----- Original Message -----
From: Annelise Sorg
To: Coalition For No Whales In Captivity
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 3:11 PM
Subject: Park Board Monday Sept.11 @ 7 pm VanDusen
ACTION ALERT
Come to the Monday Night
Park Board Meeting
Van Dusen Gardens @ 7 PM
Everyone is welcome!
The issue for our group at the Monday night Park Board meeting is the proposed approval of a scandalous plan for the Park Board to hold a joint "public" consultation process with the Vancouver Aquarium, instead of holding a public referendum, which is the only democratic way to find out if Vancouverites approve of bigger whale tanks and more whales..
This new Park Board elected in Nov.2005, under the command of Chairwoman Heather Holden, long-time Vancouver Aquarium employee, earlier this year nixed every motion passed against anything to do with the aquarium in just one night. Many resolutions were deleted from the Park Board books that night, including the 2005 resolution to hold a Whale Referendum during the 2008 elections, as well as the 1995 resolution to send any request for aquarium expansion to a public referendum.
Now the Vancouver Aquarium is paying $300,000 to their favorite public relations company to do the survey instead of a public referendum in the next elections, which costs nothing. The aquarium can certainly spend their money however they wish, but it would be corrupt for the elected Park Board commissioners to partake in this "manufactured consent" project as a joint partner. If the Park Board approves a joint-survey at the upcoming Monday night meeting, it will show once again how the aquarium owns the park board.
Please join us at the Monday Night meeting. Our legal advisor Denis Howarth will speak representing No Whales In Captivity, and we need you there to help tell the Park Board that Vancouverites deserve a public referendum, not a public relations campaign to justify bigger whale tanks, because that only means more whales in those tanks. Ask the Park Board to bring back the Whale Credendum and the Expansion Referendum, as well.
If you would like to speak to the Park Board as a delegation on this agenda item, please phone or e-mail them - see their notice below.
If not, there is also a chance to ask the park commissioners questions for 30 min. at the start of the Park Board meeting when you can just get up and ask anything you want.
For more information, contact us NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY cfnwic@whaleprotection.org
and please read a related newsarticle coming up in tomorrow Thursday's Georgia Straight www.straight,com
and the two newsarticles on the aquarium coming up in Sunday's Vancouver Courier www.vancourier.com
THANK YOU!!!
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
www.nowhalesincaptivity.org
NOTICE FROM THE PARK BOARD ---------------------------------------------------
Hello,
This is to notify you that the Park Board staff have prepared a report entitled "Aquarium Revitalization and Expansion Proposal: Technical Review & Public Consultation Process".
The report will be considered by the Park Board on:
Monday, September 11th (meeting starts at 7 pm)
**LOCATION: VanDusen Botanical Garden (Oak & 37th Avenue)**
You can find a copy of the report at:
http://vancouver.ca/parks/board/2006/060911/index.htm
Agenda item 2 is the report which was presented at the July 10th Park Board meeting, but which was referred to the Sept. 11th meeting. This report has been updated to include a "technical review of the impacts of the proposal on Stanley Park". This updated report is Agenda item 3. The updated report includes a description of the Aquarium Revitalization and Expansion Proposal, a review of the impacts of the proposal on Stanley Park, and a description of the proposed public consultation process.
If you wish to speak to the Park Board, please sign up by noon on Monday, Sept. 11th with Julie Casanova @ 604-257-8451 or julie.casanova@vancouver.ca
If you have questions about the content in the report, please contact me by phone or email.
Thank you!
Michel Desrochers
Park Planner
City of Vancouver
Tel: 604-257-8529