In early June 2006, the Chemainus Residents Association held its first Annual General Meeting as St Joseph's gym. Guest speaker that night was Airi Schroff, a young law student with UVic's Environmental Law Centre. This was her address:  The CRA contacted the Environmental Law Clinic in the Spring, and when the Clinic Board and Legal Director heard about the Municipality of North Cowichan’s plans to destroy much of the 52 acres of older Coastal Douglas-fir forest, they committed to assisting the Chemainus Residents Association in their bid to stop the development. And, that is how you found Chemainus besieged back in May by a throng of concerned law students, all of us eager to see this treasure of a forest on our guided tour with two members of the CRA. All of us book weary law students were absolutely blown away by the diversity of plant and animal species that abound in Echo Heights, and the fragility of many of the places on our tour. We drank in the beauty of the maple trees, Douglas fir, and arbutus. At one point we stopped and watched a deer pick its way through the woods. At another point we stopped and admired a giant fungus, highlighted by forest light and shadow. Near the wetland, we feasted on a rather large watermelon that had found its way into my backpack as a rather unpractical hiking food, but well-received by the group hungry from hiking. And as we ate, we looked up to see a magnificent red-tailed hawk circling above us. We walked on, to the camas meadows, gently lit up by the violet blue of the spring flower, each individual flower a striking thing of beauty.. As we walked through Echo Heights, we had to keep reminding ourselves that these beautiful trails that we were discovering for the first time, and that residents have enjoyed for decades, are slated for development by the Municipality of North Cowichan. We had to keep reminding ourselves that North Cowichan already owns this land – but is talking about bulldozing it. And it was so surprising to all of us that a Municipality would choose to take an absolute treasure of a forest, a unique feature in the community of Chemainus, and come up with the thought that this area is suited not for a park for the public to enjoy in perpetuity BUT for a subdivision. And at the end of our walk we walked over to the adjacent property, where development is already proceeding. We stood in the clear cut, on the scarred earth, next to the stumps and logging debris. And we became even more resolved to protect Echo Heights. But protecting Echo Heights is not the only issue here. The other critical issue here is an issue of democracy. For, hard as it is to believe, the decision to develop Echo Heights, was made by Council in a meeting closed to the public in April. Thus far, the Environmental Law Clinic’s work has focused on the lack of transparency of this decision, and the lack of responsiveness by Council to the enormous public opposition to the planned development, . If you tell a bunch of law students that public authorities have been making decisions about the public interest IN PRIVATE, without any solid legal justification for doing so, you will no doubt provoke a flurry of outrage, legal research and a strong commitment to assist the affected groups in their struggle for democratic justice. This is what is happening here. The big question was, and is, what is the content of Council’s April 19 decision? They issued a statement saying that the Municipality was proceeding with development. But, amazingly, we don’t know exactly what the decision was, because the decision documents are not being released to the public, despite our many informal requests. In May the Chemainus Residents Association filed a formal Freedom of Information request with the Municipality of North Cowichan which they are required by law to consider within 30 days of receipt. Council was scheduled to talk about whether or not they would release these documents as a result of the CRA’s request. We are waiting to find out if they will reconsider their secretive position on the issue. There’s a fundamental democratic principle at stake – the municipality’s affairs should not be decided in secret. The principle that lawmakers must deliberate in public has been respected for centuries – ever since the Star Chamber was abolished in 1641 after it utilized its secret meetings to do things such as issue torture orders and proclaim bans on newspapers. In more modern times, President Harry Truman succinctly stated the general principle “Secrecy and a free, democratic government don’t mix”. The statute that the Council operates under – the Community Charter – contains a general rule that Council meetings should be public. Yet Council appears to be relying on a Community Charter exception which allows closed meetings when a municipality is selling land and an open meeting might disclose information that would affect, for instance, a land price. However, that exception is aimed at keeping secret the Municipality’s bargaining position with potential purchasers. It doesn’t apply to the general policy decision to proceed with development that Council made in April. It is apparent from this room full of people, the CRA website that features many far-reaching criticisms of both the decision to develop Echo Heights and Council’s undemocractic handling of the issue, the many letters bombarding Council that denounce their ill-considered decision to proceed with development, and letter after letter and article after article in the local and capital newspapers questioning Council’s handling of the issue, that the community has not given up on Echo Heights. The public’s business must be done in public. We are going to continue pushing for Council to re-open this issue. The Environmental Law Clinic will assist the CRA in delivering its message to Council – and this message is really a simple one. It is the same message that Harold Bartholomew delivered to Vancouver City Council when he delivered the Vancouver city Plan in 1928: “A city becomes a remembered city, a beloved city, not by its ability to manufacture or to sell, but by its ability to create and hold bits of sheer beauty and loveliness” Echo Heights is one of those bits of sheer beauty that Chemainus should not bulldoze and pave. This is a moment of truth for the community – it will help determine what kind of community Chemainus and North Cowichan will be. Echo Heights should be protected as a park for the public to enjoy forever and not auctioned off and bulldozed. Vancouver Island’s beauty and naturalness drew many of us here as a beautiful place to stay for awhile, or forever. The wildness of Vancouver Island is being clearcut, and buried under subdivision after subdivision. It takes vision to think about the value of this forest 200 years from now, as I saw one man from Chemainus write about in the Chronicle last week, and what it would mean to us, to our children, and so on to have this ecologically-sensitive site preserved as a park. Just as Ladysmith enhanced the community when it decided to preserve the Holland Creek Trail, Chemainus will enhance Chemainus by preserving this municipally-owned asset. I can pledge you this. The ELC will continue to work with the CRA to urge Mayor and Council to reconsider their approach to Echo Heights, come out from behind closed doors and embrace the principles of democracy, transparency, and accountability. We will also explore legal options to press the Municipality into committing to reserve or dedicate this land as a park. They’ve been looking at options for Echo Heights, we want to give them one they haven’t considered – “no development”. This is a battle that can be won On the merits we cannot lose. Echo Heights will not be paved, if there is a full public discussion of the issues, and a full debate about this community’s future. But that requires you -- the public – to demand that politicians step out of the shadows and talk about our common future. We will only lose if people allow their future to be determined in secret, away from the sunshine of public scrutiny. Therefore, ultimately it is up to each and every one of you. That’s why we urge you to write letters to Council opposing this development, join the CRA, spread the word, and sign the petition letting Council know you support the preservation of Echo Heights as a park. Thank you. |
We will only lose if people allow their future to be determined in secret |