THE WEDNESDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Coping with Alzheimer’s
Seeing Cinderella
SEE LIFE, PAGE 13
SEE ARTS, PAGE 20
What winter weather? More sun expected this weekend
JAN. 29, 2014 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/10 Letters/11 A Good Read/12 Sports/32
Class size ruling will impact TC district Decision strikes down 2002 ruling By Diane Strandberg & Tom Fletcher THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A B.C. Supreme Court rejection of the the provincial government’s effort to keep class size and special needs support off the bargaining table could have significant ramifications for School District 43, but trustees are waiting for future developments before making any predictions. Board chair Melissa Hyndes said it’s too soon to say what the full impact of Madam Justice Susan Griffith’s decision released Monday will be but it could mean more teachers in the classroom. “It has major impacts
for us,” Hyndes said, although she couldn’t be specific. “We would be waiting for the government, and hopefully, if there is no appeal or what ever, the next steps the government would decide, and what ever increases would happen would be fully funded.” In her ruling, Justice Susan Griffin said the B.C. government’s replacement legislation, passed in 2011, is as unconstitutional as the 2002 law called Bill 28 that removed class size and special needs support from union working conditions. “The court concluded that the government did not negotiate in good faith with the union after the Bill 28 decision,” Griffin wrote. see JUDGE, page 7
Family prepares for life after fire By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Two-year-old Hudson Dehamel managed to sneak in a few minutes of play at Lions Park in Port Coquitlam last Friday — one of many Tri-City residents who took advantage of last week’s break from the rain. While the forecast is calling for more wet stuff this week, Environment Canada said the sun could be back as early as Friday.
A Port Coquitlam family who lost everything, including their home, in a Jan. 14 blaze is rising out of the ashes thanks to the support of the community. Donations of meals, clothing, furniture and money have been coming in from individuals, charities and Hope Lutheran Christian School where two of the
children attend. But the Dana family still faces some huge challenges, admits mom Kristie Dana, not the least of which is finding a place to live. The house and contents were uninsured so the family has to rebuild from scratch. “We don’t know what we’re doing at this point,” said Kristie, who is expecting to deliver a baby boy in June. see ‘IT TOOK’, page 8