Nov
04
2011
Surrey welcomes capital funding for schools, but thinks more needs to be done
SCC In the News 0
There has been widespread response to Christy Clark’s announcement of capital funding for schools in Surrey and Victoria Island. The New Democrats say the announcement of capital funding for schools is long overdue, and that it is about time the Liberal government started listening to parents, educators and communities who are concerned about overcrowded schools and students going to classes in portables. “Parents and students have been calling on the Liberals to make these investments for years,” said New Democrat education critic Robin Austin. “It’s good to see the Liberals have finally started to reverse course from their history of
Nov
04
2011
Truck forum addresses parking issues in Surrey
SCC In the News 0
The Surrey Civic Coalition hosted another forum for the trucking community at its campaign office. Rina Gill, a SCC candidate for City Council, has been working with the trucking community for years in an attempt to “find solutions to lack of safe, adequate truck parking facilities in Surrey.” She said the main focus of the was to address the “lack of action on truck parking issues by the current Surrey City Council,” and, just as importantly, give the truckers a platform to discuss other issues they may be experiencing. Gill said there are thousands of truck drivers registered in Surrey,
Nov
03
2011
Civic hopefuls take stance on homelessness
SCC In the News 0
About 60 people gathered in Surrey’s brand new City Centre library Wednesday night to get the first look at the candidates in the upcoming civic election. Hosted by the Surrey Homelessness and Housing Task Force, the event was slated as a “Candidates’ Cafe.” Seven round tables each hosted slightly different topics regarding homelessness, including addiction, youth, seniors, etc. In groups of two and three, candidates were given 15 minutes at each table. Out of that time, the civic hopefuls were grilled by facilitators and then questioned by the group at the table. Table six was considered a “general” topic table,
Nov
03
2011
SCC calls for a Regional Rental Registry and a new SCDC
SCC News Releases 1
The Surrey Civic Coalition (SCC) is calling for the creation of a Regional Rental Registry and the restructuring of the Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC). The recommendations followed an all candidates’ debate Wednesday sponsored by the Surrey Housing and Homelessness Task Force. Gary Robinson, an SCC Council candidate who currently serves on the task force, said the majority of the participants at the debate agreed with SCC’s recommendations. Robinson says the city-owned SCDC “should stop competing with the private sector in land development and refocus its energy in providing more affordable housing in Surrey.” He said a registry should be
Nov
01
2011
Surrey Civic Coalition promises to fight for better transit service
SCC In the News 0
As voting day nears, the Surrey Civic Coalition is pledging to push for expanded transit service in the fast-growing city. “Surrey is a have-not city when it comes to transit,” SCC council candidate Stephanie Ryan told the Straight by phone. “We’ve paid into TransLink for so many years and gotten a fraction of the service hours that communities north of the Fraser have gotten.” “Just a lack of access to transit is a huge issue,” she said. Ryan said top priorities for the SCC include the need for more buses on Fraser Highway. “The buses along that route are always
Nov
01
2011
SCC’s Elford favours reducing garbage over waste incinerators
SCC Doug Elford, News Releases 0
Are garbage incinerators in the plans for the people of Surrey? The current Surrey First Council is not even sure themselves. All along, it seemed every Surrey First councillor favoured burning our garbage in what they called waste-to-energy plants. Now, on the eve of the election, the mayor says otherwise. The Surrey Civic Coalition is opposed to garbage incinerators. I am sure the residents in Surrey are not in favor of smokestacks in their neighborhoods. The claim of modern technology being able to scrub out the particulates goes waning whenever I get a whiff of the stench of the local
Oct
31
2011
Schools announcement falls short of needs and expectations, says SCC
SCC News Releases 0
The Surrey Civic Coalition welcomes the new schools Premier Clark is promising on the eve of the civic election but says it falls far short of what Surrey needs. SCC says six schools are needed immediately and eight more, a total of 14 schools, are needed to keep up with Surrey’s growth in the next few years. “Surrey has been starved for new schools for years, so any announcement of new school construction is most welcome. But the reality is, this is less than the Board had hoped for. Surrey has gone from being six years behind to being four
Oct
31
2011
Surrey teachers endorse SCC slate of trustee hopefuls
SCC In the News 0
SURREY – Surrey teachers have endorsed the Surrey Civic Coalition slate of candidates for school board. Surrey Teachers’ Association president Denise Moffatt said Friday the union believes the SCC candidates would be the strongest advocates for public education. “We also believe that the candidates best reflect the diversity and multiculturalism in the community,” Moffatt said. Moffatt said the current board is comprised “predominantly of English-speaking Caucasian candidates” and the STA would like to see the makeup of the board better reflect the city’s ethnicity. The SCC team includes Ram Sidhu, Moh Chelali, Sukhy Dhillon, Charlene Dobie, Laurence Greeff and incumbent
Oct
31
2011
SCC to host Forum for Surrey’s Trucking community on November 4
SCC News Releases, Rina Gill 0
The Surrey Civic Coalition will be hosting another forum for the trucking community Friday, November 4 at 7pm at its campaign office, 109-12414 82 Ave. Rina Gill, an SCC candidate for City Council, has been working with the trucking community for years in an attempt to “find solutions to lack of safe, adequate truck parking facilities in Surrey.” She said the main focus of the forum is to address the “lack of action on truck parking issues by the current Surrey City Council,” and, just as importantly, give the truckers a platform to discuss other issues they may be experiencing.
Oct
29
2011
Six schools today; eight more in the next five years
SCC News Releases 0
The Surrey Civic Coalition says Surrey needs six schools immediately, but says Surrey needs another eight within the next five years just to keep up with growth. Ijaz Chatha, SCC Board of Education Trustee, said, “It’s true, Surrey is at least six schools short of where we should be right now. But it will take several years to build those schools. “I am a realtor by profession. I know Surrey is not going to stop growing. We need to catch up on new school construction immediately but we also have to plan right now for the years ahead. “Surrey will