Serving Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra since 1984
FRIDAY
March 18, 2011
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Students create origami cranes to raise funds for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
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Principals stuck plunging toilets, cleaning vomit
MLAs critique minimum wage hike John Kurucz
Jennifer McFee
jkurucz@thenownews.com Premier Christy Clark’s colleagues touted its benefits as propping up a new era of governance, while at least one of her adversaries feels raising B.C.’s minimum wage represents little more than borrowing a good idea. On Wednesday, Clark announced a phased approach in raising what was previously Canada’s lowest minimum wage, which currently sits at $8 per hour. Effective May 1, that number will jump to $8.75 per hour, while an increase to $9.50 is pegged for Nov. 1. The third element of the phased approach will see the wage jump to $10.25 per hour in May 2012. Clark’s announcement also included a move to scrap the $6-per-hour training wage, while setting lower wage standards for those who serve liquor in licensed establishments. Modelled after a similar policy used in Ontario, those wages go to $8.50 on May 1, $8.75 on Nov. 1 and $9 on May 1, 2012. “Some considerable consultation had been undertaken with business groups over the last couple months, so we were in a position to take a look at what they had to say and make a decision,” said Coquitlam-Burke Mountain MLA Doug Horne. “It shows the new approach — listen to people, listen to what they’re saying. Obviously, a lot of people were talking about the minimum wage and the importance that it has on families and really that’s [Clark’s] key point as we move forward.” Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA CONT. ON PAGE 5, see NDP.
jmcfee@thenownews.com
Jason Lang/NOW
Castle Park Elementary principal Dave Sands is one of many in the district who has been dealing with plugged toilets, cleaning up vomit and doing other jobs that they believe could be done by daytime caretakers at the school.
They hold their breath to clean up vomit, urine and bear dung. These dirty duties might not be in the job description of a school principal, but many are tackling these tasks at elementary schools in District 43. Currently, nine elementary schools do not have a daytime caretaker, so principals must be ready to deal with situations as they arise. For Dave Sands, principal of Castle Park Elementary, life would be easier if a caretaker could help out each morning. “It’s important to understand that we have limited resources in the district,” Sands said. “But I’d be remiss if I didn’t say it would be important.” Since there is no caretaker to open the school each morning, Sands arrives at 7 a.m. to prepare for a steady influx of teachers, parents and students. Until the afternoon caretaker arrives, Sands and his staff must be ready to pick up a broom, mop or plunger if needed. “The most common thing for me and my colleagues are if there’s a plugged toilet or if a child happens to vomit. Last week,
I had a child pee in their pants. So those types of things, emergency situations, we obviously as principals have to respond to that,” he said. “Those are challenging situations, as well as the opening up in the morning because a lot of times, we have to be at meetings. For security purposes, to open up in the morning is a really important aspect.” One possible solution is to reallocate resources, Sands said. For example, a high school with more than one caretaker could send someone to open up the elementary school each morning. “It’s about just creating some equity.” Dave Ginter, president of CUPE Local 561, also hopes to achieve equity. The caretaker hours are allotted to schools based on a formula agreed to by principals, district staff and Ginter in 1990. The main factor in the formula is the school’s square footage. Ginter reviewed the allotment and found that five schools could receive a four-hour part-time caretaker position — Castle Park, Cape Horn, Meadowbrook, Riverview Park and Pleasantside. To achieve this goal, the current CONTINUED ON PAGE 4, see BOARD.
Volunteers conduct homeless count John Kurucz jkurucz@thenownews.com Dozens of volunteers took to the trails, riverbanks and other hot spots Wednesday for a one-day snapshot to reflect the state of homelessness in the Tri-Cities and across the region. Held once every three years, Metro Vancouver’s homeless count was conducted in cities across the Lower Mainland in an effort to count the
number of homeless people, and compare data and trends that have emerged since the last count took place in 2008. “I think the most important feature is that it is done consistently every three years and so I think the value of the data that is gathered is to determine the trends of homelessness,” said Sandy Burpee, who served Wednesday as the regional count co-ordinator in the Tri-Cities. “The other important thing it does
is it allows us to compare the relative concentrations of homelessness between municipalities in the Metro Vancouver area.” More than 600 volunteers in Metro Vancouver took part in the count, which was organized by two groups: the Greater Vancouver regional steering committee on homelessness and the aboriginal homelessness steering committee. The 2008 count identified 2,600 people across Metro Vancouver as
being homeless, while 94 were identified in the Tri-Cities specifically. A team of more than 45 volunteers scoured areas across Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam for the better part of 12 hours Wednesday, though Burpee was unable to provide numbers around how many homeless people were counted or the areas that see a higher concentration of homeless populations. CONT. ON PAGE 3, see ‘HOMELESSNESS.’