GOLDSTREAM, B.C. As a memorial for Andre Courtemanche grows at the base of the Niagara waterfalls in Goldstream Park on Thursday afternoon, his family is saying goodbye, one last time. “Today is Andre’s funeral; it’s a heartbreaking day,” said Kirsten Marten, who is the spokesperson for the Courtemanche family. At the same time that the funeral was taking place, the Island Corridor Foundation was having a meeting with West Shore first responders and mental health stakeholders to discuss safety improvements to the Goldstream trestle. “We discussed everything, whether it be barriers, railings, fencing and nets, you know, basically everything was discussed,” said Chief Chris Aubrey of Langford Fire Rescue. “We need to make sure that whatever measures that are put into place are going to be effective.”
I have been a B.C. resident/tax filer since 1992, including 2019. For me to qualify for the so-called recovery benefit, I have been told to supply all pages of my 2019 CRA notice of assessment, valid identification, and confirmation of residency. In late June, I underwent an aortic valve transplant and cardiovascular bypass surgery in Victoria. I now must personally expend an additional $290 monthly on medications in recovery not covered by so-called Fair Pharmacare. Next month, I will have to pay another $100 or more for a requisite medical just to renew my drivers licence as a senior. I have been on modest fixed income for some years now.
VICTORIA A call from the parents of Andre Courtemanche – who took his own life earlier this month at the Goldstream trestle – has been heard by the Island Corridor Foundation and others in the capital region. “Last summer, on July 7, my sister jumped off the Goldstream trestle and she killed herself,” said Vincent Gornall. After Courtemanche took his life the same way in early January, Gornall joined the call for suicide prevention barriers to be constructed along the trestle. “The evidence is particularly strong that for locations like this, which for really awful reasons become magnets for people with suicidal ideation, we can provide proper barriers that prevent people from using those locations and from tragedies to continue happening there,” he said.
There have been five deaths at the Goldstream Trestle between 2016 and 2020, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. “We’re as broken-hearted about this as anyone else,” said Larry Stevenson, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation. “It’s so bloody tragic.” Stevenson said he has reached out to the RCMP, the Langford fire department, the Ministry of Health and B.C. Parks to form a working group to come up with safety measures for the trestle. “I’m trying to put a group together to come up with solutions to mitigate this risk,” he said, adding that he hopes the discussion can take place as soon as possible.
Recent events have illuminated a horrendous lack of empathy in our society. We selfishly donate our COVID-19 virus particles to others, thereby endangering their health in spite of repeated prevention advice/rules/recommendations. People die as a consequence. In Canada and around the world we have witnessed overwhelming proof of this selfish and destructive behaviour but our leaders are afraid to admit that voluntary regulations do not work. There is absolutely no excuse for not making the absence of face masks an offense with an immediate fine. Hire people to enforce. Even give them a commission as a bonus. If police want to work overtime doling out fines, go for it. Collecting these fines will more than pay these salaries.