Flip of the Coyne

Published Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 48 Page A4

Green It’s not a bad word. It’s not antidevelopment. It’s not anti-progress. It is the future. Admit it or not, things are changing. Global climate patterns have changed. The polar icecaps are melting away. The deserts are growing and the impact is global. Whether we did it or not is not relevant anymore. Science points to us and science says it is happening.

Our recently passed municipal election saw the word green thrown around like it was a dirty word. This has to change. When you hear the word green you need to look at the opportunities it brings with it. The future is not in dirty 19^th and 20^th century technologies of the industrial revolution, but in new green technology. The Green Revolution is the new Industrial Revolution and the question is this: Are we forward thinking enough to change our attitudes and start looking at how we as a community can capitalize on it?

The United States just elected a president who wants to see an end to America’s dependence on foreign oil. Well, guess what? Canada is foreign. Even our Conservative federal government is talking about being green. Provincially, the Liberal government has introduced a carbon tax. The rest of the world is moving forward in this new revolution and here in Princeton we are still looking at a bygone era for the answers to keep us competitive in the 21^st century. The problem is that the rest of the world is leaving us behind.

Before you start up a posse to come and hunt me down, I am not saying we should close the mill, stop logging and so on. Trees are a renewable resource. Oil is not. Instead of our elected officials “chasing smokestacks,” they need to be following the trail of granola.

New green energy technologies are going to be the future. The future is hydrogen fuel cells, electric cars, wind generation, hydro, solar power and so on. These new industries are not only environmentally sound and sustainable. They are high tech, meaning good pay.

Our newly elected officials, both in town and in the regional district, if they were to sit down and work together and come up with a comprehensive plan to attract green industry to our area, we could become an example for the entire province on how to move into the 21^st century. When Obama moves forward with his green agenda, and if he decides to re-examine NAFTA, Princeton would be in a good place to weather any storm that may arise. We have always talked about sustainability and diversifying our economy. Now is our chance to do it in a way that will transition us from the industrial revolution to the post industrial revolution.

Next time you hear green think opportunity.

Published Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 47 Page A4

To all who ran in the election: Thank you. To all who voted: Thank you. To all candidates who have won their seats: Congratulations. You have participated in the most important part of a democratic society: The general election.

Municipal politics is arguably the most important level of politics. As a municipal politician, the day-to-day decisions you make directly affect the citizens for whom you work. When you decide to spend money, it is your neighbours’ money. When you decided to pass a bylaw, it is your neighbour you are affecting. When you sit down with representatives of the Provincial Government, you need to represent Princeton as a whole and you will need to put your own personal feelings aside and think about the bigger picture. Municipal politics is about the bigger picture. Most of the issues you will face will not be left or right; they will be nonpartisan.

Princeton is facing some major challenges in the next few years. We are all counting on the mine, but the mine will not last forever. If the market holds, we will be ok for a while. The next councillors will see the world around them change. The Provincial Government is already working to make BC a greener place. The legislation and trade agreements made will ripple down affecting the way we do business. There is a President in the United States who may re-evaluate NAFTA, which could have an impact on our current resource-based economy. The global economy is still in a state of flux. This alone is enough to give anyone in a resource-based community sleepless nights. You add all this up and Princeton could see some hard times ahead if the next council does not begin to plan right away.

I would like to urge council and our Regional District representative to talk to the community and form committees, have regular open meetings, form a business advisory committee, and reengage with the rest of the Similkameen Valley. If we stand united, we have two councils, two Band Councils, and three Regional District directors, giving us a stronger and louder voice when we speak about the issues that affect us all. Use common sense, and when you do not know the answer to the question or problem at hand, ask for help. Princeton has an abundance of resources and we can deal with whatever is thrown at us.

Princeton is in a unique position.  We have the ability to still feed ourselves.  Our total population is not too high; we still have enough available agricultural land that if we put our minds to it, we could come up with solutions to provide our food basics.  True, we no longer have a dairy, or large scale chicken or turkey operations, but we could.  We definitely have enough space for market gardens.  We have the climate to grow most of the day-to-day staples and we also have enough beef production that we could have a healthy beef market.

I do realize that we do have one other major hurdle of not having a processing plant here, but I believe even that could be rectified with some ingenuity and some help from our Area H representative and our Town Council.  They would need to work together to actively pursue an investor who would be willing to start such a facility.  Our council would not have to be alone in this quest; council should contact its associates in the Similkameen Valley Planning Society and get them on board with the idea, because if we have a processing plant, it would allow our neighbours down river the possibility of processing and marketing locally as well, which brings me to my next point: the Similkameen Valley.

The Similkameen Valley is unique. We go from Alpine to Desert here, meaning that we can produce almost anything within our watershed, and if you prescribe to the 100 mile diet, we would be able to provide almost everything from within our own valley!  This is an amazing concept and it would be even more amazing if we could pull it off.  We would become one of the only places in North America where an entire population has said enough is enough and took back the means of feeding themselves.

Now don’t get me wrong, this will not happen over night as there will need to be a lot of time, money and effort expended on this project, and we may have to fight a few fights to deal with some sticky regulations on milk, eggs and such, but we can do it. I believe we need to do it.  As the world becomes more expensive and more impacted by global climate change, market instability and other exterior influences, this project would allow us to take control of our futures.

Where do we begin?  We begin with you and me.  This spring, we start to grow our own gardens. You take what you need to feed your house out of your crop, and then you take the rest of your crop and you sell it to those who need it or want it.  To do this we need an actual farmer’s market and this is where the first step of interacting with local government comes into place.  We need to work with council to create a real farmer’s market, not a swap meet, but an actual farmer’s market.  When you visit such places as Penticton, they have closed down the street in front of city hall every Saturday where farmers from around the area come and sell their products.  I would suggest to council that they close down Veterans Boulevard every Saturday from 7am to 1pm and allow a farmer’s market, (only people selling food products).  This market would be free for the first year to encourage growth in the movement.  Once the first year is over, council would expect a society or organization to take this over. They could then apply a fee for use. Council would get a percentage of this fee and the remainder would go to the organization running the market. I know this will cause some issues with some business owners, but it will encourage agriculture, healthy living and stimulate the down town core all at the same time which far outweighs the shouts of any decanters.

What I am proposing may sound revolutionary to some, but to others it will remind them that at one time we knew how to feed ourselves and we could feed ourselves.  It will encourage community spirit and cooperation as anyone who has spent time on a farm or ranch knows it cannot be done alone and you depend on the help of your neighbours from time to time and them on you.  So let’s begin a journey that will change the way we live, eat and think.

Published Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 46 Page A4

NOTE:  The version that is in the paper is not complete.  Some of it was cut off, the following is the complete version that I submitted to be published.

I have spent a lot of time on the municipal election but I want to switch gears for this last article before the election to the Regional District race.

I have thought about this carefully and I have one real issue in this election: land owners’ rights.  My family has owned our farm (Coyneville) for 80 years we have had 5 generations on our farm now, but we have been here since the beginning, so Princeton is very near and dear to my heart.  I love Princeton and I want to live here for a long, long time.  My ability to stay here is being threatened by outside parties.  Like many I did not realize that the provincial government had changed the way you stake a mineral claim. All you need to do is get a Free Miners licence and log onto the government’s website and stake a claim.  No one needs to go to that area and mark it out like the old days and now would-be prospectors can just click on a square and pay the little fee and claim the rights for themselves.  I see this as a threat not only to me but to the 4 generations that live on our farm but also to everyone who lives in the Regional District.  Be it oil and gas or mineral claims, we the people who live here who have a stake in the future of our valley have no rights and we don’t seem to matter in the eyes of Victoria.  You tell me that I do not count, that my family who has owned our place for 80 years doesn’t have rights or matter?  My family has been here for longer than this Province or even this country and now we are told that we are just an obstacle to hurdle because the powers that be want to make a quick buck!

This is an issue that I believe effects every single person in the regional district.  If you own a farm or a ranch, or if you have a house or even a recreational property, you have almost no rights once the government sells off the subsurface rights.  People will tell you that you can negotiate a good price for the companies’ ability to access your land, but in the end if you do not come to an agreement the government or a court can decide and dictate the terms to you.  For me this is unacceptable!  If you have farmed the same farm for 5 generations, why should you have to negotiate to keep your farm?  If you have a recreational property, why should you have to fight to keep it the way you bought it?  For this reason I have decided that the person who answers one simple question the best will be the one who gets my vote.

Will you as the elected Area H representative challenge the government of BC to give the first right of refusal on all oil & gas and mineral rights under their private property to the property owner, and will you fight for the landowner(s) who are currently affected by this policy?

Gerri Logan’s Response:

There is a lot of information about the Free Miner Act and it is something that people should read up on if they are approached by someone who is telling them they have the right to explore for minerals on their property.

As for standing up for my constituents I always have and will continue to do so if elected.  But be aware that we must pick our battles these days.  We are faced with a great many issues at this time and I cannot drop the ball on my other responsibilities to wage war against the Provincial Government.  Being the Director of Area H is a multi faceted role and I am responsible to over 2500 people who all have the right to have me represent them.   I have a great many duties that I must perform and each year I have to submit my Project list to the RDOS so that staff time can be allocated to me.   That being said if this is going to become a threatening force in our community I will stand up and take the proper steps to get our message out and address our concerns.  There are ways to approach the Provincial Government and one is by putting a resolution through the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and onto the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.  There it can be discussed by the all of the elected officials in British Columbia and if endorsed it is then submitted to the Provincial Government for comment and or action.

I know that the thought of someone coming onto your land is viewed as an invasion but please go to the website and at least find out what your rights are.  And if you require my assistance, call me, I’ll be there.

Brad Hope’s Response:

The simple answer is yes, the landowner should have the right of first refusal on subsurface oil and gas and minerals under private property. Not only that, but in the case of coalbed methane where a community is asked to share in the risk, that community should also have the right of refusal, if it so chooses.
Reasoning: It should be noted that only about 5% of the land in BC is privately owned and giving landowners additional rights would affect only that portion.
Although there are some differences in how oil and gas rights and minerals are granted and administrated the basic principal is the same, most landowners own only the surface rights and do not own the rights to subsurface oil and gas, minerals ands metals

Minerals: In B.C. any person for $25.00 can purchase a Free Miners license and stake claims on private land and in doing so take away private property surface rights. The license allows a right of way over private lands, for exploration, development and operations, without the consent of the owner of the land. Giving landowners a right of refusal would not necessarily mean that mining would not take place, but that if the owner agreed to proceed he could negotiate, among other things, a share of the profits.

Oil and Gas – As with minerals, oil and gas is owned by the crown but usually leased in large blocks to petroleum companies. Once tenure has been granted individual landowners cannot refuse access or operations. Coalbed methane presents a particular set of problems. Because of the large number of wells required, the connecting roads and pipeline infrastructure in our area it is not an option to have certain land owners opt out of a program, it must be a community decision.

Published Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 45 Page A4

I cannot believe complaints about the changes to Vermilion Ave and some of the comments I have been hearing such as, “No input”, “Out of the blue”, and so on. Wait a minute! The current council had public meetings that you could have attended to give your input. You could have gone into town office and seen the plans at anytime, or you could have just talked to Lyle Thomas and asked him what was happening and he would have been more than happy to show you the plans and tell you about the vision. I guess it’s just easier for people to complain about things than to walk across the street and ask some questions or to attend a meeting in the middle of their evening TV time.

It’s time for people to do some homework before starting a witch hunt.

I am surprised at how low key a lot of the candidates have been in this municipal election. Yes, there are signs littering our green space and cluttering the end of the brown bridge, but in a way this is a good thing. It’s going to force people to do some homework. You the voter are going to have to read the paper, talk to your neighbours and friends, and corner some of the candidates to ask them where they stand on issues. They all want affordable housing, but do they know what council’s options are? Most of them are for more doctors and a fully operational hospital, so let’s ask them a little more about what they mean by a “fully operational hospital”? How are they going to attract doctors? How are they are going to attract new industry? I missed the all candidate forums because of work, but my wife gave me a play-by-play and brought me all the propaganda and I still don’t know much more than what is in the candidate bios.

We need to look at what we know about the candidates and what they have done. How many of them have been involved in trying to get doctors here? How many of them fought to keep our hospital operating room? How many have served on the Chamber of Commerce and been active in getting results? How many have served in community organizations to protect citizens, protect our air and water, help the less fortunate and work for seniors? If the candidates are not going to bring their message to the voter, then the voter needs to send a message to the candidates:

Get out there and DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

To garden or not to garden? Is that the question? I have just finished reading through the News Leader and the Spotlight and both papers have mention of gardens.

The News Leader had council candidate John Babiak quoted as saying “setting up areas for people to lease market gardens” in response to a question about local food sourcing. I think I understand where Mr. Babiak was trying to go with that answer, but I think he has it wrong. I don’t think we need to find a place for people to start market gardens; we need to start some community gardens. Community gardens would provide people who live in high density areas a spot to grow some of their own food.

The Spotlight had an article about the community garden project that is being proposed for the John Allison school grounds. I think this is a great idea to educate youth on the importance of knowing how to garden, but as a community wide project I am not too sure yet. The group is looking for public funding to get the project off the ground. They will or have already applied for grants, but I am wondering if this is the best way to do it. I am not trying to discourage people from moving forward with such projects, but I personally believe that there could be other solutions to get the program off the ground.

I am in favour of community gardening. I have long believed that Princeton could benefit from such a program, and when I last ran for council it was one of my plans. The difference in the proposed project at John Allison and the idea of Mr. Babiak is that I wanted it to be on public space. There would be a rental fee and it would be to help families feed themselves. Princeton has seen drastic increases in food prices. These food prices along with increased fuel, rent, hydro and other rates are hurting our middle and lower income citizens, but I believe that we can solve some of these problems ourselves.

One solution would be to start a true community garden program. I propose that these gardens be placed in our community parks. They would be built by the town. The town would come up with the rental fee schedule based on the cost to build the gardens plus a maintenance budget. The town would rent the spots, recovering the cost, making it a revenue neutral program but a self sustaining one.

There is a second part to this idea of community gardening that no one has talked about yet. This second part would require neighbours to work together. Some people have yards and some do not. Some people with yards do not want to garden and some without want to. So people who have yards could do a couple of things: 1) rent out part of their yards to those who want to garden for a reasonable fee bringing a few extra dollars into their households, or 2) share their yards for a percentage of the crop. Both of these options are things that those of us in the rural community have been doing for a long, long time. We don’t need the government or the public purse to solve our problems. We can work as a community and use a little common sense and we could begin to solve some of our food security issues.

The topic of food security is something that I will be talking about over the winter. I am really passionate about the idea of growing our own food and becoming self sufficient and this is just the beginning.

Today is one of the greatest days in history and it is one of the proudest moments in my life. See my birth mother’s family is from America and today I can honestly say that today I am proud to be an American.

My family’s history in America goes back to before the Civil War, part of the battle of Antietam took place on my family’s land and today no tonight I honestly felt that I am proud of my heritage and proud to be able to call myself an American.

I watched as Barack Obama spoke after his win and then after he had left the stage and the pundits began to talk again it hit me, today, today America is a truly free and democratic nation. Today the power of segregation and racism were defeated in the name of peace and prosperity. Today above any other day in my life I had reason to believe in America.

Don’t get me wrong I am a Canadian, I will never give up my citizenship nor would I ever be ashamed of it but today is unlike any other day and today I found faith in a nation that had fallen to its knees. Today I believe that America has relit the beacon that called my forefathers to its shores. Today I am proud to say I am an American.