Monday, August 22, 2011

Jack Layton Remembered

We're just going to take a quick break from the election if that's alright with everyone. 

Victoria Votes is not a partisan organization, we do not endorse any political party or candidate, but we do feel it's important to recognize the contribution of Mr. Layton to Canadian Politics and to our country. Today, Canada lost a great man. This evening, around 200 people gathered near the office of NDP MP Denise Savoie to remember the contribution to Canadian politics made by Jack Layton.

Among the dozens gathered there were MLAs Rob Fleming and Carole James, along with MPs Randall Garrison and Denise Savoie. The tone was one of sorrow, but also of admiration and warmth as each speaker remembered Jack's personality and his leadership. In the crowd were council candidate Rose Henry and current City Council members Philippe Lucas, Marianne Alto, John Luton, and Lynn Hunter, along with Mayor Fortin.

The highlights of the evening were speeches by Rob Fleming and Carole James, both of whom took time to echo words from Layton's final letter to Canadians while relating their own personal experiences working under Jack's leadership. All of the speakers stressed the value of coming together as Canadians to heed Layton's final request, that we work tirelessly to improve our country and our communities.

Thanks to everyone who came out.

VV

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Lisa Helps on A Channel

 From the A Channel website. Video is here.

August 19, 2011

VICTORIA - When Lisa Helps takes us around the side of the house she's sitting for a friend Friday, we find a box built overtop of the BC Hydro meter and a message you can't miss - "Do Not Install Smart Meter Here."

Helps says "The World Health Organization came out in May 2011 and said technology we're not sure about like cell phones and smart meters are a possible carcinogen, and to me the word possible is really the important thing. It's not saying these are going to cause cancer, but you know what, if we think they might, we've got to go a little more slowly on this."

Helps is part of a movement questioning BC Hydro's plan to equip homes and businesses with new radio-frequency equipped smart meters that track hourly electricity consumption. “The smart meter program is really a way to modernize, upgrade our system, a way we can help reduce the pressure on rates to our customers, over 3 years the smart meter program can reduce rate pressures by $70 million to our customers" says BC Hydro Spokesperson Ted Olynyk.

After hearing from a number of people, Victoria City Councillor Philippe Lucas presented a motion to council to request BC Hydro allow people to refuse a new meter. He says there's been a lack of consultation, and and suggests a 2nd option. "The alternative I'm suggesting is Corix, the company that's making the wireless smart meters Hydro is putting in, also have wired versions of the meter. So people who opt out have the wired version and still pass on the info that Hydro needs."

BC Hydro says the wired-meters Lucas suggests cost $35,000 each, and have only been used in industrial applications. As for health concerns, Ted Olynyk points out some of the other "possible" carcinogens listed in the same category as the smart meters by the World Health Organization. "We'd be eliminating cars, GPS, cell phones, and doctors wireless pagers."

The final word from Lisa Helps: People have a choice to use a cell phone or wireless internet, but not to refuse a smart meter, and that's not right.

BC Hydro says it has already installed about 1600 of the new meters in the Victoria area.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Steve Filipovic Running for City Council

If you read that headline, you know what this post is about!

Steve Filipovic has run twice in Victoria, once for Mayor as a green-aligned independent, and in the recent by-election, where he came in third with 2280 votes, or about half of the winning candidate's 4529. 

While he hasn't publicly announced, Victoria Votes was assured that he intends to run this year. "I am running for City Council," said Filipovic in his statement to VV, "to steer the City into creating affordable housing opportunities for Victorians, to implement viable and cost saving solutions for housing those without homes, to get our City on track to reducing our use of fossil fuels and pesticides, and to transition our City toward Local and Organic."

Filipovic began campaigning with an event on Thursday Aug. 4th entitled "Challenge the Establishment Strategy Meeting". 

More soon.

VV

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