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Ladha not guilty of human trafficking JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
AWestVancouver woman accused of keeping a slave in her British Properties home was acquitted of human trafficking Friday morning after a B.C. Supreme Court justice concluded the complainant likely made up the story to stay in Canada. Mumtaz Ladha, 60, was found not guilty by Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon of all four charges she faced under the Immigration and Refugee Act. “I am left with the conviction that the allegations made . . . are improbable,” Fenlon told a packed gallery of Ladha’s supporters as she delivered her verdict Friday morning. See Complaint page 5
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE Emelda Wong (left) and husband Sheldon Trainor flank Capilano University’s vice-president Catherine Vertesi at the opening of the university’s Wong and Trainor Centre for International Experience Wednesday. The couple provided a $500,000 gift to establish the centre and provide scholarships for students to participate in a range of overseas exchange programs. PHOTO PAUL MCGRATH
Opinions split at Grosvenor hearing
WV land sale cash would pay for public safety building BRENT RICHTER brichter@nsews.com
The last words that West Vancouver council members can legally consider about the proposed Grosvenor development have been said. More than 50 speakers approached the mic over
four hours at the official public hearing Thursday night to share their passionate but disparate views on the divisive redevelopment of the 1300block of Marine Drive. Grosvenor has applied to build 98 condo units, 37,000 square feet of retail space and 55,000 square feet of office space
in six- and seven-storey towers on the south side of Marine Drive, which would require buying the land where the West Vancouver Police Department now sits. Council has signalled it will spend the proceeds on building a new police headquarters and fire hall in a $37-million public safety building next to municipal hall. The debate that played out for the 100-plus attendees to Thursday’s meeting pitted competing
values against each other: revitalization versus preserving village character, the allure of acquiring the public safety building without costing taxpayers versus the loss of views for Lower Ambleside residents. Clive Bird, a retired lawyer and former chairman of the West Vancouver school board, encapsulated the pro-Grosvenor argument, saying the development is essential to turning around a decaying Ambleside. “I believe that the
revitalization of Ambleside is essential.West Vancouver has the potential to be a world-class ocean-side community,” he said, adding praise for Grosvenor and the changes the developer has made to the project after public feedback. “Now it’s time to get on with it. If we don’t go forward with it, much as I hate to say it, Ambleside will continue to wither and die.We can’t just stand still and cling to the present. Cities all over the world
go through this kind of change every day. It’s part of maturing as a community.” That position was also taken by the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce. The main points hammered on by opponents were that, at six and seven storeys, the Grosvenor towers would be too big, that council should reject the notion of selling the land when it would be in the public interest to keep it as a See Referendum page 5
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