Seeking silence
Park volunteers to create sound map of Mt. Doug Page A3
NEWS: 100 year old lots eyed for development /A5 ARTS: Journalist risks it all to tell Malala’s story /A12 SPORTS: Star emerges on Victoria tennis scene /A20
SAANICHNEWS Friday, April 26, 2013
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B.C. ELECTION
Candidates navigate stereotypes
Nine-year-old Hailey Fischer and her mom Cora Fischer get help from circulation assistant Amanda Butler to renew her library card at the Emily Carr branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library. The GVPL board voted to move the branch across Blanchard Street to Uptown.
Political parties face challenge of generalizations from voters and critics Daniel Palmer News staff
Stereotyping is the brain’s way of generalizing human behaviour, and whether we like it or not, we all do it. Nowhere is our ability to label and cast judgment as strong as it is in politics, where cheerleaders and critics from all political stripes rely on misconceptions and simplifications to frame their opponents. As the B.C. election ramps up, each party fights against inevitable pigeonholing from the public, media and their opponents, said James Lawson, political scientist at the University of Victoria. “It’s an understated factor in recent Canadian history, the way parties in government have their agenda set by the opposition parties they face, as much as by their own pressures,” he said. The B.C. Liberals face the challenges of any three-time incumbent government, but they have made policy decisions to buck the Liberal stereotype of unabashed resource development, Lawson said. “(Liberal leader) Christy Clark announced five conditions for the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline you could dismiss as theatre, but they were aggressively and publicly pursued,” he said. PlEASE SEE: Female candidates, Page A6
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
With tepid support, library to move GVPL board votes to relocate Saanich’s Emily Carr branch to Uptown
T
he Emily Carr branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library is set to move to Uptown, after a narrow vote of approval Tuesday. In a 8-7 vote, the GVPL board supported approving the relocation of the 40-year-old Kyle Slavin branch across the street Reporting to a 5,000-square-foot space on the upper level of Uptown. But the split vote came less as a result of opposition to the move, and more because board members feared outstanding concerns – namely access for patrons with disabilities – could fall by the wayside.
“It wasn’t until I did a site visit that the issue of accessibility became absolutely top of mind for me. If you have even a moderate disability, it’s a nightmare,” Victoria Coun. Pam Madoff, a member of the board, said regarding accessing the upper level of Uptown as a pedestrian. Board vice-chair Kevin Murdoch, an Oak Bay councillor, acknowledged that there is a lot of opposition to moving the branch to a leased commercial space at Uptown. “There’s a lot of ‘I do not want to go to Uptown’ comments. But we have to move it somewhere,” he said. “Uptown is the logical location for (relocation). I think this is as good as it gets within that space.” Board member Phil McNair pointed to survey results that indicate there isn’t overwhelmingly strong support for relocation. “To have gone to people and presented
one option, I think a lot of people recognize that as ‘this is a fait accompli and you’re not really asking our thoughts on this,’’’ McNair said. “If we are concerned about library patrons, which to me is our brand … the survey results tell us not to (support) this yet.” A summary of survey results indicate that 51 per cent of regular Emily Carr patrons said a relocation would be beneficial. More than half said “lots of parking,” “easy to get to” and “easy to find” were the most important factors in relocating. The existing Emily Carr branch is “old and outdated,” “poorly configured” and “inaccessible for wheelchair users,” GVPL deputy CEO Lynne Jordon told the News last month. PlEASE SEE: Saanich won’t refit, Page A4
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