Tuesday May 21, 2013 (Vol. 38 No. 41)
V O I C E
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Fraser Valley champs: Earl Marriott’s senior boys rugby team achieved quite a feat, capturing a fifth-straight Fraser Valley championship – over a team they had never beaten. › see page A25
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Election winners refuse to say if they’d be willing to make room for premier’s byelection
BC Liberals reject ‘hypothetical’ request Melissa Smalley Staff Reporter
In her first news conference following her party’s election victory last week, BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark said Wednesday she would wait until official election results are released May 27 before asking one of her MLAs to step aside to allow for a byelection. It’s a rare situation made necessary when Clark lost her riding of Vancouver-Point Grey
to BC NDP’s David Eby by a margin of 785 votes. Not since 1924 has a B.C. politician been elected premier without winning a seat. When asked about the possibility of giving up their seats in the legislature, BC Liberal MLAs on the Semiahmoo Peninsula offered Peace Arch News little comment. Asked Friday if he had been approached by anyone from his party in regards to stepping aside to make way for Clark’s byelection,
longtime Surrey-White Rock MLA Gordon Hogg said no, adding he doesn’t expect such a request, given the location of his riding. “I recognize that in the British parliamentary tradition that we have to find a seat, but I think there are probably better options than one this far out,” Hogg said. “So I don’t see that as being something that will come up.” Asked if he’d be willing to give up his seat at Clark’s request, Hogg said he won’t comment
on something “completely hypothetical.” Surrey-Panorama MLA-elect Marvin Hunt echoed Hogg’s sentiment: “That’s a hypothetical question, and I’m not answering it.” MLA Stephanie Cadieux, who won her new Surrey-Cloverdale seat last Tuesday praising the party’s “leader that wouldn’t quit,” said there is “no point in speculating.” “The premier hasn’t made any decisions, so it’s not something I’m even thinking about.”
Metro ponders coal
Air-quality meetings floated Jeff Nagel Black Press
Tracy Holmes photo
Crews undertake exploratory digging on a development site on Victoria Avenue Friday, in an effort to determine the root path of four city trees.
Police on scene as exploratory digging identifies roots at risk
‘Eagle trees’ toppled for public safety Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Four city trees that were the subject of an impassioned appeal to White Rock council last week were to be cut down Friday, after a deal to save them could not be reached with a Victoria Avenue property owner. Greg St. Louis, the city’s director of engineering and municipal operations, confirmed just before 3 p.m. May 17 (as Peace Arch News went to press) that the city had agreed to remove the
r
Douglas firs, in the interest of public safety. “We couldn’t come up with an agreement with the owner of the property and the roots are very significant that are extending into his property,” St. Louis said. “We tried to do everything we could to save the trees, however, he wants to go in there to cut the roots, which would make the trees unstable and we can’t have that.” The property owner undertook exploratory digging at the 15265 Victoria Ave. site Friday morning. The trees in question are on city land
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abutting the property line, and were the subject of a resident’s appeal to council last week. Sandy McNamee, who lives next door to the development site, asked the city to “explore and exhaust every option (to preserve the trees).” They are important eagle habitat, she said. As the exploratory digging got underway Friday – closely monitored by the city’s arborist and operations manager, along with a handful of Peninsula residents and police – three eagles › see page A4
Metro Vancouver could order its own public meetings into controversial plans to build a new coal export terminal on the Fraser River in Surrey that opponents claim could risk public health. Senior officials at the regional district confirmed public meetings are possible on the application by the terminal proponent for a Metro air-quality permit. The proposal by Fraser Surrey Docks is being considered by Port Metro Vancouver and coal-dust emissions are a major concern of residents near the terminal and along the BNSF train route through White Rock, Surrey and Delta. Metro environment and parks committee chair Heather Deal said a decision on whether to hold public meetings will depend on the degree of public feedback to initial advertising by Metro of the permitting process. The meetings would not be full public hearings – as demanded by coal-export opponents, who have criticized the transparency of the port’s review process and say the open-house format used by Fraser Surrey Docks is designed to quell dissent. › see page A4
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