COAL DUST PLANS WORRY QUAYSIDE
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ETHNIC STRATEGY NOTHING NEW
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FORUM TAKES FRESH APPROACH
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WEDNESDAY
MARCH 13 2013 Hume Park featured B.C. women’s rugby action on the weekend. See Page A18
www.newwestnewsleader.com
New West apology sets example City praised by group for reconciliation approach Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
David Cobb waits out a breeze before attempting to move the Chief Skugaid to a new berth, in front of the Fraser River Discovery Centre, on Saturday. He’s been evicted from the spot he’s occupied since 2011 by a court order that ruled he was trespassing on the waterfront lease held by the owner of the expansive parking lot east of the River Market. The new spot isn’t covered by that lease, and Cobb is hopeful it will buy him time to find a new permanent home for the 100-year-old vessel.
Skugaid skipper determined to stay Mario Bartel
photo@newwestnewsleader.com
exam mpleteonly with co tients a p w e n
The historic Chief Skugaid fishing boat set sail on Saturday for calmer waters. All of 100 feet west. But first the vessel’s skipper, David Cobb, had to dodge an attempt by bailiffs to seize the boat on Friday and then wait out a hefty breeze so a team of volunteers could tie the boat up to its new position. The Skugaid’s new home will be a temporary port in the legal storm to get the boat to move along from the
berth it’s occupied aside the New Westminster Quay, just east of the Fraser River Discovery Centre, since June 2011. Cobb, who acquired the 100-foot boat more than two years ago, first tied up along New Westminster’s waterfront to wait out repairs to the railway swing bridge after it was knocked off kilter by a passing barge. The closure of the north channel blocked his access to a boat yard in Queensborough where he intended to work on the Skugaid. But he never left—much to
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the dismay of the owners of the expansive parking lot that occupies most of the wharf, No. 143 Cathedral Ventures Ltd. Cobb says he started receiving letters from the company’s lawyers almost immediately, accusing him of trespassing. They culminated in legal proceedings that began last November and on Jan. 16 gave him 30 days to find a new home for the boat. Cobb says that hasn’t been easy. “I can’t find anything, there’s nothing available,” says Cobb, who
was granted extensions from the initial deadline. Commercial marinas don’t want to take a chance on tying up such a large, old boat for liability reasons. He’s also adamant the Chief Skugaid belongs in New Westminster. Built in Vancouver in 1913 by renowned boat builder and champion rower William Watt, the Chief Skugaid was first registered in the Port of New Westminster. Please see SKIPPER, A3
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The province could learn a thing or two from New Westminster about how to go about reconciling for past wrongdoing says the head of the Canadians for Reconciliation Society. Bill Chu, the organization’s chair, held a press conference at city hall as a response to the recent BC Liberal memo suggesting apologies for past transgressions would help attract votes from ethnic groups. Chu said the current and any future provincial government could learn from the process New Westminster has undergone since he approached the city in 2009. He chose New West because the city has the longest relationship with the Chinese community in the area since it is where the first Chinese settlement was established and was home to two Chinatowns over the years. “We have a very strong relationship, but not always a good relationship,” said Coun. Jaimie McEvoy who was serving as see ‘APOLOGY’, A4