Published monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association

Volume 2, Issue 5 MAY 25, 2011

UBC Upgrades Sidewalks to Allow for New Bus Shelters

ResidentsRegard UBC Meeting as “Useful”

UBC is named ‘First Fair Trade Campus’ in Canada. Steve Golob, chef at Place Vanier student residences sells many food prod-ucts certified ‘Fair Trade’ in his dining room. Please turn to Page 6 for story on how UBC earned its new ‘Fair Trade’ name.

Several bus stops around Hampton Place are without

shelter; installation is expected in coming months

Hampton Place residents waiting for UBC to install shelters at bus stops on 16th Avenue and Wesbrook Mall

may not have much longer to wait. Carole Jolly, UBC transportation di-rector, confirms the University in-tends to install shelters at these bus stops “over the coming months.” Hinda Avery, a UBC professor emerita well known in the campus residential community, has pressed UBC to in-stall shelters at these bus stops, and this campaign seems to be having an effect.

Professor Avery pointed out to The Cam-pus Resident, “There are seniors’ resi-dences nearby, but the shelters at these bus stops are not only for the seniors. They’re also for the students.” The shelters really are needed, she said, “Otherwise you’re standing at them in the rain, or in the cold, or even sweltering at them in the sun.” Referring specifically to bus stops along Wesbrook Mall at Hampton Place

and at 16th Avenue east of East Mall, Ms. Jolly said UBC is in the process of addressing sidewalk width issues in order to accommodate the shelters. “As soon as this work is complete, we anticipate installation of the shelters. Un-fortunately I do not have specific details on timing, but would expect this work to take place over the coming months.”

Campus Planners Prepare to Send Hospice Report to UBC Board of Governors

Published monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association

Fair Trade Movement Makes Strides at UBC

UBC meeting with campus residents is first since new Land Use Plan took effect March 1st; further meetings

are called for

A contingent of 50-60 campus residents found a meeting with UBC about rules for neighbourhood development under the amended Land Use Plan “for the most part useful”. At least, the majority indicated this in a straw poll conducted at the end of the meeting by John Dickinson, the Haw-thorn Place resident who had pressed the UBC campus and community planning department to hold the meeting. Chair of a condominium complex, Mr. Dickinson indicated he also had found the meeting useful. He felt the discussion most instructive when it strayed off topic. “Let’s do this more often,” Mr. Dickinson said. While warm feelings of kinship be-tween residents and UBC emerged at the meeting, the chill wind of changes that many residents do not like continues to blow in the background. Hawthorn Place residents in particular hold a grudge against UBC for amending its Land Use Plan to potentially allow for such changes as• development of a large part of raw

land near their homes called ‘Totem Fields North’),

• construction of high-rises in their midst, and

• the large-scale expansion of Haw-thorn Place along East Mall as far south as 16th Avenue.

In remarks at the start of the meeting, Mr. Dickinson said, “We like Hawthorn Place. We have invested our hard-earned savings here. We like the way UBC Prop-erties Trust (real estate development arm of UBC) created the environment. But UBC has changed the ground rules.”

HAWTHORN continued Page 11

UBC board is scheduled to meet June 8th; info session

was held May 24th

A report will soon go to the UBC board of governors requesting a decision on the proposed development of a hospice be-side the Promontory apartment building. The Campus Resident understands the report will contain the following opin-ions of campus and community planning staff, based on their discussions with consultants: • that construction of a hospice next to the Promontory will not adversely affect the property values of residents living in either the Promontory or in the Hawthorn Place neighbourhood of which it is a part; • that in the event the hospice is built, noise and flood-lighting from Thunder-bird Stadium across Stadium Road from

where the hospice would be built should have no affect on occupants of the hos-pice; • that presence of a hospice on Stadium Road would not significantly increase the amount of traffic running on this roadway between East Mall and West Mall; • that, conversely, the movement and noise of any traffic on Stadium Road would have no adverse effect on hospice residents. The Campus Resident further under-stands the report will contain the opinion of campus and community planning staff that Asian residents of the Promontory may come to accept the idea of a hospice located next to their homes given the passage of time and help of such organi-zations as SUCCESS, a Vancouver-based agency assisting the settlement of new immigrants in Canada. The staff report will also include hun-

dreds of letters about the proposed hos-pice that have been received by the Uni-versity. The UBC board of governors meets next on June 8th though it was not known at press time if the hospice issue would be on their agenda. Meanwhile, on May 24th, UBC campus and community plan-ning held a 2 ½-hour ‘information ses-sion’ which was well-attended by both those residents of campus who have come out in favor of a hospice built at the Promontory site and those residents—es-pecially residents of the Promontory it-self—who have come out against. UBC presented at least four consultants to explain why they thought the hospice might well be described as a ‘low impact’ development—even a no-impact devel-opment.

HOSPICE continued Page 10

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011page 2

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011 page 3

Amended Land Use Planmay be fine; but regular

schedule of meetings between UBC and campus

residents is also needed

Editorial Page

Residents Require More Meetings Like One Held

May 17th

The defunct UBC Metro Vancouver Joint Committee played an important role as a public forum for the discussion of issues related to campus residents. It allowed members of the public to make written and oral submissions on a quarterly basis. Three members of the UBC board of gov-ernors and three Metro directors sat on this committee, which hashed out decisions or recommendations on a series of ‘hot top-ics’: truck traffic to and from UBC; the liquor license for a pub in the University Boulevard neighbourhood; campus gover-nance; status of UBC Farm, and so forth. The committee meetings—which ran two hours—gave members of the public a front-row seat into the decision-making process. An amended plan—now called the Land Use Plan—has since emerged at the same time as the old Joint Committee has be-

come defunct, and we trust this works out well for UBC. However, the work of putting a public face to this plan has not progressed beyond one useful meeting. At a meeting on May 17th, UBC repre-sentatives faced questions and comments from mostly residents of the Hawthorn Place community about how the new pro-visions of the Land Use Plan appear to adversely affect their neighbourhood. We did not see any government representa-tives at the meeting to face the same ques-tions and comments—yet the provincial government and UBC are now intertwined on land use planning decisions just as UBC and Metro Vancouver were once. As useful as it was, the May 17th forum came across as a one-off sort of event. When may we ex-pect UBC to organize the next one? The concerns raised by Hawthorn Place residents that the Land Use Plan allows UBC to alter the ideal community these residents bought into will not go away; the governance issue will not go away; other issues will not go away. So, UBC—along with the bureaucracy in Victoria—needs to create a Land Use Plan implementa-tion process that may be seen—just as the old Joint Committee was—to func-tion regularly, efficiently and in public. This will bring the kind of transpar-ency and accountability that campus residents want to see out of UBC when land use issues arise. This will bring resi-dents in as ‘investors’ in the residential and social development of campus land.

LETTER TO THE EDITORBureaucracy versus

democracyThe hospice controversy emerged not because of peoples’ allegiance to their property values or to their culture. It emerged because University Town resi-dents lack a locally-agreed upon pro-cedure for negotiating disagreements among themselves and with UBC. We must demystify two illusions about the controversy prior to resolving it and others in the future. First, both the “for” and “against” arguments erroneously in-voke culture to strengthen their cases. On the one hand, some Chinese residents at Promontory argue that the proposed hospice location adjacent to their homes distresses them for reasons particular to Chinese culture. On the other, some Ca-nadians argue that this location sustains an enduring Canadian commitment to the elderly. With no disrespect, neither side is actually representing national cul-ture (Canadian or Chinese) according to some one-size-fits-all definition. (Nor do we even need such a definition.) The cold facts only reveal that people of differ-ent backgrounds, however defined, have different perspectives and sentiments. This controversy is ultimately about neighbours with differing priorities rela-tive to a single local issue. Second, one might cynically (and perhaps justifiably) argue that it is really about property val-ues. Nevertheless, if some people of Chi-

nese background prioritize property val-ues above all else, then they hardly differ from a healthy portion of the Canadian cit-izenry. For better or worse, valuing prop-erty is central to modern Western history. Instead, the controversy emerged from the absence of a process for resolving local differences that we can proudly call democratic. This statement is no in-dictment against UNA, but only a sign that its weak position relative to UBC should inspire us to strengthen it into a more robust body for local governance. Two goals might guide our efforts. First, we need a forum where residents can re-spectfully deliberate on local issues as neighbours, not token representatives of national cultures. Second, we need a pro-cess through which residents and UBC decide local planning issues from equal positions and from the beginning. Other-wise, we will perpetually find ourselves trying to push back after UBC initiates the planning process. What would these goals specifically look like? I don’t know. Residents must decide lest UBC continue to incorporate local input as a mere after-thought. If the Promontory controversy was not enough, one group of Hawthorn residents spent five months pushing Cam-pus and Community Planning to meet to discuss the latter’s Land Use Plan chang-es. Must bureaucracy trump democracy?

Greg Feldman, Hawthorn Place

LETTERS CONTINUED on Page 4

Hospice Concept Comes of Age in China

Nationwide hospice service was initiated in 2001; is primarily sponsored by legendary Hong Kong

businessman Li Ka Shing

By Dikun Yang. UBC PhD stu-dent and West Point Grey resident

As a Chinese student studying at UBC and living in West Point Grey, I have been watching the arguments about the well-known hospice controversy in the last two issues of The Campus Resi-dent, and would like to make some per-sonal comments from another Chinese point of view. Because the benefits and necessity of hospice service are well-known and have been discussed by other articles and letters, I will focus on one aspect that has not been thought about. First I was surprised by the petition against the hospice collected by some Chi-nese residents in Promontory and Chinese culture (again?) became the excuse. Here are several facts about hospice in China: • the nationwide hospice service in

China was initiated in 2001 and is primarily sponsored by a private foundation of Li Ka Shing, a fa-mous businessman in Hong Kong;

• most hospices in China are af-filiated with large hospitals, which are usually located at popu-lated urban area and are often close to residential properties*;

• hospice is still a very new con-cept in China, as very few people know, use and discuss hospices;

• most people having terminal illness in China die in hospital and nobody has ever complained about those health care facilities associated with death.

So, it is important to figure out why ‘Chinese culture’ becomes sensitive to hospice in Canada? Or maybe only in Vancouver? Unfortunately I do not know any of those Promontory residents, and have no chance to know exactly who they are and what they are thinking. Ac-cording to the information from other reports on this issue, they are charac-terized as new immigrants who do not speak much English. So I would guess the petition was actually a representation of a social phobia: ‘fear of new things’ because of the lack of knowledge and over-caution caused by social isolation. This type of fear is not rare since we have observed fear of electricity in the past, and there are many new fears go-ing on in the world, like fear of trans-gene foods, fear of nuclear power plants, fear of electromagnetic radiation, etc. In this case, the learning curve of hos-pice is just too large for those new im-migrants, and with absence of correct knowledge, Chinese culture served as catalyst to make them think negatively. As more and more immigrants are coming from China, I would say similar problems may happen again unless the following conditions are met: (1) solid education in the humanities, science and rational/critical thinking; (2) ability to learn new knowledge; (3) ability to get in-formation from a broad ethnic community. I have seen a touching statement on the home page of Vancouver Hospice Society “We enter this world surround-ed by love, comfort and care. Don’t we deserve the same when we leave?” I believe if these words can be read and understood by those immigrants fear-ful of living next to hospices, ‘fear of ghosts’ would be definitely gone.

Editor & Business Manager

University Neighbourhoods Association#202-5923 Berton Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6S OB3

Published by:

John TompkinsPublished monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association 604.827.3502 JTompkins@myuna.ca

Dikun Yang

Map of hospice locations in China sponsored by the Li Ka-shin Founda-tion. The foundation started in 1980, and founded its first hospice in 1998 in ShanTou. Based on the success of this hospice, the foundation started 19 hospices in 2001, and by the end of 2010 there are 32 hospices in China. Based on the map, they are mainly in-side hospitals. However, the hospice in Shanghai is believed to be on an island of mainly farmland.

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011page 4

LETTERS CONTINUED from Page 3

My wife and I decided to emigrate from the Philippines to Canada in 1998, when the massacre of ethnic Chinese occurred in Indonesia. More than a thousand eth-nic Chinese were killed and many women were raped. We saw the genitals of Chi-nese men, which had been cut off, thrown all over the street. We closed our business in the Philippines fled to Australia, and moved to North America later. In many South-East Asian countries, ethnic Chinese contribute greatly to the local economy. However, we have always been treated unfairly by the local people due to our economic status. We are seen as the scapegoat for many unfortunate local social problems. The government stands indifferent to these unfair treatments. You can see institutionalized racism every-where. To be honest, we really enjoy our new life in Canada and I am so happy that my wife and children could grow up in a place where people respect cultural diversity and the government promotes equal op-portunities for everyone. However, when I saw how many local people used very harsh and racist words to criticize the Promontory residents for their cultural beliefs, words such the hospice MUST be “build next to the rich Asians”, “we should not be pushed around by those rich Asians” and “go back to China”, I knew I should say something. If the University does not do anything to stop this racist trend, the Hawthorn Place residents will consider suing the people who made those harsh remarks in public of committing a “hate crime”. UBC is also accountable for what has happened.

Christopher Lee, Hawthorn Place resident

“I knew I should say something.”

More than 1,000 people in our neighbour-hood are opposed to building a hospice next to the Promontory. However, some-body said that the cultural beliefs these residents hold are not ‘mainstream’ cul-ture in China. What is mainstream culture in China then? Is it Confucianism? Is it Buddhism? Is it Taoism? I am sure no-body can claim so. Fengshui as a belief system has existed for thousands of years in China, It has had an impact on the lives of many people, es-pecially when it comes to choosing where you live. Nobody can deny it. Sometimes people make their choices according to the Fengshui rules even without thinking because it has become ingrained in our brains. One of the well-known Fengshui rules advises people not to live too close to a hospital. Canada claims itself to be a country which adopted multiculturalism immi-grant policy. We are supposed to be able maintain our cultural and religious beliefs, so I don’t understand why so many people are yelling at us for not having adopted the Canadian mainstream culture. I think they have got the fundamental concept wrong. Our multiculturalism policy is different than America’s melting-pot policy, where people should all adopt the mainstream American culture. Canada is supposed to be a “mixed-salad bowl”, where all kinds of culture can maintain their indepen-dence and therefore flourish together.

Cindy Liu, Hawthorn Place resident

What is mainstream culture in China?

In the Westbrook (in Wesbrook Place), al-most all the residents are originally from China. We chose to live in a condo like this because there is a full-time security guard and our managers can speak Chinese (as well as English). As a mother who lives with a young daughter, we feel secure in this kind of environment at UBC. How-ever, when I saw the news on the Prom-ontory hospice site, I felt very uneasy about what the University has done to its residents, and I am sympathetic with the mothers in the Promontory. These mothers are just like me. As a matter of fact, I almost became one of the residents in the Promontory, because I had wanted to purchase a unit there. The suites there were very popular, but my realtor did not act quickly enough to get the suite that I had viewed many times. I blamed my realtor who now tells me how lucky we are. Nevertheless, I keep wondering what would happen if I had moved into the Promontory. If UBC can’t promise to give us advanced notice and consult with us on what will be built next door to us, we can’t keep our mind at ease living here.

Katie Wang, Wesbrook Place resident

All residents originally from China

The majority of immigrant families living in the new South Campus neighbourhood of Wesbrook Place are from China and Korea. I can say that all of us are offended by some obviously racist remarks we’ve heard about the Promontory residents. Just because they stood up to protect their rights, should they be told to go back to where they came from? Chinese are usu-ally quiet and they do not want to get in-volved in politics. If those Promontory women were forced to stand up to express their concerns in front of national TV, and collect signatures all over campus, some-thing must have gone wrong in the UBC land use planning process.

Zhou Huaxin, Wesbrook Place resident

Protection of rights

I can understand why some Hampton Place residents would like to have a hos-pice nearby. The aging population is much larger in this relatively older neighbour-hood, compared to other university neigh-bourhoods where young new immigrant families are dominant residents. (For ex-ample, there has been no death reported in the last five years in my building.) According to The Campus Resident, the community newspaper, some Hampton Place residents feel strongly about this is-sue because they know that they are the potential hospice users in the near future. Meanwhile, the residents in the Promon-tory also feel very strongly about this is-sue, because they have genuinely held cultural beliefs. The hospice issue has apparently divided our whole community. Neighbours are saying hurtful things to each other in the same building. People in different neighbourhoods are fighting and smearing each other.I do not want to see this happening. I hope the University can work on creating a win-win situation. It might be wise for UBC to find a hospice site in the Hampton Place neighbourhood which is adjacent to the woods, which is close to the hospital, and most importantly, which is surrounded by friendly people, especially the elderly.

Shannon Wen, Hawthorn Place resident

Locate hospice at Hampton?

UTown@UBC – Bringing Together ‘Town and Gown’

By Prod Laquian, chair of the Standing Committee on Gov-ernance and vice chair of the

UNA Board of Directors.

The Campus and Community Planning website describes UTown@UBC as rep-resenting the university’s vision of “a community in which living, working and learning can flourish in an integrated, sus-tainable environment.” It’s interesting that when UBC allowed commercial housing to be built in Hampton Place in the early 1990s, there was considerable objection from some quarters. Within 20 years, however, Hampton Place and four other neighbourhoods have rapidly grown on campus. The total population of UTown@UBC has increased to about 16,100 (some 7,600 residents in the neighbourhoods and about 8,500 students). More significantly, the nature of the campus has changed from a purely academic enclave to a mixed use community combining town and gown characteristics. Originally, UBC adhered to an educa-tional philosophy where young people spent their formative years in an enclave. There, under the guidance of teachers and ably supported by libraries, classrooms and other facilities, they were prepared for life in the real world. The campus served as an “incubator” and after a number of years, they graduated and left the cocoon. The UBC Point Grey campus, separated from the rest of the city by Pacific Spirit Park, served as a perfect setting for this educational approach. In time, however, UBC became a com-muter campus, with considerable nega-tive impact on the environment. As the university became committed to the ide-al of sustainability, it set up University Town (that later became UTown@UBC) to create a complete campus community that is vibrant, sociable, neighbourly and sustainable. Instead of the campus hav-ing exclusively academic characteristics, UBC has decided to merge elements of a progressive town into it. UTown@UBC is planned as a compact community made up of precincts where residents can walk, bike or take public transit to reach their destinations. The re-cently approved UBC Point Grey Campus land use plan incorporates mixed uses in identifiable hubs. Aside from high density multifamily housing, the UTown@UBC neighbourhoods are meant to have easy access to public services, stores, and ame-nities. UBC seeks to provide adequate and affordable housing for both students and neighbourhood residents. The target is to have at least 50 percent of households on campus occupied by someone who is di-rectly linked to the university as student, faculty or staff, thereby reducing commut-ing and use of the private automobile. A key issue in UTown@UBC is how to manage affairs in an efficient, responsive, coordinated and accountable manner. The University Neighbourhoods Asso-ciation (UNA) was set up in 2002 as the municipal-like governance body for the five neighbourhoods in UTown@UBC. It operates, maintains, repairs and man-ages infrastructure and services like water and sanitary storm sewers, street lighting, roads, curbs and gutters, landscaping, etc.

It also ensures that residents have access to UNA and UBC facilities and amenities. The UNA works very closely with the University administration and its Board of Directors serves as an advisory body to the UBC Board of Governors. The UNA is also empowered to enact rules and by-laws to regulate activities such as parking, noise and animal control. Some people have expressed concerns about problems that may occur when town and gown are brought closer together. A few students are concerned that residents tend to complain about noisy concerts and other student activities, that some are in-clined to wage a “war on fun” designed to curtail their vigorous youthful activities. Some residents have indeed complained about noise and about students parking their cars in neighbourhood streets. How serious, really have been the fric-tions between students and residents? Supporters of UTown@UBC believe these are minor compared to the benefits. For one, the endowment funds from com-mercial housing, now estimated at ap-proximately $300 million have enabled UBC to finance not only research and teaching facilities but scholarships and bursaries for students, professorships and chairs for leading scholars and important research projects at UBC’s leading re-search centres. The recent decision of the UBC Board of Governors to use part of the endowment to finance affordable stu-dent housing is a definite plus. The addi-tional infrastructure and services available to both residents and students (schools and day careS, shops, banks, grocery stores, cafes, restaurants) go a long way in im-proving quality of life in the community. A most significant change arising from the creation of UTown@UBC is the shift from the concept of learning as a prepara-tion for life in an educational institution to that of learning as a continuing life-long process. People who buy or rent hous-ing units in UTown@UBC have access to academic courses, libraries, museums, exhibits and other programs and facilities available on campus. At the same time, as students and residents interact when they avail themselvesof the services, shops and amenities, they learn to share experiences with their neighbours in their daily lives. Time will tell what will happen to UTown@UBC when the population in-creases to about 40,000 students and resi-dents. So far, however, developments in the community have been positive, with UBC, the UNA, students and residents fully focused on developing a viable com-munity. A key challenge is how to find a governance mechanism that will opti-mize the beneficial interactions between town and gown and achieve the vision of UTown@UBC.

Commentary

Prod Laquian

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011 page 5

Joyce Murray, MP for Vancouver-Quadra

Joyce Murray calls Vancouver-Quadra “an educated riding”, and says this ex-plains why voters there did not fall vic-tim to Conservative Party attack ads in the May 2nd General Election. “It’s an academic community,” the twice re-elected Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Quadra said in an inter-view a few days after the election. “People in Quadra do not respond to these kinds of tactics (attack ads).” That they voted in her favour in the election encourages Ms. Murray to be-lieve that voters in Vancouver-Quadra still think in terms of ‘Liberal values’. She defines someone holding Liberal values as “progressive, tolerant, compas-sionate.” That voters across the country handed the Liberal Party its worst-ever electoral results disappoints the successful Lib-eral candidate in Vancouver-Quadra, of course, but she does not see this as the death knell of Liberal values. Rather, she sees Canadians as having fallen victim in this election to American-style politics. “The Conservative Party decision to use the talents and tactics of Republi-can-style politicians, to use reality-TV techniques, to use American election methods, this is to be deplored. But this

Voters in Quadra Too Smart to Fall For Tory Attack Ads,

Says MP MurrayMs. Murray is re-elected

MP federal for Vancouver-Quadra; however, she is

aware no road map is available for rebuilding

Liberal Party

is the way Stephen Harper is changing Canada.” The Liberal Party is at the very centre of the Canadian political spectrum, not to the right of it, not to the left, the Vancou-ver-Quadra MP says, and this gives her hope for a bright future despite the bleak facts of the day. “There will always be a middle ground, and in my opinion, there will always be a group of people—Liber-als—in the middle ground. The issue is how to build this group.” Alas, no ‘road map’ for this bright fu-ture exists, and drawing this map will present itself as the most important agen-da item as the Liberal caucus convenes in Ottawa in an attempt to rebuild the party. Physically and emotionally drained by the election campaign, and also by a three-day private campaign on Vancouver Island and up north to speak out against oil tanker traffic on the British Columbia coastline, which she took in the midst of the election campaign, Ms. Murray says she will rally when the process of renew-ing the Liberal Party gets underway. With a wry smile, she offers that she knows a thing or two about “adven-tures” in the renewal business. She and husband Dirk Brinkman made their way successfully in the forestry renewal busi-ness before Joyce got into politics. Their firm, Brinkman and Associates, replants trees—replants forests even. “We planted our billionth tree last year,” Ms. Murray said proudly. If, in fact, the Liberal Party of Canada can be rebuilt, perhaps lessons learned in the rebuilding of forests in Canada will allow Ms. Murray to play a significant role in it.

Children play at outdoor art installation at University of Washington. Is more outdoor art needed at UBC? Judith Hall says yes.

Only 28 works of outdoor art are listed in UBC tour guide; compared to collec-

tions at other campuses, this is “disappointing” number

Enhance Campus withWorks of Outdoor Art,

Says UBC Group

By Anne B. Piternick, UBC Library, archival and informa-tion studies, and Judith G. Hall,

UBC pediatrics/medical genetics

Have you ever walked around the UBC Vancouver Campus and looked at the outdoor art? If you are interested in doing so, you can pick up an Outdoor Art Tour Guide at the Belkin Gallery for a couple of dollars. This provides a picture of each art object, a description, and details of the artist – as well as a map of the campus showing locations. A Subcommittee of the President’s Advisory Committee on Campus En-hancement (PACCE), chaired by UBC professor emeritus Charles E. (Chuck) Slonecker, carried out its own survey of Outdoor Art on the Campus earlier this year, and was not happy with what it found. Only 28 items were identified in the Outdoor Art Tour Guide. Many of these items were produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and almost nothing between then and 2000. And most were by local artists. We compared our findings with collections at other large universities, and were disappointed. So we made recom-mendations to the President for a revived program of outdoor art acquisition. We are now waiting to see what happens. We feel that a university such as UBC, with an excellent international reputa-tion, deserves a better collection of out-

door art. Such a collection would provide inspiration for creativity and innovation, and would support the process of learning and research. It would certainly enhance the campus surroundings. We envision tours and educational programs for cam-pus residents and visitors, built around the outdoor art collection. The Univer-sity will soon be celebrating its one-hun-dredth birthday, and we have suggested several alternative ways of involving out-door art in this landmark event. One sug-gestion is the establishment of a sculpture garden. Another is a special exhibition of outdoor art, involving objects borrowed from other institutions. Some years ago the VanDusen Gardens mounted a com-petition: artists were given chunks of rock and invited to compete by sculpting items from them. A similar competition might be an alternative way of marking the centennial. Campus neighbourhoods might also enjoy an enhanced collection of outdoor art. Families, especially, might appreci-ate art objects that would be attractive to children – that might also be accessible to climbing and exploring. Perhaps such objects, although designed by artists, might not be considered to meet the stan-dards of international art, but they would certainly give pleasure to many families, and encourage creative imagination. A significant collection of outdoor art on the UBC Vancouver Campus will not be possible without substantial funding. We are asking the President to approve a subsidy from development funding and as part of future building costs. We also hope that the University Development Office will encourage donations for en-hancing Outdoor Art on the campus. We welcome the support of the Neighbour-hoods Association in these endeavours.

A letter to the editor should not ex-ceed 400 words and should be sent as an exclusive to The Campus Resident (i.e. do not send copies of the letter to a dozen others simultaneously). We will edit letters for reasons of

legality, taste and clarity. We will also edit for reasons of novelty. E-mail letters to jtompkins@myuna.ca with name and address and also telephone number in case we need to verify authorship.

Note from the Editor

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011page 6

UBC celebrates initial Fair Trade day, after being named

Canada’s first Fair Trade campus

A May 5th announcement by UBC that it had been named first ‘Fair Trade Cam-pus’ in Canada scored heavily in local media. CTV, The Vancouver Sun, Georgia Straight weekly newspaper and Ubys-sey student newspaper carried the story, while Academica’s Top Ten, a popular news digest for Canadian university ad-ministrators, was reported to be planning a story for the following Monday. UBC also reported that the news scored heavily in social media. It listed substan-tial Twitter activity for the first 24 hours after the announcement, adding that tweets went to thousands of followers with one tweeter (Coffeetweet) sending the message of UBC being named first Free Trade Campus in Canada to 76,000 followers alone. The May 5th announcement indicat-ing UBC had been named Canada’s first “Fair Trade Campus” – and will get its very own blend of ethically sourced cof-fee – came as a result of its national lead-ership on Fair Trade purchasing, sources say. The designation, the result of collabo-ration with UBC’s Engineers Without Borders chapter, is by Fairtrade Canada, the Canadian arm of a global non-profit Fair Trade certification system that sup-ports producers in developing nations and encourages individuals and organiza-tions to purchase ethically-sourced con-sumer goods. With the accreditation, UBC joins the City of Vancouver – which last year was the first city in Canada to become a “Fair Trade Town” – and more than 100 global universities that have committed to buy Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate and tropical fruit from producers who guar-antee higher social, environmental and pay standards for farmers and workers. “UBC’s commitment to Fair Trade ben-efits people in developing countries and provides our students and other large or-ganizations with an important example of institutional global citizenship,” says Andrew Parr, Managing Director, UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Ser-vices. “As an institution dedicated to ad-vancing sustainability and intercultural understanding, we are very proud of this recognition of our ethical purchasing ini-tiatives.” Students have played a key role in UBC’s Fair Trade initiatives. UBC be-came the first Canadian university to adopt Fair Trade coffee – in Alma Mater Society (AMS) student union eateries in 2004 and UBC Food Services outlets in 2006 – as a result of student feedback. Since then, in collaboration with stu-dents, UBC has developed sustainable purchasing principles, a code of conduct for suppliers and has added Fair Trade chocolate, tea and tropical fruit to the menus of more than 20 campus food out-lets. Although UBC was largely already com-pliant with Fair Trade Campus accredita-tion criteria as a result of past efforts, the designation did require the creation of a committee to advance Fair Trade action and awareness, plus promotional signage

in campus eateries. Students from UBC’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders were instrumental in driving the comple-tion of these final steps. “From Fair Trade coffee to this Fair Trade designation, students have helped to make UBC a leader in ethical purchas-ing,” says Kaan Williams, 25, Director of Fair Trade in UBC’s Engineers Without Borders chapter. “EWB has chapters at every other major University in Canada and many of them are already working towards achieving the award for their schools too.” To support UBC’s Fair Trade commit-ments, local Vancouver coffee company Milano Coffee is creating its first Fair Trade-certified blend of coffee for UBC that will launch at campus food service outlets in September 2011. Mr. Parr says UBC spends more than $8.5 million annually to feed its Vancou-ver campus’ average daily population of 70,000. “That purchasing power gives us the ability to work with suppliers in ways that make a positive difference,” he says, noting that UBC consumes more than 11,000 pounds of Fair Trade coffee annu-ally. “The new UBC brand of coffee will be a good example of that.” “The recognition of UBC as Canada’s first Fair Trade Campus sets an example for other campuses across the country and further demonstrates Canadians’ commitment to fairness and respect for the farmers and artisans who produce the products we enjoy,” says Michael Zelmer of Fairtrade Canada. UBC Fair Trade products and suppli-ers include Ethical Bean Coffee, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, Discovery Organics produce and Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bars. The Fair Trade Campus requirements ap-ply to primary UBC and AMS entities and exclude campus franchises, includ-ing Starbucks, White Spot and Tim Hor-tons. Meanwhile, UBC Food Services and UBC Bookstore jointly celebrated Fair Trade with the first Fair Trade day at UBC on May 11th with hundreds in at-tendance.

FAIR TRADE from Page 1

UBC Food Services and UBC Bookstore jointly celebrated Fair Trade with the first Fair Trade day at UBC on May 11th with hundreds in attendance. Ten Thousand Villages -were one of the Fair Trade vendors. Left to right - Marianne Pemberton and Jasel Reyes from Fair Trade Vancouver

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011 page 7

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Musquean Band Member Makes Past Come Alive

at Main LibraryHenry Charles is last surviv-ing member of band to have lived on the UEL; his door

is open to talk about Musqueam history

On the 5th floor of the Vancouver Public Library downtown, you will find a com-fortable office marked ‘First Nations Sto-ry-Teller in Residence’, and if you step into this office (as you are cordially in-vited by the library to do), Henry Charles will greet you. “How may I help you?” Mr. Charles, a member of the Musqueam band, will say, and if you ask him to tell you a story, he may tell you about Culculeath. Culculeath? “Culculeath was the Sasquatch wom-an, a witch, who lived on the University Endowment Lands (UEL) and who just wandered about.” Take a seat for you have just entered the world of imagination where Mr. Charles, a gifted story-teller, will be your guide through thousands of years of First Na-tions history and legends. “Culculeath kidnapped all children in the University Endowment Lands,” Mr. Charles will say, and he knows a thing or two about the UEL. Records show Henry Charles is the last surviving member of the Musqueam Na-tion to have lived on the UEL—adjacent to the University of British Columbia. He moved off the UEL about the time nearby Musqueam land was assembled for the Shaughnessy Golf Course “I gained a rich knowledge of my cul-ture from the time I spent living on the UEL with my grandparents,” said Mr. Charles whose Musqueam name is tecel-gen, which translates as porcupine. “When my parents and siblings moved to the Musqueam Reserve in the early 1960s, I stayed behind and continued to live in the wooded area with my grand-parents. This experience greatly formed who I am,” he said of the five years spent in the forest. Today, Mr. Charles is a Native Histo-rian and an official Musqueam Speaker and Aboriginal Greeter. He has wel-comed numerous visitors and dignitar-ies to traditional Musqueam territories speaking his native language. These have included athletes and dignitaries from the 2010 Winter Games as an official Greeter at the opening of the Games’ Aboriginal

Pavilion. His four-month stay at the Vancouver library as First-Nations Story-Teller in Residence began in early May, and he beams with satisfaction when report-ing on the number of people who have dropped by the office to listen to Mus-queam stories and learn of Musqueam history. These numbers include students from Simon Fraser University, research-ers from UBC, a member of an Alberta First Nation doing in Edmonton roughly what Mr. Charles is doing in Vancouver, a reporter from a Vancouver style maga-zine, a Japanese TV team, members of an AIDS group (“who I have sort of ad-opted”), members of the general public, of course, and the occasional ‘odd man off the street’. “I had one gentleman burst in to tell me he was with British Secret Service who wanted to know all about me.” The fit and vigorous Mr. Charles, a former rugby player with the victorious Merelomas team of the 1970s, takes it all in stride. “After kidnapping the children, Culcu-leath proposed to burn them in a basket, but the children got out,” Mr. Charles said in an interview while continuing the fabulous Culculeath story. Retired after 36 years working for the City of Vancouver as a heavy equipment operator, Mr. Charles said that to have been blessed with elders (principally Grandmother Christine Charles) who passed on Musqueam stories to him, he gladly carries the obligation to carry on the First Nations tradition of passing on stories to his two children. He has be-come ‘a keeper of Musqueam stories’. And songs. In a strong but low, sono-rous voice, Mr. Charles offers Eagle Wolf Dance, a song he wrote recently. The two-minute song goes, “Dance with the eagles...play with the wolves...” The tempo grows slower. On the quietest note finally, he stops. Continuing with the Culculeath story, Mr. Charles says, “After the children got out of the basket, Culculeath caught them again, and this time, she planned to drown them. But they escaped again, and furiously they swam away. And this is why the waters off Point Grey are so rough.” Mr. Charles welcomes you to his of-fice between 10:30am and 4pm. Check www.vpl.ca for days when he is in resi-dence and also for events he leads at oth-er library locations in Vancouver.

Musqueam band member Henry Charles, a ‘keeper of stories’ at Vancouver Public Library downtown

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• Remove pet food right after feeding and do not leave it outside overnight. • Do not leave garbage or scraps outside.• Place garbage in garbage containers.• Equip bird feeders with trays and clean spilled seeds often.• Clean your BBQ after use.

Please don’t let rats and other rodents become a problem in your community!

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011page 8Sustainability Corner

SUSTAINABILITY CONTESTWould you like to provide a practical tip on how each of us can contribute to sus-tainability. Be sure to submit your idea to the UNA Sustainability Contest at sustainabilitycontest@myuna.ca. The author of the tip selected will receive a $25.00 gift certificate (courtesy of Save-On) for use in our local Save-On Supermar-ket and at the end of the year there will be a significant prize for the year’s winner. This month’s winner of the Sustainability Contest is Brian Onn, who submitted the fol-lowing tip:

Save your lemon for scrubbing your potsLemon or any citrus fruit contains citric acid, and is found in many cleaning solutions. After squeezing juice, I freeze the empty lemon shells and take them out whenever I need to clean my sink or dirty pots. Just let them thaw for 10 minutes and they are ready to use. I personally like the smell of lemon and it saves on soap and pot scrubbers.

As this month’s winner, Brian receives a $25 gift certificate from Save-On-Foods. Con-gratulations!

WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT OF ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY’S PARTNERS IN SUSTAINABILITY, WESBROOK PLACE’S SAVE-ON SUPERMARKET.

Ralph Wells, UNA Sustainability Manager

The

as a part of Bike Month!

The UNA and UBC Bike Kitchen present

A Free Bike Clinic

Saturday 11th June 201110am - 11:30am

The Old Barn Community Centre

First come, �rst served!

Bike mechanic demonstrations & free tune ups!

Sustainability Memorandum of UnderstandingThe UNA is entering into a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of British Columbia to ad-vance joint sustainability objectives as part of the UBC Sustainability Initiative (USI). This MOU establishes a non-le-gally binding framework and set of prin-ciples to enhance coordination and col-laboration and support common interests on shared sustainability initiatives. What will this mean for UNA residents?The MOU identifies six priority initial areas of focus, including community en-gagement, energy conservation and ef-ficiency, waste reduction, water conser-vation, transportation and mobility and building standards. These focus areas will help the UNA achieve its sustain-ability goals of community engagement, energy conservation and emissions re-ductions, waste reduction and water con-servation. While the MOU provides no special powers to either party, it formalizes exist-ing partnerships such as the UBC – UNA composting and e-waste programs, ensur-ing these valuable and popular programs will persist. It also provides commitment and oversight necessary to ensure new initiatives are implemented and program milestones are achieved. Some programs initiated under the MOU include the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (including a commu-nity engagement process), a UNA Work-ing Group for the UBC Waste and Water Action Plan, development of sustainable transportation options and reviewing

building standards. This MOU will join USI MOU’s that UBC has signed with the City of Vancou-ver, BC Hydro and the federal govern-ment (National Resources Canada) and will be a cornerstone of the UNA’s sus-tainability partnerships. Be sure to watch future columns and ar-ticles in The Campus Resident for more details on MOU initiatives. You can review the draft MOU at www.myuna.ca/2011/05/MOU/

Sustainability Corner

Volunteer OpportunityWould you like to join a community working group to support waste reduction and water conservation in the UNA neighbourhoods? UBC is developing Waste and Water Action Plans and currently convening working groups to identify Action Plan priorities and actions. The UNA working group will focus on priorities and actions for the UNA neighbourhoods. Volunteers will be asked to review Action Plan back-ground material and attend two workshops to be scheduled during June. Follow up meetings may be also be scheduled.

UNA Waste and Water Action Plan Working Group

If you are interested in participating, please contact Ralph Wells at

rwells@myuna.ca or 604.822.3263.

The Old Barn Community Centre

Summer Camps for Kids!

Creative Writing

Movie MakingEarth Warriors

Sing, Act, Dance

Fun ArtEveryday Science

Drop-In Activities in the Park

Registration Open Now!phone 604.827.4469www.oldbarn.ca

Camps held in July and August - check program guide for details!

Candian Social Studies Workshops

FREERegistration requiredphone 604.827.4469

Want to make friends in the community?

Join our bi-weekly study and social activity group!

2nd & 4th Saturday of the month

UNA Represented at Metro Vancouver Zero Waste EventThe University Neighbourhoods As-sociation was invited to participate in a regional forum on accelerating waste di-version in multi-family homes. The April 20th forum was one of a se-ries of Regional Sustainability Dialogues organized by Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver sees diversion of waste to re-cycling programs in multi-family homes as a priority because multi-family diver-sion (estimated at 16%) lags far behind the 55% diversion found in single-family

homes in the region. Ralph Wells, the UNA Sustainability Manager, was one of eight invited pan-elists and spoke about the UNA’s multi-family composting program (a first for the region) and the UNA’s multi-family diversion rates of 45%. Mr. Wells said that the UNA experience demonstrates that multi-family composting and high diversion rates are possible and should be a goal for all Metro Vancouver mu-nicipalities.

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011 page 9

Permit Board Backs Bid by Chinese Firm to Build Campus Condos

The UBC development permit board had approved construction of a condominium complex to be built on campus by one of the largest property developers in China. Modern Green Development Co., of Beijing, will build a six-story residen-tial complex in the new Wesbrook Place neighbourhood with construction expect-ed to start this summer. The condo project in Wesbrook Place—just south of the Save-on-Foods store—will amount to the second major Modern Green investment at UBC. The earlier one came two months ago when UBC and Modern Green jointly announced a Modern Green infusion of $3.5 million into the construction and operation of the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) at UBC. An of-fice building, CIRS is expected to be the greenest building in North America when it opens in the fall. Meanwhile, Modern Green spokesmen say the condominium project in South Campus is the first development Modern Green has undertaken in North America.Spokesmen also say the newly-formed ‘strategic partnership’ between Modern Green and UBC came about from dis-cussions that occurred around the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Modern Green has developed more than 10 million square feet of green buildings in China and Australia, using geothermal heating, energy-saving technologies and other sustainable building practices. Its best-known project is Grand MOMA,

Modern Green is based in Beijing; UBC development project is its first in North

America

an eight-building, 213,000-square-metre mixed-use residential, school and hotel development in Beijing that received the American Institute of Architects’ Award for Sustainable Development and was named an “architectural miracle” by U.S. magazines Popular Science and Time. “Over the next 20 years, the world’s urban population is projected to increase by two billion people, so it is crucial that we dramatically improve the sustainabil-ity of the buildings we work and live in,” said UBC President Stephen Toope when the investment in CIRS was announced. “This partnership helps place UBC and

Modern Green at the forefront of these efforts, accelerating the development of sustainable urban infrastructure and green building practices.” With the partnership, UBC and Modern Green are expected to conduct applied research in sustainability policies and processes. The partnership also provides UBC a partner to help test and deploy ad-vanced sustainable building technologies in an effort to provide market-based solu-tions to global sustainability challenges. Collaborations will take place at CIRS and Modern Green sites worldwide, in-cluding the Wesbrook Place one.

“Modern Green, a leader in creating highly comfortable and energy-saving housing solutions, is looking forward to working with UBC researchers,” says Zhang Lei, Chairman of Modern Green, adding the partnership will include op-portunities for knowledge transfer, per-sonnel and student exchanges and expe-riential learning and research. “In collaboration with CIRS, Modern Green’s mixed-use residential building and demonstration centre at UBC will be a precedent-setting sustainable devel-opment for comfort and energy perfor-mance.”

Modern Green Development, a Chinese firm, will build this condominium complex at UBC

Jim Taylor Turns Hand to More Magic on Behalf of NeighboursAre you a price-conscious

shopper at Save-On-Foods? There may be a UNA

committee for you

As if Jim Taylor hasn’t performed enough magic on behalf of the campus commu-nity in the fifteen years he’s lived here, he has conjured up another initiative on behalf of UBC residents. This one—of all things—involves shop-ping. Mr. Taylor, an original resident of Hampton Place, says “I would like to try to organize five volunteers—as a com-mittee of the University Neighbourhoods Association—to do two things in relation to the Save-On-Foods store (in Wesbrook Village).” First, Mr. Taylor would like to do price comparisons with other popular stores in the UBC area community (Safeway in West Point Grey, Stong’s in Dunbar and IGA Marketplace store , also in Dunbar) as well as another Save-On-Foods store (in Richmond or wherever) “so that we can show the residents how Save-On-Foods’ pricing compares.” Mr. Taylor thinks this will encourage Save-On-Foods at UBC “to make sure that they are offering us the very best prices avail-able.” He proposes a monthly price check. The

Campus Resident has agreed to publish a brief report on findings As a second aspect of creating a com-munity of more informed shoppers, Mr. Taylor would like to have the-envisioned UNA shopping committee examine a ‘Western Family’ product and compare the price of it to its matching brand-name product. Western Family describes an in-house line of products Save-On-Foods markets. Many stores sell in-house lines of products. The prices of these products tend to compare well with the brand-name products with which they compete.Mr. Taylor says, “I think both of these things are important to the community. They are the kind of small-town initia-tives that help keep a community con-nected.” If you are new to the campus commu-nity, and are one of the few not familiar with Jim Taylor, we pass along a few bio-graphical notes here. We hope you enjoy the story. Mr. Taylor is a barrister and solicitor with a prominent and outstanding reputation earned over four decades as a member of bars of both BC and Saskatchewan; work as a professor at the Faculty of Law, UBC and work as deputy attorney general and deputy minister of justice, Saskatchewan. He was made Queen’s Counsel, 1989. He was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2001. He had been

Jim Taylor

the recipient of many awards. He has a particular and long-standing reputation within UBC and surrounding community, having earned his law degree here, and having served the UBC com-munity over the decades in numerous capacities, frequently on a volunteer ba-sis. He has acted as legal counsel to the University for over 10 years. He has been frequently recognized by the University for his work. Long before the University Neighbour-hoods Association was thought of, Mr. Taylor concluded that Revenue Canada had been taking GST from purchasers of their leasehold properties in Hampton Place improperly as they were not enti-tled to do that as a matter of law. He commenced an action concerning this. He was successful, and as a result, Mr. Taylor recovered on behalf of origi-nal owners of Hampton Place literally millions of dollars of refunds. After this was concluded, a number of the older developments in Hampton Place were denied the same benefit by Revenue Canada. Revenue Canada relied on the fact that these people had taken too long to make their claim. Mr. Taylor took up their case (from which he could not, in any way, personally benefit). He eventu-ally recovered on their behalf further mil-lions of dollars. Mr. Taylor did not charge for any of this.

He did it as a service to his neighbours. Subsequently, in the first year or two of the UNA, the strata chairs in Hamp-ton Place concluded that they were being asked to pay too much money for water, sewer and sanitary rates by UBC. Mr. Taylor looked into this. UBC after some persuasion agreed that they should allo-cate the changes in a different way so that the charges to the stratas were reduced. All those who live in Hampton Place were thereby saved substantial amounts of money on the strata fees they would otherwise have had to pay to their strata corporations. When the UNA started Mr. Taylor was the only resident member of the initial board. He worked hard to give the UNA life and form. He was the chair for six years, and he would like to hear from you if you’d like to join the proposed UNA shopping committee. His email is either judyandjim@shaw.ca or jpt@tjclaw.com.

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011page 10

The Great Hall at the UBC Museum of Anthropology

MOA Makes Mark on National Stage

UBC museum is awarded prestigious architectural award; facility was designed by late Arthur Erickson with landscape architecture - by Cornelia Hahn Oberlander

The University of British Columbia’s iconic Museum of Anthropology, de-signed by the renowned late architect Arthur Erickson, has received one of Canada’s most prestigious architectural awards. The museum is one of four buildings to receive the 2011 Prix du XXe Siècle Award for enduring excellence in Ca-nadian architecture from Architecture Canada - RAIC, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

“These iconic buildings have stood the test of time and become national land-marks,” said Alex Rankin, Chancellor of the RAIC College of Fellows. “They are a testament to how architecture can add quality-of-life to society. They are proof positive that architecture matters.” Dramatically located on cliffs over-looking the Straight of Georgia, the 80,000-square-foot museum is interna-tionally known for its Pacific Northwest Coast collections, research and teaching, public programs and community connec-tions. Since it opened in 1976, the muse-um has been one of Canada’s top cultural attractions, drawing more than 140,000 visitors annually. “Having the Museum of Anthropol-ogy recognized as one of Canada’s most significant buildings is truly an honour,” says Moya Waters, MOA acting director. “The award is a fitting tribute to Arthur

Erickson and landscape architect Cor-nelia Hahn Oberlander, whose passion, vision and commitment to creating an iconic building and landscape that are respectful of the collections and cultures represented here, is appreciated by all Canadians and citizens of the world.” Another building to receive the 2011 Prix du XXe Siècle Award is Vancouver’s Robson Square, also designed by Erick-son, which houses UBC’s downtown pro-grams and was a major celebration site during the 2010 Olympic Games. In designing the Museum of Anthro-pology building, Arthur Erickson (1924-2009) based his award-winning design on traditional Northwest Coast post and beam structures. For more than 35 years, the museum has been one of Canada’s best known buildings internationally. It has received numerous awards, including the Governor General Award for Archi-

tecture (1989), and was named Canada’s top tourist attraction by the Canadian Tourism Commission (1983). Its use of natural light and materials, respect for its environment and impres-sive detailing express both the essence of West Coast style and Mr. Erickson’s own exquisite and refined sense of design. The Great Hall’s carpeted floors and soaring glass walls create a seamless transition from interior space to the outdoors, an imaginary coastal inlet, now graced by a beautiful reflecting pool. The museum grounds, designed by Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, feature in-digenous plants and grasses amongst two outdoor Haida Houses and ten full-scale totem poles (one inside the larger of the two Haida Houses), and two carved house-posts and a ‘Welcome Figure.’

Richard Wozny, a real estate consultant and principal of Site Economics Ltd., of Vancouver, said UBC asked him to study whether development of the proposed hospice would negatively affect property values in the Promontory and the neigh-bouring Hawthorn Place community. Mr. Wozny said he conducted an assess-ment of residential real estate sales data over the 25-year period 1986-2010 on neighbourhoods surrounding the follow-ing four hospices: Canuck Place, Cottage Hospice and Mays Place, all in Vancou-ver, and the Salvation Army Rotary Hos-pice in Richmond. The consultant said, “The study con-cluded there is no relationship between hospice location and an affect on neigh-bouring property values either in sale price immediately after the hospice was opened or in the long term.” The study further concluded, Mr. Woz-ny said, that there would be “no decrease in real estate values in the neighbouring residential units or more broadly across the Hawthorn neighbourhood resulting from the proposed hospice development” beside the Promontory. Asked to comment on this claim, Jack Li, a resident of the Somerset complex adjacent to the Promontory, said, “This is definitely not correct.” Others opposed to construction of the hospice next to the Promontory also questioned claims by Mr. Wozny that their property values would not drop with construction. Mr. Wozny said prices would not fall because “demand is so strong on west side of Vancouver and at UBC with its pristine forest...there is an overwhelming

real estate demand.” UBC transportation consultant Richard Drdul said the amount of traffic gener-ated by a hospice in the area would be less than 50 motor vehicle trips per day and approx five motor vehicle trips dur-ing peak hour. “This amounts to less than 10% of Stadium Road traffic at present,” he said. “This will not create any notice-able impact to traffic operations and local network capacity.” As to the reverse impact of Stadium Road traffic on residents of the hospice, Mr. Drdul said, “I doubt there would be significant impact of traffic on the hos-pice.” He referred to a hospice in Rich-mond adjacent to #4 Road and a Delta hospice adjacent to Clarence Taylor Crescent. “Both these roads are major roads, and there is no significant impact,” he said. “There’s also the hospice on Granville Street with no significant im-pact from traffic.” As to whether noise and lights from Thunderbird Stadium will negatively im-pact the occupants of the hospice, a UBC poster at the information session read, “The majority of events at the stadium include weekend and weekday practices for varsity teams, and recreational noise associated with these activities is low im-pact and would not exceed levels set by the City of Vancouver in the Noise Con-trol Bylaw for quiet zones. “Large rugby games are scheduled once a year and large football games five times a year. Noise levels increase during these events but still do not exceed levels for quiet zones.” As to noise from rock concerts, UBC has stopped scheduling them at Thunder-bird Stadium because it now has artificial

turf, a UBC Athletics spokesman said. Prod Laquian, vice-chair, University Neighbourhoods Association, said in an e-mail to The Campus Resident, “I thought the info session was a typical event conducted by technical planners. “The organizers focused on the usual fac-tors planners feel comfortable dealing with -- traffic, light and noise from the stadium, property values, building de-sign, and landscape plan. “It was not a surprise that they found nothing negative among these factors that warranted locating the hospice in another place as these were evaluated in ‘quantitative’ and ‘measurable’ ways.” Mr. Laquian said, however, what the info session did not do, “was to deal with the elephant in the room -- cultural values related to ‘personal fears related to living

HOSPICE from Page 1 near an end-of-life facility’. “I don’t know if this decision is due to the fact that: (a) the planners don’t know enough about these factors to effectively come up with recommendations; or (b) they consider these too controversial and divisive and not amenable to techni-cal solutions -- that these are better dealt with through political consultation and democratic decision making. “In any case, I don’t think the info ses-sion did much to further resolution of the controversy. The opposing groups seem to remain firmly committed to their be-liefs. The UBC Board of Governors will have to go beyond technical planning concerns and consider hard to measure ‘cultural values’ when it makes its deci-sion. That takes the Board into uncharted political realms.”

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011 page 11

A forest glade beside the UBC Rose Gar-den was the site of a union-organized, memorial ceremony April 28th honour-

Flag Flies at Half Mast on ‘Day of Mourning’

Over 100 members of three CUPE locals at UBC are present at ceremony beside Rose Garden; Canadians

killed and injured on job are remembered

‘Day of Mourning’ participants proceed to forest glade beside UBC Rose Garden.

(Front row) Musqueam Elder Charles Henry and Cst. John Cosmidis, of the RCMP, University detachment. (Second row) Barry Jones, safety officer, Canadi-an Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 116. (Third row, from the left) Pierre Ouillet, UBC vice-president, finance and operations; Colleen Garbe, president of CUPE local 116; and Barry O’Neill, president of CUPE, British Columbia.

Musqueam band member Henry Charles blesses Day of Mourning ceremony at UBC in both English and his native tongue. (Please turn to Page 7 for separate story on Mr. Charles, First Nations Story-Teller in Residence at Vancouver Pubic Library)

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ing Canadians killed and injured at work. Over 100 members of the three Cana-dian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) locals representing thousands of UBC employees stood in silence for a minute out of respect for fallen workers. By proclamation of the Canadian gov-ernment, April 28th is termed ‘A Day of Mourning’, and is honoured by working people across the land as a time to re-member those who have fallen at work.A CUPE member, whose father had been killed at work, told those assembled among the towering Douglas Firs that employer negligence leading to lack of safety for workers should be treated as “a criminal offence.” The ceremony ended as it began: with elegaic music played by a bag-piper. Musqueam band member Henry Charles blessed the ceremony in both English and his native tongue.

HAWTHORN from Page 1

He then went on to say, “The prevail-ing opinion is that there is anything but a partnership between UBC and the University Neighbourhoods Associa-tion. Our input has become but an after-thought. You need to fight hard to get the attention of UBC.” Mr. Dickinson asked, “How can we be involved earlier in the planning pro-cess?” To applause, he offered the opin-ion that poor communications by UBC had led to the controversial ‘hospice is-sue’. “Everyone would agree this (poor communications) is a very undesirable development.” The hospice issue—widely report-ed—involves the UBC plan to develop a hospice on vacant land adjacent to the Promontory high-rise building in Haw-thorn Place. Mr. Dickinson suggested this issue—which has not been decid-ed—might well have been avoided (or, at least mitigated) had UBC consulted more closely with residents of the Promontory and the UNA. Stephen Owen, a UBC vice-president and one of three UBC representatives at the meeting, admitted that the hospice is-sue was “the elephant in the room.” Pos-sibly a few dozen of those attending the meeting live in the Promontory.Mr. Owen also admitted there were “rough spots” in relations between UBC

and its residents and that the hospice is-sue was one of them. However, he in-sisted that UBC was building a “model community” Indeed, Mr. Owen—a former Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Quadra (which includes UBC)—called the ‘University Town’ at UBC a model for communities around the province. Mr. Owen, a lawyer who served as Ombudsman for British Columbia before entering politics, also called the campus and community plan-ning department at UBC “the most pro-fessional one I have ever encountered in public office.” He said, “They may have hard heads, but they have warm hearts.” He referred to the process of residents challenging UBC on its planning deci-sions “completely appropriate”. He fur-ther referred to UBC learning its way on some of the issues involved in develop-ing “an ideal community for residents, If UBC isn’t a learning centre, then what is it?” Mike Feeley, a Hawthorn Place resident and former UNA chair, lamented the de-terioration in relations between UBC and the UNA of late. The relationship “is far worse today than it was a year ago,” Mr. Feeley said. A professor of computer sci-ence at UBC, Mr. Feeley described a time when UBC was grateful to have the UNA “onside with it.”

Until the amended Land Use Plan came into effect March 1st, UBC dealt with Metro Vancouver on land use planning decisions. Mr. Feeley said UNA support for UBC went a long way then to brac-ing the University in its dealings with a sometimes-hostile board of Metro direc-tors. While UBC wanted to retain the status quo on how campus residents were gov-erned (through the UNA), Metro wanted municipal government. At the May 17th meeting held at the Old Barn Community Centre on campus, Mr. Feeley called the status quo “a better deal for the UNA.” He said, “We gave up municipal gover-nance, but we were supposed to get con-sultation instead.” Alas, he pointed to the lack of consul-tation, and like other speakers, he be-moaned the effect of this on the campus community. “The failure lies with the lack of UBC consultation process. This has torn my community apart,” Mr. Fee-ley said. Other residents raised such issues as affordable housing, parking and trans-portation. One Hawthorn Place resident complained about lack of shuttle bus service between the UBC bus depot and Hawthorn Place after 10:30pm; a married faculty member complained about such a lack of available housing on campus that

he and his wife and infant had lived for a year-and-a-half in a one-room rental apartment on campus while waiting to get into a two-bedroom suite; a female Hawthorn Place resident complained about pervasive parking problems in her neighbourhood. Former UNA chair Jim Taylor also spoke at the meeting. Mr. Taylor called ‘problematic’ the presence of only three UNA representatives on a nine-member ‘neighbourhood advisory planning com-mittee’. UNA members should be in the majority, he said. Joe Stott, director of campus planning had given the example of the Wesbrook Place advisory planning committee con-sisting of three UNA representatives, a member from Musqueam band, a mem-ber from the Pacific Spirit Park Society, a UBC student, a UBC faculty member “and two others.” The line-up did not im-press Mr. Taylor, who was founding chair of the UNA. UNA director Erica Frank concluded discussions at the meeting by urging resi-dents to let the UNA serve as one of their major conduits to consult with UBC. She reminded residents that open UNA board meetings are held monthly and that dele-gations are welcome to address the board at 6:30pm every meeting.

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 25, 2011page 12

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