Don’t shoot the messenger: wake-up call for the workers on the Westcan Terminal
It is not your fault:
• that PIM’s sub-lease from Western Stevedoring was never registered or approved by the Government as required;
• that nobody blocked PIM moving onto the Westcan Terminal instead of a properly designated industrial site within the CVRD which allows for metal manufacturing;
• that your work with metal manufacturing is in non-compliance with CVRD bylaws and the Cowichan Estuary Environmental Management Plan;
• that the CVRD never enforced its bylaws denying metal manufacturing on the terminal before it started;
• that the Cowichan Estuary Environmental Management Committee (CEEMC) did not do its due diligence by requesting an Environmental Impact Assessment to be conducted at the onset of PIM operation on the terminal and has not done anything to investigate environmental concerns subsequent to the submission of the re-zoning application;
• that the CEEMC is dysfunctional and does not have the expertise to comply with its functions and responsibilities;
• that the CVRD does not utilize the capability and expertise of its department of environment;
• that the CVRD does not take the policies of the Official Community Plan for Area D seriously and does not implement the recommendations by Area D constituents;
• that the Lessee of the six Crown Leases subject to re-zoning does not pay a single penny of property tax to the CVRD compared to all of you who pay high property taxes from your hard-earned wages;
• that your employer has converted part of the terminal into a garbage dump.
But all those issues are not the fault of the messenger either!
The real culprits are:
• a negligent B.C. Government not doing its due diligence;
• a negligent CVRD not doing its due diligence;
• an employer who did not tell you that his sub-lease is not registered as legally required and his operations are in non-compliance with CVRD bylaws and the CEEMP.
Don’t be fooled by Western Stevedoring, PIM, the CVRD and the provincial government
• that your jobs are threatened by a citizen group concerned about the health and future of the estuary;
• that your employer wants to protect your jobs, while instead he wants to sell his operations to the highest bidder at the first best opportunity
Your jobs will only be safe if PIM’s operations are moved to a designated properly serviced industrial site. The CVRD should be asked to financially assist for such transfer by giving PIM a tax break for an interim period.
Your children and grandchildren have a right to grow up in a healthy environment just like you did!
Beate Weber-Schuerholz
Cowichan Bay