There’s No Good Reason Why Poverty Should Still Exist

September 17, 2026

There’s No Good Reason Why Poverty Should Still Exist

SEP 11, 2026

The other day I saw another great example of the way people in capitalist societies tend to reframe their dumb luck as the result of their own hard work and resourcefulness.

At the end of the last season of the surivalist competition Alone Australia, the winner Trent Felton was asked if he felt he’d just gotten lucky catching dozens of fish while all the other contestants starved, and he insisted that his success was actually due to the fact that he had made the wise decision to work hard obtaining food.

“My strategy when I went out there was food,” said Felton. “I’ve been a big fan of the show for a long time, and I’ve never really seen anyone leave ‘cause their shelter’s not quite up to scratch or anything like that, so from day one priority for me was food.”

Oh you made food a priority, did you Trent? On the show about obtaining food to survive in the wilderness? Wow, I bet your opponents wish they’d thought of that.

He’d just watched the same show we all watched. He saw all his other co-contestants taking far more extraordinary measures than he ever had to take in order to obtain fish and other nourishment, building boats to try to change their luck with the fish, constantly moving their gill nets and trying all kinds of lures and bait and still getting nothing.

But he couldn’t just be humble and say “Yeah, I was dropped off at the only decent fishing spot on the show during a season where fishing was the only way contestants were allowed to harvest animal protein. I got lucky.” He had to pretend his fortune was actually the result of his hard work and his clever “obtain food” strategy.

This is such a perfect example of the phenomenon we discussed the other day where people who’ve managed to thrive under capitalism assume the system is working fine because survivorship bias and just-world fallacy cause them to believe that everyone’s getting exactly what they deserve. If I have more than I need it’s because I worked hard to obtain it. If you have less than you need it’s because you didn’t work hard enough.

Our whole insane society runs on this premise. Those who got lucky say their fortune is the result of their own hard work and cleverness, so they should enjoy tax cuts and generational wealth while the less fortunate are sleeping on the sidewalk.

Meanwhile those who’ve been working their fingers to the bone just to survive in this shitshow know that money doesn’t actually reward hard work. In our society, money rewards being born into the right family, being cruel enough to exploit the working class, being sociopathic enough to externalize the costs of industry onto the environment, and being ruthless enough to crush anyone who is in competition with you.

Which is why we find ourselves ruled by a plutocratic class of psychopaths today, who preside over a tiered society of haves and have-nots whose continued stratification is foundational to the system under which we live. Sure, as an individual you might one day get lucky and move from the lower tier to the higher one, but such instances are just the “poor girl marries a prince” stories of our day. The odd exception to the general rule doesn’t change the fact that our entire civilization depends on the permanent existence of an impoverished underclass.

Those with clear eyes and humble hearts understand that there’s no good reason why we should be living comfortably while others struggle and suffer, and that we must do whatever we can to help create a more equitable society which uplifts those who are more needful than ourselves. We reject the temptation to tell ourselves stories about why we shouldn’t have to share our good fortune with those less fortunate, and we join hands with our brothers and sisters in humanity to help build a healthy world.

We have more than enough resources to care for everyone, if we would only redesign our systems to advance the interests of humanity over the interests of capital. There is no valid reason why poverty should continue to exist. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves, either intellectually in their heads or morally in their hearts.

As Buckminster Fuller said many years ago, “It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary. War is obsolete. It is a matter of converting high technology from weaponry to livingry.”

He was correct then, and he is correct now. We can still have a world like this. It’s not too late to change.

____________________

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All There Is

September 17, 2026

facebook.com/markprior.images

A Skunk’s Reincarnation

September 17, 2026

#1751

September 17, 2026

My Interview with Gord Johns, NDP MP for Courtenay-Alberni

September 10, 2026

My Interview with Gord Johns, NDP MP for Courtenay-Alberni by Keith Porteous

(Gord Johns will be at the Denman Community Dock on Monday, Sept.14 at 12:30PM to rally for Fair Federal Ferry Funding) https://www.gordjohns.ca/fair_federal_ferry_funding_now

I attended Gord Johns’ Corn Roast fundraiser for the NDP in Qualicum Beach recently, where NDP Leader Avi Lewis was keynote speaker, with Gord rallying supporters in speaking about local and national issues. Both Gord and Avi committed to not just “throw rocks at the government, but to offer alternatives” and solutions to the contradictions of PM Mark Carney’s agenda. I’d spoken with Gord before, and he cheerily agreed to speak to me again for The Islands Grapevine 35th Anniversary edition.

We spoke for a little less than an hour, and here’s his answers to the questions I had for him:

KP: You’ve long been the leading voice of any Parliamentarian to bring the issue of unregulated shipbreaking activities in Canadian waters onto the floor of the House of Commons. Can you share your thoughts and current efforts in dealing with the ongoing disputed Deep Water Recovery operations near Union Bay, and in the ecologically significant area of Baynes Sound?

Gord: I was the first MP ever to speak to the issue of unregulated shipbreaking in the House of Commons, which came as a result of the situation in Union Bay. Sadly, Union Bay has exposed the lack of progress on shipbreaking and recycling capacity in B.C. and Canada, which is critical for our responsibility as a country that has the longest coastline in the world. We should have the most robust and environmentally sensitive ship recycling in the world.

We’ve had Deep Water Recovery, which does not have a social licence, and where the local government has a court injunction related to their zoning, which is still waiting to be heard in B.C.. The opposition to DWR is clear from the communities and First Nations, but it’s been a quagmire of which jurisdictions and ministries, Provincial, Federal, and at the local level, are responsible for enforcement. We haven’t seen previous operations at this scale, with large ships sitting on the tideline and on land. You will not see this kind of ship recycling in Bangladesh. No other country in the world would accept this.

KP: Are there any signs that the Carney government is prepared to engage on the issue of shipbreaking regulations and investment in safe ship recycling facilities?

Gord: For Canada to not have strong enforcement measures in place is alarming, and I’m grateful to (CVRD Area A Director) Daniel Arbour for helping me connect with the International ship recycling community who helped me understand the world leading regulations within the European Union, which are better than the Hong Kong Conventions. We can’t just say no to shipbreaking without, “where can we say yes and how do we get to yes?”

I’ve spearheaded a working group in Port Alberni which is composed of all levels of government, First Nations, industry associations, SeaSpan, B.C. Ferries, NGOs, labour, and led by MLA Josie Osborne and myself, exploring what environmentally sensitive ship breaking and recycling could look like, examining the regulatory side, and what we need to do to proceed to protect the environment and create jobs. We simply have to do it.

There’s over 1400 abandoned or derelict vessels on Canada’s coastlines, over 700 in B.C. alone, 90+ over 100 tons, including 14 B.C.Ferries. We don’t have the proper facilities here. B.C. Ferries has told me it will cost more than $10 million to recycle the Queen of Burnaby alone, taking it to a facility in Halifax, half of that just to tow it there. It makes no sense, and it’s irresponsible to offload it to the East Coast. We are meeting with the Carney government, Transport Canada and the Coast Guard, and we hope they will roll out a new national shipbuilding strategy that includes ship recycling in it.

We need dedicated money for ship recycling, and we know we have traction, because for the first time we are seeing the inclusion of ship recycling in important agreements between Ottawa and the Province of B.C.. The Port Alberni Working Group is leading Canada in how to regulate shipbreaking and in recycling ships. My job is to hold Ottawa to account.

KP: Are there any proposed projects or B.C. locations where a safe shipbreaking and recycling operation might be built? What does the Province of B.C. and Premier Eby have to say on the matter?

Gord: The Premier is supportive of my efforts, and has recently secured a Memorandum of Understanding with Ottawa that includes ship recycling language relating to our Provincially funded Port Alberni Working Group’s efforts, with support from MLA Josie Osborne, and it’s a reflection of our work. The Province requires partnership with Ottawa in order to proceed in a multi-jurisdictional effort.

To get a social licence we need to ensure that we can guarantee local communities and First Nations that we will not have another Union Bay, and where we can meet the highest regulations and environmentally sound ship recycling standards, and create jobs. We need the infrastructure piece to do it in the right way.

Port Alberni is top of mind for the whole country in looking at possible locations, but if we can’t achieve social licence there, then we will look elsewhere. It’s not the only location we’re looking at, and 5 others in B.C.that come to mind, with Port Hope, Port Mellon, Crofton, Campbell River, and at Sarita Bay, the traditional territory of Huu-ay-aht First Nation.

The work we’re doing in Port Alberni will help guide and support those locations, because of the size and scope of what’s needed. Most of these locations could serve the dual purpose of ship repair and ship recycling. There are huge gaps in capacity of available dry dock space from Alaska to Oregon. It’s absolutely critical that we get infrastructure for dual purposes.

KP: CVRD Area A Director Daniel Arbour says, “The situation with the MV Rhododendron (listing in Fanny Bay) brings to light big gaps in Canada’s approach to derelict vessels. The Rhodo is the prototypical case of lack of policies and regulations, and the lack of a ship recycling strategy and investment on the West Coast. It is important for the community to be vocal and ask Transport Canada to take charge of the vessel and move it temporarily to a place where it won’t sink.” Is there a part for our Federal MP to play?

Gord: Absolutely. I’ve just come from a meeting with Transport Canada, and it’s important to them, but they need to communicate more with the local communities. There are multiple departments involved, not just with the Federal government, and because of its location, the jurisdiction involves the Province and local government.

They’re working on it, but again, there are gaps. It’s a ferry, and this should never have happened. An argument I use every day with these issues is the relationship to Baynes Sound shellfish operations. There are 500 jobs at stake, and Baynes Sound and the surrounding area is the only open herring spawn on coastal British Columbia.

KP: PM Carney has just announced a major investment in Canadian Rail passenger service. Is there an opening for the Island Rail Corridor Foundation to seize this opportunity to advocate for a Victoria to Courtenay service?

Gord: Obviously, I support the restoring passenger service on Vancouver Island. The route is owned by the Island Rail Corridor Foundation, representing local governments and First Nations. The Province is leading the planning and feasibility studies in partnership with the Foundation and First Nations. The Federal government has been clear that they are prepared to consider significant investment, but only once there is a shared plan.

Until that work is complete, the Federal government isn’t providing any funding. They should be funding some of the planning, feasibility, and support work that’s being done. They’re not, and that’s a problem. You can be assured that I’ll be advocating for Federal investment, once there’s a plan supported by the Province and First Nations. This project has the potential to improve transportation, provide a clean energy option, reduce emissions, and strengthen island communities.

KP: Avi Lewis describes the Federal NDP Caucus as small but mighty. What files are you the NDP critic for in Parliament?

Gord: Right now I’m the critic for Mental Health and Addiction, Health, Tourism, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Small Business, and Emergency Management, and more. On all of these files, we’re punching well above our weight nationally. I’ve tabled more Bills and Motions than any MP in the country. The Prime Minister talks about “nation building”, then highlights pipelines.

Nation building is protecting our coast, and building affordable housing so people don’t have to live on derelict ships. Ship building, ship repair, and ship recycling is nation building. Dealing with Mental Health and Addiction is nation building. That’s what I see as nation building. And that’s where we differ from the Liberals.

KP: Let’s talk about fair Federal funding for ferries.

Gord: I have a website, https://www.gordjohns.ca/fair_federal_ferry_funding_now which breaks down the disparities between Federal ferry funding for the West Coast and the East Coast. It shares the history and the correspondence between the Minister and myself. It provides the details for the upcoming rallies, during the week before Parliament, starting Sept. 14 until the 17th. I’ll be at the Denman Island Community Dock at 12:30PM on the first day of the tour.

We’re sending a message to Ottawa. We get $6 per capita of Federal funding for B.C. ferry passengers, while the East Coast gets $125 per capita. We’re not against the East Coast’s level of Federal funding, but we do need to create fairness. We’re asking coastal residents to come out and make some noise, make your own signs, and send Ottawa a message. The Federal government’s lack of response is not only inadequate, it’s insulting. This issue is unifying across partisanships in B.C.

Farmland Needs Farmers. Farmers Need Homes.

September 10, 2026

Farmland Needs Farmers. Farmers Need Homes.
A reflection on food security, regenerative agriculture and how access to land and housing might work together on Denman Island.

By Monica Mueller
September 6, 2026

An August Grapevine editorial by Keith Porteous prompted me to write “What Does It Really Mean to Preserve Land and Its Agricultural Purpose on Denman Island?” Drawing on my experience as owner and steward of the former Hermitage property, I asked whether protecting agricultural land through regulation is enough. Land still needs people willing and able to care for it, farm it and carry the financial responsibility that comes with doing so.

Then came the September 3rd Grapevine article “Food Insecurity and the Loss of Denman’s Farmland,” by Cylon2036. https://theislandsgrapevine.com/?p=19649 It raised another part of the same puzzle: agricultural land falling out of production, rising land prices, our dependence on food produced elsewhere, and the difficulty facing a new generation of farmers who cannot afford to buy land.

Those concerns resonated with me because I had already encountered another side of the problem myself.

When I purchased the former Hermitage in 2022 and made Denman Island my home, restoring meaningful agricultural activity on the property was my first priority. I came to that goal with enthusiasm, but also with a great deal to learn. I had no farming background, but I did have a strong interest in regenerative agriculture and land management as well as a desire to see this land producing healthy food in ways that restore, rather than deplete, the ecosystem that supports it.

I began working with Young Agrarians and, for a period, employed a Farm/Land Manager because I knew that restoring agriculture here would require people with knowledge and experience that I did not yet have.

But I encountered another very practical problem.

Where would the farmers live?

Making farmland available doesn’t necessarily make farming possible. Farmers also need secure, attainable places to live, and on an island where housing is already scarce, that can become just as significant a barrier to farming as access to land itself.

B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve rules do recognize this problem to some extent. They allow a principal residence and, subject to certain conditions and local bylaws, one smaller additional residence. Additional housing may also be approved by the Agricultural Land Commission where it is demonstrated to be necessary for farm use.

But that still leaves me wondering about a different scale of agriculture. What if the goal isn’t simply to accommodate one additional person, but to create a viable regenerative farm capable of producing meaningful amounts of food for the community while generating enough income to sustain the people and infrastructure behind it?

That may require more than one farmer — and potentially more than one secure place for people involved in the farm to live.

So perhaps the question isn’t whether housing should be allowed on agricultural land. Some already is. The more interesting question is whether housing can be designed specifically to support agricultural production rather than displace it, while using as little productive farmland as possible.

This seems particularly timely as Denman considers proposed changes intended to address affordable and attainable housing, including housing and the ALR.

Perhaps we are looking at two problems that need to be considered together: how do we protect agricultural land from residential development while also making it possible for the people needed to farm that land to live here?

Perhaps we don’t have to invent everything from scratch.

Here on Denman, CoHo Landing demonstrates a cooperative approach to land and housing in which homes are clustered and affordability is protected outside the conventional real-estate model. In Powell River, Blueberry Commons combines cooperative housing and collectively held land with a working organic farm. Young Agrarians is already connecting farmers who need land with landowners who have it.

None is necessarily the model for Denman Island. But perhaps they provide some of the pieces.

I find myself wondering what a regenerative farming cooperative might look like here. Could people with different skills and levels of experience work and learn together, share infrastructure, benefit from what the farm produces, and sell additional production to help sustain the operation?

Could there even be a small farm school, where experienced farmers teach people like me who genuinely want to learn? Could agricultural training and farm-incubator models help a new generation gain practical experience and eventually establish farms of their own?

Interestingly, that would also honour an earlier chapter in this property’s history. When Jim and Marie Bohlen lived here, the property was known as the Greenpeace Experimental Farm. It offered a summer living-working-study program where participants learned about organic gardening, applied ecology, practical skills and living more closely with the land.

The Bohlens were exploring these questions nearly fifty years ago — how agriculture, ecological stewardship, learning and a simpler way of living might coexist on the same land. In so many ways, they were ahead of their time. Perhaps the most enduring thing they planted here was an idea: that land can sustain people without being exploited by them. That feels like a seed worth cultivating again.

I don’t have the solution, nor do I pretend to have the expertise needed to create it alone. I also cannot design, finance, manage and assume all the risk of something like this by myself.

What I do have is land suitable for agriculture, years of experience managing complex organizational projects and bringing people together around difficult challenges, a willingness to keep learning, and a genuine desire to support this community and see more food grown here.

As I await the arrival of my first grandchild, I find myself thinking more about what we leave for the generation that follows us.

One of the most meaningful legacies I can imagine for the former Greenpeace Farm and Hermitage would be a structure that helps ensure fresh, healthy food continues to be grown here long after I am gone—regenerating the soil and ecosystem that sustain us, supporting the farmers whose hard work keeps us nourished, and ensuring that the knowledge of how to grow food and care for the land is passed from one generation to the next.

There are people on Denman who know far more about growing food and farming than I do – probably most everyone that lives here! Others understand cooperatives, housing, financing, land-use planning and community food systems. There may also be people who would love to farm but cannot afford to buy land here.

Perhaps we already have many of the pieces. The challenge is finding ways to put them together.

I don’t have the answer. But I would very much like to be part of co-creating one. And if this land could play some small part in strengthening Denman Island’s food security for generations to come, I would consider that an honour and a legacy worthy of manifesting and investing my energy and resources in.

Farmland needs Farmers. Farmers need homes. Perhaps one of Denman’s opportunities is to stop thinking about these as separate challenges and start asking how we might solve them together.

This article has been edited for print length. The complete version, together with my earlier article, “What Does It Really Mean to Preserve Land and Its Agricultural Purpose on Denman Island?”, can be found at Nature Nurture Refuge on Substack, where I will continue exploring the questions emerging from my experience stewarding this land on Denman — from regenerative agriculture, food security and farm-supportive housing to ecological stewardship, contemplative practice and our relationship with nature.

naturenurturerefuge.substack.com

Denman Island Seed Fest 2026

September 10, 2026

Seed Fest image.1 — Photo from Farm Folk City Folk at Stellar Raven Ecological Farm in Royston. https://farmfolkcityfolk.ca/2022/11/vancouver-island-seed-cleaner-tour/

Denman Island Seed Fest 2026

Growers, seed-savers, and local food supporters: Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26 for Denman Island Seed Fest, from 10 am to 3 pm at the ORCA (outdoor recreation covered area), beside the community hall.

Farm Folk / City Folk will be bringing their trailer full of seed separating and seed cleaning equipment for demonstration and for use by the community. Our Denman Island Growers’ and Producers’ Alliance will also bring their threshing box, threshing machine, winnowing machine and other equipment for use and demonstration.

The equipment can be used for separating and cleaning a wide variety of seeds, and can also be used for food crops like dried beans, peas and grains, such as wheat or oats! We will have some freshly harvested Denman Island grain and pulse crops for demonstration, and you can bring your own seeds down to try the equipment as well.

North Island College is sponsoring the event, and will have an information table for their recently announced applied research project on Denman Island into appropriate technology for small-scale grain and pulse production on Denman Island: Denman Feeding Denman: Food security for remote rural communities. The project already has a hand-full of farmers ready to plant grains and pulses for the project starting this fall, and they are also looking for community participation in growing, consuming, and supporting local food production. Come down and meet the project lead, Dennis Lightfoot, and some of his North Island College students, and get some free winter wheat and fava seeds to plant in your garden this fall (planting, growing and harvesting instructions will also be provided).

Come celebrate the harvest with our Denman producers, Farm Folk / City Folk, and North Island College. Everyone welcome!

For more information on Farm Folk / City Folk’s Seed cleaning equipment, please visit https://farmfolkcityfolk.ca/bc-seed-security-program/mobile-seed-cleaner/

Imagining Surrealist Revolution at Abraxas (Sat. Sept. 26 at 1PM)

September 10, 2026

"The Young Errico Malatesta Studying Cryptozoology in Accord with Piotr Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid” by Guy Girard of the Paris Surrealist Group.

Imagining Surrealist Revolution at Abraxas (Sat. Sept. 26 at 1PM)

Denman Isle has been a magnificent writing perch for me over the years, so it is a great pleasure to do a book launch/reading for my homies here on the rock at my local independent bookstore on Saturday afternoon Sept. 26^th at 1PM. My latest book Imagining Surrealist Revolution (Black Swan/Charles H. Kerr Publishers) is a subversive collage of essays, poems, and stories that each in their own way imagines what it is about surrealism as a revolutionary force of intellectual, cultural and political transformation that makes it such a marvelous dancing partner for anarchy. Together the pieces of this bookish puzzle issue a call for emancipatory desire in motion. Imagine swirling madly beyond the miserabilist rationality that confines us behind the systemic prison bars of a tired and impoverished reality. Revel in a fluid process of unsettling the institutionalized version of normality which presents itself as inevitable and immutable. In this fervent pursuit of freedom, there are no intricate dance steps to learn. Just let the passionate rhythms of refusal guide your feet and see where they take you. Beyond the dancing words are the “double portraits” of my accomplice, Guy Girard of the Paris Surrealist Group, who has created a brilliant artistic counterpoint to my writing in the form of two-sided dream images of composite historical figures with a surrealist on one side of the face and an anarchist on the other!

Copies of Imagining Surrealist Revolution, as well as select copies of some of my previous books, Dreams of Anarchy and the Anarchy of Dreams, Surrealism and the Anarchist Imagination and Birds of a Feather: Flights of the Anarcho-Surrealist Imagination,” as well as the last few issues of my annual zine, The Oystercatcher, will be available at the event + whatever surprises might materialize in conjunction with the full moon rising that evening…

Ron Sakolsky

DICES is Hiring!

September 10, 2026

Denman community programs is seeking a lunch provider for the Denman Community School. This is a paid position.The ideal candidate must be able to provide healthy, mostly plant based lunches for up to 60 students and staff using the BC school lunch menus as a guide. Lunches will be a mix of assemble and serve and cooked from scratch options. Our lunch provider must work well as a team, be organized, work well under time and budget pressure, and enjoy working with kids. The provider must be able to train and work with student and adult volunteers. Previous experience in a similar setting is required. Food safe and a criminal record check are required.

To apply, please address your resume to Gracie MacDonald at dices.director@gmail.com by end of day Sept 11. This is a one year contract, wages are $25/hr to start, 5 hrs per day, three days a week.

To view the menu guide, please go to:

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/living-well/healthy-schools/bc-school-food-toolkit/sample-menu-plans

DICES is also seeking after school facilitators! This can be a paid of volunteer position. We are seeking adults with a passion for crafts, arts or sports and recreation to work with kids ages 5 to 13 years old at our community school here on Denman. Come talk with us about your ideas! Criminal record check required, training and mentoring, and lots of great fun to be had. Contact Gracie at dices.director@gmail.com.

Garden helpers! Denman Island Community School is seeking garden helpers to keep our little patch of food and flowers going this winter. Come help on your own time from a list of “to dos” or, adopt a bed or a tree! We are also looking for someone with weed eating skills able to do some clean up around the beds. Contact Gracie at DICES for more information.