Burnaby council on board with #savebcfilm

Photo by  Maximino C. Fuentes

If Burnaby council has its way there will be a whole lot more "lights, camera, action" in the city after the upcoming provincial election.

Council tabled an extensive report on the film industry Monday night and voted to send letters to the leaders of the campaigning provincial political parties, stating the value of the film and TV industry to Burnaby.*

The report states that the industry is "a key economic driver in Burnaby" supplying at least $408 million directly and indirectly into the local economy in 2012.

"We can't afford to lose this industry and we can't afford to be bullied by other provinces," said Mayor Derek Corrigan.

According to the report, and to the Save BC Film campaign by film and TV insiders, B.C. has been losing productions to other key players in North America, including Ontario, which offer richer tax incentives and do not apply the PST to the industry.

The report suggests that "carefully reasoned and timely steps be taken to maintain" B.C. as an attractive place to do business.

Coun. Colleen Jordan said that 73 Burnaby businesses are directly involved with the film industry and many of those have seen their revenue go down by some 40 per cent.

Jordan said it doesn't make sense that provinces are fighting each other to win productions, however, "we didn't start this war," she said. "This is no way to run a country. We should have free trade within the country," said Jordan.

Corrigan agreed. "This same kind of dumping would not have been tolerated between other countries, but for some reason between provinces it is OK," he said.

Coun. Nick Volkow, who is himself a member of Teamsters Local 155 — the film drivers local union — said he was surprised by the variety of businesses which are impacted by the industry. He said he was picking up clothes at the dry cleaners on Canada Way in Burnaby and noticed they had a costumes ready for pick up. "They told me they do most of their business for the film industry," he said.

Volkow said he rejects the argument that giving tax incentives to the film industry is supporting the one percent. "It isn't. It is giving to the 99 per cent. Grunts like me and other grunts moving stuff around," he said. He said the small majority of the wealthy will always get more than their share, unless people rise up. Until then, tax incentives will help the local economy, he said.

Coun. Dan Johnston supported the motion, but said that productions are also being lost to other countries such as Australia.
"We need a national directive or policy on this one," he said.

Coun. Sav Dhaliwal agreed. "We need to take very decisive action, " he said, but eventually we should work with other provinces, "better for all of us if we pay attention to better ways to deal with this," said Dhaliwal.

So far the big two political parties seem to be listening. Adrian Dix of the NDP has said his government would raise B.C's film tax incentive to 40 per cent from its current 35 per cent.

The Liberals, led by Christy Clark, have also said they would take steps to help the film industry. Former Liberal finance minister Mike De Jong has called for consistency in tax incentives across the country.

Voters go to the polls May 14.

*Full disclosure, my husband is involved in the film industry — though he isn't a supporter of the save film campaign.

Burnaby activist to watch

Photo courtesy of Trevor Ritchie

Every city needs people who stand up and say what they think is wrong in their community. Burnaby has its share of people who speak their minds. Whether you agree with activists or not,  their opinions often spark healthy debate.

Trevor Ritchie is a 23 year old UBC student, activist, blogger and Burnaby resident. His opinions can be found in more than a few letter to the editor sections of local papers.

Lately, his dissatisfaction is with city council and its cancellation of plans for an Edmonds area childcare centre, slated for the current Value Village site.
I contacted Ritchie and asked him to elaborate on his issue.

Background

In February a report to Burnaby city council recommended that a 70 spot daycare be built at the corner of Kingsway and Edmonds Streets, to accommodate a growing need in the rapidly developing Edmonds area.

Council sent the recommendation back to the community development committee. On the committee's advice, council voted early in March not to go ahead with the planned daycare. Councillor Colleen Jordan said at council that the $5 million estimated for the centre was a lot of money to spend on only 70 daycare spots. She said the issue needed to be looked into further to see what the need actually is and the best way to go ahead.

Childcare is a provincial responsibility, though cities can fund centres.

Ritchie's opinion

"What I’ve been seeing in the past couple of years from Burnaby city Council is an unwillingness to delve into the issues that are most affecting Burnaby families. 

At this point, the lack of childcare spaces in Burnaby is a crisis.  According to the city’s own statistics, there are only 4,110 full time childcare spaces within the city, or enough for 15 out of every 100 children who require such care facilities.  What few facilities we do have in Burnaby are often quite costly to families, with the city also calculating that the average cost of the facilities being used as between $700-$1200 a month.  

 [This is] unacceptable, especially when the city has the ability to create some meaningful changes in policy that would alleviate at least some of the lack of facilities in the region.

Specifically, the Edmonds location could have been built. ...  If we are to create childcare that is that affordable, that is going to require additional spaces to be built. 

I’m appreciative of the fact that less expensive facilities could be created in greater numbers than the Edmonds location would have allowed for under existing bylaws and provincial legislation, but the problems associated with that one particular project should not preclude the municipal government from engaging in discussions with senior government and private developers about the creation of childcare spaces in other locations throughout the city. 

What Ritchie proposes

What I would like to see out of the municipal government is for council to be more assertive in the construction and zoning of childcare facilities in Burnaby  ... with funding coming from developer grants issued to the city in exchange for the zoning density bonus, in lieu of cash in hand or other specific community amenities that would otherwise have been required to increase the density of a specific zone.  Funding for a dedicated childcare facility fund could also be done in partnership with the federal government through the renewal of the infrastructure transfers for municipalities.  Both would be solid ways of creating a fund that could develop Burnaby’s childcare stock and provide stable funding for the maintenance of those facilities."

What do you think of Ritchie's proposal?  Share your views with us. 

A few words with Green Party candidate Rick McGowan

Photo courtesy of Rick McGowan

As Green Party candidate for Burnaby-Deer Lake, what do you think are the most important issues for your constituents?

This may sound hokey, but I think the most important issues will vary from person to person. For those who are seniors, I think healthcare and mobility will be important. For the baby-boomers, holding on to what they have seems to be important, whether it is keeping taxes down or ensuring their retirement is comfortable and worry free. For young parents like myself public education, daycare and housing affordability are concerns. For younger voters, post secondary affordability and the environment are important. For children, having a stable, cohesive family and opportunities to play and learn are important. For those in relative or absolute poverty the concerns are much more immediate. For those operating small businesses, economic viability is essential.  

The one commonality among all these issues is that people are concerned about their future, both short and long term. As I am wishing to represent all these groups fairly, my concern is ensuring a friendlier, healthier, sustainable  and more democratic future for my children and my great grandchildren. 

How are you different from the other candidates running in this election?

I am offering an alternative to business-as-usual politics. We need to think outside the box we've created. We all know we will need to transform our economy to meet the needs of our diverse population. We can either make those hard choices for ourselves starting now, or put them off till later and have others make those hard choices for us later. 

How are you going to vote Burnaby?  Let me know. I will continue to feature candidates for the upcoming provincial election right up until voting day May 14.

Defending yourself—not worth the risk

Photo courtesy of kylebaker

We all know someone who has defended themselves in court—our own Langara media law instructor has done it, but there are risks to going to court by yourself.

Vancouver labour lawyer Dan Rogers said there are more people defending themselves than ever before.

"Lay litigants (people without lawyers) are increasing because of a) the cost. Totally understandable. People want access to justice and can't afford it—something wrong with that picture—and b) a lot of it has to do with the long term downsizing of Legal Aid and increasing of costs attached to the Courts.

Burnaby family law lawyer Mark Rozenberg disagrees that it is because of Legal Aid cutbacks. For family law cases, he says, it has been at least 12 years since aid has been available.

Since that time Legal Aid has only been available for extreme cases where violence is involved or some other extenuating circumstance that is very severe.

He attributes the increase mainly to the cost of hiring a lawyer and people just thinking they can defend themselves without help. Some people, he says, will hire a lawyer for an hour or so to do the paperwork and then go into court without legal assistance.

Rozenberg said the problem with not having a lawyer is "many don't understand what is going on. They may not know the procedures."

Rogers said that some lay litigants do just fine, but many are lost. Both men agree the  irony is that people without lawyers often slow the process down because judges have to stop proceedings to help them through the process and they because people without a legal background will litigate issues that a good lawyer could resolve. 

Rogers said, there are resources to help people understand the court system,  but there really is no substitute for a good experienced lawyer.

Resources if you defend yourself: 

The Canadian Bar Association - a step-by-step guide to what you need to know if you do decide to go to court on your own. 

Canadian Judicial Council - another guide to what you need to know if you are thinking of defending yourself and not hiring a lawyer.

The other side

Not everyone agrees that it is risky to defend yourself. Here is a site dedicated to helping people fight the law on their own.

The U.S.

The Gideon ruling of 1963 says that everyone has the right to a lawyer even if the person can not afford one. Is that right being honoured? This article looks at the legal situation for the poor in America.


Have you defended yourself in court? Let me know your story thuncher@shaw.ca

Question and answer with NDP candidate Janet Routledge

Photo courtesy of Janet Routledge

As we lead up to the provincial election, I will feature different points of view from each of the political parties. Janet Routledge is the Burnaby North NDP candidate.

1.What issue do you think is most important to your constituents?

Since I was nominated as the NDP candidate in Burnaby North I have knocked on the doors of more than 10,000 voters and had conversations about the issues that concern them most.

One frequently mentioned issue is the high cost of post-secondary education. I met a recent graduate who is working at three minimum wage jobs to pay off her student loan. I met a family who sold their house so they could afford to send their son to college. I met a senior who is only able to stay in his own home because his granddaughter moved in with him – so she could afford to go to SFU. I have also met leaders in emerging high tech industries who can't find enough locally-trained employees and must advertise outside B.C.

2. What would you and the NDP do differently if elected?

Adrian Dix and the NDP are making post-secondary education and skills-training a top priority. For example, once elected we will re-instate a tax on banks and earmark $100 million of the revenues for non-refundable, needs-based  student grants. We have made a commitment to tell the voters what we will do and how we are going to pay for it.

3. Many people are concerned about the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, what is your position on it?

 Like many of the people in Burnaby north, I am concerned about the potential environmental impact of a pipeline expansion and the risks associated with significantly increased tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet.

The B.C. NDP is publicly opposed to the Enbridge pipeline. Many of the concerns we have about the Enbridge pipeline also concern us about a Kinder Morgan expansion.

 Adrian Dix has already announced that, within a week of being elected, an NDP government will revoke the equivalency agreement that surrendered jurisdiction over the environment assessment of the pipelines to the federal government of Stephen Harper.

 Kinder Morgan has yet to make a formal application to expand its pipeline. Should such an application be made to an NDP government, it will be subjected to a rigorous made-in-B.C. environmental assessment process.

I welcome any of the candidates to contact me and I will present your point of view as well.  thuncher@shaw.ca