LANA POPHAM, CONSTITUENCY REPORT Lana Popham,MLA MLAMID-TERM Saanich South Mid-term Report
November 25, 2015
Dear Constituen ts of Saanich South ,
My job is to rep resent you in the B.C. Leg islature. I am sending o ut this midterm report as an overview of my work since being re-electe d two years ag o, and as a request for input on my priorities moving forward . As always, plea se contact me if you require assistance with the BC governm ent or have concerns regard ing provincial a ffairs. You can reach me at 250 479 4154 or lana.popham.m la@leg.bc.ca. Warm regards,
Lana Popham, Member of the Legislative Ass embly of BC for the Constitu ency of Saanic h South
More Updates!
Keep Maltby Lake Wild!
Physician-Assisted Dying
Opposition Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food
Your Invited: Art Show & Open House Dec. 2nd, 5-7pm
Royal BC Museum visits Saanich South
Physician-Assisted Dying traumatic for many
Will you support me as I work for this change? On February 6 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously that adults in grievous, unending pain have a right to end their life with a doctor’s help. The court said that “sanctity of life” also includes the “passage into death.” It delayed enforcing the rule until February 2016 so legislators could update their laws. I regret to inform you that the BC Liberal government is seriously failing us on this matter. They have
Royal BC Museum Visits Saanich South Part of my job is organizing and hosting community gatherings. My goal is always the same: to bring people together for an enjoyable event that also raises awareness about important ideas. Last month, I held my sixth such event, an evening in Saanich with the Royal BC Museum. Professor and Museum CEO Jack Lohman joined
us at the well-love Beach House Restaurant in Cordova Bay. Professor Lohman gave a riveting speech to a capacity crowd (200 people). He brought with him two world-class curators, Dr. Kathryn Bridge and Dr. Martha Black, as well as rarely seen treasures from the museum’s extraordinary collection. The three of them generously spent the evening
Pat Bay & Sayward I worked hard to bring more than $3 million in safety improvements to this intersection in late 2013. I’m pleased to report that Saanich police statistics since then indicate a low crash rate. ICBC data showed this to be one of the most dangerous highway intersections on the Island between 2009 and 2013.
not held public meetings or tabled draft legislation so a public debate can begin. In fact, last month they refused to even accept their own Standing Committee’s report on the matter. In my view, they are avoiding this work because it is difficult, potentially divisive and not ‘good politics’. But British Columbians deserve better than that. Yes, end-of-life care brings up complex feelings and evokes
memories people – myself included.
However, given the Supreme Court ruling, the question is not if the BC government should regulate physician-assisted dying but how such end-of-life care will be provided. We need government to show courage and leadership in addressing this issue. I will share with you my own conviction: we urgently need legislation that allows for physician-assisted dying.
Other jurisdictions, including Quebec, have shown us how this can be accomplished. Of course any such law must include safeguards, protection for vulnerable people, and a right for medical professionals to not participate if their conscience so dictates. Will you support me as I work for this change? If so, please take a moment to contact me at 250 479 4154 or lana. popham.mla@leg.bc.ca. If you have strong objections I also want to hear from you.
This event was advertised and free tickets were given out on a firstcome-first-served basis. My office also organized a companion event earlier in the day for public school students at Claremont Secondary.
Professor and CEO Lohman
with us, letting everyone get up close and personal with the items, and answering innumerable questions about their historical and cultural significance.
If you would have liked to attend but did not hear about it, please like my page on Facebook, or contact my office by phone or email and we will be sure to add you to our email invite list so that you’ll know about such events in the future.
Wounded Warriors I’ve been active on a number of initiatives to support veterans suffering from wartime trauma. Most significantly I co-hosted an event at the Legislature to acknowledge the Wounded Warriors and their six-day 600 km fundraiser run down the length of Vancouver Island. For more info: www.woundedwarriorrunbc.com
MLA Popham, Prof. Lohman & Kate Phoenix, owner of the Beach House Restaurant
Saanich Observatory I’m very happy to report that after much hard work, public access has been significantly restored to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. A new volunteer Society has been created and there are hopeful signs looking forward. For more info:
www.saanichobservatory.ca
Keep Maltby Lake Wild! Maltby Lake, including the 172 acres of surrounding wild-lands, is among the most ecologically significant parcels of land on the south Island. It is hidden from
sight on private property, 10 km north of Victoria. The lake is gorgeous and filled with drinkable water, continually recharged by multiple underground
Gillian Harvey, Carmel Thomson, Patrick Brown and MLA Popham. BC Supreme Court, February 23, 2015.
springs. It is surrounded by undisturbed wetlands and a thriving forest which includes the largest Douglas fir tree in Saanich – likely about six hundred years young! This precious ecosystem is home to thousands of species, including rare fresh-water jelly-fish and sponges, endangered painted turtles, horned owls and red-tailed hawks. Maltby Lake is the headwaters for the entire Tod Creek watershed and feeds Prospect Lake and Durrance Lake.
It is imperative to protect Maltby for future generations. To that end I’ve held
most of the landowners and advocated with stakeholders. I’m happy
MLA Popham has done “excellent work to help the community protect Maltby Lake. I can’t thank her enough.
”
Carmel Thomson, Maltby Lake Environmental Steward
public awareness events, attended BC Supreme Court hearings, met with
to report that because of hard work and sacrifice by many people the
lake and surrounding wilderness is not under immediate threat of development and there are ecological protections in place. However, more needs to be done to ensure it is protected in perpetuity. I am also exploring options for a public walking trail as I believe Maltby can be protected and shared with the community at the same time – like Swan Lake. For more information, visit the website for the non-profit Society, Friends of the Malby Lake Watershed: www.maltbylake.com
Opposition Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food I’m the Chairperson of this non-partisan sixmember committee of Legislators. Our goal is to bring the values, ideas and concerns of farmers directly to the BC Legislature. To that end, we have so far this year held day-long public meetings in Williams Lake, Courtenay,
Legislature, and used to strengthen agriculture in the province.
Chilliwack and Vancouver. We heard directly from farmers, eaters, farming advocates, food policy experts and municipally -elected representatives. The Committee is currently turning the best ideas and most pressing concerns into an interim report that will be publicly released, tabled in the
Dacian’s Van Kudos to the Lake Hill community in Saanich who came together to help 11-year-old Dacian. Dacian has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the community raised more than $30,000 to purchase a wheel-chair accessible van which is greatly improving his quality of life. He has been happily using the van since July of this year.
MLAs Vicki Huntington, Robin Austin, Katrine Conroy, Lana Popham, Nicholas Simons and Raj Chouhan
Residential Oil Tanks In February, MLA Rob Fleming and I organized a well-attended public forum to advance action to reduce spills from aging residential oil tanks. They harm the environment and create significant liability for homeowners. We are currently advancing this matter with the Ministry of Environment.
Our work has already produced immediate results by helping to expose a scandal requiring immediate government action. Thousands of acres of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve in the interior of BC have
been purchased by a UK-based multi-national corporation which is using the land for a ‘carbon sequestration’ public relations scheme that has very dubious environmental benefits and is in fact harmful to agriculture in the region. For more information, visit: www.bcagcom.ca
Komagata Maru More than 100 people attended a public event at my community office in July, 2014 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident. We gathered to reflect on this sad chapter of our history, celebrate the contributions of Indo-Canadians and renew our commitment to face the human rights challenges of today.
What can I do for you? What I do as an MLA and Member of the Official Opposition can be summed up in five points: 1 Listen to constituents to better understand your challenges and perspectives; 2 Assist constituents who are struggling or in crisis; Artists Illarion Gallant & Twyla Rusnak
&
Art Show Open House Wed, Dec 2 | 5-7 pm It is a pleasure to invite residents of Saanich South to my Constituency Office at 4085 Quadra Street for this event. There will be tasty snacks and desserts, as well as tea, coffee and hot apple cider. In attendance will be two talented artists who live in the Blenkinsop Valley, Illarion Gallant and Tywla Rusnak. Their remarkable work – both paintings and sculptures – are currently on display in my office. This event is also a fundraiser for two members of our community, a single mother and her young daughter. They have no extended family support, are struggling on a very low income and one of them has a severe and permanent disability. I am raising funds to buy them a laptop and a printer. This would be a great help to the school-age girl, and for her mother who would use it for language training as her first language is not English.
25% Poverty and social assistance, including: homelessness, lack of affordable housing, inability to pay for food and other essentials, and economic challenges due to long-term disabilities 20% Health care, including: surgery wait
3 Propose government actions;
times, long-term care, complex care, hospital visits, MSP problems, drug costs, mental illness, hospital treatment, and access to family doctors and specialists
4 Hold the government to account; 5 Organize public events to mobilize concerned citizens or improve our shared quality of life.
15% Environment, including: climate change, ocean and waterway health, and protections for natural places and species-at-risk
Recent examples of assisting constituents: In the last two months I have assisted a young person with a severe disability access muchneeded services; helped a senior to regain his driver’s licence that had
Saanich Inlet
Percentage break-down of casework at the constituency office
10%
Jobs and Finances, including lack of employment and training opportunities, small business concerns, personal issues with provincial taxation, fees and fines
10% Education, including: public schools, colleges and universities
5% Children and youth; family and inter-personal crisises 5% Additional challenges related to old-age, dying and death of family members 5% Transportation, including highways, road safety, licensing and public transit 5% Other
been unnecessarily cancelled; helped a student access tuition support; advocated on behalf of a family struggling to secure affordable residential complex care for an aging parent; and worked for community consultation on a highway development project.
Are you in Saanich South? Central Saanich
Sayward Rd Highlands Cordova Bay
Lana’s Fresh Kale Salad 2 lrg bunches of BC kale 2 lrg BC apples, diced 1 c. BC hazelnuts, roasted & chopped Dressing 1/3 c. fresh lemon juice 1/2 c. olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tbsp maple syrup 1/4 tsp salt ground pepper to taste Directions Remove stems from kale, chop and scrunch kale with hands until fragrant and dark green. Add apples and hazelnuts. Combine dressing and toss well. Enjoy! PS: Did you know that hazelnuts are a healthy and delicious protein that grow very well in this region?
Prospect Lake Broadmead Royal Oak
Blenkinsop Valley
North Strawberry Vale, Quadra Glanford & Marigold McKenzie Ave Mt. View/ Colquitz Victoria Hwy 1
Gordon Head
Lana Popham, MLA Saanich South
Constituency office is at 4085 Quadra Street on the corner of Nicholson 250.479.4154 | lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca | www.saanichsouth.ca Office hours are Mon-Thu 9 to 5:30 pm. Fridays by appointment
Connect with me on Facebook /LanaPophamSaanichSouth