"Legality of Park Board's Workshops Questioned" 

An opponent of the Vancouver Aquarium has told the Straight that the Vancouver park board has invited her and the aquarium's CEO, John Nightingale, to a private "workshop" with the board's elected commissioners and senior staff. However, Annelise Sorg, director of the Coalition For NO Whales in Captivity, said she won't attend the February meeting because the board won't allow her to bring witnesses or the media and there won't be any minutes taken. " I have been going to the park board for the past 12 years, and every meeting in regards to the aquarium has been attended by the public and the media, which is the only reason that the aquarium has been restricted in some ways regarding whale captivity." Sorg said. "Without public accountability, there is no way for the public to have any sort of influence in the park board management, because, as we all know, the majority NPA park-board commissioners will continuesly vote in facvour of the aquarium's position." Nightingale told the Straight that he didn't want to comment on park-board policy. Park-board spokesperson Terri Clark didn't return a call by deadline. Darrell Evans, executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information ansd Privacy Association, told the Straight that he would like to hear the justifications for holding private workshops. In 1999, the FIPA successfully lobbied the provincial government to amend the VAncouver Charter and Municipal Act (now Local Government Act) to prevent elected councils and the park board from abusing their power to deal with matters outside of public view. "If it's a meeting and all the board are present, it should be a public meeting," Evans said. He recommended that anyone attending such a meeting should demand in advance that minutes be taken, then request the minutes under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. If the public body refuses to provide a copy of the minutes, then the individual can seek a review from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. "The act gives people right of access to records," Evans said. A 1996 report for FIPA by lawyer Michael Doherty concluded that some local bodies hold in-camera meetings in "controversial and inappropriate circumstances". Under the section 165 of the Vancouver Charter, city council and the park board may only shut out the public if the information relates to the following: personal information about an individual being considered for a position or an award; labour relations; security of property; law enforcement; litigation affecting the city; information subject to solicitor-client privilage; and information prohibited from disclosure under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which bans the release of information that could harm the business interests of a third party. Sorg said the workshop was set up to discuss her concerns about a 1996 bylaw that prohibited the aquarium from importing cetaceans caught in the wild after September 16, 1996. She said there is no global registry of dolphins, so it would be impossible to verify if any dolphins brought to the aquarium in the future were born in captivity or if they were captured from the wild habitat after September 16, 1996. Nightingale said that it is possible to have the people involved sign afficavits. "We're not going to violate our lease or the park-board bylaw or our pledge." he said. Sorg also told the Straight that the original bylaw called for a ban on importing dolphins. However, she said that the bylaw was amended after pressure from the aquarium. "One of the main concerns of the park-board commissioners back in 1996 was that there be no domino effect," Sorg said. "Their concern was that the aquarium would obtain dolphins from another facility, and that facility would in turn go and capture the new dolphins to replace the ones sold to the aquarium." ______________________________________ ACTION ALERT

PLEASE write a Letter to the Editor of the Georgia Straight! - Beverley Sinclair <editor@straight.com>

And e-mail a copy to the Vancouver Park Board Commissioners: 
Chairman Duncan Wilson <duncan_wilson@city.vancouver.bc.ca> 
Commissioner Roslyn Cassells <vancouvergreengirl@hotmail.com> 
Commissioner Laura McDiarmid <laura_mcdiarmid@city.vancouver.bc.ca> 
Commissioner Dianne Ledingham <dianne_ledingham@city.vancouver.bc.ca> 
Commissioner Clarence Hansen <chhansen@canada.com> 
Commissioner Christopher Richardson <chrisgiv@direct.ca> 
Commissioner Alan deGenova <adegenova@sutton.com>

Express your outrage that the Vancouver Park Board is once again protecting the Vancouver Aquarium's business interests by illegally restricting public access to information that concerns the importation of more dolphins into Stanley Park. Demand that all meetings regarding marine mammals kept captive at our public aquarium located on public land and funded by public money, should be public!

Thanks!

Annelise Sorg Coaltion For No Whales In Captivity <annelise@direct.ca>

PS. QUICK UPDATE ON POOR BJOSSA 

I saw Bjossa yesterday (Feb.11/01) and she is still sick and being fed antibiotics. Bjossa is still not doing any whale shows and she is stillkept alone in the back area of the main show pool. Whitewings, the lone Pacific white-sided dolphin at the aquarium, is performing all the shows in the main pool.. The US government is in the final stages of deciding whether to approve or deny SeaWorld's permit application to import Bjossa. Numerous letters from around the world opposing the transfer and breeding of Bjossa, were sent to the US fisheries agency during the public comment period from December 5/00 to January 5/00