NV]

D faces drastic sl

Friday, March 12, 1993 — North Shore News — 3

ift in seniors’ housing

Survey finds majority of aging population plans to move from present homes

SENIORS’ HOUSING needs will change drastically over
the next decade in North Vancouver District.

That is the inescapable conclu-
' sion of a survey and report by the
Lionsview Seniors Planning Socic-
ty (LSPS) presented te council on
Monday night.
According to Sheila Gilmour, a
-- member of the Lionsview Housing
Committee and one of the
survey’s organizers, 53% of
_seniors. surveyed want to move
and 25% of that total want to
move within two years.
She added that they all want to
stay in North Vancouver.
‘*There’s” a very sizable
migratory movement in front of
us,’? Gilmour said.-
But where they will go remains
a big question.
The. LSPS survey of 263 senior

By Martin Mitlerchip
Contributing Writer

households was conducted last
October and November to collect
concrete data upon which to base
housing and service projections.

A similar survey has. already
been completed within Nortn
Vancouver City, and Lionsview
hopes to conduct one in West
Vancouver in April.

North Vancouver District is rel-
atively “‘young,’’ with only 9.3%
of its population being over 65 in
1991 compared with 20.2% in
West Vancouver District.

But the number of over-65s in

NEWS photo Mike Wakeolleld

“ARGYLE PIPERS’ FRtob Horne attempts to break free from two
_Steveston Packers during a 8.C. high school AAA basketball.
championship match at the PNE Agrodome on Wednesday
evening. The sixth-ranked Pipers. lost the opening-round

game 78-50. :

Ski trip turns tragedy

AN ‘18-YEAR-OLD New Westminster youth . died
‘Wednesday during a school-sponsored skiing trip at
Cypress Bowl Provincial Park in West Vancoz ver.

According to a Squamish
RCMP spokesman, James
Wade Bourget and a group of
students. from St. Thomas

' Moore Collegiate | school in
Burnaby were skiing at
Cypress Bow! on Wednesday at
about 5 p.m.

Some of the students were
skiing out-of-bounds on the
north side of Mount Strachan.

_ Two students, including
Bourget, were sitting on the
back of the peak area of the
mountain. when’ one student
‘lost his footing and slid down
an incline.

The spokesman said Bourget
went to alert school officials
and,.in a rescue attempt, one:
teacher also lost his footing
and slid down the incline. Both
were later airlifted to safety

By Surj Rattan’

News Reporter

and treated for minor injuries
in hospital.

But at 9 p.m. on Wednes-
day, Bourget was reported
missing. .

North Shore Search ‘and

Rescue was called to the scene.
- Bourget’s body was located
at midnight and was flown out
by helicopter on Thursday
morning,

The accident took place in

“an area closed to skiers; condi-

tions in the areca were described
as very icy.

The accident: occurred within
the jurisdiction of the
Squamish RCMP.

- @ 185 days of

1998-99.

"NORTH VANCOUVER
DISTRICT COUNCIL

North Vancouver District is pro-
jected to increase by 51% over the
next decade, while. the number of
residents over 80 is projected to
jump, by 80% over the same
period.

Coun. told

Rick Buchols

Gilmour that he found the current _

low percentage of over-65s in the
district surprising.

But Gilmour said that ‘‘the ma- :

jority of singles over that age have
already moved to the City- of
North Vancouver’? where there
are many more apartment options.

The report highlights four key
issues that it says ‘‘dominate’’ the

seniors’ housing scene in B.C.:

© The very small amount ef sup-
port by BCHMC (B.C. Housing
Management Commission) relative
io the necd. Only four seniors’
projects, averaging 65 units each,
have been built on the North
Shore as a whole in the past six
years.

@ The absence of any coordi-
nated, pro-active planning links
between BCHMC and the B.C.
Ministry of Health.

@ The scarcity of accessible sites
at prices BCHMC will approve, -

@ The difficulty often faced in
obtaining zoning approval for
seniors’ developments.

The ‘report suggests that the
demand for seniors’ housing could
be mitigated by various visiting
service programs that would allow

some seniors to remain longer in
their own homes.

Included with other suggestions
is the controversial possibility of
secondary suites.

Whatever the solution, a rapidly
aging population is about to
create massive housing needs if
53% of district seniors follow
through on their ‘plans’ to
move.

Gilmour told council that the
waiting lists for subsidized seniors
housing is so long ‘‘it’s a joke.

“There isn’t a hope of getting
in for two years,”’ she said.

“We are on the edge ofa
demographic shift. that will be
quite profound,”’ said Coun. Paul
Turner. -

For more on seniors’ housing
see puge 17.

Jistrict 45 head opposes
shorter school year plan

Bradshaw says students need more days not less

THE CHAIRMAN of the West Vancouver District 45
School Board (WVSB) said he disagrees with the provincial
government’s decision to restructure the current school
year, which will cut the total of instructional days for the

next several years.

Education Minister Anita
Hagen said her ministry is return-

“ing to what she called a ‘*stand-

ardized, . predictable school year’’

_beginning this September.

Under the new school calendar,
which must still be approved by
the legislature, schoo! districts will
be required to offer a minimum
of:

f instruction during
the 1993-94 and 1994-95 school
years — a decrev’se from the cur-
rent 188 days of instruction re-
quired; —

@ 186 instructional days in the
1995-96 school year;

© 188 days of instruction in each
school year from 1996-97 to

The 1999-2000 school year will
contain 192 days of ‘instruction,

From page 1

She said the health of
hunger strikers is deteriorating.

“One of the women is in
serious danger of having kidney
failure.

“They’ve developed ulcers, and
there has been blood found in the
urine and they are losing massive
amounts of weight,” she said.

But according to Jim, Cowley,
immigration department regional
manager of hearings and appeals
for the B.C. and Yukon Region,
no final decisions on the hunger
strikers have been made.

“They’ve been told right from
the first day of their demonstra-
tion that if they had any new in-
formation to present about their
cases that we’d be more than
happy to review them. They have
now done so,”’ he said.

Cowley said. that in 1992, the

the

# Editorial Page
Home & Garden

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

followed by 188 instructional days

in 2000-2001; 191 days in 2001-
2002 and 190 instructional days in
the 2002-2003 school year.

“The new school calendar will
bring stability to a system. often
seen by parents as chaotic. British
Columbia will have a school year
as long or longer than the school
years in most provinces,’’ said
Hagen.

“Ht is a calendar that parents
can count on and: represents a
return tothe traditional, predict-
able, standarrlized school year.”

But WYSB chairman Peter
Bradshaw said Hagen is decreas-
ing the school calendar from the

convention refugee determination
division, an immigration and ref-
ugee board, made decisions. na-
tionally on 1,194 claimants from
Iran. Of the claimants, 81% were
accepted, ; :

Said Cowley of the hunger
strikers, ‘‘They are claiming they
are sure that they would be at risk
if they went back to Jran, but
would you in that -situation?’’

Earlier this week Cowley said
the strikers would likely be fasting
regardless of ‘the refugee dispute
in order to observe Ramadan, the

ninth month of the Muslim year .

in which fasting is observed from
sunrise to sunset.

But said Radjai, ‘‘They (the
hunger strikers) were very insulted
and offended: by Jim Cowley’s
remarks about Ramadan. It’s. a
clear sign of cultural and religious
ignorance.”

index
SS} Mailbox

Printed on 10% recycled newsprint

~ WEST VANCOUVER
SCHOOL BOARD

prescribed 190 days of instruction -
per year to 185 days or 188 days,:

_ depending on the year.

“This goes against all; research
which calls for’ longer, no.’
shorter, instructional time.

“Many of Canada's - trading: ~
partners, | should say. com-
petitors, are following the advice
of ;this research,’’. Bradshaw said~:
in a letter to Hagen. | 1

He also questioned why . the:
-school . year has (o fall..between
two arbitrary but variable days.”

“Every year has at. least :365 -
days. Why’ doesn’t ‘every school
year have at least 190? The educa-'
tion’ of our ‘students and. the
health of our economy ‘demand
it,’’ said Bradshaw.

He added that the new school :
calendar will reduce educational
services ‘for taxpayers but will-not
reduce their-costs.

NY HUNGER
Yektakhah

striker Afshin

Weather

Saturday sunny, ©:
highs. 10°C, lows PC

Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 0087238