NANAIMO REGION
MLA says Island Corridor Foundation needs shakeup Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley, rail critic for the NDP, says that the management of the ICF needs to be “shaken up” over a lack of accountability and transparency. A3
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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Thursday, June 11, 2015 CITY
Council to look at hotel buy-back Developer has been paid $65K by NEDC to promote Nanaimo in China as part of advertising effort SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
Council will vote Monday whether to extend its option to buy back land slated for a downtown conference centre hotel development to next year, at the request of the Chinese developer. The city currently has several agreements with SSS Manhao International Tourism Group, one of which includes an optionto-purchase agreement that came into effect at the end of May.
The agreement gives the city the right to buy back the property from SSS Manhao at its original price — $565,000 — if the developer did not get a building permit for the 240-room hotel by May 30 of this year. With that deadline passed, the city has until Nov. 30 to exercise the agreement. The developer has asked the city to extend the deadline by one year, citing delays in design and preparation work for the project. Lawyers representing
the company are set to appear before council on Monday. However, some on council are beginning to lose patience with the lack of progress on the project, which was publicly announced in 2013. In late May, council voted 5-4 to support a motion from Coun. Diane Brennan to postpone consideration of the extension, after it appeared there may not enough votes to secure an extension of the option to purchase agreement. SSS Manhao has also been
paid $65,000 to promote the Nanaimo region in the Shanghai and Suzhou markets as part of a larger advertising campaign, Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation CEO Sasha Angus said Wednesday. Angus said he was preparing a report for council outlining details of the advertising spending. Nanaimo staff are recommending that council agree to a one-year extension of the option to purchase agreement. A report before council lays out alterna-
tive options, including buying back the property immediately or delaying the purchase until October, when the current development permit expires. Spencer.Anderson@ nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4255 » We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to letters@nanaimodailynews.com. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
» Animal welfare Chamber members hear Nepal disaster update Nanaimo dentist Sam Mahara said that it has been estimated that it could take approximately $10 billion during the next 10 years to rebuild the small Asian country. » Nanaimo Region, A3
Audit into Senate cost Canadians $23 million Michael Ferguson the $23.6 million includes costs that would have been incurred regardless of what the auditors were working on, such salaries, utilities and office space. » Nation & World, A7
CBC says Evan Solomon failed ethical standards Editor-in-chief of CBC News, Jennifer McGuire, said Evan Solomon failed to meet the “very highest standard of journalistic conduct and ethics.” » Nation & World, A9
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Sun, some cloud High 22, Low 12 Details A2
Groups plan to pressure council to go against advice from city staff SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
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nimal welfare groups are expected to pressure Nanaimo city council on Monday to vote in favour of implementing a mandatory spay/neuter and licensing program for cats, despite contrary advice from the city’s bylaw department. The recommendation from staff instead calls for establishing an “education program” on the care of cats, citing costs of $100,000 to $150,000 to license and regulate cats. Nanaimo and District SPCA branch manager Leon Davis said he is disappointed with the recommendation, which he said is not enough to address the city’s population of stray or feral cats. Three hundred strays come into the Nanaimo shelter each year, only 15 per cent on which are re-united with owners. Davis also said he wants council to see a draft proposal formed by the city through consultation with the SPCA and other groups earlier this year. The proposal would have made spaying a neutering cats mandatory, while dropping the licensing requirement in favour of measures to make sure a lost or recovered cat could be identified. Davis, who posted a copy of the proposed changes on Facebook, said they are not included in the staff report coming before council on Monday. “A lot of work was done by city staff, there was a lot of resources put in to consult with other agencies,” he said. “Now, somewhere between March and now, that
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Becca Schenk, of Bosley’s Pets Pet Store on Bowen Road in Nanaimo, watches over two-year-old Spock and 10-week-old kitten Peaches. Both cats are rescues up for adoption. [AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS]
draft bylaw and all of that work seems to have been dropped. “(Council) should be able to see the result of all that work,” Davis said, adding that cost cited in the city report is no longer relevant, since the SPCA and other groups have acknowledged cat licensing is a “no-go for Nanaimo.” Rod Davidson, the city’s assistant manager for bylaw regulation and security, declined comment on why the initial proposal referenced by Davis was not
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mentioned in the report, but said the recommendation gives city staff the option of reviewing cat regulations in the future. “We want time to study it a little bit further,” he said. The Nanaimo CatNap Society, whose volunteers rescue 250 to 300 mostly unneutered or unspayed feral cats each year, had also called for mandatory spay and neuter rules. “We’re just hoping that city council and the mayor will take a
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proactive approach,” said Kathi Baart, executive director for the society. Council will also consider a proposal to amend its animal control bylaw to impose a $500 fine and other penalties for dog owners who leave their animal without proper ventilation or adequate leashing. Spencer.Anderson @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4255
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