HST TRANSITION CUTS TWO WAYS
page
4
PREMIER BITTEN BY PEST PROBLEM
page
6
GAS TAX TOPS $1B IN METRO VANCOUVER
page
8
WEDNESDAY
MAY 23 2012
www.burnabynewsleader.com
Questions are being raised about the composition of a new committee looking into the future of Burnaby Hospital, by City Coun. Nick Volkow and others. See Page A3
Tories stepping on the gas: MP Wanda Chow newsleader.com
WANDA CHOW/NEWSLEADER
Rosie, a Shar-Pei cross, is one of several dogs found abandoned in South Burnaby’s Big Bend industrial area. Vet bills for the dogs have stretched the medical budget of the SPCA which is seeking donations with the help of an anonymous donor who will match up to $20,000 in community donations for care of animals at the Burnaby shelter.
SPCA seeks cash for vet bills Anonymous donor to match up to $20,000 Wanda Chow wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
A sudden inÀux of abandoned dogs requiring medical treatment has the Burnaby SPCA asking for the public’s help to cover veterinary bills. Over two weeks in late April and early May, seven dogs were found in South Burnaby’s Big Bend industrial area, near Marine Way and Glenlyon Parkway, said Ryan Voutilainen, manager of the Burnaby branch.
fresh fish daily
Of those, two were kept by the people that found them and ¿ve ended up at the animal shelter on Norland Avenue. All ¿ve required medical treatment for dental problems, skin conditions and other issues likely resulting from neglect, and needed to be spayed and neutered, he said, for a total cost of up to $500 per dog. In a typical month, the branch spends about $3,500 on medical care for the animals in its charge, mostly funded through donations. The sudden addition of the ¿ve dogs has helped boost its costs to about $5,000 so far,
Regent
FISH MARKET
4020 Hastings Street, Burnaby • 604-298-9828
and May isn’t even over yet. An anonymous donor has agreed to match up to $20,000 in community donations which, if achieved would fund the branch’s medical budget for almost a full year, Voutilainen said. As for the seven dogs found, he said it’s not known if they were simply abandoned by a backyard breeder in the area or if they were dumped off in the area. Of the ¿ve taken in by the SPCA, four—two Chihuahuas, dubbed Dorito and Burrito, a poodle mix they’ve named Tinkerbella, and a pitbull mix
they call River for the area where he was found—are either in foster care awaiting surgery or are already adopted. Rosie the Shar-Pei cross, named for Roseberry Avenue where she was found, remains at the shelter waiting for a new home. To donate, call the Burnaby SPCA branch at 604-291-7201 or visit spca.bc.ca/burnaby and direct your donation to the medical budget for the Burnaby branch. twitter.com/WandaChow
EDDIE YAN & Team NOW IN SEASON
SPOT PRAWNS
604-722-7309 Your Burnaby Specialists
FREE HOME STAGING
centre realty
www.eddieyan.ca
A Burnaby MP says Conservative government policies are driving up gas prices in Metro Vancouver. Burnaby-Douglas New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart says the Tories recently allowed Kinder Morgan to sell more of the crude oil delivered through its Trans Mountain pipeline to foreign companies. That’s brought in more bids from overseas and driven up costs for the Chevron in Burnaby. “Higher oil prices for Chevron mean higher gas prices for us.” Stewart said Metro Vancouver residents can expect even higher prices if Ottawa allows the Chevron re¿nery to close. A number of re¿neries across Canada are also in danger of closing, including Imperial Oil’s Dartmouth re¿nery. “Kinder Morgan has formally proposed to build a giant new Alberta-Burnaby oil pipeline, and the immense global competition for limited supply means domestic industries will be prohibitively outbid. It would be the ¿nal nail in the Chevron re¿nery’s cof¿n. The Conservatives could stop the expansion, but have forgotten about British Columbia in their rush to ship crude oil offshore.”