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Friday, January 9, 2015
SERVING MISSION SINCE 1908
Lawsuit cost district more than $70,000 Documents shed light on council decision to settle pharmacy case
Tyler OLSEN ABBOTSFORD NEWS
Newly released documents by the District of Mission show the municipality spent more than $60,000 unsuccessfully defending itself in a lawsuit it eventually concluded it was destined to lose. A settlement reached in early 2013 – prior to the presiding judge making a final ruling – also saw the district pay $8,199 for the legal costs of the plaintiff, who alleged
the municipality failed to comply with the Local Government Act and acted in bad faith when it changed a bylaw to prohibit a pharmacy from opening on First Avenue. The total cost to the district was $70,028, with staff time not included in that number. In November of 2014, prior to the municipal election, council unanimously voted to release documents relating to the court case. Those documents, including emails from
the district’s lawyers and minutes from closed sessions of council, shed new light on the origins of the bylaw, and the resulting legal action. In February 2012, a group approached the district to inquire about the likelihood of obtaining a business licence for a medical marijuana dispensary downtown, according to the documents. Two months later, on April 17, the district received an application
to build a medical clinic and pharmacy for a First Avenue property. There was no mention made of marijuana, but the district began inquiring about how it could block the application. Two weeks later, on May 2, council ordered staff to prepare to overhaul its zoning bylaw to prohibit pharmacies and medical clinics in the downtown area. The company working to establish the pharmacy said they had no
intentions to be involved in medical marijuana and filed a lawsuit, saying it had received assurances such an operation was allowed and alleging the district had operated in bad faith. The company said it was losing $17,500 per month because it had already recruited a pharmacist and pharmacy technician and was paying mortgage and other building costs. The city however, said the buildCONTINUED ON 3
CAROL AUN PHOTO
A Seventh Avenue residence involved in an armed home invasion on Wednesday had 18 visits from Mounties during 2014.
Cash stolen in armed home invasion Carol Aun
MISSION RECORD
Two armed suspects forced their way into a home on Seventh Avenue, near Sharpe
Street, Wednesday morning and fled with about $400 in cash. According to police, a 47-year-old male resident was in the backyard when two
suspects carrying a knife and a sawed-off shotgun approached him from the alley around 9 a.m. The suspects forced the man into the house before
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fleeing with cash from the home. Three other people were inside the house at the time, and nobody was injured. The suspects fled the area in a grey 2008
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Pontiac Grand Prix which was reported stolen from Surrey earlier in the day. Both suspects are described as being in their mid-20s and
between 5’6” to 6’ in height. The first suspect had short brown hair with a medium build and a scarred upper lip. He was holding a
knife with a 6” blade and an orange handle. The second suspect was wearing a balaclava and a black CONTINUED ON 3
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