Today I had the distinct honour of speaking at the opening of the Royal BC Museum exhibit ‘Bread and Salt‘ celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada. Below is the text of my speech.

Text of Speech

Good afternoon, добрий день,

It gives me great pleasure to be here at the opening of the Royal BC Museum exhibit celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada.

On behalf of the constituents in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, I welcome you and sincerely thank those involved for putting the exhibit together.

Ever since Vasyl Ilyniak and Ivan Pylypiw arrived in Quebec from western Ukraine on September 7, 1891, Ukrainian Canadians have played a key role in making Canada what it is today. Now, more than 1.2 million Canadians claim full or partial Canadian heritage. And I am one of them.

My grandfather and mother fled Ukraine as refugees during the Second World War. After several years living in refugee camps and subsequently impoverished conditions in France, they too landed in Quebec, calling it their home for many years. And as was the Ukrainian way, my grandfather eventually returned to farming in Canada, his new country.

There must be something in the blood of Ukrainians that leads them to have such a profound respect and love of the land. In fact, my dream is to one day move onto a small farm.

You can take the Ukrainian out of Ukraine, but you can’t take the love of the land out of the Ukrainian.

Like so many others with stories that are so similar, my family immigrated to Canada so that their children could have a better life. My family instilled in us the importance of hard work, just as so many other descendants of Ukrainian immigrants did with their children

Canadians of Ukrainian descent live throughout Canada but remain bonded by their strong culture — a rich culture and history that we will find displayed in the Royal BC Museum exhibit opening today.

Thank you, Дякую, and enjoy the exhibit.

The Canadian Cancer Society has initiated a radon detection program on Vancouver Island. One of the three communities that has been selected is Gordon Head.

Radon, produced through the decay of uranium, is a naturally occurring gas whose presence is not detectable through smell, taste or sight. But this same gas is known to be the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking and it can build up in homes where naturally occurring radon is present. The good news is that if radon is detected, all homes can be fixed.

As noted by the Canadian Cancer Society in their information package:

Geological maps of uranium deposits demonstrate there is potential for elevated radon levels on Vancouver Island, although limited residential testing has been completed. The Canadian Cancer Society wants to identify radon levels to determine if there is a need for further testing, community education, action, or policy.

If you own a single detached home in the Gordon Head area and would like to participate for free in the Canadian Cancer Society’s research endeavour, please find instructions their information package.

Since becoming an MLA I have visited the proposed location of the Site C dam on the Peace River twice. Most recently, on Aug. 23, I travelled a section of the river with a group of concerned community members. It’s hard to fathom the scale of planned development unless you see it in person, just as it’s hard to grasp the human and cultural cost of this project until you listen to the people caught in the middle of it.

Dam construction would flood more than 5,000 hectares of land – drowning homes, traditional lands, scores of culturally important sites, and 15,985 acres of agricultural land.

Local and indigenous people in the area are being systematically stripped of their livelihood and culture by one arm of government, while receiving apologies for past injustices and promises of reconciliation from another.

Compounding the environmental, historical, cultural and agricultural damages is a reckless disregard of energy economics.

Since 2005, domestic demand for electricity in B.C. has been essentially flat, but over the next 20 years BC Hydro forecasts our energy needs will increase by about 40 per cent as a consequence of both population and economic growth. They are selling Site C as the solution to this growing electricity demand, but their argument doesn’t hold water.

Upon completion, the dam would produce 1,100 MW (megawatts, i.e. millions of Watts) of power capacity and up to 5,100 GWh (gigawatt hours, i.e. billions of watt hours) of electricity each year.

Currently only about 1.5 per cent of B.C.’s electricity production is supplied by wind energy (compared to roughly 20 per cent in P.E.I.). With our mountainous terrain and coastal boundary, the potential for both onshore and offshore wind power production is enormous. The Canadian Wind Energy Association and the BC Hydro Integrated Resource Plan 2013 indicate that 5,100 GWh of wind-generated electricity could be produced in B.C. for about the same price as the electricity to be produced by the Site C dam.

A report by the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association noted B.C. also has substantial untapped potential for firm, on demand, geothermal power which could be developed where power is needed.

While costs associated with Site C will be borne by provincial taxpayers (a price tag that will eventually be much more than BC Hydro’s estimate of roughly $9 billion), solar, wind and geothermal project risks are covered by industry.  Alternative sources coupled with existing dams could provide enough energy to meet the needs of British Columbians, with the potential to scale up as needed. They would also provide better economic opportunities to local communities and First Nations across the province, with lower impacts on traditional territories.

Instead of a diversified approach to renewable energy, the B.C. government is pushing Site C because they want to offer LNG proponents access to firm power. As I have been explaining for years, however, there will be no B.C. LNG industry in the foreseeable future because of a global glut in natural gas and plummeting prices for imported LNG in Asia. As the government desperately doubles down on LNG, renewable projects are moving elsewhere. Just this year they let a $750 million US investment to build wind capacity on Vancouver Island slip away, despite buy-in from five First Nations, TimberWest, EDP Renewables and the Canadian Wind Energy Association.

I wanted to see how much has been done when I visited Site C this summer. Nothing has passed a point of no return. Proceeding with Site C is actively driving clean energy investment out of the province, but it is not too late to correct our province’s power trajectory.

Media Statement: September 8th, 2016
Weaver applauds Grizzly Bear Foundation inquiry
For Immediate Release

Victoria B.C. – “I welcome the Grizzly Bear Foundation’s inquiry into the status and future of grizzly bears in British Columbia and am supportive of the critical lens through which they are looking at this complex issue,” says Andrew Weaver, the MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head and Leader of the B.C. Green Party.

“Expanding our focus beyond trophy hunting is essential. While it is certainly an important factor, both morally and symbolically, and one I do not support, talking about trophy hunting alone is not enough. If we fail to also address poaching and threats to grizzly habitat and food supplies — especially with climate change further compromising essential salmon and huckleberry stocks — we will fail to protect grizzly bears in the long term.

“I am thrilled the Grizzly Bear Foundation shares this view and is so dedicated to the long term survival of grizzly bears in British Columbia, as well as the respectful inclusion of all stakeholders.
“The protection of wildlife and biodiversity for future generation is an issue that is of great importance to me. My research staff and I have worked on this file since I was first elected; we will continue to do so into the upcoming election. Combined with the Auditor General’s report, this new inquiry will lead to positive changes in how we manage and respect grizzlies and other wildlife in B.C.

“I look forward to attending the public hearing in Victoria this October.”

Media Contact:
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
1 250 216 3382

On Tuesday, the WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre held a rally in Vancouver to kick off the school year with a call for post-secondary institutions to address sexualized violence and support survivors on campus. I was invited to speak at the event but, unfortunately, was not able to make it over to Vancouver on that dat so I sent the organizers a copy of the speech I had prepared.

Below is a transcript of the speech that their Executive Director Irene Tsepnopoulos-Elhaimer graciously read on my behalf.

Text of Speech

Please accept my apologies for not being able to participate in this important event in person today. I would have loved to attend but unfortunately I have commitments in Victoria.

I am pleased to have been offered the opportunity to send along some information about the legislative progress that has been made relating to sexual assault policies over the past six months.

First, please let me provide some context on how I got involved with this topic – for most of my life I have either studied at or worked on university campuses around the world. For the last two decades, I have been a professor at the University of Victoria, the same university I attended as an undergrad in the 1980s.

My professional responsibilities are now largely centered around the legislature and my position as the MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head and Leader of the BC Green Party. But I still spend a great deal of time working with, and speaking to, students and young adults and have been absolutely sickened with the seemingly endless wave of stories about sexual assaults happening on and close to universities and other post-secondary campuses in B.C.

This past Spring I arrived back at my legislative office after a meeting in Vancouver to find my staff eagerly waiting for me with a campaign pitch and copies of Ontario legislation on their desks.

“Sexualized violence is a massive issue in B.C.”, they started, “and there is so much we can do to improve the situation – starting with colleges and universities.” One sentence in and I was on board. We immediately got to work, reviewed Ontario’s Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment, and drafted up a B.C.-version of their Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act.

We compiled a list of over 50 student societies, assault support centres, and key people across the province and contacted each one for input.

On March 8 I introduced Bill M205: Post-Secondary Sexual Violence Policies Act. The bill, based on similar legislation introduced in Ontario, was designed to address the pervasive occurrence of sexualized violence plaguing universities, colleges and other post-secondary institutions in British Columbia.

Noting that many post-secondary institutions lack sexual-assault policies, few have on-campus sexual assault crisis centres, and hardly any collect related incident data, the bill was designed to create a legal responsibility for universities and colleges to develop and maintain policies that would work to prevent the occurrences of sexual violence and provide support for victims.

The act would also require university and college-specific policies to be developed that would meet the needs of students, including education and protection, while working to create a safe environment for all students to come forward to report a sexual assault.

With an estimated one in three women and one in two transgender individuals experiencing sexual assault in their lifetime, this is a community issue that desperately needs to be addressed and post-secondary campuses present a unique opportunity to intervene.

The week after I tabled the Post-Secondary Sexual Violence Policies Act I followed up with the Premier in question period.

Noting that action on this issue was long overdue, she pledged to work with me to officially pass a version of my bill – urgently before the spring legislative session ended in May. I was thrilled with the progress on this pressing issue. I have since met with the Minister of Advanced Education to discuss next steps in moving this forward, and will continue to consult with students, survivors, support groups and university faculty and staff to make sure their voices are included as we build these laws. Sexualized violence in our communities is a huge problem, but it is important to remember that it is also a problem with incredible potential for progress.

With the start of the school year upon us it is important to remember that your universities and colleges are now legally obligated to develop and maintain policies that would work to prevent the occurrences of sexual violence and provide support for victims. These policies must be developed in consultation with the student body, and they need to be implemented by this coming Spring – one year from when the bill passed. If you feel that your school is not fulfilling their responsibilities, engage with your student society, ask the administration what policy progress has been made and how you can provide input to the policy development process. If you have additional concerns, you are always welcome to call my office at the legislature.

I am grateful to be able to work on this crucially important issue and owe a debt of gratitude to the incredibly courageous survivors of sexualized violence who have spoken out and help move us all forward.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide a few remarks, I wish you all a successful and safe term!

Photos by Jeremy Lye