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www.northernsentinel.com
Volume 58 No. 34
Larsen in town on petition tour Dana Larsen signed on two more people in Kitimat to be canvassers in an upcoming petition initiative to get the province to implement the proposed Sensible Policing Act. Larsen self-described ‘cannabis crusader’, is actively seekDana Larsen ing a change to how marijuana laws are enforced in the province. He met with prospective petition canvassers during a stop at Pedro’s Grill last Tuesday. “I think there’s a lot of support for the idea,” said Larsen about the feeling in Kitimat. “Our challenge here and in some other areas are to make sure people know what’s going on.” When Larsen spoke to the Sentinel last November, he said there are a number of problems with the current criminal system regarding marijuana. He said enforcement has done nothing to curb cannabis use, consumption of which has risen over the past 10 years he said. He also believes it’s wasteful of police resources, with a justice system already pushed to the limits. He also said that recent opinion polls show a majority of people in the province support not charging people for possession or use. “I would say the harm to somebody from getting charged and getting convicted for cannabis possession is greater than any potential harm from using cannabis itself,” he said in November. Since then, Elections BC has approved, in principle, the petition initiative and canvassers will begin collecting signatures on September 9. They’ll have 90 days to get 10 per cent of eligible voters’ signatures in each of the province’s electoral districts. “About 50 [canvassers] in each electoral district would be good,” said Larsen in Kitimat last week. “If we can get five to ten people here collecting signatures here that would be enough, but the more the better.” He said there are challenges to garnering support in rural areas, compared to urban areas. “There’s a fear around getting involved in this issue which I find more prevalent in some of the more rural areas because the people who live here often work in an industry where they get drug tested and they feel even if they don’t use marijuana, they feel if they’re associated in our campaign they may be targeted or looked down upon in some way,” said Larsen. The spread-out nature of northern communities also proves some logistical challenges. Continued on page 2
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
1.30 INCLUDES TAX
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Mateo Goncalves peers out from a bear trap, on display in Lions Park during the year-end Kitimat Bear Aware barbecue on August 14. Determining Mateo to be no threat, Conservation Officer Dale Kluivers released him back into the park.
No clear solution to recycling shift A major overhaul to how recycling is collected and processed in the province has left councillors, and even waste management specialists in the community, scratching their heads on how to proceed. The Multi Material BC (MMBC) program, which shifts the cost burden of recycling collection for packaging and printed paper processing from taxpayers to consumers and industry, could potentially bring in curbside recycling, or some other alternative. (This is the program discussed which was reported on in the Sentinel, July 10 and July 17.) Kitimat Council had their first crack at the issue during an orientation presentation and discussion at a special meeting of council on August 12. In short, the implementation of MMBC’s programs — whichever one is accepted
— will go into effect May 19, 2014, and council has until September 16 to decide what to do. But the program, at least according to Norm DeLong, owner of Kitimat Valley Disposal, one of the waste manager experts council invited to speak on August 12, leaves more questions than answer on how everything will play out. And he said that if MMBC goes to a request for proposal process for recycling collection — an option if the District declines — he said he wouldn’t even try bidding on it, with the economics just not making any sense. DeLong explained that with MMBC’s offer of approximately $32 per household in Kitimat, it would account for about $136,000 per year provided by MMBC. However there are many fees within that amount,
including administration costs, which would lower the amount drastically, to the point it would hardly make any sense. Plus there are a number of record keeping requirements and strict limits placed on the program, which if not adhered to could cost thousands in fines. For instance if the material delivered to a depot under this program contains more than three per cent of weight of material not accepted in the program, there is a $5,000 fine per load. Also, failure to provide a report to MMBC on time means a $500 fine, per day, past deadline. Continuing with the explanation on costs, DeLong said that with just a single stream of recycling waste — meaning not sorted — the bags themselves that households would receive would
cost $30,000. “So take that off your $136,000 and we’re down to $106,000. We haven’t talked about hiring anybody yet to go out there, to buy a new truck, fuel, wages, any of that kind of thing,” he said. “Really for us to be a collection agency, there’s no way I could bid on it if the revenue was only going to be $136,000, honestly I wouldn’t want it.” Also talked about by DeLong and by Kitimat’s Deputy CAO Warren Waycheshen was the fact that while MMBC would cover mileage, it seems they’d only cover 60km, meaning the return trip to Kitimat for anybody wouldn’t be covered if any depot were to be based in Terrace. “We don’t know where it’s [the depot] going to be located,” said Waycheshen. Continued on page 3
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