Long Time No Hear!
And who the heck are we?? The dirt, controversies, and our journey...
Hello folks, apologies for the delay in Substack posts. My computer basically said “no more, you are too full, and I refuse to open for you!!” Thanks to the good folks at Seaside Computer - we are up and running again!
I was going to write on all that has been missed since the pause, and topics on Wednesday’s agenda like:
the CVRD passing their OCP against huge public backlash in a 5-4 vote (Notes #2 at the bottom of the Substack);
North Cowichan continuing to stall the “log or don’t log” question for our municipal forest reserve because of the continued need to consult local First Nations (now costing approx. $500k a year out of general taxation just for upkeep). You can read a past article HERE;
North Cowichan, as budget season ramps up, looking to spend $320k to finally make the Digital Faraday room (used to go through seized electronics) in the RCMP actually work. The original cost to set it up was $500k, but it has never been usable because they don’t have the staff or tech, so they send the technology to the mainland at a cost of $76k annually (still cheaper than $300k a year);
North Cowichan allocating $450,000 for the Maple Bay Rowing Club roof replacement (more on this “deal” another time);
North Cowichan to pay developers fees of $371,939 for the (social housing) building being build in the Curling Club Rink Parking lot - against local’s wishes (read a February article HERE )
North Cowichan allocating $42,000 for First Nation, veteran, and pride crosswalks (priorities, folks!);
North Cowichan reallocating $200,000 from the Richard’s Trail parking-lot capital project into a dedicated reserve to prepare for turf replacement at Sherman Road soccer field. If you want to read more about this eco disaster, see Notes #1 at the bottom of the Substack;
North Cowichan wanting to allocate $265,000 in additional funding to increase the public-space custodians from part-time to full-time, plus costs associated with refuse removal, a public portable-toilet program, and support for administrative needs of a new safety and solutions advisory group. More to clean up the mess placed on us by the Province, and more to “advisory groups” (eye roll).
Just so much to cover, and we will do our best, especially as budget season ramps up - and N.C. looks to raise our taxes again by double digits.
Side note though - Cllr. Justice has asked staff to make a report comparing our taxes to other municipalities, so we can feel possibly better, or they can…..?
(Also ..FOIs for job procurements to come)
But for all our new subscribers… who are these guys? And what is the dirt on them!?
We are all peppered with sound-bites evoking anger and division daily, pitting neighbour against neighbour, when in reality most people you meet in real life want the same as you do.
We felt we needed to do something that could help the community, while feeling this could only be done locally as it seems the ‘elite’ and their agenda’s could only be slowed locally .
I’m often reminded of the Michael Jackson song “They Don’t Really Care About Us”. Or George Carlin’s bit - “It is a big club and you ain’t in it”. (Do not watch if offended by the ‘F’ word)
This is why we originally became involved in local politics: these truly are your neighbours. People in your community who give a huge amount of their time for a pittance of remuneration. They do not have a “whip” like provincial and federal politicians do, and most have businesses, full-time jobs, or are retired.
We believed the only way to actually make change was to run in local elections where we could help push back against those who really do not care about us plebs.
Many people ran in the last municipal election (I think one of the highest numbers of candidates ever). Many of us were very concerned about the OCP and the future it was going to deliver, and lo and behold, you can now see so many of those “conspiracies” in motion through current policy-making.
It was quite a run for some of us, with no positive media and plenty of slander. From bloggers who interviewed us for an hour and then put out a short, pitiful piece , with no substance from anything we said about our platform. However, our points on the climate narrative being #1 in all areas of governance have been vindicated when we have shown up to council and hear our Mayor and some council members - for instance HERE, HERE ,(the mayor speaking)… and so on. This is the same “journalist” who tried to write a gotcha piece on our beliefs about global influences here. Not that we backed down on this, as you can see when we started to go to council.
For Instance:
And here:
And here - what is the climate emergency that is #1 on every budget report :
We also had local anti-hate freelancer Erin Blondeau write hit pieces on all of us, plus the School Board candidates who questioned SOGI, under headings such as “No Hate on Council.”
The local newspaper (The Citizen) decided that, instead of sending out the usual question-and-answer email so each candidate could speak to their platform, they would focus on the most pressing issue in a local election: asking one single question – “Who supports the trucker convoy?” – and then publishing the former mayor’s opinion that some of us might be running for nefarious reasons. (The link appears to have been archived – see Notes #3 at the bottom for the full body of the article.)
Anyhoo, we ran a good race and got a surprisingly high number of votes for unknowns with the deck stacked against us. We then decided we might actually do more good outside the restrictions of council. So, we started the Citizens Oversight and Accountability Project . Goal: educate the public on local governance and hold officials accountable every step of the way.
Our first projects were to start our WEBSITE (you can search FOI requests, old articles and videos) then the Substack, and quickly hosted Two town halls on alternative climate science you can view HERE and HERE and the slideshow included in the Town Halls HERE.
We then cohosted a Townhall with Landkeepers regarding the estuary where we had local Directors and local MP showing up. We also went to support farmers speaking to the CVRD on the same topic.
We continued to attend council pushing back on such topics such as disallowing natural gas in new builds, and even Hitting The Streets to find out what the average citizen thought the word “natural gas” meant ! We filled the chambers with members who opposed N.C. accelerating building step codes - 6 years ahead of the province! Council thought people may be confused by the words “natural” and were suggested, via an email, for them to change the name to fossil gas. A good one for laughs!
All these, and so many more videos, can be watched either at COAP.ca or on our Youtube .
The Step code accelerations went through as they have stated their climate goals are #1. With the new council though, this bylaw has been reversed! Voting matters!
We go to challenge the budget each year - more folks should come to meetings as we are looking at another double digit tax increase in N.C. for 2026!
We will keep you appraised of the meeting’s agendas, and our takes after the meetings.
One of MANY on the Budget :
We have enjoyed speaking to locals who are doing amazing work helping the addicted and homeless - such as Life On Wheels HERE 2023, and HERE 2024 with another local hero Doug Mackenzie, and Night Owls HERE.
While still attending council, we then reached out to do podcasts. We were the first to interview the Ostrich Farm . We interviewed a gentleman who worked for the Province and Left His Job at the Ombudspersons Office due to insane DEI policies, a mom Speaking About living with a child in addiction…annd attended the counter protest to Meghan Murphy and other woman who came to the valley to speak about safe spaces for woman in today’s day and age… (Hint, spot your local council member and ex MP! )
And so much more over the past 4 years….
ADDITIONALLY in 2023 we decided that our reach was digital, but how about the folks that still relied on tangible papers to get their news from ?? How can we reach them? We did a little crowd funding and printed our first newspaper : Westward Independent . ( you can go to the website and use the search bar for topics from budget to forestry) Between our amazing volunteers who did all the distribution, and our amazing financial supporters we launched a monthly newspaper that became much loved by many.
As per the usual, we had the typical cancel culture stealing stacks of our papers and dumping them in the garbage, or screaming at business owners that carried them (All based on false narratives, that showed they had never read the paper) - Regardless of these folks and the police files we filed on them, we persevered, and many contacted us monthly to ask when the next edition would come out.
We had to pause the paper, after almost two years, as one of our business partners, in charge of the Tech end, had to move his daytime job to another vocation.
So here we are - with new plans on the way! We can only do the man on the street, videos, Substacks, special editions of the paper, and online social media with your help!
Our Substack subscriptions were another big help with our paper - and we can not thank our monthly/yearly subscribers enough.
If you enjoy our work and would like to help us continue, please consider getting a monthly subscription, or even an etransfer helps! contact@coap.ca.
We look forward to our new endeavors that we are in the works with right now !
So much love to all our supporters over the past four years, our original investors, and we welcome all the new members! We will be very active before the next local election in 2026 ! It is VITAL everyone comes out to vote this time - Lets make it exciting and engaging!
Sincerely, Team COAP
(Turf) Notes 1: Health Concerns from Infill Materials
Crumb rubber (made from recycled tires) contains known carcinogens: benzene, heavy metals (lead, zinc, cadmium), PAHs, PFAS (“forever chemicals”), and VOCs.
Multiple studies (EU REACH 2022, U.S. EPA 2021–2024, Washington State Dept. of Health 2019–2023) have found elevated cancer risk and bioaccumulation in players, especially children.
PFAS detected in nearly every modern turf blade and backing (2023–2025 studies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe).
Microplastics from blades and infill shed into stormwater and soil.
3. Environmental Damage
100 % petroleum-based product (polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane backing).
Lifespan only 8–15 years → massive waste stream (most turf is not recyclable and ends up in landfill).
Releases methane and toxic leachate when landfilled or burned.
Kills soil biology underneath; creates dead zones where nothing grows for decades after removal.
4. Water and Urban Heat Island Issues
Despite “no watering” marketing, many fields are hosed down for cooling and dust control (sometimes 20,000–50,000 gallons per event).
Increases urban heat island effect dramatically compared to natural grass, which cools through evapotranspiration.
5. Injury Risk
Higher rates of ACL tears, ankle injuries, turf burns, and concussions compared to well-maintained natural grass (multiple NCAA and NFL studies 2018–2024).
Harder surface + higher torque from cleats grabbing plastic blades.
6. Massive End-of-Life Problem
Almost zero actual recycling capacity in North America (a few pilot plants take <1 % of waste).
Removal and disposal costs often $500,000–$1 million per field — usually paid by taxpayers when the field is 10–12 years old. (Our field is smaller hens the 200k)
7. Wildlife and Ecosystem Harm
Birds, insects, and small mammals avoid or die on/near fields (heat, chemicals, no food).
Runoff containing zinc, PFAS, and 6:10 fluorotelomer alcohol harms aquatic life (documented in streams near turf fields).
8. Misleading Water-Saving Claims
In hot climates, cooling + cleaning can use more water than a natural grass field that is managed efficiently.
Natural grass sequesters carbon; turf does not.
9. PFAS “Forever Chemicals” in the Grass Itself
Recent (2023–2025) testing shows almost all modern artificial turf blades and backings contain 10–400 ppb PFAS, even “PFAS-free” branded products often test positive.
10. Odor and Off-Gassing
Strong chemical smell on hot days from VOCs and tire crumb.
Some players report headaches, nausea, rashes.
11. Equity and Access Issues
Fields often installed in lower-income or minority communities first (environmental-justice concern in the U.S. and Canada). So why is it being placed here in a middle income community?
12. High Long-Term Cost
Initial install looks cheap compared to premium natural grass, but when you add replacement every 10 years + cooling + injury costs + disposal, total cost of ownership is often higher than a good natural grass system over 20–30 years.
Notes #2 (CVRD OCP a Go): November 26th CVRD Meeting -
We have been following along with local politics such as the CVRD OCP- which seems highly unpopular with the constituents, but they are plowing along anyway, creating a document that will create ‘rules’ around growth, and so much more for the WHOLE CVRD- as if Paldi is the same as Cobble Hill.
Here is the rundown: The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) has received significant negative feedback on its draft Official Community Plan (OCP) for its electoral areas, with widespread skepticism from residents and stakeholders. The draft OCP, developed since 2018 and underwent its third reading at the board meeting on November 26, 2025. The OCP which has been criticized for being overly complex and expensive, but passed with a 5-4 vote.
Joe Allan, a long-time CVRD committee member from Lake Cowichan, resigned due to opposition, citing the document’s size—over 800 pages compared to the original 40-page OCP—and its perceived over-regulation. He also raised concerns about the $2.69 million spent on development since 2018, including $1.48 million for consultants and nearly $800,000 for public engagement.
At a mandatory public hearing on October 20, 2025, approximately 40 people spoke, with only two expressing support and the rest strongly opposing the draft.
A petition with over 700 signatures against the OCP was submitted during the hearing.
Concerns included the document’s size, the use of online-only public notices (a bylaw enacted during the pandemic), and the lack of alignment with community visions in areas like Saltair and Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls.
Ian Morrison, a director for Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls, stated the draft did not reflect the community’s vision.
The CVRD maintains that the OCP aims to harmonize nine existing local zoning bylaws into a single, region-wide bylaw to streamline development, improve housing delivery, and support regional coordination.
The process includes updating local area plans and developing a Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw, with input from agricultural zoning meetings held in November 2024.
Despite these goals, the public sentiment remains largely opposed, with calls to rescind the second reading and restart the process with a simplified document, and to develop local area plans FIRST.
While it was actually refreshing to see Area Directors not vote in lockstep as per usual, sadly the diehards (whom I am sure did not read the 800 pages), voted to pass it through. It reads like all the rest of the OCPs in the area - squish people into 15 minute cities, slowly discourage ‘bad polluters’ like wood stoves and natural gas, demonize single family homes as sprawl, “encouraging” retrofitting of older homes (page 52-59 cc.2) etc. *** Everything starts with encouragement and incentives***
Those who voted against the OCP (remember, there is an election next year) :
Director Acton, Director, McClinton, Director Wilson, and Director Morrison.
Notes #3
Partial Body Text (Citizen Article on 2022 candidates)
The motivations of some of the candidates running in the municipal elections on Oct. 15 in the Cowichan Valley, and across the province, are raising concerns among politicians at the local and provincial level.
North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring, who is retiring, said on his blog he suspects at least four of the candidates running for seats at the council table in the municipality would never have considered running if it hadn’t been for the controversies engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These candidates have no background in municipal politics or governance, no experience, no understanding of the issues, and no idea of what they are getting into,” Siebring wrote. “They are angry, they are motivated by COVID, and they are running on a platform of misinformation and conspiracy theories. They are not running to serve the community, they are running to vent their anger and frustration.”
Siebring didn’t name names, but he said the candidates in question are “well-known” in the community for their vocal opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination mandates.
The Citizen sent questions to all candidates running for council and mayor in North Cowichan asking about their views on the Freedom Convoy protests that blockaded Ottawa and border crossings earlier this year.
One of the candidates who replied was Sue Underhill, who said: “I want the Municipality of North Cowichan to get back to core values; roads, water, sewer, facilitating development, all while keeping our rural nature. Keep the Freedom Convoy out of North Cowichan’s municipal hall.”
Some of the other candidates who replied to the Citizen’s question on the Freedom Convoy were less supportive.
Christopher Justice said the Freedom Convoy, per se, is unrelated to the issues under consideration in North Cowichan’s municipal election. However, he said there seems to be many residents who believe some of the same underlying attitudes including libertarian anger related to COVID-19 restrictions and beliefs related to what some consider conspiracy theories are motivating in whole or in part some candidates running in local elections this fall.
Joseph Enslow and Adrienne Richards, the other two candidates who stood at the all-candidates meeting in Maple Bay, didn’t reply to the Citizen’s questions by press time. The two are running as United Independents with Shaw. Though they say they are not a formal slate and they each have independent ideas, they are sharing a website and other election materials.
Some other candidates in North Cowichan have also expressed anti-vaccination, pro-convoy views.
None of the three mayoral candidates – Rosalie Sawrie, Rob Douglas and John Koury – responded to the Citizen’s questions by press time.
The article also references broader context, including provincial concerns from NDP MLA Doug Routley about similar influences in Duncan and North Cowichan elections, and notes that similar dynamics were observed in other BC municipalities.