Burnaby Now April 20 2023

Almost300 newaffordable homescoming

MetroVancouver,BC Housing partner to build non-market sites in Burnaby and region

LaurenVanderdeen

lvanderdeen@burnabynow com

Two Burnaby sites are getting money from the province to build new affordable housing

The province announced a partnership with Metro Vancouver Regional District on April 12 that will fund the construction of about 2,000 affordable homes in the region over the next 10 years.

The first phase of the projects will include about 660 homes over five sites, 296 of which will be in Burnaby

The province is investing $158 million in that first phase for the five sites over the next three years

At 7730 Sixth St. in South Burnaby next to Eastburn Park, MetroVancouver Housing Corp. will redevelop 30 townhouses into a six-storey non-market rental building with 174 new affordable homes

According to a capital project update from MVHC, the redevelopment has an approved capital budget of $63.8 million and an estimated total project cost of

Continued on page 3

Picture of Prehistory: rolf mathewes, a Simon Fraser University paleobotanist who specializes in microscopic fossils of seeds and spores, discusses fossils discovered at Burnaby mountain in the late 1960s See story, page 3 PHOTO SFU

Citynow

ResearcherunearthsBurnaby’ssubtropicalpast

Fossils collected in1960s are subject of paper revealing palms grew where Burnaby Mountain now stands

CorneliaNaylor cnaylor@burnabynow com

Picture a time before Simon Fraser University was built on top of Burnaby Mountain before Burnaby Mountain was even a thing and powerful geological forces had yet to thrust the North Shore Mountains into existence

In a subtropical prehistoric floodplain (where SFU now sits 370 metres above sea level), primeval trees and plants, including palms and sweetgum, dropped their leaves, flowers and pollen into the fine sediment of a shallow lake or pond.

There, they were compressed under layers of sediment for millions of years until one day when a young Rolf Mathewes was doing his undergraduate biology degree at SFU in 1967-68

Construction at the fledgling university had uncovered a dark seam of shale sandwiched between the lighter sandstone and

gravel that makes up most of the mountain’s bulk.

The seam caught the eye of biology professor Robert C Brooke, and Mathewes, who was Brooke’s lab assistant at the time, was enlisted to help him sneak into the construction site after hours and collect samples

“He noticed there were fossil leaves and bits on this grey shaley layer,” Mathewes said of his old professor.

They collected as many samples as they could (between 100 and 150) from spoil piles left behind by the excavators

Neither Brooke nor Mathewes were fossil experts at the time, so the samples were locked into a cabinet marked “SFU fossils” for the next five decades.

Over the 50 years that followed, Mathewes built a distinguished career as a paleobotanist, specializing in microscopic fossils of prehistoric seeds and spores

“I spend my time look-

ing at the past through a microscope,” he said He returned to SFU in 1975 after a PhD at UBC and a post-doctoral fellowship at Cambridge University.

But for years, the fossils he collected in the 1960s stayed shut away

“I knew what they were,”

he said “No one else would know, but I never unlocked the cabinet again because I was working on other things.”

About four years ago, however, Mathewes decided it was time to put the expertise he’d accumulated in the intervening years to work on the fossils

he’d helped collect decades earlier

Already in his early 70s, he figured it was time to tackle the project before he retired in earnest

“I thought, really, you know, I helped collect these things, they’re right underneath our feet at SFU, I’m sure SFU would be interested in what’s under our feet and what it might be telling us about what the climate was like way back,” he said

After examining the fossils on his own, he teamed up with Brandon University professor and palm fossil expert David R. Greenwood and University of Connecticut professorTammo Reichgelt, who uses information about plant fossils to reconstruct prehistoric climates and ecosystems

Their research was published in the latest volume of the International Journal of Plant Sciences

What the team discovered, according to Mathewes, is that the SFU

fossils date back about 40 million years to the late Eocene period

And they reveal a very different kind of plant life from what we find atop Burnaby Mountain today. There probably weren’t any conifers or needle leaf trees, for example.

Conifers would come to dominate the area much later before loggers cut them down at the turn of the 20th century and then again in the 1940s, but Mathewes said he found no evidence of them among the SFU fossils. What he did find was part of a fossilized palm leaf and other fossils that suggest the area was subtropical when they were laid down Reichgelt calculated the mean annual temperature where the SFU campus is now was 16 2 C what you’d now find in moderndayWilmington, N.C. and six degrees higher than the mean annual temperature at sea level in Metro Vancouver today.

Developmentatfirstsiteexpectedtobeginconstructionnextyear

Continued from page 1

$73.5 million.

The development went to public hearing in March and is expected to begin construction next year.The project is anticipated to be complete in the first quarter of 2026

The second site is a City of Burnaby-owned property at 7388 Southwynde Ave in South Burnaby, operated by MVHC, which will be developed into

about 122 new homes and include a non-profit childcare centre with 37 spots

The development has an approved capital budget from MVHC of $45.4 million and an estimated project cost of $64.5 million, according to the MVHC update.

The Southwynde site, to be called the Steller, is in the design stage and is expected to be completed in 2027

MVHC and BC Housing are working together “to determine specific (financial) allocations to each project,” MetroVancouver told the NOW.

“All sites will be 100 per cent below market with a mix of units with rents geared to tenant’s income and other units provided at low end of market rents MetroVancouver Housing is working with BC Housing to further determine

the specific level of affordability that can be offered through each project ”

“The new units created through this partnership with MetroVancouver will help create more affordable, sustainable and safer communities,” said housing minister Ravi Kahlon

MetroVancouver is contributing land and equity valued at more than $217 million across all the regional sites over the next

10 years and is working to get federal funding, according to the release

More funding will be announced for the additional sites at a later date.

“Our region is mired in a worsening housing crisis, and MetroVancouver is working to significantly expand our housing portfolio so we can continue to support healthy, inclusive communities,” George Harvie, chair of Metro

Vancouver’s board of directors, said in the release

The first phase of the partnership between BC Housing and MetroVancouver to build 660 homes includes sites at:

w7730 Sixth St., Burnaby

w7388 Southwynde Ave , Burnaby

w1144 Inlet St , Coquitlam

w19085-119B Ave , Pitt Meadows

w788West 13th Ave ,Vancouver

lAYEROFTIME: rolf mathewes, an SFU paleobotanist, points to a seam of fossil-bearing shale that slants through Burnaby mountain at an 11-degree angle beneath SFU PHOTO Simon FraSer UniVerSiTY

Puppiesfoundabandonedinbox Citynow

In a box, hidden in the bushes of Byrne Creek Park in Burnaby, someone abandoned two little sixweek-old puppies.

On March 21, a Good Samaritan found the German shepherd mix puppies male and female siblings and immedi-

ately brought them to the BC SPCA in Burnaby.

“Tia and Koda were frightened and cold when they first arrived,” manager of the BC SPCA’s Burnaby animal centre, Nicole McBain, said in a news release.

Tia required blood tests,

X-rays and various medicines.

The SPCA is raising money forTia’s treatment, which will be matched up to $3,500 by Petsecure Pet Health Insurance (tinyurl. com/BCSPCATiaHealth for more info).

LaurenVanderdeen

CityConnect

PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITY

Liquor Licence Application #23-02

Applicant: BIRDIES EATS & DRINKS

Subject: Proposed extension of liquor service hours at the subject establishment

Location: 3850 LOUGHEED HIGHWAY

Public Input Deadline: May 3, 2023

Birdies Eats & Drinks has made an application to extend the hours of liquor service past midnight on a new food primary liquor licence. The requested extended hours of liquor service are from 9 am-1:30 am, Monday to Saturday The hours of liquor service on Sundays, from 9 am-midnight, are not considered extended hours. The proposed outdoor patio would close by midnight, daily

Liquor Licence Application #22-06

Applicant: GRAND VILLA HOTEL AND RESTAURANT

Subject: Proposed liquor licence amendment to permit patron participation entertainment at the subject establishment

Location: 4331 DOMINION STREET

Public Input Deadline: May 3, 2023

Grand Villa Hotel and Restaurant has made an application to amend its food primary liquor licence, to obtain an endorsement for patron participation entertainment in four of its eight rooms licenced for liquor service The nature of patron participation entertainment would be primarily dancing, for example, as part of wedding and holiday celebrations, and would be required to end at midnight.

For further information on these Liquor Licence Applications, contact the Planning Department at 604-294-7400.

Public input on these applications is invited prior to Burnaby City Council submitting a resolution regarding the application to the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.

Please note, all submissions must contain the name and address of the writer which will become part of the public record. Written comments may be sent to the Planning and Development Department by: Letter: 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, BC, V5G 1M2; or email: planning@burnaby ca

Deadline for written submissions is 4:45 pm May 3, 2023

N. Best CORPORATE OFFICER

A div sion of Canaccord Genu ty Corp , Member - CIPF and ROC

David Eby puts distance on his activist past

When David Eby assumed the office of B C premier, there was speculation in some quarters that he would push the BC NDP government onto a more “activist” footing, since that was the approach he held on many issues before entering politics.

But more than 140 days into the job, there is little sign of that kind of activism being deployed on any front.

In fact, it can be argued that the removal of the homeless encampment on Hastings Street done with the full backing of the Eby government shows what a 180-degree turn Eby has done on that issue alone

Back when he was an activist lawyer working for the Pivot Legal Society and representing the kinds of people who were living in encampments or in poverty on the Downtown

Eastside, it would have been almost impossible to envision Eby supporting the forced removal of that encampment.

However, Eby has been clear for quite a while that he wanted that encampment to be gone. He viewed it as an increasingly unsafe place, where fires and sexual assaults took place, along with other criminal activities

And if that position clashes with the old activist crowd, so be it, he says.

Eby’s government is committed to building more shelters and permanent housing for the homeless, but critics say enough progress is not being made quickly enough.

It is not just supporting the dismantling of housing encampments that separates Eby from the activist past.

Pushed by circumstances, the Eby government is pushing for a tougher approach on

crime Forget activism that demands things like “defund the police,” this government wants more police, more prosecutors and tougher judges.

Eby also favours involuntary care in limited circumstances for people who are having a mental health crisis and pose a threat to others One of his former employers, the B C Civil Liberties Association, opposes such a policy.

The first indication that David Eby in government was going to be different than the David Eby in Opposition came when the BC NDP government decided to finish the construction of the Site C dam Eby was in that provincial cabinet that made the decision, even though the party opposed the project while in Opposition

And now Eby is backing liquefied natural

gas (LNG) projects, even though climate activists ardently oppose them He recently was part of the ceremony announcing provincial approval of the Haisla First Nation’s Cedar LNG project

Nevertheless, as he approaches the sixmonth point of his time in office, the evidence is mounting that Premier David Eby is a decidedly different politician than the one on view during four years in Opposition and his years as an activist lawyer before then In other words, he is not playing to stereotype, much to the frustration of his political opponents. If Eby can continue to govern from the middle, where most voters gather, he will be a tough leader to beat when the 2024 election rolls around.

KeithBaldreyischiefpoliticalreporter

Opinionnow

Land-use casualties

Editor:

i have mixed feelings about the land use conversion at Willingdon and Canada Way in Burnaby.

although the use of the land makes sense, it does highlight its previous use as an addiction treatment centre for those hard-to-treat folks that daily suffer from both mental health and addiction issues.

these are the same folks that are watching their tents being torn down on Hastings Street. those, too, are the folks who were kicked out of the riverview mental health facilities many years ago next will be Crab park So where to next?

i have neighbours who happen to be homeless they live in tents in different parts of the neighbourhood. they are quieter and tidier than most of the housed residents there’s something wrong with a society that does not care for those most in need i am old enough now to have been through all the polit-

ical unfulfilled promises i no longer believe in any of them and frankly i’ve become jaded in the process

Linda Shaw

Tennis facilities lacking

Editor: :

my daughter plays tennis with a club, and whenever we have to go and play tournaments, we find that Burnaby and Lower mainland as a whole lack the facilities

We have bubbles but no good place to sit and view the players, and it really discourages the kids and potential players when they have to use makeshift rooms to change and all.

if we can have a prepped facility like the pacific tennis Centre and get more professional tournaments, it will encourage future players and motivate them to perform to their capabilities.

Ashima Bhatti

The BurnaBy now welcomes leTTers To The ediTor We do, however, edit for taste, legality and length Please include a phone number where you can be reached Send letters to: The editor, #201a–3430 Brighton ave , Burnaby, B c , V5a 3h4, email to: editorial@burnabynow com (no attachments please) or fax to: 604-444-3460 Letters to the editor and opinion columns may be reproduced on the Burnaby NOW website, www burnabynow com

May 13 & 14 | 11 am-4 pm

Deer Lake Park & Shadbolt Centre for the Arts

May 27 | 11 am-4 pm

Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area

Entertainment Featuring:

Eco-artists

Workshops

Eco-sculptures

Plus: family activities, talks and tours, plant sales, community groups, Burnaby Farmers Artisan Market and more!

Full schedule and pre-register for activities: Burnaby.ca/Blooms

LaurenVanderdeen

lvanderdeen@burnabynow

com

Burnaby is ready to kick its playgrounds up a notch

After a budget increase to the parks department, city staff have come up with a timeline of playgrounds to be upgraded in the next five years

The first enhanced playground up for improvement will be Jim Lorimer Park, near Gilmore SkyTrain station in Brentwood town centre

The development is set to begin this year and will include creating a “flood-

proof plateau” in the park for the playground’s location

The city has planned for four basic playgrounds to be upgraded every year, as well as a larger-scale enhanced or destination playground

Enhanced playgrounds are designed to serve more children in higher density areas, and use by schools and daycares, while basic playgrounds serve neighbourhood residents within a 15-minute walk.

Basic playgrounds have a capacity of about 30 children and cost about

$300,000; enhanced playgrounds have a capacity of 70 or more and cost

about $750,000, according to staff reports from December.

Enhanced playgrounds can be located on sites that are “more expensive to develop,” due to issues like flooding or tight spaces, which need more resilient, rubberized surfaces, according to a new staff report

Destination playgrounds are larger facilities planned to serve kids from Burnaby as well as draw families from out of town.The playgrounds will meet maximum accessibility standards and could include features like ziplines, 10-metre-tall “tree house” towers, spiral slides and

rope walkways, according to the December reports

They can handle about 200 or more kids at a time and cost about $3 5 million

The first destination playground to be built will be in the northeast of Central Park. Staff will bring more details for council to decide on before construction begins in 2025.

The money for the new destination playgrounds will come from development cost charges (DCCs) collected from developers rather than residents, according to city staff.

First in line: Jim Lorimer park in Brentwood town centre is getting an upgrade. PHOTO GooGle Street View

Saturday, april 22

TRADITIONAL POWWOW AT SFU

All are welcome to SFU’s first powwow on the mountain

A traditional powwow hosted by SFU’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Association to honour Indigenous students past and present, celebrate the end of the school year and showcase Indigenous cultures, the event promises a full day of singing and dancing as well as a 50-50 draw and raffle

WHEN: Saturday, April 22 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

WHERE: SFU West Gym (8888 University Dr. W.)

COST: Free or by donation.

BURNABY BLOCK PARTY AT BCIT

All Burnabians are invited to a party in the parking lot at BCIT. Come for food truck heaven more than 20 are slated to be there and stay for the live entertainment and artisan market. In fact, you can spend the weekend.

WHEN: Saturday, April 22, 11 a m to Sunday, April 23, 7 p.m.

WHERE: BCIT (3700 Willingdon Ave , parking lot 924)

COST: Free admission

SPRINGTIME GREETING CARD MAKING FOR TEENS AT THE LIBRARY

Calling all crafters: 13-to–19-year-olds of all abilities can learn to create spring and nature-themed greeting cards with paper craft designs. Spend a creative and soothing hour-and-a-half welcoming spring at the library All supplies will be provided.

WHEN: Saturday, April 22, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Tommy Douglas branch of Burnaby Public Library (7311 Kingsway)

COST: Free, register at teenservices@bpl bc ca

AN AFTERNOON OF GUILTY PLEASURE AT THE ADMIRAL PUB

Spend an afternoon enjoying live covers of pop hits from the 1960s to today at the Admiral Pub. The show will include songs from the Black Crowes to the Cranberries to Roxette and Stevie Nicks. Rock out all afternoon and be in bed by a reasonable hour

WHEN: Saturday, April 22, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

WHERE: Admiral Pub (4125 Hastings St.)

COST: $11, available at eventbrite ca/e/an-afternoonof-guilty-pleasure-tickets-573328279317

Sunday, april 23

SPRING LYRIC OPERA CONCERT

Catch highlights from Phantom and Beyond: Love in Music, a tribute to opera and musical theatre classics from La Bohème to Phantom of the Opera, at the Shadbolt Centre this weekend, as part of its Opera on a Sunday Afternoon series. Take in 80 minutes of memorable music sung in the original language interspersed with spoken English narration

WHEN: Sunday, April 23 at 3 p.m.

WHERE: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Studio 102 (6450 Deer Lake Ave.)

COST: $20, tickets available at tinyurl.com/ SpringLyricOperaBurnaby

Compiled by Christi Walter

Casa Madera

PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Berg/Burnaby Lyric Opera Facebook From opera love songs to a block party to crafting and rocking out, here are five things happening this weekend

Citynow

LaurenVanderdeen lvanderdeen@burnabynow.com

A Burnaby home up for sale recently went viral onTikTok for its unusual narrow size.

The lot is 16 5 feet wide half the size of a more common lot frontage of about 30 feet

The three-bedroom home in Burnaby’s South Slope neighbourhood at 6038 McKee St., which is now unlisted but will go back on the market soon (and is still available as an “exclusive” sale, according to realtor Rimpy Hothi),

was listed at $1.88 million earlier this year

Social media users on TikTok were not impressed by the size

“My car is wider,” wrote one user “Shoe box,” said another.

“What is that? A storage shed?”

TheTikTok was viewed more than 112,000 times (Watch it at tinyurl.com/ BurnabyNarrowHome)

The home’s top two floors make up more than 1,150 square feet, and its lower basement is 685 sq. ft. It sits on a 2,014 sq. ft. lot

The tiny lot exists due to an anomaly in its zoning: it had two parcel IDs on the property predating

Burnaby’s zoning bylaw

That allowed the 49.5foot lot to be split into two lots: one with a frontage of

33 feet and one with 16 5 feet, according to homeowner Joe Manhas. He said he knows of three other similar properties elsewhere in Burnaby Manhas, a realtor by trade, said he wanted to build the narrow home as he could get more profit by selling it separately.

“There’s over $1 million more profit if you build two rather than one,” Manhas said, calling the home a “skinny little house ”

While it took some back-and-forth with the city to get the house built,

Manhas, his wife and mother-in-law (along with the family’s white Maltese dog named Fido) have been living there for a little more than two years

Realtor for the home Hothi called it one of the most unique homes built in Burnaby and added the home is better than a duplex and less expensive than a regular detached home

“It’s like buying a duplex, but there’s nobody behind you; there’s nobody beside you; you own the entire house,” Hothi said.

Slim shelter: a home recently listed for sale in Burnaby is about half as wide as most homes in the city PHOTO Zealty.ca

Burnabytoget27moreelusiveelectricvehicles Citynow

LaurenVanderdeen lvanderdeen@burnabynow.com

After facing multiple delays in procuring electric vehicles, Burnaby now has a contract to purchase 27 EVs for its fleet

City council approved an order of about $1 28 million toTransCan Leasing Corp for 27 Chevrolet Bolt EUV (electric utility vehicle) LTs at a meeting on March 28

“We are cautiously optimistic that they will be able to deliver 27 vehicles during 2023,” the city’s general manager of engineering, Jozsef Dioszeghy, told councillors at the meeting. “And this is ac-

tually a far cry from how many vehicles we would ideally like to get in in 2023 ”

Dioszeghy said the order for the Bolt EUVs are to replace an order of Kia Souls that wasn’t filled.

He said the city “rightly” anticipated the electric vehicle industry would be able to supply about 100 EVs when the city built its 100-stall EVcharging parking lot.

“Unfortunately, that did not happen,” Dioszeghy said. “In fact, the chosen supplier at the time, this year didn’t even respond to our tender call And so that’s why the best we can do, at this point in time,

(is) to make an agreement with another supplier for 27 electrical vehicles for 2023 delivery”

The city, along with many consumers, has run

into issues purchasing electric vehicles In 2021, the city purchased and received nine Kia Soul EVs, but in 2022, a request for 15 more Kia Souls “re-

ceived no bids due to lack of market availability,” according to ColeWagner, city public affairs officer Coun. Alison Gu asked if those Bolt EUVs were

the best option Dioszeghy said staff were concerned about size, adding the regular Bolt “would not be adequate.”

Burnabyvolunteerstocreateplaygroundfordogs

AbhinayaNatesh anatesh@burnabynow com

Shelter dogs can often find themselves under a lot of stress struggling to find a sense of belonging and happiness. But a volunteer team from Burnaby is working tirelessly to help change that.

A team of 40 volunteers from Burnaby-based Para Space Landscaping, will be building a sensory playground for the shelter dogs at the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) this weekend to create a safe and stimulating envi-

ronment for dogs to play both physically and mentally.

Para Space marketing co-ordinator Catherine Deacon said the dogs require a safe space for indulging in both physical and mental exercises

“That can be smelling different things,” Deacon said “Especially for shelter dogs, having different obstacles to walk through (can) build confidence ”

The area, which will include a bark mulch pathway, a pergola with bench, privacy hedging to block out the loud traffic from Highway 1 and four “doggie playground” items,

is intended to enrich the daily lives of the dogs in their care.

She added that the newly improved space will also be used as a place for families who want to adopt to meet and greet the dogs in a safe environment.

“We’re building a sandbox because some dogs like to dig,” she said. “We’re giving them that space to dig and enrich their mental state.We’re also building a table that they can jump on and play. Dogs like to move up and down and have that

kind of (physical activity)

Especially with the shelter dogs, they’re in the kennels for most of the day, they get to go for a walk, but they don’t have an open space to play So this is going to be a really important part for the dog’s well-being before they get adopted ”

Every year, Para Space, which is a Landscape Industry Accredited Company, works on a portfolio of diverse projects for an annual day of service as part of its community outreach program. From working with hos-

pitals to cleaning up the Girl Guides camp on the Sunshine Coast, the Burnaby-based team engages in goodwill projects with partners all over Metro Vancouver and British Columbia

The closed annual event will be held at the Langley Animal Protection Society this weekend and will involve the volunteers and their families interacting and building this safe space for shelter dogs before they find their forever homes The playground elements are expected to be completed on April 28

Pup project: para Space marketing co-ordinator Catherine Deacon with a LapS puppy.

PHOTO Submitted/Catherine deaCon

Connectwithyour community today. Volunteers needed!

As we gear up to celebrate National Volunteer Week, we would like to emphasize the need more than ever for volunteer recruitment in our country It is apparent that the volunteer sector has been especially hit hard by the long lasting effects of the pandemic. The president and CEO of Volunteer Canada, Megan Conway, states that up to 65 per cent of organizations in the country are struggling with a shortage of volunteers. Furthermore, 35 per cent of those organizations have then had to reduce services because of this. The Statistics Canada report released in November 2022 also shows that 42% of volunteers aren’t able to commit long term, 29% lack time or resources to recruit volunteers and 26% report high volunteer burnout and stress due to these factors.

As we highlight the ever-growing demand for volunteers this year, Volunteer Burnaby would like to announce an exciting update regarding our volunteer recruitment database. As you may know, Volunteer Burnaby has acted as the main point of contact for the volunteer recruitment website, VolunteerConnector.com. Beginning this month (April, 2023), We are pleased to announce that Volunteer Burnaby has made the exciting decision to complete the transition process from using the previous platform, VolunteerConnector.com, to Volunteer Now! This decision comes as the Volunteer Now database is among many things; A simple user-friendly interface which is equipped with local, recent, and relevant volunteer opportunities all throughout the Metro Vancouver area. Through Volunteer Now, we hope to reach as many volunteers and organizations as possible to assist with the volunteer crisis our country is currently facing. We would like to encourage all to please visit our link to the Volunteer Now database at https://burnaby.bcvolunteer.ca/ to keep up to date with available volunteer opportunities.

If you would like to learn more about Volunteer Burnaby and the other volunteer opportunities in your area, please visit us at volunteerburnaby.ca.

Burnabyrentsrisebydoubledigitsfromayearago Citynow

JessBalzer

jfedigan@burnabynow com

New data shows Burnaby’s rental market isn’t slowing down

According to Rentals. ca’s April report, Burnaby is the fourth most expensive city across Canada to rent a one-bedroom, averaging $2,259 per month, and a two-bedroom, $3,139.

The city’s current one-bedroom price average is a 14 9 per cent increase from a year ago, while two-bedroom units have gone up by 25 6 per cent

Only three other Canadian communities posted higher monthly averages

than Burnaby. Vancouver holds top spot with prices of $2,743 for a one-bedroom and $3,653 for two, followed byToronto and Etobicoke, Ont

Meanwhile, B C continues to have the highest rental average nationally at $2,541, with a studio averaging $1,904, one-bedroom $2,168, two-bedroom $2,857 and three-bedrooms at $3,342

And when it comes to buying a place to call home in Burnaby, prices rose for the second straight month, according to the Real Estate Board of GreaterVancouver’s (REBGV) latest data.

Residential housing hit a benchmark price of $1.11 million in Burnaby East (+0 6 per cent compared to February of this year), $978,400 in Burnaby North (+1 6 per cent) and at about $1 08 million (+1 4 per cent) in Burnaby South

A single-family detached house was recorded at $1 73 million in Burnaby East (-0 1 per cent), $1 88 million in Burnaby North (+2 0 per cent) and more than $2 million in Burnaby South at $2.07 million (+3.7 per cent).

REBGV covers 15 municipalities including Burnaby, Coquitlam and New Westminster.

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Soaring: Highrise buildings are seen behind the Lougheed town Centre mall pHoto Jennifer Gauthier, BurnaBy nOW fileS

Citynow Comedytakesonqueermotherhoodconundrum

AbhinayaNatesh

anatesh@burnabynow.com

Society has long reinforced the idea that iden-

tity for women is yoked to motherhood

But what about women who reject that role? Unexpecting, a female-led com-

edy by Burnaby playwright Bronwyn Carradine, takes a look at the question At the heart of it, Unexpecting explores modern

motherhood and found families while celebrating queer relationships and friendships It’s a story that its author hopes will move

anyone who has struggled with a decision to become a parent But the work is also an opportunity for Carradine to explore the idea of rejecting the role of motherhood

“I wanted to really explore and talk about the fact that not all women want to be mothers,” she said in a conversation with the NOW. “And that it’s perfectly fine for someone to choose not to raise a child that they’re pregnant with. A big part of that and going against the stigma that exists for pregnant mothers putting up their child for adoption ”

Through Sawyer, a pregnant 24-year-old academic yearning for a place in law school, and a queer couple going through “hell and back” to become

mothers and raise a baby, the playwright explores contrasting personalities and societal expectations

Carradine said the play was conceived from her own experience of being in a queer relationship and trying to create a family.

“I didn’t see a lot of comedies and positive shows about queer families,” she said.

Unexpecting

When: May 5 to 21; May 5 preview and May 6 opening;Wednesdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m.

Where: Studio 16 (1551West Seventh Ave., Vancouver)

Cost: $34 (Regular); $24 (Student/senior/arts worker); $15 (Reduced barrier tickets)

Familymatters: Unexpecting, by Burnaby-based playwright Bronwyn Carradine, aims to tug at heartstrings through realistic comedy. PHOTO Tina Krueger Kulic/conTribuTed

REMEMBRANCES

Obituaries

Obituaries

Obituaries

In Loving Memory of KURBIS, Doris Ann (Anctil)

June 20, 1936 - December 13, 2022

Doris completed her long-life journey fought well and hard over her last months She drew a last gentle breath at 1:40 a m on December 13, 2022 in the Palliative Care Unit at Burnaby General Hospital

Doris was predeceased by her dear husband of sixty-one years John, in 2015 Doris is survived by her son Paul, daughters Marcia, Sandra (Bernie), grandchildren Zoe (Quinn), Morgan (Lauren), great grandchildren Ever, Ira and Oliver, sister Denise, sister-in-law Loretta, brother- in- law Ernie, as well as many nieces and nephews, and a few great, great nieces and nephews

Doris leaves many treasured memories with those who knew her through her work and many, many volunteer activities in and around the Burnaby community, most recently at the Confederation Senior’s Centre lunch program, where she was known as the“hug”greeter

Doris’s family would like to extend their deep gratitude to family, friends, and health professionals for the loving care Doris received over the last months of her life.

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight”

Kahlil Gibran

Donations in Doris’s memory may be made to her favourite charities B.C Children’s Hospital Foundation, Burnaby Hospital Foundation or Canuck Place Children’s Hospice

We welcome Family and Friends to join us for a Celebration of Doris’s Life on Saturday May 6th, drop-in between 3:00pm and 7:00pm

Please join us at Caffe Artigiano, 4359 Hastings St , Burnaby

ROEMER, Claudette Estella

October 6, 1935 - April 13, 2023

Mom passed away peacefully at Cedar Hill Care Center in Langley, with family by her side

Claudette was born in Gull Lake, Saskatchewan. Creston, BC is where she met our Dad, Donald, and they married on January 22 1955 They raised our family in Riondel, BC a small mining community in the Kootenays until the mine shut down in 1972 and they moved to “the coast”, settling in New Westminster

She is survived by her 4 children; Kim (Glenn), Donna (Allan) Greg (Susan) and Diana (Israel); 8 grandchildren; Lynda, Jason (Nicole), Cheryl (Matt), Ashley (Uche), Adam, Diego, Alexis and Jesse; 6 great-grandchildren; Rosie, Elijah, Nevaeh, Jacob, Samantha and Chinelo and 3 grand-puppies Cali, Chloe and Wilbur She is predeceased by our Dad (in 2005), her loving husband and high school sweetheart Donald (Don), with whom she celebrated 50 years of marriage; her parents, brother Starleigh and infant sister

Mom (Granny) was a sweet little lady with a spunk and a fire inside that took everyone that met her by surprise. She was happiest when she was with her family Everywhere she went she made wonderful friendships Together with our Dad she gave us a happy, fun and memorable childhood and supported and encouraged us throughout our lives It was our pleasure and honour to return the favour, spending time with her, loving her and caring for her after our Dad passed away and as she grew older

We would like to extend our sincere thank you and appreciation to the caring and compassionate staff at Cedar Hill Center She also received excellent care from the kind staff at Chartwell Langley Gardens and ChartwellWillow.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date

RestinpeaceMom Weloveyou!

LEGREE, Shirley (McIlroy)

October 9, 1936 - March 30, 2023

Shirley peacefully passed away with her husband Bud by her side She will be deeply missed by Bud her sons Mike (Robin), Todd and Budd (Julie), her grandsons Brandon and Colton and her many nieces and nephews Shirley will also be missed by the community of lifelong friends that supported her and the family during her brief illness

By request no service will be held To leave messages of condolence, please see DignityMemorial com

LEGAL

leGal/publiC notiCes

LEGAL NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that on April 21st 2023, U-Lock Mini Storage, 4240 Manor St, Burnaby, V5G 1B2, will sell the contents of the lockers listed below:

Unit #0075 - NakeeranThanabalasingam

Unit #1067 - Nicholas Horlacher

Unit #2045 - Stephanie Buck

Unit #3812 - Kelly Oda

Unit #3168- Gabriel Agbokou

These lockers will be put for auction via: iBid4storage com on the 21st of April 2023

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Boarding & Taping, Good Rates! Reliable, Free Est. Reno’s & Small Jobs Welcome! Call Gurprit 604-710-7769

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A BURQUITLAM FIRST FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY DEVELOPER.

Driven by a legacy of excellence, Intracorp is bringing over four decades of experience to Burquitlam, with the introduction of Gardena As a design-driven community at a masterplan scale, Gardena will offer richer amenities, more expansive greenspaces, and new opportunities for wellness.