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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2010
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◗ WINTER
Let it snow, let it snow Winter arrives early in the Royal City BY ANDREW FLEMING REPORTER afleming@royalcityrecord.com
New Westminster had its first real taste of winter on Thursday. Environment Canada reported around 10 centimetres of snow had fallen by the end of the day, creating trouble for midday commuters – although it wasn’t anything the city’s small army of street cleaners couldn’t handle. “Unfortunately, they built the city on the side of a hill, so it can be a bit of a struggle,” said city street cleaner Greg Dodgshon with a laugh. He said coping with the heavy snowfall went better than expected. “I’ve been doing this for close to 20 years and, for that much snow, it was surprising, it went really well. Usually we have ◗Snow Page 2
Larry Wright/THE RECORD
On the move: A little white stuff doesn’t need to cause any hassles for your commute – if you’re smart enough to follow the lead of this local skier, captured in action in Queen’s Park. See more photos on pages 2 and 3.
Board adopts conflict-of-interest policy BY NIKI HOPE REPORTER
nhope@royalcityrecord.com
The board of education passed a conflict-of-interest policy for trustees, but for one trustee the conflict issue is an “insult.” Earlier this month, Voice trustee Jim Goring introduced a last-minute motion to the board, saying it urgently needed to develop a conflict policy for trustees because the district had entered into union contract negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
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“The original policy introduced by trustee Goring, while he says it wasn’t any kind of personal attack, I really don’t think that’s true. I think it was political grandstanding,” trustee Lori Watt told The Record. She felt that Goring attacked her integrity with his motion, which dealt with conflict as it relates to the financial interest of a trustee, including those with a family member working for the district, those who received campaign contributions from an entity that has a financial interest in the district or who are shareholders in a
firm with financial ties to the district. Though Goring had been the one pushing for a conflict policy, it was trustee Michael Ewen who brought forward the motion that was passed in a 5-2 vote – with Watt and trustee Brent Atkinson being the only two trustees to oppose it. Ewen was trying to build consensus with his conflict motion, Watt said, though she still didn’t support it. “Had it been introduced differently, maybe I would have supported it,” she said, referring to Goring’s original bid. As a trustee, Watt said she is sufficiently
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governed by the School Act with regards to conflict. “I’m tired of hearing stories in the newspaper about how I’m in conflict,” she said. “It was very clear that this was a move to remove any labour-endorsed candidates from any discussions. “At the end of the day, I will still govern myself under the School Act,” she said. “It doesn’t really change anything in terms of our regulations.” Watt, who works at CUPE’s head office ◗Conflict Page 5