The Chilliwack
Progress Friday
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Chilliwack teens gain an early taste of parenthood.
State of Canada Post flag called ‘a disgrace’.
Chiefs face crucial back-to-back series.
Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • F R I D AY, J A N U A R Y 1 0 , 2 0 1 4
RCMP share blame in fatal crash, court rules Jessica Peters Black Press A Supreme Court judge has ruled that the RCMP were 20 per cent at fault in the crash that killed Gerald Guliker and Viktor Bergen. The crash took place on Ferry Road on Aug. 10, 2008 following a high-speed chase between Guliker and the RCMP. Guliker, a Rosedale resident, had been suffering from depression and was suicidal when the police were called in by his family to help. He had positioned himself on a farm on Bustin Road, and the RCMP were informed that he could see oncoming vehicles, and would flee if they approached. Guliker had threatened to run into traffic to kill himself, and the RCMP knew this, Justice John Savage noted in his ruling Monday, Jan. 6. When the RCMP approached, Guliker did flee onto Ferry Road, where he crashed his van head on into Bergen’s GMC Envoy. Also in Bergen’s truck were his wife, Inna Bergen, their three-year-old daughter, and two house guests. All the passengers survived, and Bergen and the two friends filed a lawsuit against the deceased Guliker and the B.C.’s Justice Ministry, alleging RCMP negligence. Savage agreed, and while he placed 80 per cent of the fault with Guliker, he outlined several ways in which the RCMP made mistakes in the time leading up to the crash. “In my opinion, but for the RCMP’s chase or pursuit of Mr. Guliker, the collision would not have occurred,” Savage ruled. When Black Press interviewed Guliker’s wife Wendy in 2008, she said the police told her they would chase him if he ran. The RCMP released an official statement following the crash, denying a chase. However, the civil case found that a chase happened and pointed out a number of “acts of fault or negligence.” The ruling found the RCMP are blameworthy because they ignored the information provided to them by the public; failed to conduct a proper risk assessment; developed a plan or strategy based upon incomplete or flawed information; to the extent they developed a plan, they failed to implement it; abandoned a plan that would have Continued: RCMP/ p12
Eric Munshaw, longtime Chilliwack shop teacher, has resigned from his teaching post because he’s “lost faith” in the district and provincial policy makers in keeping students safe. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Safety concerns prompt teacher’s resignation Katie Bartel The Progress Chilliwack shop teacher Eric Munshaw is resigning from teaching; not because he’s ready for retirement, but because he’s lost confidence in the education system. Specifically at the Chilliwack level. For five years, Munshaw, technology education teacher at Mt. Slesse middle school, has been advocating for smaller class sizes in the name of student safety. When Bill 33 was passed by the B.C. Education Ministry, in 2009, the number of students in shop classes increased across the province – despite the heavy duty equipment, and the shops themselves mostly designed for a
maximum of 24 students. (Bill 33 enabled class size in grades 4-7 to exceed 30 students with teacher consent, and in grades 8-12 with teacher consultation.) “We just need one accident and that’s negligence,” said Munshaw. “We’re not talking insignificant injuries, we’re talking life-altering, amputations, or worse – and that’s where we’ve been coming from since Day 1 on this.” Munshaw has presented his concerns at school board meetings, has had private meetings with senior administration, was a leading force on the province’s best practices guide for industrial education released two years ago. He even met with then Minister of Education George Abbott. His message has been the
same: “safer” class sizes of 24 or less students. To date, Munshaw has seen no change in safety protocol. “They’re just not hearing us,” he said. “If we keep allowing the situation to continue, well, then you’re now part of the problem too aren’t you? At a certain point, you’ve got to take a stand for things that are really important. This is just wrong. It’s unsafe. It’s no longer a good learning environment.” Assistant superintendent Rohan Arul-Pragasam told The Progress “student safety is paramount” in the Chilliwack school district, and that principals take great care every year organizing their various classes “in collaboration with staff.” “School principals are aware
of the unique safety issues pertaining to students working and learning in industrial education classes, which include reviewing class size and composition, educational assistant supports for ministry designated students, as well as availability of safe working spaces,” said Arul-Pragasam. “I believe strongly that those things are taken into consideration when placing kids in technology classes.” In Chilliwack, the school district has a voluntary commitment in place to ensure all classes in grades 4-12 not exceed 30 students, with the exception of classes, like band, that allow for more students. But that’s not good enough for Munshaw.
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Continued: SHOP/ p12