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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2010
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◗ NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR
Eva broke our hearts
But also left us with a sense of how precious life is and how one person can make a difference for so many BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
Eva Markvoort touched many lives in her all-tooshort life. The New Westminster resident passed away March 27 at the age of 25, but there’s little doubt that her efforts to inspire and inform will live on. The Record has selected Markvoort as its 2010 Newsmaker of the Year for all she accomplished in life and the legacy she leaves behind. “Eva lived passionately and with purpose, leaving a legacy of love and making a difference in the lives of thousands of people in her personal life and in her online community,” her parents Bill Markvoort and Jane Brine wrote in a column that was published in The Globe and Mail. “She was defined by her challenges related to cystic fibrosis yet soared above the limitations the disease ◗That’s Page 3
Cyrus McEachern/CONTRIBUTED
Heart on her sleeve: A photo of Eva Markvoort that was part of her organ donation awareness campaign.
STORY OF THE YEAR: NEW WESTMINSTER TOOK THE LEAD ON SEVERAL HOT ISSUES
It was a year of ‘firsts’ in the Royal City BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
2010 was a year of several firsts in the Royal City. So many, in fact, that the news story of the year is all about the city breaking ground in several areas.
An historic apology
The City of New Westminster proved to be a national leader on a couple of fronts in 2010, most noticeably when it became the first municipality in Canada to formally apologize for its discriminatory actions of the past toward Chinese Canadians.
On Sept. 20, city council chamber was packed with media and members of various Chinese organizations when the city issued its historic apology. The apology came after staff conducted a lengthy review of city documents from 1860 to 1926 and found that early city councils had acted in a discriminatory way toward Chinese Canadians in past eras. “The City of New Westminster formally apologizes to the Chinese community for its past actions, which resulted in discrimination and exclusion, and it looks forward to working together in the spirit of friendship, community and cooperation to build strong bonds and lasting
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relations,” said the apology. Research done by city staff confirmed that city council acted in a discriminatory matter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly by restricting employment opportunities and by asking senior governments to pass discriminatory laws. In response to a request from the Canadians for Reconciliation, city council launched a reconciliation process with the Chinese community in September 2009. In addition to the public apology, council agreed to a number of other actions as part of the reconciliation process including: reviewing the current use of the Chinese Benevolent Association site on
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Agnes Street and exploring more appropriate and respectful uses for the site, which is currently home to an off-leash dog park; working with the province and the school district to explore opportunities for a memorial at the former Chinese cemetery site; and exploring ways to erect plaques or signage at the sites of the former Chinatowns in downtown New Westminster. “In our post colonial and post 9-11 world, it takes courage to do what New Westminster has done,” said a press release from the Canadians for ◗From Page 3
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