Wednesday, December 16, 2015 oakbaynews.com Songs of solstice Oak Bay United concert celebrates the season Page A8 NEWS: Weaver acclaimed as BC Green leader /A3 GARDEN: Good reads for your Christmas list /A11 SPORTS: Gary Taylor Classic hits the hardwood /A14 OAK BAY NEWS Christine van Reeuwyk Oak Bay News A pair of CRD committee decisions last week may cause a delay that puts sewage treatment grant funding at high risk, warns Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen. “We’re not going to meet the March 31 deadline, that’s clear. Can we get an exten- sion? That’s not so clear,” he told the Oak Bay News Thursday. The Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee decided during its Dec. 16 meet- ing not to send the latest information out for public consumption and feedback. Going to the public was defeated in a tie vote with clear opinions on both sides. “Obviously we all want to keep the public involved, keep the public informed but I can’t see what we’re going to say to them at this time,” said director Vic Derman, the Saanich councillor who led the charge against going to the public. “Here are four representative options – maybe – that we have all sorts of problems with.” That included four options with esti- mated annual costs: One plant in the Rock Bay area of Victoria at a cost from $1.031 billion (secondary treatment) to $1.139 bil- lion (tertiary treatment); a two-plant system with secondary and tertiary treatment in Rock Bay and Colwood, for $1.088 billion; a four-plant system in Rock Bay, Colwood, Esquimalt First Nation and East Saanich, with secondary and tertiary treatment for $1.195 billion; and a seven-plant option — including plants in Rock Bay, Colwood, Esquimalt, East Saanich, View Royal, Lang- ford and Saanich — with secondary and tertiary treatment for $1.348 billion. “The public will have come to some con- clusions themselves,” said director and Saanich councillor Susan Brice, adding that obviously seven plants cost more than one and tertiary is more expensive than second- ary. “When the (public) consultation occurs, the critical thing is to tone it down, not put pressure on people. Remind the pub- lic we’re in a fluid process … take more questions from them and provide answers where we have answers.” Grant funding for sewage treatment at risk: Jensen GVPL launches Skill Builders for all children Christine van Reeuwyk Oak Bay News A new Skill Builders Adaptive Toy collec- tion in the Greater Victoria Public Library will provide families with children who have cog- nitive, physical, sensory or communicative challenges the opportunity to borrow acces- sible toys at the Oak Bay branch. Rina Hadziev, Collections and Technical Ser- vices Co-ordinator, is proud of the collection, calling it one of the “more special” in their vast offering. “I like it when we stretch ourselves,” she said. “The focus is really on play. Parents and caregivers and kids playing together has value in itself,” she said. Each of the light plastic totes holds three to five toys, a fidget and a book or CD. Adaptive toys on loan at Oak Bay library PLEASE SEE: McLoughlin site should be reconsidered, Page A2 PLEASE SEE: Three toy box sizes available, Page A5 Christine van Reeuwyk/Oak Bay News Rina Hadziev, Greater Victoria Public Library Collections and Technical Services Co-ordinator, with the newest addition to the children’s collection: adaptive toys for children with cognitive, physical, sensory or communicative challenges. RE/MAX Camosun 250.220.5061 www.preferredhomes.ca Karl Scott Guy Corner Unit Town Home #112-1196 Clovelly Terrace MLS 357666 $399,900 Fantastic Jubilee Area Condo #313-2022 Foul Bay Road MLS 358310 $219,900 Estevan Village 4 Bdrm Executive Home 2732 Dewdney Avenue MLS 355993 $1,500,000 Conveniently located in Athlone Court 250-592-5544 seafirstinsurance.com
Transcript
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 oakbaynews.com
Songs of solsticeOak Bay United concert celebrates the season
Page A8
NEWS: Weaver acclaimed as BC Green leader /A3GARDEN: Good reads for your Christmas list /A11SPORTS: Gary Taylor Classic hits the hardwood /A14
OAK BAYNEWS
Christine van ReeuwykOak Bay News
A pair of CRD committee decisions last week may cause a delay that puts sewage treatment grant funding at high risk, warns Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen.
“We’re not going to meet the March 31 deadline, that’s clear. Can we get an exten-sion? That’s not so clear,” he told the Oak Bay News Thursday.
The Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee decided during its Dec. 16 meet-ing not to send the latest information out for
public consumption and feedback. Going to the public was defeated in a tie vote with clear opinions on both sides.
“Obviously we all want to keep the public involved, keep the public informed but I can’t see what we’re going to say to them at this time,” said director Vic Derman, the Saanich councillor who led the charge against going to the public. “Here are four representative options – maybe – that we have all sorts of problems with.”
That included four options with esti-mated annual costs: One plant in the Rock Bay area of Victoria at a cost from $1.031
billion (secondary treatment) to $1.139 bil-lion (tertiary treatment); a two-plant system with secondary and tertiary treatment in Rock Bay and Colwood, for $1.088 billion; a four-plant system in Rock Bay, Colwood, Esquimalt First Nation and East Saanich, with secondary and tertiary treatment for $1.195 billion; and a seven-plant option — including plants in Rock Bay, Colwood, Esquimalt, East Saanich, View Royal, Lang-ford and Saanich — with secondary and tertiary treatment for $1.348 billion.
“The public will have come to some con-clusions themselves,” said director and
Saanich councillor Susan Brice, adding that obviously seven plants cost more than one and tertiary is more expensive than second-ary.
“When the (public) consultation occurs, the critical thing is to tone it down, not put pressure on people. Remind the pub-lic we’re in a fluid process … take more questions from them and provide answers where we have answers.”
Grant funding for sewage treatment at risk: Jensen
GVPL launches Skill Builders for all childrenChristine van ReeuwykOak Bay News
A new Skill Builders Adaptive Toy collec-tion in the Greater Victoria Public Library will provide families with children who have cog-nitive, physical, sensory or communicative challenges the opportunity to borrow acces-sible toys at the Oak Bay branch.
Rina Hadziev, Collections and Technical Ser-vices Co-ordinator, is proud of the collection, calling it one of the “more special” in their vast offering. “I like it when we stretch ourselves,” she said. “The focus is really on play. Parents and caregivers and kids playing together has value in itself,” she said.
Each of the light plastic totes holds three to five toys, a fidget and a book or CD.
Adaptive toys on loan at Oak Bay library
PlEASE SEE: McLoughlin site should be reconsidered,
Page A2
PlEASE SEE: Three toy box sizes available,
Page A5
Christine van Reeuwyk/Oak Bay News
Rina Hadziev, Greater Victoria Public Library Collections and Technical Services Co-ordinator, with the newest addition to the children’s collection: adaptive toys for children with cognitive, physical, sensory or communicative challenges.
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VACS bid higher, offers closer servicesChristine van ReeuwykOak Bay News
Oak Bay will continue using Victoria Animal Con-trol Services for bylaw enforcement, maintenance of pound facilities, routine patrols and emergency services, despite being a little more costly than a bid by the Capital Regional District.
A key factor for the decision, said Coun. Kevin Murdoch, was the staff report outlining the dif-ferences, the “real world aspect” in the services offered.
The CRD bid was for $60,840 (2016), $62,057 (2017) and $63,298 (2018) for a total of $186,195, while the VACS bid was $70,803 each year for three years, for a total of $212,409.
Oak Bay contracted CRD for the services until 2007 when VACS was awarded the contract.
Staff found that VACS provided best value for
money, including offering excellent customer ser-vice over the last nine years.
“They’ve been doing an exemplary job from what I’ve heard in the community,” said Coun. Tara Ney.
They also scored higher in other areas: a physi-cally closer office for call-outs and quick response; a recent five-year agreement with the City of Vic-toria, meaning officers will be in closer proximity if Oak Bay has an emergency; the pound is also nearby, on David Street; and VACS has been instru-mental in increasing dog licensing revenue every year by following up on unlicensed dogs.
Since 2007, dog licensing revenue has increased from $45,000 in 2007 to $65,000 this year. Oak Bay’s policy is that dog licence fees should cover 75 per cent of the expenditure.
The district has not raised dog licence fees since 2006 and staff expect to review the policy of recovery of animal control costs through licensing fees and report back to a future committee of the whole meeting.
Mayors from around the region met with Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Peter Fassbender ear-lier this month to discuss work-ing together as a region, a follow-up to requests for a provincial study on amalgamation during last year’s municipal election.
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen said Oak Bay and Highlands Highlands impressed the minis-
ter with a surprise list of 200-plus projects they already co-operate with other municipalities on.
“Much of this efficiency and co-operation is invisible to the public,” Jensen said.
The meeting is similar to one Jensen had with Fassbender during the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention.
Jensen called that meeting “quite a bit wider than amalga-mation.”
At that time Jensen outlined for Fassbender some of the
ways Oak Bay already works with other municipalities, both through the Capital Regional District and on a municipality-to-municipality basis, such as recent conversations on finding and developing efficiencies in police, fire and economic devel-opment.
“It was a very positive meet-ing,” Jensen said. “The province committed to a facilitation proj-ect … and we agreed we would all meet again.” [email protected]
Mayors, province discuss regional co-operation
McLoughlin site should be reconsidered
Staff are to come back with more information on lifecycle costs for various options, an accurate projection of greenhouse gas mitigation of the var-ious options, more of the rationale behind costing allocations and better description of the alloca-tion options. The committee also asked the West Side committee to investigate a site for Colwood/Langford offering secondary and tertiary added to the options. That too will add time, Jensen said.
“To inject that at this late date will clearly push us past the March 31 deadline,” he said. “It was a challenge to get this extension, I certainly hope we can do it (again) but I think there’s a small chance.”
The province committed $248 million along-side a federal grant of $253.4 million – both have already extended deadlines.
“Given the extra cost, given the high risk of losing federal and provincial funding, there’s an
obligation to put McLoughlin back on the table. By comparison it is clearly the greenest, most cost-efficient plan of all that we’ve seen to date.”
Esquimalt council rejected a rezoning applica-tion for McLoughlin Point in April 2014, citing overwhelming public opposition to the regional sewage project and a lack of proper setbacks and tsunami protection for the waterfront property.
“The duty to the public is to put that on the table,” Jensen said. “It may be that people want to look at it, even in Esquimalt, now that we see that a seven-plant solution could cost each household in Esquimalt $1,427 annually. That’s an astronomi-cal figure for any community.”
CRD staff compiled per-household figures that reflected costs with and without the federal and provincial funding. The Esquimalt number is the highest projected for a seven-plant solution with-out a grant.
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OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A3OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A3
COMMUNITY NEWSIN BRIEF
BIA recognizes holiday windowsRecognizing innovative ideas and a creative
touch, the Oak Bay Business Improvement Associ-ation has honoured the best in the Avenue’s deco-rated windows.
Taking first place in the Contemporary category was A La Mode, for their entertaining take on the holiday season, while Avenue Gallery placed sec-ond with its stylish display highlighting its All That Glitters exhibition.
The best window in the themed category went to Pedego Electric Bikes, for its eye-catching dis-play with a cheerful red tandem bike as its center-piece, with Eclectic Gallery in second place with a festive window filled with interesting artwork and folk-art holiday elves.
A number of shops opted for a traditional take on the holiday decorating and among those, Time-less Toys took first place with its display incorpo-rating various toys gathered in seasonal vignettes, while Finn & Izzy was a close second with its two themed bear trees.
Weather doesn’t dampen generosityDespite the blustery weather, Oak Bay resi-
dents showed their holiday spirit, generating 1,017 pounds of food in Oak Bay Village and nearly $500 in donations during the IEOA Lighted Truck Parade earlier this month. Donations from the 17th annual event support the local food bank.
Refugees to receive bus passThanks to a University of Victoria Students’ Soci-
ety proposal, passed by the Victoria Regional Tran-sit Commission, every refugee resettled in Greater Victoria will receive a free one-year bus pass.
Proposed by Kenya Rogers, UVSS Director of External Relations and Victoria Regional Transit Commission member, the motion passed unani-mously. “This initiative will ensure that those flee-ing heart-wrenching circumstances are able to get around the city they now call home,” Rogers said.
“Providing a bus pass to refugees is just one way of supporting individuals who are faced with the difficulties of resettlement and integration into a new community. It will allow for newcom-ers to move freely around the city and to access the many services, community groups, and public spaces in the region.”
Local MLA new leader of BC GreensChristine van ReeuwykOak Bay News
Meeting, greeting and creating policy that puts people first are all early agenda items for new BC Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver.
Endorsement was high so Weaver got the early nod from the BC Green Party provincial council. They met and unanimously voted to acclaim the Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA leader several months early.
“I’m excited. It’s a huge honour,” Weaver said after a recent visit to Oak Bay municipal hall for a volun-teer luncheon.
“I am greatly humbled by the out-pouring of support that I received over the course of this leadership process. There is a lot of work to do in order to get ready for the 2017 election, but it has never been more clear that British Columbians are looking for something new. I am excited to introduce them to the BC Green Party.”
Weaver was the sole applicant for leader and members expressed a desire to have a permanent leader in place for the upcoming Vancou-ver–Mount Pleasant and Coquitlam–Burke Mountain by-elections.
“The very first task for me will be to attend a council meeting and offer them the vision I did when I declared my candidacy … outline a pathway that we need to follow to 2017,” Weaver said.
That vision includes formal poli-cies, many already well in the works, and targets such as getting a few nom-inees out of the gate early,
“We have outstanding candidates already expressing an interest to come out,” Weaver said. “The BC Green Party will be seriously contending the ridings, all of them, in B.C. … We’re running to win. We’re not running to finish third.”
Policies already underway include: eliminate MSP premi-ums, make venture capital work better, keep hunting local and invest in social services insurance.
The current provincial medical ser-vices plan acts as “a classic head tax,” Weaver says, advocating a shift to some-thing similar to Ontario, such as a pro-gressive “health care plan” cost attached to the annual income tax return.
Venture capital, already offered by the government, requires some more specific conditions, he said. Language attached to such funding should stipulate that the funds be used as lever-age to draw, and maintain, business to B.C.
There should be an ecosystem and science-based approach to wildlife an forest management, putting resident hunters first.
“We hunt for food in British Columbia. For tourism you come and look at wildlife,” he said.
A final, and passionate policy proposal is a social insurance.Weaver notes the the percentage of the GDP spent on social
services is on a consistent downward trend, based on choices made by previous governments.
“In every aspect of our life we take out insurance. … What we’ve been cutting is our social service insurance.”
“We’re all one step away from falling over and getting a brain injury,” he says. “In a fair and caring society, we need an insur-ance policy so we can all thrive. … It’s not a tax. It’s a society taking out an insurance
policy,” he says, noting if they know precisely where funds are allocated, most people would willingly pay.
“We have a compassionate society.” Weaver also plans to spend the upcoming months getting
out, across the province, and greeting people, meeting resi-dents, listening to concerns and stories.
“The BC Green Party will be seriously contending the ridings, all of them, in B.C.”
– Andrew Weaver
Christine van Reeuwyk/Oak Bay News
Andrew Weaver is the new leader of the provincial Green Party.
Finn & Izzy’s colourful window on Oak Bay Ave.
A4 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWSA4 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
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The last thing anyone wants is to have the most festive of seasons to turn tragic, but each year, families are devastated by fires that often could have been avoided.
As a timely reminder, the Oak Bay Fire Department reminds residents to think safety when celebrating.
When setting up and decorating your Christmas tree, place the tree away from fireplaces, portable heaters, heater vents. and television sets. Place it out of the way of traffic and do not block doorways, advises Capt. Rob Kivell, Oak Bay Fire Prevention Division, adding that thin guy wires can help secure tall trees to walls or ceiling and will be almost invisible.
“Because heated rooms dry out natu-ral trees rapidly, keep the stand filled with water and check the water level daily. A six-foot tree will absorb one gallon of water
every two days,” Kivell says.When decorating, use only lights tested
for safety by a recognized testing organiza-tion, such as Underwriters’ Laboratories. Check each set of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections and throw out damaged sets. Miniature lights are pre-ferred, for their cool-burning bulbs. Position bulbs so they aren’t in direct contact with needles or ornaments.
Use no more than three standard-size sets of lights per single extension cord (maxi-mum of 200 miniature lights or 150 larger lights), and remember, only one extension cord should be used per outlet, Kivell says.
It’s also important to take care with elec-trical cords. Don’t run cords under rugs as walking traffic can weaken insulation and the wires can overheat, increasing the chances
for fire or electric shock. Be careful when placing cords behind or beneath furniture as pinched cords can fray and short. Keep animals away from cords to avoid entanglement and chewing and keep cords and lights away from the tree’s water supply.
Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and a person touching a branch could be electro-cuted.
Remember to turn off all lights before going to bed or leaving the house as the lights could short out and start a fire.
Use only non-combustible or flame-resistant materials to trim a tree and never use lighted candles on a tree – even an artificial tree – or near other evergreens. Always use non-flammable holders and place candles where they will not be knocked down.
Decorative lighted villages, Nativity scenes, electric trains and other electrically powered scenery and figures should be monitored like other decorative lights.
For further information, contact the Oak Bay Fire
Department’s fire prevention division at 250-592-9121.
Simple steps to keep your holiday season fire safe
Capt. Rob Kivell
The B.C. government has budgeted $3 million for a research project to explore the benefits of “parent coaching intervention” for infants and tod-dlers who show early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The project will follow about 70 children and their families. The screening process for subjects is expected to begin in early 2017.“Many families recognize that something may be wrong with their child’s development as young as one year of age, but they just don’t know what they can do to help,” said Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, Pacific Autism Family Centre founder. “Parent coaching is one of those options that could change families’ lives.”
Autism project for parents gets provincial funding
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It has an information sheet of ideas to use the toys and many resources for children with developmental issues. The totes come in three sizes, with the smallest the same as a Sto-ries to Go box, which parents may already know.
“We wanted to have a range of materials. It was more important to us to have the correct material, than have it fit in a specific bin,” she said. “For us, it was about the quality.”
The collection is designed to have parents and caregivers play with kids developing essential auditory, visual, tactile senses as well as fine motor, gross motor, hand-eye co-ordination and even communication skills.
“A lot of these are pre-literacy skills,” Hadziev said.
A Victoria Foundation grant funded the program to fill what Hadziev said they found was “a real gap” when looking at toy lending options in the region.
“The Victoria Foundation just got it. We’re so lucky to have a group like that in town,” she said.
The collection was created with input from the Island Health, Early Intervention Program located at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Chil-dren’s Health.
“We were fortunate enough to have
the chance to see this new collection develop and grow,” said Megan Stani-forth, a Speech-Language Pathologist at the Queen Alexandra Centre. “We provided input on the kinds of mate-rials that encourage children’s devel-opment through play.”
Alongside the child development quotient, each toy had to fit the cri-teria of sturdy, washable and simply fun to fit into the lending program.
“We ask that people wipe them down before they return them, but we also wipe them down,” Hadziev said.
Even before the new collection was officially launched last week, 50 of the 74 were routinely on loan.
“There’s not a long wait at this point,” Hadziev said. Like much of the traditional GVPL collection, the Skill Builders collection can be reserved online and picked up and returned at any branch in the GVPL.
“There are kids that need this col-lection, we developed it with them in mind first,” she said. “(But) our whole intention with this collection is anyone can enjoy it. Every kid can enjoy playing with their parents or caregivers. It’s also a great idea for someone coming for a visit.”
Visit gvpl.ca and search “skill build-ers” to learn more about the boxes available or see images of each kit.
The Urban Wildlife Stewardship Soci-ety hopes readers will share images of deer in the community.
The group is undertaking a photo inventory of urban deer in Oak Bay. Black-tailed deer can be identified by scars, nicks, limps and other features unique to each individual.
The hope is the inventory will con-tribute to a better understanding of deer numbers in Oak Bay, and their move-ment patterns, says Bryan Gates, presi-dent of the UWSS and a former wildlife biologist with the province.
“No one knows how many deer live in Oak Bay. For some people, there are too many, for others there are not too many. That will never change,” Gates said. “Our photo inventory should give us some reliable estimates, and over time may show trends in numbers.”
For now, the emphasis is on antlered bucks in the winter season. The size
and shape of antlers varies from buck to buck, making it relatively easy to identify individual deer.
Bucks typically lose their antlers early in the new year, so photos taken now to late January will be most useful. Head-on photos with ears spread are best. Although the immediate focus is on the bucks, photos of female and yearling deer are also welcome.
“We invite everyone with an interest in urban wildlife, and especially deer, to get involved and help us gather this much-needed information,” Gates says.
“With a broad set of easily identifi-able individuals, repeated and frequent road-side counts of deer can contribute to a reliable estimate of the total popula-tion within the community. And that’s an essential first step to responsible man-agement.”
Gates adds that photographers should take care not to approach deer too closely or startle them near a roadway.
Send images to [email protected] with the date and exact location included.
A good identifying image of a mature buck in Oak Bay. UWSS hopes to identify deer for research, population estimates, movement patterns and mortality information.
Three toy box sizes availableContinued from Page A1
A6 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWSA6 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
EDITORIAL Janet Gairdner PublisherJennifer Blyth Editor Penny Sakamoto Group Publisher
The OAK BAY NEWS is published by Black Press Ltd. | 207A-2187 Oak Bay Ave., Oak Bay, B.C. V8R 1G1 | Phone: 250-598-4123 • Web: oakbaynews.com
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OAK BAYNEWS
OUR VIEW
Generosity shines at the holidays and through the year
Generosity and compassion are by no means limited to the holiday season, yet our energies often become focused on these areas during this season of giving.
As our Seniors section columnist Brian Kieran reflects on page 13 – channelling his inner Dickens – it is at Christmas time it seems, that “want is most keenly felt.”
Oak Bay residents and businesses have shown, however, that they are up to the challenges presented to Scrooge by the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future.
During a wet, windy evening earlier this month, locals enjoyed the annual IOEA Lighted Truck Convoy and donated 1,017 pounds of food and nearly $500 to the Mustard Seed. Others braved the frigid waters of Willows Beach to raise money and show their support for local initiatives helping Syrian refugees.
Throughout the season, Oak Bay residents have shown themselves a compassionate lot.
Especially heartening is the efforts of local children to do what they can. Last Friday we brought you the story of five Willows elementary students collecting warm clothes for the folks at Our Place. The sentiment expressed by all of the children was simple and heartfelt: they wanted to help people who lacked even the basics of warm clothes and shelter.
Their donations will have an impact long after the Christmas lights are packed away.
This coming weekend, book lovers can head to St. Mary’s Church to take in their Christmas book event – proceeds to the church’s various local charities – or donate food and warm outer clothing at Oak Bay’s South Island Property Management office on Cadboro Bay Road.
Is there still more we can do? Of course, and we look forward to sharing
those stories with our readers and the community in the days before Christmas, and the weeks and months after.
Oak Bay News is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact: [email protected] or 250-480-3239. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.
Premier Christy Clark sat down with Tom Fletcher for a year-end interview at her Victoria office Dec. 9. Here are excerpts. For the full version, see the Opinion tab at oakbaynews.com.
TF: At the UN climate conference in Paris, did you speak about natural gas as a transition fuel, and did you find support for that idea?
PCC: Yes and yes. The new government in Ottawa is a big supporter of our LNG plan, and part of the reason for that is that they also see it as a way forward for Canada to make a huge contribu-tion to fighting global climate change.
There are 150 coal plants on the books in China today. The only way that those plants and the ones that come after will be stopped is if they have a transitional fuel to move to.
TF: B.C.’s 2020 greenhouse gas tar-get, reduction of emissions by a third, is another target that isn’t going to be met. Why?
PCC: When the government brought in the carbon tax, it was based on the assumption that other jurisdictions around us were going to eventually
catch up. And none of them have.There comes a point where the car-
bon tax can only get so high before we start chasing all those jobs out of the
province.TF: Your advisory com-
mittee says the carbon tax needs to go higher starting in 2018 if it’s going to have an effect. Do you have any other choice?
PCC: Let’s figure out what the national goal is going to be, which we don’t know yet.
TF: On a related topic, tran-sit spending. Your new min-ister Peter Fassbender has talked about a “new day” in Ottawa and he’s downplay-
ing the idea of another referendum for new funding sources. Is that off the table now?
PCC: It may be possible that the fed-eral government wants to invest more in transit, and take up some of the slack from the local government level.
TF: On LNG, oil and natural gas prices continue to go down, and sup-ply continues to go up around the world. Did you see any positive signs this year?
PCC: What I saw this year was devel-oping countries, especially China, making a firm commitment to reduce
their emissions. The only way for them to do that is to move to a greater degree to natural gas, and the bulk of their industry is still located on the east coast of their country, a long way from Russia and close to B.C.
TF: Are we going to see some policy action on high housing costs in 2016, and will there be some relief from the property transfer tax?
PCC: You’ll see in the February bud-get, but we are looking for ways to provide some relief for home buyers.
TF: We’re starting to see govern-ment advertising ramp up. We saw a lot of Jobs Plan advertising before the 2013 election, we saw the federal government do it with their Economic Action Plan, which was very expen-sive, and to most people’s eye self-serving or political in nature at taxpay-ers’ expense. Is that what we’re going to see in the next year and a half?
PCC: It won’t be political. I think some of that was, really, political. You will see more information-based advertising out there, talking to peo-ple about for example, the Registered Education Savings Plan.
TF: Not Jobs Plan 2.0?PCC: I don’t think that’s in the plan.
I wish I could say to you no, never, but I, you know….
OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A7OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A7
LETTERS
St. Philip Syrian Refugee Committee would like to thank the whole commu-nity for their overwhelm-ingly generous support, culminating in the incred-ible turnout and fundrais-ing success of the Jazz Vespers event Dec. 6.
Over $50,000 has been donated in the last week alone, putting us well past
our goal of being able to support the Syrian refu-gee family whose applica-tion is now underway.
Please rest assured that all the money raised beyond the needs of our first sponsorship will go toward helping additional refugees and we are now exploring the means of doing so.
It has been a gift for all of us to experience this powerful gesture of light shining in the darkness, of compassion and love and refusing to succumb to fear.
It is a gift to know that here, in this city and region, we have chosen to share the blessing of our security and safety with
others in peril. Thank you again, to all
who have and will con-tinue to extend the hand of friendship, as these families arrive in our area in the coming year.
Zita and Dave Conway, on behalf of
St. Philip Syrian Refugee Committee
Thank you for refugee fundraising supportThe Oak Bay News welcomes your opinions and
comments.To put readers on equal footing, and to be sure that
all opinions are heard, please keep letters to less than 300 words.
The News reserves the right to edit letters for style, legality, length and taste.
Send your letters to:Mail: Letters to the Editor, Oak Bay News, 207A -
To have your photo considered for publication, simply email us a high-resolution .jpg copy to [email protected].
Please include your name, contact information including municipality of residence, where you took the photo and what you like about the image. Entries should be received by 5 p.m. Fridays to be included for consideration for the following week’s paper.
Reader Photo of the Week
The blustery weekend weather caused havoc in some parts of Oak Bay, but brought beautiful images as well, as captured by Oak Bay photographer Irvin Rubincam. Rubincam shot the photo on Saturday afternoon. ‘For me it shows, during one particularly windy day, the beauty and power of the Oak Bay surf,’ he says.
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Season’s Greetings and Thank You!I would like to thank all those who allowed me to work on their
behalf this year, it has been a pleasure to work with you.To those I have worked over the year’s thank you for making
my 26 years in real estate successful ones. If you are considering your real estate options and would
like a complimentary market evaluation please call medirectly at 250-920-8006.
Best Wishes for the Season and for 2016!
A8 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
THREE POINT5x10
Jennifer BlythOak Bay News
The fifth annual Winter Solstice Cabaret brings a seasonal celebration to Oak Bay United Church Dec. 21.
Part of the cabaret’s Southern Vancouver Island tour, the concert weaves the spirit of cabaret with music from around the world, a thread of theatre and dance and a dash of improvisation.
Founded in the Cowichan Valley, this year Cari Burdett and the Lila Music Centre take the music on the road for five performances. The only Greater Victoria show brings the cabaret to Oak Bay United Church Monday, Dec. 21.
“The solstice is an ancient tradition of changing from the dark to the light and I wanted to capture that with music,” Burdett says, noting the scope of the music on the lineup.
The evening will open – appropriately – with the
Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun.“I wanted to create a family-friendly concert that
wasn’t all just Christmas music but that gives us a sense of time, and brings light at this dark time,” she says.
Burdett, whose first studio album, Magnolia, was nominated as Best World Music Album in the 2015 West Canadian Music Awards, brings a timeless
Here comes the sun: Celebrating the season and solstice
blend of dramatic gypsy cabaret to the stage, lead-ing listeners around the world through song and stories of the heart.
Also featured are nationally acclaimed Cana-dian artists Richard Moody, Miles Black and Anne Schaefer plus vocalist Sara Marreiros. Dance artist Marisa Coco Jackson will add movement to the mix.
“It brings another dimension,” Burdett says.New songs include the Huron Carol sung in three
different languages, French, English and Ojibwa, and Burdett’s version of Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose from her newly released Magnolia. In addition to familiar works like Silent Night, two Celtic carols sung in four-part harmony will move the audience, while other songs are original compositions from the artists, Burdett says.
Inspired by Yo-Yo Ma’s Songs of Joy and Peace album, Burdett wanted to bring the same senti-ment to the concert.
“It’s a concert to feel good,” she says. “It’s a real mix of heart-opening songs.”
After repeatedly selling out in the Cowichan Val-ley, Burdett wanted to share the evening with oth-ers across the Island, and hopes the tour meets the same response, she says.
The audience is also a big part of the evening, and to celebrate the solstice, and the returning light, the band will invite the audience to join them in song, creating a one-of-a-kind, improvised sound sensation.
The Oak Bay concert begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance ($5 for children) and available locally at Ivy’s Bookshop or online at cariburdett.com or eventbrite.ca, or $20 at the door.
Get your ticketsn Tickets for the fifth annual Winter Solstice Concert are $15 in advance ($5 for children) and are available locally at Ivy’s Bookshop or online at cariburdett.com or eventbrite.ca, or $20 at the door. For more information see cariburdett.com
Sara Marreiros and
Cari Burdett perform at
Oak Bay United
Church as part of the
fifth annual Winter
Solstice Concert
Dec. 21.Submitted photo
Jennifer BlythOak Bay News
Each December, the Oak Bay News produces a month-by-month Community Calendar, publish-ing this year on Tuesday, Dec. 29.
While not exhaustive by any means, it’s a snap-shot of the year ahead, some of the big events to look forward to, and many well-loved smaller events as well.
We’d like to include as many events and com-munity organizations as possible, so we encour-age you to tell us what you have planned for the year ahead. From church garage sales to sports fundraisers, lacrosse registration to community events, we want to share your events with your friends and neighbours.
Send dates and event information to Oak Bay News editor Jennifer Blyth by email at [email protected] or mail or drop off to the News’ Athlone Court office at 207A-2187 Oak Bay Ave., V8R 1G1.
The deadline for submissions is this Thursday, Dec. 17.
A8 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
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OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A9OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A9
Share the warmth of the season to someone in need this month.
South Island Property Man-agement, formerly Boorman’s, is accepting donations of food and gently used or new outer clothing, such as hats, gloves and coats, for the Mustard Seed.
Food and clothing donations can be dropped off from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday through Dec. 31 at 2045 Cadboro Bay Rd.
The office will be closed at noon Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.
A spectacular setting, generos-ity of the season and the pros-pect of a revolutionary new can-cer treatment came together at the ninth annual Jingle Mingle fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation.
The result was a record- breaking $1.34 million raised – critical funds that will launch a made- in- Victoria immunother-apy cancer treatment into clini-cal trials.
The Fairmont Empress Hotel ballroom was transformed into a chic winter chalet Dec. 3, when more than 350 guests gave the greatest gift of all: hope for can-cer patients across B.C. Pre-sented by Proline Property Man-agement, Jingle Mingle is Victo-ria’s largest annual fundraising event and its impact will be felt by people across the province when immunotherapy-based treatments (Adoptive T cell Therapy) reach patients in a clinic trial in 2017.
“I’ve been truly blown away by the generosity of our community and their resolute commitment
to the BC Cancer Foundation. Together, our support is giving the brilliant Dr. Brad Nelson and his team in Victoria the power to dramatically improve cancer treatment in our lifetime,” said Lorne Campbell, Jingle Mingle 2015 honourary chair.
An incredible supporter of Jingle Mingle and BC Cancer Agency researchers, Campbell made a $100,000 gift during the event’s live auction which was matched by his sister Bonnie’s $100,000. The auction generated an incredible wave of generos-ity, capped with a jaw- dropping $500,000 gift.
“We believe in the work hap-pening at the Deeley Research Centre and are so proud to help a new cancer treatment be made available to patients,” Campbell added on behalf of his family.
Over Jingle Mingle’s history, supporters have provided signif-icant strategic funding for immu-notherapy research to advance from a concept into a new treat-ment, specifically, Adoptive T cell Therapy. This patient- by- patient
approach takes the person’s own T cells (from the immune sys-tem), multiplies the ones already attacking the cancer into billions and infuses them back into the patient’s bloodstream. This will launch a potent attack against cancer cells anywhere in the body.
“Cancer has touched us all and for some has had a devas-tating impact. Today, we all have reason to hope because the gen-erosity of Victoria residents has meant a promising new cancer treatment is on the horizon. Thanks to Jingle Mingle guests, committee members, spon-sors, volunteers and the Camp-bell family, Victoria is poised to become a Centre of Excellence in immunotherapy treatment pro-duction,” said Lou Del Gobbo, interim president and CEO, BC Cancer Foundation.
The BC Cancer Foundation’s Jingle Mingle has raised more than $4.7 million in its nine- year history, with 100 per cent of funds going to the cause
Lorne Campbell, Jingle Mingle 2015 honorary chair, and Lou Del Gobbo, BC Cancer Foundation interim president and CEO, high-five after announcing the $1.34 million raised at this year’s event.
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In celebrating our 38th year in business and Thanksgiving, Dodd’s has its 17th annual
Thanksgiving Dinner for the less privileged
ENJOY A THANKSGIVING TURKEY DINNER COMPLIMENTS OF GORDY DODD, HIS FAMILY AND STAFF
Thank You Victoria! For your patronage and support in making DODD’S FURNITURE one of the Island’s
most successful companies! We are giving back to the community by inviting Victoria’s less privileged to join us and celebrate our
Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Event on Us!
Date: Sunday, October 11th, 2015 Time: 4 pm Place: OUR PLACE on Pandora Avenue (Corner of Vancouver and Pandora Avenue)
Complimentary meal fed to 1200 people. Come and join our family
for a wonderful time and a hot meal.
FEEDING THE HOMELESS &
LESS FORTUNATE
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITYEvery year Dodd’s Furniture host a Chrsitmas dinner to the less fortunate people of Victoria.
All underprivileged children and adults welcome.
Friday, Dec 18th
4:30-6:30 PMAt OUR PLACEON 919 PANDORA
(Corner of Vancouver and Pandora Ave)
Thank You to Our Place For opening their Dining Room to us for this
Special Meal.
A10 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
Head to Centennial Stadium for the 16th annual Christmas tree sale by the University of Victoria Vikes cross country team.
Both the men’s and women’s teams take to the track for the fundraiser, a chance for the public to support one of UVic’s most successful varsity pro-grams, organizers say.
Trees are available at Centennial Stadium from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 22.
After the holidays, the student athletes will be back to accept trees for chipping, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 2 and 3, also at Centennial Stadium.
Competitive Christmas Bird Count slated for Dec. 19Christine van ReeuwykOak Bay News
Feathers will fly as Victoria aims to reclaim its bird count glory this winter.
In his lucky 13th year of the Christmas Bird Count, Geof-frey Newell leads the search team.
The 20-year-old Oak Bay man is well known among local bird watchers and takes over this year from Mike Edgell, who held the role for more than four decades.
“It’s an honour because … he’s being doing it for 42 excel-lent years. For him to pass it on to me, it’s a great honour,” Newell said. “I’ve always loved birds. Birding has been a huge passion of mine.”
Newell guides walks throughout the year, through Friends of Uplands Park and the Capital Regional District, and looks forward each year to the holiday edition.
“We say you don’t have to be a bird expert. We encourage all people to come and join. You don’t have to know your birds, you just have to know how to count,” Newell says.
“We’re going to cover all the birding hotspots in Oak Bay.” Those inclined can meet at 8 a.m. on Dec. 19 at the ocean
end of Rutland Road, rain or shine, and come for a while or stay all day.
“It’s to get an idea of how the birds are doing – it’s been going on for years and years and years – how species are increasing or decreasing,” he said. “It’s about understating more about the bird populations.”
During the annual Christmas Bird Count, more than 200 communities in North America are assigned standard-ized 15-mile diameter circles which encompasses much of Greater Victoria.
Things can get a little competitive, with Victoria holding the record of finding 154 species one year, Newell said. “Vic-toria and the Ladner zones are the top two in Canada. So we’re always battling for top spot. Last year Ladner beat us by one species,” Newell said.
Wear rubber boots, warm clothes and bring an umbrella, just in case. The schedule opts for a stop at the Oak Bay Marina around 11:30 a.m. for half-hour before continuing on to south Oak Bay with a finish around 3:30 p.m.
There’s also an alternative for the fair-weather watcher. “You can do the feeder watch where you count the birds
in your yard, and those final counts will also be added to the count,” Newell said.
Visit vicnhs.bc.ca to learn about feeder watch or sign up for another gathering in the region on Dec. 19.
Annual feathered competition depends on young new leader
Oak Bay News file photo
Local birder Geoffrey Newell will lead the 13th annual Christmas Bird Count.
A10 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
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OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A11
’Tis the season to stop dig-ging, fa la la la la, la la la la. Really though: stepping on your soil now will compact it, the rain will pool up in your bootprints, and no matter what you have left to do this year in the gar-den, for now it can wait.
My dahlia tubers remain naked and shivering in the garage, my garden renovation plans are paused in dismal disarray, and I’m turning from out-door responsibility to indoor pleasures. Reading is at the top of my list.
Here are five favourite gardening books to get you through the season (or in a gar-dener’s heart).
The new design book of the year is Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman’s Life, by Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury.
Oudolf is a leader in the Dutch Wave of naturalistic design which emphasizes diver-sity, sustainability, and plant structures and forms. He devel-oped the High Line in NYC, gar-dens at Wisley, and other pub-lic spaces and private estates, and though he has written other books (Designing with Plants is a good introduction to his ideas), Hummelo follows his long career as a nurseryman and designer.
We all may be a little weary
of the man and message that is Michael Pollan these days, but his early memoir Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education, remains a favourite of mine. Pollan’s humour is at the fore-
ground of this book as he plays the naif, attempting to develop a garden of his own in upstate New York. The groundhog/woodchuck scenes are Caddyshack classic.
The most poetic gardening memoir I’ve read (thanks to Heidi at Ivy’s) is The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift.
Swift worked as a rare book historian at Oxford and shapes her story of developing a gar-den in Shropshire around the medieval Books of Hours which detailed the agrarian year. Her prose is alive with images, her mind wide-ranging, and her writing exquisite. This is a book to be savoured slowly. Interest-ingly, Swift wrote The Morville Hours in a room overlooking her garden, and much like Annie Dillard writing A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, she drew black-out curtains over the windows to better render nature on the page.
Part coffee table eye-catcher, part colour theory, part treatise on beauty, Colour by Design: Planting the Contemporary Gar-den is perhaps the most influen-tial gardening book of my life.
Written by Canadians Nori and Sandra Pope about their time gardening at Hadspen in England, this book offers an entirely “colourist” slant on gar-dening.
I heard the Nori Pope speak at Kew in the ‘90s and later visited Hadspen, so I may be somewhat biased, but their writing is both elegant and informative, and the images by esteemed photographer Clive Nichols sublime. A book to make you see plants and colour in a whole new way, Colour by Design is the perfect book for gardeners wondering why their designs aren’t harmonizing and how to work with colour through the seasons.
Sarah Raven’s classic The Cutting Garden is an informa-tive guide to both growing and designing with flowers. She cov-ers flower conditioning (how to prevent wilting), arranging, and basics of cultivation. By shifting the focus from annu-als to shrubs and perennials, The Cutting Garden opens up an incredible range of plants to the home grower and designer. Be warned: this book will lead you to her website – a great source of seeds for those whose sug-arplum dreams have turned to the promise of a new year in the garden.
Christin Geall is an avid Oak Bay gardener and a creative non-fiction writing instructor at the University of Victoria.
Dig into these gardening classics
Christin GeallCultivated
Dr. Sherry Cooper
Chief Economist for Dominion Lending
Centres 1-888-806-8080 www.dominionlending.ca
Lower oil prices, alongside a continued slump in mining and metals, has weight-ed on growth. Oil-dependent provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and New-foundland and Labrador have seen their economies hardest hit. That includes a drop in housing activity. Meantime, the more diversified economies of Ontario and B.C. are picking up, and housing sales and prices continue to climb rapidly in Toronto and Vancouver. Will this mixed economic and housing picture continue in the months ahead? Dr. Sherry Cooper, chief economist with Dominion Lending Centres, offers her outlook on what Cana-dians can expect in 2016:
How would you characterize Canada’s economy in 2015?
It has been a very tough year, par-ticularly given the huge decline in commodity prices. Alberta’s economy slipped into a recession, which has had a big impact on Canada’s overall economy, especially given the province had the country’s strongest economy for many years. Overall in Canada, we saw a contraction of economic growth in the first half of 2015. Since then, we’ve seen a modest rebound. I fore-cast growth to be about 1.2 per cent in 2015.
What is your forecast for Cana-da’s economy in 2016?We are seeing a continued pickup in some prov-inces. The growth will likely be strongest in B.C., followed by Ontario. I think overall growth for
Canada in 2016 will be around 2.2 per cent. That’s not what one would call a rapid expansion. I don’t believe the full effect of lower oil prices has come through in our economy. Some of the economic growth will be driven by increases in government spending, assuming the new Liberal government keeps its promise to add stimulus, and lower taxes for the middle class. The one thing that concerns me is the government’s proposed tax increase for high-income earners, which I believe will be coun-terproductive.
Many Canadians have been watching the Ca-nadian dollar lose strength this year. Where do you see it headed in 2016?It’s not a great story for the Canadian currency. I think we’ll see more downward pressure on the Canadian dollar next year, as a result of a rising American dollar as its economy gains steam and
the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates.What’s your position on Canada’s housing market now and into 2016?The Bank of Canada cut interest rates twice in 2015, which drove down borrowing costs and in turn helped to boost housing activity in many markets. Housing has been strongest in Vancouver and Toronto, but certainly not in the rest of the country. We’ve seen a significant slowdown in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces as a result of the steep drop in oil prices since mid-2014. I expect housing activity will slow a bit in Vancouver and Toronto in 2016. It will still be strong, but just not as strong as it was in 2015 in B.C. and Ontario.
Where do you see mortgage prices heading?Mortgage rates in Canada are at generational lows. I believe they have now bottomed. The days of falling mortgage rates are over. Instead, I think we’ll see a gradual increase in rates, which will lead to a gradual slowdown in housing activity in the coming months, as affordability decreases. Mortgage rates could rise by about a half a percentage point over the next year, to about 3.25 per cent for the average five-year fixed rate term. It’s not a huge increase, but given how low rates are, it’s a meaningful percentage gain.
BC & Ontario poised for Canada’s strongest economic growth in 2016
@DLCCanadaInc
/DominionLendingCentresCanadaFacebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .ai Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .ai
A12 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWSA12 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
Wednesday, Dec. 16Volkssport walks – Monday and Wednesday morning walks. Register at 8:45 a.m., walk at 9 a.m. Call Rick at 250-478-7020 or Jan at 250-665-6062 for current schedule.
St. Mary’s Advent Concert – Enjoy music with soprano
Monica Orso and pianist Csinszka Redai, 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, 1701 Elgin Rd. Admission is by donation ($8 suggested) with proceeds to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. Bring your lunch, tea/coffee provided. Info: 250-598-2212.
Sing-Along Messiah – The Civic Orchestra of Victoria presents the 17th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, 7 p.m. at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall. Tickets ($22 regular;$18 seniors; $10 students; and free age 12 and younger), from Ivy’s Bookshop, The Sheiling
and civicorchestra-ofvictoria.org. Thursday, Dec. 17Labyrinth by Candlelight – Take a break from the holiday season and experience the labyrinth by candlelight, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. UVic Parking Lot #6, Finnerty Gardens, Interfaith Chapel. Info: 250-472-4159 or [email protected].
Friday, Dec. 18Dinner Theatre at The Oak Bay Beach Hotel – A Crooner’s Christmas, with rising star Kristina Helene and surprise guests as they recreate the sounds of Christmas past with the holiday hits from Frank Sinatra, Brenda Lee, Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and other stars. Tickets $89, incl. a three-course meal in the David Foster Foundation Theatre. Continues weekends to Dec. 24. For info or tickets, visit the front desk or call 250-598-4556.
Handel’s Messiah – Guest conductor Robert Franz leads Victoria Symphony for the annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah, one of the greatest choral works ever written, at UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Tickets: tickets.uvic.ca or 250-721-8480.
Saturday, Dec. 19Volkssport 5/10 km Walk – Meet at Harbour Towers, 345 Quebec St. Registration at 9:30 a.m., walk at 10
a.m. Contact is Randy at 250-590-7175.
Giant Christmas Book Event – Discover fine pre-owned books in return for cash donations to St. Mary’s charities. Great selection of 2,500-plus books. Complimentary tea and coffee. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 1701 Elgin Rd.
Sunday, Dec. 20 Handel’s Messiah – Guest conductor Robert Franz leads Victoria Symphony for the annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah, one of the greatest choral works ever written, at UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium, 2:30 p.m. Tickets: tickets.uvic.ca or 250-721-8480.
People Meeting People Christmas dance – a fun, festive Christmas dance with your favourite holiday songs, live music with Ron King, refreshments, 7 to 10 p.m. at Monterey Centre. Tickets $10 at the door.
Community Calendar
Submitted
A Crooner’s Christmas continues at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel through Dec. 24.
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OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A13OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A13
I know the words almost by heart. Two good citizens visit Ebenezer Scrooge’s dark, cold, bleak office on Christmas Eve.
“At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usu-ally desirable that we should make some slight provi-sion for the poor and destitute,” one says.
“A few of us are endeavor-ing to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. Because it is at Christmas time, that want is most keenly felt and abundance rejoices.”
Scrooge responds: “The Treadmill and the Poor Law, they’re still in full vigor l presume? l was afraid that something had happened to stop them in their useful course.”
In the mid-1800s miser-able old Scrooge – before the ghosts of Christmas would pull him back from the brink of damnation – embraced a social con-struct that was guided by the view that the poor were largely responsible for their own misery and could change their grim reality if they chose to do so.
I was reminded last week that we have not come a very long way in the last two hundred years. Pov-erty plagues us still.
For many who stand in line at one of this country’s
4,000 food banks, it is a fact of life made grimmer by the inability of the rest of us to socially engineer even one day free of humili-ating hunger for so many.
A nation-wide “Hunger Count,” just made pub-lic, has found that more than 850,000 Canadi-ans are turning to food banks each month. Food bank use reached about 670,000 indi-viduals in March 2008, spiked
drastically in 2009 and has hovered at record levels ever since.
A most alarming finding is that an increasing num-ber of food bank patrons are seniors.
In Ontario, there has been a “staggering” 35 per cent spike in the number of senior citizens visiting food banks.
And, there is anecdotal evidence that seniors in this province are in the same predicament.
Laura Lansink, execu-tive director of Food Banks BC, says: “In Surrey, our food banks are reporting that seniors are their fast-est growing demographic; these are people on a fixed income for life.”
The Hunger Count reveals that seven per cent of Canadian households helped by food banks live primarily on income from a pension.
The report is based in part on food bank visits
in March of each year. In B.C., there were more than 100,000 individuals depen-dent on food banks this past March, a 28 per cent increase since 2008 and almost 3,000 more hungry people than in March 2014. Children account for 31 per cent of food bank visits. Almost 60 per cent of B.C.’s food banks reported an increase in business.
Sharon Lee, executive director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, probably speaks to a pan-Canadian reality when she says “the face of hunger is changing.”
“We have seen a very concerning spike in the number of senior citizens accessing food banks, as well as single-person households. We believe that these demographic changes are reflective of a lack of affordable hous-ing and insufficient social assistance and senior citi-zen support programs.
“Senior citizens are at a growing risk of food insecu-rity, alongside far too many adults and children,” says Lee.
“Unless measures are implemented to assist those without proper access to safe and afford-able housing, nutritious food and stable employ-ment, this need will only continue to grow.”
The “Hunger Count” – it has an ominous ring doesn’t it?
Especially at Christmas time when “want is most keenly felt and abundance rejoices.”
Community Spotlight: SENIORS
Club’s knit-wear well known in the regionChristine van ReeuwykOak Bay News
The crafty members of one prolific group at Monterey Recreation Centre had to bask in the limelight during a recent volunteer luncheon.
Camille Wood, president of the Oak Bay Seniors’ Activity Association at Monterey, recognized the members of its Craft Carnival Club, with a cer-tificate thanking them for the years of creative fundraising. Wood presented the award to longtime member, and longtime Oak Bay resident, Audrey Bruce.
“Audrey Bruce has made exceptional contributions for over 30 years as a volun-teer at Monterey Recreation Centre,” said Mayor Nils Jensen, who was on hand for the ceremony. “She exemplifies the energy and dedication of the hundreds of volun-teers helping at the centre.”
The members of Craft Carnival were awarded the certificate of appreciation for years of dedication and service to the asso-ciation and Monterey centre.
“This certificate as presented to the Craft Carnival Club members is a very small token of our appreciation,” Wood said.
The club’s knit-wear – baby clothes and well beyond – is well known, from annual bazaars and the ever-popular window dis-play at the centre. The proceeds return to the centre.
In the seven years between 1983 and 1990, Craft Carnival contributed $71,500 to the building fund plus $18,500 towards kitchen renovations, garden court furnish-ings and a statue, Wood said.
From 1981 to today, 34 years, club mem-bers raised and contributed more than $29,000 for purchases such as dishes and kitchen equipment for the centre. In 1992 and 1993 they contributed $30,000 toward the automatic door and furniture. Over the years, the creative club has offered Christ-mas decorations, poinsettias, Wet Dry Vacs for Woodcrafters Club, mirrors, tablecloths, sound system and chairs.
“As a member of Craft Carnival, I know that sometimes we joke about how we just sit and knit, drink coffee and eat cookies,” Wood said. “But we know better.”
More Canadian seniors turning to food banksWhile the need is year-round, the want is most keenly felt at Christmas time, it seems
Submitted
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen and Camille Wood, Oak Bay Seniors Activity Association president, right, honour longtime volunteer Audrey Bruce, Craft Carnival president.
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A14 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
oakbaynews.com
New school gym to honour long-time coach Gary Taylor
Jennifer BlythOak Bay News
Oak Bay celebrates the old and the new during this week-end’s Gary Taylor Classic boys basketball tournament.
Amid the excitement of Friday night’s feature game, tipping off at 7:30 p.m., athletes, teachers, families and students past and present will honour the gym’s namesake, longtime principal and coach Gary Taylor, says Drew Henderson, tournament director.
“There’s going to be a whole bunch of guys from the Gary Taylor era all showing up,” Hen-derson says. “He was a very popular guy and he dedicated a lot of his life to sport.”
Taylor built the basketball tra-dition at Oak Bay, with his teams winning Island championships in 1961, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969, placing second at the provincial championships in 1966 and 1969 and winning pro-vincial titles in 1965 and 1968. Taylor also coached successful swimming and track and field teams at Oak Bay.
After Oak Bay, Taylor went on to coach the University of Vic-
toria Vikings men’s basketball team from 1970 to 1975, and he later became a popular principal at Lambrick Park Secondary.
A member of the Oak Bay High School Sports Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the BC Basket-ball Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and into the Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in October of 2014.
The tournament opens Thurs-day, Dec. 17 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 19 in Oak Bay High’s new gym.
Both the junior and senior Oak Bay teams will play, amid teams from the Island, Mainland and Calgary. The tournament offers an opportunity for Oak Bay residents, alumni, parents and students to come see how their top-ranked teams stack up against some strong competi-tion, Henderson says.
“The hope is that many people from the community take this chance to cheer on Oak Bay and have a look at the new school if they haven’t already.”
The junior division tips off Thursday at is at 2:15 p.m. on the small court, when Lambrick Park takes on Cowichan. Bel-mont and Yale square off at 4 p.m., Claremont faces Vancou-ver College at 5:45 p.m. and the Oak Bay junior squad plays St. Michaels University School at 7:30 p.m.
Gary Taylor Classic hits the Oak Bay High hardwood
The Gary Taylor-led Oak Bay basketball teams of the 1960s will be remembered at Friday night’s feature game.
PLEASE SEE:New gym dedicated Friday,
Page A15
A14 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
oakbaynews.com
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For optimal tanning bed eye safety, make sure you wear protective goggles that cover and fit snugly over your eyes. If you use the salon’s gog-gles, be sure they have been sterilized to pre-vent infection. Also, be sure to remove contact lenses before tanning. Remember closing your eyes, wearing sunglasses, or using cotton pads to cover your eyelids will not prevent harmful UV rays from filtering through and causing damage to your eyes. A great tan is not worth the risk of ruining your eyesight.
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With a few keystrokes you can sample thousands of opinions, a oat in a sea of information.
But as the volume increases, the accuracy and reliability of professional journalism is essential.
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Katya SlepianMultimedia journalist at the Alberni Valley News. Her award-winning story on the 10th Avenue crossing helped change a community’s point of view at the election polls.
getting answers.
If you haven’t been to Sooke lately, you don’t know what you’re missing.Over the last several months, Sooke has undergone a meta-morphosis with a multi-million-dollar town centre project now complete, centered with a state-of-the-art roundabout.
All the changes have created a new energy and vibe through-out the community.
Sooke’s popularity as a scenic tourist and arts community has existed for generations. Now the town’s other attractions are coming to the forefront from shopping, galleries to fi ne dining.
The Sooke Region is home to an energetic and talented pool of artists, artisans and craftspeople inspired by the wild and beautiful coastline. Well-known destinations in Sooke, such as Whiffi n Spit Park, Sooke Potholes Regional Park and the adjacent Sooke Potholes Provincial Park attract visitors both locally and from around the world.
Travel anywhere throughout the region and you will come across artists’ studios and spaces where fi ne arts are displayed and sold. The area is well known for its woodworkers and sculptors, metal and fi bre artists.
But there’s so much more to Sooke.
Sooke is the perfect spot for a family day or date night.You can start with a walk along the Whiffi n Spit, boardwalk or at one of the region’s many galleries. Follow it up with lunch (or dinner) at one of the town’s fi ne restaurants and fi nish it up with shopping at some of the town’s boutique shops.
And if you’re really adventurous take a day to explore the many trail and regional parks by hike, bike – or running in the area.
Whatever you choose, your timewill be time well spent in Sooke.
Fine Dining - Sooke off ers some of the fi nest restaurants in the Capital Region from world-renowned Sooke Harbour House to the Prestige Hotel and a few home-grown treasures.
Dining & Cafés - If you’re looking for traditional or not-so traditional food to whet your appetite, Sooke has a diverse array of gastronomic options. Canadian classics are served up right next to Chinese,
Japanese and other ethnic foods – and all within walking distance of the town centre. Many of Sooke’s restaurants incorporate locally caught seafood and local produce, creating a made-at-home foodie delight.
Shopping - Looking for a diff erent shopping experience? Sooke has many unique boutique stores to satisfy shoppers. Check out Sooke’s stores and marketplaces for the latest fashions and fabulous deals.
Arts & Culture - If you’re an arts lover, you’ll feel right at home. The community’s rich arts and culture background has helped produce a spectrum of artistic ex-pression and a thriving creative community.
Activities - Bike on the historical Gal-loping Goose Trail. Walk in the shade of old growth rainforest. Paddle in the sheltered waters of Sooke Harbour & Basin. Zipline. Fish Surf. Whale Watch.
SookeSookeSookeVisitSookeSookeIt’s more than you remember!
L O C A L W O M E NM A K I N G A D I F F E R E N C E
for details of our Women in Business eventin February!
WatchDon't miss this opportunity to take part in
Oak Bay News' award-winning feature, as we celebrate local women making a difference in
business and throughout the community.
Booking deadline: February, 17th
OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A15OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 • A15
On the senior side, playing on the Gary Taylor Court, Oak Bay hits the hardwood against Belmont at 1:15 p.m., Lambrick Park faces Cowichan at 3 p.m., SMUS takes on Vancouver College at 4:45 p.m. and NDS plays SWC at 7:30 p.m.
The AAAA Oak Bay senior team, which finished last season ranked No. 1 in B.C., entered pre-season ranked No. 8.
The team welcomes back two starters from last season, Jaden Touchie, a Grade 11 point guard, and Myka Tang Blumen-schein, who played on Team BC U17.
Other huge contributions are expected from seniors Madhu McCo-nnell, Aoi Yamaguchi and Matthew Griffin.
The Oak Bay senior squad is expected to hit the court again for the feature game Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The game promises to be a bois-terous, fun-filled event as the home crowd cheers on their team, Hender-son says.
A short ceremony will precede the event, hosted by Oak Bay principal Dave Thomson, and featuring some good old-fashioned fun, including the Oak Bay Dance Troupe perform-
ing at half-time, along with the Oak Bay High band to pump up the home crowd.
“Oak Bay has a very strong fine arts department so we just want to showcase that,” Henderson says. “We’re tying the old with the new...bringing the traditions of the old school to the new school.”
The final game goes at 4:30 p.m. Saturday for the juniors and 6 p.m. for the seniors. Both finals will be played on the Gary Taylor Court.
Spectators will be asked to pay by donation at the door, with all pro-ceeds going to the Oak Bay basket-ball program to help subsidize player travel costs.
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LEGALS
NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND OTHERS Re: The estate of John Walter Jackson, de-ceased, formerly of 1400 St. Patrick Street, Victoria, British Columbia, V8S 4Y4. Creditor and other having claims against the estate of JOHN WALTER JACKSON are here-by notifi ed under section 38 of the Trustee Act that particulars of their claims should be sent to the Executor c/o Hart Legal 300-1001 Wharf Street, Vic-toria British Columbia, V8W 1T6, on or before January 8, 2016, after which date the Ex-ecutor will distribute the estate among the parties entitled to it, having regard to the claims of which the Executor then has notice. James Vincent Edward Jackson, Executor.
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LOST AND FOUND
FOUND WOMEN’S wedding rings in Sidney Save on Foods Dec 2, 5pm. Call with identify-ing characteristics to claim. (250)654-0288.
LOST SILVER Figural ring in Sidney or Central Saanich, sadly missed. If found please call (250)656-3741.
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HELP WANTED
ZONE CHECKERSThe Oak Bay News and the Victoria News are looking to hire Zone Checkers to service our growing distribution needs in Victoria (North Park/Oak-lands) and Oak Bay. The right candidates must have excel-lent communication and or-ganizational skills. Basic knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Outlook Express is recom-mended. Your attention to de-tail and ability to work with minimal supervision sets you apart from other applicants. Duties include supervision of newspaper carriers, recruit-ment and hiring of new car-riers, canvassing new areas of delivery, monitoring carrier performance and follow-up on reader delivery concerns. A re-liable vehicle is a must. A Vul-nerable Sector Criminal Record Check is also manda-tory. These part-time positions are ideal for applicants available for afternoon and weekend shifts. Please email your resume to Cindy Brown, Victoria and Oak Bay News Circulation Coordinator: [email protected] phone calls please.
MEDICAL/DENTAL
MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION! In-demand career! Employers have work-at-home positions available. Get online training you need from an employer-trusted program. Visit: Care-erStep.ca/MT or 1-855-768-3362 to start training for your work-at-home career today!
VOLUNTEERS
BIG BROTHERS Big Sisters seeks mentors aged 19 to 30, for their Go Girls! program from January to April. The pro-gram helps girls, aged 9 to 14, enhance their self-confi dence, self-esteem & knowledge about the benefi ts of physical activity, healthy eating, and positive self-image. Mentors are women passionate about positively shaping the lives of girls and setting them on a path to reach their potential. Training is provided and men-tors work in teams of two or three. Call 250-386-2269.
CANADA’S TEMPERANCEFoundation seeks volunteers for two events. One is its Dry Jan Scavenger Hunt on Janu-ary 16 that begins and ends at Beacon Hill Park. The other is the Wrap Up and Foot Golf event at Cedar Hill golf Course on January 20. Call 250-386-2269.
EARLY MUSIC Society of the Islands, one of North Ameri-ca’s most active and success-ful early music specialists, seeks an assistant to work with the fundraising director to develop and implement a fundraising strategy for the So-ciety. Please contact Judith Carder at 250-391-9480 for more information.
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AUTO SERVICES
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CARS
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CLEANING SERVICES
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ELECTRICAL
250-361-6193 Quality Electric Reno’s, res & comm. No job too small. Lic# 22779.
CBS MASONRY BBB. WCB. Chimneys, fi replaces,fl agstone rock, concrete, natural & ve-neered stone. Replace, re-build, restore, renew! Free competitive est. www.cbsma-sonry.com; Call (250)589-9942, (250)294-9942.
RAIN HAPPENS Landscape & Stonework. Call Nicolaas at (250)920-5108.
& MOVING STORAGE
(250)858-6747. WRIGHT Bros Moving & Hauling. Free Est $75=(2men&3tontruck)Sr Disc.
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Done Right Moving $85/hr. A+ BBB. Senior Disc. No travel time before/after local moves. Penny 250-418-1747
HOME/BUSINESS SERVICES
PAINTING
A PROFESSIONAL Woman painter. Karen Bales Painting & Wall coverings. Over 25yrs exp. Free est. 250-514-5220.
HIGH QUALITY and FAST. Professional Painting. $20./hr. Free est. Glenn 778-967-3607.
OLD TIMER. Quality old fash-ioned service. Great rates. Ex-cellent references. Call Al at 250-474-6924, 250-888-7187.
PRECISION Home Aesthetics, Interior/Exterior Painting and clean up/removal. Seasonal specials available for painting and Christmas lights. Contact Ryan or Scott at 250-213-3630
PLUMBING
FREE ESTIMATES. Rea-sonable. Reliable. No job too small. Call 250-388-5544.
FULL SERVICE Plumbing from Parker Dean. Fast, re-liable, 24/7 service. Take $50 off your next job if you present this ad. Vancouver area. 1-800-573-2928.
HOME/BUSINESS SERVICES
PRESSURE WASHING
DRIVEWAYS, WALKWAYS, Decks, etc. Reasonable rates.250-744-8588, Norm.
UPHOLSTERY
UPHOLSTER- Furn. repairs, scratches, fi x springs, marine,commercial. 250-480-9822.
WINDOW CLEANING
250-380-7778 GRAND Xterior Cleaning. Repairs, Gutters,de-moss, roofs windows,PWash, Christmas lights.
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Today’s Solution
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Remember no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box.
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A18 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
Monthly passes available at:
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A18 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
BC TRANSIT7x12
With 2,000 electric vehicles and charg-ing stations in place and a program to keep subsidizing their purchase and use, B.C. has joined an elite club of countries and U.S. states. Environment Minister Mary Polak announced last week that B.C. has joined the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alli-ance. The alliance hopes to reduce vehicle
emissions 40 per cent by 2050, promoting use of battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Its members include Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the U.K., California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Quebec.
In 2011, B.C. replaced its earlier $2,000
subsidy for hybrid cars with a clean energy vehicle program that pays between $2,500 and $5,000 in point-of-sale rebates for new battery electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell or natural gas vehicles. It also offered a $500 subsidy for installing a dedicated vehicle charging station at home through LiveSmart BC, a program that ended in 2014. With suf-
ficient home service, modern electric cars can be plugged into a standard outlet.
Natural gas power has mainly been lim-ited to short-haul truck fleets based around a central fuelling station. B.C. ran pilot proj-ects with hydrogen fuel-cell transit buses in Victoria and Whistler, but they were wound up after the 2010 Olympics.
B.C. joins clean vehicle club in Paris to cut emissions
OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A19
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A18 • www.oakbaynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - OAK BAY NEWS
BC TRANSIT7x12
With 2,000 electric vehicles and charg-ing stations in place and a program to keep subsidizing their purchase and use, B.C. has joined an elite club of countries and U.S. states. Environment Minister Mary Polak announced last week that B.C. has joined the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alli-ance. The alliance hopes to reduce vehicle
emissions 40 per cent by 2050, promoting use of battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Its members include Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the U.K., California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Quebec.
In 2011, B.C. replaced its earlier $2,000
subsidy for hybrid cars with a clean energy vehicle program that pays between $2,500 and $5,000 in point-of-sale rebates for new battery electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell or natural gas vehicles. It also offered a $500 subsidy for installing a dedicated vehicle charging station at home through LiveSmart BC, a program that ended in 2014. With suf-
ficient home service, modern electric cars can be plugged into a standard outlet.
Natural gas power has mainly been lim-ited to short-haul truck fleets based around a central fuelling station. B.C. ran pilot proj-ects with hydrogen fuel-cell transit buses in Victoria and Whistler, but they were wound up after the 2010 Olympics.
B.C. joins clean vehicle club in Paris to cut emissions OAK BAY NEWS - Wednesday, December 16, 2015 www.oakbaynews.com • A19
Trio of authors craft a reference guide to help business owners gain practical management insight
Business owners have a new tool in their toolbox thanks to three local professors and busi-ness management consultants.
Oak Bay’s Rich Mimick, the University of Victoria’s Direc-tor, Business, Management and Technology programs in the Division of Continuing Studies, along with Royal Roads Univer-sity business professors Mike Thompson and Terry Rachwal-ski have created Business Diag-nostics (3rd Edition).
A self-published book, previ-ous editions have been in print since 2004 and have sold more than 3,000 copies worldwide. The third edition is updated to include digital marketing and new business models.
Described as the ultimate desk-top business resource guide to diagnose, evaluate and
grow a busi-ness, the book is used in business classes for step-by-step case analy-sis, but is also valu-able for the small busi-ness owner or entre-preneur facing time constraints in acquiring and updat-ing business management skills, the authors say.
Mimick says the book cov-ers the critical areas of busi-ness. The “Business Diagnosis” process completes a series of “diagnostic checks” and includes tools and templates to assist the business owner or student.
Business owners don’t have time to attend business school courses, Thompson notes.
“They need quick answers and easy-to-use systems. Busi-ness Diagnostics is designed as
a practical checklist that can be read over a few evenings or kept on your desk as a ref-erence guide.”
Rachwalski says the core of the system is the “Busi-ness Diagnos-tics Frame-work.”
“As con-sultants, we often see busi-
ness people jumping into strategic planning before they have completed an external scan of their industry and competitors looking for threats and trends,” she says.
“Inevitably, the external scan reveals ‘aha’ moments. I have used the system in my consult-ing practice for years. It works.”
Business Diagnostics is sold online starting at US $60 and purchase includes free shipping until Dec. 23. The team intends to launch an e-version of the book in the spring of 2016.
