Dear All,
I am writing to you tonight to ask you to please come to the park board meeting Halloween night Oct.31 at 7pm at the park offices in Stanley Park.
If you are planning to come to the park board meeting to speak to the commissioners on the issue of the Whale Referendum, I would like to invite you join us on Thursday at 8 pm for a whale-friendly teleconference meeting. All you have to do is phone in from the comfort of your home.
This teleconference meeting is for speakers only, since space is limited. So if you have not registered to speak yet - what are you waiting for?
Give the Park Board a call and sign up to speak at (604) 257-8452
- and then give me a call and I'll sign you up for the teleconference meeting tomorrow night (604) 736-9514
BACKGROUND FOR SPEAKERS
At the upcoming Park Board meeting, Park Commissioner Loretta Woodcock will introduce a motion to hold a Whale Referendum in 2008.
I know that to some of you, this might sound like good news - but to me, it sounds just like another empty COPE election promise.
Even the Park Board staff confirmed today that there is no precedent for such a motion because there is no way this Park Board can ever force the next Park Board to hold a Whale Referendum in 2008, or any other year for that matter. Needless to say, this Park Board can only hold a referendum this election year. But of course, blame this COPE Park Board for lying and cheating to make sure that they missed the deadline to even vote on holding a referendum this election year.
So why does COPE want to bother now with proposing a motion for a 2008 Whale Referendum?
1. Commissioners Woodcock and Anita Romaniuk are running for re-election this year. Just like in 2002, they both want our whale-friendly votes so they are again promising what they can't deliver, hoping that this farce of a motion might help get the uninformed public to vote for them again. They can't deliver because these park commissioners don't have any power inside COPE, they just know how to ride the election bandwagon.
2. The COPE commissioners need to appease their membership, too - because on Sept.10th in a COPE policy meeting, a majority of the COPE membership voted in favour of a motion to hold a Whale Referendum in 2005 - not 2008! All COPE commissioners (including Woodcock and Romaniuk) voted against that motion. The betrayal continues.
3. Everybody involved, including both Woodcock and Romaniuk, knows full well that a 2008 Whale Referendum motion will not pass on Monday night. Even if the three COPE commissioners (Woodcock, Romaniuk and Poaps) conveniently vote in favour of the 2008 motion, the other three commissioners (2 NPA and Heather Deal -former COPE now Visions Vancouver) will vote against the motion. A tie 3-3 means the motion will be defeated. Oh, what a relief it is for COPE commissioners to be able to say "but we tried!".- and, "elect us again because this time we will fight for the whales".
4. Heather could (but will not) be the Deal-breaker. Commissioner Deal is acting in conflict of interest voting on aquarium whale-related motions - because she has worked for the aquarium on the artificial salmon stream and her portrait hangs at the aquarium for the public to see. She should step down from any discussion about the aquarium, but of course she will not because COPE needs her there to vote against the 2008 motion.
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Just a reminder...
1. It was Commissioner Romaniuk who's job it was to lie and make sure the deadline to approve a Whale Referendum for this election was lost. Now she says she's really sorry for the misunderstanding. And if you believe that, I have a whale to sell to you!
2. All COPE park candidates in 2002, including Commissioner Deal, promised they would help the whales if they got elected. However, they have done nothing to help, only hinder our efforts at every turn.
3. Under COPE's aquarium watch (since July 2005):
3 New Dolphins imported
1 Beluga Sold (Allua)
1 Beluga Sick (Imaq)
1 Baby Beluga Dead (Tuvaq)
Blame this Park Board, and don't be fooled by these new election promises. The 2008 Whale Referendum motion is a farce, means nothing and cannot be enforced in any way. The vote on Monday night is meaningless and only glorifies the same park commissioners that should be kicked out for not honouring their 2002 election promises. Don't let them get away with this. Come to the Park Board meeting and protest the corruption.
Please contact me if you have any comments.
Many thanks.
Annelise Sorg annelise@direct.ca
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
(604) 736-9514