Sidewinder A tale not of world class health care. p6
Ruskin Dam – why rates are rising. p3
THE NEWS
Sports Carrington receives first John Skanks award. p44
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, June 13, 2014 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. P1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397 OS TMED AD REF IA: ERENC E: SIZE: COLOU R: PROBL EMS?
Maple Rid BCAAp ge News os Horizon titMay30MRN tal (2.5”W CMYK X 2.5”H ) Produc tion-rela ted pro blems c on
Company suspended under TFW program tact Su
san Ho
lmes (6
04) 268 -5181 su
sanholm
es@bca
Maple Ridge operation one of five on government blacklist by M on i sh a M ar ti n s staff reporter
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Pitt Meadows elementary teachers wave at cars while picketing outside the school Thursday.
Full strike at schools Tuesday Teacher negotiations to continue on weekend by Nei l Corbe tt staff reporter
If they can’t negotiate a deal this weekend, teachers will walk off the job Tuesday. Members of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation voted 86 per cent to strike, with a record 33,000 members casting ballots Monday and Tuesday. The union served 72-hour
The
Hayes Team Paul • Peter • Matthew
604-467-0811 Please view our ad on page 24 www.thehayesteam.ca
notice Thursday that it will escalate to a full-scale strike next week. Teachers will not be in class on Monday either, announcing that their escalating job action would begin with a study session that day. The educators will not be picketing, but neither will they be at school. Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District chair Mike Murray said he had been hoping the strike vote was simple leverage for the union to use in negotiations, but that members didn’t intend to strike. Murray said the labour unrest has
Beautifully Handcrafted Single Family Homes OPEN Sat. & Sun. 1-4 pm
13412-235th Street $
588,800
+ Applicable taxes MLS# V1028402 Independently owned and operated
created tension between employees and employee groups in the school system, and it has been a frustrating end to the school year. He acknowledged that he Murray has a conflict of interest in discussing the negotiations – his daughter is a teacher in New Westminster.
Murray remains hopeful that the strike notice is the impetus to get a deal done. “This may yet still lead to a solution,” he said. “We all hope the two parties can redouble their efforts and get an agreement.” Union president Jim Iker said negotiations will continue through the weekend. “Let’s concentrate on getting the deal,” Iker said. “This can be averted by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Then we can all be back in schools.” See Strike, p5
Index Opinion Letters Cycling Looking Back Driveway Homes Sports
6 7 17 18 21 35 44
A Maple Ridge film company has been placed on a blacklist by the federal government after a pair of former employees accused its owners of abusing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Parvaz Film Corporation is suspended from using the program while an investigation is underway. Employment and Social Development Canada issued a statement this week alleging there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the company provided false, misleading or inaccurate information for a Labour Market Opinion. “Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program,” said the statement. “Our message to employers is clear and unequivocal – Canadians must always be first in line for available jobs.” Sareh Aminian and her husband Payam Bakht claim they paid $15,000 to come from Iran to Canada to work for Sherry Soltani and her husband Majid Mahichi, who own Parvaz Film Corp., which produces cable TV shows for the Persian community. It is one of five employers listed on the government’s blacklist. According Mojdeh Shahriar, an immigration lawyer who represents Aminian and Bakht, Parvaz Film had promised the couple jobs that, apparently, did not exist. The $15,000 was supposedly charged to cover Bakht’s work permit and the company’s Labour Market Opinion, a screening process conducted to ensure a business has been unable to find a Canadian to fill the position.
AC TREE C
See TFW, p9
RE
Call Bob - Your Certified Arborist FREE ESTIMATES - FULLY INSURED
BOB FITZ-JAMES ....... 604-467-0333