tofino-ucluelet westerly news, october 28, 2015

ANDREW BAILEYWesterly NewsSadness covered the Coast

on Sunday as a tragic whale watching disaster took at least five lives.

The 65-foot Leviathan II was carrying 24 passengers and three crewmembers when it capsized near Vargas Island around 3 p.m.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed four men and one woman died in the tragedy, all of them British nationals though two were residing in Canada.

The five ranged in age from 18 to 76 years old.

The vessel was located partially submerged about eight nautical miles from Tofino and thanks to the heroic efforts of professional and volunteer emergency

responders 21 survivors were accounted for.

Four survivors remained hospitalized on Monday though all were in stable condition, according to the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

One passenger was still missing at press time.

Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne told the Westerly she was devastated when she was notified of the disaster.

“There’s so much uncer-tainty at the initial stages you don’t know exactly what, where, when, how, who,” she said.

“Within minutes we began to hear informal reports and of course I couldn’t speak about those publicly, but we knew that deaths were

involved and that this was a real tragedy.”

Osborne expressed infinite gratitude to “all of the people that were involved in all the efforts to save as many people as possible,” particu-larly the volunteer rescue crews who came pouring in from Ahousaht.

“As soon as the reports went out on the marine VHF, the community of Ahousaht responded immediately and it’s my understanding that at least seven boats and about 30 individuals came out,” she said.

“The Ahousaht people know these waters better than practically anybody else so it’s suitable and appropri-ate and wonderful that they came out and did what they

did.”She said the West Coast’s

communities depend on each other when disaster strikes.

“That’s just the way things get done on the Coast,” she said.

“We are small coastal communities. We have our independent identities and lives within our communities but we all are connected by the ocean and when a tragedy like this strikes all differences are set aside and people come together to help.”

Countless locals volun-teered to help in any way they could both in the res-cue missions and in caring for those involved in the disaster.

See TRAGEDY pg. 2

Woman rescued after fall at WPT

October 28, 2015 Wednesday

INSIDETHIS WEEK:

Communities mourn together in disaster’s wake

ANDREW BAILEYWesterly News

The Ucluelet Volunteer Fire Brigade put their recently earned first aid certifica-tions to the test on Sunday when they helped rescue a woman who had fallen off the Wild Pacific Trail near the Amphitrite Lighthouse.

The woman dislocated her arm and was stuck in the rocks after tumbling down a roughly three-metre embankment, according to Ucluelet’s fire chief Ted Eeftink.

Eeftink said the brigade secured the woman into an emergency basket and used a low angle rope technique to pull her to safety.

“They stabilized her, put her in the basket and got her up to the ambulance as quickly as possible because she was in a fair bit of pain,” he said adding she was in an ambulance within an hour of emergency respond-ers arriving around 11 a.m.

He noted about 12 mem-bers of the brigade have received their first respond-er first aid certification since April, allowing them to assist the local BC Ambu-lance Service (BCAS).

“Everybody has gone heads-on with it, they’ve really gone forward with the whole program,” he said. “They’re motivated to help BCAS out as much as pos-sible because we realize we only have one ambulance here.”

See RESCUE pg. 15

LAND BOUGHT: Tofino has purchased Monks Point.

PAGE 3

GRADS CELEBRATE:USS’ graduating class of 1965 celebrated a reunion in Ucluelet. PAGE 4

SUP’S UP:Tofino hosted its second annual Paddle Surf SUP Invitational.

PAGE 5

| The Westerly News Wednesday, October 28, 2015

“It’s amazing to see the com-munity’s response at a time like this where everybody rallies and comes together and offers sup-port and expresses their love and condolences,” Osborne said.

Locals placed flowers at Tofino’s First St. dock and filled the Com-munity Hall for a district-hosted community potluck on Monday night.

“It’s really important after a tragedy like this that people have a place to get together to talk to each other, to console each other, to try to come to terms with what has happened, and simply to be in each other’s presence, to express their thanks and appreciation for each other and to let out some of the grief that we are all feeling for the victims and their friends

and their families and their loved ones,” Osborne said.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the incident and Osborne said the district would keep a keen eye on the Board’s findings but has other priorities to focus on first.

“We stand by ready to assist if needed but right now we’re focused on providing support

within the com-munity, helping coordinate counseling ser-vices and other support services as well as pro-viding support for our own first responders who were on the scene at the dock,” she said.

“Our thoughts and prayers and our hearts go out to everybody involved and the community of Tofino is here to support every-body involved in this terrible tragedy.”

Ucluelet May-or Dianne St.

Jacques said she has contacted Osborne to offer any assistance she could.

“That’s what we do on the West Coast, we respond as a unit together and support each other and that’s all we can do at this point in time, just offer our sup-port, our assistance, our apprecia-tion and our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the folks that lost their lives,” St. Jacques said.

“It is a tragedy. It’s just heart-breaking for everyone involved…It’s absolutely devastating.”

St. Jacques is the general man-ager of Ucluelet’s Waters Edge Resort where several of the catastrophe’s survivors had been staying.

“We had some guests that were on board the boat and they just returned this morning from the hospital,” she said on Monday.

“They were very understand-ably upset …they took their time getting their things together and headed out.”

[email protected]

Above, the search for one remaining unaccounted for passenger continued through Monday. Below, friends from Tofino, Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, and Ucluelet shared a moment of silence during the community gathering and potluck on Monday, Oct. 26 to show respect for the five British tourists that died in the whale-watching accident. Photos by Nora O’Malley.

DISASTER, continued from page 1

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aNDreW BaiLeYWesterly NewsTofino’s locally cherished

Monks Point property is officially in the community’s hands.

The district has purchased the property— 174 Grice Road—from The Land Con-servancy (TLC) for $250,000 in a three-player deal that included Carlyon Holdings relieving TLC of $1 million in debt.

Harold Monks bequeathed the property to TLC in 2008 with the belief that it would be maintained and preserved for the benefit of the local community but the conservancy filed for credit-

or protection in 2013 and began selling off its prop-erties in an effort to pay off roughly $8 million in debt.

Fearing Monks Point would fall into the hands of a developer who did not share Monks’ vision for its pres-ervation, Tofino attempted to purchase the property for $250,000 in July of 2014 but the TLC rejected this offer.

The district never eased up on its efforts to buy the land and this persistence paid off as Carlyon Holdings—one of several creditors the TLC is trying to pay back—agreed to relieve TLC of $1 million worth of debt if it sold the land to Tofino.

Before Carlyon would go through with the deal the company needed assurance that Tofino would preserve the land for the commun-ity’s benefit and asked the district to pass a bylaw designating Monks Point as a park.

Tofino’s municipal council agreed and passed the Park Dedication Bylaw during Oct. 13’s council meeting.

Tofino CAO Bob Mac-pherson told the Westerly News after the meeting that Carlyon had reached out to Tofino’s district office through the conservancy.

“We had a lot of back and forth with a lot of differ-

ent ideas and there was a lot of discussion about whether the property could be sold and should be sold and I think the more the land con-servancy folks learned about the particular property, the more motivated they were to see it not end up in a developer’s hand and to stay somehow with some kind of public

ownership,” he said. “It’s a pretty special piece

of land…It’s something that ought to be in the commun-ity’s hands and ought to be preserved for future genera-tions to enjoy as well.”

He said the $250,000 price tag was paid from money Tofino had invested in a park reserve fund designed for purchasing land and while the Monks Point pur-chase significantly depleted this fund, there was enough there to avoid taking out a loan.

“We did not borrow to do this,” he said.

He noted the park fund was launched several years ago when the district did not have Monks Point specific-ally in mind.

“It was for future oppor-tunities and this was the opportunity that presented itself,” he said.

He said the public’s input would be sought to figure out what the commun-ity wants to see the land become but no community consultation plans are in place yet.

“The ink is just dry on the deal. In the next few months we’ll be reaching out to the community to have lots of discussions about what the future of that property is,” he said.

He acknowledged main-

taining the land will come at a cost to the district but said it’s a cost the community was willing to pay.

“What we heard over-whelmingly from the com-munity is that this was something that was import-ant to the community to have in community owner-ship in perpetuity,” he said.

“There will be costs, I don’t believe it will be an undo burden on our community though.”

[email protected]

Tofino officially owns Monks Point

Tofino purchased Monks Point— 174 Grice road—from The Land conservancy (TLc) for $250,000. Photo andrew Bailey.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2015 The Westerly News |

Local voices

CAROLYN RUSSELL Local Voice

About a year and a half ago 3 of us Diane (Smith) Stokes, Sylvia Cole and Carolyn (Wadden) Rus-sell, members of the class of ‘65, discussed the idea of a reunion which would celebrate 50 years since our graduation.

Realizing the small size of our class it was decided to have it open to all years. Social media and the Internet provided an easy way to get the message out and the response was very positive.

The Black Rock Resort was chosen as the venue and the weekend of Oct.2nd and 3rd was the date.

Diane then took on the big job of keeping a record of those attending and collecting the

money. It became so popular that in the end she had to limit the numbers.

On the Friday night a Meet and Greet was held at the Eagle’s Nest Pub. There were 40 people there reminiscing about the “ good old days “ growing up in Ucluelet.

The staff at the Pub did an excellent job of delivering food and drinks to everyone as they moved around visiting.

Saturday night was the dinner/dance held at the Black Rock Resort a true jewel on the shore of the open Pacific.

A hundred people attended this wonderful evening. The class grad years ranged from 1954 to 1972.

One teacher attended, Mr. Roland Arnet, who spoke about his years teaching at the high

school.Dan Marriott, whose father was

one of the principals, showed a video he had made from year book pictures. It was thoroughly enjoyed with much laughter and comments on how we dressed and looked when we thought we were being “so cool”.

The tasty buffet dinner was fol-lowed by dancing.

Bill Meyer (Sylvia’s fiancé) provided us with the music—favourite songs from our era—for easy listening and dancing.

I feel confident in saying a great time was had by all.

Ucluelet was certainly shown at her best with such gorgeous sunny weather and everyone left with fond memories and thoughts that we were all lucky to have lived and grown up there.

As I sat on my balcony at the Black Rock on such a beautiful fall afternoon watching the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves I knew that even though I have traveled to many parts of

the world it doesn’t get any better than this.

Many thanks to Diane and her assistant Sylvia for a job well done.

Ucluelet hosts high school reunion

JEH CUSTERRALocal Voice

Salmon play an integral role for coastal livelihoods, cultures, and ecosystems in Clayoquot Sound. Celebrating this magnificent spe-cies is what inspired Friends of Clayoquot Sound to organize the Clayoquot Salmon Festival! The vision for the festival developed to offer residents and visitors an opportunity to reflect upon, and build an active appreciation for, the irreplaceable value of salmon in Clayoquot Sound.

The wild salmon appreciation week was timed to coincide with the return of the salmon on the coast. After the equinox, from September 23 – September 30, a variety of events were hosted in Tofino, with something for everyone, from elders to youth. Anyone who has witnessed sal-mon hurling themselves upriver and over obstacles during the spawn knows their tenacious drive to give life to the next gen-eration. In this spirit, the festival

kicked off with education games and activities kids and families. Tofino Nature Kids facilitated facepainting, salmon art, and necklace making, while a couple in bear costumes made their way through the Tofino Community Market outreaching to those in attendance.

In Clayoquot Sound, salmon are a keystone species supporting wildlife such as orcas, bears, and wolves and giving life to the old growth forests. They are also under significant stress in the environment from water pol-lutants and climate change. To generate continuing discussion about the issues facing salmon, the festival presented a documen-tary screening of “The Breach” as well as a speakers forum. The Clayoquot Sound Community Theatre was full for “The Breach” which follows fishing guide and filmmaker Mark Titus learns on a journey to discover why wild sal-mon populations have plummeted in the Pacific Northwest and what

might bring them back. Along the way, Titus unravels a trail of human hubris, historical amnesia and potential tragedy looming in mining, fish farms, and dams – all conspiring to end the most sustainable wild food left on the planet.

Presenters at the Voices For Salmon: Speakers Forum built upon this thinking. Dr. Brian Riddell delivered a presenta-tion on the most current science on the state of salmon. While Joe Martin, Tla-o-qui-aht master carver and guide, shared trad-itional teachings and accounts of how fish populations have changed in Clayoquot Sound over the generations. Lennie John gave on inspiring talk about his experi-ence leading the Warriors of Yaa-kswiis in evicting a new Cermaq fish farm from territory of the Ahousaht Nation, north of Tofino. Filmmaker, Nitanis Desjarlais, then emphasized the implications of declining salmon populations for food sovereignty, ecosystem

health, and future generations. Her 14 year old daughter, singer songwriter Kalilah Rampanen, then closed the presentations with bluesy acoustic protest songs about the impacts of fish farms and mining. The presenta-tions inspired community dis-cussion about how we can work together to support strong wild salmon on the coast.

A fundraiser co-hosted by Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks and Friends of Clayoquot Sound received over $2000 in funds from the commun-ity for local salmon conservation initiatives. Meanwhile, an art

exhibit called “Ocean Seasons” ran throughout festival featuring the works of coastal artists includ-ing Marika Swan, Carl Martin Sr & Jr, Claire Watson, and Allison Tremain. Events came to a close at Darwin’s Cafe with Something’s Fishy Performance Activism Expo celebrating actions to protect the salmon in community with story-telling, slam poetry, and music.

Jeh Custerra is the Friends of Clayoquot Sound Campaigner

FOCS celebrate Clayoquot Salmon Festival

Members of the Ucluelet Secondary School’s graduating class of 1965 returned to the community for their 50-year reunion. Photos submitted.

The Westerly News | Wednesday, October 28, 2015

NORA O’MALLEY Westerly News

Cox Bay was firing with dream conditions and Hawaiianess sunshine over the weekend as 84 competitors from across North America took to the water for the 2nd Annual Tofino Paddle Surf SUP Invitational.

In the Men’s Open SUP Division, 14-year-old Jeffrey Spencer from Maui earned himself the win

and the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2016 International Surfing Association (ISA) World SUP and Paddleboard Champion-ships in April.

The young competitor who holds dual Canadian-American citizenship beat out Tofino Paddle Surf team rider Marco Procopio, T’ashii Paddle School SUP guide Glen Pearson, and his little broth-er Finn Spencer, 12, in the final

heat of the day. “The start of the day was def-

initely big. You could get lots of turns in. By the end of the day it was pretty small and you had to work for your scores,” said Jeffrey Spencer.

“We all had a bunch of waves that were pretty similar, so I had no idea who was going to be first or who was going to be last. It could have been any order,” he said.

In the Women’s Open SUP Div-ision, Catherine Bruhwiler hand-ily SUP surfed her way to the top of the podium, beating out 18 female competitors.

“I learnt so much during the event, watching all the really good paddlers. The level of skill is so much higher than it was last year. The sport is progressing,” she said.

The win has also earned Bruh-wiler a spot on the Canadian Paddleboard team and an invita-tion to ISA World Championships. Whether or not she can actually

journey to the Worlds depends on financial backing.

“It’s quite an expensive trip, so if we can raise the funds or somehow if some company wants to come forward and help spon-sor the athletes, but the thing is we’re not professional athletes. We have to leave our jobs and use

our money, so it’s hard. Amateur sports are hard that way,” said Bruhwiler.

[email protected]

Canadian paddleboard team decided at 2nd Annual Tofino Paddle Surf SUP Invitational

RESULTS

OPEN MENS SUP

1. Jeffrey Spencer - Hawaii2. Marco Procopio - Tofino3. Glen Pearson - Tofino4. Finn Spencer - Hawaii

WOMENS SUP

1. Cath Bruhwiler - Tofino2. Diane Wenzel - California3. Nadia Baer - Ontario4. Mathea Olin - Tofino

AMATEUR MENS SUP1. Mike Redpath - Victoria2. Adam Schell - Vancouver3. Aaron Pilon - Ontario4. Chris Fawbert - Campbell River

MENS SHORTBOARD

1. Kalum Bruhwiler - Tofino2. Arlen Osborne - Australia3. Francis Bruhwiler - Tofino4. Andrew Sadler - Tofino

WOMENS SHORTBOARD

1. Cath Bruhwiler - Tofino2. Shandy K. - Tofino3. Mathea Olin - Tofino4. Joey Rukavina - Tofino

MIXED LONGBOARD

1. Robbie Ferguson - Tofino2. Andrew Sadler - Tofino3. Mathea Olin - Tofino4. Asia Dryden - Tofino

U16 BOYS

1. Kalum Bruhwiler - Tofino2. Reed Platenius - Tofino3. Jeffrey Spencer - Hawaii4. Finn Spencer - Hawaii

U16 GIRLS

1. Jasmine Porter - Tofino2. Sanoa Olin - Tofino3. Keanna Hasz - Tofino4. Serena Porter – Tofino

BODY SURF EXPRESSION SESSION

Zak CrossRiley Richards Marcel Gasparovic Peter Krak Lenka Rrakociova

Above, open men’s event winner Jeffrey Spencer, 14, will represent Canada at the 2016 ISA World SUP Games. Top right, solar powered and big smiles for SUP finalists Cath Bruhwiler and Mathea Olin. Photos Nora O’Malley.



Jamie’s Whaling Station held a press conference Monday after-noon to speak to Sunday’s tragic whale watching disaster that killed at least five of the 27 people on board the Leviathan II with one passenger still unaccounted for.

“As I’m sure you can appreci-

ate we’re still just beginning to get the details from what has occurred yesterday and our first priority is doing everything we can to assist our passengers, crew and the families of those of who have been impacted by this tragic incident,” said the company’s gen-eral manager Corene Inouye.

“I want to begin by saying that this has been an incredibly dif-ficult time for everyone involved

and our whole community. The safety and security of our passengers is our main con-cern and we are absolutely devas-tated by what took place on the water yesterday…This is a tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers go out to our passengers, crew and everyone impacted.”

She said the cause for the disaster is not yet known but

noted the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has launched an investigation and Jamie’s staff will assist in any way they can.

She said the Leviathan II was operating normally prior to its departure on Sunday and was nearing the end of a regularly scheduled stop at Plover Reef when disaster struck.

“To the best of our knowledge there was no distress call. From what we know at this stage it appears the incident happened so quickly the crew didn’t have an opportunity to send out a may-day,” she said.

She said flares deployed by the crew were seen by local boaters who raced to help.

“Local First Nations fishermen were the first to see (the flares) and rushed to the scene to come to the assistance of our passen-gers and crew,” she said.

She said the vessel’s skipper has over 20 years of local whale watching experience and the two other crewmembers have five and three years experience.

“All are licensed by Transport

Canada and go through rigorous training as well as biweekly safe-ty drills and exercises,” she said.

She thanked the West Coast community for its support.

“I want to conclude by giving our most heartfelt thanks to the entire community for their efforts, those on water, those on land, and the people who opened their hearts and homes to feed and clothe those in needs,” she said.

“We are all deeply saddened this has happened. Our sincerest thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by this.”

During the conference’s ques-tion period, the company’s owner Jamie Bray was asked how he was feeling about the incident.

“Traumatized would be an appropriate word,” he responded.

“I think the whole community has experienced the same emo-tions…We’re all traumatized.”

He noted the Leviathan II has completed the same route twice a day for 20 years without incident.

“This is an area that the boat goes to everyday,” he said.

“The crew is very well trained…

We just don’t understand and we won’t know the answers until the Transportation Safety Board finishes their investigations.”

He said he has not yet spoken with the Leviathan II’s three crewmembers about the incident.

“They got in off the rescue boats last night. They were cold, wet, and basically we let them do their thing…we haven’t really talked to them,” he said.

He said the vessel carries about 50 adult-sized life jackets and 20 children’s life jackets but that these are not always worn during the Leviathan II’s excursions.

“Transport Canada advises not to wear a lifejacket on a vessel with enclosed compartments. In the event of a sinking it would be very difficult to exit a vessel when you’re being held up onto the ceil-ing or the deck with a lifejacket on,” he said.

He said the capsized vessel’s engine was still running when emergency responders located it.

[email protected]

ANDREW BAILEYWesterly NewsTofino’s district office might

welcome a new employee next year.

Tofino’s Emergency Pro-gram Executive Committee has asked council to consider hiring a part-time emergency coordinator to develop and maintain local emergency

plans,

support volunteer-based programming and coordinate training.

Tofino held its first 2016 budget meeting on Oct. 20 and documentation from the meeting suggests the coordinator would earn about $25,555 per year.

The district has not had an emergency coordinator since Eric Graham left the position in 2013 and was not replaced.

Graham’s departure dropped the district’s emergency coordination responsibilities onto the desk of community sustainability manager Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers told the Westerly he would welcome a part-time coordinator because he’s only

able to commit about four hours a week to emergency programming.

“I think there’s too much work for it to be on the side of my desk. It would help improve the emergency pro-gram so that we’re prepared for when disaster strikes in any form of any size,” he said.

“We are prepared now but having someone who is com-mitted and on it will just make sure we’re that much more prepared…and the community can sleep at night knowing that someone’s tak-ing care of it.”

Rodgers said the import-ance of effective emer-gency coordination is often overlooked.

“No one cares about it until the day an earthquake hap-pens or a landslide happens,” he said.

“It requires energy and it’s just not the type of position that can be done off to the side of someone’s desk. I’d feel more comfortable if there was somebody who had eyes on it more often.”

Tofino CAO Bob MacPherson said emergency management would stay under Rodger’s community sustainability umbrella but the part-time employee would free Rodgers up to focus on other things.

“There will still be some management oversight required from Mr. Rodgers but I’m hoping it’s less time than he’s currently spending,” MacPherson said.

Tofino has put a keen eye on emergency management this year as the district launched a new volunteer position, with a $5,000 stipend, in June to put together a commun-ity-wide emergency com-munications strategy.

The position was awarded to Brent Baker.

“Brent’s doing a great job,” Rodgers said. “He’s out there in the community and I’m really pleased with what he’s been able to accomplish so far.”

Baker is putting together an emergency information bro-chure as well as a new evacu-ation map for the district.

[email protected]

Tofino mulls emergency coordinator

Jamie’s discusses tragedy at sea


Westerly LifeWesterly LifeWesterly Life

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Co-op brings haunted house to Ukee’s Halloween HowlANDREW BAILEYWesterly News

Ucluelet’s Oct. 31 Hal-loween Howl will fea-ture a haunted house thanks to the Ucluelet Co-op.

The district’s recrea-tion programmer KK Hodder was thrilled to partner with the Co-op to bring the haunted house back to Uclue-

let’s Seaplane Base Hall for the first time in four years.

“It should be a lot of fun, they’re really into it and we’re stoked to have them on board,” she said. “They have totally just taken the bull by the horns and it should be a lot of fun they have some really great ideas.”

The coop will also host a free BBQ.

An enormous bonfire will burn throughout the festivities and will be supervised by the Ucluelet Volunteer Fire Brigade who will also be setting off an impressive fireworks display around 8:45. [email protected]

Photos Andrew Bailey


SAVE THIS CARTOON! Have your youngster (up through age 12) colour this and bring it to either InStyle Snuggle Bunnies in

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and everyone gets a treat!

A woodpile is growing in Ucluelet’s Seaplane Base parking lot as locals are getting stoked to see the bonfire at Oct. 31’s Halloween Howl fesitivities. Tofino’s Halloween Howl event is set for the Village Green, read about it on page 10. Photo Andrew Bailey.

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Tuff howls for a good causeANDREW BAILEYWesterly News

Tofitians are getting set to get their scare on at this year’s Halloween Howl festivities in Tofino.

The event will run from 5-7 p.m. at the Tofino Village Green on Oct. 31.

“It’s a great community event. It’s good to see everyone out in their costumes and it’s a nice opportunity as well for us Parks

and Rec staff to be able to con-nect with all the kids,” said the district’s recreation program-mer Jess Towers.

“Sometimes we get kind of stuck doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes so it’s nice for us to be able to be out and see them all in their costumes and say, ‘Hi.”

The event is free but donations are encouraged as all the money raised goes to the recreation department’s Kids Access Fund,

which helps offset financial barriers for children wanting to participate in recreational programming.

Towers is hoping to see a large turnout at the event.

“I like seeing all the kids out. I love seeing them in their cos-tumes and just super stoked on being out,” she said.

[email protected]

Photo submitted


Note: This story was first published by The Westerly News on Aug. 25, 2011.

YASMIN ABOELSAUD

Westerly News

As Canadians mourned the loss of New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton Monday, promin-ent Liberal MP Justin Trudeau watched the waves in Tofino and thought about the value of life.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning [Monday]. We real-ly thought he was going to pull through. He’s such a fighter,” said Trudeau, who says he knew Lay-ton fairly well.

Trudeau has been on vacation with his family in Tofino for the past week. He spent most of the morning surfing.

“Watching waves is as close to meditation as I can get,” he said.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet, what Parliament is going to look like without him, especially since he [Layton] was the leader of the opposition.”

Trudeau is spending his last week of summer on Vancouver Island prior to his return to office next week.

And he is no stranger to the West Coast.

Trudeau’s first trip to Tofino was in the late 1970s with his mother Margaret.

“I have vivid memories of the trees twisted by the wind and the extraordinary expansive beach. It just blew me away,” he said.

“People think about Long Beach, California, or Long Beach else-where. For me, Long Beach has always been Vancouver Island.”

In 1970, Trudeau’s father, former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was photographed wearing a wetsuit and holding a surfboard on Long Beach.

“I’ve never seen that picture. That is awesome,” he said, after the Tofino–Ucluelet Westerly News showed him the Victoria Times Colonist archive photo. “I knew he surfed, but I never knew he surfed here.”

Trudeau said his father taught him how to body surf in the Caribbean. He also taught him how to paddle and read the waves.

During a 2006 trip to Tofino, Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gré-goire, picked up surf lessons with

local surfer Sepp Bruhwiler. He has loved the sport ever since.

Trudeau is an avid outdoor adventurer who has been white water rafting, snowboarding, and rock climbing, among other sports.

For his adventure destinations, Trudeau chooses local vacations.

“We focus on trying to make sure our vacations are spent out here,” he said.

“One of the things that I decided years ago was that in summer, I would take time with the kids to visit Canada.”

He said although he has been to every corner of the country multiple times, the trips are about showing the country to Grégoire and their children, Xavier James and Ella-Grace.

They have hiked Gros Morne in Newfoundland, spent time on the beaches of Prince Edward Island, paddled in the Northwest Terri-tories, and skied in Alberta.

“We love this place so much,” said Trudeau, although admitting he is still very much a beginner when it comes to surfing.

The representative of the Mont-real electoral division of Papineau spends most of his days in cities, whether Ottawa or Montreal, but said he requires a balance between nature and city for survival.

“We tend to loose ourselves in cities of glass, concrete and steel. And as much as I love cit-ies and the energy levels there, I don’t find that it’s healthy for me unless I counter balance it with a long hike and lose myself in the woods,” said Trudeau.

“For me, reconnecting with the perspective and the bal-ance the natural world gives us is an essential part of my own survival.”

The natural environment has been a focus in recent Canadian politics, although Trudeau said the current government has “an early 1970’s view of protecting the environment.”

“We have a government that’s still hooked on the idea that there’s a choice to be made between the

environment and the economy. The reality is, in the 21st cen-tury, the things that will be good for the economy are also things that are going to be good for the environment.”

Trudeau said Canadians have to start being active stewards, to understand consequences of actions.

“We’ve reached a point where humanity has a large enough footprint on this planet that we can no longer simply assume that everything is going to replenish itself. We can not continue to live short term anymore,” said Trudeau.

The MP is currently the Liberal party’s youth critic, and is also known for his work with multi-culturalism and immigration.

“The greatest challenge facing Canadians is to understand both the opportunity and the respons-ibility that comes with being as lucky as we are to live in this country,” Trudeau said.

“A challenge the world is facing is how to get along in spite of our differences. Canada has mas-tered the trick of being strong not in spite of our differences, but because of them,

and understanding that is a huge step.”

As a youth advocate, one of Trudeau’s pet peeves is referring to young people as “leaders for tomorrow.”

“They are actually our leaders of today, and they need to be our leaders of today,” he said.

During the first weeks of Sep-tember, Trudeau hopes to take his message to different schools across the country.

His message is how important they are as individuals, and to get involved in their communities.

Trudeau returns to Parliament Hill on August 29 for caucus meetings and preparation for the fall session, which officially

starts in the middle of September.“It will be a fall of a lot of hard

work,” he said.“The challenge of the third party

under a Conservative majority means we have time, but we also have to make sure we are doing exactly the right things to remind Canadians that we are there to speak up for them.”

Trudeau said his work is more about the people than being a figure in history.

“When I got elect-ed, I got chosen to be their voice [in Papineau]. Every time I speak now, I

speak as a chosen representative. The best thing about being in Par-liament is that I now have both the legitimacy and the focus to what I’m doing.”

[email protected]

Blast from the Past Did you know Canada’s new Prime Minister-designate is a fan of the West Coast?

Justin Trudeau visited Tofino in 2011 and was interviewed by Westerly contributor Yasmin Aboelsaud. We dipped into the archives to find this story to share with you.

Surf and politics: Justin Trudeau in Tofino

“One of the things that I decided years ago was that in summer, I would take time with the kids to visit Canada,” said Justin Trudeau. The Prominent Liberal MP has been spending time with his family in

Tofino. Photo by Yasmin Aboelsaud.


Cops for Cancer BBQ nets $4,000

Local RCMP staffers helped out at a barbecue hosted by Ucluelet’s Black Rock Resort on Sunday that raised about $4,000 for Cops for Cancer. Photo Andrew Bailey.

The Westerly News | Wednesday, October 28, 2015 Wed, Oct 28, 2015 Ucluelet Western News A13

Land Act:Notice of Intention to Apply for a Disposition of Crown Land

Take notice that BC Timber Sales, Strait of Georgia Business Area Timber Sales office located in Campbell River, British Columbia advertises that the successful bidder for timber sale license TSLA91924 will make application to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, South Island District Office in Port Alberni, British Columbia for a License of Occupation for the log handling facility area situated on Provincial Crown land located at Effingham Inlet known as the Skull Lake area.

Written comments concerning this application should be directed to the Lands Officer, Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations at 4885 Cherry Creek Road, Port Alberni, B.C. or emailed to [email protected] This appli-cation process is available for review and comment for 30 days from October 29th, 2015 to November 28th, 2015. Comments will be received until 4:30pm on November 28th, 2015. Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations may not be able to consider comments received after this date.

Please be sure to cite the Applicant’s name and the location of the proposed activity for reference.

Be advised that any response to this advertisement will be considered part of the public record. For information, contact the Freedom of Information Advisor at Integrated Land Management Bureau’s regional office.

ACCOUNTANT Hitacu, British Columbia

Posted on: Friday October 16, 2015 The Department of Finance has an immediate opening for the position of Accountant. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Accountant is responsible for the completion of the annual accounting cycle, including analyses through interim to year-end financial statements within deadlines. The Accountant assists in the support, recording and maintenance of the accounting system environment, policies, processes and procedures in accordance with the applicable public sector standards.

Qualifications and Experience:

Minimum five years of directly related complex accounting work experience, preferably with First Nations, local government, or public practice

Completion of third year from a recognized accounting education program leading to a professional accounting designation

Secondary school graduation Criminal Record Check Bondable Valid Class 5 BC Driver’s License

Please note that, in accordance with Section A 2.0 – 1, of the Government Personnel Policy, the is applying an aboriginal employment preference first to

Citizens and second to members of other First Nations. In addition, the will request a Criminal Record Check as a condition of employment. How to Apply: please submit your covering letter, resume and three recent employment references to the attention of Iris Frank, Director of Operations, by email ([email protected]), fax (250-726-7552), by mail (P.O. Box 699, Ucluelet, BC, V0R 3A0) or in person (700 Wya Road, Hitacu, BC). For questions, call Iris at 250-726-7342, extension 206.

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28 WEDNESDAY

Seniors Social Afternoons, 1:30-4 p.m., Tofino Legion.

29 THURSDAY

Healthy Babies Program/Family Ties, 10:30 a.m., Coastal Family Place, UCC.

Ucluelet AA 8 p.m. Holy Family Church, Peninsula Rd.

The Edge Youth Room, 3–6p.m., UCC & Youth Nite at the Edge, 6–8p.m.

Anglican/United ChurchBible study, 10:30 a.m., UCC.

30 FRIDAYBingo, Tofino Legion, 7:30 p.m.The Edge Youth Room, 2–6p.m.

31SATURDAY

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 5:30 p.m.

AA meeting, 7:30pm, St. Fran-cis, Tofino.

1 SUNDAY

Christ Community Church,10:30am, 1419 Peninsula Rd.Ucluelet.

Grace Bible Church, 10:30am, UCC.

Holy Family Church–10:00 a.m. –Ucluelet.

St. Lawrence Church, 11:00 a.m. Ahousaht.

St. Columba Church, 10:30 a.m United/Anglican Service, 4 p.m. UCC.

Tofino Bible Fellowship, 10:30 a.m. Tofino Legion.

2 MONDAY

Acoustic jam night, Every Monday. 9-12 p.m. at Officials.Ucluelet AA, 8pm. Holy Family.

Floor hockey, 7–9pm, Uclue-

let Seaplane Base Rec Hall. $2 drop-in.

Indoor Soccer, 8–10pm, Uclue-let Secondary School gym, $2.Competitive & drop-in darts, 7 pm, Tofino Legion.

3 TUESDAY

Healthy Babies Program/Family Ties, 10:30am. Coastal Family Place, UCC.

The Edge Youth Room, 3–6pm, UCC.

Youth night, 7-9pm, Tofino Legion.

Youth night ANAF Ucluelet. AA meeting, 7:30pm, St. Francis Church, 441 Main, Tofino.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 5 p.m.

Education and Career Fair, 1 – 3 p.m., Ucluelet First Nation Community Centre Gymnasium, 700 Wya Road, Hitacu, BC. Join us for snacks, door prizes and an outlook on your education and career! Open to everyone!

Community Calendar Want to see your event in the community calendar? Email [email protected] or call 250-726-7029.


Ucluelet’s voting station reopened for a few minutes after its 7 p.m. close on Oct. 19 in order to squeeze in one last batch of voters who had been blocked from the federal election polls by a stuck fish truck on Port Albion Road.

A semi-trailer loaded with fish became stuck in a ditch around 2 p.m. and its trailer swung into the

road blocking both traffic along the only road-access between Ucluelet and Hitacu.

A heavy-duty tow truck arrived from Port Alberni and cleared the way around 6:45 p.m. giving Hitacu residents who had been stuck behind the truck just a few minutes to reach the Uclue-let Community Centre’s voting station.

Ucluelet’s voting station was supervised by Margaret Morrison who had just locked the doors when a group of roughly ten vot-

ers from Hitacu arrived. “There were a couple of people

who were still at the polls finish-ing voting and as one or two of those people were leaving they opened the door to a group of people who were just arriving huffing and puffing,” Morrison said. “They were so happy that they had made it.”

Morrison let the latecomers in and asked permission for them to cast their ballots.

“I was in a room full of seven candidates’ representatives and I

had loudly announced that it was 7 p.m. and I was going to go lock the door,” she said.

“I welcomed everybody in and turned to the room in general and said ‘Please if I could have your attention for a moment, as we’ve all heard there was an accident across the bay and a fish truck blocking the road, this group of people has just arrived and if I hear any objection from any of the candidates representatives I’m going to welcome this group here to vote.’”

Not only did Morrison hear no objections, she received applause.

“The group that made it to the polls were able to vote,” she beamed.

“They did tell me a sad story that there were a couple of other vehicles that had arrived and I don’t know if they came to the door but they saw that it was after 7 p.m. and they apparently left feeling very disappointed.”

[email protected]

Ucluelet’s polls reopen to allow voters to vote

ROBERT ZUROWSKILocal Voice

Tofino and Ucluelet are isolat-ed at the end of a long, tenuous thread of a highway, a dangerous highway we residents rely on for our food, goods, and services, and the stream of tourists upon which our local economy depends.

What if, for some reason, trans-port was severely curtailed and the tourists stopped coming? Would our towns be able to meet basic needs in food, energy, hous-ing, economics, transport, educa-tion, the arts—resilient enough for both communities to survive, even thrive?

Our present-day economy is based on scarcity and the long,

fragile chains of supply and demand upon which our global-ized markets depend. We are completely reliant on food and goods trucked in from distant places to our remote towns here. But it needn’t be this way; for the longest time it wasn’t.

Inspired by First Nations who acquired wealth from the sea and forest for an economy of plenty and abundance, shared in potlatch gift-giving among the people, Transition Town Initiatives seek to reclaim a place-based relationship with our sustenance. We believe Clay-oquot and Barkley Sounds remain places of plenty, but not only in abundant natural resources to meet basic needs. We believe

both Tofino and Ucluelet are diverse towns whose populations have abundant knowledge, skills and abilities among their mem-bers to discover ways of lessening our dependence on Hwy 4.

The Transition Town move-ment aims to free communities from an overdependence on the global economy and to derive a significant portion of our needed goods, services, food and energy from local resources. Born in 2006 in England, the Transition Town movement has gone global. The BC mainland has 14 towns undertaking Transition. Vancou-ver Island has five Transition Towns: Sooke, Cowichan, Comox, Salt Spring Island and, since 2007, Port Alberni.

On November 13 and 15th, please join us to launch Transi-tion Town Tofino-Ucluelet, who, in partnership with Sierra Club BC, bring you the local installment of the Future is HERE! Tour. These evenings seek to celebrate and engage local people already work-ing towards healthy, just, more self-sufficient communities.

Transition Towns exemplify how communities are harnessing the knowledge, skills, abilities of resident members to increase food security, install alternative energies, explore alternatives in housing, re-localize the econ-omy—in short, becoming more locally resilient. Because one way or another, change is surely com-ing! Whether it’s from climate

disruption, global or national eco-nomic contraction or collapse, the killer ‘quake offshore, an end to tourism for whatever reason, the shocks we’re vulnerable to can best be absorbed by a community that’s come together to create its own future, working in concert with local government, cultivating local resources in the environ-ment and a positive vision of that future in the community.

We look forward to meeting with you in November and if you’d like to get involved with the events, please contact Robert Zurowski at [email protected].

Robert Zurowski is a member of Transition Town Tofino-Ucluelet

Transition town movement in Tofino-Ucluelet

KATYA SLEPIANAlberni Valley News

The city is one step closer to ful-filling its Liquid Waste Manage-ment Plan thanks to a grant from Environment Canada.

“The Liquid Waste Management incorporates a lot of our sewage treatment plans for the future and decommission of the sewage

plant is a step towards that,” city engineer Guy Cicon told council at their Oct. 13 meeting.

The city is looking to decommis-sion its current sewage lagoon due to a planned switch over to one acquired from Catalyst Paper in 2011 at a cost of $5.75 million.

The grant the city received came from the Environment Canada National Wetland Conservation

Fund and totalled $164,030. The grant money is pending a contri-bution of $191,500 from the city or other funding sources.

As part of its grant obligation, Cicon said that the city will restore the land for wildlife in the area. The sewage lagoon is located within the ecologically diverse Somass Estuary.

“We will decommission some

of the dikes and let water come through for fish traffic.

The time line of the decommis-sioning will depend on when the city switches over to the former Catalyst lagoon.

“We have to establish the new lagoon before we can dewater the existing lagoon,” Cicon said, add-ing that the agreement over where the new sewage outfall will go—a

major stumbling block that Cicon was dealing with in 2015—is almost complete.

The city has up until March 31, 2018 to accept the grant money.

[email protected]

Alberni gets $164K to decommission sewage lagoon


He said the training required to receive the certification is “intense” and he was proud to see his crew take it on.

“It’s not something we had to do, it’s some-thing we wanted to do,” he said.

“They’re a really great bunch of guys and the motivation is just incredible to have that many members dedi-cated to helping out like that…They do an awesome job and the district is really lucky that we have these guys that want to do this.”

In light of Sunday’s incident, Wild Pacific Trail manager ‘Oyster’ Jim Martin is urging

trail users to stay on the trail.

“That provides a safe viewing platform for you to walk about the headland and see the sights without being in extreme danger,” he said adding there are plenty of picturesque views to enjoy safely without flirting with danger.

“You don’t have to go off the trail but a lot of people do and we just need to stress that if you leave the trail bed you can be in extreme danger…if you go off the trail you’re just asking for trouble.”

[email protected]

The Ucluelet Volunteer Fire Brigade helped rescue a woman who had fallen off the Wild Pacific Trail on Sunday. Photo Andrew Bailey.

RESCUE, continued from pg. 1 Online: www.westerlynews.ca

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JACQUELINE CHAMBERLAND

Local Voice

PRAS held its 45th annual gen-eral meeting last Sunday at the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet.

PRAS president, Mark Penney, was happy to report on a very active and successful year for the society.

Annual events included the Pacific Rim Summer Festival,

the Cultural Heritage Festival, ArtSplash annual art show, Missoula Children Theatre, free outdoor concert in Tofino, Youth Art Shows, Kids Art Zone at both Tofino and Ucluelet summer

markets. Some new events were introduced to build on audience development and first nations programming: the first locally produced trilingual puppet show “Debris”, the songwriting workshops and performances in Ahousaht and Hitacu during the Summer Fes-tival, our contribution to public art installations of murals and banners in Ucluelet as well as an exciting art lottery.

Another highlight of this year’s accomplishment was the co-hosting of the Arts BC Cul-tural Round Table for the west coast region.

Last year PRAS inaugurated the Rainy Coast Arts Award for significant accomplishment in the arts community. The 2015 “Rainy” was awarded to Mark

Hobson and the recipient for the Rain Coast Volunteer Award was Shannon McWhinney. The Rainy Award was created to give recognition to artists who have demon-strated longevity and dedication towards their practice, a genu-ine interest and generosity for their community and a desire to communicate what it means to be a west coaster. Mark Hob-son’s long career illustrates the complex connections between the land, water, animals and the vegetation that supports it all. His involvement in environmental issues resonates in his works. Mark Hobson has recently opened a commercial gallery in Tofino

and he continues to support a variety of causes by leveraging his artwork for good. Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne accepted his award in his absence. The afternoon end-ed with an inspiring presentation by artists Cindy Mersky .

Jacqueline Chamberland is the Executive Director of the Pacific Rim Arts Society

Hobson receives ‘Rainy’ award at PRAS AGM

Mark Hobson was recognized for his significant accomplishment in the local arts community. Photo submitted.

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tofino-ucluelet westerly news, october 28, 2015

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