OAK BAYNEWS Taser tactics updated
Convertible classic
In the aftermath of the Braidwood Inquiry, members of the Oak Bay Police Department will receive more use-ofNews, Page A6 force training.
Sixty years after paying cash for a new Ford ragtop, Ray Mitchell still drives his pride and joy. In Motion, Page B1
Friday, March 2, 2012
Teachers may strike next week in Greater Vic. Tabled legislation calls for ‘cooling-off’ period in dispute
Council refuses to support tourism body’s annual tree sale
Natalie North News staff
Ryan Flaherty News staff
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Palms away For the second year in a row, there will be no palm tree sale in Oak Bay -- at least, not with the municipality’s endorsement. This year, it’s more than just the weather hampering the sale of the tropical trees. On Monday council denied a request from Oak Bay Tourism to host the event on the lawns of the municipal hall, citing a desire to support tourism initiatives which fit the municipality’s vision of a sustainable community. “We need to support projects that support and preserve our existing ecosystem, and unfortunately this one just didn’t do it,” said Coun. Tara Ney, council’s liaison to Oak Bay Tourism. The decision prompted the group to cancel the sale outright. Some on council fear that the tropical plants, while not considered an invasive species, could overshadow important native species such as Garry oak trees, which are protected in Oak Bay. “We have this limited number of large Garry oaks left, and we should be doing everything we can to encourage people to plant and maintain that urban forest,” said Coun. Michelle Kirby. The chair of Oak Bay Tourism called council’s concern somewhat arbitrary. “Yes, palm trees are an exotic (species), they’re not native to this area,” said Derek Vair. “But so are camellias
$749,000 James Bay
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Oak Bay Tourism committee chair Derek Vair stands underneath one of the palm trees on Monterey Avenue outside the Winchester Gallery. and so are rhododendrons and so are lots of other things that people put in their gardens. The argument that palm trees are displacing Garry oaks, I think, is rather spurious.” While the palms don’t have a significant negative impact on the local ecosystem, they don’t do much to green the community either, said Oak Bay municipal arborist Chris Paul. “(With) palm trees, you’re getting a very small (contribution) as far as being green, and doing all the good things that trees do for the atmosphere,” he said. “They have a pretty small impact, because their crown is so small.”
The palm tree sale has been quite popular in past years, with several hundred trees being sold annually to customers from around the region. Last year’s sale was cancelled due to an unusually cold winter, coupled with what Vair termed “a glut on the market.” Though her organization isn’t taking a side in the debate, Trina Mousseau, Tourism Victoria’s director of destination marketing, said the trees are part of Oak Bay’s charm. PLEASE SEE: Palm trees, Page A5 Our View, Page A8
After months of stalled contract negotiations, the dispute between B.C. teachers and the province heated up this week, with teachers ready to walk off the job as early as next Monday. Just as the Labour Relations Board ruled Tuesday that teachers may legally walk out for up to three days next week, after giving two days’ notice, Education Minister George Abbott tabled legislation to end six months of teach-only job action. The Education Improvement Act, which calls for hefty fines for those who strike, comes nearly a year since contract nego“This is not tiations between B.C.’s 40,000 teachers and scaring us. This is the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association just the beginning.” – Benula Giasson, began. While talks centred around class size union executive and composition, as well as teacher prep time, the two sides were ultimately polarized over the government’s unwillingness to diverge from a two-year “net zero” wage mandate. Abbott said the new legislation imposes a six-month “cooling-off period” and sets up the appointment of a mediator to look at non-monetary issues. The legislation extends the current contract to June 2013. The mediator will have until June 30 to find agreement. Bénula Giasson, first vice-president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association, was “shocked” to hear that the bill, once passed, will include fines for walking off the job: $425 per day for individual teachers, $2,500 for union officers, and $1.3 million to the BCTF in the event of a strike. “This is not scaring us,” Giasson said, adding that she is prepared to pay. “This is just the beginning.” The results of a provincewide vote by BCTF members was expected to be known by Thursday. PLEASE SEE: Education legislation, Page A4
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