NEWS STORY OF THE YEAR 3
Hint: Starts with P and ends with E
OPINION 8
A year in cartoons
SPORTS 28
5
Sports Page hits hall of fame
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND NEW YEAR EDITION, DECEMBER 27/28, 2017
There’s more at Burnabynow.com
SEE PAGE 11
MAYOR DEREK CORRIGAN
Not a shy guy in 2017
NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR
You may agree or disagree with the controversial city mayor – but you always know where he stands
2017
By Tereza Verenca
tverenca@burnabynow.com
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan dominated headlines in 2017. And not just in the NOW, but on the radio and in evening television newscasts. It seemed like he was everywhere all the time.Whether it was the pipeline, the Mayors’ Council or the passing of the Metrotown downtown plan, Corrigan had something to say about it. Agree with him, or disagree with him – you can’t say you don’t know where he stands. For that reason the Burnaby NOW has chosen him as our Newsmaker of theYear. Corrigan’s political career started three decades ago. He was elected to Burnaby council in 1987, where he served for 15 years until 2002, when he took the job of mayor. Since 2002, the longtime politician has been re-elected five times and is gunning for a sixth term in 2018. So what all happened in council chambers in 2017 that made the news? In March, council approved 200 new units of affordable housing – the first units OK’d under the city’s lands program for non-market housing projects. At the time, before the B.C. NDP came to power, Corrigan praised the program and said the City of Burnaby had done what it could by offering up the land and it was now up to the provincial and federal governments to do their part (that was a constant soundbite in his interviews). A few months later, Corrigan and council unanimously passed the controversial Metrotown downtown plan. More than 30 housing activists shut down the July council meeting by chanting and blowing whistles. Burnaby Mounties responded to the demonstration, which came to a peaceful ending after about two hours.
HEADLINE GRABBER: You may not know him personally, but you definitely know his name. Mayor Derek Corrigan dominated the headlines once again in 2017, what with his willingness to take a stand on controversial issues – including, but not limited to, the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, the Mayors’ Council and its transportation plans, or the city’s own Metrotown development plan. He’s our Newsmaker of the Year for 2017. PHOTO NOW FILES
Folks like Rick McGowan with the Metrotown Residents’ Association criticized Corrigan for not doing enough on the issue of affordable housing.They said the neighbourhood plan update – a mass rezoning of the area to allow for more density – would displace up to 6,000 tenants, many of whom live in low-rise walk-ups and can’t afford to live in the new, swanky towers. The mayor called the council protest a “bullying tactic” and reiterated that affordable housing isn’t the sole responsibility of municipalities.
“We’re looking for ways to contribute, but we can’t do it all on our shoulders.We can offer up land, we can offer up bonus density (money), but we can’t expect that our property taxes are going to subsidize housing over an extended period of time,” he said. “When you’ve had 15 or 20 years of failure by the federal and provincial governments to initiate much in the way of that kind of housing and you’ve had the influx of people that we’ve had, it makes it very, very difficult to catch up.” Corrigan used the word “bully” again in
October, this time describing Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada, who reportedly walked into Corrigan’s office to complain about the city’s permitting process for the Trans Mountain expansion project. Corrigan claimed Anderson was putting pressure on him. Shortly after, Kinder Morgan went to the National Energy Board to ask that it be allowed to continue work in Burnaby without city permits. Continued on page 7