Peace Arch News, August 22, 2013

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Thursday August 22, 2013 (Vol. 38 No. 68)

V O I C E

O F

W H I T E

R O C K

A N D

S O U T H

Podium presence: Divers Madeline Wainman and Courtenay Hattie were two of a handful of local athletes to find themselves on the podium at the Canada Games in Quebec. i see pages A29-A33

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

Prorogation of Parliament turns clock back to December 2012, before Senate ‘gutted’ C-377

MP welcomes bill’s second chance Alex Browne Staff Reporter

MP Russ Hiebert

Russ Hiebert, Conservative MP for South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale, says he’s pleased by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue – or suspend – Parliament until October. For Hiebert, prorogation means the clock will be turned back to last December on his controversial private member’s bill, C-377, which would require

labour unions to publish detailed financial information. Harper has said prorogation is in anticipation of a throne speech putting forward a new agenda for the government at the midpoint of its mandate. Following heated debate, the Senate sent C-377 back to the Commons in June, with extensive amendments reducing the scope and impact of the bill that Hiebert claimed, at the time,

had “gutted” it. Under prorogation, according to the Library of Parliament, the bill will revert to the way it was when it passed third reading in the House on Dec. 12 – essentially nullifying the Senators’ amendments and the deliberations leading to them. The unamended bill will subsequently be resubmitted to the Senate, Hiebert noted in a statement issued Tuesday.

“As such, I am hopeful my colleagues in the Senate will give C-377 appropriate and timely consideration,” he said, adding that the restored bill will “once again reflect the wishes of the elected lower house of Parliament.” Wednesday, Peace Arch News asked Hiebert if that means he expects the bill will receive a smoother ride the second time around. i see page A4

Medical marijuana

Health Canada weeds out problems Alex Browne Staff Reporter

Days are numbered for residential medical marijuana cultivation. And a Health Canada spokesperson says that come April 1, licensed marijuana-growing operations will be “a lot easier to deal with” locally. In response to Tuesday’s Peace Arch News article – in which a Marine Drive resident raised concerns about a neighbour’s licensed growing operation – Health Canada media relations officer Sara Lauer confirmed Wednesday that after current licences expire in March 2014, all licensees will be commercial, rather than residential growers. “That will make the whole system much more clear to individuals and (local) authorities,” she said. Even under existing regulations, she said, licensed growers are expected to “comply fully with all applicable federal, provincial, territorial or municipal legislation.” Earlier this week, White Rock resident Lisa Van Vliet questioned whether a licensed growing operation next to her home meets Health Canada regulations. i see page A4

Tracy Holmes photo

Sunnyside Elementary principal Brad Helland is anxious and excited as he prepares to welcome more than 300 students to their new school.

New school ‘one-of-a-kind’

A move to the Sunnyside of the street Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter

The principal of Surrey’s newest school doesn’t hesitate when asked what he likes best about the all-but-finished Sunnyside Elementary replacement. “I just can’t get past that gym,” Brad Helland beamed Wednesday, during a tour of the 5,000-square-metre school, at 2828 159 St., built to accommodate 450 students. “When I walked in and saw that gym, I just

about drooled.” The high-ceilinged, maple-floored gymnasium is among several notable attributes of the school, which site superintendent Alan McNee, of Bouygues Building Canada, described as a one-of-a-kind. “You’ll never see another one of these,” said McNee, citing a design customized to fit within a narrow, sloped lot. And while it’s been just over a year in the making – work on the $12.8 million school

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began only last summer – getting to that crucial starting point took far longer. Replacing the former Sunnyside Elementary – on the other side of Highway 99, at 15250 28 Ave. – received a green light from the provincial government in the 2005-’06 school year. But construction was delayed when the district was told to build the school as a Neighbourhood Learning Centre, and again, when the district was waiting for the OK from the province. i see page A4

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