15
Free* premium roast coffee.
$
Breakfast hours from
†5:00 - 10:30am, April 20 to May 3.
VANCOUVER • WEEKEND, APRIL 24-26, 2009
metronews.ca *Small coffee only. Limit one per customer, per visit. Not available with any Extra Value Meal or value picks® offer. †Opening hours vary by restaurant. Until 11am on weekends. ©2009 McDonald’s.
JEFF HODSON/METRO VANCOUVER
Second round playoff tix on sale Saturday Tickets for second round Canucks games go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. Prices start at $120 with game dates and the opponent yet to be announced. There is a four-ticket limit in order to accommodate as many fans as possible. People who are unable to secure tickets should check Ticketmaster regularly as additional tickets may be released within 48 hours of each game day. KELSEA BLOXAM/
CANUCKS
FOR METRO VANCOUVER
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Local pg 2 New Democrat Leader Carole James, left, takes on Premier Gordon Campbell and Green party Leader Jane Sterk in the first leader’s debate Thursday at CKNW in Vancouver. The three debated a number of topics including the economy and the environment.
Leaders face off in debate
First meeting tackles parties’ plans, focuses on environment, economy Alleged crime KRISTEN THOMPSON kristen.thompson@metronews.ca
The leaders of British Columbia’s three main political parties squared off for the first time on Thursday in a live radio debate focused in large part on the environment and economy. The 90-minute debate, which was moderated by
CKNW radio host Bill Good, gave Green party Leader Jane Sterk her first face-toface with NDP Leader Carole James, and Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell. One hot topic was the controversial carbon tax, which James called ineffective and unfair to low-income and rural British Columbians. Sterk, on the other hand, called James’ plan to get rid
of the tax for a cap-andtrade system “irresponsible,” while Campbell pointed out that the NDP voted against “every single environmental initiative” the Liberals have introduced. The leaders also debated their parties’ plans to deal with homelessness, health care, transportation and the economy. James promised to raise the minimum wage to $10
an hour from $8, pointing to the 80,000 jobs lost in B.C. since Christmas as proof that Campbell’s economic recovery plan has failed. Campbell, however, said James’ plan to raise minimum wage would hurt small businesses and lead to more layoffs, adding that “a job is by far the best social program you can have.” Sterk came to Campbell’s defence briefly, saying it was
“crazy to blame the premier for the loss of the jobs,” but added that finger pointing between the Liberals and NDP is “unhealthy and nonproductive.” As for the Green party’s fiscal plan, Sterk proposed shifting B.C.’s forestry industry from an industrial to an ecological model, saying that underscoring local production for local markets would boost the economy.
Regional vote on plan to haul garbage to United States Metro Vancouver directors are voting Friday on a plan that could see the region’s trash hauled across the border into the United States. The region voted last year
REGION
against replacing the Cache Creek landfill, which closes mid-2010, to focus efforts on waste reduction. But Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt, chair of Metro Vancouver’s waste committee,
said it would take three to five years to develop the infrastructure required to handle all of Metro Vancouver’s trash. Directors will decide Friday whether to apply to
B.C.’s environment minister for an amendment allowing Metro Vancouver’s municipal trash to be dumped in the U.S. The amendment would allow for up to 600,000
tonnes of solid waste a year, for five years, to be transported by truck and rail to Roosevelt, Wash., or to Wenatchee, Wash., and then on to Arlington, Ore.
boss nabbed
Celebrity Buzz pg 31
Slumdog duo in romance? Movies pg 18
Soloist jarring and powerful
JEFF HODSON/METRO VANCOUVER
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