8 Thursday, September 27, 2012 8 Thursday, September 27, 2012
www.northshoreoutlook.com
— LETTER OF THE WEEK —
FONVCA is ‘mainly an information sharing forum’
Fall Fest Fun - There was tons of family fun last week at the eighth annual Fall Festival at Lonsdale Quay Market. Entertainment included Bobs and Lolo, Matt the Juggler and Steel Toe Boots, face painting, balloon twisting and more. Above: kids get a workout during a Live Fit demonstration. Jeanette Duey photo
— EDITORIAL —
Save our rivers
Creeks and rivers support an interdependent web of life and we damage them at our peril. For much of the last century, we have done everything imaginable to destroy these critical waterways — covering them over, altering their course, polluting them, diminishing their capacity to support life. It’s a wonder we still have functioning creeks and rivers and to which exhausted salmon still return to spawn. Nature’s resilience can, in large part, explain why our creeks and rivers still teem with life. But there have been efforts made over the years to improve things and some humans deserve credit. Thanks to streamkeepers and other stewards, there are more kilometres of life-supporting habitat along these waterways and more fish in the once sterile creeks. Thanks to wise lawmakers, there are more regulations requiring industry to minimize the impact of development and resource extraction on waterways, and cities are taking more responsibility and using best practices to protect waterways in their jurisdictions, too. Even the public is getting involved by cleaning up garbage during shoreline cleanups, removing invasive species, planting native species and raising cain when problems arise. Such was the case last week when an alert neighbour spotted a white substance in a Coquitlam creek and contacted authorities. It turned out a contractor had washed residue from a new aggregate driveway down a storm drain, which clogged the pipe — but not before killing a number of coho salmon fry and poisoning what little water there was in the stream. It just goes to show you that nothing can be taken for granted. All it takes is one dumb or thoughtless move or a change in government or social attitudes, and all that hard work protecting our waterways can disappear. This week, as World Rivers Day approaches, we should make time to learn about our nearest creeks and rivers and take a walk along them, observing how they still bear life despite their proximity to industry and development. True, they are under threat day by day, but if each of us becomes a responsible steward, they have a greater chance of surviving into the next century. —Black Press
SMOKIN’ HOT DEALS
Dear Editor, The Aug. 30 article “Inside the North Shore’s community associations” paints an inaccurate picture. Having said that, we sympathize with your reporter, since the Federation of North Vancouver Community Associations (FONVCA) had no full-time chair, staff or spokesperson to respond officially to his questions. The issue described in your article arose because DNV had for many years a set of criteria for Community Associations (CAs) to obtain official recognition by DNV. While FONVCA’s documents referenced the criteria as both for FONVCA and DNV, FONVCA has no authority, mandate, jurisdiction or resources to police the criteria and never agreed to do so. In fact, FONVCA’s written mandate makes clear that FONVCA has no authority over CAs. FONVCA is mainly an information-sharing forum. DNV council decided in-camera in July to cease its oversight of CAs. We believe that it was mainly infighting between two community associations that caused council’s action. The unattributed claim that FONVCA has inserted itself into politics between CAs and DNV has no basis in fact and ignores both FONVCA’s actual practices and lack of authority over CAs. As to some unidentified group trying to “unseat” FONVCA, this is news to us, but in any event it would have to have a seat first – some role with both recognition and authority – to be unseated from. To suggest that present day FONVCA acts as “an unelected shadow council” is,
in our opinion, ridiculous, and as with all these accusations, lacks evidence. FONVCA has no such authority, mandate or legislative powers, nor does it seek such. The accusation completely misrepresents FONVCA’s role. All its meetings are open to the public and councillors sometimes attend. The minutes of every meeting are on the FONVCA website. Some “shadow council.” The statement that FONVCA meets in “district hall chambers” (i.e. council chambers) is false, and would hardly be evidence of a “shadow council,” even were it true. FONVCA, like some 15 other community groups (year-to-date), meets in various District hall meeting rooms, because it is convenient, cost effective and facilitates DNV staff attendance. Comments attributed to a member of the Capilano Gateway Association that FONVCA is “dangerous” and “dysfunctional” are inaccurate, and arise, in our view, due to a misunderstanding of the mandate of FONVCA and CAs. We encourage those dissatisfied with FONVCA or CA processes to formally present their proposals for improvement to their CA (or FONVCA if about FONVCA) for a vote by the respective organization’s members, before complaining to newspapers or elected officials. Such a co-operative and democratic process will, we believe, prove more effective. For more information about FONVCA, visit fonvca.org. Brian Platts, John Hunter, Corrie Kost, Lorraine Harvey, Bill Tracey, Eric Anderson, Peter Thompson, Diana Belhouse, David Knee, FONVCA participants
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