© News the other press e¢ KellyParry e kelly-parry@telus.net ao After five years of debating and negotiation, Burns Bog has been acquired by the BC government thereby preserving and protecting it forever. Four levels of government, provincial, federal, regional, and civic, to safeguard approximately 5,054 acres of bog land, made the $73 million dollar purchase possi- ble. How the costs break down: British Columbia 28.6 million Canada 28 million GVRD 10.4 million Delta 6 million The four levels of government will develop a management agree- ment for the lands, with the GVRD holding responsibility for the man- agement. “We have protected over 5,000 acres—an area five times the size of Stanley Park—that gives us clean air and is home to an abundance of plants and wildlife. This is truly an investment in our future,” announced Premier Gordon Campbell. “I want to thank the peo- ple of Delta and in particular our two MLAs, Val Roddick and Reni Masi, who've worked so hard to ensure the preservation of the bog. This is an accomplishment that we can all celebrate.” The deal includes more land than was deemed necessary to protect the Bog and also includes an additional parcel of land on the eastern edge of the bog, which adds valuable green- belt attributes to lands already owned by Delta. “This achievement belongs to the people. They've wanted the bog saved. Their money has paid to save it,” said Delta Mayor Lois Jackson. “Now it is up to us, the four levels of government, to ensure that this | unique and precious ecosystem is preserved.” Title to the land was transferred | and registered to the Province, the GVRD, and the Corporation of Delta after a legally binding agree- ment was reached to acquire the land. Covenants will now be regis- tered in the name of these three partners—permanently preserving | and protecting the bog. Burns Bog is the largest raised peat bog on the west coast of North America, and makes a significant contribution to improving air quali- ty in the Lower Mainland. It is an - excellent example of a self-sustain- ing ecosystem that contains an impressive diversity of wildlife and plants. ME es - Di scover Artists Alive April 7, 2004 Ericka Young OP Contributor The Fraser River Discovery Centre gift shop has changed their format to feature local artists. The Discovery Centre is proud of the artists and would like to share their work with the rest of New Westminster. This month Dee Spenser is the featured artist. Her native paintings would complement bare space on any wall. Her paintings are one of the many local artists work shoppers of original pieces can choose from. All of the artists’ creations are one-of-a-kind, and many of them will create pieces made especially for custom orders. A lot of the pieces fit the starving student’s budget and make great gifts at any time of the year. Gabriele Gottschlag is an artist who creates a visual story with her original prints. You can find her designs on t-shirts, totes, and framed in the Fraser River Discovery Centre gift shop She also has yoga pants, hoodies, and under- wear in two different styles: thong and shorts. Amanda Sakara has recently joined the artists’ team with her inexpensive window decorations created with glass and silver beads. They are a beautiful addition to any window or mirror. The decorations also serve the purpose to keep birds from hurting themselves. Sakara also makes necklaces in many differ- ent colours and lengths. If you are looking for some origi- nal houseware pieces Laurie Walsh and Valerie Towler show their expertise in one-stroke painting. Their products range from wine glass sets to welcome signs. Their artwork is an inexpensive way to add beauty and originality to your home—or maybe your mom's, your aunt’, or your neighbour's home. Learn to paint the Chinese way with Eileen Fong's watercolour book. She includes step-by-step instructions onhow to create beauti- ful paintings and also sells her own prints. Learn techniques to paint different flowers and birds. These people are a few examples of who the local artists are. The Discovery Center is always looking for new local artists as well. If you know of someone who has an origi- nal artwork and is looking for an outlet, send him or her with some examples to the Fraser River Discovery Centre. The Centre strives to educate people about the importance of the Fraser River and its basin to all of the communities within and sur- rounding it. The ongoing programs and displays are one way that they try to get their message out. Whether you would like to learn the history of the area, or about what is happening in the area today, go on down to the Centre. They will like- ly have some answers for you. Their website is a page dedicated to the gift shop and the new Artists Alive series, where you will find examples of the artists’ work. The gift shop page will change on the first of each month. Visit the gift shop at 788 Quayside Drive, locat- ed beside the casino boat adjacent to the Westminster Quay public mar- ket. If you have any questions please contact the Centre at 604.521.8401 or by email at info@fraserriverdis- covery.org. Visit their website . Minority Report Kelly Parry News Editor In a press release issued last week, Canadian Business magazine, in partnership with OMNI Television released their list of top workplaces for visible minorities. There are approximately four mil- lion visible minorities in Canada with 1.3 million claiming aboriginal ancestry. Out of 220,000 or more newcomers that arrive in Canada each year 70 percent to 80 percent are visible minorities. : The report discovered that, although projecting an environment of diversity, there were many com- panies who equated hiring minori- ties as a way to deal with affirmative action issues, intrusive legislation, red tape, and hiring quotas. But according to the experts Canadian Business spoke to, devel- oping adiverse workforce simply makes bottom-line sense. “Smart Canadian companies are embracing diversity for the sake of survival,” says Scott Steele, Executive Editor. “Diversity gives you a competitive edge by reflecting the needs of your customer base.” http://www.otherpress.ca Using federally regulated, work- place data filed under the Employment Equity Act, a panel of four experts, organized and crunched numbers in such cate- gories as percentage of visible minority employees, percentage of senior managers thatwere visible minorities, and the percentage of employees earning over $100K that were in each company was then assigned a final score. The top ten scoring companies were: * Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (Sprint Canada) * Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ¢ TD Bank Financial Group * Bank of Nova Scotia ¢ Bank of Montreal ¢ HSBC Bank of Canada ¢ Tele-Mobile Co. and TM Mobile Inc. (Telus Mobility) * Canadian Western Bank * Citizens Bank of Canada ¢ Westcoast Energy Inc. (now Duke Energy Gas Transmission Canada) ¢ Intesa Bank Canada For further information about this report please contact: Suneel Khanna at suneel.khanna@publishing.rogers.com.