midweek edition WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27-, 2011 Vol. 102 No. 33 • Established 1908 • West
23 7 Liberal incumbent won riding by only 22 votes K&K’s Canucks playoff haiku Royal wedding watchers
Immigrants dominate Vancouver South Federal
ELECTION
2011
Canada votes May 2 Sandra Thomas Staff writer
Which way will Vancouver South swing in the May 2 election? It’s a riding to watch.
photo Jason Lang
The Courier ends its weekly profiles of the city’s five electoral districts. Riding name and location: Vancouver South was formed in 1914, but in 1996 it became Vancouver SouthBurnaby after the riding’s boundaries were expanded to include a third of New Westminster-Burnaby. In 2004, the boundaries of Vancouver
South were changed again to include Granville Street on the West and the city limits to the south. The northern boundary is West 41st Avenue to School Avenue where it travels along Tyne Street to East 49th and finally to Boundary Road. That change saw the riding lose one-third of its previous numbers, while encompassing more than 25,000 residents from Vancouver Quadra and another 11,500 from Vancouver Kingsway. The riding covers 27 square kilometres with a population in 2006 of 120,284. What’s it like: According to the 2006 census, 60 per cent of Vancouver South is made up of immigrants including 45 per cent Chinese Canadians and 13 per cent South Asian. See KEY on page 4
Falun Gong supporters threaten court action over new bylaw Protesters face fines up to $5,000 from city hall Mike Howell Staff writer
A group of Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners and the Falun Dafa Association of Canada plan to take the city to court over a new bylaw related to political protest approved by council.
Lawyer Clive Ansley, working on behalf of the Falun Gong, said the new bylaw approved April 19 doesn’t reflect an October 2010 B.C. Court of Appeal decision that ruled a section of the city’s former bylaw was unconstitutional. In 2001, the Falun Gong set up billboards and a small wooden hut
in front of the Chinese Consulate near 16th Avenue and Granville Street. In 2009, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in favour of the city to allow the removal of the structures. The Court of Appeal decision overturned that ruling. “The Court of Appeal considered specifically the hut and the fact this allowed some-
body to be there 24 hours a day, and that this 24-hour peaceful meditation kind of vigil was an essential component of their message,” Ansley told the Courier. “What the city has done now has come in allowing a structure the size that would allow a pre-school aged child to sit in and nobody else.”
Also, he said, the practitioners have to dismantle their hut and other structures every night by 8 p.m. and could face a fine between $1,000 and $5,000. The new bylaw also requires the Falun Gong or any other protest group to take out a 30-day permit. See MAYOR on page 4
YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT! WWW.VANCOURIER.COM