PROVINCIAL MINISTRY of Environment official Prad Khare addresses a full house of environmentally
concerned citizens at Lions Bay Village Hall Thursdey night. The meeting was scheduled by The Save Howe

Sound Society whose mandate is to clean up local waters.

Residents call for
Hi. Sound cleanup |:

ANGRY RESIDENTS packed. Lions Bay Village Hall
Thursday night to voice concerns about escalating pollution
of Howe Sound by two pulp mills.

The meeting was organized by
The Save Howe Sound Society in
response to a federal ban of com-
mercial crab fishing in Howe
Sound and an extended ban of
‘prawn and shrimp fishing in the
area on June 14.

High levels of toxic dioxins and
furans originating from Western
Pulp’s Woodfibre Miil and Howe
Sound Pulp and Paper Plant were
found in fish samples. Crab,
shrimp and prawn fishing has been
banned near the two pulp mills
since Nov, 31, 1988 and govern-
ment officials have been aware of
“somewhat elevated’’ toxic levels
in the area since May, 1988

“This obviously is not a new
problem,"’ said Denis Baxter, a
West Vancouver resident.

Like many of the 200 people at
the meeting, Baxter questioned
why provincial and federal agen-
cies did not enferce pollution laws.

Mike Nassichuk, Federal Fish-
eries and Oceans spokesman, and
Prad Khare, provincial Ministry of
Environment official, were part of
a 12-member panel made up of
environmentalists, mill managers
and government officials.

New fuel

From page 1

electric power without any inter-
mediate thermal or mechanical
process.

It is similar to a battery in that it
has electrodes, and electrolyte and
positive and negative terminals.
But unlike a battery, the cell re-
quires no charging and does not
run down. It also has no moving
parts, is quiet and can be con-

Business ............. . 58
Ciassified Ads..........55
Comics ..:........000..+49
‘Fashion ............-..13

- By ANNA MARIE D'ANG¥ 0
Contributing Writer

Khare said his ministry was
striving to keep Howe Sound
clean: ‘J would readily adm: that
we have not enforced laws as wuch
as we should have in the past. This
ministry is moving very fast in
future enforcement.”

“What about now?" ‘What
about this week?’’ ‘“‘What about
today?" heckled members of the
audience.

Canfor environment vice-presi-
dent Kirke MacMillan admitted the
company’s Howe Sound Pulp and
Paper Plant located in Port Mellon
did not comply with effluent and
toxicity pollution laws but $88 mil-
lion would be spent to get within
the guidelines by 1990.

Wood{ibre Mill manager Biil
Rempel! said his company would
spend $20 million this year for
pollution reduction equipment and
the mill, located near Squamish,
would reduce toxic chemical
discharge into Howe Sound.

“‘We are resigned to soive all our
environmental problems at
Western Pulp,”’ said Rempel.

tinuously fed fuel.

Methanol is already being used
by the Canadian Armed Forces,
and its use in place of liquid
hydrogen to fuel the celi makes the
resultant electricity cheaper than
that currently available for resi-
dential use.

In addition to the SPFC’s non-
polluting characteristics — its by-
products are water and electricity
— it produces very little heat (185

Horoscopes

Bob Hunter............ 4
Lifestyles.............. 45
Mailbox.............. .
Traval................ 53

What's Going On........18

WEATHER

periods. Highs near 22°C.

WEWS Cindy Goodman

But the environmentalists on the
panel took issue with continued
operation of both mills and pro-
posed increases in pulp produc-
tion.

“What we have here are two
pulp mills not complying with en-
vironmental faws. They are
polluting Howe Sound and
polluting the air... These com-
panies are getting free rides at the
expense of our environment...
Shut them down, compensate the
workers and don’t open them up
until they can keep their pollution
within their own fences,’’ said En-
vironmental Watch spokesman
Terry Jacks.

One audience member said he
had tried to get provincial officials
to enforce pollution laws in the
past, but was told politicians in
Victoria made those decisions.

Federal Fisheries, the Ministry
of Environment and the two pulp
mills, who jointly tested Howe
Sound fish samples, were criticized
for not allowing public access to
the test results.

Dioxius and furans are by-
products of pulp mills using kraft
method of processing. The toxic
chemicals suspected of causing
cancer and birth defects result
after large volumes of chlorine are
used to produce a_ white-paper
product.

cell is non-poiluting

F), which, for military applica-
tions, gives it a low infra-red pro-
file.

McLeod said the cell would be
ideal for military field hospitals,
which constantly need supplies of
energy and clean water.

Commercial applications for the
portable fuel cells range from elec-
tric automobiles to airplanes and
underwater vehicles.

Sunday through Tuesday,
-mostly sunny with cloudy

3 - Sunday, June 25, 1989 —- North Shore News .

nothing © wro
zoning bylaws that set up buffers.
‘between residentiz! and commer-
_ cial areas, but be disagreed that
suites that weren’t causing prob-

lems bad to necessarily ; be shut

down. =

o> Kaftka said he hed represented
‘ secondary - suite, owner : Hilda
“es Aufoncas whose. suites were shut
down even though she bad not
received any compiatints from te- |
nants or ueighbors.

if ‘the saites.are not causing.
‘problems, and they have existed
in the ucighborkood for 2 while,
they. should be examined on an
individual. basis and. possibly be
allowed to stay, said Kafka.
_Viire Daniels, ‘chair of . the }

‘pearby Capliaae College studedts -
f in the. past. **(The: sultes) went

; Under the. current ate policy,
5 are only investigated cpon-

City “development .. services
‘director: Fred, Smith: “said, it was
not. city practice. to-try and:
i determine the-. motives of the -
writer. :

_ “When a written comptalat. is
received, staff would investigate.
oa’ the basis of the comptaint,’’
said Smith. ;
“But. salte owners complained.
“the ‘city: policy left them ‘open to
i personal yendettas,
. tir ‘at the mercy of a te-
| mage,’ seid Michael Rold, 2
.Nosth Vancouver ‘District resi-
| deot whose North Vancouver city
sultes were shut down after the J
§ city received a written complaint :
from an ex-tenant, a
“The city, he said, had sent.
unclear messages to house buyers
regarding their - secondary | suite .

Bolicy.

PRold ‘said although he knew
the house be purchased contained
A suites that did not conform to the
clty zoning policy, he also saw
the city wasn’t exactly pursuing
enforcement on other suites.

§ . “The value of my building,”

‘Rold said, ‘‘has lost 20 per cent
or more, (after the suites were
shut down).””

Rold said the city should eltber
‘allow owners more time to close
down their suites (the current city
policy’ is, six mdnths), or crack
down harder on ali new .devel- ©
opments that might contain sec-
ondary suites.

‘Mayor Jack Loucks said it is
not always possible to catch sec-
ondary suites at the design stage.

Suite-owner Jules Zilahi,
whose suites are also under in-
vestigation by the city, said the
f city should come up with « com-
promise to the secondary suite
g problem. ++: °
‘Zilahi_ agreed with. Rold that
current owners should be allowed
more time to shut-down their
suites, and said the decision ns to
whether secondary suites should
“be allowed should rest witli the
neighborhood. .

Ziahi referred to actions taken
by Vancouver City to solve ‘their
’ “secondary suite problem. ..
Vaticouver «is currently © pro-
| ceeding: upon ‘a neighboriood- ="
by-neighborhood. vote, allowing
owners. in pon-secondary ‘suite -
areas : ce 10-year Period to > close c

NORTH .. Vancouver... City. Ald.
John Braithwaite .
teuants -don't . necessarily |. care”
about the character of the

nelghborb cod.

Courthouse» Area’ * Residents’
. Associgtion, agreed that not ail
secondary suites caused
problems.

But- Daniels said ‘couuicll shoald
creck down on suites: that had
absentee landlords, because. they

didn’t uecessarily cave if their te:
nants were noisy. ‘OF disturbed ‘the
neighbors: °°

Daniels said: she- spoke with
one resident in her.:area who.
complained ‘that ‘the * secondary
suite tenants next:door. worked:
during the night, woke him when
they arrived home, and: duridy
the day there was no parkin :

Daniels also said -while-‘there
are several quiet-secondary: suites:
in the neighborhood, others with. 5
absentee Jandlords - have . been |
‘Harned into virtual flophouses.”?-

_ Ald. Bilt’ Bell said it: may not

be fair to pin ali the probieass © on.

the tensnts,

eae ee

iMegal suite :

problers>},’ its ‘quite: :
(disputes) between ‘neighbors who
own howses,”’ he said. .

* Bat ‘Ala: Johi Braithwaite saia|