Nanaimo Harbor for the rich????

[queen of the waterfront]

Yorway ,Everybody pays.Some of those people who live on boats might pay for schools, rescue of skiers,costs of policing. Their taxes go toward bailouts of big corporations just like yours do. just because a person doesnt pay property tax does not mean they dont pay.Some of those people are retired, maybe they did own houses at one point.
not everyone wants to live in a liittle house with a picket fence and a lawn to mow.

I spent many years living the alternate lifestyle , on boats on floathouses, in cabins in the bush. more often than not boat people are totally into looking after the environment. i am betting they use less garbage than many apartment dwellers do. They use less water because they have to pack it or pump it. those same boat people are often first on the scene if someone gets in trouble on the water.Boat families often homeschool their kids which takes a bit of burden off of the rest of the folks.

In every type of society there are those who dont pull their weight, who dump their crap on everyone else. to tar all live aboard boaters with the same brush is wrong.
I worked in a cannery pulling herring roe for twelve hours a day seven days a week for three months at a time so i could live the lifestyle I wanted. You bet ai paid taxes.
i used a lot less gas in my little skiff getting back and forth to work than you would use in your vehicle.I beachcombed logs to fuel my woodstove thus taking dangerous obstacles out of the harbor. I used rainwater for my laundry and a spring for cooking. I bought food in bulk to save on packaging.
There are many things about lifestyle choices that city dwellers do not see or know about.
just as you might have a bad neighbor who doesnt do his part and messes things up for the neighborhood so do the boat people.

[Smokey©]

In my opinion, this issue is not about all those that live-aboard their vessels nor is it about all that anchor in the harbour, it is about the few that do not care enough and that decision affects everyone.

Most of our laws in our country are made because of the few rotten eggs. We have laws against stealing, murder and rape. Very few of our population actually commit these crimes but we needed to implement laws to take care of those that do.

Unfortunately, there have been cases where boats have been dragging their anchors, some have been polluting our harbour and some don't have safety lights and some are in such rotten shape they may sink at any moment. Those are the ones that make the necessity of this type of laws or requirements necessary.

Part of the ownership of a ship is being responsible to your surroundings and for years the majority have been responsible. Watch how many arrive each day with garbage and dump it at the wharfingers garbage bins. A lot of people that live aboard have vehicles and pay for their parking at various places along the harbourfront. They have respectable jobs which are needed to pay for their boats and their insurance. they maintain their vessels in top notch condition. This is not about them!

I park one of my cars on the street in front of my house. It is required to have insurance and has to run as it can not legally be left there more then a required amount of time before being moved. I use it almost everyday, so it does not get ticketed. It does not leak oil or transmission fluid. It is kept in park so it does not move or crash into my neighbours lawn. It has marker lights that are reflective at night so nobody hits it. In the event that anything does happen, it has insurance coverage to pay for liabilities if it slips out of park and hits a person or crashes into my neighbours lawn. If any of the above is not taken care of by myself, the city has the right to remove it and to recover any costs from me. How can a boater be different, especially when most decent boats are worth more then the $35,000 that my car is worth?

[Tee Pee]

I've only been a member on this site for a few days now and BLUE and Smokeys right wing ideals are gross to say the least. Maybe it's time for them to purchase in False Creek where all the colorful boaters have been evicted. This is my Hometown and I support liveaboards in our harbour NOT large polluting cruise ships. These comments should keep this thread going for a bit. LET'S PUT THE BEAUTIFUL BACK IN B.C.

[queen of the waterfront]

Tee Pee You have the right toyour opinion.
blue, Smokey and everyone else on the forum have the right to their's without being subjected to youropinion of their ideals.

this forum is about diaologue and discourse not rhetoric.

We present our arguments sometimes with facts sometimes with our own beliefs. We can all do that without calling our fellow posters names or putting them down. take issue with opinions not with people.

[Tee Pee]

That' s BS Queen. I tell it like it is. I'm tired of the NIMBY's in this Community. LET'S PUT THE BEAUTIFUL BACK IN B.C.

[queen of the waterfront]

I am definitely not a NIMBY. I actually am in support of many of your points. i dont support puting people down to get my point across. You cant just tell you must be able to show.

[Tee Pee]

I know your not a NIMBY Queen as I'm not also. I will introduce myself when I see you playing downtown. I have an idea maybe you can play at the entrance to Bill Mills cameron island condo.
Anyways a little qoute: A CIVILIZED SOCIETY IS MEASURED NOT BY HOW WELL IT TAKES CARE OF ITS PRIVILEGED CITIZENS, BUT HOW WELL IT TAKES CARE OF THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING. And Mine as always: LET'S PUT THE BEAUTIFUL BACK IN B.C.

[Ahab]

Among the many issues that liveaboard boats must deal with is to pay your own way in this society. That doesn't mean drinking city water, plugging up the boat basin's dumpster, pooping in the harbour and expect other tax payers to pay for it. Police, fire and NPA is all paid for by city landowners. The liveaboards have not had so much as a bake sale to support the services they so easily take.

[kickidee]

Sounds like some of you resent your share of the taxes to the point you find it hard to live and let live. The folks on the boats have no running water and like smokey said those who keep the vessles in shape and look after things are not the problem. You may know that you also might choose to leave the land and live a simpler life. I never believed that humans own the oceans or the beaches or anywhere else that we all need to stroll or explore for our health. Nothing wrong with alternative life styles while respecting the rights of others! Everyone needs to be painted with a different brush.

[Tee Pee]

This whole issue with liveaboards has absolutely nothing to do with abandoned vessels, untreated sewage, grey water, bilg pumps, low taxes or garbage collection. It is the work of selfish, arrogant, right wing people wanting thier view unspoiled from Cameron island or the Cape development on front Street. If the above issues were a problem for DFO those large cruise ships that you see in our Harbour wouldn't be allowed to ply our waters now would they. And don't tell me that we have the budget to board and inspect these cruise lines as this just does'nt happen. But guess what we all turn a blind eye to the cruise line because each passenger purchases at least a cup of coffee when visiting our City. Come on you bunch of NIMBYs grow up read a little and support everyone except the criminal element in this community. LET'S PUT THE BEAUTIFUL BACK IN B.C.