Wednesday, February 2, 2011 Oliver Chronicle A5
NEWS
Nigel Gobelle photo
Land of the little people Crews from H&M Excavating have been hard at work on replacing irrigation flumes 6 and 7. This 48-inch PVC pipe is taking the place of the old flumes on the irrigation canal. The canal will be up and running for irrigation season in April.
Anti-poverty advocates discuss solutions to troubling issues Lyonel Doherty Oliver Chronicle (This is Part 2 of a two-part series on the poverty forum held in Oliver on January 13.) Some Oliver residents want to know what they can do about poverty’s crippling effect on communities. A panel of resource people tried to answer that question at the January 13 forum, which attracted about 80 people. Oliver Mayor Pat Hampson said the Town has land it is willing to use (at no charge) for affordable housing. He noted the Town’s intention was to establish an affordable housing project with the Kiwanis Club, but funding problems resulted in the project being shelved for a year. Hampson stated there is a misconception that local governments have unlimited power. The truth is the provincial government continues to download responsibilities onto municipalities, the mayor lamented. BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko didn’t dispute that. He recalled that women’s centres were funded by the government, but that is no longer the case; they must now rely on gaming grants and fundraising. “There are lots of blueprint solutions, but it’s a matter of finding the political will to make the right choices,” said Atamanenko, who pointed out that 870,000 people in Canada use food banks. Anti-poverty advocate Julie Nyikos said if the community doesn’t unite against this social problem, it will increase, and so will crime. She stated there is a fine line between being wealthy and being poor. “You can be affluent one minute and then poor (the next).” Theresa Nolet from Penticton said people can start addressing poverty by spending their dollars locally and supporting small business. You might pay a little more, but the money stays in the community, she pointed out. “The big corporations have a plan and we don’t. They will take every last dollar . . . we’re becoming serfs again.” This prompted a suggestion that people should start boycotting these corporations. One member of the au-
dience said people are revolting because of the revolting situation they are in. Linda Bartram from Oliver said people had the opportunity to do something by voting for the single transferable vote system, but they didn’t. This would have led to parliamentary reform, making government more accountable to the people who voted them in. Local resident Alex Milner said the problem is that everything is disappearing and heading to the United States, including lumber and manufacturing plants. “I have trouble putting gas in my car with the price of gas here,” said Milner, who noted he can buy a gallon of milk in the US for $1.99, and a turkey for 29 cents a pound. Brita Park from Oliver said people can have an immediate effect on poverty by supporting the local food bank. “You can be part of the solution in little ways.” Rhonda Bruce, regional vice-president of the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU), encouraged people to become educated and start lobbying their MLA. “Ask them what they stand for, and make sure everyone votes.” Bruce also encouraged everyone to set aside 15 per cent of their paycheques and then spend that money locally. Jim Ouellette from the Oliver food bank said it was community support that gave the food bank new digs. That proves that you can make things happen if you work together.
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