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Crime ‘constant’ in Braid industrial area
Business owners losing battle with thieves who take anything – including fences BY CAYLEY DOBIE REPORTER cdobie@royalcityrecord.com
Business owners in the Braid industrial area say they’re fed up with constant thefts and are demanding the police department do something to reduce the crime. Mike Henderson and Ben Fishman both own companies located on Canfor Avenue and both agree thefts in the area are a constant problem that appears to have no end in sight. Henderson, whose company recycles tires, originally set up shop in Surrey under the Pattullo Bridge but moved to New Westminster so he could work closer to home “The theft was so bad that I moved over here,” he said. But the problem only got worse when he made the move to the Royal City, Henderson said. He rented out a yard below the Sapperton SkyTrain and was shocked at how rampant crime was in the area. There were thefts almost every single night, he said.
FED UP: From left, Mike Henderson and Ben Fishman are not happy with the amount of theft in the Braid industrial area, and they want police to do more. Larry Wright/
THE RECORD
◗Crime Page 9
Summer school impacted as strike goes on BY NIKI HOPE REPORTER
nhope@royalcityrecord.com
Just a day after New Westminster’s superintendent said summer school in the district was going ahead, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation announced it would continue with its strike if a deal with the province isn’t reached by Monday. BCTF president Jim Iker held a press conference Wednesday saying teachers will set up picket lines at worksites where summer school is located. “What we need from the government is to get this deal done,” he said. “We’ve
made a decision that if we don’t have a deal by June 30, we will be picketing outside summer school.” All members will be picketing, he said, noting that each local will deal with how picketing would take place over the summer. “Of course, it’s going to be important for our members to spend time with their families,” Iker said. “We are not on strike to walk picket lines in the summer. We are taking a stand for our students.” One reporter at the conference asked Iker how striking over summer helps students. “It’s a decision that we don’t take light-
ly. This has been 12 years now. Twelve years that our students have taken cuts,” Iker said, referring to the B.C. Liberal era. The union blames legislation, introduced by then-Education Minister and current premier Christy Clark, for stripping money from the education system. B.C. teachers are seeking a deal that is based on five key points: ◆ a five-year term; ◆ an eight per cent salary increase, plus $5,000 signing bonus; ◆ no concessions; ◆ an annual workload fund that addresses issues of class size, class composition, and staffing ratios as an interim measure while
both parties await the next court ruling; ◆ a retroactive grievances fund, as a resolution to Justice Griffin’s B.C. Supreme Court decision that retroactively restored the stripped language from 2002. This fund would be used to address other working conditions like preparation time and teacher-on-call compensation improvements, as well as improvements to health benefits. Iker still thinks a deal is attainable, but said getting there will require new movement from government on the critical issues of class size, class composition, and ◗Schools Page 5
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