TUESDAY MARCH 10, 2015
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DRUMMING WITH HER FEET
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Dynamic duo displays some serious dexterity
Our weekly business feature provides a look at a new tattoo biz in Parksville
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WOMEN’S DAY FORUM
A question of poverty Federal candidates push for more support, housing JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
Issues facing women in this country are, or should be, important to men too, federal election candidates told a standing-room-only crowd in Parksville on Sunday, International Women’s Day. Candidates from three parties agreed the federal government needs to do more to address issues related to poverty and housing if women are going to reach a more equal footing with men in relation to education, income and influence. “I don’t think the issues that are important to women aren’t important to men,” said Liberal candidate Carrie Powell-Davidson. “Sadly, we still have so far to go.” The forum was organized by the ParksvilleQualicum branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW). It attracted about 150 people to the Garry Oaks room of the Parksville Community and Conference Centre. Powell-Davison, Gord Johns (NDP) and Glenn Sollitt (Green Party) attended and gave answers to three questions they received in advance from the CFUQ and a handful from the audience. Conservative candidate and government whip John Duncan did not attend — he let organizers know previously that he generally flies back to Ottawa on Sunday afternoons. “Full disclosure, I’m not a woman,” Sollitt said to open his first response, which prompted laughter in the crowd. He said he understood some might just see “another middle-aged white man up here to talk about women’s issues” so he said he asked woman of all ages and economic backgrounds for their views before coming to the forum on Sunday. See NDP PROPOSES, page A5
JOHN HARDING PHOTO
Fishermen and their boats crowded the waters just outside Parksville Bay in the past week during the herring roe fishery opening. Our thanks to Nanoose Bay resident Andy Lankester for taking us out on his boat to get some photos.
ANNUAL HERRING SPAWN
Debate continues on quotas CANDACE WU
news@pqbnews.com
The Pacific herring — small, silvery energy-rich fish that band together in a theatrical spawn once a year — have come and gone. But they’ve left an oasis of unanswered questions behind. While the Pacific herring are one of the most abundant fish in B.C.’s coastal waters, many communities have suffered a decrease in stock suspected
from overfishing. The main controversies lay on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, around Haida Gwaii and on the central coast where First Nations and various scientists fear the herring are in a fragile state despite the federal government’s decision to reopen herring fisheries. Though herring stocks are struggling to recover in neighbouring waters, here in Parksville Qualicum
Beach we’re seeing record highs. VIU Deep Bay Marine Field Station manager Brian Kingzett estimated there were more than 70,000 tonnes of herring in the Strait of Georgia last week—many of which were less than five kilometers from the station. “It’s a great number, it’s really high,” said Kingzett. See CALLING, page A4 Also see PHOTO FEATURE, page A12
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