THE WEDNESDAY
MAY 30, 2012
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS Showcasing local talent
Lacrosse & gymnastics
SEE ARTS, PAGE A19
SEE SPORTS, PAGE A22
Take a walk, run or ride on local trails
www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 A Good Read/A15 Chamber newsletter/B1
Coquitlam, PoCo delaying signing new RCMP deal Councils say too many unknowns with contract By Janis Warren and Jeff Nagel THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Neither Coquitlam nor Port Coquitlam city councils will be signing off on the new RCMP contract by the provincial government’s d e a d l i n e t o m o r row (Thursday). M o n d ay e ve n i n g , Coquitlam council voted 6-3 to defer its decision on the 20-year deal until its June 18 meeting as it seeks clarity about some aspects of the agreement. The same night, PoCo council voted behind closed doors — “for legal reasons,” acting mayor Michael Wright said — after its regular council meeting to reaffirm its position to continue to
Tweet, tweet: Port Moody cops hold a tweet-along on Saturday night: see article on page A3 hold off on the national RCMP contract. Last month, Mayor Greg Moore sent a letter to Shirley Bond, B.C.’s minister of justice and attorney general, to ask for an extension until June 30. In a press release issued Tuesday morning, Wright explained: “It is critical that we not rush into an agreement we feel is not, at this moment, in the best interest of our community” given the financial ramifications for taxpayers. Coquitlam council,
which shares a detachment with PoCo, voiced similar concer ns on Monday night while shelving the topic for a third time. “I just don’t want to sign something that I don’t completely understand,” Coun. Neal Nicholson told The TriCity News on Tuesday. “We haven’t been given much time to talk about it... We pay most of the costs and we have been treated like we’re a rented car.” see RCMP’S, C S, page g A7 7
Day passes temporarily on hold at Colony Farm By Gary McKenna
Unescorted day trips have been stopped at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital after Gregory Schleen (left) and David Fomradas walked away from the local facility.
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
JANIS WARREN/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Coquitlam resident Léon Lebrun, who is the president and southwest regional director for Trails BC, takes a hike on the Traboulay PoCo Trail, one of several Tri-City trails that will be the site of activities this weekend for International Trails Day. For more information, see article on page A13.
Unescor ted day passes have been temporarily suspended at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital at Colony Farm after two patients walked away from the facility last week. Dr. Johann Brink, director of clinical services at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, said that over the next few weeks, the facility will be conducting an internal review of its procedures concerning
unescorted trips for patients. “What we decided to do is cancel [the passes],” he said. “We have suspended all unescorted access to the community until this inter nal review has been conducted and
completed.” He added that a panel of experts from outside the hospital will conduct a more in-depth external review, which he said will likely take several months. see XSPDT XSPDT,, page A5