Year in Review, part 1
Amid rising rents, drooping vacancy rates, atmospheric rivers and smoky skies, the last 12 months have shown us moments of cruelty and acts of kindness.
We saw the demise of SFU football and the rise of the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers. Coquitlam launched scooters and Port Moody residents raised glasses in city parks.
We also got new music from the Beatles and The Rolling Stones and we did our best to use the words blursday, bloatware and rizz in a way that wouldn’t embarrass our children. (We were not successful.)
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Appeal of anti-union boss fails to stop union certification in Coquitlam
A trade union can form in Coquitlam despite resistance from an anti-union boss, following a decision from the B.C. Labour Relations Board.
Allan Dasanjh, founder and owner of Waste Control Services Inc., had his appeal of an earlier B.C. Labour Relations Board decision thrown out.
“We find no merit to the employer’s assertion that the original panel denied it a fair hearing,” the board found.
Dasanjh was “at the centre” of numerous and serious labour code breaches, and that his conduct justified the union’s certification, according to the board.
Judge rules against Iranian family hoping to enroll daughter in pricey school year in Coquitlam
A federal judge has ruled against an Iranian family wishing to have their daughter attend the Coquitlam School District for a year after her student permit was rejected in early 2022.
The parents paid $16,500 to School District 43 in tuition fees in January 2022 to enroll their seven-year-old daughter in Grade 2 in Coquitlam. The mother also applied for temporary residency to accompany the girl in Canada.
In the family’s statement of purpose for pursuing studies in Canada, they stated they wanted to provide the girl an opportunity to study English and French through a French-immersion program, and chose Coquitlam because of the large Farsi-speaking Iranian community.
An immigration officer denied both applications due to suspicion they would not leave Canada at the end of the year.
Stolen totem pole returned to Kwikwetlem First Nation
Nearly three months after it was stolen, a totem pole was returned to its rightful owners.
During the night of Oct. 12, a thief took a three-foot-tall red cedar totem pole topped with a carved owl from the Kwikwetlem Band office at 10 – 65 Colony Farm Road. The suspect appeared to heft the totem pole on his shoulder and load it into a U-Haul before driving away.
After “exhausting alternative investigative avenues,” police released surveillance photos of the suspect two months after the theft in a bid to identify the thief and track down the totem pole.
On Dec. 28, nine days after issuing that release, Coquitlam RCMP got a tip that the totem pole had been left behind in a vacated basement suite in Chilliwack.
The totem pole was returned to Kwikwetlem First Nation.
Clash over Coquitlam library drag story time turns into ‘biggest gathering of queer people the Tri-Cities has ever seen’
What started as an angry protest over Drag Queen storytime at Coquitlam library’s Town Centre branch quickly evolved into a surreal street party.
The library had announced drag performer Conni Smudge would lead family story time with songs, crafts and the chance for attendees to make their own drag queen doll.
With word spreading about a planned protest, comedian Darcy Michael took to social media to call for a counter protest.
“I don’t tweet but when they come for my drag queens, I can’t sit by,” Michael wrote, inviting residents to counter the “idiotic morons protesting our friend.”
Imperial Oil wants to remove century old dam on Sasamat Lake, sink lake by two metres
Imperial Oil’s dam on the northwest corner of Sasamat Lake has been in place for a century, but the company says it’s considering its removal.
The decision could have wide-ranging effects on the lake.
“We really don’t have a need for the dam anymore,” said Ali Tejpar, project manager of the Sasamat Lake Dam Project.
Imperial Oil sent a delegation to Port Moody council, presenting two possible options for the future of the site: decommissioning, or replacing the dam.
Coquitlam non-profit hit with $134,000 fine for repeated violations; procedures to keep employees safe ‘deficient’
A non-profit organization running a social housing facility in Coquitlam has been fined nearly $134,000 for failing to take action on WorkSafeBC orders.
Deficiencies at the Coast Mental Health centre ranged from not having a protocol to deal with missing knives to having employees work alone around patients who could potentially harm them.
Coast Mental Health subsequently appealed the penalty.
“We are disappointed with this decision and disagree with certain findings in the report,” stated Coast Mountain Health.
Coast Mental Health has made “significant investments” in safety over the last six years, according to the release. Those investments include dedicated safety positions and training as well as “greater access to online learning and support for our employees,” the release stated.
The Coast Mental Health’s facility houses approximately 30 psychiatric patients transitioning back into the community.
WorkSafeBC stated in an email that 24 injury claims related to acts of violence have been made at Coast Mental Health between 2017 and 2021.
Ready set, scoot: Coquitlam officially sets e-scooters rolling
For at least the next 15 months, e-scooters have a green light in Coquitlam.
Coquitlam council gave final approval to a pilot project that will let e-scooters to zip up and down city streets at least until April 2024.
In a bid to provide an e-bike and e-scooter share program, Coquitlam subsequently put out a request for proposals in a bid to find a company that can bring a “dockless micro-mobility sharing system” to the city’s downtown.
Eagle Ridge Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop reopens with nearly twice the space
A few nights ago, Barbara Worwood stood in tears at the entrance of the Port Coquitlam shop she manages.
Over the last few months, Eagle Ridge Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop has been transformed to better serve its community. The store re-opened Tuesday, essentially doubling in size.
“It’s wonderful,” said Worwood at the grand opening. “It looks so good.”
‘Dr. Ray’ sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing boys and young men
Warning: Some disturbing content.
A Coquitlam man known as “Dr. Ray” was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison after being found guilty of abusing 11 boys and young men over a 40-year span.
Raymond Gaglardi, 78, used his position of trust – both as a teacher and counsellor at Glad Tidings Temple in Vancouver and in running a counselling practice in Coquitlam – to exploit the vulnerability of his victims, according to court documents.
One victim described others in the church turning their backs on him, adding that “his life was sent down a path of concealment, denial and hate.”
Investors own 19 percent of Coquitlam houses, condos
Coquitlam seems to be the most attractive spot in the Tri-Cities for investors.
Approximately 19.1 percent of Coquitlam houses and condos are owned by investors, according to data published by Statistics Canada from 2020. Investors, defined as people who either don’t live where they own or who own more places than they live, accounted for 13.3 percent of houses and condos in Port Coquitlam and 14.8 percent in Port Moody.
Those figures are a reflection of the fact that B.C. has: “a ton of mom-and-pop ownership of real estate,” explained Thomas Davidoff, director of the UBC Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate.
The Christmas trees of Burrard Inlet: Underwater forest becomes a home for sea life
How do you get people interested in nature?
It’s a question Mossom Creek Fish Hatchery co-founder Rod MacVicar often ponders. It seems, in part, he has an answer: show them a whole new world.
For the past 10 years, MacVicar has been sinking Christmas trees in Burrard Inlet. Most of the magic happens when they pull up the trees of Christmas past to see just who moved in.
“We find eel-like fish, we find rare fish, we find all sorts of things,” he says. “You just don’t realize what’s there until you actually get to try it.”
Judge orders Port Coquitlam pit bull named ‘Kujo’ killed after two attacks
A judge has ordered a pit bull-type dog named ‘Kujo’ to be put down after it seriously injured two people in Port Coquitlam in just over a year.
Kujo is owned by Sharon Bennett, who is homeless, and the city’s animal control service claims the dog frequently roams and is uncontrolled.
“I have no choice but to make an order for the destruction of Kujo,” stated provincial judge Wilson Lee. “The past actions of Kujo are that he has bitten two different people, causing serious injuries. I find that this is a strong indicator of the likelihood of his future actions.”
School board switches off livestreaming
If you want to watch a Tri-Cities school board meeting, you’ll need to put down your laptop and head to Winslow Avenue.
School District #43 has switched off the cameras and moved strictly to in-person meetings.
“It has always been the board’s intention to return to in person meetings as ‘normal operations’ resumed,” Hoff stated in an email to the Dispatch, noting the district didn’t stream meetings prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The school board livestreamed meetings during the pandemic but did not post videos of past meetings.
Spani Pool set to get bigger, greener and busier – but not until 2024
Spani Pool users may be looking for new lanes this summer as Coquitlam embarks on a $12-million overhaul of the 52-year-old Mundy Park facility.
The new swimming hole is set to open in the spring of 2024 after Coquitlam council voted unanimously in favour of the final design.
“To be able to rejuvenate a pool of this age is remarkable,” said Mayor Richard Stewart.
The design includes a leisure pool with a shallow entry, a lazy river, and a warming pool intended to provide “therapeutic opportunities” for residents.
Developers donate nearly $200,000 to Tri-City candidates in 2022 elections
About $200,000 rolled into Tri-Cities election campaigns from development industry donors, according to an analysis by the Tri-Cities Dispatch.
Coquitlam candidates topped the list with approximately $98,000 from industry donors, but Port Moody candidates received the most per capita at nearly $70,000. Port Coquitlam candidates received the least, just shy of $33,000 in total.
The Dispatch reviewed the lists of significant contributors (donations over $100) for all 58 Tri-Cities candidates who released their campaign contribution data from the 2022 Municipal Elections. (Coquitlam mayoralty candidate Mark Mahovlich is facing a fine and possible disqualification from future elections after failing to disclose his campaign’s financial statement.)
The analysis defined industry donors as executives of development companies (including family members), and executives of development adjacent firms such as real estate, contractors and consultants.
The numbers listed are conservative estimates, as not all donors could be identified.
Ryan Reynolds-designed Terry Fox shirts run into ‘overwhelming demand’
Terry Fox is an inspiration. The shirts are about what he inspired.
Designed by actor Ryan Reynolds, a new line of Terry Fox Run shirts feature an image of Fox as well as drawings and handwritten messages in English and French expressing thanks, offering encouragement, and celebrating hope. Sales from the shirts fund cancer research.
“I’ve been taking part in the Terry Fox Run since second grade and can’t think of a more enduring and lovely legacy for one person. Terry Fox inspired millions in life and death,” Reynolds wrote on social media.
Port Moody couple welcomes baby girl after daily Crunch routine
A Port Moody mom’s unique way of encouraging her baby to come has paid off.
For many days leading up to her due date — and even a few after that — Sara Jonsdottir and her husband, Mayo Santos, climbed the steps up the Coquitlam Crunch.
They’d heard that gentle movement, like climbing stairs, or a hill, could help encourage labour.
The couple was expecting their first child and had planned on a home birth, which could only happen if their baby arrived on time.
Port Coquitlam’s new hockey team is . . . The Trailblazers
Starting next season, the Pacific Junior Hockey League will have to contend with the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers.
The name, announced Wednesday, is meant to align with the team’s developing culture, according to the franchise’s governor Rob Toor.
“We wanted to create a name for which everyone could be a part of and included. It’s a team name/culture everyone can aspire and be proud of,” Toor explained in a message to the Dispatch.
A video package announcing the name included a reference to Terry Fox as a pioneer who left a trail for others to follow.
Coquitlam approves nine towers at Coronation Park
It’s a 315-fold housing increase.
The site currently occupied by a shuttered elementary school and nine units of housing is set to be turned into nine towers following a unanimous vote from Coquitlam council Monday night.
With highrises ranging from 24 to 51 storeys, the development is set to include 2,835 units of housing.
Located east of Balmoral Drive between Barnet Highway and Guildford Drive, the 11.3 acre site is about 450-metres from SkyTrain and a 10-minute walk from Port Moody’s pending Coronation Park project.
Port Moody’s experiment with park pints extended to the end of 2023
Pints in Port Moody’s parks will continue to be enjoyed, at least until the end of the year.
The city’s pilot program allowing liquor consumption in public parks was supposed to end on April 30, but council decided on Feb. 28 to extend the pilot project for another eight months.
Coquitlam-based KMS Tools & Equipment fined $19,000 for refusal to comply with recycling regulation
The Coquitlam-based company, KMS Tools & Equipment Ltd., has been fined $19,000 by the province for refusing to comply with recycling regulations.
Following repeated warnings dating back to June 24, 2021, the company was issued an administrative penalty on March 7, 2023.
The Ministry of Environment’s final determination states the company has willfully violated regulations, and has displayed no indication of future compliance.
“I’ll be going to jail before I comply,” KMS Tools President Stan Pridham wrote in an email to the ministry.
A look at the newly re-opened Minnekhada Park in 10 photos, before, after and during the fire
Five months after wildfire spread across 14 hectares and burned for more than three weeks, Minnekhada Regional Park has completely reopened.
Metro Vancouver approved a partial reopening in late October.
Metro Vancouver is set to work with the Minnekhada Park Association to restore areas hardest hit by the fire, according to a release from Metro Vancouver. The two organizations have raised $14,000 toward the restoration.
Port Coquitlam-based geologist awarded $400k amid dispute over abandoned ore mine, invoices
A junior mining company has been ordered to pay $406,558 to its former president, Port Coquitlam-based geologist Johan Shearer, following a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling.
Shearer started working for Jazz Resources Inc., a publicly traded mining company, in 2004. At the time, Jazz was looking to exploit a claim at the Teddy Glacier site – a mountainous mine south of Revelstoke and east of Arrow Lake.
Shearer’s services were provided through his company, HomeGold Resources Ltd., which operated out of Tyner Street in Port Coquitlam.
Homeless shelter avoids closure with another 11th hour deal; future remains uncertain
For the second straight year, a down-to-the-wire deal prevented the closure of the SureStay Hotel temporary homeless shelter on Brunette Avenue.
With the lease set to expire at the end of the month, B.C. Housing announced this week that the temporary shelter’s 29 residents of the hotel can stay until March 31, 2024.
The news is welcome and also a relief, according to TriCities Homelessness and Housing Task Group coordinator Polly Krier.
“We know this is our last opportunity to extend this temporary service,” Krier said.
Ukrainian youth refugees paddle for open water at Inlet Rowing Club
Written and photographed by Marissa Tiel, this long-read tells the story of young Ukrainians finding their way across the water in Port Moody.
It’s October 2021 and Max Yakovenko rows on the Dnipro River in Ukraine for the last time.
The Ukrainian teen is sculling — his coach’s preference for developing athletes.
In four months, Russia will invade. Yakovenko and his mother will head to Poland and then to Canada.
But on that day, before the weather turns cold and sends him indoors for the season, Yakovenko pushes off and rows up the river that splits Zaporizhzhia in two. It’s his fifteenth birthday.
It would be his last time on the water in the country.
Staffing shortages causing Port Moody fire department to burn through overtime cash
Staffing issues are a burning hole in the Port Moody fire department’s resources.
Port Moody Fire Rescue Service’s budget pays out nearly $500,000 in overtime costs annually, and is falling behind in its fire inspection requirements, said Deputy Fire Chief Kirk Heaven.
“We have no fat,” Heaven said. “We have the ability to shuffle some of our junior firefighters around for coverage, but this becomes short lived as people are off longer, and we end up just hiring overtime to replace these staff.”
100 on the waitlist for Coquitlam’s Cultural Food Pantry
It’s familiar food in a strange land.
Just off Como Lake and Mariner Way in Coquitlam, newcomers to Canada can find a food bank that offers both the groceries they need and the ingredients they thought they’d left behind.
The Coquitlam Alliance Church used to hand out packaged hampers. However, they were in the midst of a building renovation when a new idea was broached, explains Sonia Friesen, Local Missions Pastor at CA Church.
The solution was to create what looks like a corner grocery in the church, she says. Each month, about 200 families use the modified food bank, filling up shopping carts with as much as $175 worth of food.
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