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10-YEAR-PLAN
Teachers label it ‘union busting’
Functional art costs $160,000 ‘RainCatcher’ will be officially unveiled at centre’s grand opening on July 15
Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
Stefania Seccia staff reporter
It’s called the RainCatcher, and it’s more than just a work of art – it’s practical function will keep the garden growing in front of the new Edmonds Community Centre. Toronto-based artist Noel Harding was selected out of several artists to create an artistic marker outside the 90,000 square foot community facility, which has pushed its grand opening from mid-June to July 15. “RainCatcher is a celebration of nature and nature’s place in our communities,” said Dave Ellenwood, Burnaby’s director of parks, recreation and cultural services, in an email. “Native plants surround the sculpture, while an abstract canopy of metal foliage collects and trickles rain water from above that brings the sculpture to life.” The budget for the art piece was $160,000, which includes funds for the materials and signage. The final cost will be known when the artist submits all the bills, Ellenwood said. The RainCatcher was installed on Friday, May 24. The plants at the bottom of the art installation will evolve and transform over time. “It’s actually a living thing,” Ellenwood added. Harding is a member of Toronto’s Art Committee for Public Places, and is also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art and the International Kunstler in Berlin. He’s taught at the Ontario College of Art and Design, the University of Guelph, the University of Windsor and at the Dutch Art Institute in the Netherlands.
Larry Wright/burnaby now
Artistic expression: Artist Noel Harding’s RainCatcher For more on piece sits in front of the new Edmonds Community Centre, the art, scan with slated to open on July 15.
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With the Liberals in for another term, Premier Christy Clark is putting her 10-year-plan for “labour peace” with teachers back on the table, and the Burnaby Teachers’ Association is none too pleased. A 10-year-collective agreement between the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, (the bargaining arm of the provincial government) was part of the Liberal party platform, but the president of the local teachers’ union branch characterized the “10-year-no-plan” as union busting. “If you put someone in a 10year-deal, you make the union irrelevant,” said James Sanyshyn, Burnaby Teachers’ Association. “You also make the employer irrelevant. I see it as a huge power grab on part of the province. They would like to usurp the roles of unions and their local employers (the school boards) to hammer out working and learning conditions, I’d say it’s quite a sneaky move.” The teachers and provincial government typically negotiate a twoor three-year contract, but Clark’s plan calls for a decade-long agreement. In a January press release, Clark pitched the idea as a way to provide stability for students. “Imagine the opportunities for students, parents and teachers in the classroom knowing classrooms would always be open,” she said, Teachers Page 5
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