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Watch out Liberty, there may be a new statue on the block. Richmond Buddhists have announced a plan to build a 30-metre gold-leaf statue of Buddha housed in a 43-metre temple next year, if Richmond city council gives the Lingyen Mountain Buddhist Temple the go-ahead to expand its current facilities.
The sculpture would be the tallest indoor Buddha in the world. (Japan’s Ushiku Big Buddha is currently the world’s tallest, standing at a whopping 120 metres. Not to be outdone, India is planning a 152-metre statue of Maitreya Buddha. See list, below.)
Size is relevant to Buddhists, according to the project’s development consultant Kabel Atwall. “The size of the Buddha and the building reflect his importance. Buddhists want you to have a sense of awe when you see Buddha.”
Proponents hope the colossal statue will draw the faithful and the curious from all over the continent. “We hope they will come,” said Tin Ma, an executive officer with the preparatory committee. “We want people to know Buddha.”
The finished structure would approach Richmond’s 45-metre height restriction. Because of rezoning requirements, concerns about using land from the agricultural reserve, and the sheer size of the proposed structure, Coun. Bill McNulty said, “It will be given very careful consideration.”
Plans for the temple began three years ago. If approved, it will take between five and seven years to complete, at a projected cost of $45 million. (David Tycho)
Supreme Court Protects Pocket Privacy
Police can’t search your pockets unless they have visible or tactile evidence that you are carrying illegal items such as drugs or weapons, according to a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision.
The ruling overturns a previous Manitoba Court of Appeal decision stating that police were within their rights when they stopped and searched a Winnipeg man who fit the description of a break-and-enter suspect. The man in question wasn’t the thief, but when police searched his pockets, they found plastic baggies and an ounce of marijuana. The man was subsequently charged with possession having intent to traffic.
Federal Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci wrote, “Individuals have a reasonable right to privacy in their pockets.” The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects Canadians against unreasonable search and seizure, the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, and the right to be informed as to the reason for detainment.
For the average citizen in the wrong place at the wrong time, the law means that unless there’s evidence of hard, sharp or otherwise potentially dangerous objects in pockets, the police can’t go “fishing” to see what that soft bump or lump might be.
The decision has implications for police and residents of the Downtown Eastside, where police have been accused of arbitrary and unwarranted “shakedowns.” Pivot Legal Society says it has “more than 50 affidavits and corroborating research and documentation that make a compelling case that the Vancouver Police Department’s policing activities in the Downtown Eastside involve the regular abuse of police authority.”
Police spokesperson Greg Preston said the ruling would not impede officers’ ability to detain people, “but the balance favours individual freedom slightly more than officer safety in these scenarios. What the police were hoping for was a bit more (in their favour).”
Deven Singhal of Pivot Legal said arbitrary pocket searches have been allowed to go on for so long because “Our constitution is only 20 years old, so many points have not been tested. Uncontested decisions or deals are almost always made long before cases make it to the Supreme Court.” (David Tycho)
Marijuana Market Burning Out
B.C. bud has brought in lower than expected earnings over the past few months, according to the provincial RCMP. The underground industry is faltering due to a drop in wholesale prices, which will likely continue to fall in September, when outdoor crops are expected to flood the market.
Marijuana production was booming when Forbes magazine published an article about the B.C. industry last November. The article claimed prices were as high as $2,700 a pound wholesale. Now, the RCMP report, the price has dropped to as low as $1,500.
“The supply is starting to exceed demand,” said Insp. Paul Nadeau, who works for the RCMP drug enforcement branch. “Everybody has run out to try to get into the business.”
B.C. used to have more marijuana grow-operations than the rest of the provinces combined, but Nadeau says Ontario and Quebec numbers are increasing.
“The stuff they grow there is as good quality as it is anywhere else,” he said, explaining that an indoor grow-op in Vancouver is the same as one in Niagara Falls. Some of the eastern operations even call their product B.C. bud because of the strength of the brand name.
The rise in producers has coincided with tightened border security over the past three years. X-ray technology has increased seizures from large transport trucks, according to the Globe and Mail. As a result, marijuana that was originally destined for the lucrative American market is stuck in Canada.
Nadeau says a downturn in the illicit business, whatever the cause, is a good sign. “There’s not as much money to be made, so fewer people will get involved,” he said.
However, a drop in profits is still a drop in profits, and the B.C. economy will feel the impact. Forbes suggested that the trade takes in more than $10 billion a year, but other estimates put it at $20 billion. Stephen Easton, a Simon Fraser University economist, estimates that pot growers have a 72 per cent annual rate of return, after discounting costs for labour, thefts and arrests. Canada’s legal farmers have net margins of only five and a half per cent, Easton told Forbes.
Although marijuana growers do not contribute business taxes, the province will lose sales taxes when profits aren’t spent locally. (Erin Riley)
Canada Leads Push for Wal-Mart Unions
A Wal-Mart located in Jonquière, Quebec, is steps away from becoming the only unionized Wal-Mart in North America. The Quebec Labour Relations Board granted employees union certification with United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW Canada) in August.
The certification was granted after a majority of employees at the store signed union membership cards. At press time, employees were waiting for a hearing to determine the makeup of the bargaining unit.
This isn’t the first time a Wal-Mart store has received union certification. Employees at a store in Windsor, Ont., were at the same point a decade ago, but were unable to get a collective agreement with the company.
The union continues to be optimistic.
“Wal-Mart is on the record stating they support workplace democracy,” said Michael Fraser, UFCW Canada’s national director, in a press release. “The majority of workers in Jonquière have spoken, so we expect Wal-Mart to listen and get down to negotiating a first contract without delay.”
Wal-Mart is the world’s largest employer, but because of its part-time and casual hiring practices, its employees have been difficult to unionize. The company says it respects the individual rights of its “associates” and encourages them to express their ideas, comments and concerns.
“Because we believe in maintaining an environment of open communications, we do not believe there is a need for third-party representation,” said a statement regarding unions on the company’s website. However, Fraser points out that Wal-Mart is on the record saying it won’t close down union stores. Such rumours have discouraged employees from seeking union representation.
UFCW Canada has one application pending for a Wal-Mart in B.C., made when a majority of employees at the Terrace store signed union cards. It’s not yet known when the labour relations board will conduct the mandatory vote of the employees required by B.C. law.
The union also has applications pending for Wal-Marts in Thompson, Man., and in North Battleford and Weyburn, Sask., where the retail giant is challenging provincial labour relations laws. If the applications are successful, the Wal-Mart employees will join one of Canada’s largest private sector unions, with more than 230,000 members working in food retailing and processing, warehousing, security, hospitality, offices and health care. UFCW Canada is a member of UFCW International, the largest private sector union in North America with more than 1.5 million American members. (Erin Riley)
U.S. Soldiers Seek Asylum
Two American soldiers are seeking refugee status in Canada because they don’t want to take part in the war in Iraq. Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey say the war is illegal. Only Hinzman has appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board, with a hearing set for October. To find out more about the progress of their applications, visit jeremyhinzman.net and brandonhughey.org.
Chilcotin Park Started
The B.C. Liberals have preserved 80 per cent of South Chilcotin parkland, but adjoining parcels of land will be available to mining and tourism development. The move was applauded by some for saving large areas of aesthetically and environmentally crucial territory for future generations, and criticized by others as a monumental land use disaster.
Scientists Investigate Climate Crime Scene
Scientists working in the Arctic have concluded marine fieldwork that is expected determine whether the current climate meltdown is cyclical or a strictly modern phenomenon.
Hundreds of researchers from around the globe spent the summer aboard a Canadian icebreaker anchored near the Beaufort Sea, where they drilled 18-metre holes into the mud along Canada’s northern shore. Scientists suspect that continental shelves such as the MacKenzie are climatic hotspots that may serve as early indicators of global climate change.
The sedimentary core samples contain microscopic, fossilized algae that give clues to climatic conditions thousands of years ago. By looking at the samples from top to bottom, researchers can observe patterns of ancient climatic changes.
“It’s sort of like a crime scene,” said Trecia Schell of Dalhousie University. The evidence will indicate which organisms were on the shelf and when, and whether they died there or were brought in and deposited.
Arctic ice is rapidly melting. Scientists hope to analyze the samples and conclude whether this melting is a natural 100- or 200-year cycle, or if current conditions are in sharp contrast with those of the past 10,000 years. (David Tycho)
City Unveils Woodward’s Proposals
The City of Vancouver has unveiled three design submissions for the future of the downtown Woodward’s building. The 100-year-old structure has sat empty and mired in controversy for more than a decade, as the province, city, local residents and developers argued over how it should be redeveloped.
The new proposals range from 100 units of social and low-cost housing by one developer to up to 230 nonmarket housing units by another. Market housing, university and college space as well as retail outlets and amenities for residents are included in all the designs.
MILLENNIUM turned the existing look of Woodward’s and reflected it vertically in a 535-foot red brick tower, which will contain an unspecified number of nonmarket housing units. The architects have also moved the landmark “W” from the roof to the ground level.
CONCERT PROPERTIES’ president David Podmore said the theme of his project is openness. “It opens it out to the community,” he said. “It refurbishes and restores a major portion of the existing structure.” The design transforms the core of the building into a breezy “Roman-style piazza.” The 270-foot structure will contain 100 units of nonmarket housing.
WESTBANK PROJECTS’ design proposes a 335-foot building with at least 100 nonmarket housing units and an option for more. The complex will include a job centre, grocery store, day/night market, partially covered inner courtyard, community vegetable garden, daycare, and a post-secondary anchor tenant, as well as a flatiron tower covered in ivy.
The Westbank design is the clear favourite among residents and community activists, but Dean Wilson of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users isn’t convinced the city will adopt the plan. “The Downtown Eastside gets screwed if we don’t get it [a commitment] in writing,” he said.
The proposals are a result of a series of community workshops and an ideas fair. The feedback was translated into guidelines stipulating that all proposals had to be financially viable and self-sustaining, include at least 100 units of nonmarket housing, be an urban revitalization catalyst, provide employment opportunities for local residents in both the construction and operation of the new building, be environmentally sustainable, and accommodate and encourage pedestrian circulation.
In early September, before presenting their recommendations to council, city staff will report back to the community on what developer they will be recommending and why. City council is expected to hear the recommendations in mid-September and will hold a meeting to hear directly from the public. The project could be completed by 2006.
