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LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER & ENTERTAINMENT chilliwacktimes.com
Prisoners put Kent over the limit
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
D
istrict of Kent residents received a tax hike this year in part thanks to their incarcerated neigh-
bours. A recount of the 2006 census found 470 extra residents— although no new dwellings—and this put Kent over the critical 5,000population threshold at which policing costs shift. But those “residents” are in the two federal prisons, Kent and Mountain, so they don’t add a lot
Mayor Lorne Fisher puts blame squarely at the feet of former solicitor general John Les to the community, according to Mayor Lorne Fisher. In B.C., communities under 5,000 pay for 15 per cent of policing costs while those over 5,000 pay 70 per cent. The original census counted 4,738 in Kent but the revised count put that number at 5,208. In every other B.C. community where there was a recount, there was an amend-
ed number of private dwellings, but not in Kent. Statistics Canada did not respond to calls to explain the changes before going to press. Kent’s director of finance Glen Savard said the district was told that the reason the numbers jumped over 5,000 was the inclusion of the prison population. And while Statistics Canada is the federal body that conducts the
census, Fisher blames the provincial Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General for the downloading of policing costs in this way. “This goes back to when John Les was still solicitor general,” Fisher told the Times. “He recommended there should be a revised count and all of a sudden the revised count showed up to 5,200 or something. I’ve always blamed John for
doing this to us.” Les says blaming him is “nonsense.” “It’s important to know that the census is a federal function and it has always been federal policy to include inmate numbers in the population of the communities where the facilities are located,” he told the Times via e-mail. “That the population of Kent is now well over 5,000 cannot be a surprise to anyone, least of all the mayor. . . . With any prudence at all they would have seen this day coming. The See KENT, Page 20
Minivan man had massive pot load BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
P
olice are hunting for a “substantial” marijuana grow-op after Mounties seized more than 45 pounds of pot from a minivan Friday afternoon. Mounties were manning a road block on Chilliwack Lake Road EB IRST when a green van First reported on passed through chilliwacktimes.com c a r r y i n g t h e strong scent of marijuana. Officers stopped the van just down the road from the check stop and recovered three garbage bags
F
RODEO FIT TO BE TIED Paul J. Henderson/TIMES
Samantha Kerr of Kamloops was one of the faster competitors in senior girls goat tying at the B.C. Little Britches rodeo held at Heritage Park in Chilliwack on Saturday. Kerr had her goat tied for the judges in 14.96 seconds.
See POT, Page 20
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