FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 2015 VOL. 42, NO. 05
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A job well done for Bowen
A celebration of the hard work and accomplishments of Jane Kellett
For Bowen dads
Programs aim to support and nurture engaged fathers
Dance, dance, dance
Photos from the Bowen Island Dance Academy mid-year show
Children at Bowen Island Montessori are getting ready for Valentine’s Day. Caius, Hudson and Emmerson show off their Valentines mailboxes. Meribeth Deen, photo
Bowen Islanders meet industry representatives from Woodfibre LNG MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Starting on January 22, the Environmental Assessment Office of British Columbia opened its 40-day public comment period on the proposed Woodfibre LNG export facility to be located near Squamish. This process is meant to assure that the public gets the information required to make informed comments, and to that end, open houses were held in Squamish, West Vancouver, and Bowen Island last week. Approximately 150 people attended the Woodfibre LNG open house held at BICS. A common sentiment among attendees, it seems, is that while some questions were answered, many concerns remained inadequately addressed.
Robert Ballantyne calls the experience unconvincing. “What I saw was a very expensive exercise so that they could say, ‘We went to Bowen to consult.’ People were willing to answer questions, and some of them were quite knowledgeable. There was one woman who had clearly done field work around the Woodfibre site and so I learned a few things about the local area and watersheds, but I couldn’t even check who I was talking to because their nametags only gave first names,” says Ballantyne. “But they certainly weren’t interested in hearing people’s opinions, and that was clear when they started asking people distributing information with other points of view to leave.” Ballantyne says that when he saw an official make the request for those who were handing out pamphlets at the
entrance to leave, he pulled out his camera and started filming the incident. A man without a nametag who said he was a contractor hired by the BC Environmental Assessment Office told Eoin Finn that it was a private function and the whole area had been rented and was therefore not a public space. Someone pulled this individual away, and when he returned, he told Finn and the other people from My Sea to Sky that they were welcome, as long as they did not block the entrance way. Michael Shepard, from the BC Environmental Assessment Office says this was a simple mis-understanding and the man who made the request was in fact a security contractor hired by Woodfibre LNG. continued, PAGE 8
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