NEWS 3
Retail pot coming to Burnaby
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018
ARTS 11
Explore wartime history
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
HEALTH 23
What does health mean to you?
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LIFE IN THE FAR NORTH:
What is it like to live in a tent and follow a herd of reindeer across the frozen North? Local residents had a chance to explore that question at the Sami Culture and Design Show held over the weekend at the Scandinavian Community Centre – the first such local event dedicated to exploring the culture and stories of the Sami, the people indigenous to northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Here, Troy Storfjell of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, wearing traditional Sami dress, chats with Monica Jessen inside the lavvu, a portable tent traditionally made out of reindeer skin. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER
BURNABY BOOMING
Building permits balloon to record $1 billion Mayor Derek Corrigan says growth is due to ‘good planning’ for Burnaby’s town centre areas By Tereza Verenca
tverenca@burnabynow.com
2017 was a record-breaking year for construction in Burnaby. The city handed out $1.05 billion worth of building permits, an increase from the $819 million issued in 2016.The second-best
year was in 2015, at $879 million, according to a staff report presented to Burnaby council last month. “Ultimately, it’s been good planning,” Mayor Derek Corrigan told the NOW after the meeting, pointing to the development underway in Burnaby’s four town centres. In Metrotown, things are al-
The goal of the plan is to create Burnaby’s first-ever downtown, but housing critics have argued it will displace thousands of low-income renters, many of whom can’t afford to move into the new highrises. The Sears site in Metrotown will be the first redevelopment
project under the downtown plan. Once complete, it will boast six residential towers, each atop a commercial podium along Kingsway. “The nature of the development Continued on page 8
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ready starting to take shape as a result of the controversial Metrotown Downtown Plan that council adopted last summer.The update allows for more density in the neighbourhood and paves the way for condo towers to go up where two- or three-storey walkups once stood.