6 -- Wednesday, November 14, 2012 -- THE NEWS - www.mapleridgenews.com
THE NEWS/opinion News Views
Treat with respect On Sunday, many of us gathered around cenotaphs and in city squares for solemn ceremonies paying tribute to Canada’s service men and women. We heard words like sacrifice and honour, some of them uttered by politicians. But for some veterans, those words continue to ring hollow. In 2006, Parliament unanimously passed the New Veterans Charter that changed the way injured soldiers are compensated. Instead of a lifetime pension, indexed to inflation, veterans injured after that year, or who had their injury diagnosed since then, would get a lump sump settlement. Veterans Affairs champions the new system as “a more complete approach to helping our men and women injured in the line of duty,” offering them “real hope.” But some injured veterans say otherwise. They say Canadian soldiers injured in Afghanistan, and those suffering the lingering mental and emotional effects of their tour are getting substantially less support than they would have received with the former indexed pension. A study by Queen’s University last year concluded most disabled soldiers will receive only two-thirds the compensation under the New Veterans Charter than they would have received from the old act. Recently, Canada’s Auditor-General criticized the Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs for their shoddy treatment of injured veterans, saying the system to get them help is “complex, lengthy and challenging to navigate.” Even in death, the indignities continue. A program that is supposed to contribute just over $3,600 to the funeral costs for destitute ex-soldiers has rejected more than two-thirds of funding requests since 2006. Even when approved, that money is still less than some social services departments will pay towards the burial of the homeless. It’s one thing for Canada’s politicians to honour our veterans. It’s another to treat them with honour. – Black Press
THE NEWS Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978 Jim Coulter, publisher publisher@mapleridgenews.com Michael Hall, editor editor@mapleridgenews.com Carly Ferguson, advertising, creative services manager admanager@mapleridgenews.com Brian Yip, circulation manager circulation@mapleridgenews.com Editorial Reporters: Phil Melnychuk, Monisha Martins, Robert Mangelsdorf, Colleen Flanagan Advertising Sales representatives: Karen Derosia, Michelle Baniulis, Jaime Kemmis, Marshall Mackinder, Jenn Owen Ad control: Mel Onodi Creative services: Kristine Pierlot, Annette WaterBeek, Annie Sarazin, Brian Holt Classified: Vicki Milne 22328 – 119th Avenue, Maple Ridge, B.C., V2X 2Z3 Office: 604-467-1122 Delivery: 604-466-6397 Website: mapleridgenews.com Email: newsroom@mapleridgenews.com The News is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province's newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www. bcpresscouncil.org. CCAB audited circulation: (as of March 2012): Wednesday - 30,630; Friday – 30,626.
Published and printed by Black Press at 22328 – 119th Avenue, Maple Ridge, B.C., V2X 2Z3
Ingrid Rice
Salmon mystery far from solved VICTORIA – Before the 1,200page, $25-million Cohen Commission report on the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery slips beneath the waves, allow me to dip my toe into the river of data that has flowed by in the past three years. B.C. Views If your informaTom Fletcher tion on this hugely complex subject consisted of skimming a few news stories or watching protesters on TV, you will likely conclude what urban people have been indoctrinated with for years. The whole issue is salmon farms and whether they are bad or catastrophic. “Freeze new salmon farms on sockeye migration route: Cohen” said the headline on a Black Press report. Those who read past the headline would learn that Justice Bruce Cohen recommended a freeze on further salmon farms around the Discovery Islands group near Campbell River until 2020. It’s up to the industry to show by that time that the risk is “minimal,” or farms there should be shut down. A B.C. Salmon Farming Association spokesman said only nine of 70 B.C. salmon farms are in that area. There are no current applications for more. Let’s say you decide to plunge in, and download the full report from www. cohencommission.ca. If you go to Volume 2, page 102, you will see a series of graphs that show sockeye runs from
rivers other than the Fraser, from Washington all the way up to Alaska. It’s not a pretty sight. From Washington up to the Central Coast, the Skeena, Nass and up to Yukon’s Klukshu and Alaska’s Alsek, most runs show a decline starting in the 1980s or early 1990s. This includes runs that migrate down the west side of Vancouver Island, away from salmon farms. Alaska doesn’t allow farms, preferring “ranching” – a strategy that floods the ocean habitat with millions of hatchery fish. These are commercially fished and marketed as “wild.” B.C.’s North Coast has never had salmon farms. The area has been subject to a moratorium since an NDP-controlled legislative committee gave its verdict on the problem in 2008. The popular villain in those days was sea lice. Skeena MLA Robin Austin chaired the committee that called for an end to open-pen salmon farms in five years. Then-agriculture minister Pat Bell approved one NDP recommendation, a moratorium on salmon farms in North Coast waters. This was after the Pacific Salmon Forum conducted its own four-year study, led by former fisheries minister John Fraser. Similar to Cohen, Fraser concluded that there is no simple answer to this complex problem. And they agreed that salmon farms don’t explain it. Cohen’s report makes it clear that the problem is far larger than could possibly be explained by salmon farms. How about logging impact? Cohen concludes after much testimony that stream protection has improved signifi-
cantly during the time of observed sockeye decline. Impact from extra runoff due to pine beetle infestation couldn’t be evaluated. Poaching on the Fraser? Cohen didn’t get around to that. His biggest concern was climate change, warming sensitive river waters and affecting ocean conditions. During the Cohen commission hearings, the 2010 Fraser sockeye run came in gangbusters, with 35 million fish. One leading theory is that ash from an Alaska volcano fertilized the ocean, producing algae that supported more salmon feed.
“The whole issue is salmon farms and whether they are bad or catastrophic.” Could it be that salmon ranching from Alaska, Japan and elsewhere is simply depleting the food supply? That too is inconclusive. Finally, Tides Canada, a U.S. front group that diverts attention from U.S. salmon and oil tankers, spent $25,000 to publicize Cohen evidence. But only as it relates to B.C. salmon farms, and how bad they are.
This week’s question: Would legalizing marijuana reduce organized crime in B.C.? @ Online poll: cast your vote at www.mapleridgenews.com, or e-mail your vote and comments to editor@mapleridgenews.com
Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press and BCLocalnews.com (tfletcher@blackpress.ca).