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April 9 2014 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Federal Liberal candidates are already lining up for nominations in two key Burnaby ridings. See page A5
Seniors programs hit by funding loss United Way donations down, not renewing grants Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
DAniel Deregt/ContributeD
Mayor Derek Corrigan was the celebrity guest artist at L’Arche Greater Vancouver’s fifth annual Art of Being Together event at Nikkei Centre on April 3. The Mayor was guided in creating his masterpiece by local mural artist Todd Polich. Although Polich advised throughout the process, only the mayor’s paintbrush touched the canvas. The mayor painted an image of two people walking up a hill, one helping the other. He said afterwards that it symbolized the work of L’Arche, of people helping each other. Later in the program, city Coun. Paul McDonell auctioned off the mayor’s artwork for $2,000, the winning bid going to Peter Chung, who will display it at his Joe’s Table café.
SD41 to be on hook for seismic work? Four Burnaby projects possibly affected Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
Seismic upgrades at four Burnaby schools could be affected by a new education ministry policy that looks at school districts to share in the cost of such capital projects. Until now, all capital projects at public schools have been funded by
the provincial government. The new policy is in response to an auditor-general’s report in 2010 that found there is too much excess cash being held by public sector agencies, including school districts, said Ben Green, education ministry spokesperson. A subsequent auditor-general’s follow-up report released last month reached the same conclusion. To deal with the issue, the
finance ministry launched its “cash management strategy” that requires districts to consider cost-sharing of capital and seismic projects. In addition to addressing the auditor-general’s concerns, the move will also save taxpayers money by reducing the government’s borrowing costs, he said. Those projects that are already under construction or where a project agreement has been signed
are not affected, Green said, unless they go over budget. “For districts that don’t have significant cash balances or surpluses, provincial funding for capital projects will remain unchanged.” For those that do have surpluses, they’ll be dealt with on a “projectby-project basis,” he said.
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It’s a lunch date Niels Thomsen hates to miss. For two years, Thomsen, 88, has attended the weekly seniors’ lunch at Burnaby Neighbourhood House. It’s organized through a seniors outreach ambassador program aimed at helping vulnerable, isolated seniors build relationships in the community. “It makes the difference between sitting at home or getting out and talking to people,” said the retired carpenter. “I would miss it terribly if that was to discontinue.” The program is one of many assisting seniors that are losing United Way funding once their grants end. In the case of Burnaby Neighbourhood House (BNH), the program runs on $36,000 a year through a three-year grant that will not be renewed at the end of June, said BNH executive director, Antonia Beck. please see grAnt, A8