Cheryl Rossicrossi@vancourier.com

Skylar Albrecht was about to be kickedout of Tupper secondary school whenteacher Russ Evans took him under hiswing.“He was going to get booted with

10 feet on his butt,” Evans said. “He issmart. Generally, he was faster than histeachers and wasn’t actually too afraid oftelling them that.”Evans obtained permission to pull

Albrecht out of regular classes. Instead ofinstructing Albrecht on how to calculatethe volume of a cylinder on a chalkboard,Evans handed his student a lawn mowerengine to perform the same computation.The switch from textbooks and talk-

ing heads to working with his hands setAlbrecht on a successful path to graduatinghigh school and becoming a commercialsaturation diver. The 28-year-old has doveto depths as great as 185metres below sealevel, worked in Korea, Norway and Aus-tralia, generally labours less than six monthsa year, and last year earned $200,000.Albrecht was one of six former Vancou-

ver School Board students who told 300Grade 10 students from 10 schools abouttheir successes in various trades at the thirdJourney Into the Trades event at Vancou-ver Technical secondary school Jan. 16.Mark Jang, who attended a culinary

ACE IT program—ACE IT programsallow students to attend trades trainingclasses for a first level of training in an In-dustry Training Authority program, freeof tuition — told teens he loves to playwith fire and knives and works as a shiftleader at Cactus Club.Marco Wong, an electrician for the

VSB, said his parents, like most, wantedhim to pursue a university degree.“Coming from an Asian family, you

know, it’s pretty strict,” he said, to recep-tive laughter. “My older brother went touniversity first, so some of the pressurewas off… Both my brothers actually wantto get into the trades right now.”Albrecht was one of the reasons Evans

started Tupper Tech, which teaches20 Grade 12 students trades skills andincludes two work placements.

Continued on page 5

OPINION 10Taking taxi industry to task

STATEOFTHEARTS 21Eyes on PuSh Festival

HEALTH 15Stair climber

MIDWEEKEDITION

WEDNESDAYJanuary 21 2015Vol. 106 No. 05

There’s more online atvancourier.com

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

VSB toutstraining fortrades

BEACHYCLEAN Surfrider FoundationvolunteerKailynOlsen tookpart in theVancouver chapter’s cleanupofWreckBeach thispast Saturday.Olsenfoundacoupleofbeachumbrellas, somePVCpipingandanewkite left on thebeach.See storypage12.PHOTOREBECCABLISSETT

MikeHowellmhowell@vancourier.com

A longtime city hall observer wants the cityto hold off this week on destroying the ballotsfrom the 2014 civic election until the publiccan scrutinize them and determine whetherthere were any discrepancies in last fall’s vote.Randy Helten, a failed mayoral candidate

from the 2011 campaign and operator of theCityHallWatch.ca blog, said he has ques-tions related to votes not being counted,ballots being spoiled and the effectiveness of

the city’s new vote counting machines.“If the ballots are destroyed, the

evidence is gone forever,” Helten saidMonday.City clerk Janice Mackenzie, who

doubled as the city’s chief election officerduring last fall’s election campaign, toldthe Courier the city planned to destroyall ballots this week, as per legal require-ments under the Vancouver Charter.Mackenzie said there has been no

court challenges regarding the results orintegrity of the election. She describedthe number of complaints after the Nov.15 election as “a trickle.”But, she acknowledged, the election didn’t

go as smoothly as planned, with at least one

poll having to stay open an additional 45minutes because of insufficient ballots andother polls overwhelmed by voter turnout.“It’s not an area of concern or anything

like that, but this was our first time wherepeople could vote anywhere,” said Mack-enzie, noting she was pleased with the 43.4per cent voter turnout. “So it was difficultto predict with any accuracy where peoplewould vote. It appears that people tookadvantage of being able to vote in a conve-nient location as opposed to the locationwithin their defined voting division.”For example, she said, Renfrew Commu-

nity Centre recorded 817 votes in the 2011election and 1,532 in 2014.

Continued on page 6

City plans to destroyelection ballots thisweekActivist calls for delayuntil staff review

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A2 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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MikeHowellmhowell@vancourier.com

The two mayors whosecities have the most togain from a $7.5-billionplan that includes a $1.9billion subway for Van-couver and a $2.1 billionlight-rail transit system forSurrey are now in chargeof the mayors’ council onregional transportation andtasked with leading the yesside in a spring plebisciteon transportation.Mayor Gregor Robert-

son was elected chairper-son Friday and SurreyMayor Linda Hepner wonthe vice-chairperson’sspot in a secret ballot voteconducted by the region’smayors at Surrey city hall.“I felt it’s important to

ensure Vancouver is repre-sented and, as well, bringmy campaign experienceto the table,” said Rob-ertson, when asked afterthe vote why he wouldn’tsupport North VancouverDistrict Mayor RichardWalton to continue aschairperson.Walton, who has led the

mayors’ council for morethan four years, playeda key role in the mayors’formulating the $7.5-bil-lion, 10-year transporta-tion plan. He also had astrong relationship withTransportation MinisterTodd Stone, who hasapplauded Walton for hiswork on the council.Walton and Robertson

were the only candidatesvying to become head of theregional council. After Wal-ton lost the vote to Robert-son, he rejected a nomina-tion to run as a candidatefor vice-chairperson. Hepnerbeat out Delta Mayor LoisJackson for vice-chairperson,a position left vacant be-causeWayneWright lost hismayoral re-election bid inNewWestminster.At one point during the

meeting, when mayorsawaited results of the elec-tion for vice-chairperson,Robertson walked over toWalton and spoke to him.Walton did most of thetalking, with Robertsonnodding his head repeated-ly, saying “OK, OK, OK.”Walton declined to

comment to the Courierafter the meeting.Mayor Ralph Drew of

the Village of Belcarranominated Walton tocontinue as chairperson,saying he had the experi-ence and time to committo leading a campaign for

the yes side. Drew pointedout duties of the chairper-son and vice-chairpersonalso require them to sit onTransLink’s board of di-rectors, a time-consumingresponsibility.“It’s not that I have any

particular problems withthe two big city mayors,”Drew told the Courier.“I’m just a bit concernedthat because they are theheads of large municipali-ties that they don’t havethe time needed to dedi-cate to the task.”Drew said he under-

stands a perception maynow exist the springplebiscite, which asksMetro Vancouver votersto support a 0.5 per centsales tax to help pay forthe $7.5-billion plan, willsimply be seen as a votefor projects in Surrey andVancouver. The plan alsorelies heavily on fundingfrom the provincial andfederal governments.“That’s a perception

but I do believe that thenew chair and vice-chairwill reflect the views ofthe mayors’ council asa whole,” he said. “If itisn’t endorsed by mayors’council as a whole, they’dget their wings clippedpretty fast.”Robertson and Hepner

deflected concerns aboutthe plebiscite being simplyfor projects in Vancouverand Surrey. Robertsonsaid he supports all therequests in the plan,including a new PattulloBridge, more buses acrossthe region, road and bike-way upgrades and morefrequent HandyDart andSeaBus service.“It’s not about any of the

distinct pieces,” said Robert-son. “It’s about the overallpackage. It’s not aboutindividual communities, it’sabout the whole region.”Hepner, who was elect-

ed Surrey’s mayor last falland nominated Robertson

as chairperson, echoedthe Vancouver mayor’scomments, saying she sup-ported a regional plan andthat “there’s something init for everyone.”Port Coquitlam Mayor

Greg Moore wouldn’t saywhether he voted for Rob-ertson or Hepner. But, headded, the choices “areexcellent for us movingforward in a referendumcampaign.”“We’re moving into a

phase of really getting outand getting into campaign-ing and I would suspectthat the mayors saw thatRobertson and Hepnerare good campaign lead-ers to take us through thereferendum,” said Moore,noting he wasn’t con-cerned voters may see theplebiscite as simply a voteon Surrey and Vancouverprojects. “I don’t expectthat Mayor Robertsonor Mayor Hepner aregoing to come to PortCoquitlam and be able toconvince people that thisis what they need. I’m go-ing to have to do that.”During the meeting,

mayors heard speechesfrom David Black ofCOPE 378, Peter Robin-son of the David SuzukiFoundation and AnneMcMullin of the UrbanDevelopment Institute,all of whom said they andtheir associations will sup-port and campaign for theyes side in the plebiscite.No one from the no

side, which is being ledby a group called NoTransLink Tax, spokeat the meeting. But thegroup did release a lengthyreport Thursday, outliningalternatives to a sales taxhike, including using rev-enue that municipalitieswill gain as they continueto add more people to thetax base. That revenuecould be used to pay forthe transportation plan.

twitter.com/Howellings

Robertson in charge asplebiscite pushed

News

Mayor Gregor Robertsonwas voted the new chairperson of themayors’ council on regional transportation. PHOTODANTOULGOET

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A3

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MikeHowellmhowell@vancourier.com

Kiren Gill wants nothingmore than to be a Vancou-ver police officer.The 28-year-old Surrey

resident has a degree in hu-man kinetics from the Uni-versity of B.C., he’s workedas an assistant supervisor ata college, he’s volunteeredwith children at the YMCAand Union Gospel Missionand is physically fit.But his colour vision isn’t

the best.“A normal red to you

would be a bit dark tome,”he told theCourier. “Some-times, blues and purples canbe a bit difficult, especially ifit’s a dark purple and a blue.But I can see colours.WhatI see is just slightly differ-ent than what a person withnormal vision would see.”Because of this defi-

ciency, the VancouverPolice Department told Gillhe wouldn’t be a suitablecandidate for a recruit. Thatmeant no interview, no test-ing, no training. He receivedthe news shortly after he ap-plied in February 2013.Last Thursday, Gill made

a presentation to the Van-couver Police Board sayingthe VPD’s vision acuity re-quirement is discriminatoryand that it wouldn’t preventhim from doing the job.“I and many others bring

many other skills and assetsto serve the community andare being unfairly barredfrom doing so,” he toldthe board, noting the VPD

has evolved over the years,allowing minorities andwomen on the force, as wellas doing away with heightrequirements.In an interview after the

board meeting, Gill said hisabnormal vision was diag-nosed when he was a child.So when he applied to theVPD and attached his acu-ity test with his application,

he knew he might not landan interview.“I knew there would be

issues,” he said, noting he’sreceived the same responsefrom other departmentshe’s applied to in the LowerMainland. “But this isthe only thing I want todo. This is my dream—to serve the community.That’s all I want to do. Ev-

erything I’ve done has beento work towards this goal.”In his research, he has

learned that countries suchas Ireland, England and Aus-tralia have either modified orscrapped their vision acuityrequirements. He notedVancouver Fire and Rescuenow considers candidates ona case-by-case basis.Though Gill said he

recognizes his vision isn’tperfect, he pointed outthat should be weightedagainst his other attributes,including his work and lifeexperience and skills.“Why this is an auto-

matic rejection doesn’tmake sense,” he said,noting he has a driver’slicence and, unless hetold friends or co-workersabout his deficiency, theywould never recognize it.After hearing Gill’s

presentation, the policeboard agreed to investigatefurther.All municipal police de-

partments in B.C., includ-ing the VPD, follow visionacuity standards set by theB.C. Police Services Divi-sion. Those standards arebased on recommendations

from the Canadian Oph-thalmological Society.Const. Brian Montague,

a VPD media liaison offi-cer, said in an email to theCourier the society exam-ined the requirements ofan officer’s job, includinggiving evidence in court,identifying suspects “andother duties that may re-quire an officer to be ableto distinguish, identify andexplain colour.”Montague said Gill made

some “excellent points”in his presentation to theboard. He added that theVPD’s investigation ofGill’s complaint will includelooking at risk managementof hiring an officer who hasabnormal vision. Montaguesaid he didn’t have anystatistics tracking how manyapplicants to the VPD hadbeen rejected because ofissues with vision acuity.Gill, meanwhile, said he

can only hope his com-plaint will get a full exami-nation and requirementswill be relaxed. He saidhe will also contact JusticeMinister Suzanne Antonabout his concern.

twitter.com/Howellings

VPDrejects applicantwithvisionproblem

Kiren Gill is pushing the Vancouver Police Department to change its vision acuity requirements forpotential recruits. The VPD rejected Gill’s application because of his difficulty in recognizing shades ofcolour.PHOTODANTOULGOET

A4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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Continued from page 1Evans said up to eight stu-

dents are hired as apprenticeseach year and hemakes surethey graduate high school.“Loving school is really

about being in the rightprogram,” said RobinKirk, vice principal of KingGeorge secondary whoemceed the event.She encouraged students

to consider a trade or techclass for next year and toask questions of the repre-sentatives of VSB programs,post-secondary institutionsand industry associationswho populated a trades fairafter the panel concluded.With the help of Evans,

Albrecht completed twowork experiences. He gradu-ated fromTupper in 2004,discovered a seven-monthwaitlist for welding at BCIT,completed a seven-monthsteel fabrication course thereinstead and apprenticed at theVancouver shipyards and dry-dock, where his crew droppeda 200,000-tonne ship the sizeof a school in the ocean.Albrecht watched divers

plunge into the water andthen saw a giant sectionof steel those divers hadattached to a crane emerge.

He asked what training heneeded to be one of thosedivers, served his two-weeknotice and paid $20,000 fora three-month dive schoolcourse in Ontario.Albrecht returned to Van-

couver, Nov. 17, 2008 anddemanded a job. He was tolddon’t call us; we’ll call you.“Nov. 19, I was getting

off an airplane in Singaporeto perform an emergencythruster repair,” he said.“Invest in yourself. Make

some money, get anotherticket,” Albrecht told stu-dents. “Make it so that theywant to hire you.”Jennifer Kelly told listen-

ers she wasn’t academically

focused in high school; thenshe entered the ACE IThairdressing program at Van-couver Technical secondaryin 2010 and received trainingthat would have cost up-wards of $8,000 elsewhere,free of charge. Now she’s atop stylist, salonmentor andstyling educator at an Avedasalon near UBC.“You guys all have limitless

potential,” Kelly said. “We allpush ourminds into a smallworld, but it’s actually reallybig. So just get your mind outof your own box. Rememberthat there’re tons of opportu-nities and things available ifyou are open.”

twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

Programprovides free training

News

Former Tupper student Skylar Albrecht (left) standswith RussEvans, the teacher who helped him graduate and pursue a trade.PHOTODANTOULGOET

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A5

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Continued from page 1The Vancouver Aquatic

Centre saw 1,621 ballotscast in 2014 compared to929 in 2011.The city acknowledged

that 5,930 votes for thecouncil race were notcounted because votersvoted for more than the10 allotted positions forcouncil. However, the593 ballots on which the“over-votes” occurredwere still counted becausevoters cast the correctnumber of votes for theraces of mayor, schoolboard and park board.Addressing Helten’s

call for an inspection ofthe ballots, Mackenziesaid such an examina-tion would not determinewhether one candidateshould have received ad-ditional or fewer votes.That’s because the ballotsare not designed for avoter to select candidatesin preferential order.Still, Helten said, new

voting machines were usedin the election and his re-search showed the numberof “over-votes” in 2014was substantially greaterthan in previous elections.

“I’d like to be provenwrong by a physical in-spection that the opticalreaders were not capturingspecks of dust or otherthings and counting themas votes,” he said, notinghe also has questions why7,100 ballots were spoiled.

(Mackenzie said the 2014vote was the first timethe city counted spoiledballots. She said the “vastmajority” of the voterswho spoiled their ballots— through scribbling onit or checking off both yesand no questions to capitalbudget questions — weregiven replacement ballots.)Helten said the city

should at least delaydestruction of the ballotsuntil city staff review theelection. That review may

get the green light thisweek when NPA Coun.George Affleck introducesa motion to have staffanalyze last fall’s vote.Affleck said in an inter-view last week that votersraised concerns with himabout inconsistent check-ing of voter identification,spoiled ballots and longwaits at polling stations.Affleck’s motion drew

support from VisionCoun. Geoff Meggs lastweek, and Mayor GregorRobertson told the Cou-rier last Thursday that heagreed there should be astaff review of the election.“There’s a need for

the city to look at im-provements that we canmake but the overarchingresponsibility is with Elec-tions B.C. and we’ve got toensure that we have themin the picture with us, aswell,” Robertson said.“There was lots of upsideto the improvements [ad-vanced voting days, voteanywhere, big voter turn-out] but there’s still someglitches and improvementsthat need to be made forthe next time.”

twitter.com/Howellings

Mayor acknowledges ‘glitches’

News

“If the ballotsare destroyed,the evidence isgone forever.”—RandyHelten

A6 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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BRANCHINGOUT Vancouver Public Library board chair Mary Lynn Baum speaks at Monday’sground breaking event for a $25-million library and social housing complex on East Hastings. Thelibrary, whichwill serve the Downtown Eastside, Chinatown and Strathcona community, is namednə́c̓a?mat ct Strathcona library branch and is the firstmajor civic building in Vancouver to have anofficial aboriginal name. See vancourier.com formore on this story. PHOTODANTOULGOET

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A7

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Vancouver School Boardvoted unanimously lastweek to consult the publicbefore negotiating to sellor redevelop its KingsgateMall, which it leases tothe Beedie DevelopmentGroup (BDG).The vote came as the

cash-strapped board con-templates options such asclosing schools to reducewhat is now projected to be a$15-million budget shortfall.School board trustee

Patti Bacchus said Jan.16 that she brought hermotion forward to re-quire public consultationbecause she feared thatthis openness would nothappen otherwise.“If we were to be ap-

proached with an offer topurchase, anything likethat would go in camera,which means we can’t talk

about it,” she said. “Myconcern was that I didn’twant anything like that tohappen and anything tochange without the publicbeing aware.”Bacchus strongly oppos-

es selling the property onEast Broadway at King-sway because she believesits value will appreciatein the future. She alsolikes the approximately$750,000 in annual rev-enue that the school boardgets from BDG, which hasmany decades left on itslong term lease.She is, however, open to

redeveloping the site.BDG president Ryan

Beedie floated the idea in2012 that a redevelopmentof the mall, with added den-sity, would make sense andcould be a win-win for bothBDG and the school board.After all, Kingsgate Mall

is a mere block away fromRize Alliance’s 258-home

Independent, which willlaunch sales in early Feb-ruary and is expected tobe complete by 2017.“It’s hard to imagine

[the mall] staying the wayit is for 50 or more yearsand there’s decades left inthe lease,” Bacchus said.“It’s difficult [to redevel-op] with a leased site. It’seasier with freehold land.”Beedie added that he

did not want to comment“at this time” about howto redevelop the mall.The school board owns

Kingsgate Mall becausethe site originally housed aschool named False CreekSchool, which was builtin 1887. Mount PleasantElementary School replacedthat school in 1892 andstood on the site until it wastorn down in 1972, accord-ing to a report by Common-wealth Historic ResourceManagement Ltd.

twitter.com/GlenKorstrom

Public to get say on fateof KingsgateMallVancouver School Board to seek feedback beforeselling or developing Mount Pleasant shopping centre

NewsA8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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NewsChaptersonRobsonturns thepageIndigo announced Jan.

19 it will close its Chaptersbookstore on Robson StreetJune 30.“Recently, a very sig-

nificant rent increase madecontinued profitability un-tenable,” the company saidin a release. “Indigo plansto open another location inthe same Vancouver tradearea this year.”Indigo CEOHeather

Reisman said the proposedlease renewal’s “terms aresimply untenable for us tostay in that location” becauseit would push the store into

being unprofitable.Vancouver’s Warrington

PCI manages the lease forthe 52,000-square-footChapters location on behalfof the owner, which is anumbered company. Indigois now pursuing findinganother Chapters locationto serve what it calls the“Robson trade area.”A person who identified

himself as the store managerat the Robson Chapterslocation estimated thestore has about 50 staff. Heexpected there would be alarge sale in the lead-up tothe store’s closure.Indigo plans to keep its

store at Granville andWest

Broadway open. It will alsomove to that location whatit calls its American Girlspecialty boutique.

NEB to openVancouver officeThe National Energy

Board (NEB) is opening aregional office in Vancouveras the independent regula-tor deals with two majorpipeline projects in theworks in B.C.The new office is set to

open by the spring.The NEB is charged with

approving projects in theoil, gas and electricity sec-tors, including Enbridge’sproposed Northern Gate-

way pipeline, which wouldrun from northern Albertathrough to northern B.C.Meanwhile, Kinder

Morgan wants to twin itsexisting Trans Mountainpipeline, which runs be-tween northern Alberta andBurnaby.Both projects have been

met with resistance fromdifferent groups in B.C.The staff at the NEB’s

new regional office willfocus on communicationswork, community engage-ment and assist with opera-tions, according to a pressrelease. The NEB did notrespond to requests for aninterview.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A9

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Theweek in num6ers...

52In thousandsof square feet,the sizeof theChapter’s storeonRobsonStreet thatwill beshutting its doors June30due

tounaffordable rent.

750In thousandsofdollars, the

annual revenue theVancouverschoolboard receives from

rentingout theKingsgateMall.

7.1In thousands, thenumberofspoiledballots cast in the2014municipal election, according tocity clerk JaniceMackenzie.

1.4In thousands, thenumberof cigarettebutts thatwerepickedup fromthegroundatWreckBeachonSaturdaybyvolunteerswith theSurfrider

Foundation.

15Thepercentage taxi fares arehigher inVancouver than inothermajorCanadiancities.

100In a typical year, theaveragenumberof calls for help theNorthShore rescue respondsto. Thenon-profit group

celebrates its 50thanniversarythis year.

Michael GellerColumnistmichaelarthurgeller@gmail.com

Have you ever waited too long for ataxi, or not got one at all?Last week, SFU’s noon-time discussion

series “City Conversation” examinedVancouver’s taxi industry and emergingtechnology-based alternatives such asUber.Participants included Mohan Singh,

president of the B.C. Taxi Association(BCTA), which represents most taxicompanies in the province, and formerVancouver city councillor and writerPeter Ladner.While Uber and its aggressive tactics

have attracted media headlines, thereare other ride-share providers wantingto serve us. This could have significantramifications for taxi passengers, driversand the industry as a whole.I attended this discussion since for

many years I have believed Metro Van-couver’s taxi system is broken, especiallywhen compared with other cities where Ihave lived and travelled.The fact that the BCTA represents all

140 taxi companies in B.C. except for thefour companies operating in Vancouveris, to my mind, evidence that somethingis amiss.While the BCTA is proud of its lobby-

ing efforts to keep the B.C. taxi industryregulated, many provincial regulationsare outdated, short-sighted and neithersustainable nor in the best interests ofpassengers.For example, except during weekend

evenings, North Shore, Surrey or Rich-mond taxis bringing fares into Vancouverare not allowed to take fares back to theirhome municipalities. They must returnempty. This is a sustainable transporta-tion system? At the same time, Vancou-ver taxis are often reluctant to take faresto distant parts of Metro Vancouver sincethey too are restricted from bringing faresback to the city.If you have ever waited a long time for

a taxi or not found one at all, it may bebecause Vancouver has the lowest ratio oftaxis per capita of any major Canadian city.It is significant that not one new taxi

company has been allowed to enter theVancouver market in 25 years. Com-pare this with any other retail or serviceindustry.If you thought fares seemed expensive,

Vancouver rates are approximately 15per cent higher than the average in major

Canadian cities.SFU graduate student Benn Proctor

has written an excellent master’s thesison the taxi industry. He concluded thatthe primary beneficiaries of current regu-lations are the taxi company shareholderswho can charge $800,000 for a single taxicab license.Meanwhile, taxi drivers who work half

their shift just to pay overhead and op-erating expenses and taxi passengers arethe losers; especially those of us trying toget a cab during peak times or around 4p.m. when the customary 12-hour shiftsstart and end.While deregulating the taxi industry

might seem like a possible solution, ithas been tried in many places around theworld with limited success. Regulatory re-form would seem to be a better approach.However, without public outcry, signifi-

cant regulatory reform is not likely to hap-pen since, as I learned when I ran for citycouncil, taxi cab owners are very influen-tial and highly visible at election time.For these reasons, I and many others

would like to see Uber or similar compa-nies operating in Vancouver.Uber’s stated mission is “to improve

city life by connecting people with safe,reliable, hassle-free rides through theuse of technology.” Passengers use asmartphone app to connect with privatedrivers.Uber currently operates in 253 cities

in 53 countries worldwide. While it hasgenerated concerns, as noted during theSFU discussion, including highly publi-cized reports of drivers raping passengers,everyone with whom I have spoken whohas used Uber is full of praise.Fares are generally lower, cars come

quickly and the smartphone applicationprovides details on vehicle identifica-tion and arrival. Furthermore, no cashchanges hands.Today New York City has 14,000 cabs

for 8.5 million people. Mexico City has100,000 cabs for 9 million people. MetroVancouver has 1,500 cabs serving apopulation of nearly 2.5 million.As more Vancouver residents choose

not to own a car, and tougher drinkingand driving laws are introduced, the needfor more taxis and taxi alternatives willincrease. Vancouver needs to develop a“taxi culture” like other major world cit-ies. More cabs and alternative transporta-tion choices like Uber will help make thishappen.

twitter.com/michaelgeller

It’s time to fixourbroken taxi system

Opinion

Les LeyneColumnistlleyne@timescolonist.com

It’s one of the more exhaustive reportcards issued on what a ministry does andhow it goes about doing it.The performance review on the Minis-

try of Children and Family Developmentwas released recently, and it’s gettingprogressively more comprehensive. Thehope is to identify trends in that mostsensitive of ministries and track progressas well as problems.Here’s a look at some other services

delved into by the review — covering theyear ending March 2014:• Adoptions: The ministry reported

231 adoption placements, representing16 per cent of all the children eligible foradoption.Performance improved over that year,

the ministry said, because of an increasein placements and a drop in the numbersof children eligible. More children under12 were eligible and they are three timeseasier to place.There were 793 aboriginal children

eligible for adoption and only 76 wereplaced in adoption homes. Forty-two ofthem (55 per cent) were placed with ab-original families, a priority in such cases.That rate has dropped 15 percent-

age points in two years, reflecting moreplacements in non-aboriginal homes.The wait time from being declared a

permanent ward to being adopted is now26 months. That’s two months longerthan two years ago, although the vari-ables don’t necessarily make that a trend.• Special needs: There were 686 chil-

dren with at least one recognized specialneed in care last year.The median cost per case has risen

substantially, driven partly by the short-age of foster parents, which translatesinto more use of more expensive con-tracted services.It’s $43,640, up nine per cent in two

years. The increase is considered sig-nificant. The number of children in thatcategory has dropped 13 per cent overthe period. Broken down by age category,there are fewer older children but therewas a jump in the median cost of caringfor the 12-15 age category.“This indicates that although fewer

children fall in that category, those whoremain are much more expensive to carefor,” says the review.There’s a remarkable range in the cost of

caring for special-needs kids. Sixty per cent

of them cost less than $55,000 a year tocare for, but the remaining 40 per cent costbetween $55,000 and $500,000 to care for,based on the acuity of their needs.• Mental health: The ministry spends

$77 million a year on mental-health ser-vices. No specific performance evaluatorswere included in the report, but accord-ing to a satisfaction survey conductedamong clients, the overall service is well-received.Clients were asked nine questions

about aspects of the service they received.Fifty-one per cent said it was excellentoverall and 41 per cent said it was goodor very good. On the specific questionabout courtesy and respect shown by staff,the service scored a 96 per cent positiveresponse (good, very good, or excellent).The least satisfaction is about waitingtimes. The numbers are comparable to asimilar survey two years previously.• Child safety: The ministry gets

37,000 protection reports a year. Thepreferred approach is described as afamily-development response — workingwith families where a time-consumingand intrusive investigation is unneces-sary. It serves low-risk families who needservices quickly.Use of the family-development re-

sponse has increased 20-fold over sevenyears, the ministry said.Better prevention and other alternatives

have lowered the children and youth incare caseload by 10 per cent (961 cases)over that time frame. The number of fam-ilies investigated with a protection findingdecreased dramatically, while the percent-age of children removed from homes afterinvestigations increased substantially.The ministry said the child-protection

workers are using investigations for moresevere cases, resulting in more removals.Overall, some of the numbers are open

to interpretation, but the level of detailin the public reporting on the crucial jobthey’re doing is impressive.

twitter.com/leyneles

Report showsprogresswith kids in care

Some of thenumbers are open tointerpretation, butthe level of detail isimpressive.

A10 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

LETTERS TOTHE EDITORLetters may be edited by the Courier for reasons of legality, taste, brevity and clarity.Send to: 303 West Fifth Ave., Vancouver V5Y-1J6 or email letters@vancourier.com

COURIER STORY: “Affleck seeks election review,” Jan. 16.Tara Sundberg: Just be happy with your council seat and don’t waste our $$ George.David Gibson: Tara: that’s just nonsense. George is rightly concerned that the value ofour votes was reduced by staff errors in some cases. For example, when some polls ranout of ballots, some voters left without being able to vote. That’s what George Affleck isrequesting on our behalf, and I applaud him for it.

COURIER COLUMN: “Burnabymayor the oddman out on vote,” Jan. 16.Fred Irvine:Derek Corrigan’s views on the homeless are a matter of record and hecannot avoid that record through a gratuitous, ad hominem, and I would say immatureattack on Allen Garr.Jesse Carroll: This mayor is one of the best things about Burnaby. There’s a reason hekeeps getting re-elected.

COURIER COLUMN: “No-win situation after CharlieHebdo attack,” Jan. 16.Alessandra: Thank you— clear and responsible, addressing several main issuesin a succinct way. We’re all being playing by the worst elements in society who havetremendous power and do not have our best interests in mind: those who want war.

COURIER COLUMN: “Act of courage saved lives,” Jan. 16.Bonnie @greenurlifenow: Awonderful true story that shows the goodness in humanity.

COURIER STORY: “Full school leaves Dickens annex kids in limbo,” Jan. 9.Robert: Actually, just a few facts to clarify some things. Dickens Annex andMain schoolare not your average neighbourhood school. In fact, they used to be a “choice” schoolbecause they use a multi-age philosophy (different from split classes). There is no otherschool in the Vancouver system that fully embraces this philosophy fromK to 7. And thatpedagogy, adopted in 1988, is why most of us enrolled our kids there. Five years ago, theschool was so undersubscribed by local parents, many of whom don’t like the philosophy,that cross-boundary parents were welcomed with open arms by the VSB.

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COUR IER ARCH IVES THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Jan. 18, 1998:TheNHLAll-Star Game takes place atGMPlace and, insteadof theusual eastern vs.western conference tilt, features thebest players from theU.S.andCanada takingon thebest from the rest. NHLplayerswere eligible to competeat theOlympics for the first time the followingmonth inNagano, and thedecisionwasmade to inject somenational pride into the annual event. TheNorth Americanteamcameback fromanearly 3-0 deficit towin 8-7. Vancouver Canucks captainMarkMessier scored the game-winning goal onhome ice fourminutes into the thirdperiod after taking apass from former EdmontonOilers teammateWayneGretzky.

North America defeats World

WEB vancourier.comFACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaperTWITTER @vancouriernews

have your say online...

Corriganvs.Garr: Round2To the editor:Re: “Burnaby mayor the odd man out

on vote,” Jan. 16.Another fascinating piece from Allen

Garr. Talk about resenting criticism!How dare I respond to his article andactually talk about the issues. That willcertainly bring down his wrathful ven-geance as he strives to find some otherfault in my political positions.It’s too bad Garr is so reluctant to

criticize the governments that are re-sponsible for poverty and homelessness.Instead, he expects local governmentsto shoulder the responsibility. Then, nodoubt, he will rail against property taxincreases.I have been an elected representative

for nearly twenty-eight years and I havebeen continually surprised by the sen-sitivity of reporters and political colum-nists. They can dish it out, but they justcan’t take it, even if it is a mere letter tothe editor.By the way, in the Garr home it

may be the case that everybody towsthe Garr line and his wife, partner orsignificant other agrees with his everycolumn, but Kathy and I often disagreeon important issues and respect eachother’s opinions.Even more importantly, in an as-

tounding lack of sophistication for suchan experienced reporter, he seems en-tirely unaware of caucus solidarity oncea caucus position is taken.

Come on Garr, you are better thanphoning my wife to tell on me.

Mayor Derek Corrigan,Burnaby

Stayingwithschool groupTo the editor:Re: “Hopes for heritage schools

shaky,” Jan. 9.Congratulations to the General Gordon

community, Heritage Vancouver andthe Vancouver School Board on findinga path forward to keep children safe. Iespecially applaud Patti Bacchus for herdiligent work trying to make progress onthe seismic safety issue for many schoolsin Vancouver.I disagree with Donald Luxton’s com-

ment: “Also certain communities want anew school. Well by the time the building’sdone, their kids aren’t even at that school.”In our school community, we were

fortunate to have active parents that took along-term view, considering not only heri-tage, but also the need for student safety(both present and future students), and theneed for balanced distribution of taxpayerdollars, considering competing demands ofhealth care, infrastructure, etc.Even though my children no longer

attend Lord Kitchener Elementary, onthe street I am sometimes thanked byparents of younger children for the hardwork that our parent seismic committeedid years ago.

Peggy Alca,Vancouver

Deadly mudslide hits North VanJan. 19, 2005: Amudslide sweeps ahouseoff the faceofMount Seymour, killing44-year-old ElizaKuttner, seriously injuringher husbandMichael and forcingthe evacuationof an entire neighbourhood. Thewall ofmud, trees and rocksslammed into thehomeonChapmanWaywith such force that it knocked thebuilding 100metres off its foundation and spread thedebris over the lengthof afootball field. The slide followed threedays of up to 10 centimetres of rain per dayandunseasonably high temperatures. A fewmonths later, theDistrict ofNorthVancouver bought out sevenof thehomes in the area affectedby the slide in ordertodemolish themand turn the area into anewparknamedafter ElizaKuttner.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A11

Community

CITY LIVING

Rebecca Blissettrvblissett@gmail.com

Once cheery beach chairs,now weather-tattered relicsfrom a summer that seemsfar too long ago, were oneof the many pieces of junklugged up the hundreds ofsteps to Marine Drive fromWreck Beach Saturday.Volunteers, mostly in

jeans, warm jackets and prac-tical gloves, picked their waythrough the heavy and wetsand at Vancouver’s clothingoptional beach Saturdaymorning and afternoon,adding their finds to garbagebags or white buckets.Everything was dumped

out on a tarp at the trailhead where the SurfriderFoundation had set up its

blue tent under which largepieces of garbage (metalpiping, thick coils of rope,rusted barbecue parts) weremeasured and every singlecigarette butt found in thesand and sea counted.Volunteers picked up

5,000 butts onWreckBeach during one of theirmonthly cleanups last sum-mer. Astonishingly, it wasdone in a short amount oftime in a designated area(cleanups are done in a spe-cific area so data entry pa-rameters remain consistent).Even more astonishing isthat there is a designatedsmoking area on a rug-gedly beautiful beach witha container for butts nailedto a post with the hope thatpeople use it, rather thantreat the sandy expanse asone, giant ashtray.Matthew Unger moved

to Vancouver four years agofrom his family farm locatedin Greenland, Man. He hadvisited Vancouver beforeand decided he had to livehere.“You can stand in one

spot and see beautifulcoastal mountains, turnaround and see the ocean,”he said, the excitement inhis voice betraying the factthe novelty has not yet wornoff.Unger is now the chair of

the 10-year-old Vancouverchapter of the SurfriderFoundation, an interna-tional non-profit group thatdedicates itself to, in itswords, “protecting oceans,waves and beaches since1984.” It started in Malibu,Calif. when a group ofsurfers protested, and suc-ceeded in stopping, coastaldevelopment at their local

surf break at Malibu Point.The group’s Vancouver

chapter recently decidedto stop beach cleanups inother areas of the LowerMainland, such as WhiteRock andWest Vancouver’sLighthouse Point, in favourof focusing on city beaches.Part of that reasoning is thegoal to educate people onthe environmental haz-ards of garbage, as well asdrilling home one of theircampaign slogans — “Pro-tect Where You Play.”And, sadly, the once-a-

month beach cleanups inVancouver remind volun-teers that they have somework ahead of them.Unger remembered the

last time he was on cleanupduty at Wreck Beach. “Youdo your sweep, you turnaround, and you look atyour footsteps and cigarette

butts are poking up in thesand from where you justwalked,” he said. “On anyVancouver beach, ciga-rettes, by far, account formost of the trash.”During last month’s

English Bay cleanup, 22hypodermic needles werefound on the beach. Anearlier cleanup in CoalHarbour rescued a coffeemaker, toaster oven and amicrowave from the water.Coal Harbour also getsbonus points for the odd-est catch when volunteersfound three Harlequinromance novels, a pair ofstiletto boots and a couplepackages of condoms allunder a tree.Surfrider Vancouver also

has plans beyond cleanups,such as encouraging thecity’s beach concessionstands to use compostable

food containers and cutlery,educating the public aboutwater quality, and the hor-rendous damage plasticscan cause. Anybody iswelcome to volunteer in anycapacity, said Unger, point-ing out that it’s a great wayto meet fellow ocean-loverswhether it’s paddle-board-ers, rowers, wind-surfers orskim-boarders.Scuba divers also make

up some of the group’snumbers, and they’reespecially important as theyfind the hidden garbageand hazards such as looseboat anchors and ghost crabtraps (a lost trap still traps).Vancouver is indeed a

beautiful city, but it needsmore than the efforts ofa small group to stay thatway, Unger said.“Appreciate it, right?”

twitter.com/rebeccablissett

Surfriders aim tomake a clean sweepof beaches

ECOBEACH 1.MatthewUnger, chair of the Vancouver chapter of the Surfrider Foundation first heard about the groupwhen hewas part of a teamdoing ocean research aboard the Virgin Oceanic inCalifornia. 2. A volunteer with the Vancouver chapter of the Surfrider Foundationwith some of the garbage he picked up fromWreck Beach Saturday. 3. Volunteers start their climb of almost 500 steps fromWreck Beach toMarine Drive towhere the Surfrider Foundation research teamweighed andmeasured large pieces of garbage and counted every single cigarette butt found in the sand during Saturday’sbeach cleanup. 4. Volunteers Anthony Pak and Elisha La comb the grasses onWreck Beach for garbage. The Vancouver chapter of the foundation holds a beach cleanup in the city once amonth. Cigarettesare themost commonpieces of trash and 1,400 butts were picked up and counted in a two-hour period of Saturday’s cleanup.See photo gallery online at vancourier.com.PHOTOSREBECCA BLISSETT

1 2

Toaster ovens, barbecue parts and thousands of cigarette butts removed from local beaches

3 4

A12 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

News

DEVELOPINGSTORY

Naoibh O’Connornoconnor@vancourier.com

Vancouver’s planningdepartment will grapplewith subjects ranging fromheritage buildings to policystatements for large parcelsof land in 2015.In a sit-down with the

Courier earlier this month,Brian Jackson, the city’smanager of planning anddevelopment, outlined pri-orities for the coming year.Finding more ways to

protect heritage buildingsremains a top concern. Aseries of reports related tothe city’s Heritage ActionPlan will be brought for-ward in stages in 2015.Last June, council ap-

proved a one-year pro-hibition on demolishingpre-1940 homes in theFirst Shaughnessy Districtso the city could reviewthe area’s official develop-ment plan and determinewhat steps can be taken toconserve heritage propertyin the district.Jackson expects a report

on that issue will be broughtforward inMarch or Aprilfollowed, in June, by recom-

mendations on how to savemore of the city’s characterhomes. In the fall, anotherreport on additional heritagepreservation techniques ormethods, as well as how to fi-nance them, will be unveiled,along with an update toheritage register— the firstupdate in almost 30 years.

The Grandview-Wood-land Citizens’ Assemblycontinues to attract interest,according to Jackson, whosaid about 100 people reg-istered for a recent publicmeeting. After the assemblyfinishes its report mid-year,city staff will work with thebroader community to turnthe recommendations intoa land use plan. Jacksonstressed there’s no targetdate for the plan’s approval.“The plan will come

forward when it’s ready tocome forward.We learnedthat time crunches cansometimes causemistakesto bemade, and the need toreset that, so we’re hopingpeople understand that we’renot operating under anytime crunch.We will comeforward when we believe

there is enough consensus formoving forward in Grand-view-Woodland,” he said.Jackson hopes to address

complaints from neighbour-hood groups about consulta-tion by revisiting plans forconsultation on topics suchas Northeast False Creekand False Creek Flats.“In both these areas, we

had outlined what the publicconsultation process was tobe. I think it would be usefulto have a second look at the

type of consultation that werecommended, especiallynowwith the results of theEngaged City Task Forcereport on innovative ways toreach out to communitiesand seek a broader input interms of what we’re recom-mending,” he said. “So Iwould recommend that wewould perhaps go back onthe consultation side andcome up with some newideas. It responds to theconcerns of the [Coalitionof Vancouver Neighbour-hoods], as well as to others.”A report kicking off phase

three of the Cambie corri-dor plan will come forwardin the spring.“Moving forward from

Marpole, we’re going to belooking very carefully at theboundaries of the study areato ensure that we encouragethe stability of single-familyneighbourhoods, while stilllooking for some develop-ment opportunities onwhat could be termed theshoulder areas of Cambie,”Jackson said.A report on False Creek

South, addressing the com-plexmatter of what to do withleases that are running out,will be coming forward thisspring as well. Jackson called ita “tough nut to crack.”

Continued on page 14

Heritage, landuse studieson 2015 planning agenda

Despite an anticipated growth of between 140,000 to 160,000 people over the next 30 years and the development required to accommo-date that growth, Brian Jackson, the city’smanager of planning and development, says the actual amount of the physical land that willbe changing in Vancouver is actually a very small percentage of the overall land base.PHOTODANTOULGOET

“I want to reassure people throughapplications and through policies thatthere are pockets where there’s goingto be redevelopment opportunities,but the vast majority of Vancouver,10, 20, 30 years from now is going tolook exactly the same as it does now.”—Brian Jackson

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A13

Development PermitBoard Meeting:January 26The Development Permit Board and Advisory Panelwill meet:

Monday, January 26, 2015 at 3 pmVancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th AvenueGround Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room

to consider the following development permitapplication:

803 West 12th Avenue: To construct a new eight-storey acute care hospital building to consolidateexisting mental health facilities at Vancouver GeneralHospital and University of British Columbia hospitals.The building will consist of: out-patient facilities onlevels one and two; administration and mechanicalspace at level three; 100 in-patient beds on levelsfour to eight; and a roof garden on the top level.

Please contact City Hall Security (ground floor) ifyour vehicle may be parked at City Hall for morethan two hours.

TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM:604-873-7469 orlorna.harvey@vancouver.ca

Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

News

Continued from page 13“This is being led by our

real estate and housingstaff with planning follow-ing,” he said.Policy statements in

the works include onesfor Langara Gardens, a20.8-acre site between54th and 57th Avenuewest of Cambie Street onthe southeast edge of theOakridge neighbourhood,

and the TransLink-ownedOakridge Transit Centre(OTC) site, a 13.9-acreproperty at 949 West 41st.There’s already been one

set of consultations for bothLangara Gardens and theOTC site. Staff will go outfor another round in thespring, after which they’llproduce draft policy state-ments that will be releasedfor further feedback.

Policy statements beinginitiated this year will befor the two sites announcedby the federal governmentthat are being transferredto Canada Lands— theRCMP site on HeatherStreet betweenWest 33rdand 37th avenues and the52-acre Jericho Lands.Major development

applications in DowntownSouth are expected in

2015, as well as for theWest End. In the WestEnd, the applications aredirectly as a result of thepolicies and the communi-ty plan council approved,Jackson said.“And I think you’ll see

some very interesting ap-plications coming forwardin the DTES to respond tothe 60-40 split for affordablehousing and rental housing

in the DTES,” he added.Although Vancouver

faces a population growthof between 140,000 and160,000 in the next 30years, Jackson stressesthat doesn’t mean all ofVancouver is going to bechanging.“The actual amount of

the physical land that willbe changing in Vancouveris actually a very small

percentage of the overallland base,” he said. “Iwant to reassure peoplethrough applications andthrough policies that thereare pockets where there’sgoing to be redevelopmentopportunities, but the vastmajority of Vancouver, 10,20, 30 years from now isgoing to look exactly thesame as it does now.”

twitter.com/naoibh

Most ofVancouverwill look the same, assures Jackson

A14 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

• We have a commitment to maximizing employment opportunities for both Aboriginal and local people.• The $5.4 billion Expansion Project is all private sector capital, $3.2 billion of which will be spent in BC.

No taxpayer dollars are at risk.• At the peak of construction, 4,500 people will be working on the pipeline.• The expansion will create approximately 3,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs per year for at least 20 years

of operation, the majority of which will be in BC.• $4.3 billion in tax revenues will be generated from construction and 20 years of operation.• BC communities will accrue aggregate property tax increases of approximately $23.2 million per year,

rising from $23 million to $46.2 million.• During construction, workers will spend $382 million on accommodation, meals and personal items in BC communities.• Every time a tanker docks at Westridge Marine Terminal, it brings $310,000 worth of value to the

Metro Vancouver economy.• The project will unlock access to world markets for our oil, resulting in substantial tax revenues for all Canadians.

Trans Mountain’s vision is to see theopportunities created by the project leadto long-term economic advantages forcommunities along the right-of-way.The construction and first 20 yearsof operation of the proposed expansionare expected to create a total of 108,000person years of employment. We wantto deliver lasting local benefits.

“Our goal is to ensure those living along the pipelinebenefit from the employment generated.”

- Greg Toth, Senior Project Director, Trans Mountain Expansion Project

For more information, go to blog.TransMountain.com

Committed to safety since 1953.

COMMUNITYCALENDAR

SandraThomassthomas@vancourier.com

CoalHarbourOne of the highlights

of the annual WellnessShow, which runs Feb.13 to 15 at the VancouverConvention Centre, isdedicated to women.The Women and Well-

ness Series includes work-shops, presentations anddemonstrations on every-thing from massage therapyand women’s health, to the“Seven Deadly Estro-Sins:Learn the Facts about Xen-oestrogens.”Besides women, the

Wellness Show literallyhas something for every-one, including a celeb-rity cooking stage, DairyFarmers of Canada’sAll You Need is Cheeseseminar, fitness demon-strations, kids activities,“Natural Beauty andRawSome Living” areas,exhibitors and promo-tions of wellness informa-tion on everything fromnutrition and travel toaromatherapy, pet health,Chinese medicine andhealth assessments. Fora complete list of events,exhibitors and ticketinformation, visit thewell-nessshow.com.

StanleyParkThe Investors Group

Walk for Memories is agreat way to support fam-ilies in your communityimpacted by Alzheimer’sand other dementias andto support research tofind a cure.Gather friends, fam-

ily and co-workers tohonour the memory orcelebrate the life of aperson living with demen-tia. Each of the walks isdedicated to an honoree— a person impacted byAlzheimer’s disease ora related dementia. Tothat end, this year’s walk

celebrates Barry Ritter,who has owned a salesand marketing agencyfor consumer electronicsfor more than 30 years.Ritter was forced to retireseveral years ago due tothe changes brought onby Alzheimer’s disease.Ritter and wife Myrnacredit the Alzheimer Soci-ety of B.C. for providingthem with support andeducation for today andthe future. They’re alsograteful for how supportgroups have provided anopportunity to connectwith others.Register now at no cost

as a team or individual.Those who can’t make itto the event can take partand still raise money bychoosing a virtual walk.This annual event takesplace in communities

across B.C. on the lastSunday in January, as partof National AlzheimerAwareness Month. InVancouver the eventtakes place Jan. 25 at theStanley Park Pavilion onPipeline Road with reg-istration at noon and thefive-kilometre walk ongo-ing from 1 to 3 p.m. Formore information, call604-681-6530 or toll-free1-800-667-3742. Visitwalkformemories.com formore information.

ChamplainHeightsThe Champlain Heights

Branch of the VancouverPublic Library is hosting aprogram designed to helpdads, uncles, step-dads,foster dads, granddadsand all male caregiverslearn language play for ba-bies up to 18 months old.

The Man in the Moonprogram, created for veryyoung children and themen who love them, takesplace Saturdays untilMarch 7 from 3 to 4 p.m.at the library, 7110 Kerr St.The program is free, butregistration is required bycalling 604-665-3955.For a complete list of

events, visit vpl.ca/events.

ProvincewideThe War Amps begins

its 2015 key tag mail-ing to B.C. residentsthis week with a messagepromising the organiza-tion is here to help.In a letter accompany-

ing the key tags, two par-ents, Melissa and Steven,describe how the WarAmps provided emotionaland financial support totheir family from the day

they learned their daugh-ter Ella, now 8 years old,would be born missingher right hand.The couple registered

Ella in the Child Ampu-tee (CHAMP) Programbefore she was even born.Since then, the family hasreceived financial assis-tance for artificial limbsand attended regionalseminars so they can meetother child amputees andtheir parents, share experi-ences and exchange ad-vice. At three months, Ellareceived her first artificialarm and now she has two— a myoelectric arm foreveryday and a lightweightone for swimming anddance, which she can addattachments to for activi-ties such as gymnastics andpaddling a kayak.About the program:

War Amps tags protectany keys, which makethem more vital thanever considering the highreplacement cost of elec-tronic door openers andanti-theft devices. Eachkey tag has a confidential-ly coded number. Shouldthe keys be lost, the findercan call the toll-free num-ber on the back of the tag,or deposit them in anymailbox, and the keys willbe returned to the ownerby bonded courier.The War Amps receives

no government grants.Instead, its programs arepossible through publicsupport of the key tag andaddress label service.For more information

or to order key tags, calltoll-free 1-800-250-3030or visit waramps.ca.

twitter.com/sthomas10

Road towellness litteredwith cheese

TheCelebrityCookingStage is just onehighlightof the2015WellnessShow,which runsFeb. 13 to15at theVancouverConventionCentre.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A15

SHYLO Brings The Care To Your Home.We want you to be able to live in yourhome for as long as you wish. Shylo HomeSupport Care can help you with:3 meal preparation, laundry & housekeeping3 medication management3 personal care (washing and dressing)3 Alzheimer and dementia support3 home safety and security

“I havedifficulty

managing inmy home onmy own.”

Is This You Or Someone You Know?For a FREE IN-HOMEASSESSMENT call

604-985-6881

Check us out online: www.ShyloNursing.cawww.VancouverSeniorHealth.BlogSpot.com

ErinMcPheeemcphee@nsnews.com

In the wake of a Febru-ary 2011 diagnosis withprostate cancer, West Van-couver’s Don Konantz hascontinued to step up.Later that year, every day

for an eight-week periodwhile undergoing radiationtreatment, Konantz suc-cessfully ascended all 2,830steps of the Grouse Grind.He went on to run theBerlin and Vancouver mara-thons in 2011 and 2012while on a host of cancer-fighting drugs. The unstop-pable force is currently im-mersed in training as he hashis sights set on a full-courseIronman event being heldJuly 26 inWhistler.The married father of four

has never shied away fromsharing his personal story,bravely being featured in thestar-studded 2014 Stand UpToCancer Show, an hour-long telethon filmed in LosAngeles that featured thelikes of ArianaGrande, SteveCarell, MelissaMcCarthyand ReeseWitherspoon.The show was broadcastacross North America Sept.5, 2014 and raised morethan $109million (U.S.) forcancer research.Here at home, Konantz

has continued to take anadvocacy role as a means ofincreasing awareness of theimportance of early detec-tion of prostate cancer, andto raise funds for researchrelated to treatment anda cure. Konantz serves aschairman of the Coalitionto Cure Prostate Cancer, aresearch-focused agency thatpromotes cancer preventionand survival through a betterunderstanding of cancercauses.His latest endeavour is to

serve as both a participantand spokesman for ProstateCancer Canada and its up-coming Do it for Dads StepUpChallenge. The event,

being held Sunday, Feb. 22,will see corporate teams offive climb the stairs of five ofVancouver’s tallest down-town office buildings, andraise a minimum of $5,000to support research at theVancouver Prostate Centre.Participants will climb thestairs of the Oceanic Plaza,Guinness Tower, ParkPlace, TD Tower and Sco-tia Tower for a grand totalof 5,000 feet, the approxi-mate equivalent to complet-ing two Grouse Grinds.“It’s a great event, it’s

going to raise some well-needed research funds forthe cause and it’s going toraise awareness for men tostep up for dads... and alsostep into action for mak-ing sure that they’re notat risk,” says Konantz, 52,who, in his professional lifeis the founder and a directorof Colorworks, a full-serviceautobody company.Konantz is pleased the

funds raised from the Do itfor Dads Step Up Chal-lenge will go to the Vancou-ver Prostate Centre.“This is a world-class

cancer research facility that

is in our community,” hesays. “Men in Vancouver, inparticular, and British Co-lumbia, generally, are verywell-served to have this teamof people that are lookinginto this problem,” he adds.According to Prostate

Cancer Canada, prostate isthe most common canceraffecting men and one ineight will receive a diagnosisin their lifetime.“Prostate cancer is a very

scary and can be lethal dis-ease and it crept up on me,”says Konantz. “I was sailingalong in my life, doing whatnormal late-40s men aredoing, and this really cameout of nowhere. It was just acomplete shock to me.”Married to a registered

dietitian and nutritionist,and leading an incredibly ac-tive, healthy life, Konantz’sdiagnosis came as a shock,particularly as his cancerwas quite advanced and hehad lymph-node involve-ment, a major cause forconcern. Konantz has sinceundergone surgery, radiationtreatment and 38monthsof cancer-fighting drugs,the latest round of which he

completed and has been ona drug suspension since July2014. In 2012, his sonWillyand friends Taylor Scholz,Mikhail Zalesky and YongkuJung raised $275,000 for theVancouver Prostate Centrethrough a fundraising cyclingtrip, GearWest: Our RideForMen, fromOntario toWest Vancouver.“Like everybody, I have

a someday list. I have a listof things that I want to dosomeday. I’ve got four kids.I want to see them graduate,I want to see them celebratethe milestones in their livesas well as my own. I thinkthe best possible examplethat I could give to themis to be active and face thishead on and that’s what I’vebeen doing,” says Konantz.More teams are wanted

for the challenge, which isopen to men and womenof all fitness levels. To helpteams get ready, sponsorSteve Nash Fitness WorldSports Club is offeringtraining to early registrants.New teams can access hard-copy training materials alsoprepared by the club.

twitter.com/ErinMMcPhee

Survivor anunstoppable forceProstate Cancer Canada’s Do it for Dads Step Up Challenge

Prostate cancer survivorDonKonantz encourages corporate teamsof five to register to climb to the topof five Vancouver officebuildings to raise funds for prostate cancer research.PHOTOMIKEWAKEFIELD

A16 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

“Where the science of foot care and the art of surgerymeet”

Call for an appointment. No referral required.Dr. Heather BuiDr. IanYu*

*Board Certified in Foot SurgeryTel: 604 336 28163311West 4thAvenue,Vancouver, BC

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GOUT: the newest in lifestyle and treatment

We encourage you to bring FAMILY or FRIENDS!A Rheumatologist and Nurse will be presenting and

available to answer all your questions.

Artus Health Centre839 West Broadway, Vancouver

Space is limited, please RSVP toregistration@bc.arthritis.ca or (604) 714-5550.In your message please specify which date you are interested in attending

and how many people if any will be attending with you.

Tuesday, January 27th

Gout: Overcome your pain

Tuesday, February 24th

Gout: Overcome your pain

5:30pm – 7:00pmFree snacks, teaand coffee!

FREE patient information session

DavidicusWong,M.D.davidicuswong.wordpress.com.

When I was a kid, Iwould ask myself WWSD(What would Spock do?).Spock, of course, was the

First Officer on the starshipEnterprise. Half Vulcanand half human, he wouldsuppress his human emo-tions and make decisionsbased purely on logic.If you’re not a trek-

kie (that means Star Trekfan for those who aren’t),you could ask yourselfWWSPD (What would asmart person do?). That’snot a personal insult. It’ssomething we should allask ourselves when we findareas of our lives off track.We don’t make smart

choices when we’re in arush, stuck in a routine,following the crowd orsidetracked by emotions.Every parent knows thata two-year-old throwinga tantrum acts like a babyand a five-year-old like atwo-year-old. A teenagerstill acts like a teenager.Adults in a rage make veryfoolish choices.When we take a calm

moment and reflect, werecognize where we canmake some improve-ments. Understanding thatwhat we inhale, drink andconsume is crucial to ourphysical and emotionalwellbeing, we could makebetter choices.What are the barriers to

eating the healthiest diet?

HabitIt seems easier to con-

tinue the old routine of eat-ing the same breakfast orskipping it altogether. Youmay eat the same fast foodmeal just because it’s easierthan trying something new.You may order your usualspecialty coffee withoutthinking about calories orfat content.

To change an unhealthyhabit requires time toreflect on healthier choicesand repeated attempts toestablish a better routine.

Your emotionalconnectionwithfoodWe all have our favou-

rite foods. They may becomfort foods that remindus of happy times past,like a hot chocolate on asnowy day. They can besnacks or drinks we craveso much that we forget howbad we felt the last time weconsumed them.Giving up emotional

eating requires the disci-pline to reflect before weeat and choose what isbest for us. With age andwisdom, you may eventu-ally discover that even ifwe don’t satisfy a craving,it will eventually subside.

Your culturalconnectionwithfoodGrowing up Chinese-

Canadian, you have to beantisocial to avoid eating inChinese restaurants withthe usual high salt, high fatand high carb meals. For-tunately, my mom cookedbrown rice, lots of veggiesand low fat meats. We ateWestern food and Chinesefood every other day. Mysister and I would know toset the dinner table withknives and forks if we usedchopsticks and soup spoonsthe night before.

AdvertisingTelevision commercials

are designed to make uscrave fast food. Big screensand high definition makebad food look even better.Imagine what those com-mercials would be like if

restaurants were requiredto state the health risks asthey do in American drugcommercials. This ba-con, double cheeseburgercombo may increase yourrisk for obesity, diabe-tes, high blood pressure,strokes, heart attacks andpremature death.

KnowledgeMany people rely on

TV, the internet and theirfriends for medical in-formation, including thebasics of a healthy diet.A more reliable source isCanada’s Food Guide onHealth Canada’s website. Itprovides practical informa-tion on finding adequatenutrition from a variety offoods.

CostOften less nutritious food

is cheaper than healthierchoices. Eating on a smallerbudget can be a challenge.In upcoming columns, I’lldiscuss the basics of healthyeating with some tips foreating on a budget.Dr. Davidicus Wong is the

physician lead of the BurnabyDivision of Family Practice.To learn more about upcominghealth education events, seethe BDFP website at divi-sionsbc.ca/Burnaby. For moreon achieving your positivepotential in health: davidicus-wong.wordpress.com.

What keeps us fromeatingwell?

Canada’s FoodGuideonHealthCanada’swebsiteprovidespracticalinformationon findingadequatenutrition fromavarietyof foods.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A17

MISSING A TOOTH?Dr.Marianna Klimek

Dr.Marianna Klimek&Associate Dentists

202-2929 Commercial Dr. @ 13thAvewww.mkpontic.com • 604.876.5678

MK Pontic Cantilever Bridgewith SplintThe ‘MK Pontic’ is a unique treatment option

used to replace a single missing tooth thatdoes not require reduction of the adjacentteeth.While not available for all individuals itcan offer tooth replacement that is both costeffective and minimally invasive. It lasts foryears at a cost of only

This is formed by a pontic (artificial tooth)attached to the crown on one side andsupported by a metal loop embedded inthe adjacent tooth by the use of compositebonding. Only one of the teeth adjacent to thegap needs to be prepared for the crown. Thispatient had one congenitally missing tooth andthe tooth next to the space needed a crown.The Cantilever Bridge with composite splintwas conservative and successful restoration.

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www.arthritis.ca

CHRONIC PAINMANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

DATE: Monday, February 2, 2015

TIME: 10:00am – 12:00pm

LOCATION: Trout Lake Community Centre

3360 Victoria Drive, Vancouver

CALL 604-257-6955TO REGISTER TODAY!

Looking for the answer? Join us to find out!

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEWhich one of these words is NOT a type of arthritis:

PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS KRUGELS

LUPUS SJOGRENS

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS STILLS DISEASE

We acknowledge the financial assistanceof the Province of British Columbia

The Motion Analysis and Biofeedback Lab at the University of British Columbia is seekingvolunteers with knee osteoarthritis to participate in a study assessing the effects of differenttypes of exercise on standing balance and physical function. If eligible, you may receive asupervised training program consisting of exercises to be performed 4 times a week for10 weeks.

To take part you must:• be 50 - 80 years old• have osteoarthritis in at least one knee• be otherwise healthy (i.e. no stroke, diabetes, or Parkinson’s)• not have had a hip or knee replacement• be willing to complete 10 weeks of exercise

Visit www.ubc-mablab.ca or contact Natasha (604-822-7948 or mablabstudies@gmail.com)for further details!

Seeking volunteers with kneeosteoarthritis. We need your helpfor a research study!

facebook.com/TheVancouverCourierNewspaper

Join ourgrowing network!

1. Billed as “a gender-blending booty-pounding queer perversion of punk draggedthrough a musical theatre gutter,” TheChristeeneMachine is led by Americandrag queen, performance artist, singer-songwriter and rapperChristeene Vale.See and hear what all the fuss is aboutwhen The ChristeeneMachine rolls overGranville Island’s Performance Works Jan.22 to 23 as part ofClub PuSh, the lessformal, more cutting-edge social hub of thePuSh International Performing ArtsFestival. Info at pushfestival.ca.

2. Ever wonder what the Greek tragedyEuripides would look like if Dionysus wasa transvestite in thigh highs and combatboots? Wonder no more, as Theatre UBCpresents Charles L. Mee’s The Bacchae2.1, which is based on Euripides, whiledrawing from German literary theoristKlaus Theweleit’sMale Fantasies, ValerieSolanas’ The S.C.U.M. Manifesto and JoanNestle’s Lesbian Herstory Archives. Thedark, racy and explicit production runs Jan.22 to Feb. 7 at Frederic Wood Theatre.Details at theatrefilm.ubc.ca.

3.Quebec circus company Les 7 doigtsde la main (a.k.a. 7 Fingers, for all youanglophones) haul their limber limbs acrossand above the Vancouver Playhouse stagefor their latest production Séquence 8.It runs Jan. 22 to 24 as part of the PuShInternational Performing Arts Festival.Details at pushfestival.ca.

4. Reunited and it feels so good, Toronto’sDeath from Above 1979 gets set topulverize the masses Jan. 21 at the VogueTheatre in support of their new album ThePhysical World, the unlikely follow-upto the duo’s masterful 2004 debut You’reAWoman, I’m aMachine. Metz and PS ILove You open. The same lineup plays thefollowing night (Jan. 22) for a 19+ showat the Commodore Ballroom. Tickets atticketmaster.ca.

1

Arts&Entertainment GOTARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com

2 3

Jan. 21 to 23, 2015

4

A18 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

Arts&EntertainmentKUDOS&KVETCHES

R.I.P GoogleGlassFirst the PT Cruiser, now

Google Glass. Society’s loveaffair with fashion-adverse,misguided technology tookanother hit this week asGoogle announced it isshelving its computerizedeyewear that combinedthe futuristic cachet of theUSS Enterprise’s Lieuten-ant Commander GeordiLa Forge with the cluelessdouche-baggery of a dudewalking down the streettalking into a blue toothheadset because his handsare oh-so-busy doing other,way more important stuff.According to the BBC, the

company responsible for theexpensive novelty item insists“smart glasses” will one daybecome a viable consumerproduct, and future versionsof Google Glass are in theworks, probably in somesuper-secret lab where scien-tists are also developing waystomake orthotic runnersnot look like something yourdad would buy at Costco(sorry, coworkers). But for allintents and purposes, GoogleGlass is dead.We wouldshed a single tear, but we

worry it might short-circuitour eyewear as we use ourpupils to scroll through theOldNavy website in searchof cheap pajama pants forgoing to the grocery store.

Final ChapterWe’ll admit to feeling a

certain amount of schaden-freud when we learnedthis week that ChaptersIndigo plans to shut downits flagship Vancouverlocation on Robson andHowe, June 30, citing highrent for its closure. And werarely express schadenfreud,mostly because it’s hard topronounce and spell.Of course, many have

blamed Chapters for thedemise of independent bookstores over the years, butwe also think lazy, cheappeople who don’t put muchthought into the effects oftheir easily coerced con-sumer habits are equallyto blame. Because whenit comes right down to it,Chapters is a crappy book-store. Unless you’re lookingfor a current best seller, orthe latest Oprah-approvedmemoir or coffee tablebook, the store’s selection ishorrible. The fiction sectionalmost always occupies anever-shrinking ghetto-like

corner of the store, and thestaff, although lovely peoplewe’re sure, seem inter-changeable with the bar-ristas slogging lattes at theattached in-store Starbuck’s.We doubt, however, book

buyers will be too affectedby the absence of a down-town Chapters. Sure, it’s asad reflection of a city thatclaims to be world class thatit can’t sustain a significantlysized bookstore, indepen-dent or otherwise. But wesuspect Chapters customerswill search out ever cheaperand convenient book-buyingoptions online, if theyhaven’t already.The customers truly af-

fected are those who shopat Chapters for its soothingfragrant candle selection,whimsical notepads, diariesand various stationary em-blazoned with birds, flowersand inspirational Maya An-gelou quotes (are there anyother kind?), cute little teasets and reed diffusers thatfill one’s living room and lifewith the enchanting scent ofvanilla bean. Those are thereal victims. We’ll be light-ing a sea salt and driftwoodcandle for them tonight. Ormaybe a tropical mango andpersimmon. It depends onthe mood we’re in.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A19

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Wales-based Vancouvernative Tyler Keevil was de-scribing his continued returnto the Pacific Northwest inhis writing at a reading heldat the Aberystwyth ArtsCentre Bookshop inWestWales when an audiencemember raised her hand.“’It sounds like you’re talk-

ing about ‘hiraeth,’” Keevil,35, recalls her saying.Unfamiliar with theWelsh

term, the author asked thewoman to explain.“Hiraeth,” which lacks an

English translation, speaksto “a form of yearning orlonging for something that’slost or for the homelandin a way,” says Keevil.“I think a lot of my workgrows out of that, about thefact that I have left home,but I’m continually lookingback towards it.”“Even though I’ve been

living over here for 10years I find, artistically, I’malways drawn back home.Maybe it’s... out of a senseof homesickness or nostal-gia,” he adds.Vancouver and its sur-

rounding area featuresprominently in all ofKeevil’s books to date. Hisfirst novel, Fireball, is acoming of age story set onthe North Shore. Publishedin 2013, The Drive is a co-medic road trip novel thatbegins in Vancouver beforethe action heads south tothe American Northwestthrough California. And hislatest release, Burrard Inlet,a collection of short storiespublished in the spring,

features a series of tales setin or around the LowerMainland.Keevil recently won the

$10,000 Writers’ Trust/McClelland Stewart 2014Journey Prize for “Seal-skin,” a short story from thecollection, set in a Vancou-ver fish processing plant.Keevil is no stranger to

awards, having receiveda number in the UnitedKingdom thanks to thesupport of the Welshpublishing industry, whichhas strongly embracedhis work. He received the2011 Media Wales People’sPrize for Fireball and TheDrive was shortlisted for the

2014 Wales Book of theYear, going on to receivethe Wales Book of the YearPeople’s Choice Award.Being honoured in his

native country with theJourney Prize was an im-portant milestone.“It was so nice to have

some recognition in Canadaand to be able to go back[to Toronto] for the cer-emony, and to meet a lotof people in the Canadianpublishing scene was awonderful opportunity andreally gratifying,” he says.Born in Edmonton, Keevil

moved to Vancouver at ageeight. His family moved toDeepCove when he was 12.

“That’s always beenhome ever since,” he saysof North Vancouver, wherehis parents, and sister andbrother-in-law reside.Currently he lives in

Abergavenny, Wales withhis wife, Naomi, and theirtwo-and-a-half-year-old sonDaniel. The couple metwhen Keevil, an Englishstudent at the Universityof B.C., was on exchangeat Lancaster University.Keevil worked a wide arrayof odd jobs, both in Canadaand the United Kingdom,including as a tree-planterin northern B.C. and adeckhand on an ice barge.

Continued next page

Author TylerKeevil never

Vancouver and its surroundingarea featuresprominently inall of TylerKeevil’s books.

A20 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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Anewpoint of view.

AndrewChang

strays far fromhome inhisworksContinued from page 20In his early 20s, he

worked as a labourer forone summer at the Van-couver Canfisco shipyardsfish processing plant at thefoot of Gore Avenue. Hisstint inspired the setting for“Sealskin.”The award-winning

short story is described asportraying a terrible act ofcruelty that forces the ten-sions between two workersat a fish processing plant tospill out into the surround-ing waters.While geography and

accuracy of location havealways been important toKeevil as a writer, he’s quickto issue a disclaimer, “Seal-skin” is not a true story.“A lot of the time for me,

writing, you do draw onexperiences in that beingable to build the set and thefeelings of those long daysand the arduous labour inthe summer heat, next tothe smell of that plant,”he says. “And all of thatpercolates over time andthen revisiting it years lateryou start to play what I call,‘The what if game.’ And

you think, ‘Oh what if thathad happened and if thathad happened then whatif this had happened as aresult of it?’ So you start tobuild a fictional narrativeon to the real memory im-print that you have, if thatmakes sense,” he says.“And that’s the case for a

lot of my work. And I thinkfor me it’s usually impor-tant to be able to drawon experiences, but thenfictionalize and fabricate onthem so you don’t cling tothe experience, you don’tonly write autobiographi-cally, but neither do youtotally make things up. It’sthis blending of experiencewith imagination that cancreate an authentic piece ofwork, but also one that’s gota strong story and a strongnarrative in it,” he says.In addition to his writ-

ing, Keevil teaches creativewriting at the University ofGloucestershire in Chelten-ham, England.He’s grateful for the

teachers and mentors he’shad over the years. Froma young age, he’s beenencouraged to follow a

creative path, and mentorsinstilled a passion for story,drama and narrative thatstill guides him today. Now,he works to do the same forhis own student charges.“You remember that

when you set foot in theclassroom and you thinkyou do have this respon-sibility as well with youngpeople. You want to inspirethem, you want to set the

fire going and pass that on,”he says.Something else that con-

tinues to drive Keevil is theperspective gained over theyears that story is a mean-ing-making mechanism.“We use story to make

sense of our lives and ourplace in the world andI think that’s so hugelyimportant and that willnever fade and we’ll always

need it. We need fiction,we need stories, we needto make sense of the chaosof our lives and we do thatthrough narrative,” he says.For Keevil’s next work, he

once again plans to set it inVancouver, this time craftinga novel telling a sibling story.However only time will tellwhat comes to fruition.“I was joking with my

students the other day that

I tend to have an idea Ireally pursue that I think isgoing to be wonderful and itdoesn’t work. And then, outof the ashes an idea, a newbook arises, and that hap-pened with my first noveland that happened with TheDrive. It seems to be I writeone kind of dead book andthen something leaps out ofit that I didn’t expect, kindof sideways.”

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A21

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“Fish Eyes!” has beenyelled at Anita Majumdarfrom cars for years.It’s the name of her first

play in a trilogy that will beperformed at the Cultchas part of the PuSh Inter-national Performing ArtsFestival, Jan. 27 to 31.“When those people

would yell Fish Eyes at me,it’s because they thought,oh remember, we saw thatshow together,” Majumdarsaid. “They have a very per-sonal and intimate relation-ship with the show and me,because I’m the only personon stage and I’m the writer.”Fish Eyes focuses on

teenagedMeena, who’sconsidering dumping dancefor her crush on the school’smost popular boy.“Her dance life is so

consuming that she doesn’tactually have time on theweekends to go to schoolparties or dances or hangout with actual people

from her school becauseshe’s always in either dancerehearsal or dance perfor-mance,” Majumdar said.“She’s always the outsider,and while a lot of thesewomen feel like they’re theoutsider, Meena really is.”Majumdar wrote Fish

Eyes after she moved acrossthe country from her home-town of Port Moody toattend the National TheatreSchool of Canada.“There’s something

about that [high school]experience that I hadn’t rec-onciled with,” Majumdarsaid. “There was a frustra-tion with the inequality thatI found, at least, in PortMoody high school. It tookme three plays to articulatepartly my own experience,but more to the point andmore majorly, the experi-ence of young women I sawaround me.”Fish Eyes premiered in

Toronto in 2005; at theCultch in 2006.But Majumdar wasn’t

satisfied.“I was interested in look-

ing at a new young womanwho sort of picks up from

where the last character wemet left off,” she said.Majumdar wrote Boys

with Cars, about Naz, who’sliving the life Meena aspiresto, in 2012.“That life isn’t the bed

of roses that Meena thinksit is,” Majumdar said.“We actually see a youngwoman abandon that talentfor having a boyfriend, forconceding to his life, andthat it also comes with con-sequences.”Majumdar wrote Let

Me Borrow that Top, aboutCandice, a popular girl who

secretly aspires to be a Bol-lywood dancer, in 2013.“The expectations of

being someone who’spopular and retaining thatcrown of popularity asksher to continue to be thesame person,” Majumdarsaid. “She’s not allowed toevolve into this person whoactually now aspires to be aBollywood dancer becauseit’s an experience that al-lowed her to step outsideof her realm of popularitywhere everything’s uncool,and you hang out in a park-ing lot and do nothing after

school, and because Godforbid you actually careabout something.”Like her trilogy,Majum-

dar is a dancing, acting andplaywriting triple threat.She’s a DoraMavorMooreAward-nominated choreog-rapher who trained in classi-cal Indian, and other formsof dance for more than 15years. She was awarded bestactress at the Asian Festivalof First Films in Singaporefor her film debut inMurderUnited, has worked withacclaimed director DeepaMehta and has appearedon TV in CBC’sDiverted,Republic of Doyle andGavinCrawford’sWildWildWest.Majumdar was awarded the2013Governor General’sProtégé Prize in playwrit-ing under thementorship ofJohnMurrell, recipient of theGovernor General’s Awardfor Lifetime Artistic Achieve-ment. She’s the playwright-in-residence at Nightswim-ming Theatre in Toronto.In the trilogy, Majumdar

portrays teenage girls’ tra-vails with dance, music anddramedy, exploring topicsthat range from teenage

heartache to cultural poli-tics and colonialism. Shedons South Asian dancecostumes and referencesIndian pop culture, butthe coming-of-age storieseach protagonist tells reflectwhat Majumdar and herpeers struggled with in PortMoody.“These plays feel like a

microcosm of what youend up actually encounter-ing when you go into theworld,” she said. “So highschool society feels verymuch like a smaller com-munity of the same kind ofdouble standards, the samekind of issues of fightingfor feminism that you willencounter when you growup. It’s the testing groundfor relationships betweenmen and women.”The trilogy will be per-

formed as Part 1, Fish Eyes,and Part 2 and 3, Boys withCars and Let Me BorrowThat Top, on alternatingnights. Theatregoers cansee both shows, Jan. 31,and add on dinner for $20.For more information, seepushfestival.ca.

twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

Majumdar brings teenage trilogy to PuSh

AnitaMajumdarbringsherdance theatre trilogy to theCultch.

A22 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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In winter, the HanesValley is an unforgivingplace, a black and whitemoonscape where greyboulders poke out fromdustings of snow.Icy chutes have been

scoured from the nearbyridges by landslides andavalanches.Jeff Yarnold, air op-

erations co-ordinator forNorth Shore Rescue, satin the front of the helicop-ter next to the pilot, scan-ning the boulder field. Hewas looking for tracks inthe snow, slide paths andsigns of recent avalanches.At this time of year, the

valley doesn’t look the wayit does in the summer hik-ing guides. In January, it’sa different country.This is where missing

hiker Liang Jin is thoughtto have headed before hevanished recently. It’s thesame place British touristTom Billings disappeareda year earlier.The hunt for Billings

was one of the last majorsearches conducted byTim Jones, the long-timeleader of North ShoreRescue, who died sud-denly of a heart attack onMount Seymour a yearago this week.Jones was fierce about

the work of North ShoreRescue.“He threw everything

he had at it,” said JohnBlown, another long-timemember of the team.

“He’d mow down theentire forest to try to findsomeone.”Not being able to

find Billings “drove himcrazy,” said his son CurtisJones, 28 — who is alsoa member of the rescueteam.Curtis remembers chat-

ting with his dad about thesearch on Christmas Day2013, about needing moreleads to push it forward.They kicked about an ideaof videotaping the HanesValley and ‘crowdsourc-ing’ the search online.“The next morning, on

Boxing Day, we were upat 6 a.m., and in a heli-copter at daylight flyinggrid patterns on the NorthShore with a video tech,”said Curtis.So far neither Billings

nor Liang has been found.The North Shore moun-tains seemed to swallowthem whole. Neither wereprepared for the condi-tions they’d encounter.Hanes Valley is among

a list of names familiar tosearchers: Suicide Gully,Montizambert Creek,Crown Mountain, TonyBaker Gully. Places wherea person can get intotrouble quickly.

• • •It was around the same

time of year — a weekbefore Christmas 2012 —and snowing heavily in theNorth Shore mountainswhen snowboarder Sebas-tien Boucher went missingon Cypress. The 33-year-old had last been seen

ducking under a boundaryrope and heading into rug-ged terrain west of the skiresort.Members of the rescue

team spent two days look-ing for Boucher withoutsuccess. There was deepsnow and a high risk ofavalanche.“It was terrible, terrible

conditions,” said Blown.“You were literally swim-ming in neck-deep snow.”On the third day, there

was a brief break in theweather — long enoughto send up a helicopter.From the air, they spottedfresh tracks on the side ofBlack Mountain.At the time, Tim Jones

was in a downtown Van-couver hospital with hisdaughter Taylor. Whenthe pager went off, Jonesran to the nearest policestation, commandeereda squad car and asked tobe driven to the airport,where the helicopterpicked him up.A four-man team

including Jones, MikeDanks, Blown, and Yar-nold were dropped on themountain with a sling loadof about 500 lbs of gear.But moving it in those

conditions was like “pull-ing a sea anchor,” saidYarnold. “We ended upleaving it there.”They followed the tracks

down into a gully towardsDisbrow Creek. Whenpeople are lost in theNorth Shore mountains,they almost always headdown — it’s easier, and

they think they’ll reachsafety that way, headingtoward the city and theocean. What they findinstead are dangerous wa-terfalls and drop offs thatend in icy creeks. Headingdown is always a bad idea.As darkness fell and the

searchers got closer, theycould hear Boucher yellingcrazily in the dark at thebase of a waterfall.“He was yelling like a

madman,” said Yarnold.There was no choice but

to follow him down.“When you throw a rope

off into the darkness, youhope you can find anotherrappel station when youget to the end of yourrope,” said Blown.Yarnold — the first

rescuer in — was shockedwhen he suddenly foundhimself face to face withBoucher, who was stillupright and walking. “Isaid, ‘I can’t believe you’realive,’” said Yarnold. “Hesaid, ‘Me neither.’”

• • •High-risk rescues like

this are all in a day’s —or most often a night’s— work for membersof North Shore Rescue,British Columbia’s busiestand best-known mountainsearch and rescue team.The North Shore’s

combination of mountainbackcountry that pushes upclose to a big city has been arecipe for many rescues overthe five decades the teamhas been in operation. Thisyear, the team will mark its50th anniversary.

Karl Winter, now 75, isone of three founding mem-bers of North Shore Rescueand is still on the active calllist, although these days,“I don’t go out and crashthrough the bush,” he said.Winter had already taken

part in his first mountainrescue as a teenager in theAustrian Alps when he ar-rived in North Vancouverin 1959. At that time, whenauthorities needed help inthe mountains, they calledon Vancouver MountainRescue, a loose-knit groupof local mountaineers.The team had come

into its own after membersfound the wreckage of ahorrific plane crash on thesteep slope of Mount Slessein 1957.In the early days, there

wasn’t much formalstructure to searches, saidWinter. “There were justa bunch of guys who wentout searching” —mostlybushwhacking. “Thereweren’t a lot of trails on theNorth Shore mountains inthose days.”A few years later, Winter

answered an advertisementposted by the civil defenceco-ordinator for the NorthShore, seeking volunteers. Itwas the age of the ‘Diefen-bunker’ and few mountain-eers showed up for the firstmeeting. But the need forwilderness searches quicklybecame more pressing thanprotection from nuclearfallout. “That’s how weformed North Shore Res-cue,” said Winter.In the early days, search

equipment was rudimen-tary. They didn’t haveheadlamps and their raingear was poor. “You justbrought a whole bunch ofclothes and when you gotsoaking wet you would justchange if you had to,” hesaid.They had no radios that

worked in the backcountry.Climbing ropes were

made of hemp, which werestiff and difficult to handleas soon as they got wet.“You had to be tough

and in good shape,” saidWinter. “You had a veryheavy pack when you wereout looking for people.”

• • •Today, there are about

40 volunteer members ofNorth Shore Rescue, whoget called out to about 100rescues a year.Members of the team are

trained in first aid to inter-national trauma life supportlevel — a higher standardthan any other team in theprovince.Heading into a rescue,

they are always well-pre-pared — with pre-packaged“go packs” of supplies readyto toss into the helicopter ata moment’s notice.“That was my dad’s

modus operandi,” saidCurtis. “When they jumpedout of that helicopter, theybrought the kitchen sinkwith them— hypothermiakits, tents, stoves — thewhole nine yards.”Note: A longer version of

this story first ran in the NorthShore News and can be readonline at nsnews.com.

A life on the line in themountains1.KarlWinter, oneof the foundingmembersofNorthShoreRescue, holdsa1966newspaper clipping recruitingnewmembers featuringhisphoto.PHOTOMIKEWAKEFIELD2.MembersofNorthShoreRescuewalkacrossBrohmRidgenearSquamishduring crevasse rescue training PHOTONORTHSHORERESCUE

1 2

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A23

Sports&Recreation

DUEL BRITANNIA 1.BurnabyMountain Lion Alix Gabriel is hemmed in by the Britannia Bruins during Saturday’sfinal of the Britannia Invitational Basketball Tournament. The Bruinswon the championship 76-58. 2. Bruin Lauren Powellcharges past BurnabyMountain’s Jacey Bailey. 3. Britannia’s Saffronvander Lindewrestles theball away fromtheopposition.PHOTOSREBECCA BLISSETT

1 2 3

A24 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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