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VICTORIANEWS Friday, April 19, 2013
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Bong mascot ruffles feathers in Esquimalt
NDP would place two-year freeze on ferry fares Tom Fletcher Black Press
Councillor crafts bylaw targeting business mascots, not sports teams’ A budding business owner’s marketing ploy is prompting one Esquimalt councillor to attempt to snuff out the scheme. A costumed mascot designed to look like a bong – a filtration device used by smokers of everything from tobacco to marijuana – has been periodically seen strolling near the intersection of Esquimalt and Admirals roads to promote The Bong Warehouse, which opened in December. Owner Ryan Place said he’s being unfairly targeted by a proposed bylaw from Coun. Tim Morrison, one that would require businesses to get a permit from the township to use costumed mascots in public places. “I’ve seen mascots since I was a little boy for a whole variety of businesses,” Place said, addDaniel Palmer ing he’s not attracting unsavoury people to the Reporting neighbourhood. “There were problems in Esquimalt long before we came around. On sunny days, (the mascot) sits on the corner of the road and smiles. People like to get their picture taken with him.” Morrison said he has received dozens of complaints from both businesses and residents since the mascot began making appearances. People in Esquimalt are in favour of a more familyfriendly image for the township, he added. “If this was downtown Vancouver or Toronto, this kind of thing wouldn’t be such a big deal,” Morrison said. “But when you’re a small community like Esquimalt, it gets magnified and has the danger of becoming almost a symbol.” The proposed bylaw includes exemptions for mascot use by non-profit organizations and at various community events. Businesses using mascots without permits could be fined between $250 to $1,000 for the infraction, the proposal states. But Morrison stresses bylaw infractions are complaint-driven, so most businesses wouldn’t be affected. “It’s your constitutional right to protest marijuana usage … (but) that’s not what we’re talking about,” he said. “We’re talking about a business person trying to market their business in a
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The Bong Warehouse owner Ryan Place leans on his mascot inside his store on Esquimalt Road. Some residents have complained that the mascot doesn’t represent a positive image for the community. public space that infringes on other businesses.” Place has been cautioned in the past for violating advertising bylaws, including parking a cube van with flashing lights in front of his shop and installing oversized signage, Morrison said. Council will debate Morrison’s motion at its April 22 meeting at 7 p.m., and Place said he plans to attend. dpalmer@vicnews.com
An NDP government would cancel a fourper-cent increase in B.C. Ferries fares scheduled for next spring, freezing rates for two years while conducting an audit to determine the future of coastal ferry service. NDP transportation critic Maurine Karagianis said Wednesday her party would provide an additional $20 million in each of the next two years to make up for fare revenue lost by cancelling the increase, which was ordered last year by B.C. Ferry Commissioner Gord Macatee. Karagianis wouldn’t rule out further reductions in low-ridership sailings. She said the independent ferry commissioner’s office would continue to operate, but “certainly the ferry corporation doesn’t always take every recommendation the ferry commissioner makes.” The commissioner has authority under the Coastal Ferry Act to set rate caps for all 25 salt-water routes, and as of last year the office was also given the power to determine service levels on those routes. Macatee just completed a review of ferry operations designed to find $26 million in savings. The province launched the review in May 2012, after adding an additional $79.5 million to the coastal ferry service’s annual subsidy over four years, bringing it to about $180 million a year. Transportation Minister Mary Polak released the ferry consultation report in March, after meetings in coastal communities to set out options for cutting costs. Polak said no specific service reductions would be made until this summer at the earliest, but denied she was putting off bad news until after the May 14 election. Polak has emphasized that little-used ferry sailings cannot continue indefinitely, as overall ferry ridership has declined in recent years and B.C. Ferries has lost money even with increased subsidies. tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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