Surrey Now-Leader, April 27, 2023

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Policing transition

Locke ‘disgusted’ by SSC ‘new low’

Continued from A1

Coun. Doug Elford accuses Locke of “creating a double standard” by asking the provincial government for more police while “preventing” the 33 from patrolling the city’s streets.

“We have been advocating for more boots on the ground to protect Surrey residents, and these 33 experienced officers are ready to be deployed,” a statement attributed to Elford reads. “It is unacceptable that the RCMP is hindering the deployment of these officers and jeopardizing public safety.

“The safety of Surrey residents is not a bargaining chip for political gain,” said Elford. “The mayor and the RCMP must prioritize public safety over politics and allow these experienced SPS officers to patrol our streets to prevent crime.”

Coun. Mandeep Nagra called for the SPS officers’ immediate deployment. The two councillors also vow to call on the federal and provincial governments to intervene if this doesn’t happen.

A statement issued by the RCMP, attributed to Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, in charge of the Surrey RCMP, notes that the joint RCMP/SPS HR Plan – which includes SPS deployments – is overseen by a Surrey Policing Trilateral Transition Committee (SPTTC) that includes representatives from the City of Surrey as well as the provincial and federal governments.

“A decision from the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General on the future of policing in Surrey is anticipated in the very near future, which will guide next steps in regards to staffing. Surrey RCMP is currently fully staffed, with approximately 186 SPS officers deployed alongside RCMP officers,” Edwards’ statement reads.

Locke echoed this.

“The trilateral committee makes the decision on the deployment. It’s just a demonstration of their own ignorance,” she said of Nagra and Elford, “because they also know that deploying police resources is the responsibility of the RCMP, they are the POJ, they know that, Elford and Nagra know that, so this is just them playing politics. But the RCMP also know that it’s my expectation that they do their job and that includes the SPS officers. That is already in place.”

Asked who made the decision to not deploy the 33 officers, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth told reporters in Victoria Tuesday morning that “there is a plan in place to ensure safe and effective policing in Surrey, it has 734 officers is the base. The operational decisions are made by the RCMP who are the police of jurisdiction.”

Edwards said Surrey Mounties continue to work closely with “all our partners, including the integrated teams and the Metro Van-

couver Transit Police to “address the recent incidents on transit, including joint patrols of transit hubs.”

“Through collective efforts, violent crime decreased in 2022 and is down 14 per cent so far in 2023. Claims to the contrary is a blatant attempt to generate public fear, and disrespectful to all those impacted by the incidents, the judicial processes underway, and all officers working in Surrey,” Edwards concluded.

But in an April 18 letter to Locke and city council from Jessie Sunner, vice-chairwoman of the Surrey Police Board, Sunner noted that the HR plan – executed on May 4, 2022 under the direction of the trilateral committee – and “subsequent discussions with the RCMP” – provided that “35 SPS Experienced Officers would be deployed as Cohort 8 in March 2023.”

This number, she wrote, included 14 SPS recruits that were scheduled to graduate from the Justice Institute on March 10, 2023 but in February the RCMP advised the SPS it would accept the 14 graduating officers for deployment but no “Experienced Officers” would be deployed in March.

“The parties held subsequent discussions on the RCMP’s unilateral decision that were unsuccessful in changing the RCMP’s decision,” Sunner told Locke and council.

“The unilateral decision of the RCMP to accept no SPS Experienced Officers for deployment in March and to deny all lateral moves of SPS Officers, put SPS behind in fulfilling the agreed upon HR Plan,” Sunner protested. “The HR Plan stipulates that SPS should have deployed 260 Assigned Officers by March of 2023. To date, SPS has deployed 220 officers, 40 less than the agreed to number.”

Meantime, the SSC press release states Elford’s and Nagra’s “condemnation comes as Surrey faces a surge in violent crime, including gang shootings, multiple stabbings on transit, and an act of terrorism by ISIS

in recent weeks. The deployment of experienced SPS officers could help prevent such incidents in the future.

“As the police board chair, it is Mayor Locke’s responsibility to ensure that Surrey is safe. Elford and Nagra believe that the mayor has failed in her duty to protect the community and is putting the safety of Surrey residents at risk,” the press release states.

Locke noted that in the previous council Elford and Nagra voted against any increases to the Surrey RCMP.

“For four years, no additional officers,” she said. “And that went back to 2018. In that period of time, we increased the population of this city by over 54,000 people and they said no police for four years. So to me, this is just them playing political games with the recent tragedy and I think that is so disappointing that they would do that, adding that kind of pain to families by suggesting that those unpredictable events would have been prevented, that’s an all-time low for them but certainly for politics.”

Locke called the SSC press release “disgraceful.

“This is just them playing politics with really tragic events that have happened in our city,” Locke told the Now-Leader on Monday. “I’m actually disgusted by this press release. It’s shocking to me that they would be that cold-hearted to put that out. As I said it’s a new low, a new low even for them.”

The mayor was was still at press time expecting Farnworth to render his long-awaited decision this week on whether Surrey should retain the RCMP as its police of jurisdiction or if the SPS should replace it.

The next meeting of the Surrey Police Board, of which Locke is the chairwoman, is set for 4 p.m. today (April 27). Items on the agenda include year-to-date expenditures and updates from Chief Constable Norm Lipinski.

“The safety of Surrey residents is not a bargaining chip for political gain.”

– Doug Elford

“It’s shocking to me that they would be that cold-hearted to put that out.”

– Brenda Locke

City council

Budget passes with bickering

Tom Zytaruk tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

Surrey council finalized the city’s budget 2023 – with a 12.5 per cent property tax increase – by approving a string of related bylaws on April 17, but not without some political shots from councillors.

Coun. Rob Stutt accused Coun. Annis of flip-flopping on the budget. She, and Councillors Mandeep Nagra and Doug Elford voted against final adoption of the related bylaws on April 17.

Stutt noted that after the March 6 public hearing, Annis moved to limit the general tax increase to no more than 12.5 per cent in total.

“I find it somewhat difficult that councillor Annis in particular has reversed her opinion on all of these motions,” Stutt said.

Annis replied that she included a “friendly amendment” that the tax hike would be held at “up to” 12.5 per cent and she was “really hoping that staff would find a way to be able to come in less, because I just don’t think our taxpayers in Surrey can afford a 12.5 increase in their taxes in addition to tax increases in their utilities and other taxes as well.”

Stutt didn’t buy it.

The motion, he noted, reads to limit the tax increase to no more than 12.5 per cent total.

“So to my mind that would suggest that she did approve the 12.5 per cent total tax increase.”

To this, Annis replied on a point of order that she wanted to clarify that wasn’t her intention.

“My intention was to ask, to do a friendly amendment so it would be up to 12.5 per cent, I was not looking to approve a 12.5 per cent tax increase,” she said. “I’ve not felt since the get-go that that would be appropriate for our Surrey residents.”

Stutt charged that Annis is “more a contrarian than anything else,” adding “she hasn’t offered any solu-

tions to any issues she raises. If that were the case I think I’d be more inclined to listen.”

Nagra and Annis also opposed final adoption of a bylaw to increase by 6.8 per cent – in keeping with Vancouver Consumer Price Index annual average for inflation – the secondary plan and infill area amenity contribution as well as affordable housing, capital project and community specific capital project community amenity contributions rates.

and “this is not the time” to add more cost to developers.

The 6.8 per cent rate increase was approved.

Coun. Harry Bains remarked that if the city doesn’t charge developers “at least the rate of inflation, we’re not going to tax people appropriately. Where are these funds going to come from?”

Annis replied that city hall needs, like Surrey households, to look at how it manages its finances.

“Times are tight for the residents of Surrey, times are tight for the city of Surrey and sometimes we have to make hard choices. We can’t just be spending residents money like it’s not our own and to expect our city to be passing on in excess of 12.5 per cent, because remember, that doesn’t include our utility taxes as well.

“We need to be looking for how can we save money, how can we do things more efficiently?” Annis told her council colleagues. “I think there’s many ways that we can look at that and we should be doing that first and foremost before we’re just raising taxes. It’s an easy thing to do to keep raising taxes, it’s not so easy to look at where your costs are and how we can be more efficient.”

Coun. Gordon Hepner also weighed in.

“This is not the right time to make any sort of increases as a lot of projects are already struggling with high interest rates and other cost involved with the development and the material cost is high and there are a number of other hikes that the development community saw recently so I think this is not the right time to add more cost to the projects,” Nagra said. “So maybe if we can delay this, I will support this in future but not at this time.”

Annis agreed, noting the city is trying to build more affordable housing

“To hear the words of other councillors that are not wanting to work in a cohesive manner to the betterment of the city is disturbing,” he remarked.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said this year’s budget “has not been an easy one for anybody.”

“It’s certainly not the budget we ever were hoping to pass but it’s the one we were dealt,” she said. “Having the complication of having basically two police departments running at the same time has put immense challenges, fiscal challenges on this city and that was the challenge that was put not only before this council but before this city and will be.”

Stutt Annis

She hasn’t offered any solutions to any issues she raises. If that were the case I think I’d be more inclined to listen.

Rob Stutt

School district

Politicans ‘can’t continue to ignore’ needs of Surrey, says school board

Trustees pass motion to plead with ministry for more money

Sobia Moman Black Press Media

The Surrey school board has unanimously passed a motion to send a “strongly-worded” letter to the Ministry of Education and Child Care to plead for more money to address over-crowding in the district’s schools.

During the board’s regular meeting last week (April 19), Trustee Terry Allen brought forward a motion to write a letter to the provincial government “clearly outlining the dissatisfaction” with next year’s school budget.

According to Surrey Schools officials, no figures have yet been projected for the 2023-2024 school year; those are to be presented to the board for approval on May 10. The current-year budget, to June 30, is $970.3 million, while for the 20212022 school year, $922.8 million was approved.

It is no secret that schools in Surrey – the largest district in B.C. – have been running over-capacity, with more students learning inside portables, separated from many of their peers and farther from washrooms, libraries and the larger school community. The situation is exacerbated by enrolment numbers throughout the district this year that are more than double what was projected.

More than 2,200 new students have been enrolled in the Surrey school district this year, when the funding was for 750.

If a solution is not brought to the table, Allen said, schools will have to start stacking portables on top of one another. They are also taking away students’ play areas, he added.

“Government, no matter what government, can’t continue to ignore the needs of the Surrey school district, but more importantly, the students of Surrey.”

Allen McNally

In February, the board met with Education Minister Rachna Singh, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, city councillors, local MLAs and others to discuss the needs of the district. Multiple trustees said the meeting went well, but they also agreed that action is what is needed.

“I’m tired of us sitting in committee meetings, wringing our hands about this and really not doing anything and trying to be good and meet with the MLAs and hope that they understand, and that obviously hasn’t worked,” said Trustee Laurae McNally.

“This is the worst I have ever, ever seen it and I think we need to be very strong and very firm and let our community know exactly how serious this is. Never mind the situation along the SkyTrain route, it’s all the growth in the district.

“Our students and our staff deserve much better.”

In an emailed response, Singh said the ministry is “committed to delivering” modern, safe schools for kids and families, and that “over half a billion dollars in new funding” will create 10,000 new seats – the equivalent of eliminating 400 portables.

Efforts are continuing “as we make up for years of infrastructure deficits left by the old government,” Singh said in the April 21 email.

At the board meeting, Trustee Garry Thind pointed to a promise by former premier John Horgan that, if elected, he would get rid of all portables in Surrey within four years. He was voted in as B.C.’s premier in May 2017.

“We had about 250 portables back in 2017, we are at 360 portables right now and we are going over 400 portables in September,” Thind said.

While Ministry of Education and Child Care officials said six new schools and 11 school expansions have been completed in Surrey since 2017, school trustees said adding expansion after expansion to existing schools is not sustainable in the board’s eyes because land space is limited.

The budget the district receives is far from sufficient, because the cost of the portables comes out of that budget, Allen said.

Another concern is the wait-time between the approval of a new school site by the ministry to the actual groundbreaking. Trustee and Vice-Chair Gary Tymoschuk noted that a new school, Ta’talu Elementary, received approval in 2020 and is now under construction, while Snokomish Elementary was approved in 2021 and has yet to break ground.

Both were named by the ministry as among five projects underway to address enrolment growth.

“If somebody came along to us today and said ‘We’ll build you two new schools,’ not one of these students would go to that school for five years,” said Allen.

Larsen, who is from Fleetwood, said that development in the area, especially with SkyTrain coming, has affected families.

“The students who move to the (Fleetwood) area cannot attend that school. It is full. They need to bus to Frankhurt or to Enver Creek so you can imagine as parents, you buy a house with the school across the street and then you realize your child can’t attend that school and this is now even before the SkyTrain’s gone through,” Larsen said.

Tymoschuk described the situation the school district is going through as “dire.” “It’s bad and it’s getting worse.”

– With files from Tracy Holmes

What do you think?

z Email us at newsroom@ surreynowleader.com.

TheseapplicationsareatthePublicHearingstage,whichisacriticaltimeforpublicinput.

Pleaseseesurrey.caforPublicHearingitemslocatedsouthofColebrookRoad/52AvenueandCloverdale.

“SurreyComprehensiveDevelopmentZone115(CD115),Bylaw,2023,No.20922”

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“SurreyOfficialCommunityPlanBylaw, 2013,No.18020,AmendmentBylaw, 2023,No.20923” “SurreyComprehensiveDevelopmentZone113 (CD113),Bylaw,2023,No.20924”

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PurposeofBylaws: Theapplicantisrequestingtoamend theOfficialCommunityPlan(OCP),Table7A:LandUse DesignationExceptionsbyaddingsitespecificpermission forthesubjectsiteshownshadedingreyonthelocation maptopermitadensityupto2.35FARwithinthe“Multiple Residential”designation.Theproposalalsoincludes rezoningthesamesitefromSingleFamilyResidentialZone toComprehensiveDevelopmentZoneinordertodevelop a6-storeyapartmentbuildingwithapproximately152dwellingunitsandundergroundparkingona consolidatedsiteinGuildford.

“SurreyZoningBy-law,1993,No.12000,TextAmendmentBylaw,2023,No.20930”

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Business

ENGAGE

Kalmar calls it quits

Once popular, the Newton restaurant is dark and doors are chained shut

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Last Thursday the doors of Surrey’s Kalmar Restaurant were chained shut, lights turned off, tables set but empty, and no sign of life inside.

The long-established eatery has closed, but it’s not clear exactly when, why or whether it’s permanent.

Kalmar was once a popular place to eat in Newton, in the 8000-block of King George Boulevard.

At around noon April 20 a sign on the door said a Monday-morning men’s prayer breakfast has moved to Fresgo Inn, in Whalley.

Nearby, a man sat on the ground near a shopping cart full of stuff.

“It’s been closed for about a week,” he said.

Open for breakfast and lunch only in recent times, Kalmar served pancakes, eggs, sandwiches, burgers, wraps and more.

“The restaurant industry is hard!” exclaimed Newton BIA executive director Philip Aguirre, who operates Old

Food

Surrey Restaurant eight blocks south, on 72 Avenue.

“A free-standing building like the Kalmar location has a massive lease and property tax bill. Profit margins are tight and competition is everywhere. You better be good at what you do and even then it might not be enough.”

On Facebook over the weekend, the “We Grew Up in Surrey So We Remember” page was flooded with memories of Kalmar after someone posted about the restaurant closure.

“That place was the best under original owners John

and Helen. It has NEVER been as good since then and I’m actually surprised it stayed open this long,” one person wrote.

“I went a couple of times long time ago and never understood the hype,” another posted. “I’m not surprised at all it has closed its doors. Now if Fresgos closes I’ll be upset!”

Wrote another person: “So sad, my family basically grew up going to the Kalmar weekly, lot of memories — the old Kalmar too, beside Pay ‘N’ Save gas, good times.”

Praguery serves ice cream with a twist

There’s no shortage of ice cream shops near the White Rock pier, where Maya’s, Crazy Cows, Marble Slab, Ricardo’s, The White, Ocean Rock Cafe and Seaside Scoops are all located within a block or two of the wooden landmark.

Enter Praguery, which sells signature “chimney cakes” and ice cream in a shop shared with Coho Eatery’s burgers and pizza, across from the museum.

The handmade, coneshaped chimney cakes are a twist on Czech street food.

Prague-raised founder/ owner Jaroslav Mestka opened the “brick and mortar” shop April 14, some seven years after launching the venture as a food truck in Vancouver. In the fall of 2020 a Praguery shop was opened at Guildford Town

Centre, but has since closed.

“When we did the pop-up in Guildford we had really good feedback there,” Mestka said. “When we left the place, we got a lot of messages from people, questions, asking, ‘Hey guys, where did you go? Are you coming back?’ We wanted to stay in the area, and that’s why we’re on Marine Drive now.”

After moving to Vancouver in 2014, Mestka wanted to make and sell crepes, but a trip back home changed his plans.

“I went to Prague to see my parents, took one street wrong and ended up at a bakery close to Charles Bridge, the famous bridge,” Mestka recalled.

“That’s where I first saw the cone-shape pastry with the ice cream – I thought, that’s it. Ding! There was a huge line, and it tasted good.”

Elsewhere in B.C., this summer Praguery will operate food trucks in downtown Vancouver, at the base of Sea to Sky Gondola, Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam and at the McArthurGlen shopping mall in Richmond, near the airport.

Tom Zillich

Outside the closed Kalmar restaurant in Newton on April 20 at 8076 King George Blvd. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

Praguery operators Jaroslav Mestka, right, and Mirka Cadrova with sweet treats at White Rock Beach. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Some Surrey restaurants are hyped in a seven-page feature in the May 2023 edition of “Food & Wine,” a monthly American magazine.

The city is named among “the next great food cities” in an item written by Vancouver-based freelancer Bianca Bujan, focused on how “unparalleled diversity” puts Surrey’s dining scene on the map.

The magazine also names cities in France, Italy, Japan, Mexico and other countries in a story, since posted on Discover Surrey’s website (discoversurreybc.com) as a PDF.

“Surrey is known for welcoming people from around the globe,” Angeline Chew, executive director of Surrey’s desti-

nation marketing organization, said in a news release.

“We are thrilled that Surrey is finally being recognized as an exciting multicultural food destination, and look forward to sharing all the delicious flavours that Surrey has to offer with the world.”

Highlighted in the magazine is Discover Surrey’s “Spice Trail,” a map of restaurants in the city’s six neighbourhoods, along with My Shanti, Chacha’s Tandoor & Grill, Chatora, Kerala Kitchen, Clove, Afghan Kitchen, The Taste of Africa and Guacamole

Industry Bus Tour shows Surrey’s ‘economic assets’

where the tour buses will return at around 1 p.m., after lunch.

Mexican Grill.

“In this Vancouver suburb,” Bujan writes, “hyper-local regional cuisine is a delicious draw for the hungry traveler. The city is home to one of the largest Indian populations in Canada, interwoven with immigrants from Africa, other parts of Asia, and beyond, and that diversity is reflected in the city’s rich food culture.

“At restaurant after restaurant, you’ll find traditional meals made with love by the people who have come to call Canada home.”

Some of Surrey’s “economic assets” will be showcased during another Surrey Industry Bus Tour on Friday (April 28).

The morning event, organized by Surrey Board of Trade, sees paying guests pick between three buses that will tour to 10 businesses, for a chance to learn about the city’s economic climate.

“This innovative event showcases Surrey’s industries and Surrey’s future developments,” says a post on SBOT’s website. “The tour showcases some of the unique businesses that already exist in Surrey and what has made them successful.”

At the end, Invest Vancouver consultant Vlad Oujegov will talk about top industry clusters and job creation for the region, and how Surrey fits into the region’s plans.

Registration and breakfast starts at 7:15 a.m. at Surrey Board of Trade’s office (#101-14439 104 Ave.),

Bus #1 will tour to HealthTech Connex, Heppell’s Potato Corp., Russell Brewing and Legion Veterans Village, while Bus #2 will go to Secure-Rite Mobile Storage, CIMtech Mfg. Inc., Mainland Whisky and Legion Veterans Village. Bus #3 will make stops at Devbek Fabrication and Millwrighting, TDH Experiential Fabricators, Donia Farms Ltd. and Legion Veterans Village.

General-admission fees are $85 for a full tour, or $70 lunch only; members of Surrey Board of Trade pay $10 less for both. Register online at businessinsurrey.com or call 604581-7130. Seats are limited.

Tour sponsors include Envision Financial, Lee & Associates and Gray Line Westcoast Sightseeing. Looking ahead, tickets are still available for Surrey’s Top 25 Under 25 awards on May 3. The event celebrates the award-winning initiatives of Surrey’s youth (25 years old or younger).

19583FraserHwy,Surrey,BCV3S6K7•604-532-2184

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Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Food served at Chatora restaurant in Surrey. (Photo: Ian Harland/Discovery Surrey)

Surrey among world’s ‘next great food cities,’ magazine says

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PursuanttoSection464(2)oftheLocalGovernmentActandSection51.2of“CouncilProcedure Bylaw,2004,By-lawNo.15300”,asamended,providesforwhenalocalgovernmentisnot requiredtoholdapublichearingonaproposedzoningbylaw.

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Permit: Theapplicantisrequestingtorezonethe subjectsiteshownshadedingreyonthelocation mapfromOne-AcreResidentialZonetoSingle FamilyResidential(13)Zoneinordertoallow subdivisionintofoursinglefamilylotsandonelotto beconveyedtotheCityforconservationpurposes.

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New

RapidBus route coming to busiest bus corridor in region

Beau Simpson beau.simpson@surreynowleader.com

Construction has started in preparation for a new RapidBus service coming to the Scott Road corridor, the busiest bus corridor south of the Fraser River.

Details about the R6 Scott Road RapidBus were unveiled in an announcement at the Newton Exchange bus lot Friday morning (April 14) held by TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn, B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming and Delta Mayor George Harvie.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke was expected to be at the announcement as well, but did not attend due to a “conflicting event.”

Expected to be in service by early 2024, TransLink says the R6 will provide “more convenient and reliable service with fewer stops” to help residents better connect with SkyTrain, making their commute faster by up to 10 minutes in each direction.

The new R6 service will be TransLink’s largest service expansion since 2020.

TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said it will help keep up with rapidly growing demand

Crime prevention

for transit in Surrey and Delta, which is now exceeding pre-pandemic ridership levels and experiencing Metro Vancouver’s strongest ridership growth.

Road improvements are now underway to deliver more dedicated bus lanes, upgraded bus stops and a new bus lot near Newton Exchange. In addition to RapidBus, the Scott Road corridor has been identified as a potential future corridor for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Transport 2050: Ten-Year Priorities.

The R6 will provide express, limited-stop service between Scott Road SkyTrain Station and Newton Exchange alongside Route 319, which currently serves the corridor. Route 319 is the busiest bus route south of the Fraser River, and the fifth busiest bus route in Metro Vancouver. When the R6 is in service, Route 319 will continue to operate its regular route, servicing every stop along the corridor.

The $33-million capital improvements are paid for through the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision, of which the Government of British Columbia contributed 40 per cent of all capital costs.

Feds give Surrey $3.95M to fight gang recruitment

Federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino and his provincial counterpart Mike Farnworth were in Newton Friday to earmark nearly $4 million for a Surrey anti-gang program.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke welcomed the funds for Surrey’s Anti-gang Family Empowerment Program.

“We have helped almost 5,000 youth in Surrey who were at risk to stay out of the gang lifestyle,” she said.

The announcement was made at the New-

ton Recreation Centre.

Surrey Coun. Linda Annis, also executive director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, welcomed the $3.95 million.

“Gangs are recruiting children as young as 10, so when it comes to gang prevention, we need to start early,” she said. “The fact is the gang lifestyle usually ends in just two ways: jail or death, so gang prevention programs really need to connect with children, teens and their families.”

Tom Zytaruk

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming (at podium) flanked by TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn at the Friday (April 14) announcement in Surrey about rapid bus service. (Photo: Tom Zytaruk)

HMCS ‘Interpretation’

You might say it’s our interpretation of Surrey’s policing transition mess, now in its fifth year, that it has inflicted and continues to inflict severe intellectual and gastronomic indigestion on Surrey residents.

Kind of like sea-sickness.

Consider it more a statement of fact, although a bit purple with the imagery.

At this time of writing, all hands on deck were expecting Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth to bring his decision to port sometime this week as to, once and for all, who will police Surrey into the foreseeable future – the Surrey RCMP or the Surrey Police Service.

As we’ve waited, a steady flow of acrimony, ‘shocking developments,’ calls for resignations, insults, confusion, bombast, rude and childish behaviour, and sophistry have washed up on Surrey’s shores, not to mention the privilege of collectively paying roughly $8 million in taxes per month to maintain two

police forces. Arrrr, pirates say. This perfect storm will some day subside. But for how long the upset will last, though, is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, as everyone stares into the deep, a new beast has crawled up from the abyss and into Surrey’s political lexicon: Interpretation.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke recently invoked the term to anchor her perhaps pollyanna position that a boatload of mayors approved a motion to support Surrey in its bid to keep the RCMP here despite the author of the motion, Delta Mayor George Harvie, indicating otherwise.

Despite the sea of disagreement Surrey’s policing transition is, surely we can all agree that politicians must not rely on “interpretation” in an effort to ride out a storm.

It’s just not seaworthy policy for public governance.

– Now-Leader

Wages must keep rising as cost of living continues to skyrocket

to $20 an hour – will cause layoffs, or small firms will just go out of business.

backpack programs in schools that send kids home with food for the weekends.

to move, you’d better be willing to either pay a whole lot more, or accept a much smaller living space.

ThePainfulTruth

The business community in B.C has come together, not surprisingly, to criticize the provincial NDP government for sticking to its promise to raise the minimum wage by the rate of inflation.

The argument is that the increase from $15.65 to $16.75 an hour will impact the ability of small businesses to keep operating. The increased cost of staffing – whether it’s raises to minimum wage workers’ salaries, or pressure to give raises to those making around $17

I agree that the NDP should not be increasing the minimum wage based on inflation.

They should be basing it on the cost of housing or food.

For example the cost of groceries in Canada was up by 10.6 per cent annually as of February. That was double the then-current overall inflation rate.

If you’re living on minimum wage (or the closer you are to it) then groceries are, proportionally, a much larger part of your monthly spending than they are if you make six figures. There’s a reason why people with jobs have to go to food banks, and why we have

So you could argue that the actual increase should have been 10.6 per cent this year alone. At least that would have let people making the lowest legal wage in B.C. keep up with their food bills!

But what about housing?

Well, if we look at the cost of renting, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), in 2022, rent overall surged by 6.3 per cent last year –pretty close to the rate of inflation.

But that’s not the whole story. The average rent for a vacant unit was 43 per cent higher than overall average rent for an occupied unit – in other words, if you want

Should we look at the price of real estate over the last decade? Maybe we could index the minimum wage to that?

I’m sure it’s true that increasing the minimum wage does make things harder for businesses, particularly small businesses with tight margins

But not increasing the minimum wage makes things much, much harder for their employees, who are actual human beings who deserve to be able to buy food and pay for decent housing, and have something left over at the end of the month.

For decades across North Amer-

ica, minimum wages stagnated. In B.C., 20 years ago, the minimum wage was $8. The price of a detached house in the suburbs of the Lower Mainland was edging above $300,000. This year, the minimum wage is a little more than double what it was in 2003. The price of a detached house is north of $1.3 million, having more than quadrupled over the same time.

Wages haven’t kept up with the cost of living for decades. Raising the minimum wage by the rate of inflation is doing the bare minimum to keep workers out of dire poverty.

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Matthew Claxton is a reporter with the Langley-Advance Times, a sister paper to the Now-Leader.

Matthew Claxton

Why bother to vote at all if certain results are ignored?

The Editor,

The 2018 municipal election results in Surrey were taken so seriously that no scrutiny, analysis or public debate was needed before

undertaking the huge task of replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force. In the 2022 election, with the economic and social impact of a global pandemic in-

terfering with their lives, and after the tragic Nova Scotia mass shooting, Surrey residents still voted for the slate that promised to reverse that decision and keep the RCMP. Now, months of deliberation and analysis of the situation was needed, and using the horrific event in Nova Scotia to their advantage, the government delays making a decision on the matter in case those same Surrey voters don’t know what’s good for themselves or their city after all.

I’m wondering why we even bother to vote if politicians can pick and choose which election results they are willing to follow.

Donna Bil, Surrey

Fiasco has gone on too long

The Editor, We are getting a little tired of reading the “he said, she said” and watching the reality series, Will the Real Police Force Stand Up?. This has gone on too long. The whole episode should have gone to a referendum to begin with, especially when the voter turnout is so low.

Don and Joanne Baxter, Surrey

Locke let us down on 84 Avenue

The Editor, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has said on the record that she thinks the 84 Avenue project is “completely wrong.” In July 2021, she promised that if she were to be elected mayor, “the road will not be finished.”

I think Surrey citizens deserve an answer as to why the road was not stopped as promised. I have fought for two-plus years as many others have. Bear Creek Park is our park, why aren’t we allowed to be heard?

If City Hall is our house, why is no one answering the question why the road has not been stopped? My complex voted on a promise the road would be stopped, which did not happen. I fought hard to get Locke voted in as mayor, since she was the only one who said she would stop the road.

George Zaklan fought every time to stop this road. George in honour of you I will keep fighting to have it stopped.

It is truly a shame that taxpaying citizens have to live like this. We have no voice even though our taxes keep climbing.

Julie Cotton, Surrey

• It’s tradition in my neighbourhood to place free items on the curb for others to consider. Over the years, my household has followed this practise, putting out pieces in hopes that it makes someone else happy. I was shocked to find one of my items smashed to bits.This was done intentionally. I cleaned up all the pieces. Rotten tomatoes to the person(s) who did this. Lesson learned, I won’t be putting out anything again.

• Rotten tomatoes for the mayor for her recent outrageous antics. How can you condone new Surrey Police Service staff being held back from patrolling our streets while the remaining RCMP members continue to work piles of overtime? Don’t you think you have a responsibility to consider the safety of our citizens and the burden you are putting on taxpayers? Do you feel so obligated to the Mounties and their union that supported your campaign that nothing else matters? Resign before you embarrass yourself and our city any more.

• Rotten tomatoes to all the debt Doug McCallum left the City of Surrey in.This is why our taxes are so high. Where is his apology? Rotten tomatoes to his legacy.

• Rotten tomatoes to the low-life in Fleetwood who threatened an employee at a corner store and then harassed me.You are without a doubt sick in the head. Not to worry, you’ve been reported to the police and they have you on file. Lay off

the drugs and grow up. Roses go to the police officer who took care of the problem. He came to assist me very quickly when I flagged him down. Your hard work knows no bounds, so thank you very much for all your help.

• Rotten tomatoes to those criticizing Mayor Locke. Those TransLink meetings are not straightforward.The mayors all couldn’t even get straight what they thought happened.

For breaking news and the latest developments on these stories, visit us online at surreynowleader.com

Crime

Surrey man faces 12 charges related to child exploitation probe

Anna Burns anna.burns@surreynowleader.com

A Surrey man is facing 12 charges in connection with a child exploitation investigation.

Tanner Adam Duffy, 30, of Surrey, is charged with four counts of luring a child under age 16, three counts of possessing child pornog-

raphy and one count each of sexual interference, sexual assault, assault, forcible confinement and making sexually explicit material available to a child under age 16.

Surrey RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn said the Surrey RCMP Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit started investigating Duffy in November 2021 after receiving

Surrey man fined $878 for painting badminton court on city street

Anna Burns anna.burns@surreynowleader.com

A Surrey man has been ordered to pay the City of Surrey nearly $900 to cover the costs associated with removing badminton lines he painted on a Surrey street during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lian Gong Tu’s neighbours provided a signed statement to the B.C. Civil Resolutions Tribunal stating that during the lockdown in April 2020, they began using the road, which is a cul-de-sac, as a pickleball court. The neighbours used chalk to paint the pickleball court but later used paint.

Tu later painted a badminton court next to it, the statement read.

The city provided an emailed statement from a witness with the initial EH, that stated they saw Tu paint the badminton court lines. They did not see who painted the pickleball court lines.

The city stated it cost $1,623.33 to remove the paint from the road.

Tu felt he, “is not responsible to reimburse Surrey for its claimed costs to remove the paint lines from the road because he is not the only person who painted the road and Surrey is not seeking payment from anyone else,” he stated.

Tribunal member Leah Volkers stated in the decision that the city did not provide a breakdown of costs to remove just the badminton court lines. Since Tu only painted one court, the tribunal decided that Tu was only ordered to pay around half the costs.

The B.C. Civil Resolutions Tribunal ruled in a decision posted on Monday (April 24) that Tu must pay the City of Surrey $878.14 to cover the costs the city incurred when removing the paint.

Whalley

a tip from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children concerning two Facebook accounts on which explicit content is alleged to have been shared.

“Through the investigation, two young teenage girl victims were identified from Surrey, and West Shore. The alleged offences occurred between July 2020 and

February 2022,” Munn noted.

“The investigation involved communications through many online platforms including Facebook and Snapchat, and the alleged suspect commonly used the screen name Tanner boy.”

Duffy has been released from custody with conditions. He is not allowed to go to any public place

where anyone under the age of 16 might be and is not allowed to have access to the internet or have any contact with anyone under 16.

The Surrey RCMP encourages parents to have open communication with their children about how to stay safe online, as well as to monitor online activity. Online resources are available at cybertip.ca.

Roughly 100 people gathered at Holland Park in Whalley on April 20 to pay their respects to Ethan Bespflug, the teen who was stabbed to death April 11 while riding on public transit in Surrey.

Barry Slocombe, the funeral celebrant at the “informal” celebration of life, noted

that Ethan liked gemstones, rocks and exploring the Great Outdoors.

The gathering heard from family and friends.

“I don’t have much to say because I feel like basically my whole being is gone, my soul is gone with Ethan,” said Holly Indridson, his mother. “He was the most gentle, kind, polite soul, he was so thoughtful, he paved the way for his brothers and sisters. He set such a good example of how to live life and how you should be, helping others and helping strangers.

“Just that morning he was helping his sister learn how to ride a bike.

“I just hope his memory carries on and there’s change,” she said, “and that people can learn from these kinds of acts. Just be kind, show love.”

The 17-year-old died in hospital after being stabbed April 11 while riding the Route 503 bus in the 9900-block of King George Boulevard.

Kaiden Mintenko, 20, of Burnaby is charged with second-degree murder. His next appearance in Surrey provincial court is set for May 8.

“It’s sad, it’s unfortunate, it’s tragic,” Melissa Dion, a family friend, told the Now-Leader

Holly Indridson, centre, at the celebration of life on April 20 for her son Ethan Bespflug, who was stabbed to death on a Surrey bus on April 17. (Photo: Anna Burns)

‘Just be kind, show love,’ slain teen’s mom says

People gather to celebrate life of Ethan Bespflug, who was stabbed to death on Surrey bus

Tom Zytaruk tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

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Crime

Burnaby man arrested after stabbing on Surrey SkyTrain

Tom Zytaruk tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

A Burnaby man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of another man on SkyTrain in Surrey on April 15.

The victim and his girlfriend were riding through Surrey just before 1 a.m. when the suspect allegedly stabbed him.

Const. Travis Blair, of Metro Vancouver Transit Police, said paramedics met the victim at Surrey Central Station and took him to hospital while the suspect rode on to King George Station, and got off.

Blair said the 29-year-old suspect is “known to police,” who will recommend he be charged with assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

“The suspect was arrested on Friday, April 21 and has since been released with conditions not to possess knives or to have any contact with the victim,” Blair said. “His first court appearance has been scheduled for June 14, 2023, at Surrey provincial court.

“We thank the media and public for their assistance in sharing the suspect video and

photos. Everyone deserves to ride the transit system free from any form of harassment or physical assault. Transit Police would like to speak to any other passengers who were on board the SkyTrain on April 15 and witnessed the interaction between the suspect and victim.”

Police ask witnesses to contact the Metro Vancouver Transit Police at 604-515-8302 or text them at 87-77-77 and refer to file 20237065.

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Police released footage of the man they believe was behind a stabbing on a Surrey-area SkyTrain on April 15. (Image: Metro Vancouver Transit Police).

Clayton Heights

Surrey RCMP asking public for help in identifying human remains

Malin Jordan Black Press Media

The Surrey RCMP is asking for help in identifying a deceased man found Feb. 15 in a wooded area in the 19100-block of Fraser Highway in Clayton Heights.

At the time, police secured the area and blocked off access pending an investigation.

“Criminality is not believed to have been a factor in this death,” Cpl. Vanessa Munn, RCMP media relations officer, wrote in a press release April 25.

She added the Surrey RCMP general investigation unit has been working in partnership with B.C. Coroners Service to identify the man, but have so far been unable to do so.

“At this time, investigators have not established any connections with any ongoing missing persons investigations,” explained Munn.

The B.C. Coroners Service has identified several things about

the unknown man. He was between the ages of 20 and 50 at the time of his death. He was between 5’8” to 5’9.5” and had short black hair.

The man had a tattoo with the word “Angelica” in cursive writing on his left upper chest. He had a tattoo on his right shoulder of a “green and red sleeve.” He also had a surgical plate on a bone in his right forearm.

When police found the man’s remains, he was wearing a blue ball cap, blue jeans, black Globe brand men’s skate shoes, a white T-shirt and a blue Cheetah brand steel wrist watch.

Media relations officer Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha said Mounties didn’t receive a specific timeline from the coroner on when exactly the man died.

“The body was decomposed significantly,” she said. “Therefore, most likely, a few months.”

Police are asking anyone who may have information to call the RCMP at 604-599-0502.

Newton

Surrey’s Vaisakhi parade returned to Newton on Saturday (April 22) after a threeyear absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See more photos from the parade online at surreynowleader.com.

Vaisakhi parade draws thousands

Anna Burns anna.burns@surreynowleader.com

Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of Newton Saturday (April 22) for Surrey’s Vaisakhi Parade. It returned after a three-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The float-filled parade began at the Sikh temple (12885 85 Ave., Surrey), travelling along 124 Street to 75 Avenue, along 76 Avenue and

then on 128 Street before returning to the temple.

Hundreds of booths line the route as businesses and families handed out food and treats to parade-goers.

Jasnbet Bal, a student at the University of British Columbia, came to the parade with her mother from Calgary. Bal said they had heard about Surrey’s parade and wanted to experience it for themselves. Bal added that Calgary has a Vaisakhi

parade as well, but much smaller. Bal told the Now-Leader it was amazing to be in Surrey and be a part of the celebrations.

“It’s like a big deal within our community, culturally and religiously, so it’s good that we actually get to come out,” Bal said. – With files from Tom Zillich

To honourourfallensistersand brothers,the TeamstersUnion recognizestheNationalDayof Mourningtoraisesafetystandards andhealthcare atworkplaces byimplementingpolicies andpracticesthateliminate preventabletragedyandsickness.

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(Photo: Anna Burns)

Comedy

Mr. Dee on coaching volleyball, his Leafs, ‘Animal Control,’ coming back to the Bell

Tom

Gerry Dee has told jokes in Surrey before, but it’s been awhile – pre-pandemic, in fact.

But he’s back at Bell Performing Arts Centre with a show tonight (Thursday, April 27).

These days the Toronto-based comedian/actor is probably best known as host of “Family Feud Canada.” Before that it was “Mr. D,” the CBC sitcom that gave him six seasons of work playing a gym teacher who bumbles his way through social studies classes at a private school.

Now he has a role on FOXTV’s new Seattle-set comedy “Animal Control,” starring Joel McHale as a disillusioned animal-control officer. Dee plays mean-spirited commissioner Templeton Dudge.

“We filmed out there in the Vancouver area over the winter,” Dee explained in a phone call. “It’s a funny show, a great cast, and we’re really excited about the chance for another season.”

Dee says it was “a blast” filming “Animal Control,” but the commute sucked for him.

“Unfortunately I had to be back home for a bunch of stuff,” he said. “So I was flying to Vancouver, doing a day or two (of filming), then fly back. I did that for a couple of months, so other than that, the travel part, it was amazing. But you know, my kids are pretty active in sports and school, and that’s what kept me coming back home, and I wouldn’t do it any other way, to be honest.”

Dee, who has two daughters and a son with wife Heather, has taken up coaching elite-level volleyball camps for girls.

“In my previous life I ran a hockey school for years, a

high-level camp in summer in Toronto, mostly invited kids and funding through Pepsi,” Dee recalled. “We had Stamkos, Subban, Tavares, Skinner… so many kids who’d come. And now I’m doing it for girls volleyball, elite camps in June, with BioSteel. We’re getting the girls lined up right now, and we’ll stream it. I just saw a void. It’s such a great sport and I want to make it grow in Canada.”

Of Scottish-Irish descent, Gerard Francis-John Donoghue is a business-savvy entertainer who, on a whim at age 30, left teaching to do comedy. More than a decade ago Dee wrote a book, “Teaching: It’s Harder Than it Looks,” that became a national bestseller, and he could probably teach a course about making it in the world of comedy.

He’ll turn 55 year this year, and has lots on the go.

“I don’t know life not being busy, and I’m kind of bored when things aren’t busy,” Dee admitted. “So right now we’re not filming ‘Family Feud,’ but we are looking for new families to be on the show, and we’ll be back in August for Season 5. We’re waiting on ‘Animal Control,’ so I had this window from January to May where I took on this project (with volleyball).”

This month Dee is also touring the country on a “Bad Medicine” tour produced by Live Nation Entertainment, with B.C. dates in Surrey and Victoria.

“I talk a bit about being a hypochondriac and thinking I know about medicine,” Dee deadpanned. “But it’s really just something to title it, so people know it’s a new tour, coming out of a pandemic, laughter is the best medicine – you get it, you see it. It’s not that creative but I

Surrey’s free Earth Day

‘Party’ happens Saturday

Earth Day will be celebrated a week late in Surrey at another Party for the Planet, planned this Saturday (April 29) at Surrey Civic Plaza.

did my best, you know.

“With Live Nation,” he added, “we had a bunch of dates that got cancelled because of the pandemic, we moved some around, and I haven’t been out west in awhile. It’s good to be back. We’ll have a good night of laughs.”

Tour and ticket details are posted on gerrydee.com, or visit ticketmaster.ca

Known for being a fan of Toronto Maple Leafs, Dee is relatively optimistic about the team’s chances in the NHL playoffs this spring.

“Every year I think it’s the year for the Leafs,” he said before the start of the Leafs-Lightning series. “I have the same hope every year, that this is the year, and it feels we might get by the first round this year. I’m confident we’ll get by the first round this year, but after that, who knows.”

From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the City of Surrey’s free annual festival is a showcase of live entertainment by musicians, dancers, and environmental educators, along with a plant sale, clothing swap, food trucks and more.

On partyfortheplanet.ca, it’s described as “Western Canada’s largest, free Earth Day event in the heart of Surrey City Centre,” at 13450 104 Ave.

First held in 1970, Earth Day is marked annually on April 22, and Surrey’s Party for the Planet is always held on a Saturday close to that date.

This year, April 22 fell on a Saturday, which would make for perfect timing, but that day was already busy in Surrey with the return of the massive Vaisakhi

parade in Newton, so April 29 was chosen for the city’s Earth Day event to avoid conflict. Close to two dozen music, dance and other groups are booked to perform on three stages, from DJ A-Slam to hiphop dancers West. The plaza will also stage alt-rock band Sleepy Gonzales, funk-pop singer Rebecca Sichon, reggae artist Mivule, cover band Matt Cook-Contois & Erik Severinson, Glisha, North Surrey Dance, KP Glee Club, CircusWest and more. A plant sale hosted by Surrey Parks will sell native plants from $3 to $6. University Drive will include a rock-climbing wall, exhibitors and plant-based food trucks. The sustainable marketplace will see local vendors selling eco-friendly products, and a clothing swap involves free, lightly-used clothing items.

Tom Zillich

Toronto-based comedian/actor Gerry Dee is in Surrey at Bell Performing Arts Centre on Thursday, April 27. (Submitted photo)

Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Indie-rock band Sleepy Gonzales, described as “musical ADHD” on Light Organ Records’ website, will perform at Party for the Planet, held in the band’s Surrey hometown. (Photo: lightorganrecords.com)

Theatre

Beatles music, a wrestling ring and return of a hit at Bard on the Beach

Newton actor Rose stars in a reborn ‘As You Like It,’ which starts June 8

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

The most successful production in Bard on the Beach history is set to return to Vancouver with Beatles songs, a wrestling ring and an “Okanagan” forest.

Starting June 8 at Kitsilano’s Vanier Park, the annual Shakespeare festival will open its 34th season with the Beatles-infused production “As You Like It.”

The ’60s-era musical version of the romantic comedy, conceived and directed by Daryl Cloran, broke box-office records for BOTB in 2018, and has since toured North America.

“We are delighted to bring back the most successful production in Bard’s history,” Christopher Gaze, the theatre company’s artistic director, said in a news release. The cast will include actors who played in the 2018 production, and some new ones. Newton-raised actor Chelsea Rose (as Rosalind) appears in a show promo photo on the festival website, alongside Oscar Derkx (as Orlando).

Rose’s last big role in Vancouver was Maria in “The

Sound of Music” at the Arts Club Theatre Company’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage last fall.

With “As You Like It,” from wrestling ring to the middle of the “Okanagan” forest, the cast will perform Beatles songs live, Cloran notes.

“The songs we’ve chosen lend themselves perfectly to the Shakespearean text,” the director says. “The evolution of The Beatles through the ’60s is reminiscent of the free-spirited journey of the play’s main characters and the social and cultural evolution of Vancouver during that time.”

Added Cloran: “We’re working with choreographer and fight director Jonathan Purvis to literally bring audiences ringside, with an

homage to the excitement of All-Star Wrestling in the ’60s in Vancouver, including a preshow wrestling match, then we transform the stage into the forest of the Okanagan.”

The festival’s BMO Mainstage will also show Shakespeare’s political drama, Julius Caesar, and the Howard Family Stage will be busy with Henry V, followed by the interactive comedy Goblin:Macbeth

The production will involve some special events, including Bard Fireworks nights (July 22, 26 and 29), Family Days stagings (July 16, Aug. 20), Pride Night (July 24) and a “relaxed” performance (July 1 at 2 p.m.).

Ticket start at $30 on bardonthebeach.org, or call 604-739-0559.

Concerts at Softball City to feature rock, country

With charities in mind, a new concert series will bring rock and country music to South Surrey’s Softball City on a pair of Saturdays this summer.

Two Russell & Roots concerts will see Marianas Trench headline a rock show July 29, followed by a country concert Aug. 12 featuring LOCASH and other performers.

Capacity for each concert will be around 3,000 ticketholders on a diamond at the softball facility, with food and beverages trucks parked nearby, says marketing co-ordinator Ray McGill.

Lineups were announced Tuesday (April 25) for the two-part series, presented by Newton-based Russell Brewing and The Festival Company, a production company based in Vancouver.

Tickets are sold on russellandroots.com starting Fri-

day, April 28 at 10 a.m. Series organizers say net profits will be donated “back to the community, supporting several local organizations” including Surrey Fire Fighters, LIFTED youth and mental health and Softball City.

The CFOX radio station-presented rock concert July 29 will also feature Big Wreck, Default and The Wild.

Two weeks later, James Barker Band, Meghan Patrick and other artists will take the stage on country night, presented by 93.7 JR Country.

Tom Zillich

Actors Chelsea Rose (as Rosalind) and Oscar Derkx (Orlando) star in “As You Like It,” produced by Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver starting in June. (Submitted photo: Emily Cooper)

The band Marianas Trench will headline the Russell & Roots rock night on Saturday, July 29.

Pride Month kickoff

‘Drag’ gala to see 6 people transformed, one winner crowned

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

A drag show of a different kind is planned in Surrey where six people described as community leaders will be transformed and raise money for a charity of their choice.

The concept of Surrey Pride Society’s “So You Think You Can Drag?” gala was announced months ago, and this week the participants were revealed ahead of the May 27 event at South Surrey’s XBA dance studio.

They are Surrey Board of Trade boss

Anita Huberman, award-winning school teacher Annie Ohana, artist and workshop facilitator

Lyn Verra-Lay, Prospera Credit Union branch manager Sayan Baidya, Pivot Theatre’s Makayla Leonard and also Maddy, who works with seniors in care homes.

Their bios, chosen charities and drag names – “Miss Sassy-Pants” and “Delicious Judicious” among them – are showcased on Surrey

Pride’s social media channels, including Facebook

“They’re all coming in and getting madeover by professional makeup artists,” explained Martin Rooney, event organizer.

“Some are doing what we refer to as bio drag, women doing drag, and one is doing non-binary, one is doing a femaleto-male look. Then they’ll be presented in how they currently look in reference to how they ordinarily look, and the people in the room will then decide who they think is the best transformation, a vote.”

A winner will be crowned, and Surrey

Pride will match the winning participant’s pledges to a maximum of $5,000.

“These people are encouraged to perform so that they basically see what it’s like to be part of the drag community,” Rooney added.

“Our idea is to have community leaders who might not otherwise participate in something like this to stand up and show their support of the drag community, the rainbow community in Surrey, and also raise awareness of their specific charities.”

The chosen charities include the Mustang Justice program at LA Matheson Sec-

ondary, Surrey Food Bank, Surrey Pride’s seniors programming, It Gets Better Canada, White Rock Pride and Pivot Theatre Society.

Rooney, president of Surrey Pride, said the springtime fundraiser is timely, with recent examples of

“dragphobia” making headlines in B.C. and elsewhere.

“What it’s become about over the past couple of months is a chance to stand with the rainbow community, considering all the transphobia, homophobia and dragphobia out there.

So these people are willing to stand up in support of the art and the culture of drag.”

Early-bird tickets ($108) are sold until month’s end, and there are $50 tickets for people on limited incomes, on eventbrite.ca. Guests

are encouraged to dress in “Met Gala” fashion, with a prize for most outrageous costume.

The event will include drag performers Myria Le Noir, Carlotta Gurl and Jolene Queen Sloan, musician Richard Tichelman, appetiz-

ers, no-host bar and silent auction.

“We can fit around 100, 125 people, max,” at the venue, Rooney noted. “It’s the official kickoff to Pride Month.”

This year’s Surrey Pride Festival is planned June 24 at Surrey Civic Plaza.

Anita Huberman of Surrey Board of Trade, left, and school teacher Annie Ohana are among participants in a “So You Think You Can Drag?” fundraiser planned May 27. They and four others will be “made-over” during the charity-focused event. (File photos)

NEWTON NEWS NEWTONNEWS

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“Oh,youhaveplantainchips!” a happycustomersaidashestrolled throughtheaisles,fillinghisbasket withmuch-loveditems,from Mexicanchocolatetosalsa.It’s probablynotthefirsttime a firsttimecustomergotexcitedwhen theyfoundanarticletheyhadn’t seensincetheylefttheircountry oforigin.

Locatedrightacrossfromthe NewtonBusLoop,at#105-13737 72nd Avenue,HerenciaLatina Markethaseverythingyouneedto make a deliciousLatinAmerican meal. You’llfindshelvesstocked withvariousproductsfromSouth America,CentralAmerica,and Mexico,fromspicesandherbs tojuices,snacks,breakfastitems, andmeat.Theyalsohave a frozen anddairysectionwhere youcan findchorizo,Oaxacancheese, cotijaandotherpreparedfoods.

NataliaandFidelGonzalezcame toSurreyfromColumbiaover twentyyearsagoandraisedtheir twosonshere.Mateo,theiroldest son,was a paperboyfortheSurrey Leaderwhenhewasyoung.Now Mateoworksandhelpshisfamily

whileattendingKPU.He’s proud ofhisparentsandtheirdecisionto openHerenciaLatinaMarket.

TheGonzalezfamilyishappyto belocatedinNewtonandloves thediversityofcultures.“We share similarfamilyvalueswithmany peoplewhohavechosenSurrey astheirhome.TheSouthAsian community, inparticular, share manyculturalsimilarities, including spice!” Mateosaid.

Thelocationisperfectfor newcomers toCanadawhowant tosourcetheirfavouritefoodbut maynothavetransportationyetto shopeasily Rightacrossfromthe busloopmeansit’s convenientto take a fewbagshometo recreate theirfavourite recipesagain.

Thefamilytakespridein providingtheircustomerswith high-quality productsauthentic totheirculture.Theyhavebuilt relationships withsuppliersfrom different regionsofLatinAmerica toensure thattheyhaveaccess tothebestingredients. Youcan trustthattheproductsyoubuy fromthisstore are ofthehighest quality “Ifthere’s somethingyou misshavingfromwhere youcame from,letusknow! We’dbehappy

tosourceitoutforyouandtryto bringitin,” hesaid.

Oneofthehighlightsof

Her fr

ecent newcomer family to Canada and using traditional tamales ar who loves Latin American cuisine. Theyof

HerenciaLatinaisitsdelicious freshtamales.Madelocallyby a ecentnewcomerfamilytoCanada andusingtraditional recipes,these tamalesarea must-tryforanyone wholovesLatinAmericancuisine. Theyoffer a varietyofflavours, fromchickenandporktodelicious pineapple.

Inadditionto ready-to-cook productsinthefreezer, thestore carries a varietyofdriedgoods suchasbeans,rice,andspices. You’llfindbagsofdriedpeppers, blackbeans,pintobeans, red beans,whitebeans,lentils,and more.Thespiceselectionincludes traditionalLatinoflavourssuch ascumin,oregano,paprika,and anchochilipowder

Whetheryouwanttomake a traditionalLatinAmericandish ortrysomethingnew, thisLatino grocerystore haseverything youneed.Fromthefriendlyand knowledgeablestaff tothehighqualityproducts,you’llfeellike you’re partofthefamilywhenyou shophere.So,thenexttimeyou’re inthearea,besure tostopbyand experiencetheauthenticflavours ofLatinAmericaatHerencia.

It’sa greatideatovisittheir FacebookPage,whichisbrimming withideas,and a sneakpeek attheirextensiveproductline. Lookforherencialatinafoodon Facebookandgivethem a likeor followforupdatesonspecialsand events.

Events guide

CONCERTS

“Vaisakhi 2023: Afsana Khan in Concert,”on Friday, April 28 at Bell Performing Arts Centre, Surrey. Tickets and info: bellperformingartscentre. com or call 604-507-6355.

”In Paradise”: A concert of “excerpts from famous large works, along with smaller intimate gems” on Saturday, April 29, featuring Surrey

Children’s Choir and Surrey Community Chorus, with special guests from the Surrey City Orchestra, and Miri Lee on piano and organ, at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, South Surrey. Tickets $15/$20 at the door, 2350 148 St. Info: facebook.com/ SurreyChildrensChoir.

Krystle Dos Santos with Orchard Sky concert

Friday, May 12 at Centre Stage at Surrey City Hall, 13450 104 Ave. A Surrey Civic Theatres presentation featuring award-winning

soul, jazz, and R&B singer and four-piece soulful country/rock style band. Info and tickets: 604-5015566, tickets.surrey.ca.

Surrey Youth Orchestra’s Spring Concert May 14 at Chandos Pattison Auditorium, 10238 168 St, Surrey, 7 p.m. start. Presented by Surrey Symphony Society. “An evening highlighting the annual orchestra scholarships and concerto competition winners. A special and great way to support SYO students who

have been working hard all season.” Tickets on showpass.com.

Surrey Nights with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra featuring James Ehnes on violin and viola, on Sunday, May 14 at Bell Performing Arts Centre, 7 p.m. “The VSO’s dear friend James Ehnes returns with his ‘flawless intonation’ (Gramophone), and ‘show-stopping virtuosity’ (Seen and Heard) to play both Korngold’s beautiful Violin Concerto and Bartók’s remarkable Viola

Concerto. Plus Strauss’ Blue Danube and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt.” Tickets $39.52/$43.81, Box office: 604-876-3434, vancouversymphony.ca.

Jazz Vespers in the Valley concerts at Northwood United Church in Fleetwood on select Sundays, 3:30 p.m. Suggested donation $10. For schedule visit northwood-united.org or call 604-581-8454. Church at 8855 156 St., Surrey. April 30: Diane Lines; May 14: Shruti Ramani; May 28:

Sharon Minemoto; June 11: Bryn Kinders.

CIRCUS

Royal Canadian International Circus returns to Surrey with shows at Guildford Town Centre parking lot from May 4 to 7 (four shows Thursday through Sunday) featuring ringmaster/daredevil

Joseph Dominik Bauer, crossbow thrill act Hubert & Camila Dominguez, aerialist and flying trapeze artist Claudia Alvarado Bauer,

the African Bone-Breakers contortionists and more.

Circus details and tickets: royalcanadiancircus.ca.

THEATRE

“The Jungle Book” staged by Surrey Youth Theatre Company on Sunday, April 30 at Studio Theatre at Surrey Arts Centre, with shows at 2 and 6 p.m. Recommended for ages 6 and up, running time is approximately 2 hours, including intermission. Tickets and info: tickets.

surrey.ca, 604-501-5566.

FESTIVALS

Surrey Festival of Dance returns to in-person performances by dancers from across the region for the month of April at Surrey Arts Centre (Bear Creek Park). Festival’s mission statement: “To provide a high-quality forum for dancers to perform, and to help promote and expand dance awareness in the community.” For schedule and more, visit surreyfestival.com, call 604 585 3320 or email info@ surreyfestival.com.

Party for the Planet celebrates Earth Day in Surrey on Saturday, April 29 at Surrey Civic Plaza (city hall), 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., featuring live music, environmental demos, workshops, plant sale, marketplace and more. Info: partyfortheplanet.ca.

MUSEUMS

Museum of Surrey: At 17710 56A Ave., Cloverdale. Info: Surrey.ca/ museum, 604-592-6956. Community Treasures exhibit is focused on the history of Surrey Little Theatre.

ARTS

Surrey Muse: Interdisciplinary art and literature presentation group meets on fourth Friday of each month except December (5:308:30 p.m.). Gatherings feature an author, a poet and an artist/performer at varying levels of artistic development, followed by an Open Mic session. Virtual gatherings continue for now. Info: surreymuse. wordpress.com, facebook. com/surreymuse.

AWARDS

Surrey’s Top 25 Under 25 Awards event celebrates the incredible initiatives of Surrey’s youth 25 years old or younger, 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel (15269 104 Ave.), featuring guest speaker George Stroumboulopoulos. Tickets start at $40, businessinsurrey.com.

Continued on A22

ProstoKnow

DustinMarce-MortgageBroker

QWhyuseamortgagebroker?

A•ProductChoice&Access: Abrokersuchasmyselfhasaccesstoover60lenders(includingbanks)andwithone simpleapplication,Icanshopthemarkettofindthebestmortgageproducttofityour specificneeds.

•Independence&Objectivity: AsabrokerIworkforyou,theclient,andhaveyourbestinterestinmind.Whereasa bankrepresentativeisanemployeeofthebankandislookingoutforthebestinterest oftheiremployer,notyou.

•Rates:

IcanofferthebestratesthemarkethastooffertodaybecauseIhavetheabilityto shopthemarket.Thebankcanofferyoutheirproductonly.

•OngoingService: Myclientsarelikefamilytome.Ikeepintouchthroughouttheyears.Givingfree annualmortgagereviews,makingsuretheproductyouhaveisstillsuitingyourneeds.

•Cost:Bestofallmyservicesare100%free.Igetpaidbythelendernotbyyou!

QWhatcredentialsdothedoctorsat MadukeBulathave?

ADr.Maduke,Dr.BulatandDr.PeresareallCertifiedSpecialistsin Orthodontics.TheyhavetheirDentalDegrees(DMD)aswellasa DiplomaorMastersinOrthodonticswhichmeanstheyhadthree additionalyearsofresearchandclinicaltrainingatanaccredited universityaftercompletingtheirDentalDegrees.Dr.Peresalsoholds aPhDinsleepmedicine.McGillUniversity,theUniversityofBritish Columbia,BostonUniversity,theUniversityofWashingtonandOregon HealthSciencesUniversityaresomeofthespecificuniversitiesthat ourthreedoctorshaveattended.Drs.Maduke,BulatandPeresare involvedinanumberofnationalandinternationalstudyclubsinorder tocontinuetoremainonthecuttingedgeofthelatestorthodontic researchandtechniques.

Weinviteyoutocallustodayforacomplimentaryconsultation

https://www.mborthodontics.ca

MadukeBulatisanowneroperatedspecialityorthodonticspractice

EknoorToor-ExecutiveMemberand YouthDirector

QWhatisEknoorToor’srole

atKidsPlayFoundation?

AOriginallyfromIndia,EknoorhaslivedinBCallherlife.At 18yearsofage,sherunsmultipleyouthinitiativesasan executivememberandyouthdirectoratKidsPlayFoundation, anorganizationfocusedonreducingyouthcrimebygiving youngpeopleapositiveidentity,feelingsofempowerment andbyhelpingyouthacquireleadership,teamwork,andselfgovernanceskillsunderadultsupervision.Shehasbeenan advocateforbuildinginterculturaltrust,tacklingracismand reducingbarriersformarginalizedcommunities.Multitudeof challengesempowerhertoeducateothersandmakealasting impactonhercommunity.Eknoornowvolunteersonglobal projectsfocusedonaddressinggender-basedinequities.

6043687750|marcemortgages.ca|info@marcemortgages.ca

http://marcemortgages.ca/

QWhatisdifferencebetweenSalaryandDividends?

AAnysalaryorbonuspaidoutisconsideredataxdeduction(expense)forthe corporation.Alltaxisthereforebornebytheindividualontheirpersonaltax return.Ifthecorporationpaysyouasalary,thebigadvantageisthatyouhave apersonalincome,whichcouldmaximizeyourRRSPcontributionroomfor thefollowingyear.RRSPdeductionlimitisdependentuponhavingan‘earned income,’whichincludesemploymentincome,butnotdividends. Adividendismoneypaidouttoshareholdersoutofthecorporation’sprofits. Shareholderswhoincludetheirdividendsontheirpersonalincometax,receive adividendtaxcreditequaltothetaxesalreadypaidatthecorporatelevelto prevent“double-dipping”bythetaxauthority.

Whenreceivingdividends,youdonothavetomakeCPPcontributionsorremit sourcedeductionsonamonthlybasis.

DisadvantagesofbeingpaidindividendsincludealossofRRSP.Corporate,small businessownerswhopaythemselvessolelybydividendscannotcontributeto anRRSPFurthermore,ifasalaryisnotpaid,yourCPPentitlementatretirement willbesignificantlyreduced.YoucannotcontributetoCPPunlessyouarepaida salaryorearnself-employmentincome.

205-12788-76AAveSurreyBC|604-598-3636|info@sidhucpa.ca|www.sidhucpa.ca

www.cpasurreyaccountingtax.ca

BrentRoberts

RoyalLePageBrentRobertsRealty

Whatis CMAandwhydoweneedone?

Acomparativemarketanalysis(CMA)isareportthatestimatesyourhome’svalueby comparingittosimilarpropertiesthathaverecentlysold.

Onlinehomeevaluationsarequickandeasybuttheygenerallyaren’tveryaccurateas theydon’ttakethefinerdetailsintoaccount.It’sbettertohaveaknowledgeableRealtor doawalkthroughsotheycanseeyourhomefirsthand.

TheCMAreport,whichisusuallycomplimentaryandcomeswithnoobligations,is essentialtosettingacompetitiveaskingprice.Therightpriceiscrucialtoachievinga successfulsaleandisalsohelpfulduringnegotiationsasconcretefactswillhelpjustify youraskingprice.

Inadditiontohomesthathaverecentlysoldinyourarea,youragentwillresearchcurrent homesonthemarketaswellashomesthatdidn’tsell.It’simportanttocomparehomes thataresimilarinstlye,squarefootage,etc.andtoadjustforfactorssuchasfinished basements,doublecargaragesandoverallcondition.

Pleasegetintouchifyou’reinterestedinaCMAtohelpgiveyouabetterideaofwhat yourhome’scurrentlyworth.Thiswillinturnhelpyougettopdollarshouldyoudecideto sellasincorrectlypricingyourhomeisamistakethatcanendupcostingyouthosandsof dollarsandmonthsoffrustration.

#127–6350120thSt.Surrey,B.C.(604)591-8621

7783206540|contact@kidsplayfoundation.com|

http://www.kidsplayfoundation.com

Qdentures?

ADenturematerialscanvaryinqualityand selection.Dentureteethcome inawidevarietyofshapes,sizes,shadesanddegreeofhardness.A standarddentureismadeusingbasictechniques,acrylicsandmaterials, withlimitedtoothshapesandshades.Standardteethtendtoweardown atafasterrate(usually5years)andneedtobereplacedmorefrequently. Precisiondenturesaremadeusinghighqualityresinsandcomposites,in combinationwithadditionalimpressionandbiteproceduresthatarenot includedwithstandardfabrication.Thisleadstoabetterfunctioning,and longerlastingdenture(usually8-10years).

Denturistshavedetailedknowledgeofallyourdentureoptions. Formoreinformationabouthowwecanhelpyou,pleasedonothesitate tocontactus.

TriciaThobaben, RegisteredDenturist SullivanDentureCentre #1105450152Street Surrey,BCV3S5J9

AmanBindra

QThinkingofinvestinginrealestateoranewbusinessalongsidea groupofinvestors?

AIfyouownresidentialrealestateinCanada,youneedtobeawareofthenewUnderusedHousing Tax(UHT),whichwasintroducedbythefederalgovernmentinlate2022.

Off:604-577-0007

Fax:604-579-0124

Email:info@sullivandentures.com

Website:http://www.sullivandentures.com

110-5450-152Street,Surrey,BC

Q: Canteenagersdecidewhich parenttheywanttolivein with?

TheUHTisahousingtaximposedonpeoplewhoarenon-residents,whereapropertyis“vacant orunderused”.TheUHTrulesincludeanannualreportingrequirementandataxliabilitythatis calculatedat1%oftheresidentialproperty’svalue.Somepropertyownerswillhavenoobligation tofileaUHTreturnorpaythetax;somearerequiredtofileaUHTreturnandpaytax;whileothers arerequiredtofilethereturnbutdonothavetopaytaxbecausetheyfallunderanexemption. UHTismeanttotargetnon-resident,non-Canadianowners,butitmayapplytosomeCanadian ownersaswell,particularlythosewhoownpropertythroughacompany,trust,orpartnership. PropertyownerswhomustfileUHTreturnsforthe2022calendaryearmustdosobyMay1,2023. FailuretofileaUHTreturncanresultinpenaltiesbeginningat$5,000forindividualsand$10,000 forcorporations,sowerecommendspeakingtoalegalprofessionalaboutyourUHTfilingand/ ortaxobligations.

IfyouhavequestionsonUHToranyotherrealestatelegalmatters,reachouttoAmanBindraat abindra@kswlawyers.caor604-591-7321today.

A:

No,buttheiropinioncanbesharedaspart of thelegalprocess Any order whichaffects a childhastobemadeintheirbestinterests.Formost children,12isanage whenthey are mature enoughfor theiropiniontocarry moreweight buteachdecisionis basedonthecircumstancesofthatparticularchild. The olderandmore mature thechild,themoreweighttheCourt willgenerally accord theirviews

Whentheparentscannotagreeabout whatthechild wants, there arewaysfor thechild’s opiniontocomebefore theCourt,includingspeakingto a neutral third party whoisspecially trainedinaskingchildrenquestions;interviews by thejudgedecidingthecase;andin exceptionalcircumstances,retainingtheir ownlawyerto representtheirinterests

TheCourt willconsider whatthechild wants, andwillalsolookatthe reason forit. There is a bigdifferencebetweennot wantingtolive withoneparent becausethey are unkindandneglectful,andnot wantingtolive withthat parentbecausetheywon’tbuythechild a car Ultimately, thedecisionwillbe basedupon whatisthebestto nurture the growthanddevelopment ofthechild.

Alison@connectfamilylaw.com 310-9639137AStreetSurrey,BCV3T0M1 778-395-0113|www.connectfamilylaw.ca

Q A

Isacruisereallyall-inclusive?

Moreandmorecruisesarebecomingall-inclusive.Onboard entertainment,wifi,drinks,specialtydining,excursions,and gratuitiesareallthingsthatcanbeaddedtomakeyourcruise anall-inclusiveexperience.Ifanall-inclusivevacationiswhat youarelookingfor,talktoyourTravelConsultantatExpedia Cruisesandtheycanadvisewhichcruiselinesaremore inclusivethanothers.YourTravelConsultantisanexpertin eachofthecruiselines,knowingwhattheyoffer,andwhat theyincludeordon’tinclude.AtExpediaCruises,wecanbook thewholevacationfrombeginningtoend,includingair,hotels, cruise,transfers,excursions,andinsurance.Weareaone-stop, worry-freesolutiontoallyourtravelneeds.

Wehopetoseeyouatoneofourofficessoon,oryoucangiveusacall.

ExpediaCruisesinSurDel(7174ScottRd,SurreyPH604.591.9800) ExpediaCruisesinFleetwood(102-1595784thAve.SurreyPH604.572.9500)

RickSidhu, CPA,CGA

Lawyer

AlisonMcMeans Lawyer

CITYOFSURREY NOTICE

“BUSINESSLICENSEBY-LAW, 1999,NO.13680,AMENDMENTBYLAW, 2023,No.20931”.

NOTICEISHEREBYGIVENoftheintentionoftheCounciloftheCityofSurrey, pursuantto Section59oftheCommunityCharterS.B.C.2003,c.26,toadopt“BusinessLicenseBy-law, 1999,No.13680,AmendmentBylaw, 2023,No.20931”(the“Bylaw”) ata futureRegular Council - PublicHearingmeeting.

NOTICEISHEREBYGIVENoftheintentionoftheCityCounciloftheCityofSurrey, pursuantto Section94ofthe CommunityCharter

ThisamendmenttotheBusinessLicenseBy-law, 1999,No.13680isproposedforthe purposeofamendingsection66oftheBusinessLicenseBy-law, No.13680,toincreasethe minimumandmaximumfineamountwiththeaimofenhancingthedeterrentimpactofthe bylaw, whilealsoprovidingconsistency withthepenaltyprovisionsofotherSurreybylaws, asmorefullydescribedinCorporateReportNo.2023-R045.

Section59(2) CommunityCharter requiresthat noticebegivenandthat anopportunity beprovidedtopersonswhoconsidertheyareaffectedbytheproposedBylaw tomake representationstoCouncil.Shouldyouhaveany concernsorcommentsyouwishtoconvey toCouncil,pleasesubmittheminwritingbymail(13450 - 104Avenue,Surrey, BC,V3T 1V8),fax(604)501-7578),oremail(clerks@surrey.ca)totheCityClerk,nolaterthan Friday,April28,2023 at 4:00pm.

Writtencommentsreceivedwillbesummarizedin a subsequentcorporatereporttoCouncil priortotheadoptionoftheBylaw. Forcompletedetails,theBylaw andCorporateReportNo.2023-R045maybe viewedontheCityofSurreywebsite, at www.surrey.caalongwith thisnotice.

CityClerk

GO!

Events guide

Continued from A20 GALAS

KPU’s Legacy Gala: Inaugural event Saturday, April 29 at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, 6 p.m., with entertainment and dinner. “Join us for an inspiring and elegant evening that showcases the exceptional people and programs that make KPU a force for change going forward. Through stories of impact shared, learn more about our university and help us to support hundreds of students fulfill their educational dreams.” Info: https:// give.kpu.ca.

Community Safety Awards Gala & AGM hosted by Surrey Crime Prevention Society on Thursday, May 4 at Aria Banquet Hall, 6 p.m. “Join us for an evening of celebration as we recognize the outstanding achievements of our volunteers and community partners. Over the past 10 years, 4,600 volunteers have generously contributed an amazing 275,000 hours towards the enhancement of community safety in Surrey.” Tickets/info: preventcrime.ca.

“The Coming Together Gala 2023” hosted by KidsPlay Foundation on Friday, May 5 at Aria Banquet Hall. “Join us

Glades Woodland Garden is a popular place on Mother’s Day. See listing under Nature. (Photo: surrey.ca)

for dinner, entertainment, and fundraising as we help support life-changing programs, which are vital to giving the next generation the best start, so these kids are not just surviving but thriving through life.” Special guests include Sonia Sunger, Global News, Anmol Magic, DJGravity, more. Info: kidsplayfoundation.com/events/thecoming-together-gala.

NATURE

Mother’s Day event at The Glades Woodland Garden, South Surrey, May 14. “Enjoy live music and take in the beauty of impressive and vibrant collections of blooming rhododendrons and azaleas along the trails. Visitors are invited to bring a picnic to enjoy on the south lawn overlooking the pond. A beverage

and snack vendor will also be onsite.” General admission is $7.50 plus tax. Children under 12 enter for free but must still be registered ahead of time. Entry times will be available every 60 minutes. Tickets at gladestickets.surrey.ca.

FUNDRAISERS

20th Surrey Food Bank Breakfast with the Bank Fundraiser, 7 a.m. Friday, May 12 at Riverside Signature Banquet Hall, 13030 76th Ave. Our theme for this year is “Feeding Our Community,” with emcee Mark Madryga. Call or email to RSVP: 604581-5443 ext. 106, email npagani@ surreyfoodbank.org.

COMEDY

Gerry Dee’s “Best Medicine” comedy tour at Surrey’s Bell Performing Arts Centre on Thursday, April 27, starring the host of “Family Feud Canada” and star of awardwinning sitcom “Mr. D.” Info: bellperformingartscentre.com or call 604-507-6355.

The Comic Strippers male-stripper parody and improv-comedy troupe returns to Bell Performing Arts Centre on May 5. All tickets $49, or $44 each in groups of six or more. Info: bellperformingartscentre.com or call 604-507-6355.

Surrey Art Gallery

Wikipedia ‘edit-a-thon’ and 2 other events Saturday at SAG

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Surrey Art Gallery will be busy with three different free events this Saturday, April 29, including another Wikipedia “edit-a-thon” and two gatherings focused on books.

From noon to 4 p.m., the gallery’s annual Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edita-thon aims to help increase the representation of women and non-binary artists on the free online encyclopedia.

There is a significant gender gap on Wikipedia, according to planners of the event. “Studies estimate that less than 15 per cent of contributors identify as women,” says an event post. “Gender inequities on Wikipedia contribute to a bias in content and language, as well as the erasure of knowledges and histories.”

Art + Feminism is described as “an international initiative that builds a community of activists who are committed to closing information gaps related to gender, feminism, and the arts, beginning with Wikipedia.”

Rungh Magazine

Conference to help artists make connections

A day-long conference in Surrey will aim to make “connections” for literary, visual and performing artists.

versation texts with the artist and her artistic collaborators Lisa Mariko Gelley (choreographer) and Nancy Tam (sound designer, compositions).

Another “Work of Art” conference is planned by the Arts Council of Surrey on Saturday, May 13 at Newton Cultural Centre, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“To thrive in a creative market you need to have connections, both physical and virtual,” the arts council

says on Facebook. “Learn to operate social media platforms such as Instagram and pick up critical information on how to build up your buyer-base.”

The sessions will feature keynote speaker Brandon Gabriel (about his journey as an artist), Now-Leader entertainment reporter Tom Zillich (engaging with media and tips to get publicity), artist Wendy Mould (post-

ing on social media), writer Camille Netherton (publishing your literary work) and Kaitlyn Beugh (cultural grant-writing). Musician Ranj Singh will perform.

The $25 conference ticket includes lunch and light refreshments. Attendees are urged to register by May 10. Send email to info@ artscouncilofsurrey.ca, call 604-594-2700 or visit artscouncilofsurrey.ca

co-presents the event, to which people are urged to come with ideas for entries that need updating or creating on the website. Pre-researched artists and artworks from the gallery’s permanent collection will also be available for entry. No prior knowledge or practice of editing Wikipedia is required, but in order to create new entries a person must be registered on Wikipedia and have made 10 previous edits on existing pages. Bring your own laptop or tablet to this event, if possible.

Also on April 29, from 1 to 2:30 at the Bear Creek Park gallery, a Popup Poetry and Bookmaking Workshop will be led by local poets Kevin Spenst and Tolu Oloruntoba. They’ll share their work through readings and teach people how

to make DIY chapbooks. The event is organized in partnership with Surrey Art Gallery Association.

Later in the day, an evening “Autumn Strawberry” panel discussion and book launch will involve artist Cindy Mochizuki and community organizers Lorene Oikawa and Tami Hirasawa. Starting at 6:30 p.m., they’ll discuss the histories of Japanese settlement and farming in Surrey and the Fraser Valley.

Mochizuki’s multimedia exhibit, launched at the gallery in 2019, has evolved to include a new “Autumn Strawberry” book boxset that features the full script of her animated installation. Designed by Vicky Lum, the edition includes essays by Namiko Kunimoto and Mochizuki, and in-con-

Also at SAG, Mochizuki’s “Autumn Strawberry (Dance Film)” has been extended until May 7. This spring the gallery’s feature exhibit is Charles Campbell’s “An Ocean to Livity,” which features large-scale metal and mixed-media sculptures, plus multichannel audio installations. The Victoria-based artist explores human breath in his work, a reaction to the 2020 death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

Another event at the gallery is a SAGA Thursday Artist Talk with Hamed Rashtian on May 4, about art and different colonial histories, starting at 7:30 p.m. Rashtian will shed light on “Same Old Story,” a multimedia installation that “reflects on the possibilities and limits of image, text, and sound to find creative forms of narrative construction.”

Details are posted on surrey.ca/artgallery, or call 604-501-5566.

Explore all that British Columbia has to offer with Harvest, our new monthly magazine.

We’ll introduce you to the people whose hard work and creativity make them sustainability leaders. Agriculture is central to our stories that cover everything from artisan fare and crop innovations to agritourism and travel. Grab your copy at local newsstands or visit your Black Press Media news website for an e-copy. Join us in celebrating food, community and earth.

Participants at a previous Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Surrey Art Gallery. (Photo: Surrey.ca)

HE DIDN’T ANSWER WHEN HE LEFT TO SEE HIS FRIENDS. BUT HE HEARD YOUR “I LOVE YOU.”

Celebrating Surrey’sYouth

Mental health

‘Under high pressure’

Students resurrect Mental Health Day

Sobia Moman Black Press Media

A group of Semiahmoo Secondary students have brought back Mental Health Day to their school, breathing new life into an event that had been on hold since the start of the pandemic.

Education

Surrey student wins Loran Scholarship

ment. Her mom became emotional, and Muhaddisa felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

Muhaddisa Sarwari was on her way to her younger brother’s soccer game when her phone started to ring.

It was a Toronto area code. Being on the shortlist for the prestigious 2023 Loran Scholarship, this was the call the 17-year-old Fraser Heights Secondary student had been anxiously awaiting for weeks. She didn’t know what to expect.

“You never know, because they call you… if you get it or you don’t,” she said.

She got the scholarship. Her brother screamed in excite-

“I was just ecstatic,” she said.

Muhaddisa has not always had the same access to education as most Canadians take for granted.

Muhaddisa and her family are Hazara refugees from Afghanistan. They migrated for years before they came to Surrey from Indonesia three years ago.

She told the Now-Leader that this scholarship means everything to her. Valued at $100,000 over four years, it includes a living stipend, a tuition waiver at select universities, mentorship, and more.

“It just means the fact that I get

the support that I need to follow my dreams to chase my dreams, but also while helping my community and helping uplift others,” Muhaddisa said.

One of her biggest motivations, she said, is to show the world that Afghan girls are capable and can do anything they set their minds to if they are given the proper support.

In December 2022, the Taliban banned all female students from attending universities. Muhaddisa said she can see herself in these girls.

“If we (Afghan girls) are given the opportunities, we can excel, we can reach lengths that no one has

ever seen before.”

As for what’s next, Muhaddisa is planning to go to the University of British Columbia in the fall to study political science.

Her dream is to be a lawyer, potentially focusing on human rights law.

She knows what it is like to arrive in a country as a refugee with your documents but being unsure of what to do next.

“So I really want to get into that field to be able to help other families who were in my shoes, and that I would give them the support that we never got.

“I don’t want them to go into what my family went through.”

Working together with school counsellors, six students organized this year’s event, which took place Feb. 28 in the library during the lunch hour. The entire school was invited to participate. Displayed throughout the room were informative posters. There were areas designated for participants to de-stress by playing games or painting. Counsellors and non-profit organizations shared techniques to handle stress and anxiety, including breathing exercises and more.

“Mental (illness) is a very relevant and ongoing issue that goes under-addressed in multiple settings, including schools where most of us spend (a lot) of time throughout the week,” said Catherine Jiang, a Grade 12 student at Semiahmoo who co-organized the event.

In order to make the day a reality, the students researched youth mental health to find ways to “embody different ways of practicing healthy self-care practices and also just shining a light on the necessity of taking care of your well-being.”

Bringing Mental Health Day back to the school was important for Jiang and her team, who said resources for

Fraser Heights Secondary student Muhaddisa Sarwari, 17, is planning to go to the University of British Columbia in the fall to study political science. (Photo: Anna Burns)

Anna Burns anna.burns@surreynowleader.com

If we (Afghan girls) are given the opportunities, we can excel, we can reach lengths that no one has ever seen before.

Surrey students raise a cool $2,885 for Surrey Food Bank

Students at South Surrey’s newest high school danced, created and baked their way to raising a chunk of funds for the Surrey Food Bank.

A group of teens from Surrey’s Grandview Heights Secondary school delivered the proceeds of their ‘GHS Polar Pop-up’ on March 10, handing over a cool $2,885.65.

Teacher Tina Mears, the school’s

visual art department leader, described the pop-up as a “multi-disciplinary maker’s market.”

“Kind of like a craft sale from all student-made goods,” Mears said. It included musical and dance performances, and the sale of

handmade jams, cookies, textiles, woodwork/metalwork, 3D printed ornaments and pottery.

The Grizzlies Pop-up committee met weekly to pitch ideas, collaborate and market the event, which received “incredible support” from

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Students shine light on neccesity of self-care

people their age are not easy to access. Having school counsellors is great, she added, but enhancing services could benefit more students.

“Before diving into this project, I didn’t really have too much contact with mental health (services) because it isn’t something that we really bring up often.

“Students are under high pressure, whether that’s academically or trying to juggle school, social and family life. I think that’s not spoken (about) enough.”

“When schools do days, like Mental Health Day, that’s great, but it’s not sustainable,” said Andrew Baxter, a registered social worker who works with the province’s educators through the University of British Columbia’s faculty of education mental health institute.

“How do we have this sustained in the school community or school culture? The way to do that is to change school classroom practices. Our belief is that if you put this right next to math, if you build this into curriculum… then that really

reduces the stigma… you open pathways to care, you improve help-seeking and it normalizes it for youth.”

Onset of about 70 per cent of mental illnesses happens between the ages of 12 and 25, but educa-

tion about mental health should begin earlier, Baxter added. He has trained educators in most school districts in B.C. to recognize when students may be struggling.

Some students require more community support for the issues they face, while others need psychiatric care or “a higher level of service,” Baxter said, adding that differentiating between the two is the job of trained professionals and should not be put on educators.

While Jiang and the other students who organized this year’s event are expecting to graduate soon, she hopes the event will continue and that services for youth will become more accessible.

Mental health struggles can be hard for young people to recognize, Jiang said, because symptoms of stress or anxiety are so common amongst her peers that they may not even realize they could benefit from support.

Jiang hopes the school implements “more concrete ways for students to give feedback to administration and also to get involved in the subject of mental health” because it is constantly evolving and students should have more of a voice in the matter, she said.

“The youth are asking for this, they are requesting more knowledge on this.”

Lizanne Foster, first vice president of the Surrey Teachers Association recently told Black Press Media that some elementary schools in the Surrey school district only operate with one counsellor a week because of staff shortages.

“So you’ve got a kid in distress on a Monday morning and there is no help until the counsellor comes, maybe on Thursday or Friday. Then when the counsellor comes on the one day, we have (a backlog),” Foster said.

Volunteers from Semiahmoo Secondary during the school’s Mental Health Day, which students and counsellors brought back after a pandemic-related hiatus. (Submitted photo)

Surrey Schools

Students continue to ‘impress’ with Minecraft-style bridge designs

In computer “sandbox game” style, four Surrey bridges were built by students during the latest Minecraft Challenge organized by Surrey Schools.

Teams of kids were tasked to build the Golden Ears, Port Mann, Pattullo and Alex Fraser bridges on the popular game platform.

Last year’s contest saw students build their own schools.

“We heard from teachers that this year’s build was definitely more of a challenge than last year’s,” said Gareth Poon, technology helping teacher and Minecraft Challenge founder.

“I think it’s good to keep pushing students to think outside the box and it was cool to see how creative they could be with their builds and replicating the various aspects of our bridges.”

By age division, the 2023 winning entries

are Guildford Park’s The Grass Community team in the Secondary category, Katzie Elementary’s Division 6 Builders in Intermediate, and the KB Bridge Builder Buds of K.B. Woodward Elementary in Primary.

Judges scored the entries for bridge and river design, lane markings, vehicles and signage.

Dozens of teams from 27 schools entered this year’s Challenge, and the long list of finalists and honourable mentions is posted on surreyschoolsone.ca/minecraftchallenge2023.

Poon said the challenge this year was to ensure the bridges came together as a cohesive structure, something more difficult when building a structure that stands in the air as opposed to a school on the ground.

“Communication and collaboration between team members was definitely more

important for this year,” Poon said in a news release posted to Surrey Schools’ website.

“When building a bridge, you have to make sure all the parts are even, that the bridge deck stays level and that the girders or cables are all lined up with each other, so that definitely upped the challenge for this

year.”

The theme isn’t yet decided for the school district’s 2024 Minecraft Challenge .

“It’s been really fun to see our students continually impress with these builds,” Poon added. “As long as the student interest is there, we’ll keep doing it.”

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A bridge from Katzie Elementary’s winning Intermediate entry in this year’s Surrey Schools Minecraft Challenge. (Photo: surreyschools.ca)

CelebratingSurrey’sYouth

Youth Week Surrey’s free events steer kids/teens to sports, art, food and video games

Tom

“Super Mario” video game tournaments, the annual SASSY Awards, a “Breakfast for Dinner” cooking session and other events are planned in Surrey during B.C. Youth Week.

In the first week of May, recreation centres across the city will host free gatherings focused on sports, art, food and other activities for youth aged 10 to 18.

Youth Week is intended to build a strong connection between youth and their communities.

First up in Surrey are the SASSY Awards, which recognize “Service Above Self” among youth in a partnership between Semiahmoo

Rotary Club and City of Surrey.

The awards, on Tuesday evening (May 2) at Surrey Arts Centre, celebrate “the fantastic youth who live, work, volunteer, and learn in Surrey and White Rock,” says a post on sassyawardssurrey.ca. Award finalists receive cash prizes and do-

nations to a charity of their choice.

Details about other Youth Week events are posted on surrey.ca/youthweek.

The list includes an Art Night in South Surrey, a “Super Mario Kart” tournament in Fleetwood and another in Bridgeview, a skateboard demo and contest at Whalley’s Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre, basketball in Cloverdale, Bake Night and painting in Clayton, soccer in Newton and more.

In early March the City of Surrey hosted the youth-focused Surrey Steps Up at city hall, and on April 15 the day-long Surrey Slam Jam event filled Guildford Recreation Centre with basketball games, dance battles, youth art and live music.

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A poster for “Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which features characters from video games that are part of Youth Week activities in Surrey.

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PLAY

A section that focuses on sports and recreation. Email story ideas to sports@surreynowleader.com

High school sports

A windy, cold day for ultimate as the disc sport takes off at Surrey schools

Ideally, the disc sport of ultimate is played on dry grass under clear skies, with little or no wind. But that definitely wasn’t the case Thursday (April 20) at Newton Athletic Park, where school teams gathered for the annual Pull for Parkinson’s.

It was quite a breezy, chilly, slightly damp day for the charity tournament involving 28 senior and junior teams, several from Surrey.

“That weather made for an interesting afternoon of ultimate,” confirmed Queen Elizabeth Secondary coach Chris Wakelin, who organizes the Pull and is a big backer of the “frisbee” sport, in local schools and also Vortex Ultimate club, along with fellow ultimate-ers like Mike Dumouchelle, coach at Guildford Park.

The co-ed nature of “ulti” helps draw players, along with springtime games played in relatively nice weather (not so much this year).

Between games Thursday at NAP, hundreds of student-athletes bundled up to stay warm as Wakelin handed out pizzas for lunch.

“That goes with the spirit aspect of this tournament,” the coach said as he multi-tasked. “It’d be great to do a barbecue like they used to back then, but I just don’t have the time anymore. My bandwidth with this is full.”

“Back then” is a decade ago when Pull for Parkinson’s was started by high school students Thomas Canale and Miriam Hanjra, who in 2014 approached Parkinson Society British Columbia with an idea for a new fundraiser: an ultimate tournament.

Both have connections to the disease, which compelled them to get more youth involved in supporting a cause they may not know much about otherwise, according to a post on parkinson.bc.ca.

Thomas’ father, Franco Canale, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 20 years previous, and was a major inspiration for the tournament. Miriam also had a personal connection through her grandfather, Bashir.

“The two of them are former students of mine,” Wakelin explained, “but they grew up and got jobs, all that kind of stuff, so I told them I would take it over and keep the tournament going. It’s easy to do – we just want to keep it alive and we’ve grown it, with 28 teams, and even 32 some years. It’s held here every year, and it’s all about spirit, raising money for Parkinson’s and getting ultimate players together. It’s a fun tournament.”

High school ultimate games are played on a field half the width of a soccer pitch. The “kickoff” is called the “pull,” and the team then moves the disc up the field by throwing to other players. Points are scored when the disc is caught in the endzone. With no referees, games are self-policed by players.

Wakelin’s love of ultimate began growing

while in high school, and he’s very keen to get today’s students involved in the sport.

“I had a science teacher in Grade 10 at Earl Marriott (in South Surrey), she brought the sport to us, and a bunch of the kids got involved,” Wakelin recalled. “There were no other teams around, and pretty much the only other local team around here was out in Abbotsford at the time. We went to provincials and there were a whopping eight teams there,” he noted with a laugh.

“That’s where it started for me. My friends and I had such a great time playing in high school and kept playing throughout university, and it’s just one of those things. If we can bring cool opportunities to kids to be able to do fun stuff like this, then we do it.

“A cool thing is that a lot of the kids I coached and taught back in the day, they’re here coaching teams now, they’ve grown into those roles.”

In the final week of May, Newton Athletic

Park will again host two season-ending provincial tournaments hosted by BC School Sports and BC Ultimate, as happened in 2022. Last year’s event drew close to 600 players to the facility on 128 Street.

Right now is the heart of the school ultimate season, with the fun of playoffs in May.

“This is my sixth year coaching QE’s team, and the sport has grown like crazy over the past few years,” Wakelin said as he handed out more pizzas. “It’s changed, and BC School Sports has gotten involved, and that’s taken it to another level, B.C.-wide.”

In an email, Wakelin thanked the Now-Leader for shedding some light on ultimate.

“Anything to get ultimate known in the community is a beautiful thing,” he wrote.

“Canadian Ultimate Championships are being held in Surrey this year, so that’s a big deal and any way I can promote junior ultimate to bring the sport to more young people (lots of events and options coming up in the city for kids), I’ll certainly try my best to do so.”

*ApproximateTimeAsRequired

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Ezequiel Esios leaps to catch a disc as Josh Carino (right) watches during warmup for Guildford Park Secondary’s senior ultimate team at Newton Athletic Park on Thursday, April 20. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

MORE PHOTOS: SURREYNOWLEADER.COM

City courts feedback about courts Sports

rey Mayor Brenda Locke.

Pickleball players, ball hockey and box lacrosse lovers, tennis, basketball and volleyball athletes, take note: The City of Surrey wants your help.

The City is seeking input from Surrey residents, sport court users, organized sport and recreation groups and sport court permit holders to help shape the development of an Outdoor Sport Court Strategy.

Currently, there are more than 160 outdoor sports courts in Surrey, for ball hockey, basketball, box lacrosse, pickleball, tennis, and volleyball.

The strategy will guide longterm deci-

sions about outdoor sport court locations, development and funding over the next 15 years.

Residents can share their feedback by taking an online survey, attending a popup event, signing up to participate in a discussion group and visiting the project

page to ask questions and use the interactive map.

The survey closes on May 21, online at surrey.ca/outdoorsportcourts.

“Access to outdoor sporting amenities is key to keeping a community active, healthy and connected,” said Sur-

“With continued growth expected over the next decade, the City of Surrey is committed to investing in improving and building new outdoor sports courts to keep pace with the increasing demand. I invite you to take the survey and help shape Surrey’s longterm Outdoor Sport Court Strategy.”

The City of Surrey has more than 200 parks with “active amenities” such as sports fields, sport courts, playgrounds, community gardens, picnic areas and more than 600 parks that protect natural areas, open space, and biodiversity as part of the larger green infrastructure network.

The courts at Edgewood Park. (Photo: City of Surrey)

Tricia Weel Black Press Media

Celebrating the Life of Wayne Neil McInnes

August 8, 1961 -

Family Announcements

Celebrations

It is agreed by any Display or Classified Advertiser requesting space that the liability of the newspaperintheeventoffailure to publish an advertisement shall be limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for that portion of the advertising space occupied by the incorrect item only, and that there shall be no liability in any event beyond the amount paid for such an advertisement. The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors thatdonotlessenthevalueofan advertisement.

bcclassifieds.com cannot be responsible for errors after the first day of publication of any advertisement. Notice of errors on the first day should immediately be called to the attention of the Classified Department to be corrected for thefollowingedition.

bcclassifieds.com reserves the right to revise, edit, classify or reject any advertisement and to retain any answers directed to the bcclassifieds.com Box Reply Service and to repay the customer the sum paid for the advertisementandboxrental.

DISCRIMINATORY LEGISLATION

In loving memory of Brock Horton

July 1981 - April 2023

All are welcome at his celebration of life May 5, 2023 at Langley Events Center.

https://www.showpass.com/ brock-horton-celebration-of-life1/

Help Wanted

SEAFOOD Co. in Delta is looking for plant workers!

Full-time position.Day shift.Experience with seafood preferred.Starting rate is $18/hr.with benefits starting after 3 months.Tel: (236)889-5635 Email: ibring@ndseafoods.com

Career Opportunities

Canadian Farms Produce Inc. located at 16185 48 Ave. Surrey, BC, V3Z 1E8, urgently requires full time, seasonal farm workers to work year round on their vegetable farms. Wages offered are $16.05/hr.

Opportunity to earn incremental pay raises, performance pay and bonuses (not guaranteed) upon performance evaluation at the discretion of the employer. Duties include planting, harvesting, washing, grading & packing vegetables. This position requires no education, formal training or work experience. Accommodation is available if required. Interested candidates should be available to work anytime in different weather conditions & must be able to lift up to 55 lbs of vegetable boxes. Please fax resume:604-574-5773.

Business Services

Garden & Lawn

Grass Cutting Services

Starting @ $45 Jordan (604) 360-0493

Home Improvements

VECTOR RENO’S Interior & Exterior Additions repairs/strata improvements Also fences, decks, sheds, garages & wood planters. Call 604-690-3327

Career Opportunities

Business Services

Moving & Storage

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Merchandise for Sale

Auctions

ONLINE AUCTION

Thursday May 11, 2023 OF LATE MODEL COMMISSARY FOOD EQUIPMENT in CHASE, BC. Lots incl. Late Model Kettles, Rational & Alto Shaam Combi Ovens, 12 pieces of True Equip. Ice Machine, Ranges, Vac Pacs, Coolers, Freezers, S/S Equip, Cappuccino Machine & More. View in Person on Sat. May 6 at 909 Foothills Road, Chase BC. 10 am to

Advertisers are reminded that provincial legislation forbids the publicationofanyadvertisement which discriminates against any person because of race, religion, sex, colour, nationality, ancestry or place of origin,age, andphysicalormentaldisability, unless the condition is justified by a bona fide requirement for theworkinvolved.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright and/or properties subsist in all advertisements and in all other material appearing in this edition of bcclassifieds.com. Permission to reproduce wholly or in part and in any form whatsoever, particularly by a photographic oroffsetprocessinapublication mustbeobtainedinwritingfrom the Publisher. Any unauthorized reproduction will be subject to recouseinlaw.

ON

FACILITIES MANAGER

Langley Senior Resources Society is seeking a full-time Facilities Manager. A critical part of the management team, this role is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of facility users including staff, volunteers, members and the general public at our two sites to ensure smooth daily building operations. This position oversees a staff of 7-10, depending on schedule of events.

Pleasecontact: katel@lsrs.ca

Attn:KateLudlam

ExecutiveDirector

Youcanfindafulldescriptiononthe jobonourwebsitehere: https://lsrs.ca/work/

Pets

Pets

Cavapoo

Puppies

7 puppies First shots, de-wormed, health books. Just Adorable! $2,000 604-588-5195

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NAMECHANGE

I,AmritpalSinghS/oDaljitSingh,holder ofIndianPassportNo.U0103978issued atChandigarh,on22/07/2019,resident of#8,PunjabiBagh,nearSikhMissionary College,JawaddiLudhiana141013,India andpresentlyresidinginCanadaat 306-1273372AveSurrey,BCV3W2M7 doherebychangemynamefromAmritpal SinghtoAmritpalSinghAhujawith immediateeffect.

LEGAL NOTICE

NoticeofSale

Dale’sAutoService

107–1941556thAve,SurreyBC.

1988JeepCherokee2DoorSUV VIN#1JCML7742JT056420

NameofDebtor:LoganMiller DebtOwing:$5925.65

Vehiclewillbesoldifunpaidasof May11,2023ataboveaddress.

Notice is given by U-Pak Mobile Storage located 1500 DerwentWay, Delta, BC that the contents being household goods and other personal items of the following lockers will be sold on Friday, May 19, 2023 if monies owed are not paid and the contents of the lockers are not removed from the premises.

Dewakar Chaukla

Shafiq Chaudhry $3,549.19 $1,208.85

TO: DEDRIC JOSEPH ROBINSON

An application has been commenced against you in Alberta Court of King’s Bench, Judicial District of Calgary, Action No. 1301-09485 to renew the judgment of the Alberta Securities Commission against you pursuant to Rule 9.21 of the Alberta Rules of Court, Alta Reg 124/2010. You are a respondent, and you have the right to state your side of this matter before the Applications Judge. To do so, you must be in Court when the application is heard on May 8th, 2023, at 10:00 AM at CALGARY COURTS CENTRE, 601 - 5 Street SW, Calgary, AB, courtroom 903, before an Applications Judge. You may receive a copy of the Application and supporting Affidavit by contacting Meagan Potier at HMC Lawyers LLP (#1000, 903 - 8 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 0P7, phone: (403) 269-7220, email: mpotier@hmclawyers.com).

WARNING: YOU MUST ATTEND AT THE PLACE AND TIME SET OUT ABOVE AND SHOW CAUSE WHY A NEW JUDGMENT OUGHT NOT BE GRANTED.

If you do not come to Court either in person, virtually, by telephone or by your lawyer, the Court may give the applicant(s) what they want in your absence. You will be bound by any order that the Court makes. If you want to take part in this application, you or your lawyer must attend in Court on the date and at the time shown at the beginning of the form. If you intend to give evidence in response to the application, you must reply by filing an affidavit or other evidence with the Court and serving a copy of that affidavit or other evidence on the applicant(s) a reasonable time before the application is to be heard or considered.

YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE CONSTRUCTION INOUR COMMUNITY

People

Bay Hill: ‘We’re a family business’

“I needed land to provide pipelaying courses and he put me in contact with the Langley Rugby Club to replace some drainage for the rugby field. I think they have an awesome culture.”

INSIDE

Afew years ago at a Christmas party, Gord Myren, civil manager at Surrey’s Bay Hill Contracting Ltd., said, “we want Bay Hill to be the best company to work for.”

Gord Myren is the son of Wilf Myren, one of the founding members of the family-owned and operated company that employs up to three generations associated with the original partners (Bob Burns, Joe DePedrina and Gary Cohen) as well as many other multigenerational families.

“We’re a family business,” said Gord Myren. “We treat people as people.”

Awarded the 2022 Contractor of the Year by LiUNA Local 1611 (the Labourers union), Bay Hill specializes in civil, electrical and high voltage electrical builds. The company has a high employee retention rate, and prioritizes safety and ongoing education.

“They’re a dream to work with on multiple levels,” said Tom Miller, Training Plan administrator for the 10,000-member union. “We’ve done a bunch of courses for them. When they’re slow, say in the winter, rather than keeping people home and not paying them, they bring them in and pay them to be here and get trained.”

Miller, who nominated Bay Hill for Contractor of the Year, said the company is forward-thinking and generous with their time and facilities.

“If we don’t have space, they provide it. Gord rigged up their mezzanine with audio and visual equipment for a workshop,” said Miller.

In addition to keeping their workers’ necessary training current, Myren works with Miller to provide additional educational workshops that include blueprint reading, survey courses and even naloxone training.

“Naloxone training isn’t essential to their core civil work, but they see it as a priority because the opioid epidemic affects construction workers so greatly and they want to keep their employees safe,” said Miller.

According to government and public health studies, 70 per cent of illicit drug overdose deaths in the Fraser Health region were people who worked in the trades industry. Even in serious, but non-fatal overdoses, the most common industry people work or worked in was the building trades.

In response to the opioid epidemic, the Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan (CIRP) partnered with Local 1611 to launch the “A Kit in Every Hand” initiative providing take-home naloxone kits and training to workers in the building trades.

“There have been some people who work for us who have been affected by family members passing away due to drug overdoses. For some, it really hits close to home,” said Myren.

“We have a commitment to our goal of being the best company to work for and that means looking after our workers.”

The Contractor of the Year award includes a cheque for $2,500, which Bay Hill plans to use towards supporting their employees’ mental health.

HOMES: In B.C., home construction will need to rise to unprecedented levels to offset record immigration, report says Page B3

SKILLED TRADES:

How you can treat your crew and thank the men and women in the construction and skilled trades industry

Page B5

NALOXONE: Unions want to put a naloxone kit in every construction worker’s hand Page B7

FAMOUS BARGE: Pile drivers and operating engineers deconstructed a meme and took on the removal of a famous washed-up barge Page B9

ENVIRONMENT: UBC students design a nearly zero carbon emissions building Page B11

LiUNA training administrator Tom Miller, bottom right, LiUNA service rep Mike Berg, bottom left, and Bay Hill civil manager Gord Myren, holding the certificate, take a group photo with Bay Hill staff. (Photo submitted)

Surrey company awarded Contractor of the Year for 2022

Tatiana Tomljanovic LiUNA Local 1611

Delta,BC-UA

PipingIndustryCollege (UAPICBC)hasbeen makingwavesinthe pipingindustrywiththeir cutting-edgetechnology andinnovativetraining programs.Withthe helpofUTIPfunds,the collegehasbeenable toexpandtheirofferings andmakearealimpact onthefutureofthe industry.

Oneofthekey featuresofUAPICBC istheircommitment totechnology.The collegehasinvestedin astate-of-the-artvideo andaudioproduction studio,capableof producingprofessional qualitytutorialvideos, tohelpstudentslearn thelatesttechniques andbestpractices. Thisinvestmentin technologyhaspaid

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off,withgraduatesof thecollegeconsistently landingjobsatsomeof thetopcompaniesinthe industry.

Oneofthemost successfulprogramsat UAPICBCistheirPiping &WeldingFoundation program’s&TAP“Trades awarenessProgram”. Sincetheprogram’s inception,graduates havegoneonto successfulcareersinthe Piping&Weldingindustry alongwithotherbuilding trades.Thissuccessisa testamenttothequality ofeducationandtraining providedatthecollege.

ButUAPICBCisn’t justknownfortheir Foundation/TAPprogram. Thecollegealsooffersa rangeofuniquecourses, includingprograms forPalmersecondary, YTIT“YouthTrainingin

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Overall,UAPICBCis makingarealdifference inthepipingindustry. Withtheircommitment totechnologyand innovativetraining

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YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE CONSTRUCTION INOUR COMMUNITY CO

Home construction

Unprecedented building needed to offset record immigration

B.C. must build 25 per cent more homes than usual for next five years, report says

Home construction in British Columbia will need to rise to unprecedented levels to offset the impact of record immigration on the housing market, the B.C. Real Estate Association said in a new report in early April.

The province must build 25 per cent more new homes than usual for the next five years to address deteriorating housing affordability, the association said in the report.

Construction needs to be ramped up to a record 43,000 housing completions a year for the next five years to counteract rapid population growth, up from an average of around 30,000 between 2000 and 2022, it said.

“While this pace of completions is close to that achieved from 2020 and 2021, higher interest rates and weaker market conditions make that rate of completion less likely,”

the association said.

Lowering price growth so incomes can catch up to prices is integral to improving housing affordability in B.C., said Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist with BCREA.

Increasing supply would ease the upward pressure on housing prices from an immigration-driven demand shock and if sustained, help improve overall affordability, he said.

B.C. is expected to welcome an estimated 217,500 new permanent residents from 2023 to 2025, nearly double the historical average immigration levels.

In that time, two federal government policies – the ban on foreign homebuyers and record-high immigration targets – will be the key factors shaping housing demand in B.C., the association said.

Bill C-19, which implemented

a two-year ban on home sales to non-Canadian buyers, will help offset some of the demand for housing, said BCREA, but not nearly enough compared with the expected demand from new immigrants.

There is “weak evidence” that the ban will achieve its objective of lowering home prices given that a relatively small number of transactions involve purely foreign buyers, the association said.

“The potential impact of the increase in immigration is much more significant than the decline in sales due to the prohibition on foreign buyers,” the report said. BCREA said an “unfortunate unintended consequence” of the ban on foreign homebuyers is that financing new home construction is more difficult without access to international capital markets. The Canadian Press

Home construction in the province needs to be ramped up to a record 43,000 housing completions a year for the next five years, a report says. (Photo: Province of B.C.)

INOUR COMMUNITY CO

YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE

Construction and Skilled Trades Month

Treat crew to lunch in honour of Skilled Trades Month

April is Construction and Skilled Trades month. It’s an industry that continues to flourish.

“There has never been a more exciting time to enter the skilled trades in B.C.,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “With more than 85,000 new job openings in the grades over the next decade, we are making sure that apprentices have the supports they need to get in-demand, good-paying jobs.”

It’s no wonder more women are entering the trades industry. According to the British Columbia Government website, there are 15 public post-secondary schools in B.C., which offer over 70 trades programs; however, only four per cent of the construction trade workforce is women.

The most significant barrier to

retaining women is the lack of female representation in the industry. Thankfully, BC Buildings Trades is helping support women in trades with their Build TogetHER BC campaign, which promotes and mentors women in the industry.

As a way to thank both the women and men in the construction and skilled trades industry, you can treat your crew to a free lunch by participating in the #LunchBoxChallenge.

Simply head to constructionmonth.ca, where you can secure a grant toward lunch for your team in your area of upwards of $500. Many companies are sponsoring the event, including LNG Canada, British Columbia Construction Association, WorkSafeBC and FortisBC, to name a few.

The trades industry offers vast career paths, with most of the training happening on the job, allowing both your body and mind to begin an exciting and in-demand career.

Kim Kimberlin Black Press Media

From left, UA Piping Industry College of B.C. instructors Corinne Hagen, Dana Stevns and Raven Hillenbrand. (Photo submitted)

YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE

Naloxone

Construction unions strive for ‘a kit in every hand’

B.C.’s biggest construction unions are striving to put a naloxone kit in every construction worker’s hand.

“This will have an immediate, positive and direct impact on the opioid crisis by saving lives,” said Nav Malhotra, business manager and secretary-treasurer for the Labourers’ union, LiUNA Local 1611.

“A Kit in Every Hand” is an initiative of the BC Building Trades, Construction Labour Relations, the Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan, LiUNA Local 1611, the Finishing Trades Institute of B.C. and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115.

Both LiUNA and the Finishing Trades Institute are based in Surrey. Goals of the initiative include promoting safe practices for substance users, reducing the stigma associated with harm reduction strategies, providing education and training on the use of naloxone kits, bringing attention to the scope and impact of the opioid crisis and raising awareness of the resources that are avail-

able to people looking to help themselves or others.

LiUNA has delivered training and kits to hundreds of construction workers.

“The stigma of mental health and substance use is one of the biggest barriers people face when getting help,” adds Malhotra.

More than 11,000 people have died in B.C. due to the opioid crisis since it was declared a public health emergency in 2016. Construction workers are disproportionately represented in this data, with as many as 55 per cent of employed people who died being workers in either the construction or transportation sector. They represent about 20 per cent of overall opioid deaths.

Visit the Fraser Health website at fraserhealth.ca for where to get kits and training near you.

If you work in construction and want to know more about LiUNA’s naloxone training program, email training plan Administrator Tom Miller at tmiller@ liuna1611.ca.

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LiUNA training plan administrator Tom Miller, right, and instructor Fred Webber, back, second from left, with students who just completed naloxone training. (Photo submitted)

YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE

Deconstructing a meme

Pile drivers and operating engineers take on removal of famous barge

Jeremy Allingham BC Building Trades

From the day the big red barge washed up on Sunset Beach in the midst of raging storms last winter, it captured a special place in the collective minds of Metro Vancouver residents.

The barge was a tourist attraction. It was called a living monument to climate change. At Christmas, someone made a Gingerbread Barge. It was mentioned as a possible contender for premier. The Vancouver Park Board even made the barge its very own custom sign reading ‘Barge Chilling Beach.’

The region’s pandemic-weary population had found a social media beacon. The barge had lost its way in the storm. It had ceded control to the elements. There it was, a usually useful and productive vessel, now stuck, immovable, inert. The barge couldn’t go anywhere even if it wanted to. The barge was us and we were the barge.

But all endlessly entertaining memes aside, the barge presented a significant problem. After weeks of study, engineers determined the 275’ long x 60’ wide x 18’ deep, 1,800-ton ship could not be re-floated. That meant a logistically difficult marine decon-

struction and removal process. But who would have the experience and expertise to pull off such a complicated and cumbersome process?

Enter the BC Building Trades, namely, Pile Drivers Local 2404 and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115. Union crews began their work in late June with an expected completion date in early November.

A 180’ long x 60’ wide x 12.5’ derrick equipped with a Manitowoc 4600 series 4 crane was brought in for removal, but because the waters around the beached vessel are so shallow, much of the work was dependent on tide levels. High tide was required for the derrick to be able to operate and remove pieces of the barge.

“This is probably once in a lifetime,” said Neil Kirk, a bridgeman and general foreman with Pile Drivers 2404. “Demolition isn’t out of the ordinary for us, but definitely having a giant barge wash up on the shore and especially in such a spot where it’s very high profile in the public eye is definitely a one-off.”

Taking the barge apart meant ripping up the vessel’s concrete deck with an excavator and then lots of steel cutting. That’s where Stewart Peters and his colleagues came in.

“We’re just cutting it up with torches,” said the bridgeman and Red Seal welder with 2404. “The day goes by quick because you’re constantly busy cutting steel, lots of rigging and lots of boat work with moving the derrick.”

Using the derrick, operating engineers lifted all dismantled materials onto other barges to be taken away for recycling.

While the building trades workers are highly experienced in their field, removing one of the most meme-worthy entities in the region, piece by piece, was unique.

“We’ve always been referred to as ‘the hall that does it all’,” said Kirk. “Because we literally do, especially when it comes to the marine end of things. Heavy construction and demolition, it’s our bread and butter. It’s in our wheelhouse so definitely we’re the right guys to have onsite doing it. All the pile drivers I know are proud to say they’re 2404 and I certainly am as well.”

The job is now complete and with the famous barge fading into history, building trades unions will always have the pride of knowing they were the ones to take the call when an unyielding storm blew a massive vessel, and viral meme, ashore in Vancouver.

Entertaining memes aside, this washed up barge presented a significant problem, one solved by the union crews of Pile Drivers Local 2404 and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115. (Photo submitted)

YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE CONSTRUCTION INOUR COMMUNITY CO

Environment

‘We need to think differently about the way we construct’

UBC students design ‘Instagram worthy’ carbon-minimal building

A nearly zero carbon emissions building designed by students at the University of British Columbia that was two years in the making has officially opened.

Described as “Instagram worthy,” the 2,400-sq.-ft. building, called Third Space Commons, “emitted nearly zero carbon emissions during construction.” That’s a feat “that many view to be the final frontier facing carbon emissions reductions across the global building industry,” notes UBC.

The building was designed by the 60-student team at Third Quadrant Design.

Two of those team members are Katie Theall, the project’s architecture lead, and Agustina Flores Pitton, a civil engineering student and engineering lead.

Theall said the team focused on three key principles for the project, which included re-using as much as possible, how much carbon could be processed and stored on-site and sourcing as low-embodied carbon materials as possible.

Workplace safety

She noted the drywall used is the lowest-embodied carbon in North America currently, and the siding is sustainably harvested forestry.

Flores Pitton said in aiming for nearly zero

carbon emissions has “many challenges.”

“Everybody has to be on board for a project like this because it’s so atypical to how we’re constructing right now. It’s making sure that people are truly being consistent

with accepting the low-carbon principles of the project.”

However, the building can be an example to the rest of the construction industry, explained Flores Pitton.

“We just need to think differently about the way that we construct. We need to think about adapting for the use, using the existing building stock that we already have that is aging and think, ‘OK, how do we adapt to new climate conditions,” she said.

“I think that if students can do it, with obviously a lot of partnerships and support along the way, then the industry for sure can accomplish something similar.”

The thermal insulation for the building is made of hempcrete – a mixture of hemp fibres and lime which captures carbon from the atmosphere as it sets. It eventually turns into a concrete-like material but one that’s made primarily out of a renewable, carbon-sequestering natural fibre.

Dr. Adam Rysanek, an assistant professor of architecture and landscape architecture who advised the team, said it’s like “diving into the wild west” of carbon accountability, and there’s no real precedent yet, but the hope is the team’s work will be looked to for future projects.

“There’s no better success than to have something that will certainly speak to how we design buildings in the real world.”

Mourn the dead, and fight for the living

deaths from the 36th floor of Bentall IV in 1981.

Nav Malhotra

Workplace injuries cost 30 construction workers their lives in 2021.

That’s one worker every 12 days.

As we do every year, we will stand in silence on the National Day of Mourning April 28 to remember these construction workers, and all the other workers who went to work and didn’t come home.

We do this a lot.

In January, we joined the BC Building Trades, affiliated construction unions and local government representatives at the annual Bentall Memorial in Vancouver to commemorate the lives of four carpenters who plunged to their

And three months earlier, in September, we attended the official dedication of the Asbestos Memorial on the waterfront at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The memorial is to the thousands of workers who have died and continue to die from asbestos exposure. They say dying from asbestos exposure is like slowly drowning to death.

Never far from our thoughts at these events are the 26 members of our own union who were horrifically killed in the 1965 Granduc Mine slide.

We have two monuments at our head office in Surrey. One honours these miners and the other pays tribute to all the members who have died in various other workplace tragedies as far back as 1972.

It would be a hallmark of progress if we never attended another

memorial to fallen workers, never added any more names to a monument of workplace tragedy.

But that requires a break from reality. Instead, we commit to doing everything we can to ensure workers go home to their families at the end of the day.

This includes lobbying for regulatory changes that make workplaces safer.

And we are making progress.

The BC NDP government enacted life-saving changes to the Workers Compensation Act last year. Now, contractors performing asbestos abatement must be licensed to operate in B.C., and the workers and employers who perform asbestos abatement must complete mandatory safety training and certification.

The many public awareness campaigns undertaken by the labour movement around a worker’s right to refuse unsafe work have also,

finally, led to modernization of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. Now, employers must inform workers assigned a certain task whether other workers have refused that task out of concern for their own safety.

Previously, the employer could merely reassign a task deemed unsafe by one worker to another worker, without ever telling the second worker the task had been refused for safety reasons.

And most recently, the provincial government enacted changes to the Employment Standards Act requiring workers to be at least 16 years old to work in construction, and at least 18 years old to do certain higher risk jobs like oil and gas drilling, confined space work, and any job that requires a respirator.

Prior to these amendments, which were introduced in phases after significant consultation, children as young as 12 were permitted

to work in our industry. But there is more work to do.

So, while we mourn the dead on Friday (April 28), let us also continue our fight for the living.

Nav Malhotra is Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer at LiUNA Local 1611, based in Surrey.

Column

Asbestos is just one of the dangers of the construction industry. (Photo: Oregon Department of Transportation/Flickr)

A nearly zero carbon emissions building designed by students at the University of British Columbia officially opened April 13. (Photo: UBC Faculty of Applied Science)

YOURJOURNEY STARTSHERE CONSTRUCTION INOUR COMMUNITY CO

Training facility

Home sweet home

The BC Insulators Union Local 118 has a brand new home. And it was a long time coming.

After moving from the B.C. Institute of Technology (BCIT), to sharing a facility with the United Association Piping Industry College (UAPIC), the Insulators are now settling into their very own, 5,000-squarefoot facility in Port Coquitlam.

The unassuming slate-blue entrance in a new industrial park just on the northwest side of the Pitt River Bridge opens into a fairly standard office space. But walk down the hall through another set of doors to the back of the building, and that’s where the magic happens.

This is where the Insulators Union will train its next generation of highly skilled tradespeople.

The training space has a fully outfitted sheet metal fabrication machine shop with slip rollers, bench brake machines, hand rotary machines and multiple cutting machines. Students can work and learn at individual installation stations for piping, ducting and equipment. When you add all of that to an adjoining formal classroom setting, the union has built a welcoming, state-of-the-art spot to set down roots and develop new apprentices.

Apprentices like Cindy Santin, 51, who moved to B.C. from Windsor, Ont., two years ago to pursue her career in the skilled trades.

“I didn’t realize what all goes into insulating or why things need to be insulated. I also didn’t realize this is a Red Seal trade,” said Santin. “I still can’t believe I’m in a classroom, it’s been over 30 years! I’m going to take this as far as I can go which means getting my Red Seal and becoming a journeyperson.”

Santin is flourishing in her second year of apprenticeship now taking place in the new training centre.

“I want to learn how to insulate with all the materials the trade has to offer, this way I can become a good mentor for the younger

generation,” she said. “I’m 51 years old and I want other people to know that no matter how old you are, or what obstacles are in your way, if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything.”

Second-year apprentice Almer Yap has also thoroughly enjoyed his time in the new training centre.

“It’s awesome. It’s fresh,” he said. “It motivated me more to do the best that I could do.”

The 31-year-old from Surrey said he chose the insulating trade because he wants to

build a career based on the highly developed set of skills he’s earning as an apprentice.

“I want to get my Red Seal because, in this trade, I feel like every day I’m making craftsmanship,” he said.

Trainer Rob Sheck now calls the training centre home. He stressed the importance of having a dedicated space so that apprentices and their journeyperson mentors can go on to long-lasting careers.

“Education is key. Training on the job, on the technical side and the practical side, just makes for a good, strong, highly skilled tradesperson,” Sheck said. “Especially when it’s at our school, in our own dedicated facility.”

The union celebrated the opening of its Port Coquitlam training centre in January with an open house that was attended by B.C. Ministers of State Andrew Mercier and Dan Coulter, Liberal MP John Aldag, BC Building Trades president Al Phillips and executive director Brynn Bourke, and BC Federation of Labour president Sussanne Skidmore.

BC Insulators business manager Neil Munro explained how controlling its own space will allow the union training centre to better control its own destiny.

“It allows us to do the Red Seal training that is our core delivery and also to upgrade training and specialized training and introductory training through partnerships with the B.C. Centre for Women in the Trades and the Métis Federation,” Munro said. Financially, it is a better deal for the union and the training centre. “We were renting space from BCIT. They were getting all the money through the Industry Training Au-

thority [ITA].

They had a pretty sweet deal,” he said.

The ITA (now SkilledTradesBC) named Insulators Local 118’s training society its designated apprenticeship service provider back in 2021.

“It helps build our credibility with the open-shop contractors. They see the value we are providing with our apprentices. We manage the whole system,” Munro said.

Running the training centre, as well as the health and welfare, and pension programs for members shows how working with the union can benefit employers. Insulators are now better able to meet the challenges of training qualified workers during an acute labour shortage.

“It allows us to deliver the full, comprehensive Red Seal program and any type of specialized training that we want to do above that,” Munro said. “We control our own space and we are more in control of our own destiny. We are not worrying about what BCIT is going to do next.”

Minister of State for Workforce Development Andrew Mercier said there is an urgent need to train workers to keep up with rapidly changing technologies and evolving industry standards.

“The great new space gives more people access to the training and the experience they need to secure rewarding, good-paying jobs,” Mercier said.

“The school gives practical, hands-on experience to the next generation of insulation apprentices with support from professionals in the sector. There’s a whole world of opportunity in the trades and now more people can access training in their community.”

The BC Insulators’ new home. (Photo: Brian Howell)

From left, Francisco Serrano Paz, Rob Sheck and Cindy Santin enjoy the Insulators’ brand new 5,000-square-foot facility. (Photo: Brian Howell)

Insulators get new facility with state-of-the-art training centre

David Hogben BC Building Trades

INOUR COMMUNITY CO

Pattullo Bridge construction

Main tower rises as crews push to build replacement by 2024

Tom Zillich tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Work to build the Pattullo Bridge replacement is more than halfway done, judging by the timeframe given by B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Preliminary in-river work began in February 2021, and the new toll-free bridge is scheduled to open in 2024 with four lanes expandable to six.

Crews are building the replacement bridge just north of the existing one, on the Fraser River between Surrey and New Westminster.

The existing span will remain in use until the new bridge is open to traffic. Once the new bridge is open, the existing structure will be removed nearly 90 years after it opened, in 1937.

The $1.377-billion project is overseen by Transportation Investment Corporation (TI Corp), a provincial Crown corporation.

Construction updates and project details are posted on the website and also on the social media channel of twitter.com/pattulloproject

This month, work continues on the main bridge tower. Crews are working on the tower’s 33 “segment jumps,” according to a tweet. Each segment is five metres tall, and the completed tower will stand 167 metres.

In Surrey, construction is underway on all bridge foundations, and pile installation is underway for the Highway 17 off-ramp foundations, according to the project website. Upcoming activities include continued construction of the main

bridge foundations and ongoing site preparation and road work along 112 Avenue and Highway 17.

The new bridge promises to provide “important improvements for everyone

using the bridge, including people who are driving, cycling or walking, as well as communities on either side of the bridge,” the project website says. Features include wider

lanes separated by a centre median barrier, dedicated walking and cycling lanes (separated from traffic by a barrier on both sides of the bridge) and “better connections to, from and near the bridge.”

This year’s work will involve the realignment of Highway 17, Old Yale Road overpass construction, offramp construction, bridge deck girder installation, early work for bridge demolition, and 112 Avenue and King George Boulevard roadworks and multi-use path construction.

In February, Surrey council-in-committee heard a bridge-replacement update from Wendy Itagawa, the executive project director.

“Of note, and in light of the snow we experienced in December, the cables on the

new bridge will not cross over any of the travelling lanes, which will help mitigate the risk of snow and ice potentially falling on the travelling lanes,” Itagawa told council.

“In addition, there will be a snow and ice removal system, from day one, on the new bridge that’s similar to the system on Port Mann whereby it’s deployed remotely.”

The project is being “delivered” under B.C.’s Community Benefits Agreement and the project workforce is provided by B.C. Infrastructure Benefits. Fraser Crossing Partners was awarded the contract to design and build the new bridge, which the province will own and maintain when complete. with a file from Tom Zytaruk

Work continues on the main tower of the Pattullo Bridge replacement on the Fraser River between Surrey and New Westminster. (Photo: twitter. com/pattulloproject)

Road work

$1.5M contract for paving

Surrey city council approved a city staff recommendation on April 17 to award a contract of nearly $1.5 million to All Roads Construction Ltd. to repave 12.7 kilometres of roads at various locations throughout the city.

The contract is $1,482,155.06 with a spending limit of $1,631,000, with the work expected to begin in May and be finished by August.

The road paving will be done on 12 Avenue between Highway 15 to 184 Street, at Christopherson Road and 22B Avenue, on 48 Avenue from 190 Street to 192 Street and 172 Street to 176 Street, and on 71 Avenue from 136B

The City of Surrey has awarded a contract of nearly $1.5 million to All Roads Construction Ltd. to repave 12.7 kilometres of municipal roads. (Black Press Media file photo)

Street to 137A Street. Paving will also be done on 137A Street between 70 Avenue and 71 Avenue, on 179 Street

between 22 Avenue and 23 Avenue and on Lien Road from Scott Road to 124 Street.

Tom Zytaruk tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

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