Why not electric?

Cranbrook City Council is undergoing the review of its five year financial plan.  There are scheduled replacements for trucks in that review along with the issue of 'carbon offsets'.  We wonder if the city has considered electric vehicles for some of these new purchases.  We have posted several articles about municipalities across Canada who have invested in electric vehicles and wonder if they might be suitable here and if not considered suitable why that would be? Would a 'cute vehicle' have difficulty with our winter roads and would it be possible to do something about that?  Would a vehicle such as this be suitable for a position such as a bylaw officer?

Thursday, February 17, 2011


Ucluelet Plugs Into Electric Vehicles

By Canadian Electric Vehicles
UCLUELET - The District of Ucluelet has purchased two new electric trucks to help reduce their carbon footprint. Ucluelet joins many other BC communities who are moving towards using clean electric vehicles to replace fuel burning fleet vehicles which emit, on average, 4.37 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Community of Ucluelet Mayor, Eric Russcher, based his decision to purchase the electric utility trucks on the fact that they are “Economically viable, environmentally friendly, reduces our carbon footprint, efficient and to top it off they are cute. We have found a true win-win situation.”

The Might-E Trucks Ucluelet purchased are manufactured on Vancouver Island by Canadian Electric Vehicles (CEV) who has been supplying electric solutions to municipalities, governments and businesses around the world for the last 21 years. CEV owner Randy Holmquist says, "It is only the last two or three years that we have seen growth in our Canadian sales but it's a significant increase this year. As communities struggle to reduce their green house gas emissions they are realizing the benefits of replacing dirty fuel burning trucks with clean electric ones" Holmquist is pleased that communities like Ucluelet choose to purchase from a local Canadian company – something which is good for the Vancouver Island economy and good for the Canadian economy.

Conflict of Interest

Definition of Conflict of Interest - a conflict between the private interests and the official responsibilities of  a person in a position of trust

Carmen Purdy was the chairperson of the Urban Deer Committee which advised the City about our urban deer and recommended a deer cull. This was obviously a very controversial decision and is still reverberating throughout the East Kootenays.  No matter what side of the issue one is on, it is our understanding that Mr. Purdy did a steadfast job at guiding the committee through its many meetings and mountains of information. When it became known that Mr. Purdy was awarded the contract to cull the deer concerns were raised about the process. Should the Chairperson of the committee which made the decision to cull the deer then go ahead and profit from that decision? In all fairness Mr. Purdy did offer to resign from the committee when he put in his bid for the contract. However, it is our understanding that Mr Purdy was advised by a 'city employee' that he did not have to resign. It was not until newly elected Mayor Wayne Stetski heard that Mr. Purdy had won the contract for the deer cull that Mr. Purdy again offered to resign. To be clear, the committee that Mr. Purdy chaired, did not make the decision regarding the awarding of the contract.  Mr. Purdy, by offering to resign, seemingly recognized what a possible conflict of interest it would be but it is of concern that an employee of our City did not see that this very controversial decision required more than the letter of the law. As long as committee members have the opportunity to profit from their decisions, any decision they make will be called into question. The City needs to ensure that the decisions will be above reproach. Even the appearance of Conflict of Interest is unacceptable .

Sidelining Sidewalks

In March of 2011 Macleans published an article by Tom Hanson titled 'Down Shovels: the city should clear the sidewalks'
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/17/down-shovels-the-city-should-clear-the-sidewalks/

Downing shovels completely would not encourage personal responsibility or health but the article does raise interesting points.  The article was mentioned at a Cranbrook Council meeting a year ago and here we are again, discussing the same issue and this happens year after year.  By the time we get around to making the situation better, maybe climate change will have solved the problem for us.  Of course the major impediment to seeing this happen is always cost, no surprise, so we have posted a poll to the side of this post to see what you think.

An excerpt from the Macleans article:

No Canadian city would ever expect residents to keep the roads in front of their houses clear of snow and ice for the benefit of cars and buses. Yet Vancouver residents are expected to have their sidewalks cleaned for pedestrians by 10 a.m. daily. Saskatoon gives its citizens 24 hours to get the job done. Numerous other cities, including Edmonton, Windsor, Ont., Hamilton, Kitchener, Ont., and Waterloo, Ont., have also off-loaded responsibility for sidewalk shovelling onto residents, although Calgary appears to be breaking new ground with its demand that citizens shovel the path behind their house as well as the sidewalk out front.

Curiously, many other Canadian cities, including Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton and the majority of Metro Toronto, manage to keep sidewalks clear as part of their routine duties. Sidewalks may be lower on the priority list than roads and bridges, but the effort is there. So what explains this snowy divide?

Cities that require citizens to do their own shovelling frequently cite the heavy cost of sidewalk clearing and limited budgets. But sidewalk plowing appears to be one of the great bargains of municipal governance. Winnipeg, for example, manages to keep its sidewalks free from snow and ice for $2 million a year, or less than $7 per household. Try finding a teenager willing to shovel your driveway just once for $7, let alone a whole season.

Isaman Convicted of Failing to File Income Tax Returns

Special to The Cranbrook Guardian

Sheldon Isaman, a well- known Cranbrook businessman and developer, was fined a total of $9,000 in Cranbrook Provincial Court Jan. 18 after pleading guilty to nine counts under the federal Income Tax Act.

Charges first appeared on February 3^rd of 2011 and following a number of court appearances since then, this case has finally come to conclusion.

According to a press release issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Isaman failed to file his 2005 to 2007 personal income tax returns as well as his corporate tax returns for Summit West Investments (2002) Inc. for the 2005 and 2006 taxation years and the 2002 to 2005 taxation years. Isaman was fined $1,000 on each count for a total of $9,000.

Isaman was given until Jan. 18, 2013 to pay the fine and the outstanding returns have since been filed, said CRA Communications Manager Dave Morgan. When people are convicted of failing to file tax returns they must still file their returns and pay the full amount of taxes owing plus interest as well as any fines the court may impose, Morgan said.

Isaman currently has a large residential development proposal before the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) for approval. The 2,400 acre parcel was also part of the controversial East Hill development project proposed for Cranbrook in August 2007, but fell through after a city boundary expansion application to accommodate it was defeated by 35 votes in a hard fought and divisive referendum campaign in November 2009.

Cranbrook lawyer Natalie Hebert, who represented Isaman in court before Provincial Court Judge Grant Sheard, said her client had nothing to say about the matter. “I can advise at this time Mr. Isaman has no comment.”

The matter was originally scheduled for disposition Jan. 19, but was moved ahead a day to Jan. 18 when Isaman pleaded guilty.

Thinking about Literacy

Friday January 27th was Family Literacy Day.  Education Minister George Abbott and MLA Bennett toured several Cranbrook Schools that day.

When Minister Abbott spoke to primary students at Gordon Terrace Elementary School on Family Literacy Day, he asked if any had listened to a rap by Julian Smith titled, ‘I’m reading a Book’. He even quoted a few lines in rap rhythm and received an ovation for doing so. It was interesting that none of the students raised their hands when asked if they knew this song and the ovation would indicate most parents also were oblivious to it..


After posting the video for a few hours we received the lyrics from a teacher with a discriminating ear and some good critical thinking skills. On first listen, it is easy to dismiss the song as just a gimmick and tune it out if it is not your taste in music.

We must wonder how closely the minister had listened to this song and whether he had just been fed some lines by staff. This song and its lyrics may be considered by some as one avenue for encouraging literacy with some students. However there are many ways, which dedicated teachers, parents and students are well tapped into. One of the more mature reading skills to learn is that of critical thinking. It is not so much the fact and fiction, which is difficult to evaluate in this song as maybe language. On the one hand offering a lure into reading but with a bullying overtone? Hmm. What do you think? Older students may well laugh at this but would young students?

If you wish to evaluate the song for yourself, apply some critical thinking skills and decide for which audience, it might be most appropriate, here it is. Lyrics can be downloaded easily through a search.

Skiing at South Star or Skating on Victoria

Whatever your outdoor excursion this Sunday be careful as you go.

Ski conditions are good at the South Star Trails

Walking conditions are not so good in parts of town

Join BBBS for Girls & Goals Fundraiser Luncheon

Submitted
Cranbrook, BC (January 24, 2012) – On February 14th join Big Brothers Big Sister of Cranbrook for their inaugural “Girls and Goals” fundraising luncheon. This luncheon is part of a National day of action in partnership with the Girls Action Foundation. GIRLS ACTION FOUNDATION is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting girls and young women to overcome barriers and reach their true potential. This is a great partnership for a great luncheon for women to share a delicious meal with awesome girls and talk about their personal and professional work experience. What are you doing personally, professionally and with your volunteer life that makes you tick? As grown ups how can we inspire the youth of today? For young women this will be an amazing opportunity to meet some cool women who have and are doing amazing things and who you can ask questions to about school, future plans, career goals! This luncheon is a fun and fabulous opportunity to meet some cool ladies, share some stories and learn from each other!

Tickets for the luncheon are $22 (which subsidizes the girls lunches). Tickets for are available by calling (250) 489-3111 emailing dana.osiowy@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca  or at 930 Baker Street, Cranbrook

VIP Day at GT

As part of Minister of Education, George Abbott's tour of Cranbrook's Schools on January 27th, Family Literacy Day,  he spent a few hours at Gordon Terrace Elementary School accompanied by MLA Bennett, where he observed several components of their literacy programs including the Sound Connections Program and the Eager Reader Club. Minister Abbott and members of his staff took time to listen to children read and also read to the Eager Readers and some of their parents and grandparents at a special luncheon in celebration of Family Literacy Day.

Sydney reads to Minister Abbott

Minister Abbott later moved on to Mount Baker School in the afternoon for a good look at a school that many hope will soon be replaced. He also visited Amy Woodland School.

Meetings were also scheduled with School Trustees, Parent Advisory Groups and members of School District No. 5 Administration.

Gordon Terrace Library, Principal Michelle Sartoral and Librarian Wendy Gook hosting Ministry Staff, parents, students and District Administration to their luncheon.



Kate serves up the 'special occasion' cake

 

More Family Literacy information can be found at:
http://abclifeliteracy.ca/family-literacy-day

Demographics Diverge for Cranbrook and Kimberley

Perceptions by Gerry Warner

"Two-thirds of everything."

Back in 1996, that’s how University of Toronto economics professor David Foot explained the power of demographics in a book that became a best seller, a rarity for the “dismal science” known as economics. “Boom, Bust and Echo.” The 313 page book was subtitled “How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift” and it sold more than 300,000 copies and remained on the best seller lists for years.

Foot explained how the “Baby Boomers,” the 32 per cent of the Canadian population born after World War II dominated Canada for three generations after the war but were now giving way to Generation X, the boomers’ children or “bust generation” which make up18 per cent of the population and hot on their heels the “Echo Generation,” 23 per cent of the population and now the children of the Digital Age.

Shown on a graph, the baby boomers look like a giant bulge going up a ladder swallowing everything before it. “A snake swallowing a rabbit,” was how Foot put it. But not everything is going their way because as the Baby Boomers now begin to enter their retirement years there are far fewer left behind them to support their relatively lavish life style. Neither Generation X or the Echo Children have the population or the inclination to keep mom, dad, grandma and grandpa in their comfortable cocoons as they go gently in the good night. And if they are unable to get the high-paying jobs and pay the taxes that keep both private and public sector pension plans afloat, where is the money going to come from?

What is needed is more people, of course. People that have jobs, pay taxes, contribute to pension plans and other social goods – and most important of all – people that produce more people, which is where the power of demographics come in. Simply put, if we stop making babies, which many of us have, there won’t be enough new tax payers coming along to support us in our Golden Years. And this is exactly the fate facing most prosperous, First World countries like Canada. At its best, such a scenario could lead to a slow but steady decline in living standards for everyone in the country, especially the elderly who are living longer all the time and are the fastest growing segment of the population. At its worst, it could lead to inter-generational conflict and who would want that?

So with all of this in mind, I was quite surprised and somewhat alarmed the other day when I came across the latest population estimates for B.C. municipalities from BC Stats Infoline, which works closely with Statistics Canada. BC Stats Infoline produces population statistics annually using a Generalized Estimation System (GES) based on health registrations and residential hydro hook-ups to gauge population growth from one year to the next. Municipalities all over the province use the figures for planning purposes in between federal census takings which take place every five years.

There are certainly some surprises in the latest GES figures. For instance, in the year ending June 2011, Kimberley’s population grew while Cranbrook’s declined slightly. In actual figures, Kimberley’s population in the year ending June 2011 increased from 6,646 to 6,883 while Cranbrook’s slipped from 19,117 to 18, 932 over the same period, a one per cent decline. Now who would have thought that? Certainly the population differences aren’t huge with either city but what’s important is the trend. In Kimberley, the trend is up. In Cranbrook it’s down.

We, of course, will have a better idea when the next national census is taken in 2015, but as far as the situation looks for Cranbrook now there are some dark clouds on the horizon. A city not growing is declining. There’s no real other way of putting it. It might be nice to just stay the same as Nelson has for so many years, but Nelson lacks room to grow unless they build up. And Nelson’s stagnation in the long run will lead to higher property taxes as the population ages and inevitably declines. That’s not the fate we want for Cranbrook.

Another disturbing figure in Cranbrook is the rental vacancy rate, which has climbed to 7.5 per cent, the last time it was measured by CMHC in the fall of 2011. This is up from close to zero in the 2008 – 2009 period but still well below the double digit vacancy rates of the decade preceding that. No reason to panic, but some cause for concern. As for reasons for our moribund growth situation, that will have to wait for a future column.

It’s Time to Recognize our Outstanding Young People

This February, JCI (Junior Chamber International) Kootenay will be awarding its 2nd Annual Outstanding Young Persons Award. The TOYP Award of JCI Kootenay recognize individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 who exemplify the best attributes of the world’s young people in the categories of accomplishment, achievement, contribution, innovation and leadership. Recipient(s) will be selected by a committee comprised of business, public, community and non-profit sector leaders and will be honoured at the Evening of Excellence on February 25, 2012.
Honourees selected in past by Junior Chamber International have represented the heights of progress in all human endeavours. Many have gone on to even greater achievements. All have continued to serve humanity in a great variety of ways. JCI Kootenay is a leadership organization of young people, ages 19 to 40, who live and work in the East Kootenay. The mandate of the organization and the members is in the importance of creating positive change in within the community and the world.

Completed submission forms are available for download on the JCI Kootenay Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/JCIKootenay

and are due by 4:30 pm on Friday, February 17^th, 2012.

For more information contact: Dana Osiowy (250) 489-3111 danaosiowy@gmail.com