This is a letter I wrote to Port Alberni Mayor Ken McRae on November 2, 2007.

Dear Mr. Mayor and Members of Council

Over the past few months I’ve had the chance to engage in some good discussion on City matters through the public meetings on the Budget and Recycling. Thank you for that opportunity. I’ve also touched bases with Mr. Pat Deakin on a number of occasions and found him to be very open minded on issues that I find most important. I ask that you please take the time to read my thoughts. I would also like to extend an offer to present a short presentation to you and council on these matters.

In all my discussions, one thing that continues to pop up is leadership, and that is why I’m writing today.

I believe the Mayor and Council have done a good job in keeping the Good Ship Alberni afloat in very tough times. However, I also believe there is a great opportunity to lead Port Alberni into a whole new era that you are missing. What I am about to suggest would require major changes, but in 40 or 50 years it would make all the difference… can the Council of 2007 approve a vision for 2057? As we celebrate Amalgamation and Echo ‘67, remember the vision and leadership that it took to build that center and join this City in the face of stiff opposition and the benefits we still now enjoy. I don’t mean to do this figuratively. I mean we need someone who will really stand at a microphone and announce both the Hard Truths that we all are facing, and the Hard Ways in which we are going to come out ahead.

Like the debate on Climate Change, there is now mounting evidence and studies are piling up that predict a coming final “plateau” or “peak” in the rate of world oil production. In fact, a German group last week indicated that by its’ calculations, the worlds production peaked (even with Oil Sands) in 2006 and will decline by as much as 3% a year starting around 2010. A former Saudi ARAMCO executive speaking at a conference in Houston last week also indicated that official published estimates of reserves by Middle East countries are grossly overestimated (by nearly 40%).

The effect of this peak? Ever rising oil, fuel, and natural gas prices and an ever rising Canadian $… if the price of crude hits $150 in the next 10 years… where will the Loonie be? $1.25? $1.50?? These issues can be frightening to people… but they are also incredible opportunities to lead. Port Alberni is currently at the bottom of an economic cycle that has taken 50 years to get us here. In 50 years, where will we be, how can we use something like Peak Oil, to our advantage?

Would Port Alberni announce itself as the first Peak Oil Aware city in Canada? Will we commit to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels to near 0 in all facets we control in our City by 2057?

Here are some opportunities that I see, or that I think we’re missing….

#1: Heritage: An excellent focus for our tourism… but it hasn’t caught on yet in town,or with any tourists, local or otherwise. As we do our Uptown Revitalization… take a page from Chemainus’ book and make it a town theme. Turn back the clock to the early 20th. Create a bylaw to restore the older buildings to what they looked like in 1905 or earlier and to provide access to old blueprints to assist renovations. Fact is, in the early 20th Century we knew very well how to work with very little fossil fuels… in other words, Old Ike should be able to solve all our problems. During your renovation of Argyle, install an electric, or cable, rail-trolley car like there used to be… (this is the peak oil angle) and have it run a loop uptown… even in small cities like Port Alberni, public transport will be incredibly important in the future. In Future aim to replace the BC Transit buses in the City with electric rail or bus trolley cars loops by 2030.

#2: Redevelopment of City:

Roads: Our City is City Works intensive! It has the widest streets around. Instead of fretting about repaving those streets… create simple boulevards. They will reduce maintenance costs, beautify the City, and reduce the heat of the summer. Create a Bylaw that Neighbourhoods/residents must maintain, not only their sidewalk, but their boulevard as well. Allow neighbourhoods to cooperate and plant their own trees or shrubbery… grass is labour, and water, intensive.. encourage natural, local, shrubs, trees and bushes. Ban tractor trailers from using the Redford Corridor!! How? Narrow it with a beautiful boulevard so it’s no good to them… They should be using Stamp/Gertrude and Johnson… or RAIL! The most damage to roadways happens on the HILLS… make them use the Provincial Highway!

Business Corridors: We must pursue a strategy to create a “walkable” or “ridable” City. Keep the current “pockets” in place. Please resist the temptation to expand the Johnson bigboxes throughout the corridor. Allowing them to “creep” would simply create a transportation mess like what happened in Nanaimo and Duncan. Create and expand the pockets, but never allow them to merge. We need to encourage more “anchors” to locate in lower Johnson and the Argyle area to provide those areas with new retail blood.

#3: Alternative Energy: Distributed, localized, energy will be the only way to add more electricity to the grid now that huge hydro projects and natural gas plants are either not existent, or will be too expensive to buy power from.

Community Forest: We have an incredible source of fiber around the Valley. Catalyst burns it for fuel… when they are gone, we should burn it for electricity. Get started NOW on putting the plans together to create a major BioMass facility. I watched, on the 30th, on the Beauforts, as smoke lifted up from the slash burning and thought… “that should be powering my microwave!!”. Our Community Forest should have a directive that forbids any piling of waste and directs it and any other waste including chips to a local BioMass facility. All TFLs and Private Lands should have the same provincial/Federal law, but I know that will never happen with current governments so we’ll have to do it on the local level.

Heating: In Norway, there is a City that uses a CoGen BioMass plant to produce heat to heat 80% of residential homes through plumbing… this is a City the size of Nanaimo. Port Alberni could do the same… imagine, if in 50 years, 80% of City residents didn’t pay for heating oil, natural gas, or electricity to heat their homes?? This decision requires leadership, vision, and tenacity…

SmallHydro: Alberni must continue to support, and participate in, Small Hydro projects in and around the Valley

Solar and Rain: Did you know that Solar Water heaters can actually work in Port Alberni… so can solar electricity panels!! Thanks to our hot dry summers, we can actually save money by installing solar water heaters. Make a bylaw encouraging developers, and residents to install these devices! Any new City building must have one… as well as tanks to store rainwater for groundskeeping and solar panels to generate electricity.

#4: Commuters:

Car: Create designated “Park and Ride” spots around town (all it takes is a sign and an OK from local businesses)… the Tourist Bureau, Walmart, 10th Ave Plaza, all good places for one… these small steps would really send a major message to people that we are thinking about it!

Rail: Please continue to vigorously support the ICF and APR! THe key to our economic re-awakening, especially in a Peak Oil world, is efficient, Rail Transport. Encourage business to use Rail… setup partnerships between SVI, ICF and businesses to make railfreight happen again on the Island! Take the Tough track and start to lobby to the Province and Feds to Electrify the rail lines. Only electric rail corridors can, eventually, be high speed and thus able to offset car commutes. We must start small now or the cost later will be to the moon.

If you have made it this far, I hope that means that you will seriously consider my proposal. My biggest concern of all, aside from all the suggestions, is simply that our elected leaders not chicken out on the issue of Peak Oil. Peak Oil and Climate Change are one and the same… it’s time someone in power actually said it. People want to know why their energy costs are rising so quickly. It’s time the people who we elect to lead us through good and bad, tell us the truth and give us a direction. That, above all, is what people really want.

Thank you very much for your time and service to this community

Sincerely,

Chris Alemany

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This was a letter I sent to the Economic Development Manager of Port Alberni a while back. I thought I’d post it here as well.

Two of the most valuable economic resources in our City are the deep water Port and the (formerly) heavy grade rail line.

Combined with the rail barge at Nanaimo Harbour, we could be considered the closest point (in terms of combined sea/rail miles) of entry for goods from the Far East to enter the Canadian and US Markets, and the 3rd closest overall after Rupert and Kitimat… We are 6-12 hours closer than the Fraser/Vancouver Port, not including the significant backlog at there.

As energy consumption concerns continue to grow, and energy prices continue to rise, only the most cost effective modes of transport will survive. And despite the incredibly large distances, shipping goods from China or Japan by container is orders of magnitude more efficient, produces less CO2, and less costly than trucking in North America, so no doubt these modes will continue to be used and likely expanded.

There is also a new initiative (2003) between the US and Canada to encourage “Short Sea Shipping” to alleviate congestion at the border. This would make our Port a candidate to ship goods to US Pacific ports.

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/marad2003.htm

Shipping containers have many of the same benefits of other large businesses without the environmental impact of mills and large industry. There would be many hurdles to overcome, including increasing capacity on the Nanaimo/Welcox side, adding Strait crossings… upgrading the Alberni Railway, finding space for Container storage (the Plywood site would be an excellent candidate) and other concerns. But with the help of all levels of government, the ICF, SRY rail, and other stakeholders I think Port Alberni could take a lot of the current traffic waiting at anchor in the harbour at Vancouver.

Given the obvious political issues around this, I have CC’ed this to our MLA and MP as well since it would directly affect all areas of this electoral district.

Yes, this is a dream, and a big one.. but all the pieces are here. We just need to put them together and make it work.

Thank you again for your time, and hardwork.

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Democracy is a balancing act. It can at times become so bureaucratic and complex that it grinds to a halt… other times, it can be so direct as to do nothing but legitimize a de-facto dictatorship.

Take the Parliament of Canada. The real power is in the hands of the House of Commons, and whichever political party, or coalition, has control at the moment. There is a 2nd chamber, the Senate, but it’s power of oversight is limited both by design and tradition.

Today the Conservative Party introduced legislation in the House to reform the Senate. But at the same time it laid down a threat, thanks to an bill expected bill from the NDP:

The Conservative government re-introduced two bills Tuesday that would lead to provincially elected senators and shorter Senate terms, warning that it would support the abolition of the upper chamber if the changes are blocked.

That support would, we assume, be in the form of supporting the NDPs intended bill that would propose a referendum be held on the next Federal Election Day on whether to abolish the Senate completely.

I fully support reform. I think the changes proposed would allow the Senate to come more to the forefront of the Canadian political scene which would hopefully make the institution more effective and provide a useful oversight to our MPs.

Abolition of the Senate would strip away any possibility of oversight at all, and in a Majority Government environment would basically ensure complete domination by one group of MPs and one Prime Minister.

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but at this point, the Conservatives have it right, the NDP have gone too far. That said, if it is the big stick of the NDP referendum bill that convinces the parties in the House and Senate to pass the reforms, then in effect, we all win.

On a related note, I think reform of the Senate would also be an excellent opportunity to “test” a form of proportional representation for election of the members of the Senate. First Past the Post has been shown time and again to be the least fair way of electing a representative for a population as spread out and diverse as Canada.

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