EDUCATION 3
NEWS 9
Carving out community
Emergency plans stay private
PEOPLE 11
Now, that’s brotherly love FOR THE BEST LOCAL
COVERAGE WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2015
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
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POLITICS
BCA got $484,649 to run its campaign Its opposition – the BFC – collected $28,344, mostly from candidates themselves By Jacob Zinn
jzinn@burnabynow.com
ing that their son would never be allowed on the premises again, the final decision was to evict the couple. “My parents were just stunned, they couldn’t say anything,” she added. Sheryn feels the parents shouldn’t be punished for their son’s behaviour especially considering the lease is in their names and they’ve never had any complaints up until now. “There’s no problem with the rent payment or anything like that,” she said. “It’s not fair.The whole family is being affected – their children, grandchildren, everybody is worried.” With less than a week before the Gajjars need to vacate their residence, the family is scrambling to find somewhere for them to stay. So far they haven’t had any luck, Sheryn said.
It was big money versus very little money in the 2014 Burnaby civic election. On Monday, Elections B.C. released disclosure statements from this past November’s local elections, including those of the incumbent Burnaby Citizens Association and the opposing Burnaby First Coalition. The BCA went into the 2014 election with a staggering $484,649 in contributions – up by more than $200,000 from their 2011 donations. Unsurprisingly, their largest contributors were trade unions, making up almost half of the party’s donations with $161,325.The city workers’ union, CUPE Local 23, gave the most at $91,125, followed by its parent group CUPE B.C. at $24,625 and the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union at $10,000. The Burnaby schools non-teaching staff union gave $11,125 while the Canadian Office & Professional Employees Union Local 378 gave $6,125.The Hospital Employees Union gave $8,375, Burnaby firefighters gave $4,000 and Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. gave $1,000. Corporations accounted for $144,100 of the BCA’s funds, with Thind Properties Ltd. leading the way with $20,000, followed by McAllister Developments ($10,000) and Amacon Management Services Corp. ($7,500). Anthem
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GIVEN NOTICE: Doris and Raymond Gajjar only have a few days left until they’re required to vacate the apartment on Imperial Street where they’ve lived for more than 10 years. The Gajjars were issued an eviction notice following an incident with their 44-year-old son and a neighbour on New Year’s Eve. PHOTO JENNIFER
GAUTHIER
Elderly couple face eviction
‘It’s not fair.The whole family is being affected – their children, grandchildren, everybody is worried’ EXCLUSIVE By Cayley Dobie
cdobie@burnabynow.com
SATURDAY
After more than a decade living in an apartment on Imperial Street, a Burnaby couple is facing life on the streets following eviction by B.C. Housing. Raymond and Doris Gajjar were notified earlier this month they have until the end of February to vacate their B.C. Housing-subsidized apartment on Imperial Street after an alleged incident involving their adult son on NewYear’s Eve. According to the Gajjar’s daughter-in-law, Sheryn, the 44-year-old son got into a verbal
MARCH 7th, 2015 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
argument with his parents’ upstairs neighbours on Dec. 31, 2014.The son, who has anger management problems, yelled at the neighbours, who then called the complex’s manager.The neighbour lodged an official complaint, which allegedly caused the eviction. “We were very shocked and upset because they’re 87 and 85 (years old), and it’s due to the alleged actions of their adult son,” Sheryn said. On Jan. 26, Sheryn sat in on a dispute resolution conference call between her in-laws, a representative from B.C. Housing and an arbitrator. During the call, Sheryn said the Gajjar’s were told they were being evicted. According to Sheryn, even though her inlaws offered to sign a legal document agree-
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