FARMERS MARKET RETURNS HOME
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JOB ACTION MAY MEAN NO FIELD TRIP
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A WORLD OF SPORT IN BURNABY
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FRIDAY
MAY 4 2012
www.burnabynewsleader.com Pets have a soul, SPCA volunteer Kim Varnam says. The SPCA hosts an open house Saturday. See Page A5
Three crashes in one night At least one driver was intoxicated: RCMP
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Maria Isabel Cruz ponders her options after the Katimavik youth volunteer service program was shut down just before she was to join it. The program places young people in communities across Canada to do volunteer work, but it was recently cancelled by the Conservative government.
Katimavik cut puts youth plans on hold When the federal government scrapped the Katimavik program, it also cancelled the plans of hundreds of youth across Canada—including those of people like Maria Isabel Cruz. “I was really upset when I found out,” said the 20-year-old Burnaby woman. The program started in 1977, and takes an average of 1,500 youth a year, aged 17 to 21, who volunteer full-time with non-pro¿ts across the country.
Cruz’s group expected to begin volunteering in July, but due to the decision announced by the Conservatives in their March budget, the program wraps up in June. For Cruz, the decision was heartbreaking. “I was kind of thrown back really hard, it was terrible,” Cruz said. “I didn’t even know what to do with myself. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I felt stuck.” Cruz had already obtained her criminal record check and a medical assessment, then two days after she ¿nished her paperwork she received
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an email saying Katimavik was cut. Another student surprised by the decision was 17-year-old Ashley Morissette. “It is a really great program,” said the Burnaby resident. “It shouldn’t have been cut because it gives you so much more opportunities. I was excited to ¿nd out I could do something more than just go to school in the fall. Once I found out it was cancelled I had to rearrange my plans and ¿gure out what I was going to do instead. Luckily I had applied for university, but I hadn’t thought about scholarships or anything like that.”
The scrapping of Katimavik has also disappointed former participant Aditi Shah. She wanted others to have the same great experience. In the program in 2011, Shah worked full-time with non-pro¿t organizations, working with the Canadian Red Cross and in a home for developmentally challenged adults. “A lot of people go to it straight from high school because they don’t know what they want to do with their lives,” said Shah, 19. “They need that transition between being in high school and adulthood.”
BOTTLE DEPOT
see IT’S BEEN CANCELLED BEFORE, A2
POP
reporter@burnabynewsleader.com
POP
Elizabeth Walters
Burnaby RCMP’s traf¿c section had a busy night recently when they responded to three crashes where at least one driver involved had been drinking. In each of the three cases on April 30, drivers were issued immediate roadside prohibitions (IRP) when they blew a warning after providing a breath sample to police. Roadside screening devices are set to indicate a warning when blood alcohol levels exceed 50 mg per 100 ml of blood, a level where studies have shown everyone’s ability to drive is negatively affected. At 80 mg per 100 ml of blood a driver may face criminal charges. Last month 10 Burnaby RCMP constables and corporals were inducted into “Alexa’s Team,” named after four-year-old Alexa Middelaer who was killed in 2008 by a vehicle driven by an impaired driver for their efforts. To be nominated for the team, police of¿cers must have taken at least 12 “criminally”-impaired drivers off the road through a criminal investigation or the new IRP process.