The Local Weekly Feb 27, 2020

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Volume 18, Issue 08

Sunshine Coast, British Columbia • www.thelocalweekly.ca • Thursday, February 27, 2020 DJ With A Band

Women In Focus

Page 16

Pot Raid Protested Page 3

Periwinkle Lane Problems Page 5

Gibsons CAO To Africa Page 6

A Win For Coast Businesses Page 7

Women In Focus Pages 9 to 13

Cycling In Colombia Page 16

Look for this insert:

Home Hardware

International Women’s Day March 8th, 2020

#EachforEqual See Pages 9 to 13

FULL SERVICE SHOP

@TheLocalWeekly

with Red Seal Technicians

Road, Gibsons Please1498 GIVEBurton to The three female shíshálh Nation councillors pose together following the Feb. 15 elections. From the left are Barbara Joe, Selina August and Alvina Paul.

The band council consists of the chief and four councillors. The councillors were elected by acclamation, a re-election for Paul and August and a first for the Food Bank

604-886-2700 Joe. The trio is profiled in our Women in Focus feature, looking ahead to International Women’s Day on March 8. See story page 10.

FULL SERVICE SHOP Darrell Huibers & Jason Neyrinck with Red Seal Technicians NOW OPEN! FULL SERVICE SHOP

SAMANTHA STORVOLD PHOTO

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The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

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The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 3

Protesters object to pot raid Local MLA Nicholas Simons and his assistant Kim Tournat encountered picket signs as they entered Simons’ temporary constituency office at Teredo Square in Sechelt on Feb. 21. The protest, organized by Michelle Sikora was in opposition to a raid conducted by the provincial Community Safety Unit (CSU) at her cannabis outlet, S&M Medicinal Sweet Shoppe in Gibsons. Simons spoke briefly with the handful of protesters that were gathered at the site before proceeding inside. The protesters then moved to the sidewalk at the edge of Teredo Street to share their message with passing motorists.

On Feb. 18, officers from the CSU seized cannabis products and closed operations at Sikora’s store and the Sun Coast Culture outlet on Teredo Street in Sechelt. Officers from the local RCMP detachment were in attendance during both visits.

Neither of the outlets raided has a provincial licence to sell cannabis. Sun Coast has applied but has not yet received a licence. That location has remained closed to the public since the raid.

The S&M store reopened on Feb. 19. Sikora stated that it is her intention to continue to operate. As of Feb. 23, no charges related to the raid have been filed against Sikora, her partner or their commercial operation.

S&M has not made a provincial licence application to sell cannabis products. Sikora stated that the recreational retail licence that can be applied for does not fit S&M’s business model of serving as a dispensary for medical cannabis products. Her position is that patients have the right of access to the prescribed medicines that the store is making available. During the protest, she carried a sign proclaiming, “We are Healers,

Not Dealers”. The cannabis products sold at the store are produced by Sikora and her partner and are not the same as those available in licenced outlets.

Sikora claims that the search at her store on Feb. 18 was improperly conducted.

“The CSU can enter and seize items from the store without a warrant but not from my personal vehicle, which was done,” said Sikora.

Under the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, individuals have 30 days to apply to have seized cannabis returned or to be compensated for the value of the product removed. To do so they must demonstrate that they were legally entitled to possess the cannabis at the time of the seizure. “We definitely will be applying for the return of the items seized, especially those taken from my personal vehicle,” said Sikora.

Connie Jordison

For All YourCoast FLOORING Sunshine Sunshine Coast & & NEEDS! CLEARANCE SALE! Powell Powell RiverFOR Schedules Schedules MAKING River ROOM NEW STOCK! September September5,5,2017 2017 - -January January1,1,2018 2018 VINYL CHOCOLATE

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2 Includes Underlay, Underlay and Installation Extra ticket Installation Extra Please Please Note: Note: At At Langdale, Langdale, ticket sales sales end end fivefive minutes minutes before before thethe scheduled scheduled sailing sailing time time forfor vehicles vehicles

andand walk-on walk-on passengers. passengers.

At At Horseshoe Horseshoe BayBay only, only, ticket ticket sales sales forfor vehicles vehicles andand walk-on walk-on passengers passengers endend tenten minutes minutes before before thethe scheduled scheduled sailing sailing time. time.

Family Owned Langdale/Vancouver Langdale/Vancouver andand Powell Powell River/Sechelt River/Sechelt Peninsula Peninsula areare notnot guaranteed guaranteed to to connect. connect.

Please Please plan plan your your travels travels accordingly. accordingly. & Operated

Crossing CrossingTime: Time:4040Minutes Minutes September September5 5- October - October9,9,2017 2017

Shannon, Brad & Shelley

LEAVE LEAVEHORSESHOE HORSESHOEBAY BAY LEAVE LEAVELANGDALE LANGDALE 7:25 7:25amam 6:20amam 6:20 www.rugrunners.ca Sechelt Sechelt Peninsula Peninsula Powell Powell River 9:40 9:40amam 8:30 am 8:30 amRiver facebook.com/rugrunners.gibsons 739 North Road, Gibsons 12:00 12:00 pm pm 10:50amam 10:50 (Earls (Earls Cove) Cove) - (Saltery - (Saltery Bay) Bay) 1:30 1:30pm pmSunSun 1:05pm pm 1:05 except except OctOct 88 Please Please Note: Note: Ticket sales sales andand loading loading endend fivefive minutes minutes before before thethe scheduled scheduled sailing time forfor vehicles vehicles 2:40 pm 2:40 pm 2:15 2:15 pm pmTicket Sun Sun except except OctOct 8 sailing 8 time Sunshine Coast and and and walk-on walk-on passengers. passengers.

3:55 3:55 pm pmOctOct 9 9 6, 2016 - January 2, 2017 3:25 3:25pm pm September 5:00 5:00 pm pmOctRiver 4:30 4:30pm Oct 9 99090 Langdale Langdale topm to Earls Earls Cove Cove terminal terminal is 84 is 84 kmkm (52mi), (52mi), plan plan on on approximately approximately minutes minutes driving driving time. time.

Powell Schedules 5:50 5:50 pm pm Mon-Fri, Mon-Fri, except except Oct Oct 9 9 5:30 5:30 pm pm Powell Powell River River to to Saltery Saltery BayBay is 34 is 34 kmkm (22mi), (22mi), plan plan onon approximately approximately 4040 minutes minutes driving driving time. time.

FALL/WINTER Schedules in Effect: October 15, 2019 to except March 31, 2020 7:00 7:00 pm pm 6:35 6:35 pm pm Mon-Fri, Mon-Fri, except Oct Oct 9 9 Langdale/Vancouver Langdale/Vancouver andand Powell Powell River/Sechelt River/Sechelt Peninsula Peninsula areare notnot guaranteed guaranteed to to connect, connect, please please plan plan 8:40 8:40 pm pm 7:35 7:35pm pmFor schedules, fare info or to reserve Schedules subject your your travels travels accordingly. accordingly.to change without notice.

10:35 10:35 pm pmdaily for any last minute sailing changes.

9:40 9:40pm pm1-888-223-3779 or www.bcferries.com Check online Please Please Note: Note: Fares Fares collected collected at at Saltery Saltery BayBay only. only.

604.886.9990 Sunshine Coast & Powell River Schedules

Langdale - Vancouver

October October 10, 10, 2017 -Minutes January -Minutes January 2018 2018 Crossing Crossing Time: Time: 5050 (Gibsons) -2017 (Horseshoe Bay) 1,1, MLA Nicholas Simons, second from the right, encounters pot protesters at his temporary constituency office Feb. 21. CONNIE JORDISON PHOTO

Gibsons supports Indigenous rights At its meeting on Feb. 18, Gibsons council reiterated its support for the BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Council called for respect of the rights in that act, and the rule of law, to negotiate an end to nation-wide disputes related to the position of hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation regarding the Coastal GasLink project.

The resolution on this matter was brought forward by youth Councillor Eilis Mackenzie. “Everyone wants to see a peaceful and respectful negotiation to end the situation. We can’t sweep under the rug the fact that government is not respecting these indigenous peoples. It’s not okay. It should not be ignored or go unnoticed,” said Mackenzie.

Mayor Bill Beamish noted that there have been peaceful protests related to the dispute in Gibsons. He reported that he had been advised of

disrespectful behaviour directed towards those protestors by members of the public. He asked the community to put an end to such acts of intolerance. “It is our responsibility and duty to do that,” said Beamish.

A group of Coast-based supporters of the Wet’su-

wet’en and Unist’ot’en encampments are organizing a fundraiser on Friday, Feb. 28 from 6 to 9pm at The Kube Gallery in Gibsons.

The evening will include a film screening and music by local artists. Admission is by donation.

Connie Jordison

Eilis Mackenzie, the Gibsons youth councillor, made the motion reiterating support for Indigenous rights. CONNIE JORDISON PHOTO

Crossing Time: 40 minutes Distance: 10.5 nautical miles

PleaseHORSESHOE Note: At Langdale, ticketing will end five minutes before theLEAVE scheduled sailing time for vehicles (Sunshine Coast) (Vancouver) LEAVE BAY LEAVE HORSESHOE BAY LEAVE LANGDALE LANGDALE September September 5 5 October 9, 9, 2017 2017 and walk-on passengers.

AtOctober Horseshoe Bay only, ticket sales for vehicles and walk-on passengers will 7:30 amam Daily except Dec. 25 &1 Jan. 1 6:20 am except Dec. 25 7:20 7:20 6:20 6:20 amamDaily Except Except Decthe Dec 25scheduled 25 & Jan & Jan 1sailing Except Except DecDec 2525 & Jan & Jan 1 &1 Jan. 1 end tenam minutes before time.

9:45 am 8:40 am Daily Daily LEAVE LEAVE EARLS EARLS COVE COVE LEAVE LEAVE SALTERY SALTERY BAY BAY 9:25 9:25amam and Powell River/Sechelt Peninsula are not guaranteed 8:25 8:25 am Please plan Langdale/Vancouver toam connect.

11:55 am 10:50 am Daily your travels accordingly.

11:30 11:30 10:25 10:25 5:35 5:35amamExcept 6:30 6:30 amamDaily Except Except SunSun Except SunSun 2:10 pm Daily 1:05 pm Daily Crossing 1:35 1:35 pm pm 12:35 12:35 pm pm 7:25 7:25 am am 8:25 8:25 am amTime: 40 Minutes 3:15 pm Daily 2:40 pm Dec. 23 & 26-27 only 3:50 3:50 pm pm 2:45 2:45 pm pm 9:25 9:25 am am 10:25 10:25 am am September 3:50 pm Dec. 23 & 26-27 only 4:20 pm Daily6 - October 10, 2016 5:50 5:50 pm 4:50 4:50 pm pm 11:45 11:45 am am 12:55 12:55 pm LEAVE LEAVE HORSESHOE 5:25 pmBAYDaily 5:30 pm LANGDALE Daily 7:50 7:50 pm 6:50 pm pm 2:05 2:05 3:15 3:15 pm 7:20 am 6:50 6:20 amDaily 6:40 pm Daily 7:50 pm 9:25 am 8:25 am 9:45 9:45 pm pm 8:45 8:45 pm 4:30 4:30 5:35 5:35 10:55 pm Daily 8:55 pmpm Daily 11:30 am 10:25 am 6:40 6:40 pm pm 7:40 7:40 pm pm 1:35 pm 12:35 pm schedules are subject to change without notice.

PLEASE NOTE: All pm Sep8:35 2:45 pm 9,8:35 16, 23 pmpm sailing changes.

9:35 9:35 pm pm Check online daily 2:10 for any last minute

3:15 pm Sep 9, 16, 23 3:50 pm 4:20 pm Sep 11, 18, 25 4:50 pm Crossing Time: 50 minutes Powell 5:25 pm SepRiver 11, 18, 25 - Sechelt Peninsula 5:50 pm Distance: 9.5 nautical miles October October 10, 10, 2017 2017 January January 1, 1, 2018 2018 (Saltery 7:50 pm 6:50 pm Bay) - (Earls Cove) 8:30 pm Oct 10 8:45 pm Langdale toEARLS Earls terminal is 84 km (52mi), plan on9:45 approximately 90 minutes driving time. BAY (Sechelt) (Powell River) SALTERY LEAVE COVE LEAVE COVE LEAVE SALTERY BAY 9:35EARLS pm Oct 10Cove pm LEAVE Powell River to Saltery Bay is 34 km (22mi), plan on approximately 40 minutes driving time.

6:35 am Daily except Sun. and Dec. 25 & Jan. 1 5:40 am Daily except Sun. and Dec. 25 & Jan. 1 6:30 6:30amam11Except Except Sun,Sun, & Dec & Dec 25,25, JanJan 1 1Peninsula are not guaranteed 5:35 5:35 amExcept Except Sun,plan Sun, & Dec & Dec 25,25, JanJan 11 Langdale/Vancouver and Powell River/Sechelt toam connect, please October 8:25 am 7:30 am Daily- December 21, 2016 Daily your travels accordingly.

7:25 7:25am am 8:25 8:25amam LEAVE LANGDALE LEAVE HORSESHOE BAYDaily 10:25 9:25 am Daily Ticketam sales and loading end three minutes before the scheduled sailing time foram vehicles and five 9:25 9:25 10:25 10:25 am am 6:20 amwalk-on 7:20 am 11:20 am am 12:25 pmfor Daily passengers.

Daily minutes 8:20 am 9:20 am 11:20 11:20amam 12:20 12:20 pmpm 4:55 pmNote: Please Fares collected at Saltery Bay only.

10:20 amDaily 11:20 am 3:50 pm Daily 3:50 3:50pmpm 4:55 4:55 pm pm 7:00 pm 12:20 pmDaily 1:20 pm 6:00 pm Daily Crossing Time: 50 Minutes 5:55 5:55 pmpmDaily 6:55 6:55 pm pm 2:30 pm 3:30 pm 7:55 pm 8:50 pm Daily 5:30 pm 9:25 4:30 pm September 6 October 10, 2016 9:25 pmpm 10:30 10:30 pm pm 10:406:30 pmpmDaily 7:25 pm 9:45 pm Daily LEAVE SALTERY BAY LEAVE EARLS COVE 9:15 pm 8:20 pm 5:35 am Except Sun 6:30 am Except Sun PC Express Pick Up In 3 easy steps 7:25 amHeather’s December 22, 2016 - January 2, 2017 8:25 am 9:25 am 10:25 am LEAVE LANGDALE LEAVE HORSESHOE BAY 11:20 am 12:20 pm 7:20 pm am Except Dec 25 & Jan 1 6:20 pm am Except Dec 25 & Jan 1 3:50 4:55 ORDER 5530 Sunshine Coast Hwy, 8:25 pm am 9:25 pm amONLINE AT: 6:55 5:55 pcexpress.ca Sechelt, BC 10:25 am 11:30 am 1 2 3 10:30 pm 9:25 pm or download the 12:35 pm 1:35 pm SHOP FILL PICK UP 604-885-6723 PC Express app today: 2:45 pm 3:50 pm Select your Our personal Choose October - December 21, 2016 favourite shoppers will when you 4:50 pmto11Sun: 5:50 pm Hours: Mon 8:00am-9:00pm fresh fill your order, want to 6:50 pm 7:50 EARLS pm COVE LEAVE SALTERY BAY LEAVE groceries just the way pick up online you like it your order 8:45 9:45 5:35 pm am Except Sun 6:30 pm am Except Sun 7:25 am 9:25 am 11:20 am 3:25 pm 5:30 pm

8:25 am 10:25 am 12:20 pm 4:30 pm 6:30 pm

4

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

Editorial Opinion

Weekly Cartoon

Your call is important…

Income and disability assistance recipients are still not getting the timely service they need when using the ministry of social development and poverty reduction’s telephone system, according to the BC Ombudsperson. He has released an update to his 2018 report, “Holding Pattern: Call Wait Times for Income and Disability Assistance”.

The update highlights that between April and October 2019 the ministry met its timeliness targets of 80 per cent of calls answered in 10 minutes or less, only one-third of the time.

“I am disheartened that after more than 18 months, as well as a budget increase for the ministry to address this problem, people are still having to wait too long to get through to someone who can help them with issues related to income assistance for shelter and food,” said Ombudsperson Jay Chalke.

“People on income assistance are often using other peoples’ phones to call or have very limited incomes to pay for cell service, so timeliness takes on a greater significance,” Chalke said, adding the government committed $6 million over three years in the 2018 provincial budget to improve service at the provincial call centre.

In his 2018 investigation, the ombudsperson found significant problems with the ministry’s telephone system which handles approximately 125,000 calls per month. The report found that call wait times at the ministry’s provincial contact centre were chronically and consistently unreasonably long with some people waiting 1.5 hours to make contact with staff. The report found the call centre was not sufficiently staffed, mitigation strategies created further delays, and there were no timeliness standards in place for in-person service.

The report made nine recommendations for improvements, only four of which have been implemented to date.

For some of the recommendations containing timeliness targets, the ministry substituted different targets than the ombudsperson recommended but then failed to meet even its own timelines.

“We have seen some progress by the ministry about transparency, including implementation of our recommendation to post the daily average of speed of answer and the daily longest call wait times on the ministry’s website,” said Chalke. “While this is positive, when we look at the numbers, we still see unacceptable wait times. This simply isn’t good enough. The ministry declined to adopt the target we recommended and substituted its own target and even that it couldn’t meet,” said Chalke.

The initial report and the update can be found at www. bcombudsperson.ca. Submitted the BC Ombudsperson

Letters to the Editor – Opinions Family fun in Gibsons A hard-working group of volunteers is now meeting together to make Sea Cavalcade 2020 happen and we could use your help now.

The date for this year’s event is the traditional summer weekend – Friday, July 24 to Sunday, July 26. Initial

details from previous years can be found here: https:// www.seacavalcade.ca To be put on our mailing list, or if you’d like to volunteer contact: phillmurray@ live.ca The next organizing meeting will be Tuesday, March 10, at 7pm, in the Kin Hut in Dougall Park and anyone –

The speakers’ squadron

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The Local Weekly is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact publisher@thelocalweekly.ca or 1-604885-3134. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

CMCA AUDITED

MEMBER OF

The contestants, and the judges, in the air cadets’ public speaking contest. The volunteer judges included Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Siegers, at the rear second from the left.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

On Feb. 20, six members of the 858 Skookumchuk Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets set fear aside and took the stage at St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Sechelt, presenting both prepared and impromptu speeches in front of family, friends, fellow cadets, and judges from the community.

It was the culmination of more than two months of preparation, on the part of the participating cadets, and effective speaking program coordinator OCdt Trish Scott.

“The courage it takes to stand up in front of a crowd and have the speech you worked so hard on judged on very specific criteria – and timed, with demerits for being too short or too long – is a huge undertaking,” Scott said. “And then to have to prepare and present an impromptu speech on a topic that is only revealed three

minutes beforehand? To say we are thrilled we had six cadets who took up the challenge is an understatement.”

At the completion of the formal judging process, the results were: • 1st: Matthew Douglas, speaking on “the importance of volunteering in your community” • 2nd: Sam Rooney, sharing his thoughts on “the positive/ negative effects of AI” • 3rd: Jonah Byron, presenting the “Cree code talkers of WWII” Two cadets (highest placement and the next highest placement as an alternate) will travel to Delta on March 7 to compete at the next level – the Metro Vancouver Wing Competition.

For more information on 858 Skookumchuk Squadron and the Royal Canadian Air Cadet Program, visit 858skookumchuk.ca.

Submitted

and everyone – is welcome.

Bring a friend, or two. Meet your neighbours. Come on out with your great ideas and your boundless energy.

Let’s have some family fun in the sun. See you there.

Barry J. Janyk, Gibsons

Moral compass missing

I am a registered nurse with 42 years experience. In recent years, I have become increasingly disturbed and angry as I’ve witnessed our health care system transformed for the benefit of private interests.

The recent report by BC Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie confirms what those of us on the front line have long known, that the aim of for-profit care homes is to make money by cutting care. What does it say of our leaders and their communication experts that they continue to tout for-profit care and spread the lie that privatization serves our interests? The spinelessness, buck-passing and sheer ignorance of our elected politicians is unbelievable.

As any health professional understands, it’s sometimes necessary to scrub a wound for the best health outcome. Today, as a society, we must scrub out the delusion that our political

representatives will willingly challenge the status quo.

Successive Liberal and NDP governments have shown greater loyalty to corporate interests than to our vulnerable elderly, and it’s up to us to hold them to account.

Compassion is the highest intelligence, encompassing intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual intelligence. We must uncover the dehumanizing wounds that are being inflicted on our defenseless elderly. We must remove the delusional infection that health care profiteering is okay. Where is the moral compass of our health administrators and their spin-doctors? Take the profit out of health care.

Tending to the elderly is a calling to care, not a get-rich plan.

Eleanor Jenkins, Sechelt

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the Editor should be sent by e-mail to editor@thelocalweekly.ca.

The deadline is Monday at 10am for that week’s paper. Generally, letters should not exceed 300 words. And all letters must be signed, include the writer’s community of residence and (not for publication) telephone number. Letters may be edited for a variety of reasons.

A sign of spring – a patch of crocuses – is seen among the branches blown down by winter storms. These flowers were spotted on Beach Ave. in Roberts Creek on Feb. 14, five weeks before the official beginning of spring. JOHN GIBBS PHOTO

Chamber of Commerce board takes oath The Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce’s Annual General Meeting was hosted Feb. 21, at the Blue Ocean Golf Club Grill. About 35 members were in attendance.

Local MLA Nicholas Simons was the guest speaker.

He delivered a brief overview of the 2020 provincial budget, which was tabled by the government earlier in the week. After providing examples of positive financial indicators related to employment and taxation in the province, he stated that over the next two years, the BC economy is predicted to be stable and resilient within a context of global financial uncertainty.

“In other words, things are looking good, but we aren’t in control of everything,” said Simons.

On the subject of reconciliation with First Nations, Simons stated that despite the current disputes related

to the Coastal GasLink project, he believes that progress continues to be made. “As long as there is one person on each side that believes in reconciliation and the ongoing efforts to create justice and a fair society, then reconciliation is alive and well. We are struggling right now in certain areas. A remarkable example of collaboration and agreement is the province’s Foundation Agreement with the shíishálh Nation. It’s a wide-ranging agreement that speaks to the relationship that we will have moving forward,” said Simons.

As part of the meeting, Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Siegers administered the oath of office to the chamber’s 2020 board of directors. These included John Henderson, Albert Trinh, Debbie Hendsbee, Aaron Joe, Sasha Gray, Nick Farrer, and Dan Fouillard. Directors Carolyn Minchin and Graham Moore, who have

agreed to continue as members of the board, were not in attendance.

Following the meeting, the directors elected John Henderson as chair and Debbie Hendsbee as vice-chair of the board.

“In 2019, the chamber took a leadership role in advocating for matters of importance to our members,” said Henderson. “In collaboration with other local groups and residents, we provided recommendations to local governments on matters including specific options for solving our water supply issue and ways to improve our transportation system including the need for a real highway and for increased ferry service. In 2020, the chamber will continue to advocate on these topics as well as other important matters including affordable housing, seniors care and taxation.”

Connie Jordison

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 5

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The Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce board of directors took the oath of office at the chamber’s AGM. From the left: John Henderson, chair; Albert Trinh; Debbie Hendsbee, vice-chair; Aaron Joe; Sasha Gray; Nick Farrer; Dan Fouillard; and Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Siegers, who administered the oath. Missing are directors Carolyn Minchin and Graham Moore. CONNIE JORDISON PHOTO

Periwinkle Lane improvement project The Sechelt Downtown Business Association (SDBA) has a plan to revitalize Periwinkle Lane as part of its efforts to create a safe and welcoming downtown. That one-way vehicle thoroughfare connects Cowrie Street, at the rear of the Bank of Montreal location, to Dolphin Street, adjacent to Arrowhead Centre.

“It’s an area that lots of pedestrians are using that needs some love and attention,” said Theressa Logan, SDBA executive director. She noted that the pavement on the Lane is potholed, that there is insufficient lighting, and that the area could benefit from beautification efforts as well as a litter and debris cleanup. “We would love to see the area improved,” said Logan.

“It’s a convenient pedestrian route within the downtown. The SDBA could also use it for activities, like street hockey tournaments or other events so that we don’t have to block as many main vehicle routes during celebrations that hosted in the downtown

core.”

The association estimates it will need to invest about $16,000 of cash and in-kind contributions to undertake the project. These resources will be used for debris removal and to pay for the installation of lighting and landscape features like plantings, benches and murals. The Arrowhead Society and the Sunshine Coast Arts Council have agreed to partner with the SDBA, with contributions of volunteer hours for the cleanup efforts and art installations.

The SDBA is applying to the Tweed Collective for matching funding of about $8,000.

That Ontario-based funding provider supports projects that encourage community connectivity through shared interests, improved accessibility, and the creation of welcoming public spaces. Association trustee Spencer Keyes was responsible for bringing that grant opportunity to the attention of the SDBA Board.

In early February emails to Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Sieg-

ers, Logan outlined the association’s concerns related to a recent increase in homelessness and crime in the downtown. She indicated that in the SDBA’s view, the situation may be resulting from a lack of community connectedness. She cited the Periwinkle Lane initiative as a way that the business community, as well as residents who live near and travel through the area, can work cooperatively to help it function better. She noted that the SDBA believes that by working with the community to create a safe, bright, and beautiful downtown, it can support a greater sense of pride and belonging in those who live, work and visit the area.

At its Feb. 19 meeting, Sechelt Council indicated that if the project proceeds, the municipality would also contribute to the project. Businesses and groups interested in being part of the project are encouraged to contact the association at sdba@dccnet. com.

Connie Jordison

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The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

Sechelt council looking for money

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If local government meetings had themes, “grants and more grants” would have fit the Feb. 19 Sechelt council meeting. From infrastructure improvements to social planning, Sechelt council is looking for funds from outside of its own coffers to support projects.

A second BC Air Access (BCAAP) program grant worth just under $1.35 million is being sought to complete runway resurfacing and extension at the airport.

That project was announced in 2019, with the award of a $1.04 million BCAAP grant to the district. That grant was intended to pay for 75 per cent of the required work.

When detailed engineering studies were completed in late 2019 and the work was

tendered, project costs ballooned to $3.2 million.

Sechelt will hold off on awarding the contract for the project until it hears if its second grant application is successful. With both grants in place, Sechelt would need to contribute close to $800,000 to complete the work. At the meeting, council endorsed a motion to ask other Coast local governments to help fund improvements to the region’s airport.

Council also endorsed a BC Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant Program application for Wharf Avenue sidewalk construction. This potential grant would cover 70 per cent of that project’s estimated cost of $685,000. It may also be possible for the Sechelt Downtown Business

Association to secure funding of up to $200,000 from the Island Coastal Economic Trust that could be used to help pay the remaining project costs.

That project, which was first proposed by district staff over 20 years ago, would see a two-metre wide sidewalk built on the west side of Wharf Avenue between Cowrie and Dolphin Street. Council members expressed concerns with two areas of the redesign that staff proposed.

Inclusion of a mid-block crosswalk was recommended. Council also wants to ensure that the turning radius of the Highway 101 intersection is engineered so that it is safe for vehicles waiting at the light when large trucks are turning onto Wharf.

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Emanuel Machado, the Town of Gibsons’ Chief Administrative Officer, has been invited by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to share his knowledge of natural asset management and the costs of climate change at an upcoming conference in East London, South Africa.

The five-day event, March 4-8, is a component of the Building Inclusive and Green Municipalities (BIGM) initiative, in which local South African governments work with Canadian municipal experts to focus on:

• Reducing poverty; • Helping local governments deliver services, drive green economic growth and prepare for climate change; and • Empowering women, youth and vulnerable groups, and ensuring their inclusion in their communities’ political, economic and social life.

Activities focus on the Eastern Cape province, which suffers from some of the highest poverty levels in South Africa.

“The BIGM project aims to deliver local Canadian solutions to local South African

challenges,” said Mayor Bill Beamish. “The Town of Gibsons is well known for its ground-breaking work in natural asset management, and its success in helping other local governments implement similar initiatives.

We welcome this opportunity to share our expertise in South Africa, and to learn from our counterparts there as well.”

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities will cover the costs of Machado’s trip, including travel, accommodation, meals and incidentals.

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The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 7

REAL ESTATE NEWS

Real Estate Market Minute

Tony Browton RE/MAX City Realty

This week I have been dealing with squatters at one of the properties I have listed.

The landlord moved out of town and didn’t know that the tenants on the lease had “sub-let” the property to their friends. These tenants then moved out and the “friends” were now living in the property alone.

Rent stopped being paid and the owner started being called by neighbours advising that the squatters were using and dealing drugs.

They were also stealing property from other homes in the area and kids’ bikes from the neighbourhood and local elementary school.

Eventually the squatters were kicked out by the RCMP and taken to a shelter.

The landlord was left with a $5,000 clean-up bill, plus the two months of lost rent prior to the situation being resolved.

If the landlord had used a licenced property manager to look after this property, this situation would never had happened. Tenants screened by a licenced property manager rent longer, pay on time,

put less wear and tear on the property and generally cause fewer problems.

Typically, a property manager will charge you half a months’ rent and then 10 per cent of the month’s revenue of the property they are managing. If you hire them to rent and manage a property for $1,500 per month; that works out to $750 up front (for finding tenant) and $150 per month management fee.

Here are what I think are the top five benefits of hiring a licenced property manager to manager your investment property: 1. Increasing property value. Quarterly preventative maintenance inspections and communication with owners, advising on steps they can take to maintain property value. The structure maintains its value as a result.

2. Screening. Completing a credit cheque on a potential tenant is a good indicator if they are going to pay rent on time. Many self-managed rentals rely on only checking references. This can result in a landlord looking to get rid of a problem tenant not being completely honest with a new landlord.

3. Shorter vacancy periods.

Property managers advertise for tenants constantly and know what to say and where

to advertise to get high quality candidates quickly. If a tenant moves out it is quickly re-rented.

4. Long-term tenants. In general, tenants who rent a home managed by a licenced property manager are happier than those dealing with a remote owner directly. A happy tenant is more likely to rent long term than one who is not happy with the landlord.

5. Less stress. By hiring a licenced property manager, you will eliminate the need to chase rent, find contractors, deal with late-night emergencies and other time-consuming tasks. It will result in more freedom and more spare time.

The benefits of having a licenced property manager look after your investment property far out-weigh the costs. All the local real estate brokerages have property managers on staff so that’s where to start if you are looking for help managing your property. I recommend interviewing three and hiring the one you think is the best fit.

Tony Browton is an award-winning Realtor who lives and works on BC’s Sunshine Coast.

His weekly blog can be found here http://www.truebluerealty.ca/blog

It was smiles all around at the Small Business BC Awards banquet Feb. 21 in Vancouver, where the Coast’s member of parliament posed with the owners of two winning businesses from Gibsons. From the left: Tim Bedford and Stephanie Heins, of Ginger Jars; MP Patrick Weiler; and Nidhi Kamboj and Vineet Miglani, of High Beam Dreams. Ginger Jars, which produces and sells soups and sauces made from unused produce from stores and farms, won in the “best community impact” category. High Beam Dreams, which operates an event space in the former United Church, won in the “best immigrant entrepreneur” category. The prizes include $1,500 and a year-long access to help from Small Business BC, a non-profit corporation.

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Canada likes Coast liquor Local craft distillers Bruinwood Estate Distillery and 101 Brewery & Distillery came away winners at this year’s Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition which judges craft spirits from across the country. Bruinwood made an impressive sweep wining gold with “Excellence in Terroir” for their K’Neko, which is a honey spirit made from their own hives.

Bruinwood won three silvers for their chocolate vodka, their blackcurrant gin and their Advocaat, which

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had won an earlier “peoples’ choice” award in a provincial competition. They won three bronzes for their gin, espresso vodka and the black walnut Nucino. 101 won a silver for their gin.

Considering Bruinwood has only been open for a year and a half, they have made great gains into the BC craft distilling scene. “Artisan Distillers of Canada” says: “Not only was their Advocaat winner of the audience choice award for Best Liqueur at the 2019 BC Distilled festival, it

\

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has already replaced the top international brand at some local Vancouver bars.”

While their chocolate and espresso vodka are winners, they also had a sell-out success with a Mexican-inspired Pechuga which is made with chicken.

The bottled spirits are available at their distillery tasting room at 2040 Porter Road in Roberts Creek and you will also find them at the Roberts Creek Community Market and the Sechelt Winter Market. Submitted

8

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

Coast To Capital

tinuing to grow the economy, keeping Canadians safe and healthy, and moving forward on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

I travelled across the riding to meet with local governments, Indigenous groups, chambers of commerce and other organizations and individuals to discuss their priorities and to highlight areas where the budget can have the most impact for you.

Patrick Weiler MP, West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country

During the past month, I have been engaging in consultations across the riding as our Government develops Budget 2020. This year’s budget will be focused on scaling up our action on fighting climate change, con-

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The following are some of the local priorities we have relayed in our letter to Finance Minister Morneau that are relevant to the Sunshine Coast.

Infrastructure investments are critical to ensuring municipalities can continue to deliver the services we expect. I advocate for increased funding for rural communities, which are hard pressed to deliver such services, given their size and population density. Funding for upgrades for local reservoirs and other water infrastructure stands out as particular needs for the Coast.

Improvements to our transportation systems are needed to set our economy

Education Matters Tonya Ste. Marie

Trustee, School District #46 School Board

February is inclusive education month in Canada. The Board of Education of School District 46 believes that we have the capacity to enable each of our students to excel.

Our philosophy is based on best practice, inclusionary strategies and is complementary to the Ministry of Education’s Special Education Manual. We see inclusion daily in our schools in various forms.

Over 85 educators in our

and rural communities up for success as we move forward.

For the Coast, this can be achieved through increased federal investments in ferries, zero-emissions transit and transportation infrastructure.

Residents of the Sunshine Coast have a special relationship with our marine environment. Increased funding for fisheries enforcement, Indigenous guardians, and enhancement programs to address, among other issues, the wild salmon crisis, is needed to maintain and restore our oceans and the species that call them home.

Harbours on the Coast, including Pender Harbour,

are being polluted by human activity.

Expanding the Derelict Boats Program to support communities in removing polluting vessels, and focusing on addressing the fate of marine plastics and other waste before it ends up in our oceans, is key to cleaning up our coastal environments.

The National Housing Strategy provides a strong framework for addressing housing affordability, but there are important gaps that need to be remedied. Funding for Indigenous housing and seniors housing are both needs for the Sunshine Coast.

The federal government is supporting seniors with increases to old age security,

grants through the New Horizons Program and new funding for home and palliative care. We are excited to host the Honourable Deb Shulte, our Minister of Seniors, in the first week of March to discuss how we can continue to work hard for our seniors. I invite you to contact our office for further details.

Thank you to everyone for engaging your time and thoughtful input in this process, which I have proudly relayed to our Minister of Finance.

We welcome your feedback: 6367 Bruce Street, West Vancouver, V7W2G5 604-913-2660 Patrick.Weiler@parl.gc.ca

district are participating in three sessions with Shelley Moore, a well-known inclusive educator. They are learning about building classroom support plans that respond to needs, not individual students. We already know that our curriculum involves understanding, knowing, doing and becoming. By planning to work with all learners in a classroom, we are able to open the curriculum up to ideas that allow for varying levels of complexity. In the words of Shelley Moore: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, we support the soil.

This is inclusion.”

Our Sexual Orientation

and Gender Identity (SOGI) program allows us to become inclusive to all individuals, regardless of how they identify.

Recently, Brian Gidinski from Burnaby worked with the district to prepare lessons using a variety of literacy tools to promote inclusion.

In our Train in Trades programs, we are able to ensure that all styles of learning are accommodated to suit specific students’ skills and abilities. Students are praised, rewarded and compensated for the things that they choose to be involved in and excel at. We witness students become red seal carpenters, chefs and fantas-

tic auto service technicians.

Students are taught valuable hands-on employability skills that not only develop practical and communication skills but allow a smooth transition from school to the workplace.

Through the principle of inclusion, our educators take away the expectation that their students need to be something or someone other than exactly who they are. It is important to note that all children and youth who are included today, in any form, will be responsible for the shift of having inclusive education become normalized for an entire generation.

Pet Smarts Jane Bowers Professional Trainer

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According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI) from 2016 to 2018, the Canadian dog population continued to grow. Dog population figures went up from 7.6 million in 2016 to 8.2 million in 2018.

Many family dogs receive basic training at home or in a more formal setting like a training school. The training methods people use vary from mostly punishment (sometimes called “correction”) methods, to the use of rewards to encourage the dog to repeat wanted behavior, and methods that use a mix.

It’s important to train dogs in a way that results in a confident, sociable and well-behaved dog free of the anxiety that often underlies aggressive behavior.

A team of researchers at the University of Porto in Portugal set out to determine the long- and shortterm effects on the welfare of dogs trained in a variety of ways. Earlier studies indicate training dogs with punishment (for example using shock collars, prong collars, yelling, striking, yanking the

Jane’s dog London was reward-trained, which leads to a more confident, relaxed dog. JANE BOWERS PHOTO leash) leads to stressed dogs and compromised long and short-term welfare of the dog and this study set out to measure the effects of various training methods on family dogs.

Dogs and owners were recruited from training schools using reward training and from schools using aversive (punishment) methods for the study.

Results showed that the dogs attending the training schools using aversive methods showed more stress related behaviors (body turns, salivating, moving away, rolling on the side, yawning,

lifting a paw for example) during training and that the frequency of the stress related behaviors increased with the frequency of the punishments. They spent more time in a tense state than the dogs from the reward trained group. The cortisol (stress hormone) levels in dogs trained with aversive methods were elevated after training sessions but were not in the reward trained dogs after training sessions.

The science is showing that training with rewards results in a more confident, relaxed, well trained dog.

WOMEN The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 9

in focus For the upcoming International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, the Local Weekly is honoured to highlight women of the Sunshine Coast.

International Women’s Day March 8th, 2020

#EachforEqual Right now is a great and important time in history to do everything possible to help forge a more gender-balanced world. Women have come a long way, yet there’s still more to be achieved.

As the world heads toward International Women’s Day 2020, stepby-step planning is underway to celebrate women’s achievements and tenaciously challenge bias.

The 2020 campaign theme is #EachforEqual - drawn from a notion of ‘Collective Individualism.’ Collectively, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender equal world.

An equal world is an enabled world.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day

REALTOR RE/MAX City Realty

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Celebrating International Women’s Day

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Ideas and real estate strategies that go far beyond the norm have made Aliese a trusted RE/MAX agent for close to 3 years.

Having reached, in her first year, the Executive Club level with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, buyers and sellers seek out Aliese’s knowledge. This is only achieved thanks to a tireless work ethic, contract and negotiation skills, friendly nature, and passion for homes and design. Aliese is of course no stranger to hard work, having flipped her first home, a renovation process that she is proud to have under her belt.

Born and raised on the Sunshine Coast, Aliese loves the lifestyle here because it allows her the flexibility to lead a busy career as a Realtor, and also enjoy her love of hiking, kayaking and outdoor adventure.

She likes to connect with her community, which she considers the friendliest on the West Coast. She is also very committed to empowering and supporting local female entrepreneurs. It’s actually one of the reasons why she’s so well connected, as she believes women can truly accomplish anything they set their minds to.

Along with her enthusiasm for empowerment, Aliese is a longtime supporter of the SPCA, and takes a passionate stand against cruelty towards animals.

Experience the difference in working with Aliese by getting in touch with her at www. aliesemackenzie.com.

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Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.

We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements.

Let’s all be #EachforEqual.

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Colleen Preston is an experienced trainer and entrepreneur.

Janice has been with Custom Flooring Centres for 18 This year she has been nominated for the local Business years now. She loves to meet new clients and help them Excellence Awards in three categories. She has dedicated the with their projects. She loves the relationships she has made past four years to creating a holistic training center where with contractors and clients, many of whom have become clients can realize their full potential using fitness, nutrition, friends. “It’s rewarding when you see someone years later education and healing services. She now has a team of highly and they are coming back to do another job or you see them experienced and educated trainers with the addition of Heather in the store and they stop to talk!” It’s what she loves about Banfield, Ben Smith and Bowen Therapist, Sarah Cormack. this community and why she loves Custom Flooring. They are a family run business on the Coast for 28 years who give Oasis Training currently offers many services such as back to the community continually. sport-specific training, rehabilitative fitness, biomechanics of Janice is proud to work for a company that supports all movement, senior strength training, special populations such sorts of charities, youth and sports activities. It’s another as Parkinson’s, diabetes, MS clients, PTSD and more. Colleen reason why she continually advocates for shopping local believes that empowering clients with knowledge about their and keeping the dollars in the community where you live. mind/body/spirit and how they can improve their health is the “Our team of staff and installers are like family, many of key to reaching their true potential. them with us for over ten years.” Custom Flooring has been As a professional writer and author, Colleen is the Policy growing, with a location in Powell River, and a Gibsons Advisor for the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame, which was created location opening in the summer of 2020. They are also a to honour outstanding athletes for their contribution to the Cloverdale paint dealer. They offer a full range of products improvement and sustainability of snow sports. She is also the for all your flooring and painting needs. author of her own workshops and retreat program for clients Janice is a wife and a mom to a daughter who will with PTSD, namely The Vines That Bind Us. She is currently be graduating from Chatelech Secondary in June. Her working on a full program for first responders, the military family is her priority and they are a huge support to her and anyone who has encountered trauma to assist them in especially with her new redefining their potential.

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10

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

Councillors Barbara Joe, Selina August & Alvina Paul Strengthening the shíshálh Nation Alvina Paul, Barbara Joe, and Selina August have been elected to the shíshálh Nation Council, 2020-2023 term. This new term sees the aforementioned women, along with Councillor Corey August

and re-elected Chief Warren Paull, governing the shíshálh Nation’s economic, political, and cultural affairs.

Both Paul and August are pleased to sit on Council again, while for Joe, this

#EachforEqual

International Women’s Day March 8th, 2020 #EachforEqual

The Local Weekly celebrates all Women of the Sunshine Coast, including our Volunteers and Female Support Service Workers! #213-5710 Teredo Street, Sechelt

is her first term. Paul says, “I wanted to continue the vision that we initiated from the previous term… and see through many of the opportunities that we have created and secured for the Nation.”

August agrees that continuing the Council’s work from last term is vital, and so is continued female representation. “Historically, the shíshálh Nation was represented primarily by male leaders, women being underrepresented in the political or leadership roles. To change that, you need to be willing and ready to put your name forward, so I was honoured to accept the nomination. We need strong female representation at the table, and I am confident that I will continue to contribute greatly for our community members, our business partners, and our government.”

When asked why she wanted to serve on Council, Joe says, “I wanted to have a voice in shaping our government structure.

Proper community planning is important to me,

604-885-3134

Celebrating International Women’s Day

working on fiscally prudent planning.” Joe also believes in strengthening the community’s knowledge of their self-governance. “I believe we have a very unique model of First Nations’ self government.

I would like to see more workshops to educate and empower youth, women, and our community.”

When asked if the Council is working on any initiatives specifically for women and girls, Paul shares, “I am engaging in conversations in regards to a Boys & Girls Club I would like to see established within our community. I am also proud of the current drafting of the anti-bullying and lateral kindness policy that will be applied to the entirety of shíshálh Nation.”

The community has also hired a clinical counsellor and staff that work with the community’s women and girls. “It can be anywhere from counselling, birth control tips, mental well-being, female health care,” explains August. “I think it’s really cool because I have a daughter who is now 16, and she utilizes this program. Just having that available for them is a step in the right direction! We need to find more programs and services for our women.”

August and Paul have both counted many strong

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Charlene SanJenko

•

www.powherhouse.com

and inspiring female role models in their lives. “They have taught me many different lessons and perspectives that have brought me to where I am in my life today,” describes Paul. She is also inspired by her great grandfather, Clarence Joe Sr. “The work and advocacy [roles] he played within shíshálh Nation history inspired me to want to continue contributing to our vision for our community.”

“Absolutely, my grandmother,” enthuses August.

Laurie J. Forshner-Talbot FCIP President, General Manager

Gina Stockwell

Personal Real Estate Corporation

REALTOR®

Karen Graves BA, CIP, ACS

Personal Lines Manager

Laurie moved to the Sunshine Coast to raise her family in 1987 and started her insurance business in 1997, joined by her husband Kevin in 2008.

Karen Graves has been in the insurance industry for over 15 years, at Talbot Insurance for 5 years, and she teaches and trains insurance for organizations and our office group.

Karen and her husband are raising their young family here and love the Coast.

Laurie specializes in Marketing & Administration and Karen in hard to place and non-standard insurance, both personal and commercial. Both Laurie and Karen are heavily involved in the community, volunteering and participating in: ESPRIT, Cedar Grove PAC, Scouts, Sea Cavalcade, Coasters Car Club and Sunshine Coast Power & Sail Squadron.

Laurie and Karen, with the support of their fantastic staff, are a great team of dedicated insurance professionals providing enhanced personalized and transparent service to our valued community.

• •

“She had 17 children and one of the strongest women I know. She had to take care of all of her children on very little income; that alone inspires me.”

The women play an important role in inspiring others, within and outside the shíshálh Nation community. Paul sums it up well: “In my daily interactions with my community members, I hope to inspire them to be the best they can be mentally, physically, and spiritually.” Angie Ishak

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Talbot Insurance Services Ltd. 604-886-2555

A 20-year commitment to mobilization, Charlene’s leadership contribution can be summarized in two simple sentences: • It’s 2020, and every human deserves the opportunity to experience their full potential.

• PowHERhouse delivers on the HOW of leadership for HER. PowHERhouse is building a global collaborative collective. A media house based on the Sunshine Coast, PowHERhouse exists to mobilize women leaders to fully activate their potential for impact.

As an Indigenous founder, Charlene is a bridge between two cultures in our country. She is from the Splatsin tribe, the most southern tribe of the Shuswap Nation in British Columbia, and since 2004 resides on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, the traditional territory of the Squamish (skwxwú7mesh) First Nations.

Charlene is a former two-term municipal councillor for the Town of Gibsons, competitive athlete and performance coach, impact media visionary and community economic development enthusiast. She is able to see the end game, walk through a proven mobilization process, and synthesize the efforts necessary to enjoy leverage, clarity, traction and fulfillment for individual leaders, communities and the collective whole.

In 2016, Charlene produced a pilot series, PowHER TV. In 2021, she plans to launch a docu-series to bear witness to the unfolding story of impact as we walk towards the UN sustainable development goals by 2030.

Councillors Barbara Joe, Selina August and Alvina Paul

ContactUs@talbotinsurance.ca

604-989-8235 gina@ginastockwell.com

Gina Stockwell (Garland) grew up on the Sunshine Coast.

Four generations of her family have been here since her grandparents purchased recreational property in Sandy Hook in the early ‘60s. Gina believes living on the Sunshine Coast is “living in paradise.”

Having raised two children, she and her husband went on to build three successful companies from startups. Their company Stockwell Sand and Gravel began in 1997. In 2013 they started Central Coast Concrete Inc., an award-winning, ready-mix batch plant. In 2014, Gina and a small team of shareholders planned the development and built today’s world-renowned Coast Gravity Park in Sechelt.

Gina’s passion has always been in Real Estate and she began her career in 2015. Since then, she has been awarded the top 10% of 14,000 agents in the Greater Vancouver area, year-over-year. Gina attributes her early success in real estate sales to over 20 years of business experience. “When you own businesses, you need to be passionate, have the ability to think on your feet, solve complex problems, have sharp negotiation skills, and be a great communicator.” Real Estate is more than just selling a home, for Gina it’s about providing clients with exceptional customer service every moment through the process. “My focus is always on the individual needs and lifestyles of the people I serve. Creating long-term generational relationships is my ultimate goal.”

• •

www.ginastockwell.com

•

RCMP Staff Sargeant Poppy Hallam

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 11

#EachforEqual

Leading the Way For a Safe Sunshine Coast For Staff Sargeant Poppy Hallam, serving on the RCMP is nothing short of a life calling.

Her draw to serving in law enforcement began at the tender age of 14, growing up in the Comox Valley.

When her boyfriend got an afterschool job cleaning out police cars, Hallam would tag along to help. It wasn’t long before she began to feel a sense of awe for the profession and she knew she wanted a career that gave back to the community. Throughout high school, the pull towards law

enforcement stayed with her. Though a knee injury in college sidelined her path for a few years, several ridealongs and the experiences of RCMP friends reawakened Hallam’s interest in policing. She completed her RCMP training in 2001.

Hallam is the first female Staff Sargeant for the Sunshine Coast, taking her post as the detachment commander in 2018; currently she supervises 35 police officers and 10 support staff. In her 19 years of service, Hallam has served in

Staff Sargeant Poppy Hallam, Detachment Commander, Sunshine Coast RCMP.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

various smaller communities including Port Hardy, Campbell River, and, prior to coming to the Sunshine Coast, Fort St. James. Although she admits facing a few gender issues throughout her career, she has taken them in stride and reflects that overall, gender hasn’t impeded her trajectory, “I’ve never felt that my gender got in the way of me doing what I want to do in my career. I’ve always felt like the processes to move forward have been fair.”

She stresses that all officers take the same exams and training, and go through the same promotion processes, regardless of gender.

Being an effective part of the RCMP is not about gender, but about knowing your strengths and weaknesses, she continues. “No matter for men, women, however you identify, you need to find what works for you, what you can contribute; once you’re authentic and stick to your true self, there’s a spot for you,” Hallam explains. For her part, she has found that smaller community policing is where she thrives. Amongst many things, she values the relationship-building that happens naturally in rural areas and the ability to more easily find common ground with people. In her leadership roles, Hallam has found that finding her

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Emerge Design Inc.

•

www.emergedesign.ca

trol, Crimestoppers, and the Auxiliary Program. These will undoubtedly provide many opportunities for the community to learn more about policing and invest in the safety and wellness of the Sunshine Coast.

Angie Ishak

in focus

Let’s build a gender equal world.

Equality is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue.

Gender equality is essential for economies and communities to thrive.

A gender equal world can be healthier, wealthier and more harmonious - so what’s not great about that?

The race is on for the gender equal boardroom, a gender equal government, gender equal media coverage, gender equal workplaces, gender equal sports coverage, more gender equality in health and wealth ... so let’s make it happen.

Let’s be #EachforEqual.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

April Ria Qureshi-Davidson ACC, ECPC, RYT Certified Coach

Communications Coach 604-836-6674 info@joannapiros.com

Joanna Piros helps people get their great ideas out of their heads and into the world. Clients say she has an uncanny knack for instantly determining what matters and helping them shape the messages, for interviews, for public speaking or for one on one conversations.

Since arriving on the Coast, Joanna has immersed herself in community organizations, causes and boards. She made a conscious decision to earn her money off Coast and give back her volunteer time here.

Joanna started out as a radio and television reporter, then as a news anchor and a documentary producer. After leaving broadcast news, pregnant with the second of five children, she decided to pursue self-employment and has never looked back.

Her business takes a lifelong interest in stories and marries it to several decades of broadcast journalism. The result is a coach and trainer who helps her clients become more successful by being more strategic and impassioned in their communications.

She’s worked with 17-year-olds going to the NHL, with executives, political leaders, engineers, lawyers, doctors, sex trade workers, farmers, loggers, fishers and many more.

From the moment she arrived on the Sunshine Coast, Joanna could sense the potential of the people and businesses here, and wanted to do whatever she could to help them thrive. Joanna is always trying to introduce people to each other, to facilitate the networks that make great things happen.

• •

www.joannapiros.com

March 8, 2020

WOMEN

Joanna Piros

Residential + Commercial Interior Design Office: 604-399-8585 • 5712 Teredo St. Sechelt

Emerge Design Inc was founded in 2009 by owner and principal designer Gwyntie van Tuyl Weswick and has been operating on the Sunshine Coast since 2013. It is Gwyntie’s driven entrepreneurial nature that has provided a wonderful source of inspiration and an authentic atmosphere for her team to be successful.

At Emerge Design we value the importance of a good laugh, relationships and afternoon treats. You’ll often find us immersed within our current task, popping popcorn or exchanging creative ideas.

The women of Emerge Design are likeminded, goal driven and have created a family environment within the office. We are brought together by our mutual enjoyment for creating beautiful spaces, and united in our values of support, respect, and professionalism.

We celebrate the dynamic role of women in the workforce with flexibility, understanding and encouragement. We want to recognize and give appreciation to the importance of International Women’s Day. Emerge Design would like to thank our clients, trades, families and friends for your support. You are our motivation.

own path and unique voice is imperative. “When you’re responsible for different personalities, it’s really important to know what people need from you and be able to adapt your style to most.”

Hallam says the RCMP has been trying to recruit more women, but currently, the female ratio is not yet 30%. For women who are interested in a policing career, Hallam suggests going to information sessions or any other public offerings to get as much information as possible, or even volunteer. Hallam, herself, volunteered for Citizens on Patrol in her hometown just prior joining the RCMP, and every time the police radio crackled to life, she felt alive, excited—a sure sign of where she belonged.

“If you feel any of that— you get excited when you see police vehicles or emergency services— you really should explore It,” Hallam advises. “There are so many different roles within the RCMP. If you don’t want to be on the frontline, there are many support roles in the RCMP or in other police agencies. There are so many ways to serve your community or to volunteer.”

On that note, Hallam is looking to grow several volunteer initiatives on the Sunshine Coast such as Blockwatch, Citizens on Pa-

CLARITY | PERFORMANCE | WELLBEING 604-989-2253 ria@coachria.com

April Ria Qureshi-Davidson is a professional coach, meditation and yoga teacher, writer, speaker and awardwinning entrepreneur. She facilitates transformational change that gently lifts the blocks that keep people stuck in habitual repeating patterns. Using mindset and meditation techniques, April supports people to create awareness around their beliefs, inspiring an internal identity shift. The powerful use of intention and aligned action affect lasting change and growth.

April empowers women to step into leadership roles in business and community by helping them embody a mindset of growth and possibilities that inspires the individual while furthering the greater good of humanity. When we’re aligned with our individual path we lead the way for others to do the same.

April volunteers as a Coordinator of Giving with 100 Women Who Care Sunshine Coast, which has raised over $44,000 for local charities since Sept. 2017.

Her appearances include CITY-TV CityCooks and Coast Cable Inside Out, PowHERhouse, the LIFT speaker series, and Rotary Club. April is frequently a featured guest speaker on podcasts around the world.

April connects with entrepreneurs through one-one, group and team coaching, workshops, retreats and talks designed for personal and professional growth.

IWD 2020 #EachforEqual

• •

www.coachaprilria.com

•

12

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

The Gibsons Fire Department

Celebrates International Women’s Day To showcase and celebrate their female contingent, the Gibsons and District Volunteer Fire Department is holding an International Women’s Day Open House event on March 6th, from 3-6pm at their station. Currently, there are seven women serving as volunteer firefighters: four as full service volunteers and three are new recruits.

Open House organizer and firefighter Serena Murphy is excited about the event, as well as the possibility of future initiatives highlighting women in firefighting.

“We want to empower young women and girls, show that if this is something you want to do, you can go out and do it,” says Murphy. “It’s getting better now but it’s [firefighting]

still a very male-dominated industry. You see on TV or in pictures that most firefighters are male, but it’s changing, and we want to show that in our community.”

Murphy is currently the longest-serving female firefighter at the Gibsons Hall, serving about 4.5 years with a break in between.

The training to become a

full service firefighter takes dedication and two years of modular training. “We’re all here volunteering our time because it’s something we love to do. People have different interests within the full service spectrum and it’s really great seeing people come together who specialize in different things.”

“It’s like family,” continues Murphy, who was born

From left to right: Jamie Webb, Mara Haines, Ashleigh Cater, Emilie Simkins, Tania Kabantsov, Shera Weiler and Serena Murphy

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Stitch and Bobbin

I’m very grateful that my family moved to the beautiful Sunshine Coast two years ago. After running my business for the past five years in North Vancouver, I am thrilled to now have our retail location in Gibsons.

Having done everything from restaurant management, Certified Dental Assisting, to working in the public sector, I was lucky enough to follow my love for quilting right into owning a Quilt Store and offering Longarm Quilting services.

I have always had a passion for creating community (I also use to be a community events planner) and have loved building a close-knit community of quilters and sewers through my store events.

One of my goals is to encourage and energize those both young and old to pick up a sewing machine and create. I truly believe sewing is a form of therapy. My mom taught me how to quilt at the age of 14 and she always said “there are no mistakes, just design changes.”

I look forward to sharing the sense of community and creative growth that comes along with being a local quilt store.

•

www.stitchandbobbin.com

604-506-3141 racheldempster@remax.net

If you were to sum me up in four words, they would be: family, animals, community and creativity.

While I originally hail from England, I’ve called Canada home for 20 years. My family and I moved to the Sunshine Coast from West Vancouver eight years ago and haven’t looked back. We live on a farm in Gibsons with our horses, cats and dogs, and are surrounded by a great amount of sincere, welcoming friends.

I’ve always been struck by the warmth of this community and the authentic, rugged beauty of the Coast—and I want others to see that this lifestyle is within their reach too.

Even though my career began in marketing and sales, I’ve been a real estate investor and watcher for many years.

Leveraging my keen eye for design, I’ve managed many house flips and renovations, transforming them into comfortable and stylish homes, all while increasing market value.

As a certified RE/MAX CITY REALTY realtor, I apply my entrepreneurial spirit, marketing savvy and design expertise to every new project and love helping families achieve their real estate goals. Serving my community is important to me, and in my spare time I’m on the Board of Directors for the Gibsons Public Market and Habitat for Humanity.

• •

www.racheldempster.com

March 8, 2020

Moorestock Outfitters

REALTOR® RE/MAX City Realty

Owner

fighters, as well as with female first responders from different agencies along the Sunshine Coast.

Gibsons Fire Chief, Rob Michael, understands the importance of Murphy’s initiatives. “I’m very proud of all my volunteers,” says Michael. “Particularly when they show an interest in being a positive role model.” With two young daughters at home, Michael is especially supportive of the empowering messages that Murphy is sharing with women and girls in the community.

Current and past firefighting staff will be on-hand at the Open House to meet and mingle with the public.

This family-friendly event will offer treats, hotdogs, firetruck pictures, a kids’ obstacle course and much more. For details, visit the Gibsons Fire Department Facebook page: @gibsons firedepartment.

Angie Ishak

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Rachel Dempster

Stephanie Perrins Quilting and Sewing Supplies 604-840-3388

and raised on the Sunshine Coast. “At the end of the day, a lot of the things we do, we’re putting our lives in each others’ hands. Having that family bond is really special.”

Another female firefighter, Emilie Simkins, has found that in her three years at the Gibsons Department, she has gained new abilities and a confidence she didn’t have previously. “I have overcome a great deal of anxiety and recognize in myself many new abilities.

I have gained so much, all the while being provided with the opportunity to give back to the community and for this I am truly honoured and grateful.”

For Murphy, the most rewarding aspect as a volunteer firefighter is having opportunities to introduce young girls and women to considering firefighting for themselves. She was inspired to plan the Open House after a talk she gave to a group of Girl Guides for 2019’s International Day of the Girl. “It was inspiring and motivating for me to see them look up at me and be amazed. One of the girls is the daughter of one of our volunteers and she went home talking so excitedly about what I’d said,” shares Murphy.

She also wants to focus on building solidarity amongst the female fire-

604-885-6436 www.moorestock.ca

Moorestock Outfitters is a woman founded, owned and operated unisex retail store located in the heart of Sechelt (5707 Cowrie Street). We carry a variety of soft goods to support the lifestyle loved by the locals and visitors of the Sunshine Coast.

Presently, we are a team of seven women who are all passionate about the same thing: helping people look and feel their best (retail therapy is a real thing!). By keeping on top of the trends, and integrating inclusive sizing, we’ve been able to accommodate the majority of needs put forward by our clientele.

We consider ourselves extremely lucky to be part of a team where kindness and support are two of our core values. We believe by using ourselves as the Moorestock ambassadors, by way of social media and marketing, we’re able to send the message that real women are just as worthy of advertising.

We’re so thankful to continue to do what we love in business and to be a part of the thriving female entrepreneurial spirit the Coast so wholly embodies.

• •

www.moorestock.ca

•

Sechelt Councillor Janice Kuester Working to Improve Coast Life for All Janice Kuester is a busy woman. She juggles her position as a Sechelt Councillor with her family life, a career managing at Custom Flooring Centres, and volunteering with several community initiatives. Kuester has lived in Sechelt since 1996 and finds it has much to offer.

Although she loves her community, she hadn’t considered running for Council for the 2018-2022 term until encouraged by a few local business owners. “They thought I would be a perfect candidate to help move Sechelt forward, so, after a lot of discussion with them, customers, contractors, family and other business owners, I decided to give it a go.”

Kuester had no prior experience in public leadership but says that the skills she has learned in working with a strong, family run company with deep Coast connections, in part, helped her prepare. Mentorship also played a role in equipping her for the task. “I was mentored by Paul Saunders who really allowed me to grow as a person, personally and professionally; he taught me how to have ‘big shoulders’”.

Kuester also cites her daughter as an inspiration, who worked on an MP’s Youth Leadership Council for two years and is part of the interact club.

Serving on Sechelt Council has given Kuester more understanding about the

hows and whys of council decision-making, whether regarding past or present events. She adds, “I have also come to realize that there are always two sides to a story and somewhere in between the two is the truth.

I am used to things moving in a fast and efficient way and I want to make everyone happy but, in politics, this is impossible. No one is right or wrong and everyone believes their ideas are the right ones. People are very passionate about this. I respect this, but in the end, I have to do what I think is best for the community.”

In light of this, Kuester reflects that the Council has not been without some issues and challenges, but she is positive that these will smooth out once resolutions are reached. She enjoys working with the other councillors and staff, specifically noting that her more seasoned colleagues have been very helpful and patient with new councillors like herself.

One of the current initiatives that Kuester is most excited about is the rewriting of zoning bylaws. This will enable more clarification and the ability to move processes along faster and more efficiently, especially for the more vulnerable. “I am looking forward to getting the groundwork started and moving forward with affordable housing units and seniors’ housing and care. We

Celebrating International Women’s Day

I thought all I ever really wanted out of life was to be a mom but I soon realized I wanted more than that - I wanted to have it all! And I set out to do just that... While the road hasn’t always been easy - somehow it works.

I am currently the President of the Gibsons & Area Chamber of Commerce, which finds me interjecting myself in all facets of business on the Sunshine Coast. I am also the current President of the local Elves Club charity that has been running in Gibsons for 50+ years and gives me great satisfaction in helping those in need. I am a Telus Ambassador as well (long since an employee of Telus) where the company donates actual cash to any non-profit charity I choose based on the volunteer hours I spend in my community!

In the past couple of years I have made some major changes in my life and they have helped me see clearly how blessed I truly am, how faith can move mountains and how acceptance is the answer to all of my problems!

Happy International Women’s Day to all!

•

www.debmowbray.com

WOMEN International Women’s Day March 8th, 2020

Janice Kuester, Sechelt Councillor need all types of housing and care. These are so important in our community right now,” she explains.

When asked what her most rewarding experience on Council has been so far, Kuester says it is not one particular event but, rather, positive interactions with community members. “I guess what feels the best is when a member of the community stops and tells me that I am doing a good job and they appreciate what I am doing.

There is so much negativity surrounding Council and [our] decisions so a positive comment is definitely

appreciated.”

Kuester’s days are undoubtedly full, and, yes, sometimes, her family has to eat cereal for dinner, but they are very supportive.

Her advice to other women who are thinking of entering into public service or politics? “If it is something that you have thought about or, even maybe not, just go for it. In the end, you will have gained valuable knowledge and grown personally. You have the opportunity to meet amazing and passionate people and that is what is most rewarding.”

Angie Ishak

Celebrating International Women’s Day

#EachforEqual

The Local Weekly celebrates all Women of the Sunshine Coast, including our Volunteers and Female Support Service Workers! #213-5710 Teredo Street, Sechelt

S/Sgt. M.K. HALLAM (Poppy) 098552

Owner

Bruinwood Estate Distillery 604-886-1371

Danise Lofstrom has been self-employed since 1992 following eight years in the Armed Forces as a photographer in the Motion Picture section. Danise brings her disciplined training and leadership experience to her projects. She owns and manages two companies. One from her days in television producing wine, travel and cooking shows, which now provides closed captioning services to broadcasters. Her second is her and her husband’s craft distillery. Bruinwood Estate Distillery was opened in June of 2018 and has rapidly received industry and local reputation for producing high-quality, wide-ranging, distinct spirits. They recently won seven national awards for their drinks.

While she is trained to do the distilling, Danise is mostly in charge of the administration, sales and marketing. It is an endless barrage of government documents, developing creative marketing campaigns, travelling for liquor store and restaurant sales, and very importantly, working directly with customers at markets. And all the while Danise has been advancing her education through Capilano University’s Business Administration program. For her it’s not about the ceremonial piece of paper but rather about running her business better.

Danise is known in the community through her past work leading the Roberts Creek School PAC and as an active vendor at farmers’ and artisan markets.

Danise’s hard working, confident yet friendly demeanour is appreciated by her employees and customers alike.

• •

www.bruinwood.com

604-885-3134

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Danise Lofstrom

REALTOR® RE/MAX City Realty

I felt honoured when asked to participate in this week’s International Women’s Day focus as I am a strong believer in supporting women, especially locally, in our pursuits to “bring home the bacon” and do what we love in many cases - as is the case for me. I have been blessed with a career in Real Estate which has allowed me to raise my two sons, volunteer my time locally and, in general, have the time and interest to be a contributing resident of the Sunshine Coast.

#EachforEqual

in focus

Deb Mowbray

604-740-6608 debmowbray@gmail.com

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 13

Detachment Commander Sunshine Coast RCMP 604-885-2266

Poppy grew up in the Comox Valley and enjoyed several hobbies such as figure skating, volleyball and playing the violin.

She had several career interests prior to joining the RCMP which included selling real estate, managing retail stores, bookkeeping and the service industry.

Poppy’s true career aspiration was policing and that goal was realized in 2001 when she graduated from RCMP depot training academy in Regina, SK and was first posted to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. Poppy’s experience has been in all front line policing with specialities in child abuse investigations, media relations and crisis negotiation with the Island and North District Emergency Response Teams.

Poppy’s career aspirations have brought her to this current management position, offering the opportunity to positively influence detachment functions and service delivery. Poppy prides herself on being a people person with the ability to connect and encourage positive relationships.

Poppy’s hope for the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast is to provide a safe and inclusive work environment and in turn safe homes and communities. Her philosophy is happy and healthy employees are better equipped to respond to the stressful situations expected of the police. She is working to support her employees with the latest operational training as well as mental wellness support. She believes in transparent and connected relationships with the community and communication is the key. She says it is much easier to police people you know than people you don’t know and it begins with relationships.

• •

TEL: 604-885-2266 FAX: 604-885-9473

•

14

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

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• “Spin In”, bring your wheel and potluck lunch to share, FibreWorks Studio, Madeira Park, 10am-4pm

• Galactic Glow lantern festival, with food and music, fundraiser for PAC, Cedar Grove Elementary, Gibsons, 5-8pm

• Local author Heige S. Boehm reads from her book “Secrets in the Shadows”, Gibsons Public Library, 7:30pm

Friday, February 28

High Beam Dreams Presents

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2019 Roots Group of the Year - WCMA

Thursday, February 27

Doors: 7:00 pm, Show: 7:30 pm I Early Bird-$25, Regular-$30, At the Door-$35 I Tickets available in Gibsons, Roberts Creek, Sechelt I Online: share-there.com & eventbrite.ca 350 Glassford Rd, Gibsons I info@highbeamdreams.ca

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SD46 Musical Theatre Ensemble Presents

NEWSIES

• Drinks for the future hears from Ian McLatchie of Protect Public Health Care – SC, Gumboot Cafe, Roberts Creek, 5-6:30pm • Musical duo Shine entertains at business excellence awards dinner, presented by Coast chambers of commerce, Blue Ocean Golf Club, Sechelt, 5:45-10pm

• Standing with the Wet’suwet’en, an evening of film, education and music, The Kube, Gibsons, 6-9pm • Youth D&D night, Gibsons Public Library, 6-7:30pm • Karaoke night, Gibsons Legion, 7pm

• Artesia Coffee House with guitarist Bradley Wells, Bits of String Trio, poet Shelley Harrison Rae and Sh-Boom with special guest Maddy Webber, Arts Centre, Sechelt, 7:30-9:30pm

• The Modelos, rock ‘n’ roll cowboy surfers, Roberts Creek Legion, 8pm

• Domenique’s School of Dance presents “Ephemere”, Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons, 8pm

Friday, Feb. 28 – Sunday, Mar. 1

• SD46 Musical Theatre Ensemble presents the musical “Newsies”, Chatelech Secondary, Fri. & Sat. 7pm, Sun. 2pm, share-there.com

Chatelech Secondary School Theatre 5904 Cowrie St., Sechelt

Fri. Feb. 28, 7pm Tickets $10 Sat. Feb. 29, 7pm available online at: Sun. March 1, 2pm share-there.com Thurs March 5, 7pm and at the door Fri. March 6, 7pm (Festival seating) Sat. March 7, 2pm info: Sat. March 7, 7pm sdouglas@sd46.bc.com Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Jack Feldman, Book by Harvey Fierstein

Saturday, February 29

• Brenna Fynes demonstrates how to brew kombucha, presented by One Straw Society, The Arts Building, Gibsons, 10am-noon, programs@onestraw.ca • Meet Vancouver author and illustrator Christine Leist and doodle with her, for kids 5-10, Gibsons Public Library, 11:30am-12:30pm,

• Repair Cafe, Gibsons Public Library, 1-5pm

• SC Film Society presents “The Guilty”, a Danish thriller about a police officer’s real-time race to save a kidnapped woman, Raven’s Cry Theatre, Sechelt, 2pm • Meet Vancouver author and illustrator Christine Leist and doodle with her, for kids 5-10, Sechelt Public Library, 2:30-3:30pm, registration required 604-885-3260

• Third birthday party for Tapworks, with Grant Olsen at 2:30pm and Sam Pulpo at 9pm, Gibsons • Charlotte Wrinch entertains, Gibsons Public Market, 2:30-4:30pm

• Grant Olsen, Backeddy Pub, Egmont, 6:30pm • Brent Mason house concert, Roberts Creek, 7pm, call 604-740-8094 for location • Astrocolor, five-piece jazz and funk band centered on a DJ, and DJ Sugar, Roberts Creek Hall, 8pm, share-there.com • Lorne Jones Band, Gibsons Legion, 8pm • Zonolite, Lighthouse Pub, Sechelt, 8pm

Sunday, March 1

• Jessica Silvey leads cedar basket weaving workshop, Sarah Wray Hall, Garden Bay, 10am-3pm, must pre-register at www.penderharbourheritage.ca

• Sunday blues jam hosted by Jim Foster, Clubhouse Restaurant at Pender Harbour Golf Club, 2-6pm, by donation

• Céilí (Irish social gathering) honouring the life and work of poet John O’Donohue, Chaster House, Bonniebrook Beach, 3-6pm, followed by a potluck and moving meditation, michael@welloflight

Monday, March 2

• Lauryn Oates of Canadian Women in Afghanistan addresses the Canadian Federation of University Women, Sechelt Public Library, 5-7pm, rsvp to cfuwsc.org

Monday, Mar. 2 – Tuesday, Mar. 3

• SC Film Society presents “The Guilty”, a Danish thriller about a police officer’s real-time race to save a kidnapped woman, Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons, 7:30pm

Wednesday March 4

• TraC board member Nick Smith presents on cycling in Medellin, Colombia, Gibsons Public Library, 6-7pm

SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, VISUAL ARTS

Local

the

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 15

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• Free workshop on writing about your work, Arts Centre, 2-4pm, pre-register at sunshinecoastartscouncil.com

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Thursday, March 5 – Saturday, March 7

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• First day of weekend women’s songwriting workshop, Soundgarden Retreat Centre, Roberts Creek, 9:30am-4:30pm, 604-562-9773

• Great big garage sale, Holy Family Catholic Church, West Sechelt, 10am-2pm • Early Years Fair with face painting and petting zoo, for children birth-5yrs and their families, Early Years Centre, 5538 Shorncliffe Ave., Sechelt, 10am-1:30pm

• Permaculture workshop, presented by One Straw Society, Roberts Creek Community School, 10am-12:30pm

• First day of weekend beginners oil painting workshop, 1495 Henderson Ave., Roberts Creek, 10am-3pm, carolynndoan.com

Please GIVE to the Food Bank

@TheLocalWeekly

‘Your One-Stop Cannabis Shop’

• Pawsitivly Pender Harbour, with cupcakes and no-flee flea market, fundraiser for SPCA, Elderdog and Gibsons Wildlife, Earthfair Store, Madeira Park, 11am-3pm

• Bellows and Strings, Noah Ord and Anna Lumiere, Gibsons Public Market, 2:30-4:30pm • Vagina Monlogues, fundraiser for SC Community Services, Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons, 3pm and 7:30pm • Opening reception for exhibit by Carylann Loeppky, The Kube, Gibsons, 6-9pm

• Trivia night, fundraiser for St. Hilda’s Anglican Church, Seniors Activity Centre, Sechelt, 7pm, register teams at 604-838-2663 • Rosie & the Riveters, folk-pop anthems, High Beam Dreams, Gibsons, 7-9:30pm

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

- Rumi

5670 Cowrie St. Sechelt

604-740-3800

• House concert with Jennifer Scott, Rene Worst and Steve Giltrow, Roberts Creek, location at 604-740-0963

• Literary Readings on the Coast presents novelist Kathy Page, Arts Centre, Sechelt, 7:30pm • Half Cut & the Slackers, Gibsons Legion, 8pm

• Rumours Burlesque, Roberts Creek Hall, 8-11:30pm, boudoirrougeburlesque@gmail.com

Sunday, March 8

• International Women’s Day potluck lunch with speaker Donna Thomas, sponsored by SC Labour Council, 1:30-3:30pm • Sunday blues jam hosted by Peter Van Trio, Clubhouse Restaurant at Pender Harbour Golf Club, 2-6pm, by donation

• Carlos del Junco and the Blues Mongrels, Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons, 2pm, 604-740-5825

• Jazz vespers with Moss Trio (Anna Lumiere, Graham Ord and Aristazabal Hawkes), St, Hilda’s Anglican Church, 4-5pm

420 Hemp Shop has been Approved for a Non-Medical Cannabis Retail Licence.

Located in Sechelt, BC, 420 Hemp Shop has been serving the communities of the Sunshine Coast since April 20, 2002.

Our mission is to promote cannabis as a versatile and sustainable resource, capable of providing for our most basic needs while addressing our planet’s most pressing issues.

We are pleased to announce our store will be selling a wide range of cannabis products and accessories starting next month.

For more information please email us at: sales@420hempshop.com or drop by our store.

5670 Cowrie St, Sechelt

604-740-3800

16

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

Local

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ARTS & CULTURE Kathy Page reads in Sechelt Born in London, and now living on Salt Spring Island, Kathy Page is the author of several critically acclaimed novels and books of short fiction. She is reading March 7 at the Arts Centre in Sechelt.

Her latest work, “Dear Evelyn”, was the winner of Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (2018) and she previously received awards both in the U.K. and Canada. She teaches fiction at Vancouver Island University.

“Dear Evelyn” is her eighth novel and opens in wartime London, telling the story of a working-class couple fall-

ing in love amid the chaos of a world in fury. Inspired by her own father’s wartime love letters, Page follows Harry and Evelyn’s passionate and uneasy 70-year-long marriage. This story of a marriage is told with unsparing reality, a depiction of the erosive action of time and of the transitory nature of early passion.

Kathy Page is presenting her work at the Arts Centre in Sechelt on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30pm. This reading is part of a series offered by the Sunshine Coast Arts Council.

Admission is by donation.

Submitted

The Victoria-based electro-rock band Astrocolor is appearing Feb. 29 at the Roberts Creek Hall. The five-piece band is centered around the sounds of DJ Neil Cooke-Dallin, also known for his incredible moustache and high kicks. Neil creates the foundation for their songs while the band provides layers of groove, with saxophone, guitar, bass and drums. Astrocolor was nominated for Electronic Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2018. DJ Sugar will open the show. Doors at 8pm. Tickets are $25 through MELOmania, The Kube, Strait Music and Share-There.com. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Illustrator visiting Coast kids at two libraries

Children’s author and illustrator Christina Leist is visiting the libraries in both Gibsons and Sechelt on Feb. 29. PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Gibsons & District and Sechelt Public Libraries have collaborated to bring Vancouver children’s author and illustrator Christina Leist to the Coast, for a day of storytelling and drawing fun.

Christina is originally from Germany and has worked as an art director for publishing companies, international ad agencies, and TV. Her portfolio is full of whimsical sketches that will make your fingers itch to draw, and she comes highly recommended as an inspiring presenter for young story lovers and artists.

Christina has written or collaborated on more than 10 children’s picture books already.

She will be on the Coast Saturday, Feb. 29; she will

Artesia at the Arts Centre The Artesia Coffee House held at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre is back on Friday, Feb. 28 with the new starting time of 7:30pm.

The show will feature the unique instrumental acoustic guitar stylings of Bradley Wells. “Bits of String Trio” will be up next with the family of Kaia Nielsen, acoustic bass and vocals,

Mark Lebbell, guitar and vocals and daughter, Mari Nielsen, violin and maybe vocals.

After the break Shelley Harrison Rae will read a short set of poetry. Then get ready for Sh-Boom, the high energy vocal group. They will be introducing their newest singer, Ron Leclercfor – his inaugural gig supported in

the fun by Mike Weber, Colin Mailey, Boyd Norman who is also playing guitar, and accompanied by Sacha Fassaert, guitar and Barry Taylor on drums. Joining them will be very special guest vocalist Maddy Weber.

Tickets are $15 at the door.

Doors open at 6:45pm.

Submitted

be visiting the Gibsons & District Public Library from 11:30am to 12:30 pm, then will present at the Sechelt Library 2:30-3:30 pm. Both presentations will feature a slide show of Christina’s illustration portfolio, followed by some storytelling and the chance for participants to experiment with a few of Christina’s favourite doodling exercises. She says that if you ask her nicely, she might even put on a costume and draw for you.

Her presentations will be enjoyed are especially intended for picture book enthusiasts from kindergarten to Grade 3. If your little one loves to draw and wants to be inspired to draw or write more, sign them up by calling either library (Gibsons 604886-2130, Sechelt 604-8853260). Space is limited.

Submitted

Award-winning novelist Kathy Page is reading at the Arts Centre in Sechelt on March 7. PHOTO SUBMITTED

The bicycles of Colombia In 2019, TraC board member Nick Smith spent three weeks in Medellin, Colombia where he learned about its recent transformation, and documented many of the features which make it the vibrant city that it is today.

Smith will discuss his visit Wednesday, March 4 at the Gibsons Public Library from 6-7pm. (And TraC director Martin Prestage is currently cycling in Colombia and hopes to join us for a live report direct from Medellin.)

While in Medellin, Smith rode buses, subways and gondolas, obtained a Civica

card so that he could ride the free bicycles which are part of the Metro system, took part in Cyclovia – a Colombian version of car-free Sundays – took a guided cycling tour of the city, visited the famed “library parks”, and walked the many pedestrian thoroughfares which have now become commonplace in Medellin.

The Sunshine Coast is not a major metropolis, but we can still think big. Join us for a short slide presentation and follow-up discussion. Come and contribute your own ideas. Submitted

You writing about you and your work How do you find ways to write in a compelling and concise manner about your work? What are the questions and ideas you place alongside your work, so that you convey your practice in meaningfully and relevant ways?

The Sunshine Coast Arts

Council presents a free professional development workshop March 5, 2-4pm at the Arts Centre in Sechelt.

Pre-register at sunshinecoastartscouncil.com.

This workshop will focus on ways to develop questions, statements and ideas about your work that help

open it up to others who are not familiar with your work.

You will be asked to bring in a current statement about your work as a starting point, and through a collaborative, guided process, you will leave with some concrete ways to strengthen it.

Submitted

A pastel work called “Breaking Light” by Louise Valentine is currently on display at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery. Valentine writes: “The texture of pastel ground on paper and the intense quality of pure pigment in a stick of soft pastel allows for the interplay of colour to create an illusion.” The exhibit continues until March 8. PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 17

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BC Ferries has been named one of BC’s top employers for the fourth consecutive year. The award recognizes companies that offer exceptional workplaces for their employees by providing forward-thinking and progressive programs. BC Ferries works to create a positive environment for its employees who are focused on delivering great service to customers every day.

Many BC Ferries employees have worked their way up through the company, starting in entry level positions and taking on new opportunities. The varied departments, team atmosphere and some of the most beautiful views in the province start many people on a marine career path.

“I met a BC Ferries Cap-

tain when I was 14 who gave me a bridge tour and set me on my own personal course.

Since that time, I’ve grown and learned so much at BC Ferries,” says Captain Erika Brockhausen, Master at Tsawwassen. “I’ve enjoyed gaining the skills to successfully lead a team and positively influence others. You are not limited working at BC Ferries because there is so much opportunity.”

The BC’s Top Employer award – by the Vancouver Sun and Mediacorp – evaluates companies on several criteria, including physical workplace, work atmosphere, health, financial and family benefits, vacation time, employee communications, performance management, training and community involvement. At BC

Ferries, initiatives that support work-life balance are complemented by a health and wellness program that encourages employees to develop healthy habits with their teams.

BC Ferries continues to adapt to the changing needs of the workforce and to improve offerings and initiatives that support a positive work environment. The BC’s Top Employer award is an annual competition that recognizes the best places to work in BC. BC Ferries is currently hiring for a number of seasonal positions at many locations.

For more information check out all the opportunities at: bcferries.com/about/employment.

Submitted

Michael O’Connor Astrologer

Why ferry workers are so happy

Homeless count on March 6 ing of homelessness in BC. This information will be used to improve supports and services, measure progress in addressing homelessness and increase public awareness.

“Homelessness in BC continues to be a struggle for people, and the barriers that they face vary in different communities,” said Shane Simpson, minister of social development and poverty reduction. “Our second provincial homeless count is a way that, together, we can get a clearer understanding of what homelessness looks like in order to better support some of the most vulnerable people in BC.” Submitted

Aquarius (Jan 20– eb 19) Your focus is strong, yet your confidence may be wavering. This complex influence will continue for about another week. Then you should experience a break in the clouds and see the blue sky through it.

This peek of inspiration and hope may not last long, just enough to restore your confidence. So, be on the watch for it and any other such synchronicities.

Pisces (Feb 20 – Mar 20) Although you may still be in the early stages, you have begun to take some initiatives towards activating a healthier flow. This could pertain to your energy levels and lifestyle rhythms as well as to stimulating new streams of income.

This trend will continue and will increase throughout March. For now, direct your focus on breaking through inner blocks and resistances. michaeloconnorastrologer.com

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72. Insect 73. Warble 74. Scorch 75. Recount 76. Condition 77. Expect with desire DOWN

11. Particle 12. Strong cord 15. Detection instrument 21. Young male horse 25. Challenge 27. Decimal base 28. Ethereal 29. Doctrine 30. Aromatic wood 31. Desperate 32. Ahead of time 34. Adult insect 35. Chocolate tree 38. Part of the ear 40. Writing table 42. Asian

44. Type of horse 47. Novel 49. Legal document 52. Refund 54. Whitener 56. Automaton 58. Float on air 59. Strong and healthy 60. Spool 62. Deposit of valuable ore 63. Finished 65. Reverberation 66. Snare 67. This place 70. Type of hard wood

1. Poultry 2. Comply with 3. Bellow 4. Sheep with high quality fleece 5. Affirmative 6. Apiece 7. Chills and fever 8. Renegade 9. Unmarried man Solution page 18 Courtesy of: puzzlechoice.com 10. Currency

Your first choice in foods Trail Bay Centre • 5755 Cowrie Street, Sechelt • Meat & Deli 604-885-9812 • Produce & Floral 604-885-9841 • Bakery 604-885-9823 • Office 604-885-2025

CALLY OW LO

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peoples.

Community agencies in Sechelt, Gibsons, and Roberts Creek are participating in the provincial homeless count.

This one-day count will take place in Sechelt, Gibsons, and Roberts Creek on March 6. On Count Day, volunteers will be assigned to teams of two to who will survey individuals experiencing homelessness by walking pre-determined routes through Sechelt, Gibsons, and Roberts Creek, and/or working at stations at designated community agencies. If you want to volunteer contact ele_molnar@ sunshine.net.

Data from the counts will provide a better understand-

New Moon in Aries, in later March.

Sagittarius (Nov 22–Dec 21) You have entered an interesting cycle. On one hand, you may feel more peaceful within. On the other hand, you may be contending with your confidence levels of vacillating especially du to unsettled emotions. This is actually a good time to quiet your mind and to be receptive to guidance coming both from within and without.

Capricorn (Dec 22–Jan 19) Mercury is now deep into its retrograde cycle in Pisces. For you, it is possible that it is proving to stimulate your imagination to see things with a whole new quality of clarity, actually.

However, this will not be the case if you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself.

If so, you may be dealing with depression. An attitude of gratitude is the key to liberate you from that prison.

A

To better understand local issues to help municipalities and local organizations best support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, government is conducting a second provincial homeless count.

The Province is partnering with the Homelessness Services Association of BC (HSABC) and BC Housing to complete 16 community counts throughout the province in March and April.

Government has provided $900,000 to support the community counts, pilot an extended count in two communities and support additional research on homelessness among Indigenous

right for such feelings and actions.

Virgo (Aug 24 – Sep 22) Yearning for peace and harmony in your relationship life is extra strong now.

The challenge, however, may not so much be how you are engaging others but how they are engaging you.

As eager as you are to bring about peace which may include attempts to pacify the situation with lovely words and even noble actions, you are challenging to adhere firmly to what you deem to be true and wise.

Libra (Sep 23 – Oct 22) Feeling as whole and healthy as you would like is in the spotlight. Whole healthy includes a weave of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance and flow. How you define these terms is the bigger question. Each must be translated into the reality of your life. Making efforts to clarify each will help you to know more precisely how to proceed.

Scorpio (Oct 23 – Nov 21) You are in a creative cycle. It may be that the activity is more in your mind as you dream and scheme about what is possible and the best ways to achieve your goals. However, this is probably not the best time to take full action. You are may still be in the preparation stages. The start date is probably after the next

YEARS

of service

E

D

alist. This means that you are fully aware of what aspects of your perspectives lean towards the ideal, towards that ‘should’ word.

You can feel proud that you see it at all and inspired by it too and even inspire others with it. Just make extra efforts to realize what leans toward the ideal and what towards reality.

Cancer (Jun 22 – Jul 22) Sometimes the circumstances of our experiences lead us into the wilderness, into feeling a little lost within it all, even though the setting is familiar. At such times, it is good to keep an open mind and to play along, more than try to assert a strong lead. This can also amount to simply observing without judgment or reaction. Such are paths to feeling peaceful despite the drama.

Leo (Jul 23 – Aug 23) Some rather deep changes are brewing within.

The implications of these may be quite evident, all a part of the larger flow.

Perhaps your perceptions and/or your interpretation or your attitude is changing. Maybe you are doing renovations of some kind.

In any case, the time is

100%

Tip of the Week: Of the 12 signs, Pisces is… unique. It is the most spiritual and non-attached of all the signs. Imagination, communion, and compassion are central to this archetype. The two fish apparently swimming in opposite directions is the lower, linear interpretation, can be better understood as one following the other in circular, rhythmic unity. This symbol reveals the essence of fish in a school united and moving as one, sharing in the same field of consciousness. As is true of all signs in duality, there is also the other side of the story. Negatively, Pisces can prove too otherworldly, escapist, hopelessly addicted, irresponsible, self-pitying, self-deceptive, over-imaginative, overly-idealistic and delusional.

It should be noted, that we are each a unique synthesis of all the 12 signs and the characteristics of a sign can be prominent in any other

sign, and even dominant, at times. So, deciphering who is strongly influenced by any of the 12 signs is not simply a matter of knowing the sun sign.

Aries (Mar 21 – Apr 19) Sometimes the urge is to go big, while at others it is to go home and then at others yet we feel pulled in both directions. It is this latter complex that produces the inner conflict seeking resolution. How you go about it is relative to you and your situation, yet it is there now and for you to reconcile. With awareness and strategy, you can probably have it all.

Taurus (Apr 20 – May 20) Okay, so some dreams are… dreamier than others. You may be having this experience now. However, having a dream at all is already wonderful, if you can simply allow for it to exist without attachment or feeling pressured to take immediate action. This is not to say you will not take action at all. Take your time and enjoy the dream as an end in itself.

Gemini (May 21 – Jun 21) It’s okay to be an idealist.

Yet, it can prove especially helpful to be a realistic ide-

Horoscope

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020 19

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20

The Local - Thursday, February 27, 2020

BUY MORE, SAVE MORE

COOK UP THE

SAVINGS

Buy 3 qualifying appliances, save an extra $300*

FEBRUARY 27 – APRIL 1, 2020

Buy 4 qualifying appliances, save an extra $500*

on qualifying KitchenAid ® major appliances*

Buy 5+ qulaifying appliances, save an extra $750* * Offer valid only at participating Canadian authorized KitchenAid ® appliance dealers.

See Sales Associate for details and list of qualifying models.

KRFC300ESS

KDTM404KPS | KDFM404KPS

KFGC506JPA

KVWB406DSS

REG PRICE $3,199

REG PRICE $1,599

REG PRICE $6,499

REG PRICE $1,449

36" Counter-Depth French Door Refrigerator, 20 cu. ft.

44 dBA Dishwasher in PrintShield™ Finish with FreeFlex™ Third Rack

36'' Smart Commercial-Style Gas Range with 6 Burners

36" Wall-Mount, 3-Speed Canopy Hood

• ExtendFresh™ Plus Temperature

• FreeFlex™ Third Rack

• Even-Heat™ True Convection

• Perimeter Ventilation

• LED Interior Lighting

• Two 20,000 BTU Ultra Power™

• LED Task Lights

2,299

1,299

$

Management System

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$

• Advanced Clean Water

Wash System

5,449

999

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$

Dual-Flame Burners

• 5,000 BTU Simmer & Melt Burner

• 3-Speed Fan Control

* Additional savings will be deducted at the time of purchase in the amount of $300 (after taxes) when you purchase three (3) qualifying KitchenAid® Major kitchen appliances or additional savings of $500 (after taxes) when you purchase four (4) qualifying KitchenAid® Major kitchen appliances or additional savings of $750 (after taxes) when you purchase five (5) or more qualifying KitchenAid ® Major kitchen appliances. To qualify, multiple appliances purchased must consist of one model only per appliance sub-category. Duplicate models do not qualify. Multiple purchases must be made at the same time from the same participating authorized Canadian KitchenAid dealer.

GST/HST/QST and provincial sales tax (where applicable) are included in the additional savings amount. Qualifying purchases must be made between February 27 April 1, 2020. Open to Canadian residents only. Offer cannot be combined with any other KitchenAid® appliance offer. Offer is not available to second channel, dealers, builders or contractors. All models may not be available at all dealers. No substitute models qualify. Dealer prices may vary. Dealer alone has sole discretion to set retail prices. Offer excludes discontinued models. ®/™ © 2020 KitchenAid. Used under license in Canada. All rights reserved.

SEE SALES ASSOCIATE FOR DETAILS SPACE LOGO AND LIST OFFOR OTHERDEALER QUALIFYING MODELS

& INFORMATION

www.sscapplianceandmattress.com

Come visit us in our beautiful showroom today!

5501 Inlet Avenue, Sechelt, BC • 604-885-5141