Colliery Dam Park Update

Jeff Solomon Addresses Park Supporters

Colliery Dam Park supporters attended an information meeting at John Barsby School where Jeff Solomon provided an update on the current status of the moves to remove the Colliery Dams this summer.

The group hopes that at the May 27th city council meeting a city councillor may decide to have the issue of removing the dams this year revisited in favour of keeping the dams in place this year and replacing the middle dam next summer, with the lower dam being replace the following year. This would be the best case scenario.

Several other action plans were discussed if the hoped for reversal does not happen this coming Monday. One such action will involve legal action based on the legal rights of anyone owning property which fronts on the Chase River. The matter of an injunction was also discussed.

A generous contribution from an audience member insures the group will be able to seek legal advice to look into their many legal options at this point.

Two young girls presented Mr. Solomon with nearly $100, which they were able to raise through a sidewalk lemonade sale they undertook this past weekend.

Members of the Council of Canadians addressed the meeting inviting any interested members to attend a workshop they are putting on this coming June 1 which is a course in civil disobedience. The course seeks to inform just what the legal rights and consequences are of different levels of civil disobedience.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE PLANNED

Mr. Dave Cutts, Veterans of the Clayquot also addressed the crowd, and made it very clear that while they shared objectives (keeping the lakes) that his group and Jeff's group were two totally different entities. They do not share member information etc., and in fact act completely independent of each other.

Mr. Cutts and his group will be meeting this Sunday at the lower Colliery Dam at 1:00 pm to help develop their different committees and layout their plans for occupying the park over the summer. To date, they have 70+ people signed up to camp in the park over the coming months while others will be occupying platforms in the trees within the park.

If successful Mr. Cutts group will likely delay the removal of the dams for some time and will without doubt focus considerable media attention on Nanaimo over the coming months.

The story of how David (average citizens) are taking on Goliath (city council and city staff) in a valiant fight to preserve these two lakes in the heart of Harewood is tailor made for the six o'clock news.