THE WEDNESDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
New View of mental health
Figaro weds in India
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AUG. 20, 2014 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Editorial/10 Tom Fletcher/10 Letters/11 Sports/19
Get your motor runnin’: PoCo celebrates in vintage style at annual downtown car show
TOP LEFT: BOB MCDONALD PHOTO; BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT: ELAINE FLEURY PHOTO
More than 500 cars packed into downtown Port Coquitlam for the annual Downtown Business Improvement car Show. The event attracted thousands of automobile enthusiasts, who got a chance to explore vehicles parked along Shaughnessy and the surrounding streets.
SD43 ready for Sept. 2 start District proceeding as normal ahead of new school year By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A Port Coquitlam family was lucky to avoid injury after their mobile camping trailer exploded in front of their home: See story on page 6.
With B.C. teacher talks taking place under a cone of silence and little to no news on the labour front, School District 43 is planning for various scenarios in case schools don’t open Sept. 2. However, in one respect, schools are proceeding as normal as administrators will be in their office beginning next
Monday to deal with new student registration. “ We ’ r e remaining hopeful for a settlement — we’re hoping schools MELISSA HYNDES will be back very quickly if not [Sept. 2], but very quickly,” said SD43 chair Melissa Hyndes. As the province’s negotiators and BC Teachers’ Federation work out their differences with mediator Vince Ready prepared
to step in once the two sides are closer, a cloud of anxiety hangs over SD43 teachers. C o q u i t l a m Te a c h e r s ’ Association president Charley King said he will attend the BCTF’s summer conference in Kamloops this weekend and will use the opportunity for learning and collaborating. But for most teachers the wait for a deal that includes provision for class size and composition resources is agonizing. “We’re just hanging tough at the moment,”King said.“I imagine there will more ups and downs before this thing is settled.”
Adding to the labour strife is uncertainty among laid off teachers about who will get some work in the 2014/15 school year after 600 teachers were laid off in the spring to save $13.4 million. King said the recall process is still taking place but “very slowly” and it’s not known how many teachers will be laid off permanently. He also took issue with a new government website offering resources for parents during the school strike. see WEBSITE, page 9