ampus hews EDITOR SERENA PATTAR THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 3 Faculty vs. Revenue Canada A discounted employee- parking pass is causing staff a major headache with Revenue Canada By LINDA NGUYEN an ongoing dispute of taxes on a discounted employee-parking pass. Alison Curtis, the Langara Faculty Associations’s director, recently filed an objection with the Canada Revenue Agency about the parking pass she had from 2011 to 2014. Curtis said she’s biked to work daily since 2008, and rarely used the parking pass. “T would not have accepted a pass in 2011 if | had known it was a taxable ben- efit,” Curtis said, adding that her bill from the CRA was close to $900. Curtis said what really upset mem- bers was the charges’ retroactive na- ture. “Because it was 2014 and we were now being told ‘Oh by the way in 2011, 2012, 2018 and 2014, you had a taxable benefit.” We’re go- Le: faculty is still dealing with ing to charge it now,” Curtis said. “That was what I would people got upset. not have They didn’t really have a choice.” accep ted Lynn Carter, a pass in president of the ° LFA, said the issue 2011 if I is that the CRA had had known appraised the val- . ue of parking as ii was a greater than the taxable colleges’ own eval- benefit uation. “That meant it became a taxable benefit that we, as members of the faculty or other employees at the college owed back taxes,” Carter said. “Individual faculty filed objections to the evaluations of [the CRA].” The Voice previously covered the matter, when LFA members first raised concerns over faculty parking passes that cost 110 dollars per year. The taxes dated from 2011 to 2014. Members of the LFA ended up owing around 10 times the amount they origi- nally paid for discounted parking pass- es in back taxes. Heidi Hofstad, the CRA’s communi- cations manager for the Pacific region said employer-provided parking is usu- ally an employee benefit that is taxable. “Variations in an employee’s work schedule due to scheduled or unsched- uled days off, or the employee’s choice to not drive to work on certain days, does not usually affect the calculation of the taxable benefit, since the parking is still available for the employee’s use and enjoyment during those particular days,” Hofstad said, via email. According to Carter, individual LFA members must file their own appeals. “There’s no change right now. It’s up to the CRA,” Carter said. _—_ 3 ALISON CURTIS LANGARA FACULTY ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR LINDA NGUYEN photo Langara faculty owe back taxes on their discounted parking-passes. Big brother isn't watching Security cameras haven’t worked since being installed By SCOTT FORBES ampus security cameras that were installed last year are still not working, according to a tip The Voice received. Wendy Lannard, director of facilities at Langara College confirmed via email that the cameras, which are located all over the campus, are not operational. Lannard said the cameras were in- stalled in late March of 2015, but are not yet online. Security cameras on school campus- es serve a variety of purposes, includ- ing deterring crime, preventing van- dalism, protecting students, and maintaining secure facilities and park- ing lots. Without operational cameras at Lan- gara, students are worried their secu- rity and safety may be compro- mised. Kamelot Manna, a student in the education —assis- tance program, was unaware the cameras were not working. “That’s a little concerning. What’s the point in having security cameras if they’re not working, espe- cially on campuses?” a KAMELOT MANNA Education assis- tance student “Things can happen. I think for safe- ty reasons it’s good to have them,” she said, adding that even though she isn’t on campus late at night, if she ever was it would be nice to have them. Jena Laroy, a photography student, said she believes the cameras should be functional. “T don’t think anything would happen, but if anything did, there should be footage of it,” said Laroy. Education student Rhombus Plowers is worried how the lack of cameras will impact theft prevention. “Stuff gets stolen all the time,” he said. “That’s just what happens with a whole bunch of technology put into one spot, so you have ways to mitigate that.” Lannard said the college is working to fix the problem but did not give a specific date for completion. “The college is in the process of com- plying with provincial regulation re- garding implementation of CCTV cam- eras in and around the campus,” she said. “We anticipate completion, and that the cameras will be operational in the very near future.” SCOTT FORBES photo Security cameras, like the one pictured, haven't been functional since they were installed last March. The college has no time line for when they will be fully operational. FLAG facts HE the flag's of ficial name is the National Flag of Canada Hit was first raised on Feb. 15, 1965 on Parliament Hill HM The flag's red and white colours are Canada’s official colours, and were appointed by King George V in 1921. HE The flag in front of the Peace Tower in Ottawa is 2.25 me- tres by 4.5 metres Source: www.canada.com SERENA PATTAR photo The Canadian flag in front of Langara stayed at half-mast for four months (right). It was finally raised on March 8. Flag stuck at half-mast finally free A piece of wood lodged in the flag’s pulley system was removed after four months By LUIS MINA ra College has finally been raised after accidentally getting stuck at half-mast for four months. David Aucoin, Langara’s manager of safety, security & emergency manage- ment, said the flag was stuck because a piece of wood had lodged in the pulley causing it to jam. “The flag is raised and lowered daily and during one of these events in late December the flag became stuck,” Au- coin said via email. Aucoin also added this is the second time it had occurred. According to Aucoin, the flag re- mained at half-mast for safety reasons and the expense of renting a lift. T: Canadian flag in front of Langa- “Firstly it was stuck at a height where a ladder was not practical for safety reasons,” he said. “It was jammed enough that any ca- ble movement to attempt to loosen it from the ground did not work.” “A lift would have to be rented to safely correct the problem,” said Au- coin. Due to the cost of renting a lift, col- lege policy is that a lift is only brought in for multiple jobs so as to be cost-effi- cient. Safety and weather patterns are also issues considered, said Aucoin. The Facilities Department used a rented lift to fix and raise the flag on March 8. The B.C. Office of Protocol website states that flags cross the country are half-masted “as a sign of respect and mourning for an individual of prece- dence.” They are also put at half-mast dur- ing national occasions like Remem- brance Day and Police and Peace Offi- cers’ National Memorial Day, but it is not mandatory. Langara computer science student Jordan Dolling, said he didn’t notice or care that the flag was at half-mast. “T didn’t notice there was a Canadian flag,” he said. Calvin Liang, a second-year fine arts student said he wasn’t too concerned about whether or not the flag was fully raised or not. “I did not notice,” he said. “I would be curious why, but I don’t have inter- est.” CALVIN LIANG Second-year fine arts student 66 I did not notice. I would be curious why, but I don’t have interest