This is the 21^st in our series of stories celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of youth in our community. These inspirational young adults are enriching our lives with their passion and commitment to the betterment of society.

Austin Sawyer

This past June Austin Sawyer was one of fifty Canadians awarded the prestigious $80,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. In Austin’s case, it was his application of the scientific method that led him to rise to the top of  the distinguished 2015 class of nominees. Austin joins Alysha Rose as the second Schulich Leader Scholarship winner we have highlighted in our celebrating youth in our community series. And this remarkable young man partnered with fellow Lambrick Park Secondary School student Vicki Kleu (another previously featured student in our series) in the development of method to improve the cleanup and retention of oil spills.

His partnership with Vicki was very productive as they shared complementary skill sets with Austin particularly loving the presentation and “making the pitch” component of the science fair competitions. Their project won them national recognition at the 2014 Canada Wide Science Fair and it played a pivotal role in the success of Austin’s Schulich nomination for students who want to study science, technology, engineering and math (academic disciplines known as STEM fields) at a Canadian university. Their science project, a reusable and biodegradable oil boom, won the pair a $500.00 cash prize as well as a Manning Innovation Achievement Award and the Senior Excellence Bronze medal.

Vicki and Austin’s invention of an inexpensive absorbent boom that picks up over 32ml of oil per gram of fibre was featured in Douglas Magazine earlier this year. And if you’re interested in further details about their impressive findings, check out their TedX Talk entitled A New Approach to Oil Spill Recovery. Austin and Vicki have recently been working with some oil companies to do further research and try to market the oil boom.

In 2015 Austin branched off on his own and once again qualified for the national science fair competition, after finishing third in the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair for his innovative project aimed at developing low-cost solutions to increase the longevity of wood railroad ties. Janet Dawson, a grade eight student at Gordon Head Middle School also mentored by Cheryl Nigh, and coached by Austin, finished fifth and also qualified for the national competition. At the nationals, once again Austin made it to the podium winning won a bronze medal of excellence in the senior category. Janet Dawson for whom he served as a mentor and coach earned a silver medal of excellence in the junior category at nationals, along with wining top discovery project and top astronomy award.

Austin, now 18 years old, was born in Victoria and attended Torquay Elementary and Gordon Head Middle School prior to graduating from Lambrick Park Secondary this year. We were a little surprised to learn that he disliked science (and school in general) until Grade 8 when he was influenced and inspired by Cheryl Nigh, a talented science and math teacher at Gordon Head Middle School. It was Ms. Nigh who got him interested in science fairs. In Grade 8, Austin entered the regional science fair and ended up winning a Canada wide silver medal of excellence. And Austin has excelled academically ever since he arrived at Lambrick Park Secondary; he obtained a 5.0 GPA every year and a 92% average in Grade 12.

As might be expected, Austin was also involved in a number of extracurricular activities including the Leadership program and the Green Team at Lambrick Park Secondary, as well as its Student Council. He was elected as Vice President of the Student Council (after dressing up as the character Napolean Dynamite during the campaign) and during his tenure he had a liaison role between student council, Leadership and the student body. He loved the role and describes himself as “very social”.

To be nominated for the Schulich Award, Austin had to submit an essay to the Principal and Vice Principal of his school to explain “how being an all around student was more important than strictly grades”. Then he wrote an essay to the Schulich Board based on the following quote by David Suzuki about future and continued fossil fuel extraction: “We’re in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone’s arguing over where they are going to sit”. Austin envisions a future “where the car is being driven away from the wall toward change and leaving the world a better place”.

In ten years, Austin would like to own a biomedical company and design prosthetics to help people with physical disabilities. In September, he will begin his studies at the University of Victoria in engineering, with a focus on chemical or biomedical engineering in the future.

Austin also excels in sports. He started playing soccer at age 8 and admits to being “very competitive”. He scored the winning goal in a shootout in Grade 11, while playing for his soccer club Saanich Fusion (Gold Level). He also ran track in Grade 9, 10 and 11, including relay and 100 metre events. In Grade 12, he was sidelined with an ankle injury and bone issue that required surgery. Back in form now, he likes to go running, hiking and play soccer for fun.

Austin has a job at Berwick House, a retirement residence in Victoria where he works with his brother in the kitchen. He enjoys interacting with the seniors and loves to hear their stories. He has been a volunteer in the community at marathons, at the Campus View elementary craft fair and as a mentor to younger students at the Science Fair. He loves mentoring students and brings his tremendous enthusiasm to the role.

This very well rounded young man has clear goals, an engaging personality and a brilliant future. Those young students he mentors in science fairs are fortunate indeed to know Austin.

September 16, 2014 marked the 50^th anniversary of the ratification of the Columbia River Treaty. It also triggered the beginning of a ten-year period for renegotiation for which we are now in the middle of the second year. As negotiations continue to evolve, I will provide ongoing analysis of the treaty process. In this, our first post on the topic, I offer a historical review of how we got to where we are today.

The ~2,000 km long Columbia River begins in British Columbia’s Rocky Mountains and stretches through Washington before reaching the Pacific Ocean northwest of Portland, Oregon. Its drainage basin (including the rivers that flow into and join with it) includes parts of British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. That’s an area of about 670,000 square kilometres which is greater than the size of Alberta.

The Columbia River has played a pivotal role in the economic development of British Columbia and it all began in the 1930s. During that time, the United States realized that it could harness the Columbia by damming it; it could then use the river for power generation, flood control, channel navigation and irrigation. The United States quickly realized, however, that to truly maximize the potential of the river — and to truly be able to control the possibility of severe flooding — it would also need to harness the river on the Canadian side. This need to enter into transboundary cooperation was underscored when a 1948 flood caused extensive damage from Trail, British Columbia to Astoria, Oregon, completely destroying Vanport, Oregon’s second largest city in a day. Sixteen years later, in 1964, the Columbia River Treaty was formally ratified, allowing for the development and operation of dams in British Columbia and thereby creating power and providing flood control for both Canada and the United States.

After the treaty was signed, British Columbia built three dams that have been continuously used to provide flood management and electrical generation (through hydropower) both in British Columbia and the United States. In return for the construction and extended reciprocal use of these dams, British Columbia receives, from the United States, an annual Canadian Entitlement now valued at between $250 and $350 million. As a result, electricity generated downstream, in the United States, provides nearly half of the city of Los Angeles’ electricity, while water from the dam system irrigates more than 7.3 million acres of previously non-arable land. In addition to the benefits provided to the United States and our own Canadian Entitlement, the Columbia River Basin now provides approximately half of the power generation capacity of British Columbia. So even without knowing it, each and every one of us continues to be affected daily by the 1964 Columbia River Treaty every time we turn on the lights or our televisions.

It’s pretty clear how British Columbia benefits from the treaty: we get flood control, we get electricity, and we get an annual payment from the United States. For all of its benefits, however, it’s important to consider how the treaty impacts our province. Treaty dams flood almost 600 square kilometres of bottomland in British Columbia and the flooding affected residents of areas that were either flooded or were near the flooding. Furthermore, much of the land impacted is of cultural and titular importance to local First Nations.

In an effort to implement the treaty in a short amount of time, the British Columbia government did not substantively consider the impacts of altering the natural flow of the river. The result of this lack of consideration has meant that the people of the Columbia River basin have neither had much say in the development of the river, nor have they seen substantial direct economic benefits to their communities. This lack of consideration also extended to environmental issues, which, in the 1950s and 60s, were not of paramount importance during the negotiations. The use of British Columbia land, through the treaty, does not identify ecosystem considerations; it does not account for the potential implications of climate change; nor does it include mechanisms that allow for adaptation according to changing environmental, economic and regional conditions. Agriculture — in and around the Columbia River — has been required to change. Local ecosystems have shifted. Fish populations that previously used the river have disappeared or altered their activities. Although we have not “destroyed” the Columbia River basin, we have certainly had an impact on it.

In 1995 the Columbia Basin Trust was set up as after residents, including local government officials and First Nations, of the Columbia Basin approached the British Columbia Government with a request (as taken from the Columbia Basin Trust website):

1. funds be allocated to the region, representing a fair share of the ongoing benefits being realized outside of the Basin as a result of the Columbia Basin Trust;
2. a regional organization, governed by a board of Basin residents, be created to manage those funds.

As noted above, we are currently in the middle of the second year of a ten-year period of renegotiation. Both the United States and Canada have set up review committees to examine the current treaty and its effects. Both committees have advised that each country would substantially benefit from the continuation of the treaty. The issue becomes more complicated when the committees consider the costs and benefits for each jurisdiction. For example, the United States asserts that Canada is currently receiving more than its fair share of entitlements, while British Columbia believes that intangible benefits to the United States from our own water management are not currently accounted for under the treaty. Moreover, while both parties agree that accommodating environmental factors is a high priority, recommendations on the process for their accommodation vary. One thing that is certain, the negotiation process will ultimately play an important role in deciding the energy future of British Columbia.

Ultimately, the Columbia River Treaty renegotiation offers the potential for British Columbia to continue to play a major role in the energy sector of the Pacific Southwest. Furthermore, it gives British Columbia the opportunity to position itself as a leader in sustainable energy production and transnational energy cooperation.

If you are interested in further information, please consider reading the details of the regional recommendations from the United States and the recommendations from British Columbia. The province of British Columbia also provides information concerning negotiations on an ongoing basis.

On August 8th, it was my distinct honour to participate in the welcome ceremony and opening of the Oak Bay First Annual Arts and Culture Festival. It was the first cultural canoe welcoming ceremony to take place in Oak Bay in over a century. I was part of the canoe entourage that included paddlers from the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, a student from Oak Bay High School and local politicians. We paddled from Oak Bay Marina to Willows Beach, where we were greeted upon arrival and invited onto the beach by Chief Ron Sam and Songhees Elders.

This was definitely a highlight of my two years as an MLA and I was profoundly humbled by the significance of the event. It brought home to me the importance of honouring and celebrating our indigenous history. In his remarks, Chief Sam told us it was an emotional day for him and those in attendance were also deeply moved. We were fortunate to bear witness to Elder Joan Morris presenting a blanket to the Acting Mayor of Oak Bay, Kevin Murdoch. The First Nations dance performances were inspiring and, even as the rain came, the crowd was appreciative.

The event kicked off the week-long festival to celebrate our vibrant arts and culture community. Thanks to the organizers as well as Oak Bay Arts Laureate Barbara Adams who did such a wonderful job and I sincerely thank them for inviting me to participate.

Media Release – August 12th 2015
Key Issues Remain Unaddressed in Draft Conditions on Trans Mountain Pipeline
For Immediate Release

Victoria B.C. – Today the National Energy Board today released 145 draft conditions for the Trans Mountain Pipeline. While highlighting a number of existing deficiencies in the application, the conditions fail to address several key concerns with the project.

“There appears to be no reference to the unique properties of diluted bitumen and its fate and behaviour in the marine environment,” said Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay Gordon head and Deputy Leader of the BC Greens. “We still have very limited scientific understanding as to what would happen if a diluted bitumen spill were to occur in our coastal waters. But published evidence suggests that a spill clean up would be much more difficult than in the case for traditional crude, if it is possible at all.”

Back in 2013, the NEB’s draft conditions for Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline included a requirement to fund a research program to study the behaviour of heavy oil (diluted bitumen) spills in freshwater and marine environments. Yet today there was no mention of any requirement for such a study.

One of the conditions released today touches on the need to expand the existing oil spill response capacity. However it fails to acknowledge the fact that there is evidence to suggest that Trans Mountain has in some cases overstated the existing response abilities.

“I am pleased that the NEB is requiring Trans Mountain to have a plan to respond to bigger spills faster. But the fact remains that under numerous weather conditions, a spill response would be impossible or severely constrained. Furthermore, there is a substantial difference between actual recovery rates and spill response capacity.” said Weaver

“It’s hard not to draw comparisons back to the Enbridge review panel, where 199 conditions were released and cross examination ensured that the risks of the project were far more rigourously examined and questioned,” noted Andrew Weaver. “The review process for the Trans Mountain project was degraded to a paperwork exchange, and many critical issues with the project remain unaddressed to this day.”

Dr. Weaver’s final argument will be available in early September when it is submitted to the National Energy Board.

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Media Contact

Mat Wright
Press Secretary – Andrew Weaver, MLA
Cell: (1) 250 216 3382 Email:
Mat.Wright@leg.bc.ca

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This is the fourth in our series highlighting innovation and creativity within our region’s business sector.

It was sweltering hot and the brewery was buzzing the afternoon we met with Sean Hoyne. As people filtered through filling growlers with their favourite beer we asked Sean to tell us about his brewery and how they got started. Though the Hoyne Brewing Company has only been open for three and a half years, Sean started their story in the 1970s – before commercial craft brewing had even begun in Canada.

Frank Appleton, who Sean credits as the father of the craft beer movement in British Columbia, was a quality control supervisor at Carling O’Keefe’s but he had grown tired of the corporate beer scene and decided to quit in 1972. He spent the 1970s and 80s writing articles for the Harrowsmith magazine while brewing beer at his home in Edgewood, B.C. One of those articles, about the joys of home-brewing, caught the eye of John Mitchell who, at the time, was the co-owner and manager of the Troller Ale House in Horseshoe Bay.

Mitchell had grown up in pub-rich England and was frustrated by the limited selection of beer in Canada. He tracked down Appleton and asked him if he would help him start a brewpub, a pub where good beer was both brewed and served. Far easier said than done at the best of times, Mitchell and Appleton first had to convince the local and federal governments to pass legislation that would make brewpubs legal. Previously, provincial law prohibited the public sale of beer at breweries but in 1981, after many meetings and rounds of legislation, they got approval to start brewing – and selling – their own beer from a single establishment (with the caveat that a commercial road separated the brewery and pub). Mitchell and Appleton opened Horseshoe Bay Brewery with a little store across the street on the waterfront, the first brewpub to open in North America since prohibition. From there, Mitchell and Appleton went on to open Spinnakers, Canada’s first in-house brewpub, and help dozens of other local breweries get started.

Sean enters this story, homebrewed six-pack in hand, in the late 1980s. He had a science degree to back up his beer brewing passion and he was keen to learn everything Appleton could teach him. He brought a case of homemade beer to his job interview with Appleton and let the beer speak for itself while they talked literature. Sean got the job and the two of them went on to set up the brewery in Swans Hotel in 1989. After a few years in the brewmaster role at Swans, Sean left to build the brewery at Canoe Brewpub. “I brewed there for 13 years, focusing on developing award-winning beers and fostering a sense of community between brewers and beer enthusiasts,” he said of his time at Canoe.

Ready to start a new chapter in a sector that was enjoying incredible public support, Sean moved into a space just outside of downtown Victoria and started to build the Hoyne Brewing Company. Starting with a team of one (himself), Sean is now one of 20 working at the brewery. In addition to serving liquor stores and customers who come into the brewery, Hoyne sells directly to bars and restaurants. They do their own deliveries, he explained, so they can provide the best service possible – even when their bottom line would recommend doing otherwise. They have partnered with Geazone, a local zero-emissions delivery service that uses electric cars and bike courriers, for their distribution. It costs more, said Sean, “but I like supporting Andrew, [Geazone’s president and CEO], because he is a young entrepreneur doing the right thing.” They even do their Victoria to Vancouver run with the zero-emissions fleet. Sean ensures two people are on each delivery run so they can share the job and help with the loading and rearranging of kegs in their drop-point’s cold room. It may seem like a simple gesture, but one that I’m sure is greatly appreciated by servers sent down to switch heavy kegs during rush hours. “We do what we can to support other businesses,” said Sean.

A central part of Hoyne’s mandate is to help wherever they can. It is a value system that has triggered countless positive ripple effects, both locally and abroad. They support charities (financially or with beer, where appropriate), including the Dirty Walls Project in India and source their equipment, hops, and malt from within B.C. The shiny stainless steel tanks found throughout the brewery were made on Vancouver Island and twice as expensive as their foreign-made counterparts, but the connections and collaborative friendships the brewery has made supporting local workers has made it more than worthwhile, said Sean.  “If something is wrong with the tanks, they’ll be here at a moment’s notice to help out.” Local farmers are often at the brewery too, picking up loads of spent grain for their animals and gardens.

Comparing the rise of local craft breweries in B.C. with mega breweries like Molson that are now all run by non-Canadian owners (with the exception of Pacific Western), Sean attributes craft’s success with the sector’s determination to deviate from the mass-production business model. “Local craft breweries have social license,” said Sean. “They are involved in the community, transparent, open to the public, and authentic. I am in this industry because I like beer, to me it represents enjoyment and community.”

“People are always welcome to stop by our brewery,” Sean continued, “and every ingredient is listed on our bottles. We are proud of that.” As beer is not considered a ‘food product’ by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, ingredient lists are not a requirement. Mass-produced beers, Sean explained, contain preservatives – which he stressed are not necessary unless you are selling old beer. “[At Hoyne] we don’t deliver our beer past where we can ensure it will arrive fresh so we don’t have to add anything extra, like preservatives. You can do things differently.”

Sean and his team have made numerous adjustments to the status quo, from allowing their beer to naturally carbonate during the fermentation process (instead of releasing the CO₂ and force-carbonating the beverage further along the production line) to building a glycol refrigeration system that allows them to cool individual tanks instead of the entire room.

As an enthusiastic supporter of the entire local craft beer sector, it was a pleasure to see the process in action and learn more about Hoyne’s community-based business model. Though I opted out of the taste-testing portion of my visit, because I was driving and had a CBC interview immediately afterwards, I already knew from experience that Hoyne’s Devil’s Dream IPA is one of my favourites.