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Shellie Gudgeon advocates for James Bay secession from Victoria


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#1 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 11:31 AM

I'm not sure what to make of this.

 

It's in its entirety here as it's important for discussion.

 

http://www.timescolo...s-bay-1.1958561

 

 

Comment: Maybe it’s time for an independent James Bay  

If Esquimalt and Oak Bay can be independent, why not James Bay?

 

Throughout my life, the importance of fairness has resonated strongly. From elementary school to family, from business and most recently to municipal politics, when the principles of fairness and transparency are evident, apparent and strongly upheld, communities grow, relationships bloom, children thrive and businesses succeed.

 

When fairness and transparency are the foundational principles, human beings from eight to 80 behave in unexpected ways; they work together and they are willing to compromise.

 

However, I have also learned throughout my life that when people put up walls, withdraw into their silos and and turn a blind eye to social injustice, it is imperative that someone speaks out. It might even be necessary for those people affected by this childish behaviour to similarly withdraw and to take care of their own needs and not those of their neighbours. Sadly, they might have to fight fire with fire and, as unbecoming as it might seem, they might have to be as petty as others and protect their people first.

 

Recently, folks primarily from Esquimalt and Oak Bay are banding together, saying that they do not want to undertake a study that might suggest a new, fairer and more effective way to govern ourselves. They espouse that nothing could be better than the status quo and that their representative democracy serves their residents. And yes, a study could indeed identify how grossly unfair the existing system is.

 

However, I have been listening and maybe they are right.

 

If they are, it is long overdue that the neighbourhood of James Bay embark on its own study to become a standalone municipality.

 

The population of James Bay is similar to that of both Esquimalt and Oak Bay. James Bay is its own geographical enclave, as are Oak Bay and Esquimalt. James Bay has unique circumstances. It houses the seat of the provincial government and bears the brunt of the operations at Ogden Point, both of which benefit the whole region.

 

James Bay residents do not have a seat at any table. Oak Bay and Esquimalt both do. In fact, the James Bay Neighbourhood Association is perceived by the powers-that-be as a nuisance. Further, in the city of Victoria, James Bay is only one of 13 neighbourhoods, once again not having the voice that it deserves.

 

James Bay has to fight tirelessly for respect, recognition and funding. It currently has no meeting space, no funding and no budget. The association is composed of dedicated and smart volunteers who spend countless hours devoted to improving the quality of life for their residents. Despite being bullied and diminished repeatedly, James Bay people continue to soldier on.

Trust me, these volunteers work harder than most elected officials.

 

James Bay also has no community police force and has to fight for every scrap of improvement in the community. Like Oak Bay and Esquimalt, James Bay would have no need to contribute large amounts of money to the Johnson Street Bridge, to the arts or to solving homelessness and it represents a substantial tax base. James Bay, too, could simply tell folks that “grant opportunities” are available.

 

Maybe Esquimalt and Oak Bay have got it right. Maybe it is time for James Bay to rise up and begin serious discussions about incorporation. Given the facts, it is only fair, isn’t it?

I think the Royal Borough of James Bay has a nice ring to it.

 

Shellie Gudgeon of Victoria West is a former Victoria city councillor.

 

 

 

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.xeoyt8ne.dpuf


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#2 Greg

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 11:38 AM

reductio ad absurdum (and a decent example of it) I would guess.


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#3 Nparker

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 11:39 AM

Ms. Gudgeon actually makes a lot of sense here. The satire of her argument however, will probably be lost on many.  :(


Edited by Nparker, 05 June 2015 - 02:25 PM.

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#4 tedward

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 01:00 PM

I'm not sure what to make of this.

 

As if.  It is clearly satire as you well know and should have been in the Amalgamation thread.

 

It also makes the same point I have been making for years. If View Royal and Oak Bay can be independant municipalities why not James Bay? 


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#5 Mike K.

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 01:11 PM

Surely this is all just a political statement and not representative of an actual movement, right? Right?

James Bay is 1/5th the physical size of Esquimalt, if that.

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#6 lanforod

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 01:43 PM

Pretty sure this is supposed to be satire, but could be mistaken. Seems VHF got confused on it, especially considering the title of the thread!

 

Legislate it already. Based on geography only, get it down to 5, but with 1 regional police and 1 regional Fire Dept:

Combine Oak Bay, Victoria and Esquimalt.

Leave Saanich.

Combine Central Saanich/North Saanich/Sidney.

Combine Metchosin, Colwood, Highlands, Langford, View Royal.

Make Juan de Fuca EA part of Sooke.

 

This may be easier though: Dig a ditch to separate James Bay and ask Russia to annex it.


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#7 sebberry

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 01:57 PM

I was busy driving, but I think at the end of her interview on CFAX today she said that while it started out tongue-in-cheek, she's wondering if it might actually be a good idea. 

 

I could be mistaken, but I think she was starting to believe the voices in her head...


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#8 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 05 June 2015 - 03:05 PM

Former City councillor suggests James Bay go it alone

 

She may have poked a hornet’s nest, but a former Victoria City councillor says it was considered 'tongue-in-cheek'.
 
 
Shelly Gudgeon, in letter to editor Friday in the Victoria Times Colonist, suggests the Victoria district of James Bay might or should consider separating from the city and forming its own municipality. She says the district has no voice in government and are "bullied and diminished repeatedly."
 
 
"Seriously, as much as it was written tongue-in-cheek, the more I think about it--we are
moving away from--people don't want to talk governance, but we have to talk governance."
 
 
Speaking Friday with Cafe Victoria's Bruce Williams, Gudgeon says James Bay is growing and its population is approaching that of other municipalities.
 
 
"There are 15,000 people that live in James Bay.  I think it's approaching 17,000 and somewhere around 16,000 in Oak Bay?"
 
 
Gudgeon states in her editorial today, that James Bay residents don't have a seat at any table, whereas both Esquimalt and Oak Bay do.
 
 
She says it may be time for James Bay to rise up and begin serious discussions about incorporation.

http://www.cfax1070....es-Bay-go-it-al


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#9 http

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Posted 06 June 2015 - 01:56 PM

This is a textbook Poe's Law case (a good troll is indistinguishable from an actual kook).  I'm amazed.

 

Also, it leads to side question, perhaps a poll:  When you say a comment is a "troll", do you mean "hateful / stupid", or do you mean "written to look plausible to the inexperienced eye"?  It seems to have shifted in useage over the decades, like the word "hacker" has.


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#10 Rob Randall

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Posted 06 June 2015 - 02:43 PM

I consider a troll to be someone who says something in the hope of starting an argument or tricking someone into saying something stupid. Traditionally when writing satire it's common to insert the phrase "A modest proposal" to allude to Swift, the legendary satirist. For instance, you could title it "A modest proposal for James Bay independence". That's a signal to readers that what follows is tongue in cheek. And if they don't get the reference then they must be pretty stupid. Ha, see what I did there?
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#11 Coreyburger

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Posted 06 June 2015 - 07:05 PM

Pretty sure this is supposed to be satire, but could be mistaken. Seems VHF got confused on it, especially considering the title of the thread!

 

Legislate it already. Based on geography only, get it down to 5, but with 1 regional police and 1 regional Fire Dept:

Combine Oak Bay, Victoria and Esquimalt.

Leave Saanich.

Combine Central Saanich/North Saanich/Sidney.

Combine Metchosin, Colwood, Highlands, Langford, View Royal.

Make Juan de Fuca EA part of Sooke..

 

Metchosin and Highlands are low growth and avowedly so. Langford and Colwood are not. How do you square that circle?

 

Also, how much of the JdF do you add to Sooke? What about Willis Point, which isn't connected to the rest of the Jdf?



#12 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 06 June 2015 - 07:10 PM

Metchosin and Highlands are low growth and avowedly so. Langford and Colwood are not. How do you square that circle?

 

Saanich has large rural areas in the west, and they seem to do fine.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13 Bingo

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Posted 06 June 2015 - 07:20 PM

James Bay has a horse population to service the tourist industry, but I don't think they have sewers yet. That's why the cruise ships have their own way of  being self sufficient.



#14 Coreyburger

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Posted 06 June 2015 - 09:40 PM

Saanich has large rural areas in the west, and they seem to do fine.


Saanich has a growth containment boundary, Langford and Colwood explicitly made theirs the municipal border. Different philosophies.

#15 lanforod

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 08:44 AM

Like I said, based on geography only.



 



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