Court rules otficer acted within law Charges resulting from March 1990 shooting incident dropped A NORTH Vancouver RCMP officer is back on ‘‘opera- tional duty’? after criminai charges against him stemming from a March 1990 shooting incident were dropped. David Lorne Glover was shot in the chest during a March 1990 police drug raid. Glover was holding a TV remote control when confronted by police. Glover was subsequently charg- ed with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. In August, Cpl. Glenn Magark, 40, was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm and aggravated assault as a result of the shooting. But last week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ross Collver found that Magark’s actions were lawful. Subsequently, the indictment against the 17-year police veteran was not proceeded upon. Said North Vancouver RCMP Staff Sgt. Ron Babcock of the development, ‘‘The court ruling on this confirms our belief on this tight from the start that there was adequate planning and execution involved in the drug search.” Said Babcock of the variables police generally tend to consider when planning a drug raid, ‘Well it depends on the people you are dealing with, the environment. the structure itself, exits, entrances, the type of drug you are looking for as well as what you know about the individual. These all play an important part. The gen- eral rule is that drug searches have to be very quick because there is always the possibility of the drugs being disposed of before you can get into the residence.”” Meanwhile, Magark said the dropping of charges against him came as “somewhat of a sur- prise.”* Said Magark, “It wasn't a weak-kneed decision. The justice system works for the police as By Michael Becker News Reporter well as everyone cise. I've never felt guilty about anything I've done in the line of duty.”* Since charged last year, Magark had been assigned to ad- minstrative duty. Beyond the direct effect on him personally, Magark said the criminal charges he faced had broader potential impact. Said Magark, ‘‘We’re sort of one big happy family as the police universe. It’s not just the RCMP but it’s all the police people. Anv- thing negative that happens to one police officer has a far-reaching effect. More than myself, I've been concerned about the moraie at the office. There’s been really great support throughovt the senior munagement right down to the fellows you work with every day. “Em happy to get a positive court outcome that affects the whole police universe in a positive manner,’* he added. Bur the North Vancouver RCMP officer still faces a civil suit. Glover is seeking damages as a result of the shooting. But said Magark, ‘*Civil suits can go on for years and civil suits have nothing really to do with right and wrong. For the most part civil suits have to do with who is going to get money or whatever. Criminal (court) has to do with right and wrong. Civil for the most part has to do with legal fees and injuries and things of that nature."" Board will review options Fram page 1 She added that the union's re- fusal to return to the bargaining table is “of concern” to the board. **We (board) will have to sit down and review our options,’’ Jessup said. Watson attacked the education ministry for ‘‘unilaterally’’ deter- mining a schoo! board’s ability to pay a collective agreement by set- ting an “inadequate budget’’ and not telling school boards what their budgets are until they have negotiated a collective agreement. “*Then Bill 82 steps in to fet the commissioner rule on all financial parts of the collective agreement, including class size. mainstreaming and new curriculum provisions that we worked so hard over many months to achieve," War- son said. She added that the NVSB told Lien that it has the ability to pay for the first year of the two-year collective agreement but thar Lien rejected the entire contract. The NVSB had said earlier that it would not implement the first year of the contract until Lien had reviewed the deal. **A typical example of the farce that this BiH 82 situation has become happened to us last month,’’ said Watson. ‘‘The commissioner gave us four days to make a submission from the NVTA in response to the board's application for an interim ap- provai to implement the first year only. “Two days before the deadline, Lien faxed us a fetter rejecting the interim application. His letter was dated two days later than the date it arrived by fax. Obviously, re- jection letters are written ahead of time and it doesn‘t really matter whether the board has the ability to pay or not.” Watson charged that Lien has a “magic number" in mind for sal- ary settlements. According to Watson, the NVSB has told the union that it cannot guarantee the implementa- tion of provisions for children with special needs in September because Bill 82 prohibits the im- plementation of learning condition articles until Lien has approved a collective agreement. The collective agreement be- tween the West Vancouver District 45 School Board and the 300- member West Vancouver Teach- ers’ Association is not affected by Bill 82 because the two sides sign- ed a contract Jan. 29, only hours before Bill 82 became law. Wednesday. June 26. 1991 - Narth Shore News - 3 a a NEWS photo Terry Peters NORTH VAN CITY firefighters conducted training exercises last week at a house in the 1600- block of Mahon. The house, slated for demolition, was used to give new firemen practical expe- rience with actual fires. Study examines Bowen’s future Island set to decide on municipal status A STUDY inte the future of local government on Bowen {sland is set to be released by the end of July. The study could pave the way for a referendum in the fall that will ask residents to consider twa options for the island, including becoming a district municipality. The study, commissioned by the Bowen Island Restructure Com- mittee, and paid for by the pro- vincial government, is expected to outline the pros and cons of becoming a district’ municipality ‘or sticking to the present system of local decision making. Under the status quo option, Bowen would continue to have its services provided by the Greater Vancouver Regional District and tis fand use planning decisions made by the Islands Trust, but it could still mean some changes to the way local decisions are made. The other option would in- vestigate the possibility of Bowen Island being incorporated as a district municipality. Public meetings would be held in August and if there is public support for a change in local gov- ernment a referendum could be held in September or October. “The provincial government and the GVRD have been pushing us to make some changes to the way things are done on Bowen for at least three years now,"’ said Doug Rogers, chairman of the Bowen Island Restructure Com- mmittee. ‘‘And they have been by Barry Forward Contributing Writer very cooperative in fetting us do what will be best for Bowen Island.”” The restructure committee is made up of 17 members repre- seming various Arca Improvement Districts on the island and the two elected Islands Trustees. As a district municipality Bowen Island would have local service responsibilities, taxation authority and broader elected rep- resentation. Road) maintenance and = im- provement would be a local re- sponsibility. The rural tax would be eliminated and replaced by municipal taxes set by the focal council. Municipal decisions would be made by an elected mayor and four councillors, According to Rogers, one prob- lem Bowen Island will have if it chooses to become a district municipality is the cost of main- taining, upgrading or replacing its antiquated roads. He says those costs are current- ly shared by a larger tax base, but if Bowen were to become a district municipality, taxpayers would have to shoulder a bigger share of the responsibility and that might BOWEN ISLAND make the change to municipal status impossible. The role of the Islands Trust, which controls Bowen land-use issues, would also change on a restructured Bowen Island. There would be a change in Bowen's status to meet new provi- sions in the Trust Act which allow a municipality to be responsible for zoning and planning within the overall authority of the Islands Trust general policy. Rogers says most residents have come to rely on the Islands Trust to preserve the integrity of the island and need to be assured that it will not be lost if the island becomes a municipality. “Most Bowen Island residents really believe in the Islands Trust. and they look at the Trust as something they never want to lose.”” The results of the study should at the very least give residents a good indication of whether becoming a municipality makes sense or not. “IT am waiting to see the results of the study before 1 make any predictions and until we see some numbers (how much it will cost taxpayers) it’s still a toss up which way the island will go,”* Rogers said.