Don Maroc North Cowichan Councillor Jennifer Woike is suddenly flush with creative ideas meant to save money for municipal taxpayers. First she wants to amalgamate North Cowichan and Duncan as the first step towards a unified regional government. Ona a different tack she wants to study the use of Public-Private-Partnerships
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Cowichan Conversations: North Cowichan Councillor Jennifer Woike Is Suddenly Flush With Creative Ideas
Don Maroc – Cowichan Conversations Contributor NC Councillor Woike wants amalgamation with Duncan and to do away with the CVRD North Cowichan Councillor Jennifer Woike is suddenly flush with creative ideas meant to save money for municipal taxpayers. First she wants to amalgamate North Cowichan and Duncan as the first step
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BC Environment Ministry Bully Local Government
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Earlier this week the CVRD held ’Public Meeting’ of sorts to hear response from locals regarding efforts by Fisher Road Recycling to expand their operation to sync with the compost facilities capacity. The elected officials were unable to weigh in this a land use issue that is very
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Bill Dumont Is Unhappy With CVRD Spending
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Bill Dumont, a South Cowichan watchdog scrutinizes government spending and shares his latest thoughts in this offering. Mr.Dumont has had broad experience as a Forester and is well aquainted with budgets and financial matters. Like many of you who will read Bill’s analysis I find myself both
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Thrifty Foods Has Established Their Central Warehouse on the Mainland
Don Maroc-Cowichan Conversations Contributor Based on a statement at the Regional Agricultural Commission’s February meeting “it was noted that Thrifty Foods has established their central warehouse on the mainland and island producers must go through this channel.” At last Wednesday’s CVRD Board meeting it seemed to District E (Glenora/Sahtlam) Director
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Opposition To The Shawnigan Watershed Contaminated Soil Threat Gains Momentum
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The ups and downs of the battle trying to save Shawnigan from becoming home to 5 million tonnes of toxic soil being dumped in their watershed shows no signs of slowing down or losing momentum. It is difficult to imagine how the BC Liberal Government would allow
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Council of Canadians Seek to Protect Shawnigan Watershed From Toxic Dumps
The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) has been appearing before the BC Environmental Board in Victoria looking for relief from the entity that might provide their best chance of overturning South Island Aggregates (SIA) permit to dump 5 million tonnes of contaminated soil in the Shawnigan Watershed. Yesterday, the Council
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: The CVRD Board Fired CAO Warren Jones-No Reasons Given!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger I have criticized the CVRD politicians over their handling of the Eco Depot, contaminated sites, lack of out front debate and I stand by my posts in that regard. However, on Friday they fired their CAO-Warren Jones from the top management position and I am relieved to
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: An Inspiring Sign of the Times
This picture graced my inbox this morning. Apparently there were a number placed through the Shawnigan umm, downtown area. If anyone has any more pictures, background or information feel free to contact me at contact@richardhughes.ca so that we may collaborate. Will we see more coming? Who dunnit? Richard Hughes-Let’s
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Is A Flawed Tool
Rob Douglas A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that Canada’s economy had grown by a modest 0.2 per cent during the last month on record, the fifth consecutive month of growth. This was greeted as good news, as we define a healthy economy as a growing economy, and
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: SIA Dumps a Major Spin Job On Victoria Times Colonist
Sandra McCulloch’s Victoria Times colonist article on the latest SIA drama shows that the proponents can spin the Bullshit with the best of them. The owners of South Island Aggregates say the three-year fight over the dumping of contaminated soil at their Shawnigan site has been as frustrating for them
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: CVRD Video Feed Shut Off During Debate Over 50K Grant To Shawnigan Basin Society
Richard Hub Hughes-Political Blogger The controversial Alternate Approval Process (AAP) employed by the Shawnigan Director Bruce Fraser, via the CVRD, struck a new low in an already crowded room of misdeeds and screwups of Cee Vee Rrrr Dinian proportions. I may have already posted too many Shawnigan Basin Society stories, AKA Shawnigan
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Guest Column-CVRD Director Loren Duncan on AAP’s & Referendums
CVRD Director Loren Duncan We all now know why 14 of the 28 Regional districts across the Province do not have a Regional Grant in Aid, program, they are simply to difficult to control when the need is great and the will power is weak. The long list of historic
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Brent Beach On The Shawnigan Basin Society 50K Per Year Grant
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger As we continue to look at the Shawnigan Basin Society’s attempted tax grab through the discredited Alternate Approval Process (AAP) this Brent Beach December column is being reproduced here. It is well worth a read especially for those who may have missed it in the Shawnigan Focus.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Shawnigan Basin Society Director Blaise Salmon Resigns In Protest
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Blaise Salmon, a former Director of the Shawnigan Basin Society, has resigned due to his concerns over CVRD Director Bruce Fraser’s financial mismanagement of the Society’s affairs. Blaise Salmon- Resigns in protest. Although Bruce Fraser is not named as a Director on their website it is one of several
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Shawnigan’s CVRD (AAP) Should Be Yanked! It Is An Unprecedented 50 Thousand Dollar Per Year Rip Off!
Shawnigan Lake faces an uncertain future. Peter Rusland penned this recent report in The Cowichan News Leader What part of ‘No’ does Victoria not understand about dumping dirty dirt near Shawnigan Lake? Let’s hope they get all of that short word. It’s been said loudly enough this year by Shawnigan residents
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Shawnigan’s CVRD Money Grab Designed To Slip By Unsuspecting Taxpayers
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger One of the most abusive practices of local governments is the ‘Alternate Approval Process’. In plain english it is a money grab dressed up in legalese in an attempt to make is sound legitimate and practical. It is a process designed to fail and is an update from the old’
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Save Shawnigan Water From Contaminated Soil Pollution
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The controversial issue of dumping 500 tonnes of contaminated soil in the watershed at SIA’s Stebbings Road site has been approved and a permit has been issued by the BC Ministry of the Environment. The threat to the watershed, creek, lake and water supply has been strongly
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: One More Kick at the Can For Shawnigan Watershed Supporters To Stop Contaminated Waste Dump
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The severity of the threat facing the Shawnigan Watershed from receiving 500 Tonnes of contaminated soil has been enough for the BC Environmental Appeal Board to allow for a ‘Public Hearing’ in spring 2014. The Cowichan Citizen’s Sarah Simpson filed this report on this long running battle.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Sydney and Victoria Freeze Staff Wages-While CVRD Salaries Continue To Soar!
Richard HughesPolitical Blogger It seems the elected officials in Sydney actually pay attention to raises handed out to senior staffers outside of the bargaining unit. At the CVRD it took five years of hefty hikes before CVRD Director Ian Morrison spoke up and called for a municipal audit to into the matter.
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