Correction:

No fishing sign has reduced illegal fishing complaints. ~ Photo by Stephen Orgill

Fishy sign reduces poaching

Since its placement years ago, a no fishing sign posted at Gabriola Passage has significantly diminished the number of complaints about illegal fishing in the area according to Department of Fisheries and Oceans Communications Officer Leri Davies.

OCP REVIEW WORKSHOP
No community quibbles about Trust priorities

Based on feedback from a community workshop Saturday, the Local Trust Committee (LTC) appears to be on the right track regarding the issues it has identified for consideration for the Official Community Plan (OCP) review currently underway.

COINCIDENCE?
Pumping pause raises water levels

A ‘stop-pumping’ order seems to have netted a three metre increase in the water table according to Gabriola Groundwater Management Society (GGMS) President Jenny MacLeod.

Chad Arsenault (left) and Sara Burtinsky (centre) join Vic Dowling in the Chiropractic office at the Gabriola Professional Centre. ~ Photo by Chris Bowers

‘New kids’ on the block
Professional Centre gets two new Chiropractors

It’s not clear who is most excited about the Sept.

Lions thank concert sponsors

707 park plan clears antepenultimate hurdle

Trust passes Commons OCP amendment;

Co-op chips in on Styrofoam recyler

Tammy Hudgeon’s artwork glitters in the sun on Saturday at the “Street Art” venue on Lochinvar. ~ Photo by Randy Nicifore

Theatre Festival offers arts of all sorts

Gabriolans were treated to a variety of arts and entertainment this weekend at the Second Annual Gabriola Theatre Festival - a weekend full of arts and entertainment held in the Village

View down to the ocean (blue spot centre top) from halfway down the ravine. ~ Photo by Chris Bowers

Accesses should be accessible asserts Lawrence

Has a requirement that Potlatch Development (Bob Rooks and Brian Henning) provide four public water accesses at their subdivision on Ivory Way and Taylor Bay Road dwindled to the provision of what is in effect only one access that is actually inaccessible?

Health society accepts Rooks land offer

The Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) has accepted an offer of free land on which to build a community-owned medical clinic from Dr.

Aquifer study may be deep-sixed

A proposed study of Gabriola’s aquifers is less assured that previously thought according to Regional Planning Manager Chris Jackson, acting interim planner for Gabriola.

Farm noise legal: court decision

SPEED VS WISDOM?

Gabriola water experts query possible water study

Many of Gabriola’s water experts have their doubts about a proposed aquifer study that has been rumoured to be in the works for sometime.

Water study needed to protect wells, ecosystems

The most important focus for any study of Gabriola’s aquifers is ecosystem vulnerability and sensitivity as well as salt water intrusion into the water table according to Hydrologist Dr.

SepticSmart offers survey grocery lotto

Gabriola Island residents have a chance to win free groceries by filling out a new SepticSmart survey.

‘Garden grows’ from salmonberries to fantasy garden

Freerange kids and chickens: Left to right (kids) Amelia, Rowan and Maxx. Photo by Chris Bowers

Partners in Produce
Keeping the ‘family’ in ‘family farm’

“I wouldn’t know how to raise my kids in a rat race.

‘Spain’ Wins Again?!

New planner coming soon

Gabriola is soon to have a “fabulous new planner” according to local Trustee and Trust Council Chair Sheila Malcolmson.

Fire was set by arsonists in a newspaper box across from fire department. ~ Photo by Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department

Vandals set fires in newspaper boxes

Vandals on Gabriola appear to have added arson to their repertoire.

Dar Mace “works with the camera” in front of one of her stepping stones. ~ Photo by Chris Bowers

Labyrinth mosaic speaks to many spiritual traditions

“Try to incorporate as many spiritual and mythological symbols as possible … and the ‘Five Stages of Faith’ by James Fowler”, was the request given to artist Dar Mace when she was commissioned to create the labyrinth she unveiled August 7.

Scooter versus car produces no winners

It was “scooter versus passenger car” according to Corporal Trevor MacKay of the Gabriola RCMP, when a scooter entered North Road turning right off Horseshoe Road, and swerved into oncoming traffic.

It’s complicated
Green Wharf decision makers must consider many factors

Move it … or not, upgrade the road, but ignore the parking … or not, and just who is responsible for what?

BC Hydro
Swapping holes for power poles?

BC Hydro will be drilling holes on both Gabriola and Mudge Islands this week in the service of a geotechnical study to evaluate the possibility of upgrading the power lines to Gabriola.

Trustee Sheila Malcolmson. Enjoying the work

Petition creates ‘positive consequences’

A recent petition to review the Islands Trust Act appears to have had “unintended positive consequences”, according to Islands Trust Chair Sheila Malcolmson.

More Gabriolans using on-island doctors

ARM WRESTLE?

Smoke gets in your eyes

Ferens asks for research on food security, agriculture

Trustee Deborah Ferens has asked staff to provide research on agriculture and food security in the service of the Official Community Plan review currently underway.

Trustees contemplate ‘going political’ about speed limits

The Local Trust Committee (LTC) has decided to refer a request to reduce the speed limit on Gabriola to the Executive Committee of the Islands Trust with an eye to discussing their request directly with the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI).

Correction:

Still lots to do through Gabriola Recreation Society

BCCLA celebrates the end of police self-investigation

PHC homeless study may provide data for community plan

A study on homelessness on Gabriola being conducted by social service agency People for a Healthy Community (PHC) may provide helpful information for use in the Official Community Plan currently under review.

Review committee revisits sale of water from agricultural lands

The Official Community Plan (OCP) Volunteer Review Committee (VRC) reconsidered the question of whether water should be sold from Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) lands at the July 20 meeting at Agi Hall.

The dance of the barbeque is performed with its usual excellence by the barbeque team. ~ Photo by Chris Bowers

Gabriolans defy the weather; stage super salmon supper

Another successful salmon barbeque despite the weather is how Gabriola Island Community Hall Association (GICHA) volunteer Tom Whalley and board member Tony Pickers summed up Saturday’s annual event at the Community Hall on North Road.

The Timbenders with Roy Orbison - aka Tom Watson. The Timebenders rocked the crowd in “the best Concert on the Green ever”~ Photo by Chris Bowers

Concert on the Green rocks, despite hydro shut down

This year’s Concert on the Green got off to a rocking good start – twice – on Thursday, thanks to an island-wide power shut down by BC Hydro about three songs into the first set.

GROWLS Prowls

Waging Words
New toys for our boys

Twenty-eight years ago, the Canadian Forces were chomping at the bit to replace their “obsolete” CF-101s and CF-104s with a more “modern” fighter.

707 Park plan misses the boat: parks committee

Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee members (POSAC) took a number of exceptions to the management plan for the 707 Community Park presented by Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) Parks Planner Lesya Fesiak at their Monday meeting at the Community Hall.

Homeless man dies in van fire

Anthony Wayne Wilson has died as a result of an early Monday morning fire in a van parked on a lot at Spruce Avenue and Balsam.

Commons application nearing completion

Shut Down!

Due to an EXTREME fire hazard, we are now at SHUTDOWN.

Snuneymuxw declines review committee position

The Snuneymuxw First Nation (SFN) has declined, at least for now, an invitation to have a formal SFN position on the Official Community Plan Volunteer Review Committee (VRC).

Concert on the Green presents the best of the old goldies

Who’re you gonna call?

Constable Mike Reid with some garbage gathered after a tour on the beach. ~ Photo by Chris Bowers

‘Enough already!’ say park neighbours

Neighbours of Gabriola Sands Provincial Park (Twin Beaches) are “tired of cleaning up day after day”, and are fed-up with continuous littering, vandalising and loud parties in the park, reports Constable Mike Reid of the Gabriola RCMP.

Pie day delivers ‘lip-smacking results’

Editorial
Narrowing the options

We always try to keep the Shingle webpoll as topical as possible, even though we know that webpolls are unlikely to be statistically accurate representations of pubic views.

The View from Here

Editorial
Time for an association that supports small business

The decision by the BC Chamber of Commerce (BC C of C) to join with five other big businesses to interfere with the Harmonised Sales Tax (HST) Extinguishment Act should be an eye-opening moment for small businesses in BC.

The View from Here

Democracy Watch
Where are the good guys?

Do we all, if we come from a family and a culture where fairness and justice seemed a part of the DNA, reach a point of shock when we realize that power corrupts leadership, and then have to decide what to do about it?

Waging Words
Economic injustice and lost sovereignty

A televised video posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=McWAnMWoSyY

Editorial
Governmental arrogance

The long-awaited results on the anti-HST petition are in, and to no-one’s surprise it has met its quota of signatures.

The View from Here

Editorial
Reviewing The Troubles

One of the things that stood out for some Gabriolans during the Weldwood Troubles, was the way in which the ruralista community had been pitted against itself.

The View from Here

Dear Gord # 53

So Mr. Premier, how’s your summer going?

Editorial
Deciding for the public

It’s possible we are spoiled on the Trust islands in how land-use decisions get made.

The View from Here

The View from Here

A Modest Opinion
The Best Place on Earth … granted you’re not an artist

2006 Academy Award winners, and badass gangsters, Three Six Mafia couldn’t have put it any better, “It’s hard out here for a pimp”, and now everyone in the BC arts community is starting to feel it.

Obituary

Lulu’s 2011 ‘Classical Women’ calendar on its way!

Happy hungry mappers gather at Raspberry’s Jazz Café. From Left to Right: Nikki Wright from Seachange Marine Conservation Society, Raquel Greiter Loerzer, Frances Cartwright, Christine McKim, Tom Cameron, Charlotte Cameron, Tessa Spero, Cameron Murray, Lawrence Spero. Also participating but not shown are: EJ Hurst and family, Howard Stiff, Sheila Malcolmson, Paul Smith, and L-J Kelly. ~ Photo by Laura-Jean Kelly

Volunteers map over half of intertidal zone

The Gabriola Eelgrass Mapping Society (GEMS) has now mapped over 50 per cent of Gabriola’s intertidal zone with the help of dedicated volunteers.

Flotsam and Jetsam
I’m watching you

The last time I told someone that I love oxymorons, they asked me why I’d waste my time loving a moron?

Dear Gabby

I am struggling with a difficult decision: where to take our annual vacation?

The View from Here

Regional Director’s Report

On the Line

Society provides many ways to support medical clinic

Democracy Watch
Where are the good guys?

Do we all, if we come from a family and a culture where fairness and justice seemed a part of the DNA, reach a point of shock when we realize that power corrupts leadership, and then have to decide what to do about it?

Dear Gabby

Did you know that a University of Miami study revealed that attractive women are paid roughly eight per cent more on average than average-looking women?!!

Shop locally, the choice is yours

Summertime pressure washing: the ultimate in bad water manners

PRESSURE WASHING: Over any drought period, we hear and see people continuing to use water in the “January” fashion, oblivious to stressed wells, water system bylaws and common sense.

Waging Words
Economic injustice and lost sovereignty

A televised video posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=McWAnMWoSyY

MyWord
Ballroom Music

I had forgotten about the new cement slab at the bottom of my porch steps.

A Modest Opinion
Man, I had a dollar…

In what would have been the smartest career decision I’d have ever made, (shadowed only by my planned campaign to be Supreme leader of the planned 2020 Moon colony) I, apparently, could have purchased Newsweek for one dollar.

The View from Here

Stuffies bad for dogs

Sarah Anne Robinson, Ph.D., Anthropologist

Opinion Editorial
The Economy Vs. Society

Part two of a two part series.

First Annual ‘360’ Gabriola circumnavigation!

Dear Gabby

I HATE SPAM. I HAVE SO MUCH OF THE DARN THING THAT I’M STARTING TO BELIEVE THAT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL MAKES IT INTO MY INBOX, YOU HAD BETTER PUT VIAGRA OR SOMETHING TO DO WITH “HOT RUSSIAN CHICKS” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

Focus on the Future
The Greening Of The Workplace:

What Psychological And Sociological Drivers Of Sustainability Need To Be Activated?

Sarah Robinson, Ph.D., Anthropologist

Opinion Editorial
The Economy Vs. Society

“Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals”.

The View from Here

Male violet-green swallow checking out his new home. ~ Photo by Sharon McInnes

Just for the Birds
A Precarious Life

I recently completed Courtship and Rivalry Behaviours in Birds, an on-line course through Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology.

Behind the Garden Gate

Dear Gord # 53

So Mr. Premier, how’s your summer going?

Dear Gabby

Last weekend we went camping.

Food for thought

Midnight musings

MyWord
The Language of Birds

Foreign languages. Hmm. I can bumble along with a smattering of Spanish, but my spoken French is appalling.

A Modest Opinion

The View from Here

Meaghan McCollum: Naturopathic Doctor!

T’was the Night Before Salmon

Rudischer responds to Grignon’s redux

Ed note: As a rule the Flying Shingle does not print articles responding to content in the Sounder, much less articles twice our maximum word limit.

Flotsam and Jetsam
Now I see

If there’s one thing that I hate more than having my teeth checked, it’s having my eyes examined.

Dear Gabby

I despair of myself! We just bought a lovely new house that has a fabulous garden.

Throwing butts ‘totally ignorant’ act

Dear Editor, The Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department would like to thank the woman who spotted a passenger on a small, red, electric scooter throw a lit cigarette into the dry grass across from the RCMP station.

GIRO helps Gabriolans help Haiti

Thanks Folks!

Natural monopolies should be publicly owned

Dear Editor, I thought a little basic economics would contribute to the discussion of the BC Hydro issue.

Youth must be trusted to set their own path

‘Maxine’ not so funny

Healthy salmon up to us

Morton’s migration marches (and paddles) from the mountains

Dear Editor, Paddle for Wild Salmon - The Get Out Migration marches on with a flotilla, walk and rally in Vancouver on Oct.

Sinister financial vectors at BC Hydro

Dear Editor, A vector gives information about direction and the magnitude of a changing position.

Headline does injustice to Tony

Dear Editor, Re: your headline Homeless man dies in Van fire, Aug. 3 edition:

Rigid regimentation may be regretted

Dear Editor, In response to Gisele Rudischer… What I actually did during Weldwood was to urge Gabriolans to develop their own pro-active amenity zoning proposal because I did not like the passivity of reacting to developer amenity proposals.

Foresters don’t deserve bad rep.

Salmon feedlots overstep constitutional boundaries

Dear British Columbia MLAs, I have been writing to Dr.

Another Chris Bowers in search of a good story

Cell tower illnesses unproven

Senseless census renovations over silly renovation sensitivities

REGIONAL: ISLANDS TRUST ANNOUNCES 2010 COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP AWARDS

The Islands Trust Council selected the recipients of the ninth annual Community Stewardship Awards during its quarterly meeting on Saturna Island, June 17, 2010.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 1
Déjà vu All Over Again

I began this series of articles at a time when the Snuneymuxw treaty negotiations were in full swing and it had become clear that lands on Gabriola would be among those involved in the treaty settlement.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 2
One Little Two Little Three Little White Men…

We return to our intrepid Empire builders on the shores of North America somewhere around the mid 1500's.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 3
Four Thousand, Five Thousand, Six Thousand White Men…

Stage One Continued If you tuned in to the ongoing saga of First Nations relationships with European infiltrators at or after the Oka standoff, you will be surprised to discover that the French colonials were originally seen as the invaders of choice, before “Wolf the Dauntless Hero came and planted firm Britannia's flag”, etc.,

As Long as the Rivers Run: 4
Seventy Thousand, Eighty Thousand, Ninety Thousand White Men…

Stage One Goes On… We left our First Nations heroes on the cusp of getting involved, without benefit of counsel, in legal discussions with some not very nice empire builders (or is “nice empire builder" an oxymoron?).

As Long as the Rivers Run: 5
Millions of Little White Men

The End of Stage One While our First Nations protagonists are coming to terms with the reality that the white man's government cannot be trusted, let me explain how the Europeans of the 18th century made peace with themselves over their rude behaviour as guests in other peoples' lands.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 6
A Few Missed Bits

As we have arrived at the end of stage one of the European invasion of Canada, there are three loose ends that I want to weave into the fabric of our narrative.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 7
Knocking Them Down

Stage Two Shingle readers may recall that the British invasion of Canada was effected through three stages (Sucking them in, knocking them down, and sitting on them).

As Long as the Rivers Run: 8
Of Agents, Bureaucracies, Missionaries and Other Deadly Weapons

Stage Two goes on Last article we looked at how the colonial government used the Indian Act, and the Indian Commissions to “knock down” (render irrelevant) First Nations' resistance to the theft of their lands.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 9
Education, the Great Equaliser

A Stage Two AND a Stage Three Affair Education of Canada’s Aboriginal children has been a handy little device used to accomplish two goals for the price of one.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 10
Education, the Great Equaliser, Part Dos

OK. Let’s review. What is the “big deal” about education for First Nations and other Aboriginals?

As Long as the Rivers Run: 11
And Then There’s BC … Perfecting the Performance of Passing the Buck, OR The Sins of the Great-Great-Grandfathers.

BC, being the hardest part of Canada to reach from Europe, was the last province of Canada to be invaded by the Europeans.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 12
What Goes Around, Comes Around

Stage Four: the Resistance FINALLY!

As long as the Rivers Run: 13
The Resistance: the Tip of the Iceberg

Stage Four Now that we’ve dealt with the 1885 rebellion, let’s look at the more typical ways in which Canada’s indigenous peoples resisted colonization.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 14
The Resistance Continues…

As we’ve seen, First nations and Metis became separate communities towards the end of the 18th century.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 15
And Then There’s BC… Part Two

The Resistance Continues As mentioned previously, there were positive aspects about the fact that BC was the last province of Canada to be invaded by Europe.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 16
The Ice Beneath The Waters: The Heart of the Resistance

Perhaps you have noticed that except for BC, there was little or no overt resistance by the Aboriginal communities to colonisation, between the 1895 rebellion, and the resurgence of activism in the early 1920’s.

As long as the Rivers Run: 17
The Bottom Line

I have no qualms in embracing the label of “bleeding heart socialist”, and it will surprise no-one that I reject the neo-classical religio-economic belief system.

As Long as the Rivers Run: 18
Last Thoughts and Loose Ends

Once more I’ve come to the end of this discussion.

Frequently Asked Questions About First-Past-the-Post and BC-STV

Following is the first of two sets of FAQs about the Single Transferable Vote, and our current voting system.

No common ground on voting systems

The debate on BC’s proposed shift to a Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system charged into high gear March 17 at a public forum at the Community Hall.

How the STV proposal came to be

Thanks to a strange accident of circumstances in which Gordon Campbell won popular support but lost the election in 1996, then nearly wiped out the New Democrats in 2001 with only fifty seven per cent of the popular vote, he kept a promise made in opposition (one of the few he has ever kept), and proposed to make a change to our electoral system.

Denise Savoie and Jean Crowder open the forum ~ Photo by Chris Bowers

VOTING FORUM
Power to the people? It’s not happening

The real problem with democracy is that power is increasingly coalescing in the offices of party leaders, according to Vancouver Island University (VIU) prof.

Proportional Representation:
Why the Citizens’ Assembly chose the Single Transferable Vote

Why is the single transferable vote (STV) the other choice of voting system for BC on the referendum this coming May 12, 2009?

Dear Gord # 53

So Mr. Premier, how’s your summer going?

Dear Gord #52

So Mr. Premier, how’s your summer going so far?

Dear Gord #51

So Mr. Premier, I understand that you intend to spend your summer convincing people that the HST is a good thing.

Dear Gord # 50

Mr. Premier, I need your help, and I don’t know who else to turn to for this assistance.

Dear Gord #49

Well Mr. Premier, it seems you’re finding out what happens when you try to run a government on a bankrupt ideology.

Dear Gord #48

Ah Mr. Premier, you must be basking in the afterglow of the Olympic experience.

Dear Gord #47

Mr. Premier, you seem to have kept a fairly low profile for the last few weeks, although there has been a lot going on politically.

Dear Gord 46

Well Mr. Premier, you must be getting excited what with presenting yourself as a poster boy at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, and then Christmas, and then the Olympics just a few short weeks away.

Fried: Sunny Side up
(A slightly sardonic series of satirical ruminations on the federal political scene.)

God knows I try to make sense of the political antics in this fair country.

Dear Gord 45

Well Mr. Premier, it’s been an interesting few days with all this Olympic excitement.

Dear Gord 44

Now Mr. Premier, hang on to your hat.

Dear Gord 43

If what you and Minister Hansen say is true (and even previous Liberal Minister Christy Clark is having trouble swallowing this line) and you didn’t think about the idea of the HST until the election was over, I’d like to suggest that you and your Minister not think about a few other things.

Dear Gord 42

So Mr. Premier, this harmonized sales tax thing appears to have not been well received by the citizens of BC.

Dear Gord 41

Well Mr. Premier, you’ve been unnaturally quiet since your successful bid to reclaim your political throne.

Dear Gord 40

Well Mr. Premier, you did it.

Dear Gord 39

Mr. Premier, hopefully this is the second last missive I shall be penning to your right honourable self.

Dear Gord 38

With a provincial election just around the corner and remembering that it’s always good to look at where we’ve been to better see where we might be going, I thought it advisable to compile a list of your government’s actions, decisions and their consequences over the past few years just to remind voters and to provide some sense of where we would be heading should your government get re-elected on May 12.

Dear Gord 37

Mr. Premier, I wonder, has anyone mentioned to you that there’s an election coming up in May?

Dear Gord 36

As the May election approaches, I’ve become increasingly aware of the fact that politics, at least the way we appear to be currently practising this art in BC and in Canada, seems to be increasingly negative, partisan, divisive and unhealthy.

Dear Gord 35

Well, welcome to 2009 Mr.

Dear Gord 34

You know Mr. Premier, I’ve been a political junkie for as long as I can remember.

Dear Gord 33

Well Mr. Premier, it was interesting to see you on television a couple of weeks ago when you presented your ten point solution to address the economic tsunami and the impacts it might have on our fair province.

Dear Gord 32

Mr. Premier, in spite of establishing dates for both the spring and fall sittings of the legislature, you have once again cancelled the fall sitting.

Dear Gord 31

Gord, Gord, Gord. I continue to be amazed at the new lows to which both your government and your political associate Prime Minister Harper will sink!

Dear Gord 30

Mr. Premier, I realize you’re in Beijing at the moment, enjoying the Olympics.

Dear Gord 29

Well Mr. Premier, you’ve managed to be spoken of by almost every citizen of British Columbia on Canada Day and beyond.

Mainlanders react to another increase in highway tolls

Tongue-in-Cheek Press People living on the mainland of British Columbia and in the interior are once again complaining about the newest increase to highway tolls recently announced by the BC Highways Corporation.

Dear Gord 28

Well Mr. Premier, you and your band of merry Ministers must be pleased with yourselves having finished off this session of the Legislative Assembly with your signature blend of arrogance, partisan pomposity, and your obvious distain for accepted parliamentary procedure.

Dear Gord 27

Well Mr. Premier, it’s been an interesting month!

Dear Gord 26

Mr. Premier, I appreciate that you’re busy but, I’m surprised, nay astonished, that you haven’t had one personal comment or reaction about the increase in BC Ferries fares over the past five years.

Dear Gord 25

Mr. Premier! It would appear that certain of your Ministers and minions have a remarkable tendency to develop recurring cases of hoof and mouth disease!

Dear Gord 24

Mr. Premier, there are a number of things that have caught my attention in the last little while.

Dear Gord 24

Mr. Premier, there are a number of things that have caught my attention in the last little while.

Dear Gord 23

Well Happy New Year Mr.

Dear Gord 22

Well Mr. Premier, it’s getting close to the end of the year, and I figured this would be a great time to take a look at the overall performance of you and your government over the past twelve months.

Dear gord 21

Ah Mr. Premier, although you’ve provided me with enough material to write a daily column lately, what with the extra few bucks that the new Vancouver Convention Centre will cost us (over 400 additional million, wasn’t it?)

Dear Gord 20

Well Mr. Premier, you do keep me on my toes – metaphorically speaking.

Dear Gord 19

Well Mr. Premier, it feels like summer’s over and I’m looking forward to the excitement that comes with the fall session of the Provincial Legislature.

Dear Gord 17

Hope you’re enjoying your summer Mr.

Dear Gord 16

Mr. Premier, I just wanted to take this opportunity to review the events of the past few weeks for your government, tie up a few loose ends and get ready for summer.

Dear Gord 15

Mr. Premier, every time I even remotely consider terminating this one-sided dialogue with your honourable self, you serve me up a platter of new and deeply disconcerting decisions that pull me back into the process and leave me aghast with your apparent capacity to be out of touch with the world the rest of us appear to inhabit!

Dear Gord 14

Well congratulations on finally getting to meet the Governator!

Dear Gord 13

Gord! I thought I was going to be able to leave you for a while, hoping that the antics of your superegos, Stephen and George, would attract my attention.

Dear gord 12

Well Mr. Premier, as much as I’ve enjoyed our admittedly one way conversations over the past year, I’ve come to the conclusion that I must admit that it doesn’t seem to be having the impact I had hoped for when we began this monologue.

Dear Gord 11

So welcome to 2007 Mr.

Dear Gord 10

As it’s getting close to Christmas and Chanukah, I thought I’d send out my wish list for BC for this time of year.First

Dear Gord 9

So when I got back from vacation, I heard that you cancelled the regular fall sitting of the Legislative Assembly because it was reported you stated that debating issues in the Legislature was nothing but 'busy work'.

Dear Gord 8

As much as I value our in-depth conversations, my focus this time is on your philosophical colleague, Stephen (Steve) Harper.

Dear Gord 7

Well it’s summer and in the fine tradition of your government, you’ve managed to slide some hefty pay increases to the senior political staff and top bureaucrats, arguing that “we have to make sure that we have compensation that's fair and reasonable.”

Dear Gord 6

Let’s talk about BC Ferries this time and let’s cut through the bureaucratic mumble-jumble and the pretension that BC Ferries is a private corporation.

Dear Gord 4

You know Gord, as much as I enjoy our ongoing (admittedly one-sided ) conversation, at the moment my attention has been ripped from your exploits and riveted on those of the newly minted, minority Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his hordes of Republican wannabes.

Dear Gord 3

Well it’s been while since I’ve taken pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard.)

Dear Gord 2

When I first contemplated penning a regular missive to your right honourable self, I thought perhaps it might be both cathartic (for me) and an incentive to at least consider looking at the decisions you and your government are making in a different light.

Dear Gord 1

It would appear that your plan to completely privatize BC Ferries and to ensure that only the wealthy will be able to afford to live on the Gulf Islands is close to success.