March 8, 1991

NEWS photo Stuart Davis

Stolen moment

THREE PEOPLE face break and enter and possession of stolen property charges following the March 4 ransacking of a home in the 5400-block of Marine Drive. According to a West Van- couver Police spokesman, two Vancouver men and a woman staked out a house and stole approximately $2,000 worth of property. They then calied for a cab to leave the scene. Police were tipped off and arrested the three. Facing the charges are Allan Lucian Frechette, 23; Miliana Arentsen, 19; and a 16-year-old mate youth. All are of no fixed address.

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Conflict charges denied

Allegations fly over deprivatization of garbage collection in North Van City

TWO NORTH Vancouver City aldermen have vehemently denied conflict of interest allegations levelled at them

Monday night by a fellow

alderman over the issue of

deprivatizing garbage collection in the city.

The allegations, made by Ald. Rod Clark against Aidermen Bill Bell and Barbara Sharp, dominat- ed Monday night's debate over the proposed $410,000 acquisition of trucks for the in-house collection .of city garbage.

By Pamela Lang Contributing Writer

Opposing the motion to in- troduce an acquisition byiaw for the three trucks, Clark again criti- cized the process that had led to council’s recent decision to deprivatize the city’s garbage col- lection.

Council voted 5-2 on Feb. 18 to deprivatize ine collection of gar- bage in the municipality and give the job back to unionized city employees.

Laidlaw Waste Systems Lid. had been collecting the city’s gar- bage since 1983, when council took the work away from city employees and tendered it to the private sector.

Clark said that, with no public input, no public tender and an in- side track for CUPE (the Cana- dian Union of Public Employees), “the process has hardly been fair.’”

And because CUPE endorsed and possibly helped fund the re- election campaigns of Beil and Sharp, Clark maintained that the two aldermen were in a conflict of iiterest position on the garbage collection issue.

“Surely Ald. Bell and Sharp are in conflict of interest when the reople they sit in judgement of have given money to them for re- election,’’ Clark said. ‘‘l call on Ald. Bell and Ald. Sharp to ex- empt themselves during this item due to a conflict of interest.””

But in a prepared statement released after the council meeting, Bell stated that ‘‘Ald. Clark is ig- norant of the law around conflict of interest and slander. His vicious and premeditated attack on the good reputation of myself and Ald. Sharp shows a complete disregard for the entire council. He's obviously been watching too much BCTV news.

“There is no conflict of inter-

NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL

est, and if Ald. Clark had bothered to check his false ac- cusation out with the Union of B.C. Municipalities’ lawyer or the city solicitor, as we have, he might not have made his irresponsible statements. I’ve called for com- plete disclosure in the past and council in 1988 decided against

Bell stated that he and Sharp had called for strict election disclosure faws for municipal can- didates following Monday's meeting.

He added that ‘I’ve never hid- den anything and have actively publicized my position during the 1985, 1987 and 1990 municipal elections on the matter of deprivatization of garbage and the support that I have received from various unions, community groups, businesses and CUPE.”’

At the meeting, Bell accused Clark of ‘‘grandstanding’’ and debating a previously passed mo- tion.

He said Clark’s comments con- stituted ‘defamation of another council member”? and a ‘‘very serious accusation’’ about which he hoped Clark had consulted a lawyer.

Sharp said that many groups endorsed her campaign and she cannot be called in conflict on issues related to every supporter.

“Does this mean because | was endorsed by CARA that I should not have voted in favor of dedicating the parks on the public referendum?’’ Sharp said.

According to Derek Corrigan, a lawyer representing Sharp and Bell, the two aldermen had receiv- ed advice from both the city clerk and the solicitor for the Union of B.C. Municipalities stating that Bell and Sharp were not in a con- flict of interest situation prior to Ald. Clark's statements on Mon- day night.

Corrigan has demanded Clark publicly retract his statements about Bell and Sharp at the neni

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