DANCING WITH OUR 9 rr,

On Nov. 27, Langara staff and administration held a dance competiton in the cafeteria to raise

money for the United Way

AILY

U-lock blockade

In an act of defiance, activists locked
themselves to B.C. Supreme Court

By NICH JOHANSEN

our protesters managed to be all

smiles Thursday morning while

being locked to the doors of the

B.C. Supreme Court by their
necks.

A small group of people gathered to
protest Kinder Morgan’s attempt to ex-
tend its court-ordered injunction at
Burnaby Mountain from Dec. 1 to Dec.
12. The judge denied the request later
that afternoon.

The four showed up at 9:45 a.m. and
locked their necks to the doors with
bike locks, preventing any access from
that side of the building.

They did not give their names, but a
woman who spoke on behalf of them,
named Mayari, said they had all been
recently living on Burnaby Mountain.

Mayari, who declined to give her last
name to the media, said they had come
down from the mountain because the
courts were ultimately to blame for al-
lowing Kinder Morgan to carry out
their work.

“The courts are prioritizing corpo-
rate profits and environmental de-
struction over the traditional peoples
of this land and over the health and
well-being of communities,” Mayari
said.

Later that afternoon, the judge
dropped all charges of civil contempt
against anyone who had been arrested
on Burnaby Mountain.

Cat Solsbi was one of the many peo-

ple who sat in solidarity with the four.
She was concerned about Kinder Mor-
gan’s history with spills.

“The companies who are passing
them through have a terrible track re-
cord of spills and not cleaning them up
properly,” Solsbi said.

Just after 11 a.m., a fire alarm went
off inside the courthouses.

Over 15 Vancouver police officers
came to the doors and told the protest-
ers that they were blocking a fire exit
and causing a threat to public safety.

The four agreed to unlock them-
selves and left the area.

Kaleb Morrison who spoke on behalf
of the protesters said, “There was a re-
port of a fire alarm and the folks locked
down weren’t interested in causing a
public safety issue.”

An officer at the front desk of the
courthouse later confirmed that there
was no fire in the building.

On the other side of the building, the
Wilderness Committee, a non-profit
wilderness protection group, protested
the hearings as well.

“They’re taking away my nieces and
nephews ability to live in a safe envi-
ronment without massive climate
change,” said Eoin Madden, a cam-
paigner for the group.

Madden is confident that Kinder
Morgan’s pipeline expansion will not
be successful.

“At this point they should forget
about their new pipeline and walk away
from the project,” he said.

NICH JOHANSEN photo

Two of four protesters, who wished to remain unnamed, locked their necks to the doors of B.C.
Supreme Court on Nov. 27, to protest Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion efforts.

‘Smash and grab’ to
help holiday shoppers

The VPD and Canadian
Direct Insurance worked
together to educate Christ-
mas shoppers on auto theft

By MARY BEACH

nered with the Vancouver Police
Department staged a “smash and
grab” simulation to help shoppers on
how to avoid thefts from automobiles.
The simulation showed that it takes
only a few seconds for a thief to break
into your car and grab Christmas gifts
stowed in the back seat, but taking a
moment to secure valuables in your car
first can prevent it.
Chris Pragnell, of Canadian Direct
Insurance said, “The last thing that you
want is to go shopping for your kids

Cre Direct Insurance _ part-

i)

Christmas presents, come back and
find they’re all gone.”

Const. Brian Montague said that af-
ter years of decline in thefts from au-
tos, Vancouver’s numbers are now on
the rise.

“As people are going through their
holiday shopping, thieves are going
through their holiday shopping as
well,” Montague said.

Montague advises shoppers have
two strategies to get through the holi-
days: shop smarter and park safer.

He cautioned against making multi-
ple trips to and from cars when shop-
ping. Montague added that in most ve-
hicles, trunk latches inside the car can
be disabled.

Const. Alison Hill, who coordinates
the initiative for safer parking in Van-
couver, said good lighting and signage
and clear navigation makes a parking
lot safer.

MARY BEACH photo
Detective Phil Ens, dressed as
an elf, took down “thief” Bryan
McKeddie, a detective, who was try-
ing to break into the black Honda
Civic during the ‘smash and grab’
simulation on Nov. 27.

Business course open

The self-employment
course is full-time and
offers a business plan for
small businesses

By MARY BEACH

ment course is now open to fee-
payers.

“There was always demand,” said
program coordinator David Schulte but
the course was previously offered only
to Employment Insurance (ED clients.

“Students these days are leaning to-
wards careers in self-employment,”
said Simon Hui, co-president of Langa-
ra Business Association, in an email.

The full-time course, which offers a
business plan and the skills to operate
a small business, helps people “take
control of their lives,” said Schulte.“We
call this Banker 101.”

Dushan Karunasena, owner of Du-
shan’s Flowers, said the course gave
him experience and knowledge.

“Now, I create what I want to create.
I like the freedom and the challenge.”

T« 10-week Langara self-employ-

66

Now, I cre-
ate what

I want to
create. I
like the
freedom
and the
challenge

DUSHAN
KARUNASENA

OWNER OF
DUSHAN’S
FLOWERS