B.C. Views Two solitudes on B.C. farmland. p6
Grannies rage against hospital parking. p3
THE NEws
Arts&life An evening of wonders at ACt. p23
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‘no mowing lawns at 9 a.m. sun.’ District of Maple Ridge reviewing its noise bylaw by Phil M elnyc h u k staff reporter
Maple Ridge council wants to equip its old noise bylaw with some new technology, using decibel readings and noise meters for better enforcement to keep the district a quieter place. The draft bylaw proposes that residents wait until 11 a.m. on Sundays and holidays before starting enginepowered lawn mowers. But those hours could change back to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., as in the current bylaw, following council feedback on Monday. Under the draft law, a level of 55 dB would be set for any continuous noise during the daytime, while at night that level would be 45 dB. When it comes to “non-continuous noise,” loud sounds that don’t last long, the levels are 80 dB in the day and 65 dB at night. see Noise, p9
Colleen Flanagan/the news
Whonnock resident Yukiko Tanaka protests outside local MP Randy Kamp’s office as part of Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities National Day of Action on Saturday.
Protest to defend climate MP Randy Kamp defends government’s enviro record by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s staff reporter
Community: Family sticking together after fire. see story, p4
More than 50 people in Maple Ridge joined a nation-wide protest Saturday to stop pipelines, oil sands expansion and draw attention to climate change. The rally outside MP Randy Kamp’s office was one of 130 events staged across Canada as part of a national day of action to Defend Our Climate. Newly-elected Katzie First Na-
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tion Chief Susan Miller kicked off the protest by welcoming rally participants to her band’s traditional territory. Mike Gildersleeve, who organized the Maple Ridge rally, was pleased with the turn-out and honks of support from passing cars. “We don’t want to be saddled with a fossil-fuel-dependant economy,” said Gildersleeve, a former Green Party candidate. At the top of his concerns is Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. Gildersleeve believes the 1,170 kilometre pipeline will be disastrous for the environment and in-
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crease the risk of an oil spill on B.C.’s pristine coast. If approved, the Enbridge pipeline would deliver up to 525,000 barrels of diluted bitumen a day to Kiti- Gildersleeve mat, where it would be shipped via tankers to Asian markets. The federal Joint Review Panel is expected to deliver its final report on the Enbridge proposal by the end of year.
Many protesters also opposed Kinder Morgan’s plan to nearly triple the capacity of its existing TransMountain pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver, as well as the provincial government’s push to ramp up production of liquefied natural gas (LNG). “We expect our government to be leaders in green technology, alternative energy and renewal energy, instead of just giving lip service to this,” said Gildersleeve. “We demand to see some action on these fronts. Instead what we are seeing is this feeding frenzy more LNG projects, the prospect of pipelines through parks.” see Pipeline, p13
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