FRIDAY
JANUARY 15, 2016
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Vol. 65, Issue 10
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Activists push for electoral reform Petition calling for proportional representation presented to MP TRE VOR CR AWLEY
Two local activists presented a petition to address federal electoral reform to Kootenay-Columbia MP Wayne Stetski on Wednesday afternoon at his constituency office. Dr. Joyce Green and Anne Beurskens have been collecting signatures for a petition to change the federal electoral system to proportional representation from the firstpast-the-post system, which is the voting
BARRY COULTER PHOTO
The Pollitt family has gathered for Big Daddy’s birthday, but all is not right. Cranbrook Community Theatre’s presentation of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” opens tonight at the Studio Stage Door. See more, Page 4. Above: Big Daddy (Alexander Gilmour) confronts his tormented son Brick. Below: Brick’s wife Maggie (Jennifer Inglis) is made to feel even more of an outsider by Big Mama (Nicola Kaufman).
method currently in place. Both Dr. Green and Beurskens said that a proportional system would fairer and create a more diverse Parliament, which would encourage parties to put aside partisan bickering and work together. Beurskens speaks from experience, having voted in a proportional system when she lived in The Netherlands before emigrating to Canada.
See PETITION, Page 3
RDEK looking at options for fire dispatch TRE VOR CR AWL EY
The RDEK is looking at three bidders for fire dispatch services, as the regional government and member municipalities are searching for a new provider. For the last five years, Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services was under contract to provide the service at the expense of a paid firefighter. However, the city and the RDEK decided to extend the agreement for another six months while searching for a new service provider. Sanford Brown, the RDEK Manager of Building & Protective Services, said including Cranbrook into the RDEK’s fire dispatch
services just made sense. “One, cost-wise, we can get a better cost if we’re all together. Also, it provides unification on our dispatching and who’s dispatching us and if we need mutual aid,” he said. Brown added that the Request for Proposal (RFP) went out in the fall. “It just kind of detailed who the service was being provided for, what municipalities— so how many fire departments—and it gave a bunch of information on what our existing infrastructure looked like and what service we were looking for,” Brown said.
See RDEK, Page 3