The Chilliwack
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Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • T H U R S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 2
Point named to ‘champion’ Oppal inquiry recommendations
■ S NOWY D AY
‘He has the right experience and the right credentials,’ Crey says Robert Freeman The Progress
Ernie Crey, a Sto:lo activist and an early and vocal advocate for an inquiry into B.C.’s missing women, praised the appointment of Steven Point to “champion” implementation of recommendations made Monday by inquiry commissioner Wally Oppal. “I know Steven Point fairly well and he has the right experience and the right credentials,” Crey said Wednesday. “He’s a deeply spiritual guy in every sense of the word,” Crey said, as well as a respected Sto:lo leader, a former provincial court judge and former Lieutenant Governor of B.C. Crey said he will be urging other families of missing women to work with Point. But Crey was critical of the B.C. government’s initial response to the other 62 recommendations made in “Forsaken: The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry” that was “unsparing” of the RCMP and police departments involved, he said. The government is claiming it can’t act on many of the recommendations that carry a price tag. “They need to slow down and quit pleading poverty,” Crey said. “I know the changes that are required will take some real effort, but you have to make a start.” “The fortunes of the provincial coffers can change from year to year — and change quickly,” he said. Crey said he anticipates Point will come up with a “well thought-out plan — a schedule, if you will — of which recommendations to start working on immediately and which are longer term” after talking to the families, police agencies and provincial politicians. Although Oppal did not name individual police officers in his report, Crey said he intends to read all four volumes of the 1,448page report “to look for every sliver of light in the report that I can drive a wedge into and hold them to account.” Continued: POINT/ p7
A man walks his dog through Salish Park during Wednesday’s snowfall. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Make heritage an OCP priority, advocate says Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
Chilliwack citizens have started chiming in about city priorities as the Official Community Plan review continues. Chilliwack resident Laura Reid said the heritage sections of the OCP could use some careful updating during the year-long review process. She points to Section 4.1.5. of the current OCP which covers “heritage policies.” “Building a healthy community requires a solid base of appreciation and respect for our historical and spatial setting,” the section reads. “As we develop a community plan for Chilliwack’s future, we must acknowledge our historical
heritage; a legacy of native, pioneer, settlement and agricultural cultures found in our buildings and sites, transportation routes, archaeological sites, cemeteries and other cultural resources.” Reid was involved in the Friends of the Paramount effort, which was unsuccessful in saving the historic theatre building from the wrecking ball, which is due to swing sometime soon. Several years ago, she also took it upon herself to study the existing heritage building inventory in Chilliwack and update it. But her strong interest in local heritage conservation first intensified while studying Heritage Resource Management from University of Victoria, in the Cultural Resource Management
program. “My impression is that there’s strong interest in saving other historic buildings in Chilliwack,” she said. One idea Reid wants to float during the OCP review is for Chilliwack to reactivate a community heritage committee at the city council level. The last similar committee that dealt with heritage issues folded in 1991, Reid said. “It could be useful by completing research and advising council on the importance of a given building or site. “It could also recommend ways to reuse a building that the community has identified as having historical value, by moving it or reusing it in another way. The
way I read the OCP now, the heritage policies are not being utilized effectively.” Coun. Jason Lum said the OCP is a “living, breathing” document that changes over time, and that heritage is one of the aspects it covers. “In terms of a specific heritage committee, my understanding is that we had one active at one point, but that it fell by the wayside over the years.” Heritage protection is up to individual property owners to secure, he said, usually by applying to have it registered with the B.C. Register of Historic Places. Reid said there are 11 properties in Chilliwack, like the Chilliwack Museum building, the Continued: OCP/ p5
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