576 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Slippery slope. Once you put 48 hours on paper pretty soon he'll be pushing for a week. Then a month, then a season, then a year. Right now it's zero hours so anything on paper gives that first bit of ledge to hold on to.

Camping in parks went from zero, to 7AM provided there are no shelter beds, to just 7AM, to pushing for a tent city.

[Daveyboy]

Okay that makes sense, but why is he pursuing this in the first place?   Does he see himself as a champion of the derelict boat crowd or is it because he wants attention?  That is the mystifying part as it makes very little sense.  Many hundreds of people are very upset about derelict boat operators fouling the Gorge/Upper harbour with fecal material thrown or flushed overboard so why does he take this stance?

[Mike K.]

Good question. I'm as confused by this as the next guy.

[Dr.Doinglittle]

Ben sees himself as a champion for the downtrodden, blue collar worker, marginalized, etc. I have no problem with him pursuing causes that benefit these groups - we need people who do this in politics - but he does it no matter what the issue is or the facts around it. Which makes you wonder what his real motivations are.

[Mike K.]

Communism is his thing, isn't it?

[Dr.Doinglittle]

I don't think he wants to force collectivization and make us work the Mason St farm but he did have the nickname Boleshevic Ben in university.

[Mike K.]

Right.

There's lots of money to be made in left wing politics.

[sdwright.vic]

Got to love our politics here. Speak softly and politely, and carry a soft stick. Something akin to a pool noodle.

[LJ]

Daveyboy, on 18 Nov 2015 - 6:44 PM, said:

Okay that makes sense, but why is he pursuing this in the first place?   Does he see himself as a champion of the derelict boat crowd or is it because he wants attention?  That is the mystifying part as it makes very little sense.  Many hundreds of people are very upset about derelict boat operators fouling the Gorge/Upper harbour with fecal material thrown or flushed overboard so why does he take this stance?

Shhhhh. If Ben reads this he will be wanting to provide floating washrooms for these poor folk.

[Bingo]

It doesn't, that's what's completely odd about the statement.  Private and Harbour Authority moorage is available for those.  Not free moorage buoys paid for by us.

 

I wonder if there is a loophole in this situation.

If the moorage area is part of a PARK, then do the boat owners have the same rights as tenters in city parks?

[Mike K.]

A lake might be part of a park but in the case of Bamfield Park the water is federal.

[Daveyboy]

We have spent decades trying to clean up the Gorge waterway to once again make it swimmable, identifying faulty septic systems, creating an annual Selkirk/Gorge cleanup, considering a ban on plastic bags, yet Isitt seems to champion the derelict boat group that goes against all of those initiatives.  He sounds like a confused young man...

[Dr.Doinglittle]

Grad school will do that to you..

 

On a related note, I was jogging across the trestle last Saturday and saw one of the boat people dumping his chamber pot into the water.

[VicHockeyFan]

Grad school will do that to you..

 

On a related note, I was jogging across the trestle last Saturday and saw one of the boat people dumping his chamber pot into the water.

 

Look, I don't think there is any doubt whatsoever that there is dumping of most if not all human waste from these vessels.  Does it have a major affect on the waterway?  I doubt it.  But we need to get rid of the boats.

[todd]

I have no opinion on what happens to the Derelict boats, but just want to point out as far as I know there is no regulation banning the discharge of sewage in the Victoria Gorge, unlike other areas in British Columbia and Canada. There is a holding tank pump out at Fisherman's Wharf.

 

http://laws-lois.jus...2/p1tt3xt3.html

 

If it's only 48 hours max it would probably be unlikely to be used by "derelict boat" owners, derelict boats don't like to be moved much, most BC park anchorages have a two week maximum policy. City could put down their own limited set of mooring buoys for tourists and charged a fee for them, make a deal with harbor patrol to ensure payment/regulations are followed. 

 

^Just thoughts.

[Dr.Doinglittle]

Plenty of people swim in the Gorge, including off Banfield Park and near the Tillicum bridge. Plus the countless paddlers who use it daily. It may not be enough to make anyone sick but it's unacceptable practice for a public waterway.

[VicHockeyFan]

 

If it's only 48 hours max it would probably be unlikely to be used by "derelict boat" owners, derelict boats don't like to be moved much, most BC park anchorages have a two week maximum policy. City could put down their own limited set of mooring buoys for tourists and charged a fee for them, make a deal with harbor patrol to ensure payment/regulations are followed. 

 

^Just thoughts.

 

 

That would be OK if there was a need.  But the Harbour Authority and private docks have no shortage of room.  Let's not get the City into a new business.

[Bingo]

 

I have no opinion on what happens to the Derelict boats, but just want to point out as far as I know there is no regulation banning the discharge of sewage in the Victoria Gorge, unlike other areas in British Columbia and Canada. There is a holding tank pump out at Fisherman's Wharf.

 

http://laws-lois.jus...2/p1tt3xt3.html

 

 

 

I doubt if very many of those boats have power so getting to Fisherman's Wharf isn't going to happen.

[sdwright.vic]

As someone that lives next to these blight... they need to go and not be allowed 24 hour anything.

[todd]

I doubt if very many of those boats have power so getting to Fisherman's Wharf isn't going to happen.

 

Yup, Derelict Boats don't like to move.