midweek edition WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2011
Vol. 102 No. 17 • Established 1908 • West
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Jagged little Pillowman Britannia rules
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Chicken blood flows from poultry rendering plant Resident finds waste in alley Sandra Thomas Staff writer
Raw chicken blood, skin and feathers flow into drains outside the Hallmark Poultry Processors plant off Commercial Drive. main photo Dan Toulgoet inset photo Caroline Boback
An East Side woman is concerned raw chicken blood, skin, feathers and bones from the Hallmark Poultry Processors rendering plant are being washed into the city’s storm water system. Caroline Boback was walking north on Commercial Drive Friday afternoon near the large abattoir located between East Hastings and Pandora streets when she noticed a stream of pink water containing raw chicken bits, bones and feathers flowing down the alley that divides two of the buildings. Boback, a letter carrier with Canada Post, was concerned because the bloody water was flowing directly into a drain located
at the end of the alley near the street, which she assumed belongs to the city’s storm water system. “I thought, this doesn’t look right,” Boback told the Courier Monday morning. “It looked to me like they were using our storm drain for that water. It’s not like it was in an enclosed space.” The drain is located at the west end of the alley between East Hastings and Franklin streets, which divides the large Hallmark rendering facility. On Monday morning there was no stream of water flowing from the plant down the alley, but feathers and small pieces of bone were still visible near the drain and in the snow piled on Commercial Drive. See CITY on page 4
City hall may modify councillor gift disclosure policy Report recommends council disclose gifts valued at more than $50, down from the current $250 threshold Mike Howell Staff writer
The city’s general manager of human resources is recommending council tighten up a policy requiring the mayor and councillors to disclose gifts or personal benefits they receive while on the job.
In a report going before city council March 3, Patrice Impey recommended politicians disclose a gift or personal benefit valued at more than $50. The current policy sets the value at $250 or more. “The existing language has proven difficult to interpret and administer,” Impey said in her
report, which defines gifts and personal benefits as “items or services of value” received for personal use. That includes cash, gift cards, tickets to events, clothing, jewelry, pens, food or beverages, discounts on personal purchases, free or subsidized drinks or meals, enter-
tainment and invitations to social functions organized by groups or community organizations. The report comes almost three years after the Courier revealed councillors received free dinners, yacht rides and tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert, Vancouver Canucks games and Cirque de
Soleil performances, among other events. A majority of councillors didn’t file their disclosure statements until notified via email by the city clerk that the Courier requested the information. Others didn’t file, even though they attended some of the same events. See MAJORITY on page 4
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