Council kills controversial 300-home development
Just hours after about 30 protesters rallied outside city hall, Penticton city council on Tuesday killed a proposed 300-home subdivision at the foot of the Naramata Bench.
Local politicians voted 6-0 against giving first reading to the necessary regulatory amendments, meaning Vinterra Penticton won’t even go to public consultation.
“I really see this as an urban project that’s trying to move out into the country,” said Coun. Katie Robinson, who made the motion to turn down the project.
While granting first reading would have only pushed Vinterra into the public realm ahead of a final decision from council, Robinson argued that sending a clear signal now will save the city and proponent time and money, plus give opponents some peace of mind.
Canadian Horizons wanted to build 307 single-family homes on a 50-hectare swath of natural hillside it owns at 1050 Spiller Rd., immediately north of the Campbell Mountain Landfill and at the foot of the Naramata Bench.
The company, which is based in Surrey, also planned to punch in a new road through a second property it owns nearby at 880 Naramata Rd.
The development site – about half of which would have been preserved as natural areas – is earmarked for growth in the Official Community Plan, which was updated in 2019, and in the Spiller Road/Reservoir Road Area Neighbourhood Concept Plan, adopted by council in 2014.
However, the land is zoned for country residential and a mobile home park, meaning Canadian Horizons needed city council to rezone it for increased density.
Coun. Julius Bloomfield – a realtor who disclosed Tuesday that he helped Canadian Horizons purchase the land 15 years ago, but has obtained a recent legal opinion clearing him of any conflict now – suggested the existing zoning is appropriate, while Mayor John Vassilaki said he wouldn’t vote in for a development in that area without upgrades to Naramata Road.
In a nod to well-organized opponents of the project who feared the development would be a stain on Naramata wine country, Coun. Judy Sentes applauded them for “their courage and determination to maintain their Napa Valley.”
And although he eventually voted against it, Coun. Campbell Watt was the lone voice in support of giving first reading to the zoning and OCP amendment bylaws.
“Ultimately, we’re not saying yes or no to the project,” noted Watt. “We are saying yes or no to public engagement, and I think a full engagement process will allow our community to get all of the facts.”
City staff had spent weeks laying the groundwork for a public consultation campaign and performed a range of technical analyses.
Canadian Horizons estimated the project would create 1,000 jobs and $100 million in new investment over a 10-year buildout.
Its opponents, who last year formed the Society for the Preservation of the Naramata Bench, dispute those numbers and the need for such development in the first place.
“I want to see affordable housing for people who work in the Penticton area — not urban sprawl and $1-million homes, which is not going to solve the problem,” said Rob Van Westen, a Naramata agriculturalist who attended a lunch-hour demonstration on Tuesday.
Five Interior universities, including UBC Okanagan, are receiving funding from the B.C. Ministry of Health for COVID-19 research.
Projects being funded range from identifying the effects of the pandemic on the mental health and well-being of people living in rural communities to developing tele-health programs that will engage older adults outside urban centres.
Other projects include a focus on improving the lifespan of N95 masks.
“We’re delighted that the BC Ministry of Health is investing in this initiative to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 throughout our province,” said Phil Barker, UBCO’s vice-principal and associate vice-president for research and innovation.
The Ministry of Health has provided the Interior University Research Coalition with $150,000 to launch the research projects.
“Our researchers have been able to mobilize quickly,” said Barker.
Jian Liu and Abbas Milani of UBCO’s School of Engineering will be working with Hossein Kazemian of the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George to improve the lifespan of nanofibres and activated carbon mats in N95 masks.
Brodie Sakakibara, assistant professor in UBCO’s Southern Medical Program and investigator in the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, is working with researchers at UBCO, UNBC and Interior Health to create a student-delivered Community Outreach Telehealth Program that will engage older adults from outside urban centres.
Khalad Hasan from UBCO will team up with Thompson Rivers University’s Bala Nikku and Rahul Jain from UNBC to better understand whether new technologies improve the resiliency of rural health-care practitioners.
Nelly Oelke, associate professor in UBCO’s School of Nursing and scientific director of the Rural Coordination Centre of BC, will work with UBCO’s Donna Kurtz, UNBC’s Davina Banner-Lukaris and TRU’s Bonnie Fournier to expand ongoing research to identify the effects of the pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of people living in rural communities.
Kindness and compassion. These sound like pretty simple ways to approach many of the challenges we face today, but unfortunately just because it is simple, doesn’t mean it is always easy to achieve.
The Pink Shirt Day movement is a reminder of the importance of treating others with dignity and respect. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected us all, the acts of being kind and lifting each other up are some of the best gifts we can give during this difficult time.
“Our goal is to ensure we are continuing the kindness movement and working toward eliminating bullying,” said Jeremy Welder, CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Okanagan. “Now more than ever, we all need to be a part of helping the people within our communities feel cared for, understood, supported, and included.”
Every day at the BGCO we work with children, youth, and families to learn the importance of kindness, compassion, empathy, and self-confidence through the diverse programs that we offer, both inperson and virtually.
Our vision is all children and youth discover and achieve their dreams and grow up to be healthy, successful, and active participants in society. We believe that every child, and you, deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. It is why Pink Shirt Day is held close to our hearts.
The day of action and awareness falls in line with the core values and mission that we strive for every day. This includes welcoming everyone in a safe, accepting environment based on belonging and positive relationships. We ensure that children, youth, families, volunteers, and staff are heard, respected, valued, and treated fairly. We encourage and support every child and youth to play, learn, and grow to achieve their dreams. We speak out for children, youth, and families so that we can make our world better. To achieve all of this we work together with young people, families, volunteers, our communities, and government.
Pink Shirt Day serves as a reminder that we are here to speak up and to help our communities. There are many forms of bullying, including the use of electronic media to threaten, embarrass, intimidate, or to damage a reputation. Bullying also happens when someone is verbally attacking someone, excluding a person, spreading rumours, ignoring others, and using physical force or aggression against another person.
Now an international movement, Pink Shirt Day has humble beginnings. Pink Shirt Day was inspired by a small act of kindness when David Shepherd, Travis Price and their friends not only wore pink shirts but distributed them around the school in sympathy for a boy who was being bullied for wearing pink – fast-forward 14 years and the rest is history.
This year, on Feb. 24, we want you to remember the importance of kindness, compassion, and sincerity.
Bullying does not have to be a part of growing up. It is overwhelming, hurtful, and can make people feel alone. It can affect learning, friendships and most importantly, physical and emotional health. If you are a victim of bullying, reach out for help. With one in five students affected by bullying, chances are that you or someone you know is being impacted. Talk to a parent, teacher, or friend. Do you have a friend who is being bullied? Let them know they’re not alone, and speak out. Most bullying incidents stop within 10 seconds if a bystander intervenes.
If you’re being bullied, bullying someone else, or see a friend who is being bullied, reach out for help.
Call the Kids Help Phone. Or, visit your local Boys and Girls Clubs of the Okanagan. There is support for children, youth, parents, and teachers. We are also online at www.boysandgirlsclubs.ca and you can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BGCOkanagan.
Help us continue to support the children and families in our community who need us the most by considering donating to the BGCO, hosting a fundraising event, becoming a partner, adopt a family, tribute giving, personal and planned giving, or a bequest.
We are the leading provider of programs to children and youth that support over 8,100 young people and their families each year. Club programming includes technology, the arts, leadership, life skills. We also provide meals, emergency shelter, family support and other support networks for communities throughout the Okanagan Valley.
Kindness starts with all of us. Help us raise the awareness of this message and Pink Shirt Day by tagging us, or using #BGCOkanagan, in your photos on social media on Feb. 24.
Shortly after we celebrated Pink Shirt Day last year, our world was changed drastically. The way our lives functioned was turned upside down and everyone had to quickly scramble to figure out how to handle what was starting to be termed as “the new normal.”
Our Kelowna Women’s Shelter was no different and staff worked hard to ensure we were keeping residents and clients as safe as possible while still providing access to critical programs and services to women and children in need in our community. One of the greatest areas of challenge, however was felt in our child and youth centred program: PEACE.
The PEACE Program, previously called “Children Who Witness Abuse,” stands for Prevention, Education, Advocacy, Counselling and Empowerment. It is a provincially recognized Psycho-Educational program for children & youth who have experienced domestic abuse and violence. It is also one of the few programs offered in our community that focuses not just on responding to the effects of domestic abuse in children but also providing much-needed tools to prevent domestic abuse from continuing on through generations.
During the pandemic, the need for PEACE program increased greatly. PEACE faced more situations in this last year that involved navigating relationships within families than in years prior in part due to the ongoing consequences of COVID response. The effects of increased isolation, “forced togetherness,” financial hardships, and many other factors resulted in an increase in the severity and frequency of domestic abuse in our communities. This, in turn, resulted in a major growth in the number and instances of children and youth witnessing abuse, predominantly against their mothers.
The power the pandemic has over society to force change in our everyday lives did not have the same power to change behaviours of bullying. The removal of interpersonal activities through school, work, family gettogethers, social gatherings and events, resulted in a shift toward online and social media platforms to keep in touch and engage with others. Although this offered muchneeded relief and connection to some, for others it only fueled their experiences of cyberbullying through social media and sometimes even during virtual schooling.
But these effects were not limited to the behaviours of children and youth in public settings. A more hidden, unnoticed, and even at times misinterpreted force can be seen in the relationships between siblings in the home. Bullying behaviour between brothers and sisters, especially step-siblings, can often be mislabeled as “sibling rivalry,” the consequences of which can have lasting harmful effects if not addressed in time. The increased tensions between siblings and stepsiblings has resulted in a marked increase in bullying within the home and mimics the power dynamics seen in instances of domestic abuse.
Families have spoken up about the challenges they face and in response to these concerns, the PEACE program quickly adapted by moving to telephone and virtual counselling and support to children and youth as well as moms or caregivers. We continued to explore strategies with children and youth on how to be respectful of self as well as being respectful of those they live with. We incorporated new age-appropriate trainings on mindfulness and breathing to reduce anxiety and depression during COVID and helped children and youth identify their feelings and help create tools to express and explore them in a healthy way.
During Pink Shirt Day last year, nobody could have predicted what the year would hold for us. It may have been a difficult 2020 and there are still many challenges ahead of us in 2021, but this experience has shown that together we are committed to ensuring that no child has to be the victim of bullying against themselves or a family member. The PEACE program will always strive to serve the needs of the children and youth in our community and will continue offering programing and service as long as it is needed.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, or want more information, please call our 24-hour resource line at 250-763-1040 or email us at peace@kelownawomensshelter.ca.
LANGFORD — Data released by Vancouver police showing a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes last year reinforces the need to treat violence against people of colour as a hate crime, British Columbia’s premier says.
Vancouver police data shows anti-Asian hate crimes rose from a dozen in 2019 to 142 incidents in 2020, a 717 per cent increase, while general hate incidents doubled.
Vancouver police said last year that the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes coincided with the increases in COVID-19 cases last March.
Premier John Horgan said Thursday there are difficulties in prosecuting hate crimes, partly due to having to prove the crime was race-related, as opposed to violent crimes, but it is important to do so.
“We need to ensure violence against people of colour is not just treated as violence but, in fact, hate crimes,” he said during a media availability. “If you’re going to turn against people because of the colour of your skin, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Horgan referred to recent incidents of people of Asian descent being attacked in the United States, saying similar incidents can occur in B.C.
The provincial government is working on anti-racism legislation and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has reached out to police forces to emphasize the importance of prosecuting hate crimes, Horgan said.
The premier could not confirm the specifics of the legislation, saying that consultations are being conducted over what it should contain.
Horgan
said
the Education
Ministry is also working with school boards and looking at antiracism discussions and dialogues in classrooms.
“We need to make sure we’re talking about these issues all the time. Prevention starts by people stepping up when they see intolerance,” Horgan said.
Queenie Choo, the CEO of SUCCESS, a community service group for newcomers to Canada, said there are likely far more hate crime incidents that have gone unreported.
“I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
A clear definition of what constitutes a hate crime, combined with anti-racism legislation, is one immediate step the provincial government can take, Choo said.
“What are the consequences when people behave like this?” she said. “Are people being held responsible for their behaviour?”
Chinese Canadian advocates have previously discussed how the initial rhetoric around the COVID-19 virus, such as some labelling it the “Wuhan virus” or the “China virus,” damaged the community.
Horgan made his comments as he launched a new co-working space for public service employees in Langford.