On November 19, we will decide whether or not we want to continue exploring the idea of a National Park on Bowen. As your mayor I want to share my thoughts on this important decision.
Let’s first look back. From the beginning this Council has supported the National Park process. We unanimously
At the 2006 symposium on affordable housing I spoke about Bowen’s problem of rising living costs due to a lack of affordable housing options. At that time, the mayor spoke glowingly about 1) focusing on solutions, 2) the power of people who offer them and 3) his bias to leading by doing and not trying [...]
Tagged Affordable Housing, Island Life, Municipal PoliticsAs Murray told us in the last edition of the Bulletin, there is a new “green” group on Bowen calling themselves True Green. They are proposing “solutions” for Bowen based on the idea that by increasing our density and population, we can become more sustainable, support more amenities and reduce our carbon footprint (the idea [...]
Tagged Eco Alliance, True GreenWhy CRC Can’t Hold 58 Lots
Cape Roger Curtis is currently zoned to allow for 10 acre lots but it must be subdivided, with the approval of the Approving Officer, who has the discretion to approve or reject the application on grounds set out in the Land Title Act, including (among other things) that it is [...]
The most important issue in our upcoming municipal election may not be what we stand to gain from the many candidates’ promises, but rather what we have to lose.
Bowen Island is an exceptional place to live. Almost everyone agrees that we have a close, caring community set in a spectacular natural environment, still rural in [...]
A recent poll revealed that Canadians have quite differing levels of trust when it comes to different professions. While nurses and teachers enjoy the trust of more than 75 per cent of the public, politicians are highly trusted by a meagre 14 per cent.
It is in this climate of mistrust and suspicion that you must [...]
There is a mission statement for Bowen Island municipality; it adorns the top of all agendas prepared for council meetings, and makes five pledges: to improve the economic, environmental and social well-being for present and future generations; to encourage and foster community involvement; to enhance the small, friendly, caring character of the community; to maintain [...]
We are getting the runaround from BC Ferries. Have been for years. Take our passenger waiting facility in Snug Cove, for instance. Built in the early 80’s, and a poor cousin to any half decent bus stop on Fraser Street, it seats 4-5, maybe 12 people standing. That at a time when over 200 passengers [...]
Some years back an older wiser man offered this comment when I complained about the slow pace of political affairs: “Things don’t just go from A to B; they go round and round. You just hope that with each turn of the wheel, things move forward a bit.”
Sadly, he has been quite correct. The Snug [...]
Here we are in the final months of our three-year term, on the brink of passing the Snug Cove Plan, some 20 years after the community first began debate about its merits. For the past three years I have had the privilege of direct political involvement in this plan, and I want to use this [...]