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MARCH 27 2015 www.burnabynewsleader.com New legislation is coming to help guide dogs do their jobs. Page A3
Car crashes into C.G. Brown pool building Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Rene Boutin is making a big bank deposit... of shoes. BlueShore Financial in North Burnaby, where Boutin is the branch manager, is accepting donations of gently used shoes on March 30 for its Sun Run Shoe Renu program. All donated shoes will be cleaned and distributed by the Salvation Army. Isabelle Kin is the teller doing Boutin’s footwear finances.
New law for service dog access Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
Pam Andrews and her daughterin-law drove an hour from her home in Richmond to take her then-twoyear-old grandson to a regional tourist attraction. Andrews has multiple sclerosis and uses a scooter to get around. After they paid for their tickets, she was told her golden retriever service dog Cyber wouldn’t be allowed inside. She said the staff questioned her need for the dog and didn’t care that
she had government identification showing Cyber is a certified service dog. She called the Burnaby-based Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), which trained Cyber, and even they weren’t able to reason with the staff. Andrews, 53, got their money refunded but to make matters worse, when she asked to use the restroom before the long drive home, she was denied access again until the staff agreed to escort her to the washroom and back. It’s situations like these that are
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all too common for people with disabilities who rely on the support of service dogs. It’s also one that’s about to change, thanks to new provincial legislation introduced to guarantee service dogs access to anywhere the public is allowed. “With these changes we can make sure that a fully certified dog will be appropriately recognized and won’t result in someone with a disability being turned away from a service,” Social Development Minister Michelle Stilwell said when the legislation was introduced recently.
Violators such as stores and restaurants who refuse entry to service dogs will also face stiffer fines of as much as $3,000. Disability Alliance BC executive director Jane Dyson said tougher penalties were long overdue and the current maximum fine of $200 was “grossly inadequate.” The proposed Guide Dog and Service Dog Act, if passed in the legislature, will replace the Guide Animal Act which is about 30 years old. Please see HE EVEN, A3
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It’s business as usual at C.G. Brown Pool, but on Tuesday afternoon, Burnaby firefighters had a close call on their hands. A car, reportedly driven by a middleaged woman, was driven across the pool’s east parking lot before crashing into the building just before 2 p.m., according to Craig Collis, Burnaby’s assistant director of recreation. “The vehicle was half imbedded into the laundry room and fortunately there were no injuries although the lone driver was shaken,” Collis said by email. There was no one in the laundry room at the time. The driver ended up in the car’s passenger seat and needed help to get out of the vehicle, said assistant fire chief Bryan Virk. There was no serious damage to the building’s structure and there was “no breach of the chlorine system which was lucky, it just missed by a foot or two,” said Virk. “Otherwise we would’ve had our hands full with a chlorine leak. We’re fortunate that wasn’t the case.” Collis confirmed there was no disruption to the pool’s operations. The damaged area is now boarded and secured.