OAK BAYNEWS Going solo
Youth rewarded
This year’s Uno Festival includes experienced headliners along with groundbreaking local productions. Entertainment, Page A17
A dozen Oak Bay kids are honoured with Young Exceptional Star awards. Community, Page A3
Friday, May 11, 2012
BeauƟful Homes in Great LocaƟons! 250-516-9230
Watch for breaking news at www.oakbaynews.com
Makeup of deer advisory committee worries animal rights advocates Brittany Lee News staff
The selection process for the Capital Regional District’s deer management Citizen’s Advisory Group was not transparent, and the makeup of the group seems biased, claim local animal rights advocates. Members of DeerSafe Victoria are expressing concerns over one of the appointed members of the CAG, Richard Christiansen, who appears to be a representative from the United Bowhunters of British Columbia, a bowhunting lobby group. “He’s not just a citizen, he’s a representative of a lobby group, and they work for bowhunter recognition and opportunity, so that doesn’t make him a citizen at all,” said Kelly Carson, one of the founding members of DeerSafe. The group’s main concern is that people are not aware of who is on the advisory committee. “It’s not very transparent at all,” Carson said, adding she discovered this particular member’s history through a Google search. Carson, along with 24 other DeerSafe members, feel that Christiansen should be removed from the group because as a representative of the UBBC, he would not be impartial, she said. The feeling that the citizen’s group may veer towards one side is echoed by Liz White, leader of the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada, based in Toronto. PLEASE SEE: Group fears bias, Page A7
Safety lessons Oak Bay Recreation Centre staff member Chellan Clark, left, learns to use a fire extinguisher from Oak Bay firefighter John Ballantyne outside the fire hall. Firefighters familiarized staff from the municipal hall, the Oak Bay police, public works and the Oak Bay Recreation Centre as a part of Emergency Preparedness Week. Firefighters remind the public to call 911 before attempting to put out a fire themselves and practise P.A.S.S. when using a fire extinguisher: P- pull pin, Aactivate the extinguisher, Ssqueeze the lever, S- sweep the extinguisher over the fire. Sharon Tiffin/News staff