Monday, September 22, 2008

Mayor confident in race with Team Burnaby challenger

By DAN HILBORN, 24 HOURS NEWS SERVICES
Published September 19, 2008

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan is sounding confident and scrappy after the relatively unknown Andrew Chisholm was named as his Team Burnaby challenger for the upcoming Nov. 15 civic election.

Corrigan said the selection of Chisholm, who is president of a property management firm, indicates a lack of confidence in Team Burnaby’s longest serving elected representative, Lee Rankin, who was previously rumoured to be interested in running for the mayor’s chair.

“I’m deeply disappointed,” Corrigan said. “I would have hoped that he (Rankin) would have showed more courage after having been such a critic and obstructionist at council.”

Rankin, who has served 22 years on Burnaby council, admitted that he seriously considered taking another run at the mayor’s chair, but said his law practice and young family took priority. “My goal in politics is to affect change, and to do that, you need teamwork,” Rankin said. “It’s not about individuals.”

Chisholm, who ran independently for council in 2005, said Team will bring a non-partisan attitude back to a city that has elected majorities from the NDP-affiliated Burnaby Citizens Association since the early 80s. Of the 16 Team candidates, only Rankin and council hopeful Anna Terrana, a former Liberal MP, have previous elected experience.

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2008/09/19/6816356.html

News flash: Stephen Harper steps down

That's Harper of the Green Party, not the PM

By DAN HILBORN
Published Sept. 12, 2008, in 24 Hours Vancouver

At least one amusing sideshow to the federal election came to an end this week when Stephen Harper - a personal trainer, not the prime minister - announced that he has stepped down as the Green Party candidate in Burnaby-Douglas.

The B.C. Harper told 24 hours that his wife recently accepted a new job in London, England, and the couple will move overseas this weekend. The party is expected to name a new candidate within a few days.

But the departing nominee still had a little advice for voters. “I’d like to see Stephen Harper out of office – the other Stephen Harper, that is,” he said.

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/canadavotes/news/2008/09/12/6750711.html

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Lee defends lack of fall sitting

Backrooms column by Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 19, 2006



The usually mild-mannered Richard T. Lee was almost livid after hearing what his NDP counterpart Raj Chouhan had to say in my previous column.

For those who don't remember, Chouhan made a little political hay out of the fact that the B.C. Liberals won't be holding a fall sitting of the B.C. legislature this year, and he claimed that the governing party is afraid of the opposition.

But the NDP allegations are just so much hooey, said the two-term Liberal MLA for Burnaby North.

"There is a lot of work to do," Lee said of his upcoming fall schedule that includes attending a series of public meetings with both the select standing committee on education and with the high-powered select standing committee on finance and government services.

"I'll be joining the committee as they hold hearings in Prince Rupert, Nanaimo, Prince George and other places as we listen to British Columbians' input on the budget," Lee said.

And as for Chouhan's allegation that the Liberals are afraid to debate the NDP in the legislature, Lee noted that the evidence is quite to the contrary.

This fall will be the first time the Liberals have not convened an autumn sitting of the legislature in the five years since they formed government - more than double the two fall sessions that the NDP held during their 10 years in power during the 1990s, Lee said.

In addition, the B.C. Liberals have doubled the length of question period in the House so the opposition now has 30 minutes to ask questions of the government side.

OK. Maybe Lee wasn't really livid. But he did seem a little off-putted.

JULIAN KEEPS UP THE FIGHT

Peter Julian is still holding out hope that the Tory's softwood lumber deal will fail when it comes to a vote in parliament either at the end of this month or in early October.

The studious NDP MP for Burnaby-New Westminster has been garnering lots of attention for his complaints against the deal, and recently convinced his party's convention to pass a wide-ranging resolution condemning the deal.

"The problem (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper has is that he needs the approval of 95 per cent of the industry and they've fallen far short of that," Julian said earlier this week. "So they're in a pickle.

"They keep doing these signing ceremonies, but they've not satisfied the legal requirements to have the deal implemented. And I think any responsible parliamentarian will vote against this deal."

Julian also noted that U.S. trade lawyer Eliot J. Feldman has described the $450 million softwood lumber deal as a "slush fund" for President George W. Bush, because once the deal is signed, the money will be transferred directly to the White House, and can be spent without approval from the American congress.

Feldman claims the last time the White House received that much authority over money transferred from a foreign government was during the final days of Richard Nixon's administration.

"I know some Conservatives are being pressured to vote against this," Julian said. "I also see mill shutdown and job losses in ridings held by Conservatives, particularly in British Columbia, ... so I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of folks voting with the NDP on this."

Letter too late for city to act on

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 16, 2006


A letter asking for Burnaby city council's support to stop the first uranium exploration project in the province since 1980 was received too late for the city to take action.

Jean Bonner of the Yellowhead Ecological Association said the mining company International Ranger Corp. has asked for permission to resume exploration near the Foghorn Polymetallic Project.

The mineral claim is located as close as half a kilometre from the North Thompson River and includes many creeks that flow into areas that have both domestic and irrigation water licences, said the letter dated July 21, but not received by council until its Aug. 28 meeting.

B.C.'s chief inspector of mines had set a July 31 deadline for interested parties to raise concerns about the application.

City council also received notice that the Regional District of North Okanagan is calling for local government approval before any mining exploration activities are approved within their watersheds.

Nightclub hoping for approval

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 16, 2006


The owner of Mavericks Sports Cabaret is hoping Burnaby city council will reject its own planning department recommendation and give him approval to open a 4,500-square foot private liquor store in the new $130-million Centrepoint development going up across the street from the Metrotown malls.

Brent Shaw said his nightclub is already suffering because of Burnaby's refusal to allow it to stay open until 3 a.m. on weekends, and the new liquor store will help make up for some of that loss of business.

"It's a crisis situation," Shaw told the Burnaby NOW last week. "Business has dropped some, an awful lot, to the point where the (store) would help it substantially."

Shaw, who is hoping to pitch his case at the Sept. 18 council meeting, said his liquor store proposal has been caught in the middle of a fight between city hall and the provincial government over Burnaby's desire to have four new government-run 'signature' stores in the city.

Under guidelines approved last May, Burnaby will only allow new private liquor stores in town centre areas where a government-run 'signature' store is already located. City hall wants four of the signature stores, even though there are currently only 14 such stores in the entire province.

Shaw believes the signature store dispute could drag on for years, leaving his license in limbo and his business suffering as a result.

"The problem is government in general," he said. "They can't work together. But the city does have a certain power to push this through, and I think if they were as fair in dealing with us as they were in dealing with others, then they'd put this through and let us make some money.

"Everybody is passing the buck, but the city has the power to make a decision."

Shaw also said that he has built Maverick's into a reputable nightclub in the 11 years since he bought the former Diego's at Kingsway and Sperling. "It had a fairly undesirable crowd when we took it over, and we've turned it around," Shaw said. "We've employed 20 to 25 people and we've been open-minded to donations for events like ball tournaments and charity drives."

Scandinavians look to city hall for help

Council Briefs by Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 16, 2006


The directors of the Scandinavian Cultural Centre are asking for city council's support, and a tax break, to help continue their good work in the community.

Hakan Telenius, representing the board of the community centre society, told city council that the 10-year-old cultural centre is now a vibrant hub of activity featuring classes, festivals and lectures for people from all backgrounds.

"Today, all the local Scandinavian groups use the place as their centre," said Telenius, who was joined by about a dozen supporters at the Sept. 11 city council meeting.

He said the centre was founded by four different long-term care homes with roots in the Scandinavian communities, and has received more than a million dollars in donations since its formation.

"We are heavily used like a public community centre, and we help to save substantial taxpayer dollars," Telenius said.

The centre hosts activities that cater to immigrants from all the Scandinavian countries, who make up about 10 per cent of Burnaby's total population. In addition, the centre cooperates with its neighbours by sharing parking facilities with the Ismaili mosque next door and by renting its sports fields to a popular soccer school.

The society operates on a total annual budget of about $200,000, Telenius said, and the property tax bill is the largest single expenditure, accounting for about 10 per cent of total.

If approved, the tax exemption would allow the centre to establish a building repair fund and "ensure our long-term viability," Telenius said.

He also offered to work with the city to establish other programs at the site such as a heritage centre and a sports hall of fame, and said the centre already has a growing collection of memorabilia from the many Scandinavian players who have worn the Vancouver Canucks' uniform.

Activities at the centre include language classes, dance lessons, theatrical performances, festivals, choirs, and lectures on historic and cultural topics, he added.

"All we want to do is make sure we stay here for another 10 years," Telenius said.

Coun. Gary Begin warned the society that applying for a tax exemption and government grant could become a double-edged sword. "You've made it a community facility and I wish you well in maintaining your independence," Begin said.

Mayor Derek Corrigan offered a tone of cautious optimism as he passed the recommendation forward to a council committee.

The mayor said city council has always been receptive to cultural centre such as the new Portuguese and Taiwanese centres being built in the city, adding that the Scandinavian community centre could take heart in the fact that his own great-grandmothers were B.C. pioneers who were born in Norway and Sweden.

But Corrigan also said there are "legislative and precedent problems" with the idea of a tax exemption. "These problems will require creative solutions, but that's one of the things that Scandinavians are famous for," he said.

The Scandinavian community centre society is the second non- profit agency to request a property tax exemption from city council this year. In June, officials with the North Burnaby Legion announced that they were preparing a request for a tax exemption on all three Royal Canadian Legion properties in the city, including branches #83 and #148 plus the TB Vets headquarters.

SUPPORTING FALUN GONG

Burnaby city council is calling on Ottawa to investigate allegations that the government of mainland China is torturing and "harvesting organs" from the practitioners of Falun Gong.

But council was reluctant to condemn the practice outright because the city simply doesn't have the resources to investigate the claims themselves, Mayor Derek Corrigan said.

"The difficulty I have with this is that we are not the national government, and we do not have the resources to research it," Corrigan said after hearing a presentation from local Falun Gong practitioners Sue Zhang and Ryan Moffat. "If this is true, we should bring down the weight of the world on this travesty."

In his Sept. 11 presentation, Moffat said Falun Gong is an ancient form of Chinese meditation that focuses on the virtues of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. There are currently about 100 million practitioners of the art in more than 60 countries, which is greater than the total number of Chinese communist party members, Moffat said.

Among his allegations are claims that Falun Gong practitioners have received repeated electrical shocks of 30,000 volts in an attempt to make them renounce the practice, and that millions of practitioners have been sent to labour camps where their vital organs are harvested for profit.

Moffat also said that some Chinese hospitals are advertising organ transplants on the Internet, with a wait time of only one week.

Zoning short by centimetres

Council briefs by Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 16, 2006


The 20-year owners of a home on Canada Way have asked Burnaby city council to relax its zoning bylaws after learning their property is a mere 4.5 cm, or about two inches, too short to be redeveloped into a duplex.

David and Sabita Porter said they need the relaxed rules because they would like to sell their home, and retire to a smaller property elsewhere in the city.

Porter's problem is that his home is located in the R5 zoning district, which requires a minimum 60-foot frontage before the property can be converted into a duplex. Porter's property has a front dimension of 59.85 feet.

"Our property, as well as many other similar properties, are now only worth lot value on Canada Way," he told city council at its Sept. 11 meeting. "The miniscule shortage in the front dimensions has left us wringing our hands. We find ourselves between the devil and the deep sea and a rock and a hard place."

While city council was sympathetic to their plight and agreed to send the matter to its civic development committee, the Porters were also urged to try and buy a sliver of land off one of their immediate neighbours.

Coun. Lee Rankin said that he supports the duplex proposal because two-family properties are more affordable than single family homes.

OIL CLEANUP NEEDED

Summer oil spills in Burrard Inlet and on the Squamish estuary highlight the need for new legislation that forces polluters to pay for the rescue and rehabilitation of injured wildlife, says Burnaby resident Gail Forbes.

In a letter to city council dated July 23, Forbes said she was "appalled" to learn that shipping companies are not automatically charged the costs of cleaning up in the event they are found responsible for any environmental damage.

Forbes said the Hong Kong company responsible for the July 4 spill in Burrard Inlet only paid for the cleanup of 50 birds, even though hundreds of other birds were also affected.

"They should have been forced to pay fully for the rescue and cleanup of the oiled birds," she wrote. "Oil on a bird's feathers is fatal to the bird. ... Those responsible for these types of acts should be held accountable and should be forced to clean up their mistakes, whatever the cost."

Council received her letter without comment.

HARPER THANKS CORRIGAN

Mayor Derek Corrigan has received a personal letter of thanks from Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his support on the Chinese head tax issue.

"I would like to extend my personal thanks for your kind letter of support regarding our government's public and formal apology for the unjust Chinese head tax," said the letter, received at city council on Aug. 8. "This important gesture represents an honourable solution to a historic injustice."

Council and Corrigan received the letter without comment.

HUMPS RAISE CONCERNS

Why has the City of Burnaby installed speed humps on Walker Street, a route that was once declared an arterial collector street?

That was the question posed to city council recently by Rosewood Street resident Louise Hearty, who believes the speed humps are unfairly slowing down traffic in a neighbourhood that didn't have a speeding problem to begin with.

"I thought the purpose of collector streets was for traffic to feed from them onto other streets," Hearty wrote.

"Every person I've spoken to in the neighbourhood finds these humps very inconvenient and slowing traffic too much, but it is too far to go to Canada Way and the traffic is bad there as well."

Hearty was subsequently told by city staff that the speed humps are intended to divert traffic onto nearby Sperling Avenue.

ZERO CRASH MONTH

Watch your driving during the month of October, and help the city of Burnaby win the Zero Crash Month challenge.

ICBC has informed city hall that based on past experience and statistical averages, Burnaby residents are expected to be involved in a total 1,943 automobile crashes in the month of October.

But if Burnaby residents can reduce that number by a greater amount than other B.C. cities of comparable population (40,001 and up), then city hall will win a $35,000 road safety grant.

Anger over loss of trees

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 13, 2006


Residents of the Whattlekainum housing co-op on Burnaby Mountain are up in arms after crews from the nearby Kinder Morgan tank farm began clear cutting trees over a section of pipeline right-of-way, across the street from their homes.

Mary Ayles was one of three residents who called the Burnaby NOW on Monday afternoon to complain about what she believes is the unnecessary cutting of a stand of 50-year-old alder, maple and other trees in the 8700 block of Forest Grove Drive.

"What we're seeing is the face of our neighbourhood changing," Ayles said. "Forest Grove is a grove of trees that stand tall and proud. Then, all of a sudden, tree toppers showed up with backhoes and all kinds of things, and they're bringing the trees down.

"I don't recognize the street anymore," she said.

Philippe Reicher, director of external relations for Kinder Morgan Canada, said the tree-cutting is part of a necessary "vegetation management program" to ensure the integrity of the pipeline.

"What we intend to do is make sure we have access to the right-of-way," Reicher said Tuesday morning.

Reicher said city hall was informed about the work, which began last year on other areas around the Burnaby Mountain tank farm. He said the work has a dual purpose - to allow easier inspection of the pipeline, "particularly in case of an emergency," and to ensure that the tree roots do not damage the pipeline.

"It's understandable that some people could potentially be upset by this. ... But, in many ways, those trees should never have been allowed to grow there," he said. "That right-of-way has been there for 50 years."

Reicher said he does not know the full scope of the work or the total number of trees that may eventually be chopped down, but he does not expect many more trees to be felled. "What you're seeing now is probably the whole extent of the work," he said.

Ayles also said that she was upset by her inability to obtain any information about the tree cutting when she called Burnaby city hall on Monday afternoon.

"We've been given little to no information. There was no town hall meeting called and I was concerned that nobody at city hall seemed concerned," she said. "The people I called said there's nothing they can do.

"I'm definitely not happy and shocked by what I see."

Karen Nimegeers, another resident of the housing coop, said the tree cutting was first noticed several months ago along a walking trails through the forest, and it has now come down onto their street.

"I don't know where it's going to end, and I'm upset by the loss of these obviously healthy trees," she said. "It's heartbreaking to see the trees go."

Nimegeers and Ayles both agreed that part of their concerns comes from the fact that the tank farm was sold to a company with an American parent.

"Suddenly it's Kinder Morgan and down come the trees," said Nimegeers.

"Certainly, when Trans Mountain was here, there seemed to be a lot more information," added Ayles.

Campbell scared of opposition, says Chouhan

Backrooms column by Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 13, 2006


Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan thinks he's figured out why the B.C. government is not planning a full session of the legislature this fall.

"They don't have anything to talk about," said the rookie NDP MLA, who was recently appointed the NDP critic for mental health. "Gordon Campbell is running scared of the opposition."

Chouhan is convinced the Liberals are trying to avoid some tough questions, such as when are they going to reinstate the position of mental health advocate in B.C.

"I want to ask them, for example, why in B.C. we do not have a mental health advocate so people suffering from mental health problems have a voice," Chouhan said last week. "I've met with almost a dozen different groups in the past few weeks all over the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, and each one of them is telling me this (the advocate) is a very, very important issue."

The position of mental health advocate, formerly filled by Nancy Hall, was cut by the B.C. Liberals during the government service reductions of 2002, Chouhan said.

"When it comes to mental health, this government has cut back in so many areas," he said. "There is no independent minister to advocate on behalf of these people, and that's why we need an independent advocate: to see what the needs are in the community and to make recommendations on what remedies or services could be provided."

Chouhan is also in the early stages of organizing a mental health forum in Burnaby where community groups and individuals can come to air their views and talk about their needs. Stay tuned for details.

LIBERALS PICK DELEGATES

Don't expect any total victories when the local Liberal riding associations get together to choose their delegates for the federal party's leadership convention taking place in Montreal later this fall.

Watch for the big showdown between the Gerard Kennedy faction and supporters of former environment minister Stephane Dion, with maybe a few other delegates spots going to the seven other leadership hopefuls.

Mark Ransom, executive director of the federal party's B.C. office, said the Burnaby-Douglas and Burnaby-New Westminster ridings will hold their delegate selection meeting in conjunction with the New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody-Westwood ridings on Sept. 29 at a still-to-be-decided location. Each riding gets to choose 14 delegates.

"It's an issue of resources," Ransom said of the combined meeting. "As you can imagine, with nine leadership candidates, the odds of finding neutral volunteers is not that great."

Kennedy's camp has apparently been going great guns under the guiding hand of Gurdev Dhillon, and the word on the street is that he's pretty much wrapped up the youth vote.

Dion, who earned headlines with his visit to Burnaby Lake two years ago, probably has the best known Burnaby name on his side in the person of Bill Cunningham, the former executive director of the federal cabinet offices, one-time Paul Martin organizer, past president of the B.C. wing of the party and twice candidate in Burnaby-Douglas. Also adding fuel to Dion's fire is former provincial cabinet minister Joyce Murray.

Not to be outdone, Ken Dryden has lined up local lawyer and former Liberal candidate Celso Boscariol as his local organizer, while Michael Ignatieff is getting help from Burnaby's own Johnathan Ross, publisher of the TDH Strategies website.

Other hopefuls who managed to put their feet on the ground in Burnaby over the past few weeks include Scott Brison, who did a campaign stop at Death By Chocolate on Kingsway, plus Hedy Fry, who was the guest of honour at a house party on Elwell Street.

Despite my best efforts, I've been unable to get a message to Bob Rae's best-known local organizer, former Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Patty Sahota.

RIDING REVIEW

Will Burnaby finally get four members of the legislative assembly all to itself?

That's the biggest wish of Mayor Derek Corrigan as the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission officially begins its review of the provincial riding boundaries and the number of MLAs.

While the commission is officially working off a blank slate, information on its official government website states that the government is willing to consider an increase in the total number of B.C. MLAs from the current 79 to 85.

If the overall size of the legislature is increased, it would be very difficult for the Gordon Campbell government to deny Corrigan's wish.

Currently, Burnaby and Coquitlam share one MLA in the person of B.C. Liberal Harry Bloy, whose riding gets about two-thirds of its population from the Coquitlam side of the boundary.

The three-member commission, led by B.C. Justice Bruce Cohen, has also been instructed to come up with a proposal for a 'single- transferable vote system' - an unusual system of voting that was narrowly rejected by B.C. voters last year.

The commission will host a series of 'public consultation sessions' this fall. The closest stop to Burnaby will be on Sept. 19 at the Westminster Club, in New Westminster.

The commission will then unveil a map of its proposed riding boundaries in late 2006, have a preliminary report ready by August 2007, conduct public hearings in fall 2007, and issue a final report in February 2008, a year in advance of the next provincial election. For more information, visit the commission's website at www.bc- ebc.ca.

IT'S OFFICIAL

Ryan Warawa made it official last week when he formally filed papers to become the Conservative party candidate in the Burnaby- New Westminster riding.

Warawa, 30, is the son of Langley MP Mark Warawa, and has been active in the Conservative, Canadian Alliance and Reform parties since he was 17. The riding is currently held by NDP MP Peter Julian.

MAKING HISTORY

I don't usually do promotions in this column but this one is different.

Brian Veitch, the son of Burnaby's original power couple Sheila and Elwood Veitch, has been working overtime for the past several weeks as he tries to stave off the creditors from that most fantastic of tourist attractions - Storyeum.

Veitch is the vice-president and general manager of the $22 million attraction that is currently seeking new investors. Storyeum is a living tribute to the history of British Columbia, and a definite must-see, not just for tourists, but for anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about this province we call home.

My own mother described it as "absolutely wonderful" when she and I visited during its inaugural season in 2004.

"The response we're getting is just like your mom's," Brian told me recently. "Ninety-nine per cent of the people just love the show. But it's an expensive operation to run, and it takes time to build that audience up."

Storyeum uses live actors to tell the story of B.C.'s history in seven elaborate underground theatres. Included are a retelling of the Tsleil-Wathuth creation legend, the arrival of the first Hudson's Bay trading ships, a re-creation of an authentic Gold Rush era boomtown, the building of the railway and the arrival of the first steam train.

The whole show takes about 65 minutes and it will leave you spellbound. Visit Storyeum at 142 Water St., in Gastown, or call them at 604-687-8142.

Pay hike for city council

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 13, 2006


A divided Burnaby council has approved a 2.56 per cent retroactive pay increase for themselves.

Team Burnaby councillors Gary Begin, Lee Rankin and Garth Evans voting against the pay hike, which raises the mayor's total indemnity to $90,057 this year, while the councillors will each receive $40,026. One-third of those indemnities is a non-taxable expense allowance.

Begin raised some hackles when he said that the remuneration is too rich for what believes should be considered a public service.

"I guess my feeling is that this isn't a job. It's an opportunity to serve the community," Begin said as he kicked off a 20-minute debate.

The 2.56 per cent pay raise was recommended by a council indemnity advisory committee, comprised of three unnamed individuals from the community. The committee based its recommendation on a formula that was originally agreed upon in 2001, using the combined average of three factors - the Vancouver consumer price index (1.53 per cent), the B.C. average weekly wage increase (3.66 per cent), and Burnaby city staff's CUPE Local 23 pay raise (2.50 per cent).

Begin, who was on council when a 'blue ribbon' panel of citizens originally recommended the formula, said he would prefer to see council's pay based on only one factor, the consumer price index. Begin also admitted that he began to develop second thoughts about council's pay rate after he lost the 2002 election.

"Sometimes it does a world of good to walk away from this table and to listen to what the people have to say," Begin said.

Although Begin's proposal would have reduced council's indemnity rate by only one per cent, the Burnaby Citizens Association majority stood firm on the contention that the pay hike was fair, and is based on information that is as impartial as possible.

Mayor Derek Corrigan, who noted that he is the fifth highest paid mayor in the third largest community in the Lower Mainland, successfully argued that council should approve the pay hikes for this year, and then review the formula next year.

"I don't think anyone on council should feel defensive about their indemnities," said Corrigan.

The most vehement defender of the raise was Coun. Sav Dhaliwal, who noted that Begin could always donate a portion of his indemnity to local community groups if he believes he is paid too much.

"I am giving back to the community more than what I am paid," Dhaliwal said, before adding that he would be willing to review the formula.

Coun. Lee Rankin pointed out that Coun. Colleen Jordan was a citizen member of the original 'blue ribbon' committee that came up with the formula back in 2001. That committee also recommended that council's indemnity be boosted by about 30 per cent to make it comparable to the pay rates given to city councils in other Lower Mainland communities.

Rankin also noted that with the "very hot economy" of the Lower Mainland, average pay hikes in the private sector could rise by as much as three to four per cent each year for the next decade.

Coun. Nick Volkow said he would be more comfortable if an independent citizen's committee set the rates.

A report calling for the indemnity rates to be sent to the executive committee of council was tabled.

LOWER MAINLAND CITY COUNCIL PAY RATES:

Councillors Mayor Pop.

Vancouver* $52,441.60 $119,042.44 583,296

Surrey $50,134.00 $99,087.00 383,831

Burnaby $40,026.00 $90,057.00 202,966

Richmond $40,834.00 $92,025.00 172,714

Coquitlam $37,379.01 $110,597.84 121,463

Delta $28,367.00 $75,965.00 101,843

* total indemnity is taxable

Figures compiled by the City of Burnaby finance dept.

Small spill at SFU

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 13, 2006


The Burnaby fire department's hazardous material team went back to school for a brief time on Thursday afternoon as they cleaned up a minor chemical spill in the science department at Simon Fraser University.

A small amount of boric acid powder was apparently mixed with water and the resulting fumes caused respiratory problems for one person who was treated at the scene, said assistant fire chief Les Strange.

"It was more of a training exercise than anything," Strange said. "It was a pretty minor incident."

The chemical is typically used in antiseptics, flame retardants and insecticides, and can be found naturally in volcanic ground.

City takes Norampac to court over waste

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 9, 2006


The City of Burnaby is taking one of its largest industrial landowners to court after an alleged illegal landfill was found in the Big Bend region.

A statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court says Norampac Paper Inc. failed to get the necessary city hall approval after it received a provincial waste permit allowing it to discharge up to 8,000 dry tonnes of waste on its 19-hectare (46.9-acre) property.

"Basically, they've been stockpiling the material rather than recycling it so, in fact, we've been misled," said Coun. Dan Johnston, chair of Burnaby's finance and civic development committee and its environment committee. "We've been receiving complaints from neighbouring facilities."

The Norampac property is at the south end of Wiggins Road, adjacent to the Fraser River, and was recently rezoned by the city, against the wishes of the four affected property owners. The new zoning plan requires property owners to adhere to more rigorous environmental guidelines before any new uses or developments are permitted on the land.

According to court documents, the provincial Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks issued Norampac an amended solid waste permit in or about 2001. "In issuing the permit, (the ministry) specifically advised the defendant, Norampac Paper Inc., that the permit would be issued without consideration of Burnaby bylaws," said the statement of claim, prepared by solicitor D.W. Yule, Q.C.

The documents also claim that Norampac initiated the waste landfill operation "in order to avoid the expense associated with incinerating the waste materials or having it hauled offsite to a designated landfill."

The landfill had grown to an alleged size of 15,000 cubic metres before city staff discovered the operation in the spring of 2004, said the documents.

Genevieve Boyer, communications coordinator at Norampac's head office in Quebec, said she was unable to comment on the court proceedings.

However, she noted that the company is "currently not using the landfill site."

Boyer referred all other questions to company president, Marc- Andre Depin, who was unavailable for comment prior to Burnaby NOW deadlines.

The statement of claim alleges that the landfill operation is in violation of three separate Burnaby bylaws - the soil deposit bylaw, the zoning bylaw and the unsightly premises bylaw.

The city's soil deposit bylaw prohibits the deposit of any sand, gravel, rock and other materials on any land without a permit from the Burnaby's municipal engineer.

"No such permit has been issued," said the document.

The suit also claims that the landfill will "render the property impracticable for future subdivision and development."

The lawsuit also claims that Burnaby began seeking voluntary compliance from Norampac in 2004 but imposed a deadline of March 31, 2006 on the cleanup operation, after the company gave assurances that it was working towards compliance by way of incinerating parts of the waste material and hauling the remaining materials to an offsite designated landfill.

"Despite Burnaby's attempts to obtain voluntary compliance and despite Burnaby's warning that legal action would be taken unless the waste landfill operation stopped, the defendants have, by their own admission, continued or permitted to continue the waste landfill operation on the property," said the statement of claim.

The city's lawsuit is only the latest in a string of troubles for the paper recycling facility.

In August 2002, an estimated $1 million worth of recycled paper was destroyed when a fire struck the site, and just two years later, the operation was closed for eight months when its unionized employees went on strike.

Earlier this year, the GVRD also filed suit against Norampac asking for $1.5 million to pay for steam supplied by the neighbouring Montenay garbage incinerator. That suit was subsequently suspended, said Bill Morrell, manager of communications with the GVRD.

Living on the streets

City needs to do more to help: Councillor
By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 6, 2006


The cold weather of fall is fast approaching, and the City of Burnaby is doing precious little to look after its growing population of homeless people, says veteran city councillor Gary Begin.

"Burnaby did a lousy job last year in terms of providing shelter for people in need," Begin told the Burnaby NOW last week. "There's a lot of people that live in Central Park. They live and sleep under the awning at the Robert Prittie library.

"Winter is coming, and we go through these monsoon periods where it just rains and rains, and we leave these people to sleep under a cardboard roof some place. That's just not acceptable to me.

"The City of Burnaby is very wealthy in terms of real estate. We have houses we could probably zone for a shelter, but the mayor has said outright that he does not want a permanent shelter in Burnaby.

"I do not buy that, and I will not buy that. ... We are a very fortunate community which has a lot of resources available, and I think we need to respond to this," he said.

Begin is hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened last winter when Burnaby was an unwelcoming place for the homeless. Although an emergency homeless shelter was opened at the Burnaby Alliance Church during the final cold snap of the season in late February, poor communication resulted in nobody making use of the facility.

Begin believes the homeless problem is growing in Burnaby, and the most recent statistics back up that claim. In March 2005, a region-wide homeless count found 40 people living on the streets of Burnaby, more than double the 17 homeless people found during the previous homeless count in 2002.

And even though city hall officially joined the Fraser Health Authority's Burnaby homeless task force last February, it appears that a formal proposal to address the issue is still months, if not years, away.

But Lynn Wood, executive director of the Progressive Housing Society, said there is some good news on the homelessness file.

Progressive Housing recently received a grant from B.C. Housing to hire three outreach workers, and Wood is now working with the Lookout Emergency Aid Society to put together a proposal to provide some kind of affordable housing in the community.

"We're trying to find a building to get people off the street and connected to the services they need," Wood said. "It's a community social problem, so there's a lot of shared responsibility.

"The longer term issue is a homeless shelter in the community of Burnaby. I'm not really sure who would be stepping up to take that responsibility at this point.

"We have tried to provide our expertise and interest in serving that population," she said. "But it takes a lot of components - lands, building and money, both for capital and operating funds. And those dollars generally for non-profits are not easy to come by."

Coun. Colleen Jordan, chair of the city's community development committee, is confident that Burnaby will have another emergency shelter open this winter, but she agrees with Mayor Derek Corrigan that the bulk of responsibility for the homeless file lies with the federal and provincial governments.

"We're not in the social housing business. That's not our jurisdiction," Jordan said.

The big problem, according to Jordan, is that the provincial government has not yet allocated a $200-million fund set up by the previous federal government to deal with the homeless issue.

"Not a nickel has been allocated since the spring of '05," said Jordan. "Some of it is supposed to be going for shelters for the most desperate, but nothing has been done.

"If people or groups like Progressive Housing could have applied, you could be on the road to getting some kind of facility up and running."

When asked how long it might take to build and open a homeless facility in the city, Jordan said: "I don't know. Again it depends on funding and it depends on finding a location. We've had a few churches step forward and say they could provide emergency funding, and the Salvation Army are great. They're doing their best. But having a place, ... I don't know."

Jordan also said that the city might consider a low- cost land lease to allow a non-profit agency to operate a homeless shelter, but that would depend on a specific proposal, and nothing official has come forward.

"There might be some sympathy on council to give a reduced rate, but some of the facilities going up around the province are pretty substantial and, in general, the feeling at council is that we're not into social housing."

That cautionary note was echoed by Corrigan, who is adamant that the primary responsibility for the homeless issue lies with the federal and provincial governments.

"Gary (Begin) is just trying to stir things up as much as possible," the mayor said.

"He says what we need is an overnight place for them to stay. I'm sorry. It's not that simple.

"What we need are treatment facilities for people with mental illness. Giving them a place to sleep at night doesn't change any of that."

Corrigan pointed his finger at the provincial government, which he said has redirected much of the federal money intended for housing into other programs, such as extended care in the Health Ministry.

"I'm more than happy to pressure the provincial government, but I disagree strongly that the solution is a flophouse. ... Let's not take the easy route," said the mayor.

Corrigan also said that a recent report from SFU assistant professor Marina Morrow reinforces his view because it ties the issue of homelessness to a series of cutbacks of services for people with mental illness over the past five years.

Meanwhile, Wood said the Burnaby homeless task force will begin a public awareness campaign this fall, and she is confident a temporary shelter will be in place before the coldest weather of winter descends.

"My preference is to have the shelter planned so we know the location well in advance and we can make that information available to all the agencies," she said.

"The other thing is to build a level of trust with people on the street so we're not driving around in the middle of the night looking for people to take to the shelter."

Wood also pointed to the recent closure of an illegal 25-bed rooming housing on the east side of the city as an indicator of underlying problem.

"Something like that says to me that there is a lack of affordable housing in the community," she said.

"When something like that occurs, it's usually because people are trying to find a cheap solution."

House tenants evicted

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 2, 2006


Burnaby council has called for the immediate eviction of all the tenants of a 25-bed rooming house that was built in contravention of the city's zoning bylaws.

A report from the city planning department notes that unauthorized alterations have turned the former corner store and warehouse at 8098 12th Ave. into a large rooming house, complete with 25 sleeping rooms, five bathrooms, three kitchens and one large common room.

The fire department has also ordered the building owner, Yen Chen Chen, to remove all unauthorized plumbing, gas and electrical installations.

Staff have also been instructed to place a formal notice of contravention at the B.C. Land Titles Office indicating that the building is in contravention of the city bylaws. Council approved the recommendations without comment at its Aug. 28 meeting.

Rivers Day event set

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 2, 2006


The revitalization of Still Creek will be the focus of the World Rivers Day celebrations in Burnaby on Sept. 24.

City council has instructed its staff to find corporate sponsors and to get more community involvement for the city's 14th annual celebration of local waterways.

Council also approved a long list of activities for the event, including:

- invasive plant removal and information sessions;

- riparian (creekside) planting activities;

- creek clean-ups;

- library displays;

- free tours of the Wildlife Rescue Association garden;

- free Central Valley Greenway bike tours;

- free paddling trips on the Still Creek corridor;

- free ecology walks with English- and Mandarin-speaking guides, offered by the Green Club;

- educational displays and activities; and

- food for event participants.

The city will also send letters to the owners of all commercial and industrial land abutting Still Creek in an attempt to raise awareness of the city's new stormwater management plan, titled From Pipe Dreams to Healthy Streams.

The city will also lend its support to other Rivers Day events, such as the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up sponsored by the Vancouver Aquarium and projects conducted by local schools, Scout troops and other community agencies.

Although B.C. Rivers Day has been celebrated by environmentalists and other activists for the past 25 years, it did not become a formal celebration until Burnaby resident Mark Angelo encouraged city hall to proclaim the event in 1993. Last year, Angelo helped to convince the United Nations to formally declare the last Sunday in September as World Rivers Day.

EDMONDS FESTIVAL MONDAY

The 14th annual Taste of Edmonds community event - formerly known as the Big Pig Gig - is set to run on Labour Day Monday.

The festival, which features a bouncy castle, dunk tank, barbecue and games, typically attracts about 3,500 people to the neighbourhood around Southside Community Church, near Kingsway and Edmonds.

City hall has approved the closure of Arcola Street between Walker and Hall Avenues, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., to accommodate the Sept. 4 event.

HANNA COURT KIDS' FAIR

The Burnaby Children's Centre, which operates two day cares on Hanna Court, near the Edmonds SkyTrain station, is hosting its fourth annual street sale and kids' fair on Saturday, Sept. 16.

The day-long outdoor event will feature games and activities, plus tables of vendors selling clothing, toys and other goods that cater to children. The event is expected to attract approximately 150 to 200 people.

Council agreed to close Hanna Court from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day in question to accommodate the event. The street is located one block south of the B.C. Hydro head office on Southpoint Drive, near the newly opened Taylor Park elementary school.

TOY RUN ARRIVES OCT. 1

The annual Christmas Toy Run motorcycle ride will travel through Burnaby on Sunday, Oct. 1, this year.

The annual event, which typically attracts several thousand motorcycle riders, provides toys for children of needy families throuhout the Lower Mainland. In Burnaby, the most notable impact from the charity event is a series of street closures and parking restrictions.

As usual, the toy run will result in a no-parking restriction on the westbound lane of Hastings between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. In addition, all north-south access across Hastings will be blocked between the hours of 10 a.m. until approximately 12 p.m., except for three access roads - Willingdon, Holdom and Cliff Ave., where traffic will be queued up and allowed to cross at 15 minute intervals.

The city intends to send notice of these changes to all north Burnaby residents by Sept. 15, and large 'advance warning signs' will be installed on streets along the parade route by Sept. 22.

Tank farm debate grows

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 2, 2006


A proposal to expand the Kinder Morgan tank farm on Burnaby Mountain will be kept under the watchful eye of city council, even though some of that scrutiny might have to be done behind closed doors.

That was the word from Mayor Derek Corrigan this week after rookie Team Burnaby Coun. Garth Evans said that he's hearing lots of negative comments about the proposal to build at least one and possibly five new storage tanks at the facility.

"I've had a really strong adverse reaction from people in the area," Evans said at the Aug. 28 council meeting as he announced his intention to seek some way to "restrict the future expansion."

Evans' comments prompted the mayor to confirm that city staff are already preparing a formal response to the plan, but that report might have to be presented to an in-camera session of council.

Contacted after the meeting, both Corrigan and Evans said that they'd like their concerns discussed in the open "as much as possible," but there may be sensitive legal concerns that might have to first be presented at a private meeting.

"If we're going to get legal advice, we're going to have to have that in a closed meeting," said Corrigan, a lawyer. "One does not want to disclose your legal advice to the party on the other side. And I suspect Kinder Morgan won't invite us to their meetings with their lawyers."

Evans said he would take steps to ensure that only the most sensitive legal matters are discussed behind closed doors. "In general, I favour doing the city's business in public, not in private. I think people have the right to know what's happening and what we're doing."

Evans also confirmed that he is hearing many comments that the tank farm might have to move completely outside of Burnaby, and away from all the populated urban areas of the Lower Mainland.

"People seem to be very upset about the possibility of adding tanks to that facility. The comments I've been getting have been very adamant in their opposition," he said. "There seems to be a general feeling that this is not the kind of thing we'd like to have in our community.

"I'd like to work to relocate it, and I certainly don't want to expand it," he said. "I don't think a tank farm is the kind of thing that should be in the middle of a residential community."

Evans noted that when the facility was first built in 1952, there were no homes in the neighbourhood, which has since seen the construction of the busy Forest Grove community and the development of the SFU UniverCity neighbourhood, which will eventually bring another 10,000 residents to the top of Burnaby Mountain. "If that (new development) has created conflict, then the long-term solution is to move the tank farm where it doesn't impact people and where they live. ... We need to look at our options very closely."

But Corrigan urged caution in how city council handles the file. "Obviously there are very significant differences in Burnaby from the time when these kinds of facilities were originally built and today," said the mayor. "A major urban metropolis has grown up and that has very much changed the dynamics of the city.

"It's extremely difficult to take on the issue of moving such a huge facility.

"One does not want to overreact to a situation either," Corrigan said. "We have to make sure we have all of the information before us. While it's pretty clear that Coun. Evans wants to stake himself out early, I've learned over 20 years of politics to get all of the information before I make a decision."

Corrigan said any future changes at the tank farm would likely follow one of the paths taken by two of the city's other major petroleum handling facilities - the Shellburn refinery that has since been downgraded to a storage and distribution facility, and the Chevron refinery which has undertaken a series of equipment upgrades and environmental improvements over the past decade.

"These are businesses that have been in Burnaby for decades, and they are certainly businesses with a long history in the community of running their operation in a reasonable manner. So it doesn't seem fair or appropriate to jump all over them before we know what all the facts are."

Corrigan noted that a formal proposal to expand the tank farm has still not been received at city hall. "I think that basically Kinder Morgan has simply flown the flag and said 'This is something that in the long term we'd like to do,'" he said. "I don't get the impression from the report that Kinder Morgan has fleshed out its ideas. I guess they're gauging the reaction of the city and the public.

"This is not something I anticipate happening next year. I think it's a longer term project," he said. "Like any other proposal, there may be a compromised that can be reached that can achieve a better result for everyone where Kinder Morgan gets what they want and we get improvements for the community.

Corrigan also indicated that he might be more concerned if Kinder Morgan came up with a proposal to expand the network of pipelines in and around Burnaby.

"I want to treat Kinder Morgan the same way we treat Chevron, Electronic Arts or any of the number of private organizations out there. If I believe it's disadvantageous to the city or harmful to the city we'll be looking to take a very strong position on it."

THE TANK FARM BY THE NUMBERS

- The 77-hectare (189-acre) tank farm has been on Burnaby Mountain since 1953. It is home to 13 petroleum storage tanks with a total volume of 270,000 cubic metres (1.7 million barrels). Kinder Morgan Canada purchased the facility last year as part of its $6.9 billion acquisition of Terasen Gas Inc.

- If approved, the TMX-2 project would add one new 35,000 m3 (220,000 barrel) tank to the Burnaby Mountain facility by the year 2009, and possible five more new tanks in the ensuing years.

- The TMX-2 project also proposes to add another 495 kilometres of pipeline between Alberta and B.C., while expanding capacity at its Edmonton tank farm by 70,000 m3, and at its Sumas tank farm by 24,000 m3.

Council adds to park

Council briefs by Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 30, 2006


A small park being built in the middle of a new central Burnaby subdivision has grown, even before its official opening.

Burnaby council passed a resolution on Aug. 21 that will add three city-owned properties on Canada Way into the Wilton Avenue parksite.

The enlarged park will provide greater protection for a small watercourse that runs through the neighbourhood, and allow city hall to sell at least one other city-owned lot in the area west of Rayside Avenue, near the bottom of the Canada Way hill.

A parks department report on the project said the addition of the three properties will increase the size of the park by about 15 per cent, to 1.43 hectares (3.5 acres).

The report also notes that its future development may include facilities and amenities for the surrounding community, especially for youth and seniors.

Council agreed to either sell, relocate or demolish the city- owned building at 7975 Graham Ave., to accommodate an expansion of a small park in southeast Burnaby.

The 57-year-old home has 800 square feet of living space and is considered to be in poor to fair condition. After the aging building is either sold or demolished, the property will be kept vacant until the land assembly for the park is completed.

Burnaby is also proposing the sale or demolition of a 45-year- old home and outbuilding at 4940 Claude Ave. as part of a long-term plan to build a linear park beside the creek the connects Burnaby and Deer lakes.

The property will then be kept vacant until the city can fit the creek enhancement project into its capital budget program.

CITY OKS FEE HIKES

The cost of local area improvements such as new street lights, paving of streets and lanes and the installation of traffic calming measures is going up in Burnaby.

At its Aug. 21 meeting, Burnaby council approved a series of fee increases for when a majority of area neighbours agree to pay for improvements to their street.

According to a report from the city engineering department, Burnaby has charged the cost of these street improvements to the local homeowners based on how many linear feet of frontage their property has on the street in question.

For instance, the cost of paving a street complete with curbs and walkways, will rise from $7.75 per foot of frontage to $9 per foot, over a 15 year amortization period.

Concrete sidewalks will cost local homeowners $3 per foot of frontage over 15 years, while asphalt sidewalks will cost $3.50 per foot over 10 years.

New streetlights will cost $2.75 per foot over 10 years, while lane paving will cost $5 per foot over five years.

Sidewalk crossings will now cost residential property owners $14 apiece while business owners will pay $60 over a 15-year period.

Resident asks for time

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 26, 2006


City council members put on their kid gloves Monday night while dealing with a 70-year-old resident whose unsightly property has raised the ire and concern of both his neighbours and the local health inspectors.

Mayor Derek Corrigan and the rest of council extended the deadline for David Price to clean up his west Burnaby property, which is piled high with scrap metal, yard and garden waste and storage containers of recyclable materials underneath a series of giant blue tarps.

"I plan to clean it all up, but what takes you a day would take me several days," the slight septuagenarian told city council on Monday night. "I have done a lot of work. A lot of stuff has been thrown out."

According to a report from the city's finance department, Price's dilemma first came on the council agenda on May 29 when city staff were given the authority to enter the property and conduct the cleanup themselves.

But when Price showed up at the July 10 council meeting to complain about what he described as the unrealistic demands of city staff, he convinced council to give him the opportunity to do the work himself.

The most recent report from the city staff recommended that Price be given an Aug. 31 deadline to finish the work himself, but council agreed to extend that deadline to the end of September.

While the mayor noted that staff "will exercise discretion" in making sure the cleanup progresses, he emphasized that the work must be done or else a city crew will be assigned to the task and the cost of the cleanup will be placed on Prices' 2006 property tax bill.

Coun. Colleen Jordan noted that Price could ask for assistance from one of several volunteer agencies that work with seniors in the city, although Price insisted he wanted to go through all the material himself to ensure he does not lose track of any important documents or papers.

Tank farm proposal won't affect refinery

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 26, 2006


There are no plans to increase either the size or scope of the Chevron refinery in North Burnaby in response to Kinder Morgan Canada's recent announcement that it wants to enlarge its tank farm on Burnaby Mountain.

"No, that (tank farm expansion) project has nothing to do with our refinery," Doug Heinze, manager of the Chevron refinery, told the Burnaby NOW. "The pipeline expansion that's been discussed is related to crude oil. ... As you know, we are a relatively small refinery in the big picture.

"Our consumption of crude here is a relatively small piece of the story."

Heinze said the proposed tank farm expansion will probably have a greater impact on Chevron's crude oil shipping business, most of which is conducted through the port of Kitimat.

In terms of the bigger picture, Heinze said British Columbia's economy stands to benefit from the increased interest in Alberta's oil sands, and Kinder Morgan is just one of several pipeline operators now trying to move ahead with proposals to help bring that new oil to market.

"The big story is that Alberta is constrained on crude because production is growing faster than the capacity out of Alberta," he said.

Heinze noted the oil sands have the potential to grow from their current production of half a million barrels per day to a potential of five million barrels per day within the next two decades.

His comments were made just four days after Kinder Morgan Canada presented Burnaby city council with its formal proposal to expand the 53-year-old tank farm.

If KMC goes ahead with the plan, the Burnaby Mountain facility will add at least one new tank capable of holding 35,000 square metres (220,000 barrels) by the year 2009, and possibly five other new tanks in the ensuing years. The tank farm currently houses 13 storage tanks with a total carrying capacity of 270,000 sq.m. (1.7 million barrels).

One barrel is equivalent to 42 US gallons, or 159 litres.

Facility neighbour seeks support

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 26, 2006


The rezoning of one of the last remaining undeveloped parcels of the BCIT Discovery Park site is an opportunity to reduce noise, enhance safety and provide more green space for area residents, says a former Burnaby city council candidate.

Parvin Chami, who lives just half a block from the proposed five-storey 'advanced technology research and office facility,' said she wants her neighbours to speak up about the plan at a public hearing in the city council chambers on Tuesday night.

"We want people to come to the public hearing and raise their concerns," said Chami, who has been a constant critic of the Discovery Park plan over the past decade.

Chami said the rezoning of 'parcel A' at the southwest corner of Canada Way and Gilmore Avenue should only be approved if the developers agree to a series of improvements.

Chief among her concerns is green space. Chami is calling for an expanded buffer zone between the property and nearby homes because the new building will be two storeys taller than the three-storey maximum for the majority of the buildings on the Discovery Park site.

Another concern is safety on a tree-lined walking path connecting Kalyk Avenue - the street where Chami lives - with Canada Way. "There have been some incidents of people attacking girls," she said. "We want a safer pathway. A path where you can see from one end to the other."

She also wants the developer to put more noise-abatement equipment around the mechanical room that will be located on the roof of proposed building. "We don't want to hear the noise when we're sleeping at night," she said.

Chami also wants assurances that the development, which includes three levels of underground parking, will not alter drainage patterns and cause damage to a small creek that runs through the treed buffer zone on the western property line of the site.

According to a rezoning report that was given first reading at the July 17 council meeting, the redevelopment plan will upgrade the Gilmore Avenue sidewalk to 'urban trail' standards and provide shower facilities and storage lockers for people who choose to bike to work at the site.

The proposal will also preserve a small vegetable garden on the site that is currently being maintained by residents of the neighbouring Finnish Manor rest home. The rezoning report states that if the garden is not used or maintained for a period of one year, the property owner will be required to replant the area as part of the natural buffer zone.

The rezoning report also notes that the Discovery Parks community plan would have allowed for a six-storey building on this parcel of land.

Inferno in North Burnaby

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 26, 2006


Burnaby police and fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a Thursday night fire that closed three businesses and forced the evacuation of several second-floor apartments at the corner of Hastings and Gilmore.

While nobody was seriously injured in the fire, eyewitnesses told radio station CKNW that a young man ran into one of the two affected buildings to rescue an elderly woman living in an upstairs suite. Reports from the scene also indicate that another of the evacuated tenants was an artist who lost his "life's work" in the blaze.

Burnaby assistant fire chief Les Strange described the incident as "a dirty fire" and said a total of 38 firefighters and 10 trucks were needed to battle the inferno.

"This was a commercial building with fire stops, and that meant our firefighters had to work to gain access inside the walls," Strange said Friday morning.

The fire has closed the HSBC Bank, Millennium Pawn Shop and Planet Hair Studio. The neighbouring Pear Tree Restaurant, one of the finest five-star restaurants in the Lower Mainland, appeared to be undamaged.

The three-alarm fire was first reported at 10:15 p.m. by a passing motorist who immediately stopped her vehicle and pounded furiously on the front doors of Fire Station No. 5, located just one block east.

While the person who reported the fire did send an e-mail to the Burnaby NOW claiming the fire department's response was inadequately slow, attempts to speak directly to that person prior to Burnaby NOW's Friday morning deadline were unsuccessful.

Strange said that a full incident report is being conducted and he believes it will show that firefighters were out of the hall and on the scene within five minutes.

"When somebody is in an emergency situation, they typically think time is going really fast, when in reality it's usually only a few minutes," he said. "This incident, with the fire being that close to the hall, I think the arrival time was within the three- to five-minute range."

Strange said that firefighters always have an established protocol they must follow before leaving the hall to fight a fire, and that includes putting on their gear and checking the major incident response charts to determine the size and location of all the nearby fire hydrants and possible hazards. In this incident, the local firefighters would have also had the added responsibility of reporting the fire to the main fire hall on Sperling Street, an added step to the usual protocols, Strange said. "If they were out the door in 90 seconds, that would be a good job," he said.

Amateur photographer Frank Yeats-Illes, who shot the photo accompanying this story, said his wife was standing on the couple's apartment balcony at Hastings and Madison when she suddenly saw flames shoot into the sky.

"In a matter of minutes it was a huge inferno," Yeats-Illes said. "It took a few minutes before we could hear the alarm bells ringing, but it seemed the fire department got it under control pretty quick."

Yeats-Illes also said that he was surprised by the large numbers of onlookers who showed up to watch the firefighters at work.

Police were forced to reroute traffic off Hastings Street throughout the night, and although fire crews officially finished battling the blaze by around 4:15 a.m., eastbound traffic was still being diverted onto Pender Street during the Friday morning rush hour.

Investigators are now asking for the public's help in determining whether the fire was accidental or deliberately set. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Tories looking ahead

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 26, 2006


A federal election may still be a long way away, but at least one potential Conservative party candidate is stepping up to run for his party's nomination in the Burnaby-New Westminster riding.

Ryan Warawa, the 30-year-old son of Langley MP Mark Warawa, confirms that he intends to seek the party's nomination.

"I've set the wheels in motion for an announcement within the next week," said Warawa, who already has his official campaign website online.

Warawa, a benefits specialist for Intrawest, the company that operates the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resorts, currently lives in Vancouver but has been a member of the Burnaby-New Westminster riding association executive since 2004. He previously worked at Best Buy's Canadian head office in the riding.

"I was active on the campaign of Marc Dalton, our candidate last year, so I'm encouraged by our chances in that riding," he said. "It was a three-way split in the past two elections, so a five per cent change and that riding will be taken away from (the current NDP MP) Peter Julian."

A political activist since joining the Reform Party at the age of 17, Warawa previously served as youth co-chair of Stockwell Day's campaign for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance and as an executive member of the party's Vancouver Centre constituency association.

Also considering a run at the nomination is Burnaby realtor Sam Rakhra, who had an unsuccessful bid for the Tory nomination in the riding prior to last winter's federal election.

"I haven't decided so far, even though a lot of people have approached me," said Rakhra, adding that his final decision will likely be based on who else enters the nomination race.

Mike Redmond, who has twice run for the Progressive Conservatives in the riding, said he will probably not seek the nomination for the upcoming federal election because he recently made a three-year commitment to work on the Workers' Compensation appeal tribunal.

"I've decided not to seek the nomination this time just for business reasons," Redmond said Thursday morning. "But you know, you can never say never. If the time was right, I'd love to. It would be a great honour to represent people in Parliament."

Rav Mlait, president of the riding association, said the nomination meeting will probably not happen until the spring, unless there is a surprise election this fall or winter.

"The party has not signaled to us when the nomination meeting will happen, but being politics, especially in a minority situation, we always have to be ready for an election at any time," Mlait said. "If the Liberals or New Democrats want to vote against the softwood lumber deal, then that's their prerogative. And if that's the case, the Conservative Party will be ready to run on its record.

"I wouldn't rule anything out," Mlait said.

Tank farm causes concern

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 26, 2006


A proposal that could ultimately double the capacity of the Kinder Morgan Canada tank farm on Burnaby Mountain has prompted city council to look at its regulations on the large-scale storage of oil and gas in the city.

Coun. Nick Volkow said he is concerned about the proposal to build one new 35,000-square-metre (220,000-barrel) gas storage tank at the Burnaby Mountain facility by the year 2009 and possibly add another five more tanks in the ensuing years.

The Burnaby Mountain tank farm plan is only one part of a billion-dollar plan to increase Kinder Morgan's pipeline and storage capacity by 100,000 barrels per day.

The project, which is in the early discussion stage, will also add another 495 kilometres of pipeline connecting the oilfields of Alberta and northeast B.C. to the Lower Mainland, build five new and upgrade six existing pump stations and increase Kinder Morgan Canada's storage capacity at three different tank farms, including Burnaby Mountain.

The plan, dubbed the TMX-2 project, is detailed in a 10-page report presented to city council on Monday night.

Volkow said he is more concerned about the proposal coming from Kinder Morgan than he would have been had the work been proposed by the tank farm's previous owners, Terasen and Trans Mountain Pipeline Ltd.

"Kinder Morgan has a bit of a sorry record when it comes to operating in their home base of Texas, so I'm prepared to give this application a lot more scrutiny than I would have under the previous operators," Volkow said. "They're not the best operators on the planet when it comes to operating pipelines."

The tank farm, which has been located on Burnaby Mountain since 1953, was purchased by Kinder Morgan last year as part of a $6.9 billion acquisition of Terasen Gas Inc. Prior to that, the facility was operated by Trans Mountain Pipeline Ltd.

Team Burnaby council members Lee Rankin and Garth Evans questioned whether city council had the ability to limit the number of storage tanks at the 77-hectare (189-acre) Burnaby Mountain facility, which currently has 13 storage tanks with a total capacity of 270,000 square metres (1.7 million barrels).

Jack Belhouse, the director of of the city's building and planning department, said the city zoning bylaws can only regulate the technical requirements of the tank farm, and the project can go ahead as long as it meets "fire safety and other regulatory bylaws."

"So we can't stop them, thank you," Evans replied.

And Coun. Pietro Calendino said he is "totally against" the plan because the neighbourhood around the tank farm has changed considerably in the past half a century.

Contacted on Tuesday morning, Philippe Reicher, director of external relations for Kinder Morgan Canada, said the company is proud of its track record and will comply with all the necessary regulations and other legislative requirements should the project go ahead.

"We've been neighbours for 50 years in Burnaby so if you look at our history, our operational history, we have an excellent record when it comes to environmental protection," Reicher said. "If we were to expand, we'd be expanding using the same philosophy and guidelines.

"The fact that we changed our name to Kinder Morgan does not mean we have changed at all the way we operate our pipeline systems," Reicher said, adding that the expansion plans still hinge on the outcome of a ongoing commercial discussions with large-scale petroleum producers such as Chevron, PetroCanada and Shell. "If we don't have the deal completed, the expansion won't take place, and at this point we do not yet have the deal."

Reicher also said that Burnaby Mountain storage facility can easily handle the proposed increase in capacity. "If you look at other tank farms in other jurisdictions, you'd realize the density of tanks is quite a bit higher than what we have in Burnaby. ... There is plenty enough room to accommodate the additional tankage."

If pipeline and tank farm expansion plan does go ahead, the project will be regulated by the National Energy Board, Reicher said.

Wading pools' future in doubt

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 2, 2006


Splish, splash. When Burnaby's 11 different wading pools opened for the summer season recently, scores of young children jumped for joy at the opportunity to cool off and play in the water at a park close to their homes.

But the majority of those wading pools were built in the early 1960s, and they're reaching the end of their natural lifespan, said Kate Friars, director of the parks, recreation and cultural services department at Burnaby city hall.

One of the key problems with the wading pools is the fact that most of them are simply drained every night, Friars said, sending their used water directly into the storm sewer system.

While the pools are still popular with kids, the city is hoping to replace many of them with new energy-efficient spray pools over the coming years, she said.

And because those new spray pools are costly to build - anywhere from $300,000 to $400,000 apiece, depending on their size and extra features - that means that some of those wading pools may simply disappear, never to be replaced.

"What we're concerned about is, obviously, water conservation and making sure we have water play opportunities in close proximity to our neighbourhoods," Friars told the Burnaby NOW recently. "Some will be decommissioned, and we'll build larger spray pools in the town centre areas. We'll take a town regional approach as opposed to a neighbourhood approach."

While the parks commission typically refurbishes only one or two of the wading pools each year, that schedule of maintenance is getting busier as the pools near the end of their life cycle.

This year, the city refurbished and repaired six of the 11 wading pools, while the remaining five are set for repairs next year. That work consisted of a powerwash, caulking of the concrete tank and deck, painting or replacement of the fence and posts, plus new signs. The average cost of the work at each of the refurbished pools was about $2,600, Friars said.

The city will look at a variety of factors when it decides which wading pools are replaced and which will be shut down completely. Although no decisions have been made yet, new spray pools will likely go into parks that already have separate toilet facilities, adequate drinking fountains and an existing water recirculation system.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

City mourns a leader

Backrooms column by Dan Hilborn
Published July 29, 2006


Some very sad news arrived during my two-week summer holiday. Sheila Veitch, the former Burnaby city councillor, school trustee and widow of one-time deputy premier Elwood 'Slim' Veitch, passed away July 8 after a lengthy battle with throat cancer.

Sheila was one of the first female politicians I ever met in Burnaby, and she was much more than just the gatekeeper to her husband's telephone (which she excelled at).

A dauntless campaigner, her son Brian told a terrific tale of her temerity in her eulogy, which wass heard by a standing-room-only crowd that featured both Grace McCarthy and 'whistling' Bernie Smith at South Burnaby United Church.

Apparently, Sheila and a volunteer were doorknocking on Slim's behalf when a naked man holding a beer opened the door.

"The volunteer bolted away but our Mom stared him straight in the eyes and began her campaign pitch," Brian said. When her two-minute campaign spiel was finished, Sheila asked her usual question, "Will you vote for Elwood Veitch?" Of course, the nude man was so impressed, he said "Yes."

Her list of personal achievements is nothing short of astounding.

Sheila was a mainstay of the Burnaby Council of Women, the B.C. Council of Women and one-time vice-president of the Canadian Council of Women. She was a member of the Metrotown Rotary Club and on the board of stewards at South Burnaby United Church and the board of Fair Haven United Church Homes. She was also active on the boards of Langara College, Vancouver Community College and the Burnaby College for the Retired. She served on the the B.C. Parole Board, kept books for the St. Michael's Centre gift shop, volunteered with Rotary Anns, was secretary of the New Westminster and District Concert Band and was an area captain for the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal.

And then, of course, there was politics. Sheila served on the Burnaby school board from 1981 to 1985 and was chair of its finance and buildings and grounds committees. She was elected to city council in 1985 and also served on the city's library board, plus the crime prevention, traffic and safety and grants committees.

She was a volunteer extraordinaire and had a heart of gold that shone through in every deed of her life.

Sheila will be sadly missed by her children Barb (Reg), Brian (Lauren), Gregory (Isabelle), grandchildren Kelsey, Brock, Sarah, Connor, Spencer and Alexandria. Donations to the B.C. Cancer Foundation are appreciated.

LIQUOR DEBATE

Add another high-profile business person to the growing list of people upset with Burnaby council's recent liquor store location policy.

Bruce Orr, president of Orr Development Corp. and builder of the 150,000-square-foot Centrepoint development going up across the street from Metropolis at Metrotown, says Burnaby is unfairly blocking private liquor store applications for his project. Centrepoint has signed a tentative lease with the former Diego's Pub (now Maverick's) to operate a 4,500-sq.-ft. private liquor store in the new development, and that application is now stuck in limbo, said Orr.

"For one year, Diego's has worked tirelessly to get approval and we have kept 4,500 sq.ft. available for them on the understanding that fair play, an open and accountable permitting system would prevail. Unfortunately events have proven us wrong," Orr said in a June 19 letter to council.

Over the phone, Orr became even more irate.

"These (Diego's) are taxpaying people who play by the rules and they should be treated with respect," he said. "In Vancouver, you don't have to rezone for a private liquor store, you just get a licence. In Burnaby, they make you rezone.

"Well, Diego's did that and they still get slapped with a moratorium. I think it's an abuse of the system."

FROM THE TOP?

It's worth passing on a little observation courtesy of an unnamed social worker following the publication of my story about the new windows at the Hall Towers.

Given our provincial government's penchant for micromanaging, it's likely that the decision to spend $4.6 million to replace the gaping windows was made at the cabinet level, said the source.

The installation of the new windows comes three years after a diagnosed schizophrenic, Harry Kierans, leaped to his death from the 14th floor of one of the 30-year-old buildings, despite his repeated requests to get out of the building.

In the original announcement, a government spokesperson said that energy efficiency was the main reason for the new windows, although the safety of residents "was a consideration."

Kind of warms the heart, eh?

Giro di Burnaby a big success

By Dan Hilborn
Published July 29, 2006


There was an air of joviality in the Burnaby city council chambers Monday night as Mayor Derek Corrigan received the perpetual trophy and a replica winner's jersey from the successful Giro di Burnaby cycling race, held in the Heights neighbourhood on July 14.

"Oh, isn't that beautiful," the mayor quipped as he held up the distinctive pink and black racing shirt modelled after the winners' jersey used in the Giro d'Italia. "I assume we're going to have more of these."

An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people showed up to watch the first ever cycling criterium race in the Heights neighbourhood on July 14, making it one of the biggest professional cycling events in the Lower Mainland.

And in a report to city council last Monday night, event organizer Rainy Kent said the race is now on solid footing and looks forward to growing over the next few years.

The only real "hiccup" was the slightly late arrival of the hay truck - it was stuck in freeway traffic - which delayed the start of the two races by about 10 minutes, and resulted in the men's race finishing just as twilight was descending, Kent said.

"There was not one mishap," Kent told council. "The RCMP said they'd never seen an event run so smoothly and, all in all, it was a huge success."

"I couldn't believe how exciting it was," added the mayor, who admitted he'd never seen a cycling race before.

Corrigan also paid tribute to the police, firefighters and city engineers who worked the event, the volunteers and merchants who helped out and the race's official artist, Luigia Zilli.

Corrigan also said that the event would not have happened without the dedication and work of Coun. Pietro Calendino, who fundraised more than half the estimated $51,000 cost.

Speaking after the council meeting, Calendino said he would eventually like to see a longer 'road race' added to the event, so that residents in both north and south Burnaby can watch the race go past their own neighbourhoods.

"My vision was to have a road race to start, but that meant a lot more planning, volunteers and more involvement by police and city departments," he said. "We want all of Burnaby to get the flavour of this."

Before expanding the race, the city hopes to have the Giro di Burnaby criterium race formally added to the Lower Mainland's 'cycling superweek' schedule, which features similar short track criterium races in Delta, White Rock and Gastown.

Calendino also said the race is well worth the price.

"For the entertainment it provides and the participation of the population, it's well-spent money," Calendino said. "One other thing, we'd like the merchants to have their foods out, so it becomes a fair along with a sporting event."

Racers from as far away as Ontario, Russia, Ireland, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and New Jersey were among the participants in this year's event.

Calendino also hopes that this year's winners - Heights' resident Gina Grain in the women's division and Australia's Hilton Clarke in the men's division - will wear their distinctive Giro di Burnaby winner's jackets when they come back to the race next year.

Housing plan debated

By Dan Hilborn
Published July 26, 2006


A provincial government plan that could give direct cash subsidies to help low-income families pay for housing is coming under fire in the Burnaby city council chambers.

Coun. Colleen Jordan, chair of the city's housing committee, said the proposal, which is expected to be made public in early September, will do nothing to help the estimated 3,800 Burnaby residents who are currently on the B.C. Housing waiting list.

"If you just give low-income people a subsidy, it may not go to housing at all," Jordan told the Burnaby NOW Tuesday morning. "It'll also just cause landlords to raise the rents, because they know people have more income."

Jordan said that a better plan would be to have the provincial and federal governments work together to build more affordable housing.

"There hasn't been any more non-market housing built in years and years," she said. "The feds have not put money up for it, the province has not and I think the last time any GVRD housing was put up was eight years ago.

"Even if people put up the land, there's no money for the capital. ... There's nothing to address any of it."

Jordan noted that the lack of funding is being felt in a wide variety of ways, including the pending loss of a 'safe house' for streets kids in North Vancouver, which is used by young people from Burnaby. At a recent GVRD workshop on the homelessness issue, North Vancouver City mayor Darrell Mussatto told Jordan that his council was looking for an additional $120,000 to keep open its safe house for kids.

Jordan also noted that a similar five-bed youth safe house in Burnaby operated from 2000 until 2003, when its funding was cut by the provincial government.

"What that tells me is there's young people looking for a safe place to stay, and we don't have it in Burnaby anymore," Jordan said. "If kids are looking for a safe place to stay they now have to go to North Vancouver or Surrey. But they've closed Burnaby, and now they're going to close the one in North Vancouver."

Jordan's words were echoed by Team Burnaby councillor Garth Evans, who described direct cash subsides to low income families as "the worst way to provide housing."

Evans said a better alternative might be to to give subsidies to landlords or developers to help keep their rents low.

And mayor Derek Corrigan waded into the argument by stating that shelters are not necessarily the best alternative either. "People don't just need a shelter. They need comprehensive assistance to deal with other problems like alcohol and addictions," he said.

Mercury spills at store

By Dan Hilborn
Published July 22, 2006


Several employees at the Lordco auto parts outlet on Edmonds Street lost their shoes, and one employee had to give up his clothing, after a hazardous material incident last Friday afternoon.

A small amount of mercury was spilled, prompting a call to the hazardous material response team of the Burnaby Fire Department.

While the fire department was able to clean up the majority of the estimated two ounces of mercury without incident, a private hazardous materials response team was also called out to help with the job.

"In the grand scheme of things, this wasn't a large spill," said Chris Nicholson, supervisor of CEDA Reactor Ltd. in Coquitlam. "But it was a small amount spread over a large area."

While the store was evacuated, nobody was injured in the incident. Mercury is a heavy silver liquid that is most harmful if its vapours are inhaled either in large doses or over a long period of time.

A manager at Lordco who identified himself only as "Steve" said the mercury spilled out of a tool that was recently purchased from a nearby motorcycle dealership, and his employees were not forewarned about the presence of the toxic substance.

"If we had known, I don't think we would have even been transporting that tool," he said.

The employee's shoes and clothing were removed for clean-up and further testing to see if they had any contamination, and were expected to be returned to their rightful owners this week.

New windows in BC Housing apartments

By Dan Hilborn
Published July 22, 2006


Three years after Harry Kierans leaped to his death out the windows of his 14th-floor suite in the Hall Towers at Kingsway and Edmonds, B.C. Housing is halfway through a $4.6-million program of installing safer, smaller and more energy-efficient windows in the two highrise apartment buildings.

"This is part of our modernization and improvement program," said Sam Rainboth, manager of public affairs for the government agency that provides social housing and rental subsidies for an estimated 67,000 households across the province.

While the window replacement program was "not directly related" to Kierans' suicide on July 25, 2003, the "safety of residents was a consideration," Rainboth said.

"The windows were in need of replacement," Rainboth said. Although the original windows met the building code when the towers were originally built - the first tower went up in 1972 and the second was completed five years later - they had developed water leaks and were requiring an increased amount of maintenance.

The new smaller windows are double paned and have stronger frames, and will also result in energy cost savings, he said, adding that one of the buildings has more than 300 separate windows.

Family members of Harry Kierans, who have been fighting for smaller windows in the buildings, said the replacement program is a cause of mixed emotions.

"Seeing the building being retrofitted with safe window units, I had a mixture of deep sadness and relief," said Harry's sister Mae Kierans, a Catholic nun. "Sadness that the retrofit was too late for my dear brother Harry, but relief for the other persons suffering from mental illness who still live there."

Kierans also told the Burnaby NOW that she was shocked when she first saw the large, old windows in the Hall Towers.

"Walking into his apartment days after his death, with the huge gaping window still wide open and the curtains still flapping out, I experienced vertigo," she said. "I could have fallen out myself from dizziness if I went near the windows to close them, so I stayed away from them. Any child could have fallen out, the ledges were so low.

"Why would anyone assign persons suffering from mental illness to such a death trap?"

Mae and Harry's other sister, lawyer Kathleen Walker, have been calling for a formal coroner's inquest into their brother's death for the past three years.

In a July 23, 2005 story published in the Burnaby NOW, the two sisters said that a lack of government services and a slow-moving bureaucracy were two key factors behind the suicide.

After filing a series of freedom of information requests to obtain their brother's government records, Harry's sisters received a stack of documents measuring more than 22-cm thick including several memos that indicate Harry had made several requests to move out of the Hall Tower in the months leading up to his suicide.

The sisters found that Harry and his wife, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had also received several threats of eviction from the building manager due to their inability to keep their apartment clean. The files also indicate that the couple had lost the services of a home support worker in 1999.

The most upsetting aspect of the reports was a memo indicating that a decision had been made to return the home support worker to Harry and his wife in the week prior to his suicide.

Also included in the documents was a "confidential issues note" dated Jan. 16, 2004 and presented to then-health minister Colin Hansen that gives the following summary of the original B.C. Coroner's report into Harry's death. "The (coroner's) report contains no recommendations, but it does highlight the serious issues relating to apparent systemic failures in providing care that was appropriate and well-coordinated among agencies, i.e. B.C. Housing, to meet the client's particular needs."

Mae Kierans continues to press her case for a formal investigation into the circumstances around her brother's death and has asked for assistance from Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan, who was recently appointed the NDP critic for mental health.

MLA takes seat on health team

Backrooms column by Dan Hilborn
Published July 12, 2006


Expect to hear more news from Burnaby-Edmonds NDP MLA Raj Chouhan in the coming months, as the B.C. NDP prepares to escalate its fight against the provincial government's health-care policies.

Chouhan was named the NDP critic for mental health just prior to the Canada Day holiday, joining a new three-person team on the overall health care file.

Leading the team will be rising star Vancouver-Kingsway MLA Adrian Dix, with assistance from West Kootenay MLA Katrine Conroy, who takes on the critic role for seniors' health.

The formation of the new NDP health care team is part of a strategy to reverse the NDP's dismal showing in recent public opinion polls, and the three critics all have powerhouse resumes.

Dix has already won accolades for his earlier work on the ministry of children and families file, while Conroy is former hospital board member. Chouhan is no slouch himself.

"I have 18 years experience working on health care," said the former organizer for the Hospital Employees' Union.

And he wasted no time criticizing the Liberals for failing to help people suffering from mental health problems and addictions.

"The Liberals have looked at mental health as something secondary," Chouhan said. "The number of people on the street who are grappling with mental health and addiction has grown significantly."

At the top of Chouhan's list are calls to provide a greater investment in crisis management and detox beds.

"In Burnaby, the Liberals closed Maple Cottage detox centre," he said. "Those kinds of community-based programs are not only a necessary feature of a compassionate society, they make common sense."

Chouhan noted that the mental health file has some "crossover issues" with his other great interest - human rights.

"People who have suffered from mental disorders are many times not looked at as equals.

"They are treated as second class citizens who don't belong in mainstream society," he said. "That's a human rights issue. We want these people to have the same respect as anyone else."

While Chouhan gives up his former critic role on human rights, he will continue to work on the marriage fraud file.

CHANGE AT CENTRE

A little housekeeping is in order after I mistakenly referred to city councillor Gary Begin as the chair of St. Michael's Centre in a recent story.

Begin was the chair until last month when he moved over to become chair of the Fairhaven United Church Home. His Team Burnaby colleague Barbara Spitz is the new chair at St. Michael's.

THE RETURN OF PATTY SAHOTA

It appears the former Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Patty Sahota is back in the game, and expanding her boundaries.

Sahota, a former minister of state for resort development, is a B.C. regional organizer for one of the contenders in the federal Liberal leadership contest, according to a report on the Public Eye website.

Sahota is apparently working with Ujjal Dosanjh and former Vancouver city organizer Mae Brown on the campaign of former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae, said a June 8 posting.

The moves comes as a bit of a surprise to those pundits who thought Sahota was more closely aligned with the Conservative Party than the New Democrats. Attempts to contact Sahota through both the federal and provincial Liberal headquarters were unsuccessful.