As 2017 draws to a close, we look back on some of the headlines from the year past.
January
City workers are busy trying to keep local streets clear of the snow that just keeps coming and coming – and convincing residents and business owners to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice. In response to more than 235 complaints, the city issues nearly 200 warning notices to people who aren’t adhering to the bylaw’s requirements regarding snow removal on sidewalks. The snowfall, which started in December 2016, is costly too – as the city spends upwards of $386,000 on road clearing, salt, brine and sand.
Single family homeowners in New Westminster face “significant” hikes to property assessments, with increases of 15 to 25 per cent being typical in Metro Vancouver.
New Westminster police investigate the distribution of racist flyers that promote fascism as the “key for a new Canada” and warn against an impending race war. In response to the posters being posted near a bus stop in the 300 block of Sixth Street, community members hold a rally and protest against racism.
Residents living along Fifth Street object to the city’s proposal to designate some parts of their street as residential-townhouses in the new official community plan. A steady stream of residents has been writing to city hall and appearing before council to urge the city to reject the plan.
February
A New Westminster pastor starts a campaign against Bill C-16, which would protect gender expression and identity in the Human Rights Act. New West Community Church pastor Paul Dirks says his campaign is intended to protect women’s safe spaces because the proposed legislation could lead to men being allowed into women’s washrooms and change rooms, but LGBTQ advocates call his campaign’s posters and website anti-transgender and fearmongering.
New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian announces he’ll be running in the NDP’s fall leadership race to replace Tom Mulcair as party leader.
Julien Levasseur, 24, is sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for the June 3, 2015 death of Chandar Dhandwar. Levasseur was in a drug-induced psychosis caused by ingesting a mixture of LSD and MDMA when he attacked the 79-year-old woman who was walking home from a friend’s house near Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School.
March
A 39-year-old Williams Lake man is arrested after attempting to steal a 100-passenger MV Native paddlewheeler that was moored on in Queensborough, where it was undergoing repairs. The man, who smashed a window to get inside, began hurling flares and a bottle of tequila at officials sent to investigate – prompting them to call in the New Westminster Police Department’s marine unit. The man was arrested and charged with one count of break and enter of a vessel, carrying or possessing a marine flare for dangerous purpose and attempted theft of a motor vessel.
About 30 people, many of them trans men and women, gather across the street from New West Community Church to protest pastor Paul Dirks’ campaign against Bill C-16. During the peaceful protects, Dirks chatted with protesters about some of the “very difficult, challenging topics” raised by the bill.
Passions are ignited after the school district proposes new attire for girls in the May Day Royal Suite. Instead of white dresses and capes, it’s suggested the girls can wear floral dresses lined with crinoline and topped with a white bolero and short white gloves for the 2017 May Day.
A father of two young children dies after a tragic workplace accident at River’s Reach Pub on March 22. The community rallies and supports a GoFundMe account to raise funds for Sanjeev Kainth’s wife Harpreet, who now has to raise their three-year-old and infant daughters on her own.
April
More than 50 Glenbrook North residents living near Terry Hughes Park sign a petition to retain the current single-family detached zoning indefinitely – or until the owner of each and every affected property owner agrees in writing to the contrary. The city is contemplating a residential-townhouse land-use designation in the official community plan for properties located between Eighth and Sixth avenues and First and Colborne streets.
Led by New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy and her constituency office staff, who helped secure funding, a number of groups gather to unveil plans to open a rent bank in New West. It would be a place where renters who are facing eviction or termination of their utilities can borrow funds and repay back the loan over a period of time.
May
New Westminster police close the case on a 21-year-old cold case with the arrest of a 48-year-old Vancouver man for the vicious sexual assault of a New West senior. Dorothy Darnel, 89, was asleep in her bed on the early morning hours of Oct. 4, 1996 when a man broke into her apartment building and sexually assaulted her and attacked her so savagely she was left unconscious
New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy handily wins back her New Westminster seat in May’s provincial election, taking 14,377 votes – well ahead of Green candidate Jonina Campbell (6,939), Liberal Lorraine Brett (5,870), Social Credit candidate James Crosty (298) and Libertarian Rex Brocki (199).
First-time Liberal candidate Jas Johal tops the polls in the new Richmond-Queensborough riding with 8,218 votes, trailed closely by NDP candidate Aman Singh with 8,084 votes. This is the first election for Richmond-Queensborough, which was created two years earlier by merging the old Richmond East riding with Queensborough.
Downtown residents will enjoy a better night’s sleep after the City of New Westminster and railways implement train whistle cessation at the Begbie Street and Fourth Street crossings on Front Street.
Zoe Bishop of FW Howay Elementary School is crowned as New Westminster’s 147th May Queen at the May Day festivities in Queen’s Park.
June
Two-year-old Biftu Taju dies on June 7 after falling into a ditch outside her Queensborough home and drowning. The death results in a petition calling on the city to fill all ditches in the neighbourhood.
New Westminster is set to be home to the largest heritage conservation (HCA) area in Western Canada, after city council unanimously approves an HCA for the Queen’s Park neighbourhood. While proponents support protecting the heritage homes and the neighbourhood streetscape, critics are concerned the plan takes away their property rights and will negatively impact their property values.
Judy Darcy is jubilant when the NDP takes charge in Victoria, after the Liberals under outgoing Premier Christy Clark fall in a vote of non-confidence, ending 16 years of Liberal rule in B.C. NDP Premier John Horgan later names Darcy as the Minister of Mental Health and Drug Addiction.
July
Crowds flock to downtown New Westminster to view the first New Westminster Grand Prix, the latest stop on the B.C. Superweek cycling series. Organizers say the crowds are “spectacular” for a first-year event.
A 13-year-old Port Coquitlam girl dies of an overdose after buying MDMA from a drug dealer at the 22nd Street SkyTrain station on the evening of July 15.
A 42-year-old man faces an assault charge after allegedly threatening police offices with an axe in the lobby of the police station. Police pulled out their weapons – and the man put the axe down and was promptly taken into custody.
Evolution Gaming, an international online gaming company, is the first tenant to sign up as an occupant of the Anvil Centre office tower. Built as part of Anvil Centre, the eight-storey office tower has sat empty since the fall of 2014.
A new community garden opens on the front lawn of New Westminster City Hall. The garden was initiated by the New Westminster Environmental Partners and is run by the New Westminster Community Garden Society.
August
The Q2Q ferry becomes a reality when the city launches a two-month trial run of the ferry service between the Quay and Quayside neighbourhoods. Riders flock to take a ride on the ferry that operates on weekends and holiday Mondays in August and September. The ferry service comes under fire as it’s not fully accessible, as the docks and ferry can’t handle motorized scooters and wheelchairs.
More than 100 residents gather in Moody Park to take a stand against hate. The event is in response to recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists, neo-Nazis and white supremists gathered for a Unite the Right march and clashed with counter protesters – leaving one woman dead and others injured.
September
The school district announces the New Westminster Secondary School replacement project has hit another major roadblock and won’t open until September 2020 – one year later than anticipated.
The New Westminster Salmonbellies take on the Peterborough Lakers at Queen’s Park Arena for the 2017 Mann Cup. After the Bellies win the first two games, the Lakers go on to win the national indoor lacrosse championship in six games.
The cost of the Ewen Avenue road project soars to nearly $13 million, much higher than the original estimate of $7.5 million. The city attributes the increased price tag of to the third and final phase of the endless road project to issues with contaminated and soft soil.
After three years of consultation and studies, New Westminster City Council approves the new official community plan. The OCP includes policies, visions and goals to guide the city’s growth, as well as a land-use map showing the types and location of land uses to be encouraged in the next 25 years.
October
Tenants in a 15-unit apartment building are the latest to be subjected to renovictions. The new owner of a Third Street apartment informs tenants they can return to the building at increased market rents once the renovations are complete or look for a new home. It’s just one example of owners evicting tenants, doing renovations and hiking rents.
Fears are raised among May Day fans that the tradition’s fate is in jeopardy after the school district’s May Day recommends the school board should try and transfer the responsibility for organizing May Day outside of school hours to a community organization.
Queensborough is temporarily in the dark, schools are closed and the Queensborough Bridge is temporarily closed after an electrical fire under the bridge. The fire put itself out, but not before damaging a power line and knocking out power.
November
The New Westminster Progressive Electors Coalition forms with the hope of fielding a slate of candidates for city council and school board in the Oct. 20, 2018 civic election. With a majority of local elected officials being endorsed by the New Westminster and District Labour Council, the group hopes to bring new ideas and a diversity of opinions to city council and school board.
The school board surveys community members about their thoughts on recommendations from the May Day task force. Should the district discontinue the practice of selecting a Royal Suite and transfer responsibility to a community organization? Should the school district responsibility of organizing the May Day celebration in Queen’s Park to a community organization?
Douglas College announces it will be adding a second campus in downtown New Westminster in 2018 in the Anvil Centre office tower. Several other tenants have leased space in the office tower, which h is now 93 per cent leased.
Nadine Nakagawa is named New Westminster’s 2017 Citizen of the Year in recognition of her many contributions to the community. Nakagawa’s 2017 accomplishments include helping spearhead construction of a community garden on the front lawn of city hall and hosting community meetings and forums to tackle truth and reconciliation.
December
The New Westminster Hyacks claim the provincial title – in dramatic fashion – at the B.C. Subway Bowl AAA provincial championships. The Hyacks overcome a 14-0 deficit and score the winning points on the final play of the game, beating Terry Fox Ravens 15-14.
The New Westminster School District unveils preliminary renderings of the new high school, calling it a “momentous” day in the history of the school district. The plan is to open the $106.5-million school that will be home to 1,900 students in 2020.
