April
•Seven years after its original purchase, the HMCS Annapolis was finally sunk off the coast of Gambier Island in Halkett Bay Provincial Marine Park on Saturday, April 4. A couple of hundred spectators showed up in chartered boats and personal crafts to watch the sinking firsthand, while hundreds more from all around the world tuned in online to see the ship go down.
•Hundreds of invited guests, community members and government leaders crowded into the Sechelt First Nation Longhouse for a sacred ceremony to honour the renaming of St. Mary’s Hospital to Sechelt (shíshálh) Hospital.
•District of Sechelt council rescinded a firearm bylaw variance that allowed resident Terry Davies to shoot Canada geese on eight properties located northwest of Kinnikinnick Park. The decision, effective April 1, came after three out of four councillors had voted at the previous week’s planning committee meeting to extend the variance for one more year.
•Coast Reporter captured four awards at the national Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for 2015 including a gold medal for reporter John Gleeson for best news story, silver for top website and a gold and silver medal for Sunshine Coast Life magazine.
•The District of Sechelt planned to seek direction from the public on a proposed medical marijuana bylaw that would prohibit cannabis production facilities in all zones outside the Agricultural Land Reserve.
•Sechelt (shíshálh) and Kamloops (Tk’emlups) First Nations were scheduled to be in federal court to seek certification for their class action lawsuit on behalf of day scholars – but the case could have been settled years ago if Prime Minister Stephen Harper lived up to his own words, shíshálh Nation councillor and hereditary chief Garry Feschuk (?ákístá) said.
•The Town of Gibsons was finalizing its annual budget with a five per cent tax increase, but road works and depleted reserves were a major concern.
•An estimated 400 people crowded into the Pender Harbour Community Hall for an open house on the draft dock management plan, which sets out four zones, including a “red zone” where no new dock tenures would be issued once a moratorium on new dock construction that’s lasted almost 12 years has been lifted.
Concerns ranged from the impact of the plan on property values, the status of docks that have never had tenures, the inadequacy of a 30-day comment period, and the exclusion of the community from the process of developing the plan, which was the result of more than a decade of negotiations between the province and Sechelt (shíshálh) First Nation.
•Local government officials from Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast unanimously passed an emergency resolution in response to an oil spill in English Bay. The resolution, brought forward by the District of Sechelt at the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities convention in Courtenay, called for the province to order an independent audit of the current state of oil spill preparedness.
•SD46 trustees called a newly introduced Bill by the Ministry of Education “alarming” and “draconian” before deciding to voice their concerns to government and the BC School Trustees Association. Bill 11 was released by the Ministry of Education at the end of March in an effort to “strengthen K-12 accountability, efficiency and professional development,” according to the government.
•BC Ferries CEO and president Mike Corrigan sparked a province-wide outcry when he said the public campaign against high ferry fares is keeping tourists away and could become “a self-fulfilling prophecy” that hurts coastal economies along with the ferry system they rely on.
Corrigan also defended the current BC Ferries business model. He said he knew of potential tourists who are avoiding the coastal ferry system due to the negative publicity.
•There appeared to be little appetite among the public for the District of Sechelt’s proposed bylaw to restrict medical marijuana production to minimum five-hectare properties in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
•St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary changed its name to the Sunshine Coast Health Care Auxiliary. The group’s mandate will stay the same.
May
•The District of Sechelt “exposed taxpayers to unnecessary risks” in how it carried out two capital projects – including the largest in its history – under the previous council, the Auditor General for Local Government said in a damning report.
•A GP For Me was officially launched on the Coast with the introduction of two new professionals who’ve been hired to help. Patient navigator Cayce Laviolette and attachment assessment clinic nurse Cathy Burke were officially introduced to the community during the launch at the Sechelt Hospital.
•SSC Properties Ltd. was moving ahead with a long-term plan to develop the 162-hectare former Silverback site in East Porpoise Bay. The development company that includes former Sechelt mayor John Henderson among its principals has applied for an official community plan amendment in order to later rezone the property.
•The vision of the Gibsons Public Market Society was to establish a community hub at the Public Market, with a six-day-a-week market selling local produce, a restaurant, a community kitchen, a large public gathering space, art displays, entertainment and a coastal marine education centre.
•Pender Harbour residents demanded meaningful consultation on the dock management plan released in April by the provincial government and Sechelt First Nation. About 300 people packed the community hall in Madeira Park to discuss the draft plan.
•Sechelt Hospital Foundation and the Rotary Clubs of the Lower Sunshine Coast teamed up to purchase a new portable digital X-ray machine that can produce fast, accurate diagnostic imaging right at the bedside.
•Open barges will not be transporting four million tonnes of U.S. coal per year to Texada Island under a new plan announced by Fraser Surrey Docks. The revised plan would see the same volume of coal loaded directly onto ocean-going ships in Surrey, if it is approved by Port Metro Vancouver.
•The Town of Gibsons voted to move forward with the George Hotel project. After receiving the geotechnical review from Horizon Engineering on the potential effects to the aquifer, council heard from some of the over 200 residents in attendance and made the decision to accept the current design for the George Hotel.
•Gibsons Marina officially came under the Klaus Fuerniss Enterprises Inc. umbrella when former marina owner Art McGinnis handed over the keys to developer Klaus Fuerniss. McGinnis is set to retire; Fuerniss has other plans.
•Residents at a meeting regarding the future of Granthams Hall were passionate about saving the 84-year-old “hall that has a heart.” The building had fallen into disrepair and a structural engineering report found severe deficiencies in the roof and foundation.
•Gibsons council accepted a report from the Town’s director of engineering indicating that the Ministry of Health conditions for returning to an unchlorinated water supply had been met. There had been an issue in the distribution systems that precipitated a number of improvements.
•Grade 2 students Kate Tierney and Diamond Wells-McDonell, with principal Deborah Luporini and MLA Nicholas Simons, cut the ribbon to officially open the new Gibsons Elementary School. “I think it’s a fabulous asset … a legacy for this community,” Luporini said.
•A new website aimed at attracting younger people to move to the Sunshine Coast was launched at www.thisisthecoast.ca with about $25,000 in backing from a handful of local business people who want to see the effort thrive.
•The shíshálh Nation’s cultural director, Candace Campo, was touring for 10 days with Greenpeace in an effort to raise awareness about drilling planned by Shell in the Arctic. Campo was one of six First Nations people chosen for the voyage onboard the largest vessel Greenpeace operates, the MV Esperanza, on a return trip from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii.
•The B.C. government’s seniors advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, visited Sechelt, where she addressed over 100 people with the problems, and proposed solutions, from her report: “Seniors Housing in BC – Affordable, Appropriate, Available.”
•A Halfmoon Bay teen became a hero after his fast and fearless response to a fire that badly damaged his family’s home, the main house at Halfmoon Haven bed and breakfast. Chris Fletcher said his 17-year-old son Braydon’s quick actions likely prevented the fire from destroying the entire house as well as a 500-year-old Douglas fir tree on the property.
June
•A kayaktivist demonstration to say “Shell no” to Arctic drilling saw about a dozen protesters assemble on the shíshálh Nation waterfront in Trail Bay. The protest was called and organized by shíshálh Nation cultural ambassador Candace Campo in response to Shell Oil’s plans to begin drilling in Dutch Harbour.
•The RCMP’s Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team was dispatched to the Sunshine Coast to assist with a call in the Halfmoon Bay area, where there were officer safety concerns. Along with a tactical armoured vehicle, about 14 RCMP vehicles travelled between Langdale ferry terminal and Halfmoon Bay.
•Residents attending a public hearing raised strong objections to a plan by Vanta Pacific to dramatically enlarge the dock in front of the proposed resort hotel development on West Porpoise Bay.
•A celebration of life for Daniel Kingsbury, who was well known on the Coast for his musical talent and environmental activism, packed the Roberts Creek Hall.
•Support poured in for Persephone Brewing Company after concerns over noise and activities at the beer farm were raised at the SCRD. Once the complaints were made public, the community rallied around Persephone on social media and in person, saying the beer farm was an important part of the community.
•The release of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee final report and the certification of the shíshálh Nation’s day scholar lawsuit ahead of schedule were likely connected, according to shíshálh Nation Chief Calvin Craigan.
•The SCRD declared Stage 2 outdoor water use restrictions for all regional water customers, “due to prolonged dry weather, peaking outdoor water consumption, and the dry weather forecast ahead,” said Dave Crosby, SCRD manager of utility services.
•In a victory for conservation groups, Fisheries and Oceans Canada officially closed B.C.’s rare glass sponge reefs to all types of fishing – including reefs mapped in Howe Sound and off the coast of Sechelt. A 150-metre buffer zone has been set around each reef.
•In an effort to address community concerns, Woodfibre LNG became an associate member of the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd., an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the safe operation of gas tankers and terminals.
•A ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada that legalized medicinal marijuana edibles boosted business for local cannabis candy producers Doug and Michelle Sikora, who own and operate S&M Medicinal Sweet Shoppe out of their home in Selma Park.
•Federal candidates from the Liberal, NDP and Green parties held their first all-candidates meeting, in the absence of Conservative MP John Weston and any other candidates who had yet to declare their intentions to run in the October election.
•B.C. Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon met with politicians, delegates and community members during her busy day on the Sunshine Coast. She was here to connect with citizens and celebrate local communities as part of her goal to visit as many local communities in B.C. as possible during her time as Lieutenant Governor.
•Gibsons council gave first reading to the official community plan bylaw amendment for the proposed George Hotel and Residences.
•The draft dock management plan for Pender Harbour was utterly rejected at a meeting in Madeira Park, as property owners vented their fury and frustration at a handful of senior operational staff from the B.C. government and Sechelt First Nation. An estimated 400 people packed the Pender Harbour Community Hall for the information session.
•A fire below decks on a tugboat at the end of Sechelt’s public dock in Trail Bay drew response from multiple fire departments, ambulance, RCMP and the coast guard.
•SCRD board directors were unanimously in favour of restoring Granthams Hall (“the hall that has a heart”), a decision also supported by the community at a public meeting.
•The class action lawsuit launched by Sechelt resident Dianna Stanway against Wyeth Canada Inc. for selling hormone replacement therapy drugs linked to breast cancer was settled and a $13.65 million payment was awarded by the B.C. Supreme Court.
•Malaspina Coach Lines suspended service until further notice. Elite Bailiffs seized a Malaspina bus in Vancouver, along with the rest of the bus line’s fleet, leaving the Lower Sunshine Coast without bus service between Halfmoon Bay and Earls Cove.
•Sechelt business owner Reece Taylor and two other first responders helped rescue a panicking swimmer dragged out to sea by the current in Trail Bay. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue responded in time, but Station 12 unit leader Mark Wenn said it could have been a different story without the help of the civilians who got there first.
