Conserve water, save money

> New West suggests water metering for homes

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reporter

 

his past summer, BC
temperatures reached all-
time highs, fires lit up across
BC, and water restrictions
were imposed. Strict laws were
announced via television screens
and newspaper headlines
reminding civilians to avoid using
unnecessary amounts of water.
Now, the City of New
Westminster has decided to
approach this situation from
another angle, in hopes to
convince residents to be more
watchful of their water usage.
New Westminster
Environmental Partners have
been encouraging the city
to adopt a voluntary water
metering system for homes.
Andrew Murray, a member
of the environmentally aware
organization, explained to the
New Westminster Record that a
metering program is substantially
better compared to the current
flat-rate pricing system in the city.
“We are looking for water
conservation, and water

metering delivers that. People
only have to pay for what they
use under a water-metering
pricing system,” Murray said.
“The evidence clearly
indicates that for those who
are prudent with their water
use on water meters, they
save a considerable amount
of money on their water bills
annually. Frankly, the savings
are in the hundreds of dollars
in some examples. That’s the
problem with a flat-rate pricing
system—it doesn’t reward
those who conserve water.”
Steven Renzetti, an
economics professor specializing
in water at Brock University,
spoke to the Globe and Mail
about the benefits of this
untapped money-saving scheme
for many across the country.
Renzetti argued that those who
used a meter versus those who
did not were separated by a
40-45 per cent in water usage.
According to the Globe and
Mail, Vancouver’s introduction
of mandatory water metering
for new and renovated homes
left over 85,000 homes with
the flat-rate system. Similarly,

the City of North Vancouver
made almost 40 per cent of
homes “meter-ready” for future
universal system plans, but left
the remainder on their own.
The City of Richmond has been
a frontrunner in the reach for
complete water metering, aiming
to implement mandatory water
meters in every home by 2018.
Unsurprisingly, the
controversy over the cost for
water metering remains. With
an estimated $1,000-1,500 price
tag for each installation, many
cities are swayed to look for
other conservation methods.
Mayor Jonathan Cote
said to the New Westminster
Record that although the city
briefly looked at metering back
in 2008 and decided against
it, the recent events over the
past summer has made the
council reconsider the project.
“Water meters are the wave of
the future,” testified Renzetti. “In
areas with growing population,
pressure on water resources,
anticipated challenges in meeting
future demands, metering is
going to be part of the equation.”

Number of at-risk women
in Coquitlam on the rise

» Recent shelter opening shows increase of female users

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor

 

here has been an influx of

women utilizing a recently-
opened shelter at 3030 Gordon
Avenue in Coquitlam.

Whereas Coquitlam’s shelters
have mainly been used by men
in the past, the ratio of men
and women using the shelter
has nearly reached parity.

The shelter on Gordon
Avenue—which opened its
doors last December—has
proved a popular choice both for
Coquitlam’s at-risk women and
overall, as the shelter provides
meals, counselling services, and
security through several security
cameras and private dorms that
can be locked. Those needing
to stay for longer may qualify to
live in a transitional, semi-suite
housing unit; may be moved
into a transition house; or be
prepared for permanent housing.

It is suspected that many
of these women-in-need have
arrived at the shelters as a result
of violent and abusive situations.
Some of them were asked for

statements by Tri-City News,
and while they were willing to
give a statement, they asked
for anonymity due to safety.

Those who have used the
shelter have given it glowing
reviews. One anonymous woman
said to Tri-City News: “The
staff and management let you
do your own thing, but they
keep an eye out.” Another said:
“It’s an open door, it’s good.”

Joy’s Place is another shelter
in Port-Coquitlam, exclusively
for women and their dependent
children. They provide housing,
as well as counselling and support
services for their tenants.

The Gordon Avenue shelter,
run by RainCity Housing, has
been keeping attendance of
those who are regulars at the
shelter for safety. A policy of
the shelter is to report a regular
missing should they not appear
for three days. While it is
important to ensure that all of
Coquitlam’s at-risk population
is safe, there have been extra
efforts to prioritize the safety
of women in the community.

RainCity Housing provides

shelters and services for
women all throughout the
Lower Mainland. They operate
The Vivian and The Budzey,
both of which are women’s
shelters in Vancouver. The
organization also provides
shelters for at-risk LGBTQ2S
persons and for minorities.
RainCity Housing hopes to
carry on the goals of the now-
defunct BC’s Missing Women
Commission of Inquiry, which
was established in 2010 to
bring closure to the dozens of
missing and murdered women
from the Downtown Eastside,
of which anywhere from 6-49
were murdered by Robert
Pickton. The commission
was closed in August 2013.
Prior to their closing, the
Commission outlined several
ways that Lower Mainland
communities could keep at-risk
women safe. For example, the
commission suggested liaisons
and protective actions for
Aboriginal women and women
involved in the sex trade, as
well as more community service
from the local authorities.

Coquitlam-Burke
Mountain and
Vancouver-Mount
Pleasant elect

new MLAs

> By-election leads to historical

appointment

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

O n February 2, two

new members of the
legislative assembly were
elected in the Lower Mainland
following a by-election.

The seats were held
until last year, when both
occupants stepped down to
run in the federal election.
Jenny Kwan, the former
Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
MLA, was successful in her
run, and is currently an NDP
MP for Vancouver East. Former
Coquitlam-Burke Mountain
MLA Doug Horne ran under
the Conservative Party despite
being a BC Liberal. Horne’s
run was unsuccessful.

Jodie Wickens and Melanie
Mark, the newly elected
MLAs for Coquitlam-Burke
Mountain and Vancouver-
Mount Pleasant respectively,
are both members of the NDP.
Both of the women’s elections
mark historical significance.
Wickens, 33, is now the
youngest provincial politician
in British Columbia. Mark,

40, holds the distinction of
being the first woman of First
Nations descent elected to
the BC Legislative Assembly.

Wickens, who has a
son with autism, is a former
Executive Director for the
Autism Support Network—a
BC organization that provides
resources for children and
their families with autism. As
stated on her website, Wickens
“is a strong advocate working
to ensure that our kids get

the education they deserve.”
Material from her website
also asserts her dedication,
which stems from having two
children in the school district.
Coquitlam currently receives
the lowest education funding
per student in the province.
Born and raised in the
Mount Pleasant area, Melanie
Mark has a long history of
volunteering and working
with organizations that help
Aboriginal people, particularly
youth. She herself grew up in
social housing and foster care
among Vancouver’s Downtown
Eastside, part of the Mount
Pleasant riding and one of
the poorest neighbourhoods
in Canada. Mark is Gitxsan,
Ojibway, Cree, and Nigsa’a, and

a single mother of two children.

Mark’s victory came in
a landslide, elected by over
61 per cent of the popular
vote, compared to Green
Party candidate Pete Fry at
26 per cent. Wickens’ win
was much narrower at 46 per
cent, compared to Liberal
candidate Joan Isaacs’ 38 per
cent. The victory in Mount
Pleasant continues the NDP’s
hold of the riding since its
inception in 1991, whereas
the NDP win in Burke-
Mountain is the first since the
riding’s creation in 2009.

A finalized count was
released by Elections BC
on February 9. Due to these
results, the BC Liberals now
hold 46 seats, with the NDP
holding 35, and 2 spots held
by independents. The next BC
provincial election is currently
scheduled for May 7, 2017.

 

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