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Vol. 27 No. 25
COMOX VALLEY RECORD Your community. Your newspaper. www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
ON THE STREET REET
Is Victoria right to legislate teachers back to work? ■ A7
TREATY SIGNED
Chief Ernie Hardy of the K’ómoks First Nation, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development John Duncan and Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Mary Polak signed an agreement-in-principle Saturday under the B.C. Treaty Process. The AIP lays a framework for final negotiations toward a legally binding treaty. “The signing of the K’ómoks First Nation agreement-in-principle demonstrates that the B.C. treaty process is producing results,” said Duncan.
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March 28, 2012
INSIDE
Courtenay expecting dramatic tax hikes Renée Andor Record Staff
Courtenay residents will likely see significant hikes in their sewer and water user rates in the coming years. Council passed a motion Monday to instruct City staff to draft a bylaw allowing for a two-percent increase in water and sewer user rates for 2012. However, according to the proposed 2012 to 2016 five-year financial plan, both user rates are expected to rise substantially over the next five years — with sewer rates rising “dramatically,” according to Tillie Manthey, City director of financial services. According to the financial plan, sewer user rates are expected to rise by 15 per cent in 2013, followed by a 20-per-cent hike in 2014, and another 20-per-cent rise in 2015. While Manthey said these numbers are estimates and the rate hikes could end up lower, she pointed out that the Comox Valley Regional District is working on a 10-year plan to upgrade its sewer system and the City’s expected contribution is a leading factor in the need for “dramatic” user fee hikes. “We will be looking to council to increase those (user) rates dramatically over the next five years. To put that in perspective, our current sewer user rate is $159 per year and essentially, if the regional requisition increases by the amounts proposed, we would look at that rate doubling in the next five years.” According to the financial plan, the Courtenay contribution to CVRD upgrades to sewer operations was $2,172,326 in 2011. It’s expected to jump to $3.92 million in 2016, with increments along the way. While Manthey noted some of ... see CITY’S ■ A2
RECEIVING QUEEN ELIZABETH II Diamond Jubilee Medals in Victoria were Stocky Edwards (left) and Ralph Shaw, who were accompanied by spouses Elaine and Toni. PHOTO BY LYNNEA ROSS
Shaw and Edwards honoured Earle Couper Record Staff
Some very special Vancouver Islanders gathered recently at Government House in Victoria, and among them were two Comox Valley residents. Ralph Shaw and Stocky Edwards were two of 66 Islanders to receive Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals. The recipients included 31 Officers of the Order of Canada and 61 Members of the Order of Canada, the latter being the group that includes Edwards and Shaw. Some two dozen recipients were unable to attend. The list of those present included Iona Campagnolo, Pat Carney, Vicky Husband, Jack Munro and Howie Meeker. Shaw sat beside renowned UVic and national team basketball coaches Ken and Cathy Shields of Victoria, and Meeker (Parksville) asked Shaw to take him fishing one day. The commemorative Queen’s Jubilee Medal marks the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s
accession to the throne. It honours significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. “Everybody of the Order of Canada receives a Queen’s Jubilee medal,” said Shaw, who received his Order of Canada in 1984 primarily for his work in environmental education in hunting and fishing. “There will be 60,000 distributed to Canadians by citizen nomination across Canada,” he added. James Francis (Stocky) Edwards was a Canadian fighter pilot during the Second World War. Canada’s highest scoring ace in the western desert campaign, Edwards received his Order of Canada medal in 2004. In 2009, Edwards was honoured as one of the 100 most influential Canadians in aviation and had his name included with the others on the 2009 CF-18 Centennial of Flight demonstration Hornet. “The whole ceremony was just excellent,” Shaw said. “After the ceremony we were invited to walk around Govern-
ment House, and there’s all the history of the Queen. Everywhere there were pictures and memorabilia. I hope others have the privilege we had to tour Government House.” While the room was full of Order of Canada recipients, a big thrill for Shaw was being able to invite three guests. With his wife Elaine and daughters Leanne and Lynnea alongside him, Shaw said, “It was a glorious family event. Our daughters had never seen me recognized anywhere, except after the event.” Another highlight for Shaw was reuniting with old friend Joy Finlay. “(She) was doing the same work in Alberta as I was doing in B.C. (speaking about environmental education). I was up grabbing a snack (at the ceremony) when all of a sudden she said, ‘Ralph, I’ve been looking for you.’ She got her Order of Canada in 1990. We’ve done lots of work together. Her and her husband live in Victoria now.” sports@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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