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THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016
VOL. 27, NO. 91
Eager for Easter
Sandy Kosolowsky, owner of Grill-it food truck, plans to whip up a whopping pancake breakfast for this year’s Downtown Easter Spring Fling at Diana Krall Plaza Saturday (March 26). For more on the events planned, please see page 5.
CHRIS BUSH THE NEWS BULLETIN
Regional district pulls support for rail
I
DIRECTORS VOTE to withhold $1M commitment. BY KARL YU THE NEWS BULLETIN
The Regional District of Nanaimo voted against provision of $945,000 to the Island Corridor Foundation during a closed meeting Tuesday night. The non-profit foundation was established in 2003 to own and manage the E&N Rail line on Vancouver Island, with a board comprised of governments and First Nations along the line. The regional district agreed to provide money for rail upgrades in 2014
– intended to re-establish passenger rail service – but according to Bill Veenhof, regional district chairman, the board has grown impatient. “Essentially after five years of waiting for the project to move forward, the board’s grown tired of delays and lost confidence that the day-to-day operations of the ICF reflect the interest of the RDN,” Veenhof said. Last year, the foundation said that the project only needed the federal government to sign off on $7.5 million in funding, but Veenhof says there is no indication that is coming. “People can say it’s close all [they] want, but everything I see is it’s down-
stream,” said Veenhof. He said the foundation is being provided 60 days’ notice of the termination, as per the contribution agreement. Despite the latest development, there is still hope for passenger rail on Vancouver Island, according to Veenhof. The board wants the Island Corridor protected and thinks alternate uses should be examined as well. The regional district remains on the foundation board, he said. “The [RDN] board will entertain anything else that comes our way,” said Veenhof. “I just see this as a start point for discussions.” Regional District of Nanaimo directors also
voted to endorse a Capital Regional District resolution that seeks to have the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities work with stakeholders to review finances and governance of the foundation. The resolution will be brought to the association’s annual conference, which begins in Nanaimo on April 8. Other stakeholders have been informed and it will be business as usual for the time being, said Veenhof. In a statement, the foundation said it wouldn’t comment until its board has met to discuss the matter. Its next meeting is tonight (March 24). reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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Mayor leaves meeting day after conciliatory speech to council BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay spoke on the importance of council working together on behalf of the city and looked forward to the entire council “finding the wisdom to forgive” and moving forward, during a public address Monday. By Tuesday he had left an in-camera meeting, no longer prepared to meet behind closed doors without a lawyer present. In an interview with the News Bulletin, McKay said he wants to move on and tried to be positive in his speech Monday, but the situation hasn’t gotten any better. The expression of non-confidence, or call for resignation, is also still on the table, according to several city councillors. Seven of eight councillors, with the exception of Diane Brennan, expressed non-confidence in the mayor this month and called for his resignation. In a statement, released through the City of Nanaimo last week, councillors alleged poor attendance at council meetings, attempts to remove the city’s chief administrative officer from an interim position, and “threats to dissolve council.” McKay denies threatening to dissolve council, but said he had serious concerns about Tracy Samra’s conduct as interim CAO, knowing council would be in a situation at some point where it would consider her for the fulltime job. He also has concerns about the hiring process, which he said was abridged, adding “we did not follow process.” He also pointed out that if he’s gone one day, he could be counted as missing up to three meetings because of an open meeting, regularly scheduled meeting and in-camera meeting that can happen on the same day. According to the mayor, the Integrity Group situation is a large part of the issue council faces today. The consultant was hired by the mayor last year to help council get along and city administration is currently seeking more information about the money spent. See ‘SOME’ /7
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