A noisy haunt spooks gallery of students
HONEY, WHO SCARED THE KIDS? — It was just another raucous day at the B.C. legislature. MLAs heckled one another, pounded their desks and generally behaved as though the teacher had left the room for a few minutes.
Finally, Speaker Darryl Plecas intervened to remind the “honourable” members that they were not alone.
“If I may … remind all members that we have visitors in the gallery,” he said. “I’m thinking it’s difficult for them to hear, and I’m especially reminded we have a wonderful group of young school students in the gallery.”
B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, who was due to speak next, seized the opportunity to welcome the students.
“That was timely,” he said. “That wonderful group are actually Grade 5 students from Glenlyon Norfolk, a school in my riding.”
Unimpressed by that bit of news, MLAs stepped up the jeering, forcing Plecas to repeatedly interrupt proceedings with pleas for order.
Eventually, he pointed out that their live audience was dwindling — to say nothing of the viewers at home.
“Members, before we continue, I’m reminded that the youngsters from an elementary school left quickly,” he said. “I’m hoping we’re not going to see more visitors from the gallery leave.” FREE FERRIES? — Liberal MLA Jordan Sturdy set out to follow NDP logic on ferry fare policy this past week and arrived at a novel solution: do away with fares completely.
Noting “the risk of being provocative,” he said that if ferries are part of the highway system and the government removed bridge tolls to stop punishing people for where they live, then wouldn’t logic dictate removing fares from the ferry system?
“We’re punishing people for living on the other side of a ferry, so why not just eliminate the ferry fares?” His more serious point was that the 15 per cent fare cut promised by the NDP on minor routes is an arbitrary measure that’s going to be applied unevenly.
Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said it’s a “fascinating approach,” coming from someone whose government created the fare problem, with huge hikes.
“There’s sort of a bit of a Looking Glass sense about this.”
Sturdy replied that he wasn’t advocating for complete fare reductions. “I was merely pointing out the inconsistency of this approach.” LOOPHOLE CLOSES — The fine art of writing a traffic ticket will soon be a thing of the past, and with it goes the best chance of beating them in court. Legislation paving the way for electronic tickets was debated and it included a revelation about how many drivers escaped fines because hastily scribbled tickets were illegible.
Liberal MLA Mike Morris, a former RCMP officer and former public safety minister, said: “The number of tickets that were discarded every month — and I’m just going off the top of my head here — was in the tens of thousands of tickets every year that were discarded or thrown out because you couldn’t read the handwriting … ’’
It cost the government millions. The new system could also prompt more tickets, he said. General duty officers, as opposed to traffic police, often pass up the chance to write a ticket because they’re too busy. With electronic tickets they just have to run the licence plate through a scanner.
“We’ll see a lot more interest with our general duty members and some more contributions there.”
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth denied that the change is a cash grab.
“We want to see people driving safely, and this will help do that by eliminating, in essence, scribbly or illegible handwriting as a reason for a ticket being thrown out.” EXTRA LARGE — Premier John Horgan, a self-described Trekkie from way back, introduced a special film industry guest, Dusty Kelly, who tried unsuccessfully to get Horgan a role as an extra in the last Star Trek film produced in Vancouver.
Horgan said he got close to landing the part, but received a note informing him that “they were looking for a younger demographic and that, consequently, the costumes were of a particular size. Now, what that means, for those who need a translation, is that I was too old and too fat.” GONE TOO SOON — Education Minister Rob Fleming marked the recent passing of a local artist and dancer. Tony Hunt Jr. was one in a long line of First Nations carvers on Vancouver Island that included his grandfather, Henry Hunt, and his great-grandfather, Mungo Martin.
“Tony’s father, Tony Hunt Sr., and his uncles Richard Hunt and Stan Hunt are also accomplished artists,” Fleming said.
“Tony was renowned for his unique take on the traditional Kwakwaka’wakw style.
“His carvings have been showcased at the Royal B.C. Museum and the Burke Museum in Seattle and can be found in museums around the world.”
Hunt collaborated with the Greater Victoria school district on many projects, said Fleming, MLA for Victoria-Swan Lake.
“In 2015, he donated four months to carving a totem pole to mark the 100th anniversary of École Quadra Elementary, in my constituency in Victoria.
“He took the time to set up a carving tent where he shared his knowledge and the story behind the totem with students.”
Fleming noted that Hunt was honoured at a memorial at Mungo Martin House at the Royal B.C. Museum — “fittingly the house built and named after his greatgrandfather.”