A new approach to crisis care will soon be getting underway in New Westminster
Jonny Morris, CEO of the Ca nadian Mental Health Association, said the launch of the Peer Assisted CareTeam (PACT) pilot project is “imminent” in NewWest
PACT pairs a mental health pro fessional with a trained peer crisis responder The teams will respond to mental health crisis calls rather than having police involved
At Monday’s meeting, city coun cil approved a staff recommenda tion to support the selection of the Lower Mainland Purpose Society as the operator of a one year PACT pilot project in NewWest.
Morris said the CMHA, the city and the province have achieved a lot in a short amount of time
“We’re here to share that we ac tually have a team that will be launching very quickly here in the community,” he said
Morris could not give a specific start date but said it would be im minent. In the coming weeks, he said, training, outreach and support would get underway with the Pur pose Society.
Living in Queensborough, I know City Hall needs to listen better
It’s an equation the NewWestminster school board is all too familiar with, as School District 40 grapples with the problem of how to fit all the city’s kids into their neighbour hood schools.
The challenge is partic ularly acute in the city’s core, where two elemen tary schools are strained past capacity: École Qayqayt Elementary School, downtown, and Lord Kelvin Elementary School, near Moody Park
The space shortage is so acute at Qayqayt, in fact, that the district is eyeing the possibility of a lottery system for kindergarten students in future years
Solving that problem will mean adding an other elementary school something the district is trying to do
Each year, school dis tricts submit capital plan ning requests to the B C Ministry of Education outlining their needs for new land and buildings For 2022/23, SD40 asked for $222 6 million, with $105 7 million of that des ignated for new schools.
Its top priority was a new elementary school for kindergarten to Grade 5 students in the Fraser River zone (the central to western part of the city), at a cost of $47 6 million Also on the list was $58.1 million to build a sec ond middle school in the Fraser River zone
It didn’t get funding for either. In fact, it didn’t get any funding for major cap ital projects
The provincial govern
ment has acknowledged the need for a new ele mentary school in New West, with the Minis try of Education support ing a concept plan for the new Fraser River elemen tary school. (See story on page 15 )
But completion of that new school is at least five years down the road
So what should the new school board do?
Candidates running for the seven trustee spots in the Oct 15 munici pal shared their thoughts in recent questionnaires sent out by the Record, with three main themes running through their an swers:
For current board chair Gurveen Dhaliwal, who’s running with Commu nity First NewWest, ad dressing the space crunch means continuing the work the current board has already started.
“As board chair for the last two years, I’ve been working with the Minis
The nine New Westminster school board candidates shared their thoughts with the Record on a range of issues, including health and safety, school funding and what their priorities are for the new term You can find those questionnaires at www newwestrecord.ca/2022 civic election information.
ter of Education and the city to advocate and prob lem solve issues related to our capital plans,” she said. “Advocacy and clear communication to the Ministry of Education is also important to ensure our plans are fully funded within the necessary time frames ”
Teo Dobre, a newcomer to the political scene who’s running with the NewWest Progressives, said the current fund ing model for new schools doesn’t take into account the “monumental growth” in population that’s being experienced by NewWest minster
“The next board will need to find better ways to advocate with the province for a new and improved funding model, one that
focuses on anticipating and readily meeting pro jected growth rather than relying on what current needs are,” he said Danielle Connelly agreed.
“The current formula only provides funding for current need, which of ten means new schools are seeing the need for porta bles shortly after opening their doors This is an out dated practice and an un economical formula,” said the incumbent trustee, who’s running with the NewWest Progressives
Connelly said there needs to be more collabo ration with the city to find
space to build new schools and expedite the building process.
Working more closely with the city is an idea that also found favour with Cheryl Sluis, a newcomer running with Community First NewWest
She said the board needs to identify oppor tunities and acquire land through partnerships with the city especially given the fact that NewWest minster is one of the fast est growing municipalities in the Lower Mainland
Elliott Slinn, a new comer running with Com munity First NewWest, also stressed the need for “strong coordination” with the city.
Marc Andres, another newcomer running with Community First, sug gested another part of the puzzle is to look at new ways to design schools.
“Because of our city’s small size, land is at a pre mium,” he pointed out. “I
am committed to explor ing designs that are more suitable for high density, urban environments.”
Dhaliwal agreed, sug gesting it’s time for “a re imagining of how we use and build schools to allow for the transition to an ur ban environment ”
Kathleen Carlsen, a newcomer running with the NewWest Progres sives, said the new board will need to work with the city to look at bylaws that would increase the allow able building height for fu ture schools.
Maya Russell, an in cumbent running with Community First, em phasized the positive: that more than half of stu dents in the district are now studying in new schools. (École Qayqayt Elementary opened in 2014, Fraser River Mid dle School in 2016, New Westminster Second ary School in 2021 and Skwo:wech Elementary School in 2022 )
Plus, a 12 classroom ex pansion is underway at Queen Elizabeth Elemen tary School
But Russell agreed the issue of school space needs to remain top of mind
“Keeping up with this planning and advocating for the schools we need must remain the board’s main focus, so that great schools are open for the students living here five, 10 and 20 years ahead,” she said
Note:The above story in cludes only highlights from comments provided in candi date questionnaires For full answers, see the candidates’ Q&As linked on our 2022 Civic Election page: www newwestrecord ca/2022 civic election information
Section
Folio Civic
Statutory Estimate of taxes
Proposed Exemption Authority 2023 2024 2025
01051000 811 Royal Ave Kinsight Community Society 224(2)(a) 98,300 102,200 106,300
03466000 318 Keary St Sapperton Old Age Pensions Association 224(2)(a) 13,200 13,700 14,200
01613501 236 Ross Dr Kolumbia Inn Daycare Soceity 224(2)(a) 5,200 5,400 5,600
00111100 788 Quayside Dr The Fraser River Discovery Centre 224(2)(a) 38,400 39,900 41,500
01441001 509 St George St Honour House Society 224(2)(a) 17,100 17,800 18,500
05873100 portion of Queen's Park Air Cadets Training 513 Hornet 224(2)(b) 8,700 9,000 9,400
09206100 portion of Moody Park New Westminster Lawn Bowling Club 224(2)(b) 27,000 28,100 29,200
00853100 portion of Tipperary Park New Westminter Tennis Club 224(2)(b) 12,400 12,900 13,400
05873150 portion of Queen's Park Vagabond Players 224(2)(b) 5,300 5,500 5,700
09206101 portion of Moody Park New Westminster Amateur Radio Club 224(2)(b) 1,900 2,000 2,100
05873103 portion of Queen's Park Arts Council of New Westminster 224(2)(b) 5,400 5,600 5,800
05873102 portion of Queen's Park Queens Park Preschool Society 224(2)(b) 2,400 2,500 2,600
05090000 Tenth Ave East GVRD water reservoir tennis courts 224(2)(b) 9,600 10,000 10,400
04317000 portion of Queen's Park Royal City Curling Club 224(2)(b) 35,700 37,100 38,600
07811000 1932 Eighth Ave St Gheorghe Romanian Orthodox Church 224(2)(g) 6,400 6,700 7,000
11831000 601 Eighth Ave Royal City Christian Centre 224(2)(g) 25,700 26,700 27,800
06417000 815 Kennedy St Free Methodist Church Sr 224(2)(k) 13,900 14,500 15,100 Citizens Home Society
11111000 25 Clute St New Westminster Sr Citizens Housing Society 224(2)(k) 23,500 24,400 25,400
15474000 2222 Edinburght St Connaught Heights Pentecostal Villa Society 224(2)(k) 11,100 11,500 12,000
Section 224 of the Community Charter does not require notice of exemptions provided under section 224(2)(f) [buildings for public worship] and section 224(2)(h)[seniors' homes, hospitals or private schools].
For information about the proposed bylaw, please call 604-527 4606
Take part in the bi-annual tree sale and help us reach the City goal of a
canopy coverage within New Westminster by 2030! New this fall, tree sales will be held online An account will be required and it’s recommended to set one up in advance Limit of two trees per household, $10 00 per tree See the available species and find account setup information at newwestcity ca/treesale
The extended season opening for both Moody Park and Hume Park outdoor pools will come to a close after this weekend. The fall aquatics schedule goes until Oct 10 View it here: newwestcity.ca/rec
Parks and Recreation program and facility hours may change Oct 8 10 Check before you visit a facility Learn more: newwestcity ca/rec
Do you represent a community group or minor sports organization primarily serving New Westminster residents? You may be eligible for a free listing in the new Community Page section of the Active Living Guide Submissions for the Winter issue are open until Oct 15 newwestcity.ca/community-page
The wet weather will be back soon Help reduce the risk of localized flooding by adopting a catch basin in your neighbourhood. Your job is easy; throughout the year, you’ll clear the catch basin and surrounding area of any leaves, debris, litter, and snow that might prevent it from properly draining rainwater As a catch basin caretaker, you’ll also get to name the basin, which will show up on the catch basin map Learn more and get started at newwestcity.ca/adopt-a catch-basin
Have you picked up the Fall Drop-in Schedules brochures from one of our facilities yet? Find skating, fitness, gymnastics, and many more programs to fit your schedule The brochure is available in print and online at newwestcity ca/brochures
NewWestminster could be carved up into five rid ings if proposals from the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission proceed
Under the proposals being put forward, New Westminster residents would be voting in five provincial ridings: Burn aby East, Burnaby New Westminster, Burnaby South, NewWestminster Maillardville and Rich mond Queensborough
“The population of the current electoral district of NewWestminster is large and growing quickly,” said the commission’s Oct. 3 preliminary report “To address this, we propose moving some of its more residential areas into ad jacent electoral districts in
The commission has published its preliminary report with recommen dations for changing Brit ish Columbia’s provincial electoral districts for the next two provincial gen eral elections
In addition to creating six new ridings, the com mission is recommending adjustments to the bound aries of 71 electoral dis tricts based on geographic, demographic, communi cation and transportation considerations.
NewWestminster res idents are currently part of two provincial rid ings NewWestminster (which includes all of the city’s mainland) and Rich mond Queensborough (which includes Queens borough)
The commission’s re
port noted that “New Westminster’s population is too large for a single rid ing but too small for two electoral districts ”
In the Burnaby, New West andTri Cities area, the commission is propos ing to add an electoral dis trict, make boundary ad justments and change the names of six ridings
According to the report, people expressed different opinions about whether Queensborough, which was moved into Rich mond Delta in the last electoral boundary adjust ment, should remain in a Richmond riding or return to NewWestminster.The commission is proposing to keep it in a Richmond riding.
“We heard that Queens borough has ties to both NewWestminster and
Richmond.We did not hear Queensborough res idents express concern about the effectiveness of their representation,” said the report
The rest of NewWest, however, would be divvied up among four ridings:
This riding would in clude the Kelvin and Glenbrooke neighbour hoods of NewWestmin ster and the adjacent East burn, Middlegate and Edmonds neighbourhoods of Burnaby The proposed boundaries of this riding are Imperial Street in the north, Griffiths Drive in the west, Sixth Avenue in the south and the line of McBride Boulevard and Newcombe Street in the east
For this electoral dis trict now situated in the northeast corner of Burn aby, in an area bounded by Kensington Avenue, North Road and the Bur rard Inlet, the commis sion proposes boundary adjustments to remove the neighbourhood of Eastburn and to add the part of NewWestmin ster bounded by McBride Boulevard, East Eighth Avenue and Cumberland Street
This riding would in clude the Metrotown, Suncrest and South Slope neighbourhoods of Burn aby and NewWestmins ter’s Connaught Heights
The proposed rid ing boundaries include “downtown” NewWest minster (south of Sixth Avenue) and the neigh bourhoods of Queen’s Park, Sapperton and Bru nette Creek, as well as Maillardville in Coquit lam This riding now ex tends as far north and east as Austin Avenue and Schoolhouse Street
Having released its rec ommendations in its pre liminary report, the com mission will now begin a final round of public con sultations
In NewWest, a pub lic meeting is scheduled forWednesday, Nov 2, at 9:30 a.m. at the Inn at the Quay If you plan on pre senting at the meeting, RSVP to info@bcebc ca
“We can not allow this rot to continue. I don’t care which party you vote for just so long as your leader is pragmatic My GF is too afraid to go out at any time of day. She’s fearful at night when she has to take the SkyTrain home ”
Richard Steele“There are none so blind as the righteous. Gotta love those ‘law abiding citizens’ demanding ‘iron clad laws’ to ‘lock the thugs up ’ So what do we do with them once released after all that time learning to be better criminals?”
Rick Maddocks VIEW KEITHFor a political party that won four of the last seven B.C. elections (and which won the most votes in two others) chang ing the party name seems like an odd move.
But that is exactly what the BC Liberals are planning to do if enough party members support changing the name to “BC United” later this fall
The announcement of the proposed new name was quickly greeted by many with jokes about the new title being more associated with soccer than politics (e g it will be the only soccer team without a left winger!) but the BC Liberal leadership ev idently thinks it’s a name that will catch on over time It seems clear the po tential name change is
being spurred in part by what could be the inevita ble growth in the political fortunes of the provincial Conservative Party and the growing problems associated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada’s time in govern ment
The word “liberal” seems to rankle some party members, who fear hav ing the word as part of the party name is a turn off for right of centre voters
Indeed, it can be argued that in the last provincial election, Conservative Party candidates received enough votes in ridings in Abbotsford, Langley, Chilliwack and Vernon to allow NDP candidates to post narrow victories in places their party had never
won before.
The Conservative Party also finished a strong second to the BC Liberals in both Peace River ridings and their candidate in one of the Kamloops ridings helped make it a very close race between the victorious BC Liberals and the NDP
The two recent byelec tions also showed noticeable support for the Conservative Party, or at least in the riding of Surrey South, where it re ceived almost 13 per cent of the vote
Clearly, the BC Liberals have to be nervous about the potential growth of the Conservative Party brand in subsequent elections Hence the proposed “neutral” name change, to something that might reach out to voters
who may be getting tired of the Liberal “brand.”
Of course, changing the name is not without poten tial risk.
Some BC Liberal officials argue the current name is confusing for voters because it has nothing to do with the federal Liberal Party
But if “BC United” is not put in front of the voters for a lengthy period of time to get longtime BC Liberal sup porters used to the idea of a new name, voter confusion could be even higher
So even if party members endorse the name this fall, it is far from clear which name will be on the actual ballot come the next provincial election
Keith Baldrey is chief po litical reporter for Global BC
Have you decided who you’ll vote for in the Oct. 15 municipal election?
Is the rising cost of groceries causing financial challenges for your household?
Editor: “Cities are where the climate battle will largely be won or lost” This advice from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is par ticularly important as New Westminster heads into municipal elections. In the past few years, we have seen the pressure on cities increase as they learn to cope with extreme weather events The physical and social infrastruc tures of our communities will be tested more frequently and with more intensity if further changes to our climate are not prevented, ulti mately placing the health of all citizens at risk
Nurses have a notable history of advocat ing for human health, and we have become increasingly concerned about the looming climate crisis Deaths from extreme heat events, worsening of asthma and other lung conditions from wildfires, and the expansion of diseases such as Lyme disease are realities of our time All Canadians are affected by climate change; however, certain populations are at a higher risk, including those living in poverty, the young and the elderly, and peo ple with chronic illnesses Future generations will suffer the most
The most significant driver of climate change is human caused greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions, from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. How we live, work and travel all contribute to collective GHG levels Municipalities and regional districts in Canada can influence approximately 50 per cent of our national GHG emissions through decisions on land use, transportation and infrastructure. Significant reductions in GHG emissions in cities would limit the warming effects of air pollution, improve air quality and mitigate the overall impacts of climate change.
Municipalities are on the front lines of climate change, and our communities and local leaders need to be prepared to rise to the challenge. Unfortunately, the provincial av erage for the last municipal election was just 34 per cent; in New Westminster, only 27 per cent of voters turned out This Oct 15, citizens can take meaningful climate change action by voting for candidates who understand the integral role municipalities have in addressing climate change
We must be clear: Climate change is a human health and social justice issue with significant implications for municipalities and local communities Each election could mark a historical turning point for our community; consider asking candidates which side of history they will stand on Agnes Black, RN, Member of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment
Glenbrook Fire Hall,
East
This is an exciting opportunity for the residents of New Westminster to join New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services for an interactive, behind the scenes look at the services we provide for the community and the agencies
ADVANCE VOTING
Candidate Name Elector Organization Candidate’s Address
ARMSTRONG, Ken New Westminster Progressives New Westminster
JOHNSTONE, Patrick Community First New Westminster PUCHMAYR, Chuck New Westminster
Candidate Name Elector Organization Candidate’s Address
AMPONG, Daniel Kofi New Westminster
BUDHWANI, Karima New Westminster Progressives New Westminster CAMPBELL, Ruby Community First New Westminster DAS, Chinu Community First New Westminster FOLKA, Rick New Westminster Progressives New Westminster FONTAINE, Daniel New Westminster Progressives New Westminster HENDERSON, Tasha Community First New Westminster KEBEDE, Bereket Community First New Westminster LI MCCARTHY, Jiayi New Westminster Progressives New Westminster MCEVOY, Jaimie Community First New Westminster MINHAS, Paul New Westminster Progressives New Westminster NAKAGAWA, Nadine Community First New Westminster
Candidate Name Elector Organization Candidate’s Address ANDRES, Marc Community First New Westminster BEATTIE, Dee Community First New Westminster CARLSEN, Kathleen New Westminster Progressives New Westminster CONNELLY, Danielle New Westminster Progressives New Westminster DHALIWAL, Gurveen Community First New Westminster DOBRE, Teo New Westminster Progressives New Westminster RUSSELL, Maya Community First New Westminster SLINN, Elliott Community First New Westminster SLUIS, Cheryl Community First New Westminster
the
General Local Election will be open
Voting Location Location Address
City Hall Council Chamber 511 Royal Avenue
Community Centre
Island Room 920 Ewen Avenue
Voting Location Location Address
New West Lawn Bowling Club Clubhouse 710 Eighth Street
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Voting Location Location Address
City Hall Council Chamber 511 Royal Avenue
New West Lawn Bowling Club Clubhouse 710 Eighth Street
Special Voting Opportunities for the 2022 General Local Election will be open to qualified electors of the City of New Westminster as follows:
Date and Time
Voting Location Address
October 8 from 10 am to 2 pm Holy Trinity Cathedral 514 Carnarvon St
October 13 from 9 am to 12 noon
Queen’s Park Care Centre 315 McBride Blvd October 13 from 1 pm to 4 pm Royal Columbian Hospital 350 E Columbia St
Only qualified electors of New Westminster who are patients or residents at the above facilities, or are users of the services provided at social services centres, are eligible to vote at the above noted special voting opportunities Where the voter is unable to attend the voting place within the facility, election officials may attend the patient for the purpose of receiving their ballot
If you are not on the list of electors, you may register at the time of voting by completing the required application form available at the voting place To register you must meet the following qualifications:
To register as a resident elector, you must:
• be 18 years of age or older on general voting day
• be a Canadian citizen
• be a resident of BC for at least 6 months immediately preceding the day of registration
• be a resident of New Westminster at the time of voting, and
• not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or otherwise disqualified by law
To register, resident electors must produce 2 pieces of identification that, when combined, have your name, address and signature (e g a bank or credit card with your name and signature, plus a utility bill with your name and residential address on it)
Picture identification is not necessary The identification must prove both residency and identity
A new 600 student el
ementary school will be sharing campus space with Fraser River Middle School and a separate al
ternate program building, if a concept plan from the NewWestminster school district comes to pass
School District 40 re vealed its plans for a much talked about new elementary school at the Sept. 27 school board meeting, the first meet ing of the 2022/23 school year.
If it goes ahead as planned, the new school will be located on dis trict owned land next to Fraser River Middle School on the Queens Av enue side, using Simcoe Park to provide green space for both schools
Elementary School, near Moody Park are both operating well past capac ity
In fact, space is at such a premium that the dis trict is already eyeing a lottery for kindergarten registration at Qayqayt starting in the 2023/24 school year
Enrolment at schools in the city’s core has in creased substantially over the past two years:
Lord Kelvin: 486 stu dents in 2020/21; 521 in 2021/22; 580 this year
To register as a non resident property elector you must:
• be 18 years of age or older on general voting day
• be a Canadian citizen
• be a resident of BC for at least 6 months immediately preceding the day of registration
• be a registered owner of real property in the City of New Westminster for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration;
• not be entitled to register as a resident elector, and
• not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or otherwise disqualified by law
In addition, for non resident property electors:
• The only persons who are registered owners of the property, either as joint tenants or tenants in common, are individuals who are not holding the property in trust for a corporation or another trust;
• If more than one person is registered owner of the property, only one of those individuals may, with the written consent of the majority of the owners, register as a non resident property elector
To register, non resident property electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature) to prove identity, proof that they are entitled to register in relation to the property (e g a Property Tax Notice from the City of New Westminster or Notice of Assessment from BC Assessment), and if there is more than one owner of the property, written consent from the other property owners
The elementary school would go on the spot where the parking lot and portables are now
The new kindergar ten to Grade 5 elemen tary school will use a three storey, “urban style design,” secretary trea surer Bettina Ketcham said
In March of this year, the B C Ministry of Edu cation gave the district the green light to work on a concept plan for the new school
The new school tops the district’s capital fund ing wish list, since the two other schools in the area
École Qayqayt Elemen tary School, in the down town, and Lord Kelvin
Though the minis try has not approved any funding for the new school, Ketcham said ap proval of the concept plan process is a “strong sig nal” from government that they recognize the need for it
Originally, the district had asked for funding for a 500 student elementary school but, given the rapid growth in the city, Ketcham said they’re now planning for 600 students instead
The district is also plan ning for construction of a separate building for its alternate education pro grams, which are currently housed in leased space at Columbia Square That new, purpose built space would go up between the existing middle school
Qayqayt: 522 in 2020/21; 561 in 2021/22; 614 this year
Fraser River Middle: 539 in 2020/21, 555 in 2021/22; 622 this year.
and the school district of fice, which is on the same property fronting Ontario Street
“The concept plan is still in draft stages, but we are confident in our rec ommendations,” Ketcham said.
Once the concept plan is approved, the district must move to the second stage of its business case, known as the “project defi nition report ”
If all goes well there, Ketcham said, the district would anticipate a funding announcement sometime next year
Did you know strawber ries can grow on trees? A European strawberry tree is one of several species up for sale at the City of New Westminster’s fall tree sale
The sale features a vari ety of trees that residents can purchase for $10 each Residents can purchase up to two trees for their prop erty
“For the fall tree sale, the city will be offering 150 trees for purchase,” said Erika Mashig, the city’s manager of parks and open space planning, design and construction “The selection of trees in cludes fruiting trees, flow ering trees and trees ap propriate for planting in pots on balconies and pa tios ”
Seven types of trees are available at the sale: Eu
ropean Strawberry tree, Fireglow Maple, Golden Variegated Dogwood, Stellar Pink Dogwood, Mount Aso pussy wil low, Honeycrisp apple and Royal Star magnolia The European Strawberry tree and Fireglow Maple are suitable for balcony spaces
In past fall and spring tree sales, residents have called parks and recre ation to purchase trees, but the upcoming sale is heading online Residents will be required to set up an account to take part in the sale, and the city rec ommends people set up their accounts before the sale
Mashig said the parks and recreation depart ment is piloting on line ordering only for the fall tree sale to help ad dress the feedback from the spring 2022 sale
In February, the city received an “unprece dented” response to the 2022 spring tree sale Trees sold out within two hours
“Although city staff did their best to answer calls in the order they were re ceived, we know that many residents were frus trated that they were not able to reach a staff person to put in their order,” said the city in an email to res idents after the sale “City staff are actively working on improving our order ing system for future tree sales including the launch of an online ordering sys tem for the next tree sale in October 2022 ”
The upcoming sale be gins at 8:30 a m onTues day, Oct. 11.Trees will be available for pickup on Saturday, Oct 29 be tween 9 and 11 a.m. at the Queensborough Commu
Here’s how to take part in the tree sale: Set up an online account at www.newwestcity.ca/ activeliving and save your credit card information in advance (If you already have an account for program registration, you have an account. If you have trouble setting up an account, call 604 527 4567 to get some help ) Review the tree options at www newwestcity ca/treesale and select your two favourites
Residents are advised to
nity Centre
In 2019, city council endorsed a tree planting master plan that proposes to plant about 11,800
choose trees based on their height and spread measurements
Login on Oct. 11 at 8:30 a m (After logging in, if you don’t see the product page, go to My Profile > Products, to find the list of trees )
According to the city, people can order by phone, but an online registration account is necessary. Setting up an account in advance will increase your chances of being able to purchase a tree.
trees by 2035 and a 10 year plan for where those trees will go The plan aims to plant 3,330 new trees on private land and 8,500 new trees on public land, including new street trees (6,300) and new
trees on city owned park and civic lands (2,200).
The tree planting mas ter plan is a key action in the city’s urban for est management strategy, which was developed in 2016 The strategy pro vides a framework for how the city is going to grow the citywide urban forest canopy cover from 18 per cent to 27 per cent, which is the average for a North American city
According to the city, the fall tree sale is one of the ways residents can help NewWestmin ster reach its goal of a 27 per cent canopy cover age in NewWestminster by 2030 Information about the available species and in structions for setting up an online account and or dering trees can be found at www.newwestcity.ca/ treesale
Through her eight years of working as an elemen tary school teacher and li brarian, Elaine Su has of ten been asked questions like, “Do you have a book recommendation for a kid with two moms?” or has parents tell her: “My kid is biracial, and non binary I can’t find any books that reflect their identity”
Those queries always set Su on a little hunt to find books those kids could identify with
So earlier this year, Su wondered: what if she did it on a larger scale?
In May 2022, she got a grant through the Neigh bourhood Small Grants program to “match kids who are underrepresented in kid’s books with brand new books that reflected their identity and lived ex periences ”
Su put a call out to par ents, saying: “If you feel like your child is under represented in the books that they’re seeing, apply, and I will see if I can find something for them ”
The message was posted on her personal so cial media account, the NewWestminster Moms Group on Facebook and some neighbourhood
In response, a total of 60 NewWest families ap plied, she said
“Some people have been like, ‘When I was growing up, I had deep shame about my culture, my race, and I don’t want my kids to grow up like that I want them to read books that really celebrate the joy of their identity,’” said Su
“I’ve had a few appli cants who said, ‘We’re an Indigenous family; we are growing up away from our roots and we are trying to reclaim our identity. I re ally want to cite books that help celebrate that instead of feeling shame or feeling like we’re any less ’”
Su has been busy the past few months finding books for these applicants. “It’s been challenging ”
“Some of them are a lit tle bit easier than others like when they say ‘We are a first generation Chi nese Canadian family,’ I can find books for that depending on the age of the kids,” she said “Then there are other families who are like, ‘We are a bi racial family with a Black mom and a white father, and our child is non bi nary,” she added Those are more challenging to find
Su came across “so many wonderful intersec tions of identity,” she said But are there books that reflect those?
Not enough, she said. However, she noted that children’s publishing is “getting there.”
“But as I’m finding in this project, we are still so far behind there are so few books to represent such a wide diversity of experiences And, for so many multiracial fami lies, for gender non binary and gender non conform ing kids who also happen to be racialized, who also happen to be disabled, there are still so few books that reflect the intersec tion of their identities and their experiences ”
Through the project, Su has been able to notice these gaps in publishing and convey it to the peo ple she knows within the industry
Out of the 60 families who reached out for her help, Su has been able to purchase the right books for about 30 of them some through the new NewWestminster based Wildfires Bookshop
The applicants will get their books by mail. But, said Su, “I have more ap plicants than I have the funds for” adding that
she is also accepting do nations from people to be able to fulfill all 60 re quests
With the project, Su is making sure kids of this generation get what she lacked growing up: being able to read books that re flect their reality
As a child, for Su, Clau dia Kishi from the popular ’90s book series Baby Sit ters Club was the only form of representation in literature she could iden
tify with Kishi was Jap anese American, Su is an East Asian Canadian person, “but that was as close as we got; I had ex actly one character that looked vaguely like me. That was it ”
“There were no sto ries that I could read that spoke to my identity, my family’s lived experience, our culture and our day to day experience.There were just no books that were centred around a dif
ferent experience, a differ ent identity,” she recalled
“So I’m grateful that my kids are growing up at a time where they can read books that reflect back to them the realities that they grow up in,” she said
“Because, that’s def initely not what I had when I was growing up,” she said
Follow Elaine Su’s work on her website, www elainesu com
Morris said the need for the alternative response to mental health distress calls grows every time there is a high profile incident in the community
Work done to date in cludes engagement with community organizations and First Nations, selec tion of a service provider, hiring of a program coor dinator and development of a training schedule for PACT members
A staff report noted that an extensive campaign is being developed that will let the community know how to reach the PACT team when it’s needed Morris said PACT was a “topic of interest” at the recent Union of B C Mu nicipalities convention, with a number of munic ipalities asking how they could get a PACT team of their own.
“That’s music to our ears,” he said “And I think we’re seeing such strong indications of sup port provincially for the work going forward ” Morris said CMHA is in active conversa tions with the prov ince and other munic ipalities around how PACT could move be yond a pilot project into a meaningful branch of community based, com munity owned and com munity centered mental health response that pro vides the right care at the right time
In November 2021, council approved the city’s participation in the PACT pilot project, in collabo ration with the CMHA, the City ofVictoria, the City of NorthVancouver and the District of North Vancouver.That followed a February 2021 sub
mission by the city to the province that supported a transition from a police response to a community response for mental health crisis calls
Mayor Jonathan Cote said city officials have talked for years about the “broken system” about how people in a mental health crisis are dealt with in communities He said the first responders who respond to those calls are not always trained or the right people to help de es calate those situations
“We are leading the way with the pilot program,” he said “I guess there’ll be learnings through this process how do we make sure we’re doing this work right But I’m quite confident we are going to be paving the way to a model that we are going to see all over the province of British Columbia ”
Here’s a reminder to return your books to the NewWestminster Public Library (716 Sixth Ave ), and while doing so, to check out their ongoing exhibition on the second floor The show, called Group of Seven: Past, Present and Future, by New West Artists, reimagines some of the iconic artworks of the Group of Seven painters in the present day context, as per the library’s website.The free show is on till the end of the month but take note that the library is closed on Sunday and Monday for theThanksgiving holiday
WHEN: Throughout October; open during library hours
WHERE: New Westminster Public Library, 716 Sixth Ave. (upstairs). MORE: See www.nwpl.ca.
and they get to decorate/colour in” reads the description on the studio’s website.
MORE: www.arriettaart ca.
Tough week? Laugh that stress away at Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy (530 Colum bia St ) for, Ivan Decker, the comedian who created the 2018 award winning album I Wanted to be a Dinosaur is coming to town For those who haven’t heard him before, this would be a good chance to learn why he was named “Comic toWatch” byTBS at the NewYork Comedy Festival and earned his own comedy special for Netflix He will be performing at 7:30 p m and 9:45 p m on
Friday; and 7 p.m. on Saturday.Tickets $25.
MORE: bc.houseofcomedy.net
For kids who prefer crayons to toys, NewWest’s newest art studio, Arrieta Art Studio (707 Front St ), has a session that’ll get them colouring a unique illustration their own portrait. At the three hour Kids Illustrative Self Portrait event (between noon and 3 p m ), “we will trace together the image of your child’s face on poster paper
Looking for books beyond the main stream ones? Check outWildfires Bookshop’s first pop up store at Old Crow Coffee Co. (655 Front St.).The store will include used and new books, and lesser known titles such as The Boy and the Bindi, and IronWidow, among others The pop up will launch on Saturday, and remain open till Oct. 22.
MORE: Check it out on Instagram at instagram.com/wildfiresbookshop
If you are from Iran or love Iranian music,
you have probably heard of Aref He is cred ited to have started a genre of his own back in the ‘60s rendering songs with western melodies and romantic lyrics, according to Iran Chamber Society He has performed in top venues such as the Asian Games (1974) in Iran, and Madison Square Garden in NewYork, and now is all set to perform at NewWest’s MasseyTheatre (735 Eighth Ave ) between 8 and 11 p m on Sunday Tickets are priced from $60 to $120
MORE: Book tickets at www.ticketsnw.ca or see www.masseytheatre.com
Don’t miss theVagabond Players’ season opener, onstage at Bernie LeggeTheatre Oct 6 to 22 Tickets are just $17 regular, $15 for seniors/students, or $12 for previews Oct 6 and 7 Call 604 521 0412 or email reservations@vagabondplayers.ca.
MORE: www.vagabondplayers.ca. compiled by Naveena Vijayan
Ghost of a Chance plays at
The Royal Canadian Theatre Company is emerging from its pan demic hiatus with a silly, spooky offering for fall
The company presents Ghost of a Chance at the AnvilTheatre in New Westminster from Oct 22 to 29, following a run at the Surrey Arts Centre Oct 14 and 15
The play, written by Flip Kobler and Cindy Mar
cus, follows the story of Bethany (Ivy Padmos), a strong willed but insecure widow, as she heads to her cottage in the woods with her fiancé, Floyd (Anthony Lively), and his mother,Verna (Kerri Norris) She’s deter mined to put her first hus band’s death behind her but little does she real ize that Chance (Fernando Aloise), or rather his spirit,
is still around and has no plans to leave or give up his wife for another man
Also onstage are Amanda Haggett as Crys tal and Nigel Brooke as Adam Lucas.
It’s directed by Patricia Brooke
The production in cludes a set promised to be “built as ghostly as the main character, Chance, with see through walls and missing parts ”
The play is suitable for older children (upwards of 12).
There’s also a relaxed performance at 7:30 p m on Oct 26, designed for those with intellectual, be havioural or other chal lenges who might find a regular production too in tense They’re also suit able for those with babies in arms.
The relaxed perfor mance is presented in partnership with the Mas seyTheatre Society.
For a relaxed perfor mance:
sound and lighting cues are adjusted to be less in tense than usual; exiting and entering is allowed at any time; auditorium lights are never fully turned off;
29 after a run in Surrey
What: Ghost of a Chance, presented by Royal Ca nadian Theatre Company
Where: Anvil Theatre, third floor, 777 Columbia St
When: Saturday, Oct. 22 to Saturday, Oct 29
Performances at 3:30 p m on Oct 22, 23 and 29; evening shows at 7:30 p m Oct 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29. Relaxed performance Oct 26
Tickets: Regular: $34 99; seniors or 12 and under, $29 99 Family pack of four for $130; groups of 10 or more, $24 99 per ticket. (Group and family packs can only be booked by phone). Call 604 521 5050 or buy through ticketsnw.ca.
pre performance, the cast explains what’s about to happen; and audience noise, move ment and the use of phones and fidget devices is permitted
More info: The show is suitable for older children (aged 12+) and adults. See more at www rctheatreco com
Save some space in your calendar for next weekend: the NewWest Cultural Crawl is returning
The annual self guided tour gives people a chance to visit artists’ studios, gal leries and other venues around town to experience an array of art in different mediums and styles, cre ated by local artists
It’s set for Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct 16, with venues open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
You can pick up a copy of the Cultural Crawl bro chure at the Gallery at Queen’s Park, or find a copy online along with everything else you need to know at
newwest culturalcrawl
November 02, 1937 September 14, 2022
Passed away on September 14, 2022, Bhanu s surv ved by her two daughters, and her brother, Yusuf Pate and his fami y and her brother in law, Arv nd Sakl kar and family Her youngest s ster, Zeb and Zeb’s husband, Umar, perished on A r India Flight 182 Bhanu was born and raised in Gujarat, India Her Canad an ourney began when she marr ed her late husband, the Rev Dr Vasant Sakl kar They met at the Univers ty of Bombay where Bhanu studied polit ca science and h story Bhanu accompanied Vasant to Newfound and with their young daughter, Renée The Saklikars moved to Northern Quebec, and then to Montreal, where Bhanu supported her husband as he studied theology at McGill University The fami y moved to Saskatchewan and then New Westminster B C where Bhanu joined her husband in his charge of Sixth Avenue Un ted Church She taught a popular Ind an cookery class at New Westm nster Sen or Secondary and worked as a baker at Century House where she served on the Scholarsh p Comm ttee A member of the University Women’s C ub, she loved read ng The Economist and discuss ng pol tics Bhanu wil be dear y m ssed by her family and many friends In lieu of flowers, donat ons n Bhanu’s memory can be made to School D str ct #40 n New Westm nster, care of msherwood@sd40 bc ca
A Celebration of L fe w l be held Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 2:00 pm at Centenn al Lodge Queen’s Park, New Westminster Inquir es can be made attent on to Renée Sakl kar on beha f of the fam ly care of Kearney Funeral Serv ces in New Westm nster (604 521 4881)
Condolences may be offered at www kearneyfs com
