Commentary Mario, Rossi and road more travelled. p6
Why is Peace park fountain water blue? p3
THE NEWS
Arts&life Local writer masters the Balancing Act. p17
www.mapleridgenews.com Wednesday, August 1, 2012 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
‘Substantial irregularities’ in Legislature spending Little documentation to support MLA travel expenses by Ph i l M e lnych uk staff reporter
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Whoa, Baby Cathy Vayda of Pitt Meadows rides Baby in the barrel racing event at Country Fest on Sunday at the Albion Fairgrounds. See story and more photos, p4.
The public’s money is still being spent willy-nilly with no requirement for receipts when paying out expenses to MLAs, says B.C.’s financial watchdog. In his latest audit of the legislature’s finances, Auditor General John Doyle says the legislature is mired in “poor governance” with “substantial irregularities” in financial reporting, such as not preparing proper monthly bank statements. Neither is there any separation between purchasing goods and services and reimbursing MLAs, while legislature expenses were shifted from one year to the next to stay on budget and that about $2 million in transitional payments to MLAs were not included in compensation figures. See Spending, p10
Katzie out of gravel proposal Different one set to go to council in September by P hi l M e l nych uk staff reporter
R
oller derby showcased at Country Fest on weekend. See photo feature, p21
One of the partners in the plan to put in a 79-acre gravel pit in north Maple Ridge, just east of 256th Street, has bailed on the project. Katzie First Nation Chief Ed Pierre told Mayor Ernie Daykin the band is pulling out of the partnership with Canadian Ag-
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gregates Inc. to mine about 225,000 tonnes of gravel yearly, a project that could last for decades. But according to Garnet Mierau, with Canadian Aggregates, the project is still going ahead. “They’re not our partners anymore, but the project is still active.” He said the company is technically still in a partnership with Katzie because it hasn’t yet received a letter. But the Katzie have told him they want out. Mierau wouldn’t say if it will be more difficult to proceed or
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whether the company has to re-apply to the Integrated Land Management Bureau. “The project is very viable. It’s there,” Mierau said. Last year, the partnership applied for a Crown lease that would allow operation of the pit, which would have been located outside Maple Ridge boundaries. Part of the proposal includes building a road that would run diagonally southeast from the pit, north of Kanaka Creek Regional Park, to 272nd Street, where it would connect to Dewdney Trunk Road.
Residents and interest groups had until last Jan. 31 to file their comments, after which an open house was to take place. But there’s no date for that yet, Mierau said Tuesday. The company is currently focusing on another project, he explained. The Chilliwack forest district, part of the natural resources ministry, opposed the application because of the impact on existing woodlots – small, sustainable logging operations – on Blue Mountain. See Gravel, p11
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