Thursday January 15, 2015 (Vol. 40 No. 5)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
R O C K
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S O U T H
S U R R E Y
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Lasting legacy: Longtime volunteer Dorothy Gibbs, 81, will be honoured for her tireless volunteer efforts for the Alzheimer’s Society of B.C. at the annual Investors rs Group Walk for Memories. i see page 13
Ministry of Justice instructions mean ‘there is nothing further White Rock can do,’ mayor says
Bylaw officers diverted from tracks Sarah Massah Staff Reporter
White Rock bylaw officers have been told to stay clear of the train tracks along the city’s waterfront. While the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway lies within the municipality’s jurisdiction, the railway itself is private property, notes a letter to White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin from the Ministry of Justice.
“There is no authority for a municipal government to enforce their bylaws outside the local government nor can bylaw officers enforce federal statutes or act as enforcement agents on private railway land outside of the municipality,” Perry Clark, the ministry’s executive director of policing, security, and law enforcement and infrastructure finance, writes in the letter dated Dec. 3. The letter – which was discussed during the
correspondence portion of Monday’s council meeting – follows a city delegation with the ministry last September raising concerns over increased rail traffic and the challenge of ensuring beach visitors use designated crossings, rather than trespassing on rail lands. “The response has come back that they’re not going to give us any permission for bylaw enforcement officers to do any enforcement on private property, and that the RCMP can
do it if it falls within the operational jurisdiction of the city,” Baldwin said. “At this point in time, there is nothing further we can do.” In B.C., the Canadian National (CN) Police Service and the Canadian Pacific (CP) Police Service are “unique police forces responsible for providing policing and law enforcement to the property owned” by respective railway companies, Clark writes. i see page 4
Construction declines
Community rallies
Surrey meets billion-dollar building mark
Party of a lifetime
Kevin Diakiw
Tracy Holmes
Black Press
Staff Reporter
Surrey just inched past the billion-dollar mark in development last year, as the city experienced its third year of building declines. The city first burst past $1 billion in building-permit values in 2004 and climbed north of $1.5 billion until the global economic meltdown of 2008. In the years following, Surrey was registering about $850 million annually in development, but the numbers rallied as confidence in the building industry resumed. That confidence was matched with federal infrastructure cash meant to spur “shovel-ready” projects. In 2011, Surrey saw $1.2 billion in development, followed by a year with $1.3 billion. Then things in the development sector began to slide a bit. In 2013, the city logged $1.13 billion in building-permit values, and last year fell even further to $1.02 billion. Jean Lamontagne, Surrey’s general manager of planning, said the previous years’ climb well past $1 billion were “blips” caused by the construction of several institutional projects, such as Surrey Memorial Hospital’s new criticalcare tower, the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre, and RCMP E-Division headquarters. i see page 10
plan to give an eight-yearold South Surrey girl the birthday party of a lifetime evolved into something much bigger Friday, when Ellaray Lewis was treated to an entire day of pampering and fun. Organizer Nikita Graham – a Panorama resident who met Ellaray last summer while facepainting at a City of Surrey event – said the youngster had a “girls’ day” that included getting her hair, makeup and nails done before heading, in a limousine, to a party at the Crown Palace banquet hall. “She kept saying, ‘oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is for me’,” Graham said. Ellaray was first introduced to Peace Arch News readers in May 2008, when she was just 16 months old, after a former classmate of her dad’s decided to organize a fundraiser to help the family. Born with a rare condition that developed into an aggressive skin cancer, over the years, Ellaray has undergone more than two dozen surgeries to fight it. Prior to her seventh birthday, doctors diagnosed her with scoliosis – a curvature in her spine that means she has to wear a body cast most of the time. i see page 4
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Judith Laurel photo
Celebration organizer Nikita Graham shares a moment with birthday-party girl Ellaray Lewis last Friday.
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