Bowen Island councillors couldn't agree on when to reschedule the community opinion vote about a possible national park but they were almost unanimous in their decision to cancel the June 25 showdown with the electorate.
A split three-three vote defeated Councillor Nerys Poole's motion to postpone the vote until the municipal elections in November. She got the support of Mayor Bob Turner and Councillor Doug Hooper - fellow members of the national park council committee - but Councillors Cro Lucas and Alison Morse lobbied for August 20 and Councillor Peter Frinton didn't want to set an exact date.
By the end of the hour-long debate on Monday night, council agreed to Frinton's suggestion that they not set an exact date for the vote until after Parks Canada has released its revised concept plan for a national park. Frinton agreed to Hooper's "friendly amendment" requiring council to talk about the date of the community opinion vote within two weeks of receiving that plan.
Poole appeared to abstain from voting; the others were in favour of the motion.
The date change became necessary when Parks Canada announced that it would not be able to release the revised concept plan until late June. That would not give Islanders enough time to absorb the plan's concepts before the scheduled June 25 vote on whether there was general support for the park.
Interestingly enough, it was spectators at the meeting who first got to weigh in on when to hold the vote. There is a public comment session at the beginning of each meeting and several people signed up to address council. Most were there to request formal reassurance that the Mount Gardner dock not be included in any national parklands but the timing of the vote was also a matter of concern.
Fitch Cady says that if the park vote coincides with the municipal elections, the park issue will dominate the campaign. "The park issue can swamp us," he said. "It will become a single issue that will divide us."
He wanted an earlier vote, saying that once Parks Canada releases its concept plan "it's not that complicated" to decide whether it's a good plan for the island.
"What we need is resolution and decision. Your job is to get this process behind us and clear the election for other issues.... It's time to put a leash on the national park and get this over with."
Will Husby disagreed with rushing ahead. "A lot of thought has gone into this process and we have to continue to do this. The fact that Parks Canada is taking its time is not a negative thing. They're doing some things they've never done before... We need long, hard thinking and discussion; it's not a back and forth once because we're both learning from what the other side is doing."
Jean Jamieson said,
Jean Jamieson said, "I favour delaying referendum until the November election. It will give us time to hear more from Parks Canada and the specific way they'll accommodate the island's needs. It will give us time to read and evaluate the literature. It will save the municipality tax dollars because having two votes is expensive."
Don Youngson agreed. "What we have been demanding from Parks Canada is for them to get involved with the community and incorporate that into a conceptual plan, and then a plan in great detail. Typically that's done in three to five years and we've said we want it done before we vote. We've had a federal election that will put a stop work on Parks Canada activities, changes in provincial ministries and from the information we gathered, there's a large contingent that demanded more time 'you're jamming it on us.'
"This is a great opportunity to have more time and take pressure off them. This is a horrendous undertaking. It's multifaceted and we need time to look at it."
He also said that the municipality needed to save the $10,000 that it will cost to hold the vote. (Parks Canada, which has paid for nearly all of the process, will not pay for the community opinion vote.)
"The community is in dire straits financially," Youngson said.
Then it was councillors' turn to speak. Nerys Poole spoke first, saying that she saw Parks Canada's delay in releasing the revised park concept as a positive sign.
"I believe that what they're doing is considering the reports that they've received.... They've been given an awful lot of community feedback in the past month. I do believe there's a difference between establishing a national park where no one lives and one where people live. This is the first time they've initiated their urban engagement strategy. I'm in favour of giving them that time."
The three-member council committee did not think it was fair to hold the vote in summer. "People are away or they're not paying attention. As well, the closer it comes to the November election, the less it makes sense to hold a separate vote," she said.
"If we were to spend $10,000 in September when there's an election in November, I think it's financially irresponsible."
She also wanted it noted that very little municipal staff time has been spent on the national park vote. Mel Turner, who retired from a 30-year career with BC Parks and negotiated on the province's behalf when the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve was created, is advising council but his costs are picked up by Parks Canada.
"There's no truth to the statement that we're abandoning other issues," Poole added.
The province has said it will not sign off on a national park unless the park is supported by council. She said the national park will be an issue in November's election "but it will also be an issue of how do you see the process unfolding - will you insist on another vote, would you support a negotiating committee. As far as it taking up the election, it's an incredibly important issue for our island."
Corporate officer Kathy Lalonde says the process for the municipal elections begins in late August. "I do not have the staff resources to hold a community opinion vote in September or October. We would need to hire a contractor."
It would also "be a stretch" to hold the vote in July or August.
Councillor Morse said, "My druthers is we have the vote no later than August 20. There's still plenty of time if we get the information. There are a lot of people who are here in the summer who aren't here in the summer. You actually might be enabling more people to vote."
Councillor Lucas said he was "definitely against" a November vote. "I'm cognizant of the fact that Parks Canada made it clear there'd be no new substantive information, that things would progress after the vote. I see postponing the vote as having a very negative impact for the community as a whole."
He wanted to hold the vote when summer residents were here.
Councillor Frinton said, "the timeline has been largely driven by Parks Canada through [former minister of the environment Jim] Prentice who wanted an accelerated process. This is in contrast to the Southern Okanogan where they've been beating this about for six or seven years.
"There are two questions embedded here," he said. "Its entirely appropriate to not hold the vote on June 25. It's logistically impossible. The second question of when to hold the vote is premature. I don't think it's a good thing to combine it with an election. It does force an unnecessary focus on a single issue. There should be a vote when we're ready for a vote. Wait till we get the report to see if some of the most more complicated issues are addressed, such as vision for Crippen Park. I don't think it pleases anyone to go without a schedule but it's one I feel most comfortable with. To me it's far more important that we have good information. What we've asked for requires more."
Councillor Hooper said the two most senior Parks Canada people working on the Bowen Island feasibility study are retiring this summer. "They've got a practical issue and a turnover process that's going to have to pick up on all the recommendations we've made and build that team up again.
"We know Parks Canada needs time to engage with Metro Parks about Crippen Park. They haven't had time to attend to that piece. The reorganization of our federal and provincial government does have an impact. They have to get direction from their ministers. It could take some time for us to get some good answers. More complete information is what the community was asking for in advance of the vote."
Hooper disagreed with summer being a good time to vote. "All kinds of precedence with elections that the electorate is not happy to be consuming their holidays at that time. It raises more conflicts. Why would we layer more costs on."
But he liked the idea of holding the vote with the municipal election. "It divorces or uncouples the issues from the politicians. [Candidates] will have to say whether they support the outcome of the vote or not. The community opinion vote will give that set of seven politicians great clarity, which I think is a gift."
Lucas said, "This is a very complex issue and it will take a great deal of time to get answers. The time could be years. I don't think it's relevant to the date of the election. Once the vote is done Parks Canada will start the process of getting the details that we can negotiate on and refine. We're on the primary stage. I stand with earlier rather than later."
Mayor Turner support timing the vote with election. "The summer period is just inappropriate to conduct important business. The challenge of running it in the fall is a practical issue. We'd have to hire someone. It's a weak way to run an election....
"I haven't been persuaded that it would be a detriment to the election."
Frinton said, "we should be voting when we're ready to vote. There are detriments to doing it in the summer and detriments to having this go on. We've set two dates and they've both failed. Let's not set the date; let's wait until we get the information back."
The revised concept plan may provide sufficient clarity to hold the vote soon after its release, he said.
