quick response from Port Coquiitlam about tree removal

City Planning Division
Tel 604.927.5442
planning@portcoquitlam.ca

To Whom It May Concern

re: removal of mature trees at Terry Fox Library/Rec Centre site

The recent clear cut at the Terry Fox Library/Rec Centre site in downtown Port Coquitlam has once again reminded us that Port Coquitlam seems to have little regard for our heritage of mature specimen and habitat trees.

​​In my neighbourhood alone, dozens of mature conifers have been felled in the last few years. These trees provided habitat for numerous bird species, including the large but increasingly rare Pileated Woodpecker. Among the trees removed by the library this week were snags used for years by northern flickers for nesting.

Our mature trees contribute so much to the City. We have an opportunity here to be part of a global movement to protect habitats for a wealth of declining bird species and to enhance the livability of our City at the same time.(link: Green Infrastructure Metro Vancouver)

Please give priority to the protection and preservation of our mature trees and act to strengthen Port Coquitlam's commitment to better safeguarding those trees in future.

regards, Rhamona Vos-Browning
(sent Saturday March 11, 2017)

Good Afternoon,

The City has received a number of calls and emails from residents concerned about the loss of trees in the development of our new community recreation complex and asking questions about options for more trees to be retained.

The challenge of constructing a new and much larger recreation facility while keeping two ice rinks, the library and seniors’ spaces in operation during construction results in limited siting options for our new building.  While we recognize that meeting this challenge has a significant impact on the site’s trees, overall there are substantial benefits related to achieving a cohesive project design, meeting community needs, and retaining recreation and social activity spaces during the construction period. 

Once the building’s siting and access requirements were known, we carefully considered the potential for tree retention. Unfortunately very few of the trees not impacted by the construction are in a condition appropriate for retention.  It is normally possible to retain more trees along the edge of a development site, but we are unable to do this in part because most of these trees were subject to ongoing hydro line clearance pruning and have a poor structure and in part because the size of the complex results in its close proximity to property lines.  While only 7 trees can ultimately be retained, we will be relocating 17 trees (that have a high probability of survival) and replanting them off site.

New trees will be planted and we will be looking to ensure the future landscape plan includes the right trees in the right places.   We will also be phasing the removals, as we wish to leave trees standing as long as possible. 

For further information about the complex, including information about the site’s trees, please check out  www.portcoquitlam.ca\reccomplex.

Regards,
Penny Martin on behalf of Kristen Meersman P.Eng, MBA | City of Port Coquitlam
(Received Monday March 13, 2017)

more petty politics from the BC Liberals

The new BC provincial budget was tabled on February 16, 2016. In the budget, the Province of BC gives People with Disabilities a small increase to their disability benefits but there was a catch. The $77 per month increase is decieving, as it was tied to the cost of a person's transportation, effectively giving most urban recipents only a $25 increase - the first in nine years.

• People with disabilities will receive a $77 per month increase to their benefits.
• People receiving PWD benefits will no longer be able to purchase an annual bus pass for a $45 annual fee.
• The cost of the bus pass will go up from $0 to $52 per month, plus an annual $45 administration fee. 
• For people with a bus pass, the new change means a $25/month PWD benefit rate increase. After a nine-year rate freeze, this is an insult.

The Vancouver Sun article here
Sign the petition at Change.org

random science 13: Experimental Lakes Area and the Conservative attack on science

more Rick Mercer on YouTube
Experimental Lakes Area website

sign the petition here

from care2: "The Harper Government is trying to shut down a unique and world-renowned environmental research centre in western Ontario.

The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), sparsely populated with 58 small lakes and their drainage basins, has served as a facility for experimental and long-term ecosystem research since the 1960s. Because it's largely unaffected by human and industrial activity, it provides a natural laboratory for the study of physical, chemical and biological effects on the environment.

ELA is the one place in the world where the effects of mercury poisoning on a natural ecosystem could be tested, thus providing evidence needed to convince at least American regulators to finally force removal of mercury from coal-fired power plant emissions, which can save billions in annual health costs.

Canada, however, has not acted on this evidence, and the proposed funding cut would silence ELA for good.

Tell Canada to keep the ELA Research Centre Open!"

related posts: random science 10: Harper vs Science

Canada-China Investment Treaty

 (from: Green Party of Canada, October 11, 2012)

What Has Harper Done? 

On September 9th, Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed an agreement with China, the Canada-China Investment Treaty. The agreement was kept from the Canadian public and Parliament until September 26th, 2012, when it was quietly made public, tabled in the House of Commons. No press release. No technical briefing. The deal is set for automatic approval. No vote or debate will take place in the House. Once tabled in the House, the clock started ticking. 21 sitting days from September 26 (October 31), this treaty will bind Canada.

Red Carpet for China
 
So what is the Canada-China Investment Treaty? Simply put, it is the most significant trade agreement signed by Canada since NAFTA. Only this time our “partner” is the communist government in Beijing, an authoritarian regime with an appalling record on human rights –and it isn’t getting better. This deal requires that Chinese government-owned companies be treated exactly the same as Canadian companies operating in Canada. Once in force, it lasts a minimum of 15 years. If a future government wants to get out of it, a one year notice is required – and even once the treaty is cancelled, any existing Chinese operations in Canada are guaranteed another 15 years of the treaty’s benefits.


We at the Green Party of Canada believe there are many flaws in that agreement. And we think Canadians should know about them:

 

1. Open bar for Chinese state-owned enterprises

The Canada-China Investment Treaty means easier takeovers of Canadian assets, especially in the resource sector. In the context of the possible takeover of Nexen by the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), it is crucial that we collectively pause to consider the wisdom of granting Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) such an easy access to our natural resources.

 

2. The right for China to claim damages over Canadian laws

The Canada-China Investment Treaty allows Chinese companies (including state-owned enterprises) to sue the Government of Canada over decisions that can limit or reduce their expectation of profits. In treaty language, this is called “tantamount to expropriation.”  China can claim damages against Canada for decisions at the municipal, provincial, territorial or federal level.  Even decisions of our courts can give rise to damages. The damage claims start with six months of diplomatic negotiation. If that fails, damage claims move to arbitration – behind closed doors.

 

4. Secret hearings

The Canada-China Investment Treaty would allow Chinese investors to sue Canada outside of Canadian courts. Special arbitrators would take the decisions. These arbitrators, unlike judges, do not have secure tenures or set salaries. Their decision cannot be subject to judicial review. And the arbitrations are to be secret. Even the fact they are happening is to be secret.

 

5. Right to be heard

Only the federal government is allowed to take part in the arbitration process. Provincial governments or Canadian companies, even if their interests are affected, do not have the right to voice their concerns during the arbitration process.

 

6. China’s obsession for secrecy

The Canada-China Investment Agreement makes Chinese lawsuits secret . At any time, we will not know if we are being sued and who will decide the case. We will not know what our government is saying on our behalf. We will not know if Canada has been ordered to change government decisions. This is a complete U-turn for Canada who has always insisted on complete openness in investor-state arbitration, for example when signing the Canada-US-Mexico free trade deal.

 

7. Restrictions on our use of our own resources

The Canada-China Investment Treaty requires that if, in the future, Canada wants to conserve natural resources (fisheries, water, oil, uranium, forests --  everything is covered), and reduce Chinese access to these resources, we are only allowed to do so to the extent we limit our own use of those natural resources.

sign the petition here

email a letter to your MP here

civic pride: saws of glory

Today's cut - in prime nesting season - leaves us a little confused about the point of Port Coquitlam's significant tree bylaw. Perhaps, as a city worker quipped, its because trees don't pay taxes. 

We thought this group of conifers adjacent to Donald ElksPark was covered by Port Coquitlam's 'significant trees' bylaw, keeping it safe for nesting birds at least until August, when nesting season ends.

The contractors arrived this morning, however, armed with a City permit allowing the cut, including a Western Red Cedar over a meter in diameter and more than 100 years old (and in which a pileated woodpecker had been foraging an hour before).

Property at 2220/2212 Kelly St., Port Coquitlam, BC, under development by Kerkhoff Construction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^^pileated woodpecker foraging on the 100 year old Western Red Cedar
shortly before the cutting crews arrived. (photo credit for pileated photo: CJW Vos)

^

 

 

Port Coquitlam Tree bylaw

Migratory Birds Convention Act

update 1: before and after 

The row of remaining trees, on the Donald Elks Park side of the fence, no longer forms a grouping. There are now wide gaps between the trees, and their north sides are largely bare, making them poor nesting trees for smaller bird species. They are seriously vulnerable to wind and that threat will only increase when the interlocking roots are severed from the stumps of the cut trees. Within ten years, it's likely that additional development and wind damage will further reduce the number of mature trees in the park, changing it's private, intimate nature.

The loss of these trees will affect bird life in the area - larger owls and pileated woodpeckers, among others, need mature trees. A planting of ornamental maple saplings isn't habitat and doesn't come close to 'replacing' the cut trees.
Local birds have lost a viable pocket habitat, and us humans have lost another chance to observe the natural world in our downtown core.

update 2:

Three houses remain along the northeast boundary of Elks Park. When the lots are ultimately developed, the trees growing there will face summery removal. But, consider: twelve trees (one maple and eleven conifers) grow along the shared boundary. All but one are outside the Park, on private property.

If you're a Port Coquitlam resident and you care about this, consider signing the petition below, or write (Please, be respectful)
the Mayor:
Mayor Greg Moore
3rd Floor, City Hall, 2580 Shaughnessy Street
Port Coquitlam, BC   V3C 2A8
Tel 604.927.5410/Fax 604.927.5331
Email mooreg@portcoquitlam.ca

or (Please, be respectful)
the Councillors:
City of Port Coquitlam
2580 Shaughnessy Street
Port Coquitlam BC  V3C 2A8
Tel  604.927.5410/Fax  604.927.5331 Check out this page for names and email addresses.

-note: the on-line petition is now closed

welcome to Uganda: death penalty for “serial" gays

from AVAAZ:

In 48 hours, the Ugandan Parliament may vote on a brutal new law that carries the death penalty for homosexuality. Thousands of Ugandans could face execution -- just for being gay.

We've helped stop this bill before, and we can do it again. After a massive global outcry last year, Ugandan President Museveni blocked the bill's progress. But political unrest is mounting in Uganda, and religious extremists in Parliament are hoping confusion and violence in the streets will distract the international community from a second push to pass this hate-filled law. We can show them that the world is still watching. If we block the vote for two more days until Parliament closes, the bill will expire forever.


... Being gay in Uganda is already dangerous and terrifying. They are regularly harassed and beaten, and just months ago, gay rights activist, David Kato (pictured above), was brutally murdered in his own home. Now LGBT Ugandans are threatened by this draconian law which imposes life imprisonment for people convicted of same-sex relations and the death penalty for “serial offenders”. Even NGOs working to prevent the spread of HIV can be imprisoned for “promoting homosexuality” under this hate-filled law.

Right now, Uganda is in political turmoil -- in the wake of the Arab spring, people across the country are taking to the streets, protesting high food and gas prices. President Museveni has responded by violently cracking down on the opposition. This upheaval has provided religious extremists in Parliament the perfect chance to slip in the shelved anti-gay bill just days before Parliament closes and all proposed laws are wiped from the books.

Museveni backed away from this bill last year after international pressure threatened Uganda's aid and support. With violent protests sweeping the streets, Museveni is more vulnerable than ever. In the next 48 hours, let’s build a massive international outcry in support of respect for human rights, justice and tolerance and against the gay death penalty. Together we can save lives by stopping this bill -- sign below, then tell friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl

Earlier this year, we stood in solidarity with Uganda's equality movement to show that every human life, no matter what creed, nationality or sexual orientation, is equally precious. Our international petition condemning the gay death penalty law was delivered to Parliament – spurring a global news story and enough pressure to block the bill for months. When a tabloid newspaper published 100 names, pictures and addresses, of suspected gays and those identified were threatened, Avaaz supported a legal case against the paper and we won! Our community has funded security for gay rights activists and operational funding for gay rights organizations. Together we have stood up, time and time again, for Uganda’s gay community -- now they need us more than ever.

With hope and determination,

Emma, Iain, Alice, Morgan, Brianna and the rest of the Avaaz team


SOURCES:

Ugandan lawmakers hold hearings on anti-gay bill
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article

Uganda gay activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera hailed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13278374

Pulling Out All the Stops to Push an Antigay Bill
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/world/africa/14uganda.html

corrective rape: how South Arfica 'cures' lesbians

link to avaaz.org petition to stop 'corrective rape'

from AVAAZ.org... "South Africa, often called the Rainbow Nation, is revered globally for its post-apartheid efforts to protect against discrimination. It was the first country to constitutionally protect citizens from discrimination based on sexuality. But in Cape Town alone, the local organization Luleki Sizwe has recorded more than one 'corrective rape' per day, and impunity reigns.

'Corrective rape' is based on the outrageous and utterly false notion that a lesbian woman can be raped to 'make her straight', but this heinous act is not even classified as a hate crime in South Africa. The victims are often black, poor, lesbian women, and profoundly marginalised. But even the 2008 gang rape and murder of Eudy Simelane, the national hero and former star of the South Africa women's national football team, did not turn the tide. And just last week Minister Radebe insisted that motive is irrelevant in crimes like 'corrective rape.'...  excerpt from AVAAZ


SOURCES:

Blog of Luleki Sizwe, South African organization leading the call to their government to stop 'corrective rape', and provides support to victims
http://lulekisizwe.wordpress.com

Minister of Justice Radebe’s nationally televised interview (South African Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkx-PYqHM0U

Protest against ‘corrective rape’ (The Sowetan)
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/01/06/protest-against-corrective-rape

Petition launched on Change.org by activists from Luleki Sizwe
http://humanrights.change.org/petitions/view/south_africa_declare_corrective_rape_a_hate-crime

"South Africa's shame: the rise of child rape" (The Independent)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-africas-shame-the-rise-of-child-rape-1974578.html

"Exploring homophobic victimisation in Gauteng, South Africa: issues, impacts, and responses" (Centre for Applied Psychology, University of South Africa)
http://www.avaaz.org/out_ucap_gauteng_study

"We have a major problem in South Africa" (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/18/south-africa-murder-rape

"South Africa: Rape Facts" (Channel 4)
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/south-africa-rape-facts

"Understanding men’s health and use of violence: interface of rape and HIV in South Africa" (Medical Research Council)
http://gender.care2share.wikispaces.net/file/view/MRC+SA+men+and+rape+ex+summary+june2009.pdf

"Preventing Rape and Violence in South Africa" (Medical Research Council)
http://www.mrc.ac.za/gender/prev_rapedd041209.pdf