Bowen Island Undercurrent March 29 2018

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THURSDAY MAR 29, 2018 VOL. 44, NO. 12

$1

including GST

Watch for more online at: WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM

RON’S 500TH

Our beloved cartoonist Ron Woodall dishes on his craft

LIGHTEN UP

In our eight-page real estate pull-out, we have tips to get your home ready for spring

OCTOPUS’S GARDEN

Vancouver Aquarium returns Phoenix to Bowen Island to find a mate

Bowen exempt from proposed speculation tax CHANTAL EUSTACE EDITOR

On Monday morning, frustrated Bowen Islanders spoke out against a proposed speculation tax at council. “People were apoplectic,” said mayor Murray Skeels, speaking with The Undercurrent, of the intense feedback he received, relating to the tax. “Just the impact was going to be so profound, so devastating,” he said, adding council received dozens of letters from concerned people. And he said, the response from islanders was “pretty straightforward,” adding: “It was just: do the math.” And then on Monday afternoon — hours after the municipal meeting — finance minister Carole James announced changes to the proposed speculation tax. For starters, B.C. residents will now only have to pay 0.5 per cent a year on second homes valued at $400,000 or above, she announced. And the tax will apply to B.C. residents who own any second or vacation home that is not rented out at least six months of the year, for periods of at least 30 days. Also, homes under $400,000 will be exempt, in order to ensure that most cabins are not caught in the tax, said James. James also told media that the catchment boundaries of where the tax will apply were reduced. So while areas like Metro Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo are included,

rural and island areas were excluded from the tax. But what about Bowen? From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. or so on Monday, Skeels said they weren’t completely certain, as initially Bowen Island wasn’t specifically mentioned. Calls were made. Emails were sent. Then at 4:15 p.m., he said, Kathy Lalonde, chief administrative officer for the municipality, received word in writing: Bowen Island was exempt. “I’m pretty happy,” said Skeels on Tuesday. “Given the range of possibilities, I think we did pretty well with it.” But he added, islanders who live on Bowen full time but maintain a residence in places like Vancouver will be impacted by the tax. And he said, the whole thing was quite frustrating. “It should have never happened in the first place,” said Skeels. More on the proposed tax? The minister said that under these new changes, 99 per cent of British Columbians will not have to pay the speculation tax. Canadians from outside the province will have to pay 0.5 per cent this year and a reduced 1 per cent thereafter. Non-Canadian residents will still have to pay 0.5 per cent this year and 2 per cent thereafter, as under the previous iteration of the tax. Continued page 6

Happy trails

Anyone who goes for a walk along Killarney Lake has probably encountered Shirley Stokes and her Irish wolfhound Bella. We caught up with Shirley and Bella this past Sunday and stopped for a chat. Story on page 6. PHOTO CHANTAL EUSTACE

Beached boat at Seymour Bay ‘unacceptable’ CHANTAL EUSTACE EDITOR

A sailboat appears to have been left to sink off the beach at Seymour Bay. “It’s atrocious,” said Bruce Russell, speaking by phone on Monday. He emailed photos of the boat to the paper, as well as the Bowen Island Municipality on the weekend. “It’s totally, totally unacceptable,”

said Russell. He said the boat was first spotted in Mannion Bay being towed by another boat last week. He took note, saying, “a sailboat without a mast says something to me.” His concern was justified when someone alerted him Sunday, saying the boat in question was beached. The Coast Guard was called, and confirmed there are no haz-

ards like batteries and hydrocarbons on board the boat, said Bonny Brokenshire of the Bowen Island Municipality. Removing it from the shore isn’t so simple though. The municipality is also following up with the last-known owner of the boat, she said, and working with federal and provincial bodies. Continued page 16

Bring the kids to ….

BOWEN BUILDING CENTRE; 62p0; 3.417 in; Process color; 4302882

Hammers & Hot Dogs

Saturday april 14 • 11am - 1pm AT IRLY BOWEN BUILDING CENTRE Join Anna, Lena and the gang for a fun, free parent-child early learning activity for families with children aged 3-8, including free hotdogs. Limited space - sign up today! Register at bowencommunityrecreation.com or 604-947-2216

Reminder the Building Centre will be closed Easter Monday Open MON to FRI 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM SAT 8:00 AM TO 5:00 PM CLOSED SUNDAY


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