From the Alberni Valley Times – Feb 7, 2011

By Keri Sculland

Rafe Mair and Damien Gillis are the founders of the popular new
online journal, The Common Sense Canadian, and are coming to visit Port
Alberni to discuss relevant issues affecting the community.

They’re touring the Townhall Tour for Common Sense Canadians to help educate residents on issues faced by the province.

As
a part of this tour of some 30 communities around the province, Mair
and Gillis are coming to the Alberni District Secondary School
auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m

Mair expects he will speak about the negative impact of fish
farming, the strategy of the provincial government breaking the
environment and he will touch lightly on general affects of coal.

“They’re
disgraceful,” Mair said about fish farms. “It’s absolutely immoral
that we allow our animals and our fish to be destroyed.”

People
should act against fish farms, he said. The argument, that fish farms
are like regular cattle and chicken farms, doesn’t ring clear according
to Mair.

He says, in the water, disease is more likely to spread in close confinement.

In
regards to the possible export of coal through Port Alberni, Mair said
the issue should be determined with support of local residents.

“There’s
no shortage of coal in this world,” he said. “There’s all sorts of
places in the world you can get coal without destroying habitats.”

His concern lies in dredging the harbour and releasing toxins into the Inlet.

Sometimes,
you’re going to do environmental harm with mining,” he said. “There
ought to be substantial public hearings before the project. A public
hearing is a place where all who have an interest has an opportunity to
be heard, so the government is faced with public opinion when they
make a decision.”

B.C. Hydro will also be a hot topic in his
discussion. He is interested in speaking about excess power exports in
the province and the effect hydro dams have on habitats.

Mair
and Gillis will be joined by local host Stacey Gaiga of Coal Free
Alberni and guest speaker CoalWatch president John Snyder, with an
update on the proposed Rave Coal mine issue and actions citizens can
take to help put a stop to it.

The two-hour town hall event will
feature a short documentary on the proposed Enbridge pipeline to B.C.’s
North Coast, “Oil in Eden,” and a key-note speech by Mair, plus the
opportunity for the audience to ask questions and discuss the issues
with the speakers.

For more information, please contact Stacey
Gaiga at 250-723-1243 or by e-mailing staceygaiga@shaw.ca. There is
also a Facebook group, “Take Back Our B.C.: Rafe Mair & Coal Port!”

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