vancourier.com
THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS
MIDWEEK EDITION
Trappingsofart
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2013 Vol. 104 No. 33 • Established 1908
NEWS: Community correspondent reports on school eco clubs 14
Fedscoolto fundingnew artgallery VAG’S FINANCIAL PLAN INCLUDES $100 MILLION FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MIKE HOWELL Staff writer
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photo Dan Toulgoet
TUFF ENOUGH: Nine year old Maya Cuerrier and a few of her friends try out part of the course Tuesday
afternoon in anticipation of the Tuff Kid Cross Country Challenge. The event takes place this Sunday at Queen Elizabeth Park. See page 31 for story. For video and web content, scan page with Layar.
KerfuffleatKitsCommunityCentre AMIDST RUMOURS OF STACKED VOTE, OVERTHROW AVERTED SANDRA THOMAS Staff writer
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epending who you ask, the annual general meeting of the Kitsilano Community Centre Association April 18 was either a blow to democracy or a victory against a pack of radical insurgents. Rumours were flying among community centre associations in the days leading
up to the meeting that the standing board of directors at Kits would be overthrown by a group aligning itself with associations that have rejected the new joint operating agreement proposed by the park board. Robert Haines, incumbent president of the Kitsilano Community Centre Association, said days before the meeting he was told the board would be challenged and potentially hijacked by a group dubbed the “Independent Slate”
led by Kitsilano resident Lewis Pierce, with plans to stack the vote. Haines was concerned the newly elected board under the challengers would opt out of negotiations with the park board. “I had at least five different sources come to me,” said Haines. “I’ve been president for 20 years and this is the first time I’ve been challenged.” See RAUCOUS on page 4
he federal government says it cannot afford to contribute money to multi-million-dollar projects such as a new $350million Vancouver Art Gallery proposed for a parking lot next to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. In an email statement to the Courier Friday, Sebastien Gariepy, the press secretary to Heritage Minister James Moore, said: “The Government of Canada has not been presented with any official proposal for a new Vancouver Art Gallery, and while the government continues to pay down the deficit, a multi-million-dollar funding commitment is not something our government can afford.” Gariepy said Moore was not available to comment further on the federal government’s position. Moore is responsible for arts and culture policies for the federal government. The gallery’s financial plan includes a $100 million request of the federal government. It was to be a key contribution to the success of the proposed gallery for Larwill Park at 688 Cambie St. The site is currently used as a parking lot. A City of Vancouver staff report released last week outlined the gallery’s funding model, with $150 million to be raised privately and $100 million each to come from the federal and provincial governments for a total of $350 million. Gallery director Kathleen Bartels sent an email statement to the Courier Monday in response to the federal government’s position on funding a new gallery, which read in part: “We have much work to do and we are excited to be embarking on a process that will span many years. With onethird of our funding already in place, we are confident we can achieve our fundraising goals. See GALLERY on page 4