For more information on press releases contact:
Office of Guy Gentner
MLA for Delta-North
Tel: 604.597.1488
January 20, 2009
For Immediate Release
NORTH DELTA - With the lengthy shutdown of the Pattullo Bridge, Delta can expect to see major shifts in traffic movement throughout Delta said Guy Gentner, MLA for Delta North. “Today’s congestion along Hwy 91 and the Alex Fraser Bridge is evidence of what the residents of Delta will experience in the future. It is only going to get worse and neighbourhoods in North Delta will be the ones to suffer.”
For Immediate Release
November 14, 2008
IT’S TIME TO PROTECT OUR SENIORS AND NOT PLAY POLITICS, SAY NDP MLAS
SURREY – New Democrat MLAs in the South Fraser region are calling on their Liberal counterparts to join them in standing up for seniors who are facing eviction from Zion Park Manor.
“It’s time for our whole community to work together to stop these evictions and save the beds at Zion Park Manor,” said Delta North MLA Guy Gentner, the NDP critic for seniors’ health. “Everyone knows it’s a bad decision to close these beds – it’s bad for the residents, bad for the families and bad for our whole community.”
Gentner said the distress caused by news of the plan to close 71 beds at Zion Park has been compounded by flip-flops and misinformation from the Campbell government.
http://bcndpcaucus.ca
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Nov. 10, 2008
B.C. Liberals ignore bed shortage and family outrage
SURREY – The announcement that 71 seniors’ care beds in Surrey will be closed is more evidence that the Campbell government is short-sighted and out of touch when it comes to seniors’ care, New Democrat seniors’ critic Guy Gentner said today.
“The Campbell government just never learns,” said Gentner. “Without any consultation, the government has announced that 71 residents of Zion Park Manor in Cloverdale will be relocated because the beds are being shut down.”
Gentner pointed to a recent report by the Auditor General that questions the competence of the Campbell government in terms of planning and determining demand for seniors care. “We know that the seniors’ population is growing rapidly, so why is the Campbell government closing long-term care beds?” said Gentner.
http://bcndpcaucus.ca
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 28, 2008
CAMPBELL’S SOUTH FRASER ROAD PLANS PUT BOG & FARMLAND AT RISK, SAYS NDP
DELTA – The Campbell government’s plan to push ahead with an environmentally destructive route for the South Fraser Perimeter Road without proper consultation or consideration of alternatives is a betrayal of the community of Delta, New Democrat MLA Guy Gentner said today.
“The timing is certainly ironic, given that this weekend was the 17th International Bog Days – while British Columbians were celebrating the beauty of Burns Bog, the Campbell government was pushing forward with a plan that could ruin the bog forever,” said Gentner, the MLA for Delta North.
On Friday, the proposed 80-kilometre highway between Surrey and Delta received a provincial environmental assessment certificate.
New Democrat
Official Opposition
http://bcndpcaucus.ca
VICTORIA – The Campbell government should listen to the people of Delta about their concerns over the power lines instead of using intimidation tactics to silence them, says New Democrat MLA Guy Gentner.
"The Campbell government is ploughing ahead with its plans to run power lines through residential neighbourhoods without listening to the concerns of Delta residents and the municipality," said Gentner, the MLA for Delta North.
"Now we learn that instead of listening to the concerns and considering alternatives, Campbell is allowing the B.C. Transmission Corporation to intimidate residents as part of a court case," Gentner said. "Carole James and the New Democrats are saying this intimidation must stop and the government should work with the residents and the municipality to resolve the problem."
BCTC admits it has conducted surveillance on Delta residents, including photos and videos of people at their homes.
MLA Guy Gentner stepped up his assertion that Premier Gordon Campbell was in a conflict of interest by providing the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, Paul Fraser, with an addendum to the original documents regarding Order in Council 787 filed May 27, 2008.
The addendum, sent to the Commissioner June 12, 2008, contends that in 2006 the Premier had signed another Order in Council (OIC 96) which changes the natural gas extraction industry to be a “manufacturer” and exempt from provincial sales tax. “This change is only applied to natural gas industries. Other extraction industries such as forestry and farming need not apply,” said Guy Gentner, who is very concerned about the inequity of benefits provided to BC’s primary resource industries.
New Democrate
Official Opposition
Media Advisory
VANCOUVER - New Democrat MLAs are playing an exhibition match against The Vancouve Dream Catchers homeless soccer team on Tuesday, June 10 at Oppenheimer Field in Vancouver.
The Dream Catchers are a co-ed soccer team made up of people living in Vancouver who are or have been homeless in the last two years. The Dream Catchers are playing the exhibition match with the NDP caucus as part of their preparations for the 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia in December.
The game is sponsored by Street Soccer Canada and Helping Spirit Lodge. Street Soccer Canada is a nation-wide grassroots organization committed to using sports to empower the homeless.
What: New Democrat MLAs vs. Vancouver Dream Catchers exhibition soccer match
Where: Oppenheimer Field, 400 Powell Street, Vancouver BC
When: Tuesday June 10, 2008, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Team includes:
David Chudnovsky
Raj Chouhan
Adrian Dix
Rob Fleming
Guy Gentner
MLA Guy Gentner is concerned that the push for integrated policing for the lower mainland may not be taking into account the importance of community.
“I fully understand why people would want an integrated police force. The thinking is that one police force would be better at catching the bad guys than several municipal forces. This stems from the grief of recent crimes and frustration that the bad guys seem to be getting away with it,” said MLA Gentner. “However, to quote [Chief Constable] Jim Cessford, let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water.”
“The strongest proponent for integration is Vancouver because they’d have the most to gain by accessing our resources. We’d have the most to lose, because under integration, our officers who know us best will be working elsewhere and we will have strangers driving around once in a while to see if we’re okay. Well, I’m not okay with that.”
http://bcndpcaucus.ca
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 27, 2008
NEW CONFLICT COMPLAINT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT
PREMIER’S SALE OF ENERGY SHARES
VICTORIA –NDP MLA Guy Gentner filed a complaint with B.C.’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner today regarding the Premier’s sale of shares in an energy company.
“The purchase and sale of the Premier’s direct shares in Terra Energy raises troubling questions that I believe require an independent investigation by B.C.’s Conflict Commissioner,” said Gentner, MLA for Delta North.
Gentner’s complaint flows from the Premier’s sale of shares he purchased from Terra Energy in 2005. Following the share purchase, the Premier signed a regulation granting energy companies, including Terra Energy, the right to claim pipelines as a tax deduction. The change allowed for a significant decrease in corporate taxes and increases in profitability. In April 2006, the Premier sold his shares at a profit.
For Immediate Release
May 15, 2008
VICTORIA - The Campbell government has been registered with the Guinness Book of World Records for avoiding questions with the excuse “it’s before the courts” more than any other government around the world.
Delta North MLA Guy Gentner told the Legislature about the world record in a statement today. He said it will take up to three months for Guinness to confirm the world record, but he is confident that no other government has matched Campbell’s.
"The count today is 125 and climbing,” Gentner told the Legislature. “The count will continue until the end of session. It's a dreadful record - a record no other government will want to beat.
"This matter is no longer just before the courts," Gentner said in the legislature, "but is now before the Guinness Book of World Records."