Closure, renewal, > Top three local news stories of 2016 Mercedes Deutscher News Editor DSU Representative Committee Election One of the most notable stories at Douglas this year was the Douglas Students’ Union Representative Election this past March. The 2016 DSU election marked a time of renewal for the DSU. The election was plagued with scandal, as questionable actions from the outgoing representative committee began to leak to the college. These scandals included misuse of student money, from the CFS Ottawa conference through to buying out a member of the DSU for $160,300, allegations of internal threats and sexual harassment, stalemates and the deliberate breaking of quorum, and a divided committee. The election yielded some relieving results. For one, there was a record turnout of voters in the student election, as 19.5 per cent of Douglas students voted (a massive increase from the 4 per cent in 2015). The votes also heavily leaned in favour of the Action slate, as they won over their opponents in the NexGen slate by a two-to-one ratio. Although several members from the 2015-16 committee ran for re-election, only Jerzy Mazurek—then Disabled Students Representative, now Internal Relations Coordinator—was re-elected to the committee, as the other returning candidates were involved in the DSU scandals. Since taking over the committee in May, the present committee has kept true to their promises of providing a wide array of events for students, and seem to be working well with the student body and amongst themselves. Front Street Closure New Westminster businesses experienced large scale interruptions this year with the construction around Front Street. The city’s decisions to demolish the parkade between February and July was a controversial one. While many were excited to see the parkade go, others would miss it. The demolition of the parkade was particularly worrisome to the businesses situated on Front Street. The work being done in the area severely decreased foot traffic in the area, and driving in the area proved to be troublesome. Some businesses lost profit, despite efforts made by the city to promote the affected businesses. Pickton still affecting community Over a decade after Robert Pickton’s horrific crimes, the Port-Coquitlam killer Image via Thinkstock and remembrance made ripples in the local news during 2016. Pickton caught media attention in February when he managed to publish a memoir, Pickton: In His Own Words, from prison. The book sold on Amazon for less than a week before it was pulled. The book—littered with claims of innocence and biblical allegories—was met with outrage from the public and the families of his victims. They were confused on how Pickton was able to get the memoir published at all, which turned out that it was via another prisoner who had outside connections. Moreso, there was a demand for any profits procured by the memoir to be forwarded to the victims’ families and the community. Meanwhile, a local Port-Coquitlam woman, Jami Roberts, sought to create a standing memorial for Pickton’s victims by creating a healing garden on the site of Pickton’s farm, where his victims lost their lives. While the idea of the garden was met positively, the actual planning and construction was met with mixed reviews around the community. Many said that placing a memorial so close to an elementary school may be upsetting, while others said that the families of the victims should be more involved—despite indicators that the families only approved the idea, but did not want to be involved in the planning. For now, the idea will remain as just that. Pipeline spills big trouble for Trudeau > Approval of Trans Mountain met with outrage Mercedes Deutscher News Editor ustin Trudeau made a controversial announcement on November 29, when the federal government approved the construction of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline. The same address also revealed the government’s decision to reject the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. “T have heard and listened very carefully to the many diverse perspectives that exist in BC on this project,” said Trudeau to the Vancouver Sun. “If I thought that this project was unsafe for the BC coast, I would reject it.” The pipeline was approved, but Kinder Morgan must meet 157 conditions in order to continue with the next phase of the project. Many of these conditions are ones made to subset the negative environmental effects that can be caused by the pipeline, including wildlife conservation, oil spill response plans, and offsetting the greenhouse gasses that will be created during the construction of the pipeline. The decision on Trans Mountain was met with immediate outrage by many people in BC, who organized a protest within a few short hours of the announcements. The protesters gathered at Library Square in Vancouver, before marching through the streets of downtown. It was made apparent by those opposed to the pipeline that an approval wouldn't nix their efforts of stopping the project. Some of those opposing the project include some of the Liberal MPs in BC, namely Hedy Fry of Vancouver- City Centre, Ron McKinnon of Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, and Terry Beech of Burnaby-North Seymour. Other notable politicians opposed to the pipeline include Lower Mainland mayors (Gregor Robertson, Vancouver; and Derek Corrigan, Burnaby), as well as Thomas Mulcair of the NDP. Mulcair expressed frustration to the Vancouver Sun, saying that, “Many in BC and across the country voted Liberal because they were led to believe that this pipeline would not go forward under a Liberal government. It’s clear today that they were misled.” Image via Mark Klotz on Flickr Meanwhile, the BC Liberals have kept a quiet and ambiguous position on the pipeline. The approval of the pipeline comes at a precarious time for the provincial government, who are gearing up for the provincial election in May 2017. Premier Christy Clark remained silent on the issue the day it was announced. Prior to the federal government's announcement, Clark told the Vancouver Sun that she believed “.. most people would say in our province the most important element of this is making sure that our coast is protected from a catastrophic spill. I think that’s what most people would tell you is the number one concern.” Outside the realm of elected officials, most of BC’s Indigenous communities are responding with disapproval. According to CBC, only one-third of 120 Indigenous groups that were consulted about the pipeline were satisfied with the project. Many are suggesting that the next step in potentially stopping the pipeline would be in the courts. “The strongest legal and political opposition [to pipeline projects] was First Nations’ rights in court. And that did kill the Northern Gateway pipeline project,” George Hoberg, a UBC professor in environmental and natural resource policy, said to CBC. “Whether or not it will kill the Kinder Morgan project is less certain.”