FRIDAY
November 28 2014 Vol. 105 No. 96
NEWS 3
Primary school concerns HOLIDAY HUB 17
30 days of kindness SPORTS 27
Grey Cup fever There’s more online at
vancourier.com WEEKEND EDITION
THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908
Petition raises concerns over Brickhouse
Potential redevelopment could affect bar, student residence DEVELOPING STORY Naoibh O’Connor
noconnor@vancourier.com
LIFE LESSONS Queen Mary elementary Grade 5 students Robert Shen (left) and Dylan Danielson interview Norma Kavanagh as part of the Project CHEF program, which connects seniors with children and teaches them about wholesome food. See story on page 6. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
NPA faces second defamation lawsuit Bob Mackin
bob@bobmakin.ca
The public sector union that donated $226,000 to Vision Vancouver is suing the NPA and its defeated mayoral candidate. CUPE’s Nov. 25-filed B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit claims Kirk LaPointe, who lost by 10,000 votes to Mayor Gregor Robertson on Nov. 15, falsely and maliciously accused the city’s outside workers’ union of corruption. CUPE’s lawyer said the defamation would harm its ability to bargain for its 24,000 municipal workers in B.C. The lawsuit mentions LaPointe’s Oct. 20 Province newspaper commentary headlined “Vision Vancouver’s cash-for-jobs deal with the city union is corrupt.” The Province was not named in the lawsuit. “It wants the debate to stop about the allegation of corruption, because [Local 1004] is not corrupt, but it has no desire to stop or chill the debate about
campaign finance,” CUPE lawyer Leo McGrady said Wednesday at a news conference during the B.C. Federation of Labour convention. The inspiration for LaPointe’s commentary was the Courier’s Oct. 16 story about a leaked recording of the Oct. 14 CUPE Local 1004 membership meeting, where Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs appealed for union support and pledged, on Robertson’s behalf, that there would be no contracting-out if Vision was re-elected. Local 1004 members at the meeting voted unanimously to donate $34,000 to Vision. The B.C. and national wings matched the donations for a $102,000 total. LaPointe wrote that was evidence Vision members acted in self-interest to prejudice the city’s bargaining position in next year’s negotiations. “This one appears to be rather similar [to the Nov. 6 Vision defamation lawsuit],” LaPointe told the Courier. “I need to have
our lawyers look at it and give us some advice about how it is we’re going to defend.” Vision sued LaPointe on behalf of Robertson and Meggs the same day that it leaked an internal poll by Stratcom that showed LaPointe only 4 per cent behind Robertson. The Nov. 14 NPA defence statement called Vision’s lawsuit a campaign ploy to “restrain the right of Mr. LaPointe and the NPA... to exercise their right of free speech, in particular their right to political speech.” None of the allegations has been proven in court. Vancouver Police Const. Brian Montague would not confirm police are investigating Vision or CUPE for alleged municipal corruption under the Criminal Code. Said CUPE B.C. president Mark Hancock: “We have not been contacted by police; if we are contacted by police, we will fully participate in an investigation.” Continued on page 4
An online petition to save the Brickhouse building at 730 Main St. in Chinatown has emerged even though a rezoning application referencing the site has yet to be filed with the City of Vancouver. The petition raises concerns about the building’s future because the property is part of a possible application to redevelop properties from 728 to 796 Main Street. The petition, which links to a recent Vancouver Sun article by John Mackie (“The heritage battle for Chinatown”), states: “Don’t let new condos flatten the Brickhouse.” It had been signed by more than 540 people as of Nov. 27. “Vancouver is drowning in an ocean of copy-and-paste corporate chain bars. The Brickhouse is a great independent bar, but now it could be demolished to make way for a new condo development in Chinatown. The Creekside Student Residence and Jimi Hendrix shrine could be taken out with it,” the petition reads. “Please sign now to call for Vancouver’s mayor and council to stop the demolition of the Brickhouse and start a real consultation with the Chinatown community to ensure that new developments don’t threaten to strip the character of the community and drive more people out of the market.” Bonnis Development owns the Brickhouse property, as well as vacant land beside it. The building at 796 Main St. — Creekside Student Residence — is designated under the City of Vancouver’s single-room-accommodation bylaw and contains 22 designated SRA units. Continued on page 5
November 22 – December 24 Open daily 11am – 9pm*
(*Closes at 6pm on December 24)
The Plaza @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre West Georgia St & Hamilton St