2 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 EDITOR ANDREA ANTHONY Cws City fights 49 bus changes Vancouver city councillor puts forward a motion to protect transit By LAUREN COLLINS motion to stop changes to the 49 UBC/Metrotown Station bus service passed unanimously at city council meeting, but TransLink can still overrule the deci- sion. TransLink proposed cutting 14 stops in the Champlain Heights area because only five per cent of passengers get off at those stops. The route runs along 54th Avenue between Kerr and Tyne streets. Vancouver city councillor Geoff Meggs submitted the motion be- cause he said he wanted TransLink DEVIN BURTON Langara criminal justice student to “protect the ser- r4 4 vice of the people of Champlain I hate the Heights.” 49. I hate “T think it’s im- ° . portant that we try ul with a to speed up service passion I along 49th as well, but I don’t think could not we should do it at put into the expense of words neighbourhood service,” said Meggs. TransLink spokeswoman Jiana Ling said there is no decision about the ser- vice cuts yet, but TransLink will post a full report on their website later this spring. “We are still analyzing feedback re- ceived during consultation, and devel- oping recommendations for TransLink management,” Ling said. Criminal justice student Devin Bur- ton said the buses are too busy; and even when there appears to be room, the bus drivers go right by, which she finds “irritating.” “Thate the 49. I hate it with a passion I could not put into words,” said Bur- ton. The provincial government is hold- LAUREN COLLINS photo Langara students voice concerns about long waits for the 49 bus to and from Langara College. ing a TransLink referendum next year to get more funding for buses. “TransLink is shuffling their buses around trying to make the best of it and it’s not working out very well,” said Meggs. He added that funding is needed to pay for more buses and, in order to achieve that, students need to get in- volved with the upcoming referendum. “We need more service,” said Meggs. KEY STOPS FOR NO. 49 2 West 49 Avenue at Cambie Street 3 Langara: West 49 Avenue at Manitoba Street 4 Metrotown Station Source: TransLink Pride at Langara The first LGBTQ fair aims to promote community By LUKASZ JONCA Fair, hosted by nursing students and the health services depart- ment. The Pride Fair is an opportunity for faculty and students to promote an LGBT@Q-friendly environment at the college. It’s also an opportunity for people to ask community agencies and organiza- tions any LGBTQ-related questions. A few of the 19 groups attending the fair include Prism Services, Qmunity, Pride UBC and Vancouver Pride Soci- ety. Organizer Tiffany Fong said the Pride Fair will provide people with ac- cess to a lot of different resources. Jenny Liu, a term seven nursing stu- dent said, “We’ve been getting positive feedback from people from the differ- ent organizations. “They’re really happy that we’re tak- ing the initiative to have this fair at our school. “The purpose of the fair is mainly to promote awareness and to make the campus a friendlier place.” Langara’s policy states the schoo] is committed to the principle that all members of the college community have the right to work and study in an environment free from discrimination and harassment. Christopher Wee, Mr. Gay Canada 2014, addressed a letter to Langara Col- lege and the organizers of the fair. “May your first Langara Pride Fair be the beginning of an empowering legacy in the education and celebration of diversity,” said Wee. “T encourage the community of Lan- gara College to attend your Pride Fair, not only to show your support but to be a part of and stand for something larg- er than yourself.” The organizers of the event, Liu, Fong and Langara’s clinical nurse Su- san Kensett, hope the first Pride Fair is asuccess and becomes an annual tradi- tion. UBC and Kwantlen Polytechnic Uni- versity have already started hosting similar events. Te: marks Langara’s first Pride Working made easier for international students Citizenship and Immigra- tion Canada streamlines work permit rules MIKE HODDER photo Ajay Patel, dean of international education, approves of new rules. By MIKE HODDER ing for international students to study in Canada, but no easier to gain permanent residence. Under the current Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) regulations, international students with a valid study permit are allowed to work on campus. However, those seeking jobs off campus must apply for a work per- mit that allows them to work 20 hours per week during the academic session and full-time on breaks. New CIC rules will streamline regu- lations by automatically allowing stu- dents to work under the same guide- lines without having to apply for a second work permit. “Tt will help with the financial bur- den for international students because they can work right away,” said Inderjit Kaur, 21, who came from India to study computer science at Langara. She works part time at a pizza shop. The government is hoping the new regulations will make studying in Can- ada more attractive to international students, who contribute more than $8 C' June 1, it will be more tempt- billion to the Canadian economy each year, according to the CIC website. “With the new changes, we hope to continue to attract students from around the world to come and study at Langara and add to our rich culture and quality learning environment,” said Ajay Patel, Langara’s dean of in- ternational education. But not everyone thinks the changes will make much of a difference. “T think overall these changes pro- vide some very modest help in the short term,” said UBC law professor Catherine Dauvergne, an immigration policy expert. “This facilitates working off campus but it was not impossible to do so be- fore.” According to Dauvergne, the new regulations are logical but fall short of the bigger issue for international stu- dents, many of whom apply for perma- nent residency. “The really big problem with visas lis] that it can take forever to get them,” Dauvergne said. “Those are the real problems and these changes don’t address any of them.” MIKE HODDER photo Work permit changes for international students com- mence June 1. From left: Rishabh Sharma, Inderjit Kaur, Sharan Klair, Rabjot Kaur, Kirandeep Kaur.