Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Presenting..... The Edible Valley

Hi all. I wanted to officially invite you to my newest project "The Edible Valley" podcast. My long time friend Jon Frazier(who happens to be the executive chef of Atlas Cafe in Courtenay) and I are teaming up to bring weekly podcast about the food culture of the Comox Valley. Our mission is to bring together chefs, farmers and consumers in one place where we can discuss the wonderful things that are happening in our area.

Jon and I go way back. We have been friends since we were 12, so we have over 20 years of history and chemistry, plus several years of working at the same restaurant and other projects over the years. In recent years we have become strangers. Not that we never talked, we just never got a chance to hang out. We work very different hours, each have a daughter, home lives and other hobbies. Wanting a new project and to reacquaint with my old friend I got an idea. I had been listening to Podcasts religiously for about year, my favorite being "The Sprocket Podcast". It began with two friends with a love of bicycling and alternative transportation and decided to record one of their conversations. It has now grown and they have fantastic guests and very interesting content as the show matures. I liked the format and thought "Why not"

I approached Jon with the idea last fall, and he was gung-ho to be involved. Neither of us had any skills or knowledge of how to make a podcast, what equipment we needed, how to publish it. So many questions, so little answers. But with much more time than money we plugged away over the winter learning how to get an episode online. Much frustration followed but we persevered and eventually had success. We are now five episodes in and they keep getting better.

We hope to keep bringing new episodes weekly as our time works and as guests are available. I hope to talk to a wide variety of people. We see the potential for so much growth for us personally in learning more every episode. We hope to add video in the near future and we have many more ideas that are incubating. I am pondering a big commitment for next year based on Edible Valley. I will save that for a later blog.

The Comox Valley holds so many possibilities for food lovers. Our farmers grow basically any kind of vegetable and meat that one can wish for, from pheasant to bison, kohlrabi to wasabi, it is all here. We are a national leader in shellfish aquaculture generating the majority of product farmed in B.C. We have exciting young chefs and farmers, value added producers and cutting edge wineries. We even have a scotch distillery! Fresh salmon, halibut, prawns, and Dungeness crab are available for purchase at the Comox Marina. The Comox Valley farmers market grows in size every year, with the prospects of a permanent location being constructed. Several food festivals take place at various times of the year, including B.C. Shellfish festival, Mt. Washington Alpine Wine and Food festival, and new for this year, Flavour the North Islands gourmet Picnic.

Stay tuned for updates on the Edible Valley facebook page, follow us on twitter @ediblevalley, or email ediblevalley@gmail.com. I thanks you for supporting my blog, and hope that can carry onto the next phase.


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Adventure 25- Beaver Lodge Forest

Interpretive Sign
For many years, ever since I went to school in Campbell River back in the late 90's, I have been interested in exploring the Beaver Lodge Forest land. Located in south west Campbell River, bordering the Inland Island highway, South Dogwood Street and the Merecroft area sub-division. To access this area from the Comox Valley off the Inland Island Highway turn right at the Jubilee Parkway and then left on to South Dogwood. Once on South Dogwood travel approximately two kilometers, past Rockland Avenue and turn onto South Mcphedran road, which is a left turn. Shortly down Mcphedran you will happen upon a small parking lot with a interpretive sign and access into the area, using the Beaver Pond trail.
Look at the beaver deterent on the culvert
The Beaver Lodge lands were gifted to the Provincial government in 1931 by the Elk River Timber Company. The 415 hectare parcel was to be used exclusively in the experimental re-forestation and forest management. It is now the first forest in the province that is protected by its own provincial legislation. The lands were railroad logged at the turn of the century and the stumps bare the scars of springboard holes. Springboards were planks that the fallers would insert into the tree as to stand on and get above the buttress of the huge first growth trees where the trunks were marginally smaller, plus got them above the thick, tall underbrush. The land is now graced with 70 to 100 year old second growth Douglas fir and swamp lands thick with red alder and western hemlock.
Douglas fir. I love the branches
The trails in this area are absolutely perfect for a child or adult who wants to get off the asphalt and ride surrounded by gorgeous trees and wildlife, and not have to worry about any hills or technical aspects. A faint hum of the vehicles out on South Dogwood is the only hint that you are close to civilization. Nary a root nor downed tree to ride over. The trail is some what mucky, but that is to be expected after all the rain that has plagued the area day after day. Natalie and I spent most of our time on the Rail trail that runs north/south. As its name suggests this is a converted railway bed that was used in the turn of the century logging. The trail is almost perfectly flat with a few bridges to cross and one small gully to go through. It also has a bridge at the bottom. Unfortunately Natalie was not feeling her normal self so we didn't cover a tremendous amount of ground.
Rail Trail
The Beaver Lodge is not that far from the Comox Valley by car and it could be tied in with another Campbell River adventure. The Discovery Pier, Elk Falls, Loveland Bay and the Rotary Beach Seawalk are all good reasons to visit the area. We will be adventuring north a few more times this summer and fall as we gradually make our way towards our goal.
Racing
I wanted to share something that Natalie said to me today. We happened upon dozens of motorcycles today in Campbellton. I believe it was a poker run, and told her that I though it was a fund raiser for cancer research. She said "Why wouldn't they just ride regular bikes, because burning all that gas riding those bikes will just cause more cancer" Enough said. Find adventure.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Adventure 24- Car Free on Fathers Day

Ghost town??
What a better way to celebrate Fathers day for Natalie and I. Today just so happened to be Car-Free day in the Comox Valley. Cumberland and Courtenay celebrate this occasion, and this year is the second annual for the festivities. I was unable to attend last year so I was quite excited to participate this time. And even better that Natalie could ride with me.
Ripping through those cones
It has already been a good bikey weekend for us. I did my Epic Ride on Friday, then cycled around Courtenay and Comox on Saturday with the skinny tires, and an evening ride with Natalie around the old Number 5 mine site. Today promised to be mellow, just two blocks of Dunsmuir were blocked off. Dunsmuir being the main street in Cumberland. I had originally proposed going snow shoeing today, but being involved with a car-free day was lower impact and involved less planning. Plus the weather was looking ominous. With gusty wind and cloud mixed with darker cloud, the mountain could have been miserable. It could also have been great. Impossible to tell. I am happy with our decision and so is Natalie. 
Nice soaps
We pedaled onto Dunsmuir at almost one o'clock. It was pretty quiet, aside from a pair setting up the bike rodeo and some chalk artists. The intersection of Dunsmuir and Third were to be a palette for whom ever wished to create a picture. We coasted up and down the street a few times. That is such a great feeling to have that much road to play on with a bike and be unafraid of motor vehicles. The rodeo was completed so Natalie and I spend a good portion of time doing loops of the slalom cones and the figure 8. We had a great time cheering each other on. Soon Natalie spotted some friends from school and they raced up the street to check out the soap factory. The proprietor creates brilliant soap in many shapes and scents, including apple pies, cupcakes, apples and flowers. Beautiful, and she had also had a bubble maker operating above her establishment. What a child draw that was. Every kid in the area flocked to the bubbles.
Artist in resident
We zig-zagged our way back down the street to give a hand at the chalk drawing. Natalie began drawing bikes and I drew her one to show how I would do it. However I soon realized that the bike decorating booth was open. Off we went to see how her bike could be beautified. Natalie's mom had shown up to take some pictures and the two of them went to work creating a masterpiece of ribbon, streamers and a playing card in the spokes. I busied myself catching things that were flying off the table because of the wind. Natalie was thrilled for this art project. We had to wait another half an hour for the decorated bike parade so we rushed home so Dusty could join her for the event. Once all settled down the kids cruised down the block and back in front of the parents and onlookers. It was "kidical mass".  And lucky her, she won a prize for her bike decorating. How cool! It was a gift certificate for the Wandering Moose. After a couple of pictures with the other kids we make a hasty retreat for the Moose for gelato. Excellent. We sat in the rare glimpse of the sun and people watched for a little while and indulged on the tasty treat. 
Thanks Mom!
Natalie went back out and drew some more and rode around the figure 8 again. I had a peaceful few minutes to see the world go by and reflect. I thought that the turn out was kind of low for our town, which prides itself on its bike culture. On the other hand, children and families made up the majority of the attendees. Plus many just came and went. I was pretty low key in socializing today, but the community of people all chatting and visiting in a central area was really awesome to see. Maybe I am just oblivious to the social gatherings of people, it seems like this kind of stuff doesn't happen in public often. Most of the parents all know each other from the elementary school and their kids are friends, so I am probably out of the loop. Anyways, I was still happy to see it and made the "cynical one" a little less so. We returned home and had a game of crib before dinner to cap a really nice afternoon of biking and being outside. Find Adventure.
My bike. How could you tell?

Friday, June 15, 2012

Epic Ride

Buggered Pig
For many weeks since I found out good the fortune to write my Government final Gas Fitter exam a day earlier than expected I had been planning a lengthy mountain bike ride. I tossed around a few ideas, one being riding from my house, across Bevan road to Comox Lake and up Forbidden Plateau, ride the trails back down, and home again. That would have been a huge day. Massive for me. I can ride a metric century on my skinny tires, but 20 plus kilometers on the fat tire, including half of those climbing, is tough. I was pretty keen on this ride. Then the thought of day tripping to Hornby to ride Mt. Geoffry came into play, but that was quickly shot down as too long of a time to be away, especially when there are kids to pick up from school. Getting Natalie to and from school is something that I am almost never involved in. It is nice to speak with the parents and see the kids. They are all growing and changing so much.
Great signage
So Russ and I decided that a ride in Cumberland would suit our purposes. Even though Cumberland is our home turf and naturally our most ridden trails, some new turf was opened up recently that we were stoked to explore. I accompanied Natalie on a bike ride to school in the morning, and once Russ arrived we made a stop by at Cumberland Chiropractic to visit with Dr. Colin Wilson. Colin is not just a chiropractor, he also is responsible for the maps that the local bike shops have of the Cumberland and Forbidden trails, proprietor of CVMTB.com, the local mountain biking website, complete with forum, online maps and photos. He is the man in the know, and he invited us down to his practice to pick up a hot off the press maps. It had included the newest trail in Cumberland called Potluck. Colin had published a ride route on another user based mountain bike website called Trail Fork. The loop included a dozen or more trails and about 17 kilometers of riding and we were going to base our loop loosely on this one.We chatted for half an hour about different trail related banter and came back to my house to "release the hound". Marshall would never let me forget it if I left him behind again.
Great vista

I was so pumped about going for a long ride, the actual hard work of the ride was not taken into consideration. Straight away the lungs and legs were hurting. Catching my breath was not coming easy. Russ was feeling about the same way, but we knew that a lot of hard work to get up to see this new trail and enjoy the "fun" part of the day. The first trail we hit was "Missing Link" which travels through a few year old clearcut and has a flowy end section that dumps you onto the end of "Two and a Juice". This is the section where "Two" has two steep downhill sections. Take some care to ride down, with some flat rock and many roots. They are fun, take your time if you are not a confident rider. We had earlier mused about what our classification of beginner trail is in the Comox Valley. Many of our XC trails have steep decents that border on downhill, but the decents are mixed in with bridges, skinnies, roots and other technical ingredients. Our XC is a real mixed bag, making it  fun and challenging. 
Clever sign
Soon we were on "Buggered Pig". "Buggered" is another one of the aforementioned XC trails. It has a pair of steep technical decents as well as rooty climbs and elevated wood work. It has been one of the stand-bys in my riding in Cumberland, as well as one that I often walked before I had a bike. We were soon popping back out onto the main logging road again for the climb up to "Bucket of Blood" and "Bear Buns". This is an intense climb as anyone who has participated in the upper trails. It climbs approximately 300 meters in 3 kilometers. The views from the top are beautiful, showcasing the whole Comox Valley. I will admit that I left the saddle to walk up some of the steeper sections. My wind did not improve on the climb. And a never satisfied thirst. It took close to an hour to get to where we wanted to. And then we realized that we had ridden up part of "Bucket" so we turned around and headed back down. "Bucket" is classed on the map at XC but the upper part, in my opinion, verges on a DH route. A long technical decent had me back on two feet, and an intimidating steep bridge that I just couldn't bring myself to ride down. We had originally discussed riding back up the road and riding "Bear Buns", but we decided that it was too much time and energy to get back to Sykes Bridge and carry on to "Thirsty Beaver" and  "Potluck".
My pal in the creek
We crossed Sykes bridge and had a nice cold drink out of the creek. While I don't normally suggest doing this, the water was running cold and clear after the recent rains. And it tasted wonderful. Another five kilometers of riding, hike a bike and walking to get us up to "Potluck" via "Upper Thirsty Beaver". "Thirsty" was a mud hole and was going to be a challenge to come back down. We first rode "Thirsty" last season and it has quickly become a favorite. A nice mix of up and down, as well as skookum stunts and bridges. Many meters of bridge work ushers a rider over a wet section of trail that is particularly exciting. Once we hit Trent River main it was time to stop for a snack of apples and salmon jerky. Fulled up we carried on to the highly toted "Potluck" Built by a group called the River Rats, they have collectively created some of the most wonderful trails, including "Thirsty Beaver". "Potluck" didn't dissapoint. It was pretty sloppy to begin with, and soon we were rolling down fresh tracks, over so many meters of board walk, including one that I would estimate at over 300! So impressive. We even rode through an old first growth tree, that was burned decades ago. I have never experienced that before.
Sykes Bridge
Potluck ended back at the top of "Thirsty Beaver" and with a challenging decent down because of the mud, we were getting pretty worn out by this time. "Lower Thirsty" was less mucky and full of stunts, decents and more bridgework. I feel like this is my favorite section of the trail and worth the long ride up the hill. We dropped out of "Thirsty" on to the road we spun up to go higher, and at the head of "Teapot", a very fun trail with only a shorty up hill section. It is somewhat rooty, void of stunts and heavy on the flow. Some puddles got us really muddy, but considering the mess that was up higher, not too bad at all. "Teapot" intersects with numerous other trails along the way, and just before the terminus, meets up with "That Dam Trail" We have ridden "That Dam" several times, including once while the trail was covered in snow. That was a challenge! "That Dam" was carved from the forest this past fall and winter and has quickly gaining a following. I really enjoy it. A bit of a climb brings you up to the start of the flowy decent. The only stunt, besides a couple small bridges, is a long log ride. It is intimidating looking. The log has expanded metal on it and it is quite wide. I successfully rode the log this time, it wasn't that bad and I felt really good for it.

My rig




"That Dam" drops us out at Allen lake where Marshall was already in swimming when I caught up with him and Russ. We chatted for a bit and saw a lady come out of the trail, with a really small dog. It was terrier type dog, and I had never seen such a tiny canine out mountain biking. Good for them. It was covered in mud and having a great time. We agreed upon to head straight back to the house, as we were exhausted. And poor Marshall. By the time Russ and I hit the steep part of the main road, he could not keep up. I had to stop to allow him to catch up. That was a big day for all three of us. We finished our day with the pump track trail across from the chlorine shack. 

It was a great time today. Unfortunately I think that dehydration was the root cause of my challenged ride. That was probably the biggest day I have had on a mountain bike thus far in my involvement of this sport. Get out and enjoy Cumberland and all that the trails have to offer. Find Adventure.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Adventure 23- The Chinese/Japanese cemetery

This weeks adventure was the one that spawned the idea for Natalie and I to expend more energy to spend time doing something different every week, exploring new places in the Comox Valley and surrounding areas. We drove past the cemetery at the end of 2011 and both spoke that we had never visited this park, and that we should do so. Then we talked about other places to visit and soon the list was growing in length and the rest is history.

I didn't take any pictures of the cemetery. It felt disrespectful to the deceased to take simple photos. Maybe I am wrong, but that is how I felt so this blog will not be accompanied by any images. I have already posted plenty of Natalie and I riding our bikes around Cumberland on this blog, so use your imagination or browse around to see more pictures.

It was going to be a quick adventure. I had a load of firewood getting delivered at noon, and there were many chores to do outside that had been neglected while I have been at school. I was able to get some siding washed, lawn mowed, weeding and moved some of my leftover firewood. It felt good to accomplish these tasks, and after a quick lunch we mounted our wheels and went for a nice ride. Natalie is gaining so much confidence and skill that I was comfortable letting her race me on the street. It was so much fun, even when she beat me. She did have a major crash. She spotted a curb, about six inches tall and figured that she could ride up on it. I heard "Hey Dad, watch this" I turned my to look over my shoulder, and I knew exactly what was going to occur. She hit the curb sideways, not perpendicular to it, and had a spectacular wipe out. She ended up with her bike on top of her and crying really hard. She didn't realize that you have to pop your tire up over things like the curb to get over it. I felt so bad for her, because she was trying to do something to make me proud, and it caused a crash. I am proud of her for trying, and more proud of her for getting back on her bike and continuing on with our mission. It was a symbol of how much her confidence has grown. A year ago she would have been done, and I would have had to carry her bike home.

We pedaled out to Royston road and turned on Union road. We raced the whole length of this road, a crossover from Royston road and Cumberland road at the highway. We rolled into the park and carried on up the hill to the Japanese side of the cemetery. We slowly meandered our way around, through the trees, checking out different monuments and memorials. All the headstones were gathered in one area on top of a large circular platform of exposed aggregate concrete. These stones varied from polished, colored granite to normal boulders with carvings. This monument was really quite beautiful. I am not sure of the history of this burial park, but I wondered if these stones were all moved to this central monument to protect them from erosion and vandalism. We did a few headstone rubbing to try this out, and they turned out pretty neat.

Down the hill is where the Chinese cemetery is located. The markers were still in the ground, and were different than the ones up the hill. These graves were capped with concrete with a flat granite marker placed on top to mark the deceased. Natalie was curious with all the Leungs that were in the cemetery, and I explained to her how there were many Leungs in the Comox Valley, and there still are. She would tell me in a caring voice that this person had a good life by the length of the life they lived. It was very cute and grown up. The clouds were beginning to open up and spit rain so I decided that we should get going home before we got soaked. We were unprepared for any kind of bad weather and I really didn't want us to get soaked.

We had a fun, interesting, quick adventure to complete this close to home excursion. We have finished most of the adventures that are close to home and now that I am on the eve of being back from school we will venture further from home and check out some new territory. Find Adventure.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Adventure 22- The Vancouver Island Visitor Info Center

Nice face Natalie
We watched over the past year as this unusual new building was constructed on the Comox Valley Parkway, the four lane route that travels from Cumberland to Courtenay and acts as a collector road for folks travelling north and south along the Inland Island Highway. This unique building, that be were aware of as the Vancouver Island Visitor Info Center, looked like a old style water storage tank. It has horizontal yellow cedar straps running the circumference of the circular structure. I had seen pictures of the center in the newspaper and the internet so I was a little bit prepared for what was inside this place. Natalie had already taken a tour through with her class, so she was to be our guide for the adventure. We brought her friend Hanna along once again for this Sunday tradition.
My girl in blue
I had been wracking my brain since Natalie had learned to ride a bike to find a route into Courtenay on the bike with out travelling along the busy four lane. A flash came to me a couple weeks ago. A dirt road travels up along the fence line of the Emcon maintenance yard along Royston road. I figured that there must be some way to get to Small road, where the Info Center is located, which ties into Minto road, which would lead us on a rural route down into Courtenay. I stopped by the Emcon yard on Friday on my way home to scope out the area. To my excitement the road leads up to an easy to cross fence line(with a bike anyways) and carries on into the back of Slegg Lumber. I figured we could just ride into the parking lot of Slegg, cycle out and straight down to the Visitor info. That plan almost worked to perfection.
Tough going
Natalie, Hanna and I left after eating a tasty Paleo breakfast. I have an interesting recipe for pancakes that mostly follow the guidelines of the movement, and they are really yummy, along with some local free-range eggs and Tanadice Farms bacon. Great morning. We rolled out to cloudy skies and a little chill in the air. This spring has been very unpredictable. Praying for no rain we headed down Derwent avenue, across to Ulverston avenue, along the gravel portion through the industrial park to Royston road. To the girls dismay we had to travel up to the highway overpass at Boulder hill. There was some moaning and I could understand. Hanna's bike is a BMX style with a single speed drive train. With little mechanical advantage she had to walk up the hill. Natalie crawled her way up most of the rise. We crossed the overpass, and I gave instruction on how to ascend the other side. Stay on your brakes, go slow, keep to the shoulder and don't over shoot where we have to turn. Fearless Hanna went off with out hesitation. I stayed out on the road a little bit to give cars more warning of our presence. We turned left onto the dirt road and traveled to the fence. We quickly slipped through the fence that is impenetrable to cars or quads, perfect for bikes. We rode into the back of Slegg lumber, and it was really quiet around there. I realized that Slegg was not open. Oh shoot, now what?
No Hanna.....
We rode around and noticed that we were locked in. Two gates were between us and Small road. Okay lets go check out another way. We went back out of the yard and found a double track that was quickly getting over grown, but passable, and we had to follow the fence line of the lumber yard to get around a large puddle. The girls wanted to ride through. I talked them down from that idea. We made it! Out on to Small road, and past the gate to Slegg. I realized that Slegg was closed on Sunday. Good to know now. We would have to take the back way to get home again, not the parking lot. Oh well, next time we will come on a Saturday.
Tah Dah
We coasted down the hill to the info center. The most stunning image on the outside of the site is the newly installed Snowbird looking like it is flying low over the parking lot. The Snowbirds are the famous aerial acrobatic team of the Canadian Air Force. They have been practicing each spring in Comox for as long as I can remember. They are iconic to the area. We passed under a beautiful First Nations sign welcoming guests, and into the center. The first building contains the information desk, gift shop and washrooms. Carry on into the dark circular structure, passing over the creek that flows through the building to a small pond outside. Nice feature.
No kayaking without a life jacket!
The showroom of the Comox Valley and Vancouver Island is well done. There are interactive displays, a large touch screen in the middle for finding information on the area, tree trunks, Vancouver Island marmots models, mountain bikes, live oysters, and a monstrous yellow cedar that is hollowed out with holes in it for children to look out of. Natalie had a scavenger hunt sheet from school to help discover different highlights in the display area. They had fun climbing and looking out of the yellow cedar. A cool kayak mock up, where you can stand in it and have your picture taken with a westcoast back drop, looking like you are actually paddling. I was quite impressed with the whole set up, after being a so cynical about the whole thing as it was being built.
You too!!
We were surprised to see that it had rained while we were in discovering. Luckily the bikes were undercover so the seats were dry. We ate out snack inside at the tables over looking the playground outside, with the faint trickle of the indoor brook as the back drop. After eating Natalie and Hanna went out to play for a short time, before I announced that it was time to cruise back. We pedaled out of the parking lot for the trip home. Over all we rode pretty close to ten kilometers. I was very happy with my company for the adventure this day. They did a great job riding and listening to my instructions.
Lets go home
 I recommend that you go and check out the Visitor Info center. It is really neat, and you might learn something new about the beautiful area that we live in. Find Adventure.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Letter to John Duncan(I sent it to Harper too)


To John Duncan M.P.

I am writing to vent my frustration with the Conservative governments hidden agenda in Bill C-38. How can Canadians trust our Federal government that hides such important issues in a bill that is supposed to be about the finances of our country. Changes to the Fisheries Act, dismantling the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, removing the decision making power of the National Energy Board by giving Cabinet last say on any declaration of the Boards finding, and making the National Energy Board exempt from the Species at Risk Act. These are appalling insertions to the Act. I ask you why is it so important to potentially ruin our environment and to remove the safety nets that were in place to consider these risks in the name of  short term job creation. We have such a rich country in more than just our energy. What is the big hurry to sell it off? The world isn't creating any more and it will just get more valuable. Why are we burning so much natural gas to make the dirtiest of carbon fuels? And why do we need to send it overseas? All this energy makes Canada rich in so many ways, we SHOULD be self reliant in our energy needs. Natural gas is such a wonderful fuel and Canada could be implementing this fuel and leading the world in using natural gas as transportation fuel. Burning natural gas to make bitumen is like burning gold to make coal. It is totally backwards thinking. By allowing these environmental irresponsibilities brings Canada's environmental protectionism to the level of the third world. Short term employment and multi-national pocket stuffing before fragile eco-systems, endangered species and ruining an area that SHOULD be protected as a National Park. Pipelines and super tankers do not belong on our coast, period. It is sad for me to think of the future for my child and my grandchildren. I am teaching her to respect the environment because her generation will have so much more to fix than we had to save. I hope that the next generation will make smarter political decisions and NEVER elect a government that is removing our democratic rights and liberties, making the right to clean air and water up to multi-nationals who are padding the ruling parties coffers. I can proudly say that I didn't waste my vote by supporting the Conservative government and I never will. 

Just a little background. My father, grandfather and many family members on both sides of my family worked and work in the forest industry. I am a journeyman sheet metal worker. I make a living on progress. But it must be sustainable progress. Canada SHOULD be at the fore front of clean renewable technologies. The 5.5 billion Enbridge wishes to spend to build there "pipeline of death" would build a heck of a lot of renewable energy sources. 

I hope as a man from Vancouver Island you stand up to Steven Harper and make the right choice and say "no" to Bill C-38

Sincerely, your frustrated and upset constituent Blayne Prowse, Cumberland.