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Delivery 604-942-3081 • Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Fighting to ban cat and dog fur imports
Residents want tougher tree bylaws
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Your source for local sports, news, weather and entertainment! >> www.burnabynow.com DENIED ACCESS
Tories apologize to teen Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
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Jason Lang/burnaby now
Harping at Harper: Prime Minister Stephen Harper was greeted by anti-war protesters when he arrived at a Conservative party rally at the Beedie Group’s head office in Burnaby on Saturday.
Protesters greet Harper in city Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
Stephen Harper was back in Burnaby on Saturday announcing more tough-on-crime measures. “Our government has made standing up for victims of crime a priority,” said Harper. “A re-elected Conservative government will build on our accomplishments in this critically important area to ensure all Canadians feel safer in their communities.”
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Harper promised back-to-back sentences for child sex offenders, including child pornographers, rather than concurrent sentences. He also called for tougher legislation that would double the fines criminals have to pay to help victims, and annual drug testing for all federal prisoners. The visit was staged at the Beedie Group’s head office close to Still Creek. But Conservative supporters weren’t the only ones who showed up at the rally. Dozens of anti-war protesters also gathered
to make their voices heard over concerns about Canada’s role in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan has barely come up in the election. We thought it was important to raise this issue,” said Derrick O’Keefe from StopWar.ca, the group that organized the rally. O’Keefe said Harper extended Canada’s mission to 2014, when it was originally supposed to end this year. “They are saying the combat mission has Protest Page 8
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The Conservatives are apologizing about a case involving a teen who claims she was denied access to Stephen Harper’s Burnaby rally on Saturday. “It was clearly an oversight, and we apologize, and everyone in Burnaby and across Canada is welcome to attend our rallies,” said Conservative spokesperson Michael White. According to White, two individuals approached the event to register, and a volunteer recognized them as Young Liberals, but it was the teens who then left. According to White, the teens were told they were welcome to attend the event, as long as they promised not to disrupt, but the offer was declined. “People are welcome to come to our events, and we encourage all Canadians to engage,” White said. “We invited them in, they chose not to come.” But the Port Coquitlam teen involved had a different account of what happened. Diamond Isinger, 17, is a Young Liberal volunteer. She claims she was denied access because she is a Liberal supporter. The story, as Isinger tells it, started when she showed up at Harper’s rally. She had pre-registered to attend, was approved, and went to sign in upon arriving. “Someone recognized me as a Liberal, pointed to me and
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