NATION & WORLD
Leaders ask what’s in a name in election talk Stephen Harper explains calling Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau just ‘Justin’ in early days of the campaign. A6
NANAIMO REGION
Sutter, Canucks cks sign extension on
Dry conditions push fire crews on weekend Firefighters faced structure fires and bush fires, as well as medical aids and motor vehicle accidents. A3
Five-year deal for ex-Penguin nguin on centre worth $21.8 million Sports, B2
The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Wednesday, August 5, 2015 CITY
Council looks to curb spending Nanaimo officials will make details surrounding pending core review available to residents DARRELL BELLAART DAILY NEWS
Nanaimo city councillors are getting ready to roll up their sleeves to find exactly where city hall spending can be reined in. A new page on the city of Nanaimo website signals to taxpayers services to the public are about to be made more efficient. But for now, viewers will find mainly background information to define what a core review is and its general goals. That will change soon as a spe-
cial review committee, made up of the entire city council, moves into high gear. The last meeting of the Special Open Core Services Review Steering Committee was in June. The agenda and related information can be found on the core review page, available at http://bit.ly/1InLjKQ. Later this month the committee will meet again to nail down the terms for a request for proposals for a consultant to do the actual core review work.
With government agencies under increasing pressure to control taxes, core reviews are an increasingly popular tool to find ways to stretch budget dollars further. “It doesn’t mean cut, slash and burn, it means being more imaginative,” said Mayor Bill McKay, for whom core review was a central plank of his election campaign. “It’s making sure you have the right people in the right place to do the work.”
In February city council voted in favour of a core review and put a freeze on new services until the review is complete. Council has since received numerous spending requests. Supt. Mark Fisher, chief of the Nanaimo RCMP, recently appeared before council to remind councillors of existing, unmet staffing needs. Fisher told council that rising mental health cases use up precious police time, as do the ever-mounting paperwork
requirements of modern police duties. McKay said more mental health workers and a phased-in hiring approach could relieve some of that pressure. “Do we have to think outside the box? I would suggest we do,” McKay said. The review won’t likely take effect until 2017. Darrell.Bellaart @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235
» Water
Blind tastings one way to get know your wines
A blind wine evening will give you an opportunity to investigate and discuss the wonderful world of wine. What better way to learn something than making a game out of it? » Food, B1
Russia makes claim to big chunk of the Arctic
Moscow’s revised international submission was revealed Tuesday in a statement by the country’s foreign ministry and claims 1.2 million square kilometres of the Arctic shelf. » Nation & World, A6
Mine sector horrified by tailings breach year ago
Imperial Metals, which operates the mine, has spent about $67 million on cleanup of the region, repair of the damaged bed of Hazeltine Creek and monitoring of water quality. » British Columbia, A7
» Use your smartphone to jump to our website for updates on these stories or the latest breaking news.
Cloudy with showers High 19, Low 14 Details A2
Restrictions vary among jurisdictions in Nanaimo and the mid-Island region ROBERT BARRON DAILY NEWS
T
he dry spell continues with no end in sight on Vancouver Island, with parts of the Island under strict water conservation measures until it ends. Watering restrictions are intended to ensure that all Island residents receive an adequate supply of water throughout the summer months and that sufficient reserve supplies are available should they be needed for emergency fire-fighting. But the water restriction levels differs from community to community, depending on the condition of each of their water supplies. The Regional District of Nanaimo and the City of Parksville have been operating under Level 4 water restrictions, the toughest in B.C., since early July. The City of Nanaimo is operating under Level 2 water restrictions. The water reserves for the RDN and Parksville rely on local rivers, which are at extremely low levels mainly because of the reduced snowpack in the area’s mountain regions. Fred Manson, Parksville’s chief administrative officer, said when the Level 4 restrictions were implemented that it was a possibility the community could run completely out of water by the end of August if consumption levels were not dramatically reduced. But Nanaimo’s water source is the Jump Lake reservoir, which does not rely on rivers fed by snowpack runoff as in Parksville and much of the regional district.
Local news .................... A3-5 Markets ................................A2 B.C. news ............................. A7
City of Nanaimo water resources manager Bill Sims reminds residents that the city is currently operating under Level 2 water restrictions, while the Regional District of Nanaimo and Parksville are at Level 4. [ROSS AMOUR/DAILY NEWS]
Bill Sims, Nanaimo’s water resources manager, said last week that the city’s water supply at Jump Lake is now 78 per cent full. Given the storage level and the corresponding level of consumption, the city is confident there is sufficient water storage to last into November. But Geoff Goodall, Nanaimo’s director of engineering and public works, said that as a precaution while the drought lasts, Level 2 restrictions have been
Editorials and letters ..... A4 Sports .................................. B2 Scoreboard ........................ B3
imposed on all residents who are on the city’s water system. The Level 2 restrictions limit garden and lawn watering to two days a week, with an all-out ban on washing driveways and parking lots, and only limited times when vehicle or boat washing is allowed. The Level 4 water restrictions in the RDN and Parksville are more severe, imposing a complete ban on the watering of lawns.
Classified ............................ B5 Obituaries ........................... B5 Comics ................................. B4
Hand-watering of vegetables, shrubs, trees and flowers is allowed with a watering container or a hose with a shut-off nozzle at certain times of the day. There is a full ban in the RDN and Parksville on washing vehicles and boats, as well as sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and buildings. Robert.Barron @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4234
Crossword .......................... B4 Sudoku ................................. A2 Horoscope .......................... B7
Nanaimo Daily News and nanaimodailynews.com reach more than 60,000 readers each week in print and online. General inquiries: 250-729-4200 | Newsroom: 250-729-4224 | To subscribe: 250-729-4266 | Copyright 2015. All rights reserved
$1.25 TAX INCLUDED