On April 24, the International Association for Impact Assessment’s Western and Northern Canada Affiliate (I didn’t make that up) is hosting a full day session in Victoria to discuss the processes and practices of environmental assessment in B.C. IAIAWSNCA members are from federal and territorial governments, consultancies, co-management boards, industries and NGOs.
The goal is to promote and develop best practices for B.C.’s Environment Assessment Office “to provide for a more efficient process while maintaining the integrity of environmental assessments.” Hmm. The provincial government has been under fire for efficiently laying off environmental staff and leaving decision-making to professionals hired by the industries. The presenters are IAIA members and government officials including personnel from B.C.’s EAO. The announcement doesn’t say who should attend the conference but the $100 fee will probably dissuade a few even though it includes coffee, snacks and lunch.
Fingers are pointing in all directions as to who is to “blame” for the Mount Polley Mine disaster. Would it have happened if the province had heeded former Auditor General John Doyle’s advice to have the EAO provide more adequate oversight instead of deregulating the process? Will the IAIA session answer that one?
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According to the Chinese calendar, this is the Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram, whatever. I was born under this sign, and I wondered if it means this will be a good year for me. Several different sites on the Internet had several different answers but one said this would be the best year for me for years, so I’ll go with that. Most sites gave the same favourite flowers and lucky numbers (which were right on) but the Sheep’s personality is calm and gentle. If that is me, you’d think I’d have noticed it somewhere along the line.
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Baby power. The youngest person in our family, who is just sort of five months, knows how to communicate. One smile from him gets instant adoration from every adult within range. Too bad it doesn’t work for adults.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.