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THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012
VOL. 24, NO. 50
BALANCING ACT
Boat basin blockade planned
Debt pressure causing stress for students BY JENN M C GARRIGLE THE NEWS BULLETIN
Lease of downtown marina opposed by protestors BY CHRIS HAMLYN THE NEWS BULLETIN
Opponents to a proposed 30-year lease of the Nanaimo Boat Basin to Pacific Northwest Marine Group are taking their protest to the water. The Nanaimo Port Authority reached a deal with the Sidney-based company which proposes $9 million in upgrades to the 72-year-old marina. But marina users are concerned about privatization and a lack of public access to moorage. “The waterfront belongs to everyone, you just can’t gate it,” said Brunie Brunie, who is organizing a blockade of the Boat Basin Sept. 1. “We’ll be out there at the crack of dawn in our boats, anchored fore and aft and maybe put a line across.” The Protection Island ferry, fishing boats and small dinghies will be allowed to pass through the blockade, but the marina is off limits to larger, private vessels. Brunie plans to inform boat owners in the marina Aug. 31 of the pending blockade and allow them to leave. “We might inconvenience some people for a short time, but selling our harbour is a bigger inconvenience,” said Brunie, who is also hoping for an Occupy-type protest on shore as well. ◆ See ‘PORT’ /4
RACHEL STERN/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Landon Toews, 9, front, practises his balancing skills while his brothers Jace, 13, centre and Marek, 8, hang out on the fish bike rack Saturday evening at Maffeo Sutton Park.
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Debt is a growing concern for Rachel Dalton. By the time the 34-year-old Vancouver Island University student finishes her bachelor of business administration degree in December, she expects that between her and husband Andrew, who just finished his master’s degree in arts and history from the University of Alberta, they will have racked up about $150,000 in student loans. While doing well in school is a major concern for Dalton, the mother of three stresses out more about her financial situation and putting food on the table. “Am I going to be able to pay my mortgage?” she asked. “That comes before my grades. You need to worry about eating before you worry about studying time. Otherwise we wouldn’t have part-time jobs. I know some students who have had to drop out because they can’t afford [to pay for school].” She attends VIU full-time and also holds down a part-time job. Her husband always had at least two part-time jobs while he was completing his masters degree – he is now tending bar full time while he looks for a research position. A recent Bank of Montreal survey found that students are more stressed out about paying for school than achieving academic success. ◆ See ‘COST’ /5
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