| Fridge rep Trail of complaints follows Hecter Rousseau’s return By Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter THE iceman returneth. Hugo Hector Rousseau Sr. left the North Shore around 1990 leaving a fist of 70 unpaid creditors and bankrupicy documents declaring debts of $3.5 million and assets of $4,500. ICBC and government taxation offices were preferred creditors wanting money from the former West Van resident. _ At the ume, Rousseau was wanted by U.S. officials in connec- ton with alleged bank frauds involving loans of more than $1 mil- lion dating back to the early 1980s in California. For North Shore residents who had dealt with Rousseau, many thought they had heard the last of him, his business practices and unlicensed repair companics. But since December, the Better Business Bureau has received four complaints regarding Rousscau’s company Air Temp Refrigeration A/C Ltd. The company has two large ads on two different pages of the AC 1996 North Shore yellow pages under refrigerators. ~Air Temp’ Refrigération AC - AA-Glacier Industries.’ - AC Kold: Refrigeration “AC Refrigeration’ .-- : e; Machin Lifelong North Vancouver resident Dawn Richards used the yellow pages and called an Air-Temp number when her refrigera- tor stopped working in December. “ft was a North Van number and I thought f was deafing with a North Van person ... He never told me his name or never once “CR tcesMachine’ Coldguard Mechani answered the phone in the company’s name. That should have been a signal not to deal with him,” said Richards. Richards’ refrigerator had a broken compressor but an Air- : Temp repairman said it was a timer problem. She was charged $265 and her fridge was still broken. “He was very abusive over the phone. And he would nor come ‘. Glogier: Refrigératio Ice Machine > | :dee.Machine IceMachines de: back. He’d hung up on me and all sort of things,” said Richards. She waited at home for four days for an Air-Temp repairman to come back and try to tix the broken fridge again. On the the fourth day, she phoned at 5 p.m and was told he was working until 8:30 p.m. “He never came,” said Richards. Richards said the bill, on a Coldguard Mechanical invoice, was not itemized and the GST and PST charges were “totally out of line. RC lee Mac Polar Indostries 2. Pronta Servite . Secv' Master _ Seryice Toda Vi or Rusio. Richards, a senior, said the “refrigerator repairman from hell” agreed to repay her $265 after CBC TV recently aired an inves- tgative report about him. Richards is still waiting for her moncy. She ended up buying a new fridge. The Better Business Bureau said the principal of Air Temp Refrigeration is Cecil Reddick. Reddick is believed tu be an alias of Hugo Hector Rousseau. Rousseau is in his early 50s. Friday, February 21, 1997 — North Shore News — 3 ir rancor bane bedata ners, Company Aliases associated with Hugo Hector Rousseau BES i 8 NEWS grephic Cathleen Powell When the News called the Air-Temp Refrigeration number in AfR Temp Refrigeration A C Ltd’s address, which is given as a location in the the North Shore Yellow Pages, someone picked up the phone and said his name was “Cecil.” “Mr. Rousseau is no longer with the company,” the man said. “He (Rousseau) was a subcontractor he wasn’t the owner. I don’t know what the big fuss is al! about. “And please leave my name out of it. I don’t want to be involved,” said the man before hanging up. In a Jan. 15, 1989, News story, Rousseau stated that all his work on the North Shore was done by subcontractors who had business licences. But he deciined to say who they were. On Wednesday, Yellow Pages Marketing Manager Kira Orr said there was nothing in the Air-Temp Refrigeration ads that contravened Yellow Pages poli- cles. placed in the ads. “We basically accept the advertising in good faith,” said Orr. Orr said clients put in local numbers so that potential customers don’t have to pay long-distance charges. Orr said she could not discuss a specific Yellow Pages client. Orr said Yellow Pages was not responsible for the accuracy of information Proposed Grade 6 move to Rockridge lambasted From page 1 our kids,” he said to applause. Noting that the administration portrayed the move to Rockridge as sound for the emotional and social development of Grade 6 students, Derek Gregory said: “I’m really puzzled. Is this crisis or is this a tremendous opportunity?... You can’t have it both ways.” West Vancouver School District 45 trustee Jeanie Ferguson said the move was motivated by a crisis, “but if it has to happen we’re going to make it happen properly and we're going to make it an opportunity.” oo, Parents also questioned the priorities of the board, saying the heavy investment in technology is not nearly as important as housing the students at Caulfeild. Developers cashing in on the hous- ing boom in the area should contribute cash to school development, they said. According to board administrators, Rockridge benefits for students include a great number of sports and interest clubs such as the newspaper club and computer club, the school’s outstanding, technology resources, and the availability of fine arts programs. The administration asserted that 10- to 14-year-olds are unique and letting the Grade 6 students mix with Grade 7 and 8 stu- dents best meets their social and emotional needs ind will assist with their intellectual growth. But parents weren’t buying the benefits. Parents concerned that the one-year proposal will become permanent urged the school district to bite the bullet and add portables to the Caulfeild school now. But that idea — and other proposals such as reopening Cypress, Park school in 1997, moving Caulfeild kindergarten students to a smaller room 1000-block West Broadway, is a mail-drop, according to the Vancouver BBB. In a 1988 News report, a B.C. Tel spokesman confirmed that litigation was pending against Rousseau in connection with unpaid Yellow Page advertising bills. Where have you be2n Hugo Hector Rousseau? According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Vancouver, Rousscau- related companies have had unsatisfactory records in: @ Calgary as of Jan. 9, 1996. The Calgary BBR opened a file on C R Ice Machine in November 1990. @ Winnipeg as of November 1993 where A.C. Tec Ice Machines Inc. had a tele- phone answering service for an address. @ Toronto BBB also shows an “unsatisfactory” record for Rousseau companies. BBB files specifically show a “pattern” of no response to customer com- plaints, a failure to eliminate the basic cause of customer complaints and a pat- tern of complaints “alleging misrepresentation in advertising.” in the main building or sending them to Cypress Park or Eagle Harbour — all cost muncy. Purchasing and siting portables at the school would cost $100,000. Moving kids from overcrowded Caulfeild to empty space at Rockridge won’t cost the school district a penny, said administraters. Near the end of the meeting, trustees said they still had an open mind about the proposal. Of the four trustees present, none spoke in favor of the Rockridge proposal and one, David Stevenson, said the Grade 6 pupils should stay put. But all trustees commented on the school district’s tight finances. Said Ferguson of the proposal: “I expected it to be amended. Ir wasn’t one I leaped to embrace, but we do have ro consider the financial constraints we are under.” Trustees expect to outline a process to contin- uc discussion of the Caulfeild proposal on Tuesday. Meanwhile, new employment insurance con- tribution requirements that hit in the middle of the school district’s 1996-97 fiscal year have put West Vancouver $146,000 in the hoie. District 45 superintendent Doug Player said the district has requested permission from the province to run a deficit this year and is waiting for a reply. Mediator’s proposal ups union wages From page 1 Union representatives once again would not speak about the dispute. Ron Jackson of the machinists union said carlier that the dispute was touchy so the unions would rather work it out with company management. Lewis said the mediator’s offer is under review by the company’s senior management. He said union leadevs have not clearly out- lined the reasons for not putting the proposal to a vote. A company “final offer” was rejected Jan. 10 in a 206-157 vote by union members. The company improved the offer to the current level Jan. 30, said Foley, but the union did nor pur that offer to a membership vote. With the current offer, conces- sions calling for union workers to work weekends for regular wages instcad of double time and a stag- gered start to the work week were dropped, said Foley. The union position is that the staggered work week means some workers would be on the job weekends and not . be able to spend that time with family. On Feb. 2, the union members voted 173 to 24 in favor of strike action. On Feb. 10, the unions served the company with 72-hour strike notice. Union rep- resentatives told Foley they. did not know when the strike man- date would be exercised. Work on B.C. Ferries’ first fast ferry continues at the yard, Lewis said. Only a strike would prevent the work from being carried out on a vessel that has been hailed by the NDP government as the first of many high-speed ferries that will rejuvenate B.C. shipbuilding: | mm Bright Lights..10 m Crossword... ! w Lautens | ma Mitchell. w North Shore Alert : m@ Real Estate mw Talking Personats. SUNDAY FOCUS THE winds of change are about to sweep through Lower Lonsdale. Area residents are bat- tening down the hatches for yet another flurry of development. No stranger to real estate booms, the historic North Vancouver waterfront neighbor: hood is one of the last relatively underdeveloped urban areas in the Lower Mainland within teady proximity to downtown Vancouver. On Sunday, News reporter Deana Lancaster looks at the complex issues facing North Vancouver City council this year as the players vying to be part of the area’s makeover jockey for position in what will be yet another defining, moment for the neighborhood. This Sunday, look for our special North Shore Focus on Lower Lonsdale. Worth Shore News, founded in 1969 as an indepen- dent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tay Act, is published cach Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every dour on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publicanons Ma) Sales Product Agreement No. 0987238. Mailing rates available on request