NO EXTENSION FOR PIPELINE INPUT
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THE SILLY SEASON HAS BEGUN
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THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN
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FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 28 2014 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Lion’s Lair helps ex-military personnel get the hang of life in business. See Page A3
City eyes no-go zones for payday loans Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Jaspal Sihota, a finance student at BCIT, pulls a block from his Jenga tower at a special Kid for a Day event put on by the school’s student association as part of its Mental Health Awareness Week. Students were able to build with Lego, race toy cars, play board games and eat snacks like popcorn as a way to relieve stress through play.
Brentwood critics playing politics: Mayor Mayor says consultation has been ongoing since 1996 Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
North Burnaby resident Helen Ward was leading the charge this week against the Brentwood mall redevelopment project. She claims there hasn’t been enough public consultation. The first she ever heard about the Brentwood development was
Aug. 28, 2012. That’s when a friend mall all the time to use SkyTrain in Vancouver as a model for how it told her of a public hearing on the and shop. should be done. master plan for the project “The 30-metre rule is just Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan which could include towers up a joke.” said the 30-metre rule is what’s to 70 storeys tall, said Ward. Construction has recently required by the Local Government She attended and raised led to changes to the area’s Act. City hall goes beyond that by concerns about the late bus connections. advertising in local newspapers. summer timing of the That’s inconveniencing He’s also quick to point to the hearing and the fact only her and making life difficult recent critics’ political backgrounds. WARD residents within 30 metres for seniors and people with Indeed, of the eight people who of the site are notified by the disabilities, she said. signed a recent letter to council city. And she held up the public about their concerns, four have past 1 12-03-05 1:20 PM She said she lives about a mile process for4x1.25_small_appliances_ad_final.pdf the proposed involvement in local politics. away from the mall, and goes by the redevelopment of Oakridge mall Please see CITY AWARE, A9
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Burnaby city hall is looking at how it can control the influx of payday lenders in lower-income neighbourhoods. The move comes after a request by social justice group ACORN at Monday’s council meeting. The companies target neighbourhoods where the most vulnerable live, said Monica McGovern, chair of ACORN’s Burnaby chapter. They fill a niche no longer provided by most banks and credit unions—small loans to people on social assistance or who have bad credit. But it’s a service that comes at a major cost to its customers. Steven McMurtrie, a Burnaby ACORN member, said he first started using payday lenders in 2006. That’s when he took out a $300 loan but when he paid it back on his payday, it left him $300 short for his other bills so he had to get another payday loan to make up for it. “This is what happens to a lot of people, it becomes a cycle you can’t get out of.” Please see ‘LEGALIZED LOAN SHARKING’, A3