her main concern is the way planes are allowed to fly close to residential buildings on the north side of the harbour. (Full disclosure: my mother lived in a Songhees condo for 24 years.) The allowed distance from the edge of the take-off and landing areas to the nearest building is 50 metres. She believes it should be more like that of other airports: 300 metres. She notes, “In the event of a problem with the aircraft, strong gusting winds, momentary inattention by the pilot, or some other mishap, this 50-metre gap would be closed by an approaching plane in about one second.” Something Transport Canada calls “vertical transition zoning” has been allowed to get around the fact that buildings poke into the usual amount of transitional surface required for a safe runway zone. In a document online, Transport Canada states this type of zoning “is intended to provide relief for small aerodromes in mountainous regions, used in VMC [visual meterological conditions], where river valleys, etc. are the only sites available. At other locations an aeronautical study and Headquarters’ approval is required.” Woods also believes pilots should be prohibited from taking off or landing while there are obstacles (i.e. watercraft) present anywhere on the take-off and landing areas. Marg Gardiner, who lives in a condo across the harbour in James Bay, agrees, lamenting that runways have been superimposed on the marine arterial highway used by the Coho and other large boats, which means that the unobstructed airspace for the landing and taking off of aircraft—a requirement of other airports—is not being met. While there have been no accidents in many years, Gardiner says, “There have been close calls.” She’s seen near-misses between aircraft and buildings or watercraft. She has also seen and reported incidents in which, during rough weather, taxiing planes seemed to lose control and come perilously close to fuel docks. Woods says the only incident she’s witnessed (and reported) recently was one in which “a Twin Otter landed eastbound on operating area Alpha, and the pilot had to use probably-maximum reverse thrust in order to attempt to complete the landing prior to crossing east of the line joining the N and S markers. However, it appeared that the plane had neither completed its landing nor was at or below five knots before crossing the line.” Woods and her fellow Songhees residents have pressed for years for an aeronautical study to identify the deviations and the remediation needed for airport safety—one conducted by a qualified, professional, independent consultant. To no avail. AND THEN THERE'S THE NOISE. Harbour Air’s eventual shift to electric planes will definitely help. Wright predicts, “The electric planes will be about 75 percent quieter.” Meanwhile—and it could be a long while— it’s noisy, as those living on the harbour or walking the Westsong Walkway can attest. “Especially during the busy summer period,” says Woods, “windows and doors have to remain closed due to conversation-stopping noise and the noxious fumes which accumulate inside homes.” A City of Victoria presentation from October 2008 suggested that noise problems were primarily due to propeller noise—not just engines—and that they were “exacerbated by proximity of aircraft to shoreline buildings.” (What Gardiner refers to as a concrete canyon over water.) I found a 1995 US study of seaplane noise that stated: “The principal factor in the intensity of seaplane noise is first the type of seaplane…, next the tip speed of the propeller (RPM’s), followed by the angle and distance that can be kept between the seaplane and the listener, and lastly the power setting (throttle).” It stated that a Cessna 206 with 300 hp engine and three-bladed propeller has a maximum of 88 dBA. The only noise study done by Transport Canada dates back to 2000. It found that average noise was “just below acceptable level,” and acknowledged a problem does exist. Single-event levels during one three-hour period in the afternoon exceeded 85 dBA 14 times, Woods noted. With more than 100 flight movements a day in summer, such numbers don’t seem surprising. (City noise bylaws do not apply, given the federal jurisdiction.) Noise is more than a nuisance; it’s a recognized health hazard, increasing stress, the risk of hypertension, and ischaemic heart disease. It also has negative effects on sleep, communication, performance and behaviour, reading and memory acquisition, and mental health. When I raised the question of noise with Transport Canada, Simon Rivet, a senior advisor with its Communications Group, listed the noise mitigation strategies that have been implemented: “We only allow three-bladed turbo-prop aircraft, which is the quietest version of a floatplane in existence. Best practices include the reduction of reverse thrust when landing, with sufficient room to allow for a natural slowdown, rather than having to put it in ‘reverse,’ which is quite noisy.” He also noted that rules around runway use dramatically reduce noise levels: the majority of take-offs are from Bravo runway in the Outer Harbour; while the preferred runway for landings is eastbound on Alpha, “because it also minimizes the amount of idling and manoeuvring on the surface.” Finally, he noted that no flights are allowed before 7am. But with no noise-level studies in two decades, how do they know if these measures have been successful, or to what degree? Harbour residents are still finding it very loud. And quieter electric planes could be a long way off. Gardiner feels that until things change, all prospective harbour condo buyers should be warned about the noise. As I talk with her on the phone, the Coho blasts its horn in the background. UNTIL SEAPLANES CHANGE TO E-PLANES, the city’s booming core population means that more people will notice the noxious fumes around the harbour. Susan Woods believes “unburned or partially combusted fuel from floatplane operations at Victoria Harbour Airport result in volatile organic compounds and suspended particulate matter being spewed into the surrounding environment, including the walkways and residences…The sooty, oily film which begins to coat our windows, soon after they’ve been washed, is a visible testament as to the volume of particulate matter polluting our air each and every day.” (I too have seen the greasy film that coats windows on the Songhees side.) Transport Canada’s last study, based on 1998 activity levels, found that VOCs being released into the harbour came from both motorboats and planes. While more VOCs were produced by motorboats (including whale-watching vessels), aircraft emissions, because of their dispersal in the air, tend to affect humans more. Many floatplanes run on “avgas”—a petroleum fuel with lead added to it. Lead was phased out of gasoline for automobiles decades ago because of its serious health effects. Yet small planes with piston engines still use it. Wright assured Focus that none of Harbour Air planes flying to Victoria Harbour use leaded gas. However, Transport Canada’s Rivet told me there is no requirement for planes to use unleaded gasoline. So other planes flying into the harbour likely do use it. Rivet also said the airport has no air-quality monitoring program. No one really knows just how bad the air around the harbour is these days. Beyond the health of locals, of course, is that of the planet. All carbon-burning craft play starring roles in warming the planet. Aviation, however, states the David Suzuki Foundation, “has a disproportionately large impact on the climate system. It accounts for four to nine percent of the total climate change impact of human activity.” The industry has been “expanding rapidly in part due to regulatory and taxing policies that do not reflect the true environmental costs of flying.” Travelling by air “has a greater climate impact per passenger kilometre, even over longer distances. It’s also the mode of freight transport that produces the most emissions,” the Foundation states on its website. Harbour Air has worked hard to be as green as possible under these circumstances. Its Victoria terminal has a green roof and solar panels. Most importantly, since 2007, it has had an impressive carbon offset program. All emissions of the company, 97 percent coming directly from seaplane fuel use, are “offset” through Offsetters Clean Technology, a company that specializes in both calculating carbon emissions and finding appropriate projects to invest in—both regional and international—that reduce carbon emissions. Harbour Air has information about the projects online and makes customers aware of the offsets by showing their cost on ticket receipts. It also tells them that a return flight to Vancouver produces 87 kg CO2-equivalent per passenger. Nevertheless, Harbour Air’s overall emissions have crept up over the years to 12,793 tonnes CO2-equivalent in 2017. While offsets may be better than nothing, critics have argued they are a bit of a shell game, allowing people to rationalize their carbon-intensive habits rather than changing them. Most experts agree they are not a substitute for directly reducing emissions, given the urgency of tackling climate change. University of Ottawa Professor, and President of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada, Ryan Katz-Rosene, told The Georgia Straight an honest definition of “carbon offset” might be something like, “a framework to enable people to continue to produce carbon dioxide and to absolve themselves of responsibility when they might not even work in the first place and, if they do work, are things that should be happening anyway.” So the Harbour Air electrification moves are potentially very good news for those concerned about climate change and air quality. (Unfortunately, there are no such technological fixes foreseen for larger planes.) How soon will Harbour air electrify its planes? Wright says, “We plan to have an eplane ready for flight testing in late 2019. But it will take a while for Transport Canada regulations to catch up. We anticipate that it will be a multi-year effort to convert the entire fleet.” Judging from the 19 years Transport Canada has taken, so far, to finalize the airport regulations, we may have a long time to wait for those electric planes. A shop mock-up of how magniX’s aero’s electric propulsion system would be adapted to a Cessna aircraft Marg Gardiner says she’ll believe it when she sees it. She’s seen too many failures along such lines, including aborted plans to electrify the buses going to and from cruise ships. Even if Harbour Air’s plan is realized, and electric planes reduce both health and environmentally- damaging emissions, as well as some or most aircraft noise, “it doesn’t address the safety issue at all,” says Gardiner. On that front, Transport Canada needs to step up, do the aeronautical studies, and finalize the standards and regulations for the airport that it has long promised. No one is suggesting the airport be closed or moved out of the harbour. Most agree that it provides a valued service and brings economic benefits to Victoria. But it is publicly owned. The private airlines pay nothing in port fees. Taxpayers pay for it all—the Transport Canada managers, the Harbour Master, the on-the-water patrollers and their boats and brochures, along with the frustrations, possible health issues, and benefits that come with having an airport in the middle of Victoria’s harbour. They understandably want to be assured of adequate safety measures and quality of life. Editor Leslie Campbell misses her regular visits to her mom’s old condo. The view of our busy, beautiful harbour is hard to beat.

Focus Magazine Nov/Dec 2016

Sept/Oct 2016.2

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