Philippine Independence
day celebrations in
metro vancouver
Vancouver Filipina Voted
one of RBC's Top 25
Canadian Immigrants
Highlights of Dakilang Lahing
Pilipino and Surrey Independence
Day Society's Santacruzan.
Maria Nieves Santos-Greaves
was awarded during the June 25,
2015 ceremony in Vancouver.
>News PAge 8
>News PAge 11
July 2015 Vol. 1 No. 4
METROVAN INDEPENDENT MEDIA
www.metrovanindependent.com
Fair Elections Act face court challenge TransLink
tax defeated
By the MetroVan Independent News Team
Ca s h - str a ppe d Lowe r Ma inla nd
taxpayers wanting accountability and better
management at TransLink were deemed
real winners in the historic defeat of the
TransLink sales tax, says the No TransLink
Tax campaign and Canadian Taxpayers
Federation (CTF).
“This is a tremendous victory for
taxpayers, our underdog No TransLink Tax
campaign and the Canadian Taxpayers
Federation,” said Jordan Bateman, No
TransLink Tax spokesperson and CTF
B.C. Director. “Our campaign didn’t have
millions of taxpayer dollars or fancy CEOs
committing their groups to our cause – we
had everyday taxpayers who simply believe
TransLink wastes too much of our money to
be trusted with any more of it. This is a win
for all of us.”
> NEWS page 3
Photo by Tota Mendez
By the MetroVan Independent News Team
The Ontario Superior Court is hearing
arguments today and Friday from a
coalition of groups seeking an injunction
against a couple of key elements of the
Conservative government's Fair Elections
Act.
The group, comprised of the Council
of Canadians, the Canadian Federation of
Students, and three private voters, wants
to restore the ability of Canada's Chief
Electoral Officer to allow the use of voter
information cards as proof of address, and
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@MetroVanNews
reinstate vouching provisions that would
allow electors to prove their identity.
The applicants filing the motion say they
are concerned that provisions in the Fair
Elections Act will systematically affect the
ability of certain groups to vote, including
youth, seniors, indigenous people, the
homeless and people with disabilities.
"We know that youth historically have
low voter turnout and so we want to see
changes to elections law that encourage
students and youth to vote," said Jessica
McCormick with the Canadian Federation
of Students.
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"The Fair Elections Act did the opposite,"
she said in an interview with CBC News.
The group has also filed a lawsuit
against the legislation, arguing that the
act violates section 3 of the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees
the "right to vote in an election of the
members of the House of Commons or of
a legislative assembly and to be qualified
for membership therein."
> NEWS page 3
Metro Vancouver
to impose fines on
food waste July 1
By Yul Baritugo
M e t r o Va n c o u ve r a n d m e m b e r
municipalities are proceeding with the
organics disposal ban.
Like other bans, it will be applied at
Metro Vancouver facilities.
We encourage food scraps recycling
because it's the right thing to do, it takes
waste out of our landfills, it reduces our
methane contributions, and it creates
compost and bio-energy.
> NEWS page 5