Thursday October 10, 2013 (Vol. ol. 38 No. 82)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Silver screen: Seniors and youth join n forces to fight ageist attitudes, s, in a new filmmaking project ject at Whitecliff Retirement nt Residence. i see page 399
White Rock mayor votes against proposed ‘out of whack’ salary, as city staff advise smaller raises
Politicians endorse bigger pay boost Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
If the majority of White Rock council members have their way, the city’s mayor will earn nearly a third more after the next election. But while Mayor Wayne Baldwin said he agrees present council pay needs to catch up with that of similar-sized communities, he does not support the degree of bump favoured Monday by most of his peers.
“It doesn’t make that much difference for the councillors, but it sure makes a difference for the mayor,” Baldwin said, before voting against calculating civic politicians’ pay by averaging that given to elected officials in Pitt Meadows, Port Moody, Langley City, West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Port Coquitlam. “(It’s) out of whack.” The proposal was voted on by council members meeting as the governance and
legislation committee. It was the higher of two options put forward by staff following a remuneration review that was requested by the committee last March. If approved at the Nov. 4 council meeting, the mayor’s pay would jump by approximately $20,000 (to nearly $80,000 per year) as of Jan. 1, 2015; councillors’ annual pay would be about $3,500 higher. They currently receive $26,580.
Staff said the review determined the politicians were not adequately paid compared to their peers in similar-sized communities, but recommended the calculation be based on the average of three municipalities – Pitt Meadows, Port Moody and Langley City. Instead, by a vote of 4-2, council members backed the figures that included the North Shore and Port Coquitlam. i see page 4
Regards from Broadway Singers (from left) Debra Da Vaughn, Tamara Croft, Christopher Simmons and Vanessa ColeyDonahue wax melodramatic in a number from A Night on Broadway Goes Hollywood at Surrey Arts Centre Saturday. The lighthearted showtune fundraiser is staged annually to help Surrey Food Bank, with assistance from businesses in the community. Boaz Joseph photo
Class-action challenge to New Veterans Charter passes legal hurdle
Court, ombudsman back veterans group’s claim Melissa Smalley Staff Reporter
A White Rock-based veteranssupport group is celebrating a court decision that allows a lawsuit against the federal government to proceed. While the Conservatives plan to appeal last month’s B.C. Supreme Court ruling that dismissed the government’s motion to strike the
class-action lawsuit – filed last fall on behalf of Canadian soldiers who are receiving benefits under the New Veterans Charter – a veterans ombudsman report released this week finds “urgent shortcomings” in the seven-year-old charter. Jim Scott, president of White Rock-based Equitas Society, said the group is pleased with Justice
Gary Weatherill’s Sept. 6 decision to uphold the lawsuit. “We’ve always believed that if the facts got into the court of law, they’d be fairly reviewed,” Scott told Peace Arch News. “It’s not surprising that the courts are seeing our point of view.” At issue is the government’s decision to alter the way wounded sol-
diers are compensated through paying lump-sum settlements instead of long-term benefits, a method Scott says ultimately results in reduced compensation for soldiers. It’s one of several points highlighted in a report by Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent released Tuesday, which calls for improvements to the charter.
Independent & Assisted Living for Seniors
Receive $2000 Referral Bonus
BORDER GOLD CORP.
Call for details
Largest Suites in Town
Newly Renovated Suites
15366 - 17th Ave. White Rock 604-531-1160
15340 - 17th Ave. White Rock 604-531-7470
www.unicarehomes.com
The report states more than 400 disabled veterans are at risk of living in poverty due to “the insufficiency of the economic financial support provided after the age of 65.” And it criticizes accessibility of the Permanent Impairment Allowance, designed to compensate severely impaired veterans who can’t work. i see page 4