Elynn Ngu said it drives her nuts when people on the outside seat don’t get up or move when she tries to squeeze by.

Jeetinder Ghataurah said he’s irked by people with loud, annoying ring tones.

“(They) take forever to find the phone so it rings and rings forever.”

Commuters are not the only ones with transit peeves.

Lori Kaake, a transit operator for five years, said bus drivers try, but they can’t answer every question.

“We don’t know specific addresses and … there are so many different buses and not all drivers may be familiar with all the areas. We have a great website for trip planning.”

Transit operator Brian Revel said he wishes that passengers would realize “bus drivers are human too.”

“We do not deliberately run late or leave people behind. We do the best we can given the conditions.” 

Laura Ballance, a spokeswoman for the PNE, said there are no plans to bring back the parade — a Vancouver tradition that was scrapped 15 years ago, but revived for the centennial.

The parade was possible this year because of a federal “marquee event” tourism grant.

This season’s big opening-night concert also may not be repeated next year, since the temporary stadium that housed it may not still be standing.

Empire Fields is slotted for teardown with the re-opening of B.C. Place, which could be as early as July.

“It was unbelievable,” said Ballance, of the Bryan Adams and Beach Boys concert that opened this year’s fair.

“The excitement on the site, the excitement in the crowd in that stadium and the excitement of the performers was unsurpassed.”

Vancouver is celebrating its first Dr. Peter Week Sept. 3 to 10.

“In 2010, we are all a better, more hopeful people thanks to Dr. Peter and his inspirational work,” Hanks wrote.  “Vancouver and the world, (we’re) lucky to have him.”

Hanks won a best-actor Oscar for his role as a lawyer with AIDS in the 1993 movie Philadelphia.

The report, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that at least 11 per cent of all athletes at the games in February sustained injuries — including 20 concussions.

The study reported a total of 287 injuries among the 2,567 athletes, including the “catastrophic injury” that caused the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training crash before the opening ceremony on Feb. 12.

Brian Wood, 33, from Vancouver was killed and his pregnant wife injured after their car was hit by a woman taking off her sweater while driving.

Two other people died in that accident.

A B.C. woman is in critical condition in Washington State after crashing on her way home from the Gorge.

In Mission, one person was killed in a head-on collision and in Surrey a pedestrian died in a hit-and-run.

• The Vancouver International Fringe Festival starts Thursday and runs until Sept. 19.

• Davie Street will be closed to traffic Saturday for Davie Day — an annual celebration of West End culture.

• The Vancouver Comedy Fest runs from Sept. 16-26. Headliners include Tom Green and Neil Hamburger.

• Bard on the Beach Shakespeare festival wraps up its 2010 season Sept. 25.

The Wastech plant was evacuated and fire and emergency services were called around 8:30 a.m. Monday after workers began complaining of difficulty breathing and irritation in the throat and nasal passages.

A supervisor from a separate building, who went to check out the situation, immediately experienced the same health problems.

“They stated that when they were moving the trash around the facility, there was a sudden exposure as a result of a certain pile,” said Battalion Chief Lorne West, with the Surrey Fire Department.

“We arrived and followed our normal protocols for an unknown exposure, we isolated the workers until we could set up a decontamination unit and we scrubbed them down.”

After 30 to 40 minutes of breathing fresh outdoor air, the workers felt their symptoms dissipate and didn’t require hospitalization, West said.

The plant was closed for the rest of the day in order for experts to establish the source of the gas.

“We have to be sure that there’s nothing there that would cause it to happen again or cause it to grow worse,” West said.

“I suspect it will re-open fairly quickly.”

In documents released under a freedom of information request the institute suggested it may take five or more years for wages and jobs to recover from the HST.

But Chamber CEO John Winter says the report focused on the implications of the tax in Ontario, not B.C.

“The CD Howe report is really irrelevant, it has no applicability to British Columbia,” he said. “It was based on a model that was not the model of HST introduced into B.C.”

Winter also said the report fails to mention the HST exemptions in B.C.

“The exemptions that exist in the HST for British Columbia include things like motor fuel, food and medical services and on and on, those are not even referenced in the document,” he said.

Other documents released along with the CD Howe report showed B.C. bureaucrats were discussing the HST with officials in Ottawa in early 2009 and had prepared briefing notes on the tax for Finance Minister Colin Hansen before last year’s provincial election.

Hansen has insisted he wasn’t contemplating the tax before the election and his staff were just doing their jobs by studying the HST.

Hansen suffered an embarrassment Thursday when the president of the Liberal riding association in Langley, B.C. wrote on a blog that the finance minister ought to resign over the HST controversy.

“Under his ministry, the handling and implementation of the HST has been one blunder after another. And now his credibility is completely shot,” Jordan Bateman wrote.

But Hansen said he ironed out the disagreement with Bateman and the bog post was removed.

Jatinder Singh of Sikh Youth Vancouver says the Khalsa Diwan Society is stuck in old-school thinking that’s keeping youth away.

His group recently launched legal action against the society after questioning the transparency of its membership process at a Sikh temple.

Singh says the two sides have now complied with a B.C. Supreme Court judge’s order to agree on a third-party administrator who would oversee membership procedures before an election at the Ross Street Gurdwara.

He says Sikh youth are disengaged and need to connect with their culture and religion, but the society has not agreed to meet with his group to institute changes.

Kesar Bhatti, the society’s senior vice-president, has said Singh’s group is merely trying to take control of the temple and its money.

The Clan were shut out by the Western Oregon University Wolves 38-0 on Saturday.

Quarterback AJ Robinson led the Wolves with a 261-yard, three-touchdown performance, while Trevor Gates caught two TDs and four receptions for 69 yards.

Justin Ore also grabbed four passes for 95 yards, including a 49-yard scoring reception on the Wolves’ first drive of the game.

“It’s kind of like when you fight your older brother for the first time, you are going to get knocked around,” said SFU head coach Dave Johnson.

“I was actually very pleased with our effort, we didn’t quit in the second half, and really it was four or five major mental mistakes that led to their big plays.”

Western Oregon opened the scoring only three minutes into the first quarter when Robinson connected with Ore on a 49-yard touchdown strike.

Robinson added two more TD passes in the first half, connecting twice with Gates, first on a five-yard score, then on a 46-yard bomb to put the Wolves up 21-0.

Back-up quarterback Evan Mozzochi then stepped in for Robinson before the end of the first half and hit Josh McFarland on a 64-yard TD pass to put Western Oregon up 28-0 at the half.

Darryl Valdez racked up 98-yards on the ground for the Wolves, adding the final touchdown in the third quarter on a two-yard scamper, while Morgan Kelly hit a 50-yard field goal to finish the scoring.

The Clan registered only 104 yards through the air to the Wolves’ 339, as both starter Quinton Agosta and back-up Ryan Schwartz combined to complete only 11-for-33 passes with two interceptions.

Gabe Ephard finished as SFU’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 14 times for 64 yards. Freshman Casey Chin finished as the Clan’s leading tackler with eight tackles, while Kyle Bridge, Andrew Marshall and Justin Capicciotti each registered a sack for Simon Fraser.

“We already were talking about practice, about how we now know how hard we need to work,” said Ephard. “It was a tough lesson, but we did some positive things in the second half, and I think we can take a lot out of that moving forward.”

Hanging onto a 15-14 lead at the half, Alberta (1-0) scored 21 points in the third quarter.

Jess Valleau, Ryan Meraw and Ryley Richardson each caught touchdown passes in the third for the Golden Bears, who then held on as UBC rallied with 14 points in the fourth.

Alberta led 1-0 after the first quarter and made it 8-0 in the second after Marchand connected with Meraw on a 19-yard TD.

UBC (0-1) answered right back as quarterback Billy Greene found Spencer Betts for a 27-yard strike.

Smith Wright put Alberta back up 15-7 with a two-yard run, but the Thunderbirds ended the half down one after Greene found Betts in the end zone again with nine seconds left in the quarter.

After Alberta’s big third quarter, UBC made things interesting in the fourth.

Greene, who was 19-for-37 for 308 yards and 94 yards rushing, ran in an eight-yard touchdown and threw his third TD pass of the game to Ryan Couper with 1:04 left in the game.

Marchand finished the day 22-for-36 with two interceptions, while Alberta backup QB Michael Wojcicki added a TD completion of his own in the third quarter to Valleau.

Staff Sgt. Heather Stark said the incident occurred at about 1 a.m. Saturday and that the vehicle involved was heading eastbound on Fraser Highway.

Police don’t have a description of the vehicle but that its headlights may be damaged, Stark said.

Mounties believe the victim was on a bus shortly before he was hit and may have been involved in an altercation.

TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said the man fought with another passenger and caused some damage.

“He kicked out the window in the back door,” Snider said.

“Security was called, RCMP was called after the fight.”

He said the man, who witnesses described as about 19, ran off the bus shortly before he was struck and killed.

The province filed the lawsuit this week in B.C. Supreme Court under a recent piece of legislation that allows it to recover health-care costs in cases where someone is injured because of negligence or wrongdoing.

Two women were killed and 11 others injured when a fire broke out on a balloon operated by Fantasy Balloon Charters on Aug. 24, 2007, sending the flaming basket skyward before it plummeted into a nearby RV park.

A statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court targets Fantasy Balloon Charters, company owner and pilot Stephen Pennock, balloon manufacturer Aerostar International Inc., maintenance engineer Doug Scott, and the Canadian government.

The province is asking for the past and future costs associated with treating five of the passengers, who suffered a long list of injuries including traumatic brain damage, severe burns, broken bones and psychological illness.

The lawsuit says every one of the defendants was negligent or breached a duty in care of some way.

It alleges Fantasy Balloon Charters, Pennock and Scott made unsafe modifications to the balloon such as adding an extra propane tank, failing to properly inspect or maintain the balloon and allowing it to be operated while carrying too much weight.

It blames Fantasy Balloon Charters and Pennock for failing to ensure staff or passengers were properly trained and operating a balloon that the company and the pilot should have known was unsafe.

The document alleges Aerostar designed and manufactured a dangerous balloon, and it should have known the balloon was capable of catching fire.

Lastly, the province’s lawsuit alleges Transport Canada wrongly issued operating certificates for the balloon and its operators and failed to conduct adequate inspections of the balloon and the company to ensure the passengers were safe.

“The incident was caused by the negligence and/or breach of contract of the defendants,” says the statement of claim.

The document contains allegations that have yet to be tested in court, and none of the defendants have filed a statement of defence.

Pennock has also filed his own lawsuit targeting the balloon’s manufacturer and half a dozen U.S. firms involved in making or maintaining the balloon’s components, as well as several unnamed firms that made or supplied parts for the burner system.

Pennock said through a spokesperson that he believed the ongoing lawsuits will help get to the bottom of what caused the crash — and he was confident he would not be found at fault.

His spokesman, John Kageorge, said the government’s claims that the balloon wasn’t properly maintained or inspected were “unsupported allegations.” He also said the maintenance was provided by the manufacturer, and all repairs and modifications were approved by a Transport Canada-certified engineer.

“Three years ago, the lives of my passengers as well as some people at Hazelmere RV Park changed forever,” Pennock said in a written statement.

“Transport Canada has verified that the aircraft had been properly maintained and inspected. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel extreme sadness about the horrific accident.”

Kageorge said the Transportation Safety Board investigation, which noted several deficiencies with the balloon, its operation and existing federal regulations, was making recommendations to improve the hot air balloon industry, rather than laying blame for the crash.

Transport Canada issued a brief statement saying the “safety and security of the travelling public” are its top priorities, but declined to comment on the province’s lawsuit.

The family of the two people who died have launched a lawsuit, as have several homeowners whose units were gutted by the resulting fire.

The Health Care Cost Recovery Act was introduced in 2008 and took effect April 1, 2009, allowing the province to recover health-care costs by suing or joining existing lawsuits in cases where injuries were caused by negligence or wrongdoing.

The provincial government has recovered about $3.2 million and opened more than 5,000 such cases, although not all of those cases would have resulted in judgments.

Lawyers and insurers must notify the government whenever a lawsuit is launched that involves someone who was injured and treated in the provincial health-care system because of possible negligence. The province can then join those lawsuits or launch its own.

A Transportation Safety Board investigation found numerous problems with the balloon and called for stricter regulations for the hot air balloon industry and greater oversight by Transport Canada.

The safety board’s report, released in September 2008, found the balloon had been modified to accept a fourth propane tank and an additional auxiliary tank.

The line to the fourth tank somehow came loose, igniting the propane and causing a fire that engulfed the basket as the passengers and pilot prepared for takeoff.

The investigation also found there was no master shut-off for the fuel tanks, more than 65 per cent of the balloon fabric had been replaced over time and the balloon “substantially” exceeded the maximum allowable weight at the time of the crash.

The TSB report said the safety issues that contributed to the crash might have been identified by periodic Transport Canada inspections.

Forty-nine-year-old Shannon Knackstedt and her 21-year-old daughter Gemma were killed in the crash.

Goldcorp’s announcement came early Friday, shortly after Eldorado (TSX:ELD) made a renwed $3.4-billion merger offer of its own for the same company. Eldorado had been in talks with Andean for two years and submitted a bid in August that was rejected by Andean’s board.

Andean’s (TSX:AND) main asset is the Cerro Negro gold project in Argentina, estimated to contain 2.1 million ounces of gold and 20.6 million ounces of silver.

The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close later this year or in early 2011.

Goldcorp says the cash and share transaction will add to its global gold mining portfolio of projects in North, Central and South America.

“This transaction adds another key asset to Goldcorp’s peer-leading growth profile and low-cost gold production pipeline,” Chuck Jeannes, Goldcorp’s president and CEO, said in a release before stock markets opened.

“Cerro Negro is a high-grade, near-surface system that is expected to generate significant gold production at low cash operating costs following a relatively short construction period. A very exciting feature of the project is the opportunity for significant continued growth of gold resources through expansion of the existing deposits and the discovery of additional zones along the strike of the veins. As well, the potential exists for discoveries of new veins within this large, prospective land position.”

Under terms of the deal, each Andean common share will be exchanged for 0.14 of a Goldcorp share or $6.50 in cash, up to a maximum of $1 billion in cash.

Shareholders can choose stock, cash or a combination of both.

Andean is based in Utah and is listed on the Toronto and Australian stock markets. It acquired the Cerro Negro gold deposit in southern Argentina in 2004.

Wayne Hubert, Andean’s CEO, said the deal benefits both companies and allows for the development of Cerro Negro into a key gold project.

“This acquisition by Goldcorp, an industry leading senior gold producer, attests to Cerro Negro’s potential. The Goldcorp and Andean philosophies of responsible mining are very similar, so I see continuity of our plans into the future, enhanced by the additional resources Goldcorp will bring.”

Late Thursday, Vancouver-based Eldorado said it has offered to exchange each Andean share for 0.31 of an Eldorado share, valuing the company at $3.4 billion based on Thursday’s closing stock price.

This is a 62 per cent premium to Andean’s 20-day volume-weighted average share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The proposal would see Andean shareholders own approximately 24 per cent of the combined company. Eldorado said it has not yet received any response to the proposal, which was submitted on Aug. 30. A proposal submitted earlier in the month was rejected by Andean’s board.

“We believe the enlarged entity will be favourably viewed by Eldorado and Andean shareholders and the markets and look forward to receiving feedback from all shareholders and to further discussing the proposed transaction with the board of Andean,” stated Eldorado president and CEO Paul Wright.

“Eldorado believes the combined company will offer investors the most compelling gold vehicle available — a low-cost, high-growth, solidly performing company fully exposed to higher gold prices through unhedged production, reserves and expanding resources,” he added.

Eldorado is a low-cost gold producer with operations in China, Turkey, Brazil and Greece.

The friendly agreement reached Friday isn’t the first time Goldcorp has scooped up assets from one of its competitors.

Earlier this year, Goldcorp was embroiled in another dramatic acquisition when it stepped in and bought a controlling interest in the El Morro gold-copper project in Chile from junior miner New Gold Inc. (TSX:NGD).

The deal agitated Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX), the world’s largest gold producer, which had already announced last October that it had struck an agreement for the property with Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata.

However, Goldcorp had lent $463 million to New Gold, which had the right of first refusal on the property. Under that agreement, New Gold exercised its right for an additional $50 million in cash from Goldcorp.

The final deal gave Goldcorp 70 per cent of El Morro while New Gold retained its 30 per cent holding.

Barrick has since launched a lawsuit that alleges the deal is illegal.

Vancouver Police Insp. Rick McKenna says the Emergency Response Team was sent to the Shangri-La building after a man well-known to them called police to say he was being held against his will.

McKenna says the victim managed to get to a stairwell and was eventually rescued after suffering severe injuries to his face.

Two men and a woman were arrested and police are looking for a third man.

One witness says he was eating at the Shangri-La Market just after eight o’clock when he saw officers with guns drawn try to stop a car weaving down Alberni Street. (News1130)

“Hi, my name is Allen. I’m the guy in Christina Lake who’s been feeding the bears,” said Allen Piche in a video posted online.

The bears have become world famous after RCMP stumbled across the docile creatures as officers roamed fields of marijuana on a wooded property in British Columbia’s southeast.

While Piche makes no mention of charges police laid against two adults in their 40s for the alleged grow-op, he calmly spoke of developments in the bears’ livelihoods.

“(Conservation officers have) assured me now that we will not be killing any bears,” he said in the video.

But B.C.’s environment minister on Thursday said he is concerned the video will set a bad example.

“The most disturbing thing about that video from my perspective is that it could create an impression with people watching the video that it’s OK to feed wildlife like bears,” Barry Penner said. 

They protested in front of the Westin Bayshore Hotel downtown.

The “Make a Green Choice” program, which was implemented earlier this summer, offers hotel guests a $5-voucher toward food and drinks if they forgo housekeeping services for the day.

The workers also said that when guests don’t have their rooms cleaned daily, it takes them “two to three times longer to clean.” 

On Thursday, the team announced that Whitecaps FC coach Teitur Thordarson would continue at the helm in the 2011 season, the team’s first in Major League Soccer.

Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi praised the 58-year-old Icelander for his even-keel temperament and ability to motivate players without yelling.

Thordarson, he said, is also a great ambassador for a sport that is beloved around the world but still trying to sell itself to North American audiences.

He also joked that, with the signing, the club was forced to implement a ban on elaborate Icelandic-style goal celebrations (there are a several on YouTube — search for Stjarnan).

Thordarson joined the club in 2007. Despite capturing the USL-1 championship in his first season and making it to the final in his second, the former Estonian national team coach said he felt like he had to prove himself this season.

“It’s the same process for me as the players. We’ve been assessed all the way though. The team is performing and I think I’m a part of that.”

“The first couple of weeks of September are traditionally the busiest times for public transportation in Metro Vancouver,” said TransLink spokesperson Ken Hardie.

“Class-time service” will return on most routes going to local colleges and universities. 

“Literally thousands of students transfer each day from SkyTrain to buses at historical choke points like Commercial-Broadway, Broadway-City Hall and Production Way Stations,” Hardie said.

“While it’s not possible to add more buses on most routes, TransLink can now use larger buses in some areas.”

The No. 49 Metrotown/UBC will see 60-foot articulated buses at times during peak periods, made available when the Canada Line began service.

This frees up vehicles formerly used on the 98 B-Line and will help address some of the capacity issues on the busy route serving UBC and Langara. 

Nearly 90 per cent of people in B.C. said they found dining out has become more expensive, and 67 per cent said their basic groceries had become pricier.

Sixty-three per cent said the added tax has made cellphone bills go up, and 29 per cent said children’s clothes are now more expensive.

The province of B.C. responded to the poll with a statement saying some of the goods and services British Columbians claim to be more expensive are actually HST-exempt.

“Seventy-six per cent of people thought basic groceries were more expensive. There’s no HST on basic groceries,” said the release.

It added that tax on cellphone bills and children’s clothing hasn’t changed, either.

In Ontario, where the HST was introduced on the same day, the poll found that slightly more than half of respondents have changed their spending habits. 

The controversial $1.1-billion development should’ve been an easy sell due to its breathtaking waterfront location and attention to environmental design, but many units sit unsold.

Taxpayers despise the cost to build the project — and point most recently to its $36-million community centre that sits mostly empty.

Despite the piling on, it would be unwise to say the Olympic Village is doomed to failure. Over two decades ago, another prominent city neighbourhood was borne of a major civic event: Expo 86.

The emerging but much-maligned area was Yaletown/False Creek North. The critics then pointed to empty residential towers financed by offshore dollars and little street-level activity or atmosphere.

But who’s writing off that neighbourhood now?

The bottom line is that the Olympic Village — with its density potential, its central waterfront location, and its linkages to transit — will eventually thrive.

As for softening condo sales? Let the free market take care of that.

It may take a decade or more, but this village will live up to the gold standard that its name implies.

Former Premier Bill Vander Zalm says the documents, released under a freedom of information request, show the government was talking to Ottawa about the HST months before the provincial election in 2009, despite denials from the provincial Liberals.

“This document shows the premier and finance minister not only did not tell the truth during the election, but they repeated that deception over and over again afterward,” Vander Zalm said in a news release. “Now they’ve been caught red-handed, and they must resign.”

However, Hansen said government bureaucrats were just doing their jobs examining the HST and were not taking any political direction from the Liberals.

“They were doing what they normally do, and that’s to collect information about tax policy issues,” he said. “And when Ontario made their decision to go the HST, they did their due diligence and gathered information.”

Hansen confirmed Wednesday he briefly examined an HST briefing document in March 2009, but did not seriously consider adopting the tax until after the provincial election that May.

Vander Zalm also said a report included in the documents warned that the HST would have a negative impact on the B.C. economy but the Liberals told the public the HST was the best thing they could do for the economy.

“It turns out they were not telling the truth about that either, since they were fully aware of a C.D. Howe Institute study showing the exact opposite,” he said.

Opposition New Democrat leader Carole James said she can’t believe the government went ahead with the HST when it had information the tax could hurt the economy for years.

“When you’re in a difficult economic time, when you’re in a recession, when we haven’t seen the tentative signs of recovery, a tax that’s going to going to discourage consumer confidence, going to slow down our economy, slow down our growth — why would you bring in that tax?” she said.

The city posted detailed block-to-block diagrams and images of the proposed route on its website on Thursday and announced a second open house to give people the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.

Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a release the separated bike lane would help create a more complete and safe cycling network.

The diagrams illustrate how the bike route will impact traffic, parking and bus stops.

For example, the busy corner where Hornby intersects West Georgia shows parking has been removed along the side of the Hotel Vancouver to allow two through lanes, one turning lane and the bike lane that is separated by a row of flower boxes.

The city, which has received more than 2,000 comments about the bike route, announced a second open house Wednesday at the Pacific Centre Mall rotunda.

Falling home sales suggest people cannot afford to pay more for housing, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report says.

In a worst-case scenario, Vancouver homeowners could see a 20 per cent depreciation in their properties over three years. That’s the equivalent of nearly $200,000 on the average home. New homeowners and young families would suffer most, the report adds.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report says the steep rise in house prices — which now sit at 4.7 to 11.3 times Canadians’ annual income in many cities — is an “accident waiting to happen.”

It would take only a one to 1.25 per cent mortgage rate increase by Canada’s big banks to cause a housing crash similar to the one the U.S. is grappling with, according to the report.

with files from the canadian press

“We need the federal government to stand up for our best interest,” said Stephanie Goodwin, as she also called for a ban on oil tankers off B.C.’s coast.

About 100 people marched through downtown in pounding rain to protest the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, a proposed multi-billion dollar twin pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat.

In addition to the risk of a burst pipeline or tanker accident, Goodwin said the proposed pipeline is opposed by First Nations. Its path would cross thousands of streams, many of them salmon-bearing and could lead to the fragmentation of animal habitat.

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh and New Democrat MPs Fin Donnelly and Don Davies echoed Goodwin’s call for a legislated ban on oil tankers. 

Faisal Moola, science and conservation director at the David Suzuki Foundation, said grizzly bears in particular are listed as threatened and legislation should be implemented to protect them by ending the hunt.

“There is great uncertainly on how many grizzly bears are in B.C. and whether or not the population can sustain an annual cull,” he said. “(Bears already) face a perfect storm of human threat from loss of habitat to the effects of climate change.”

Moola said non-lethal tours that allow people to see bears in the wild generate twice as much revenue annually as guided hunts while being sustainable.

But Dirk Schuirmann, a guide at Bear Lake Guide and Outfitters, said sightseeing tours are more disruptive to bears than hunting.

“(Bears) get disturbed and they stop breeding,” Schuirmann said. “The population would eventually decline if hunting was banned because the male bears would attack each other.

Trophy hunting can be good if you target males because … they kill more female bears and cubs than hunters.”

Schuirmann added the thousands of dollars spent on licence and tag fees goes straight to conservation and wildlife research. 

This is the finding of an Angus Reid poll released Tuesday, which found only four per cent of Canadians have donated to relief efforts in Pakistan compared to nearly 40 per cent in Haiti.

Roughly 20 million people in Pakistan have been affected by the flooding in June that’s left one fifth of the country under water.

That means more people have been left sick, injured, homeless and unemployed than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2005 Kashmir earthquake and Haiti earthquake in January.

Nathan Huculak, with the Canadian Red Cross, Western Canada, said it’s difficult to surmise exactly what motivates people to donate, but the nature of the disaster – rather than its aftermath – could be a determinant.

“The flood was a slow onset disaster and the impacts have been slower to reveal themselves,” he said. “(Earthquakes) have a dramatic and immediate result.

“Canadians have been incredibly generous in support of Red Cross relief efforts in the past, particularly in the 2005 Pakistani earthquake, so location doesn’t bear out as the main factor.”

Huculak said time of year and fatality rates could also have an influence on how an event is reported and the public’s perception of the need for aid.

During summer, he said, Canadians may be paying less attention to news. Equally, when a disaster has a high death toll – like Haiti – it may inspire more donations than a low death toll – like Pakistan’s flood.

The Angus Reid survey found there is a perception that the money will not be put to good use. More than 10 per cent of survey respondents said they didn’t think any of the relief money will be used to help Pakistanis in need.

This is compared to 38 per cent in the case of Haitian donations.

“The differences in the reaction to both tragedies are staggering,” the report said. “Lack of information and the absence of a televised telethon might be some of the reasons for the dissimilar reaction from Canadians.

“The humanitarian needs (in Pakistan) are great and they will continue for months if not years after the waters subside,” Huculak said. “Donating is the best way to help.”

By the numbers

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
o    Death toll: 228,000
o    Survivors left homeless: more than 500,000
o    Worldwide donations: more than $7.5 billion
o    Canadian donations: $365 million

2005 Kashmir earthquake:
o    Death toll: 74,700
o    Worldwide donations: more than $5 billion

2010 Haiti earthquake:
o    Death toll: 92,000 – 230,000
o    Survivors left homeless: 1 million
o    Canadian donations: more than $135 million, more per capita than any other country

-    2010 Pakistan flood:
o    Death toll: as many as 20,000
o    Survivors left homeless: 4 million
o    Canadian donations: roughly $35 million

To donate to Red Cross relief efforts in Pakistan, visit redcross.ca. Other ways to donate include:

• By phone toll-free at 1-800-418-1111
• In person at any Red Cross office
• By cheque or money order to Canadian Red Cross, 170 Metcalfe Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2P2. Earmark your donation “Pakistan Floods.”
• Donate $5 by texting REDCROSS to 30333. A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your cellphone bill. 

“It does look like the rainiest day since January 2005, which was in the middle of a rainstorm that (sent) a house down a hill in North Vancouver,” said John McIntyre, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

He said the sun should come back out sometime this afternoon.

Insp. Tim Shields said in a news release yesterday the allegations are that for seven minutes on Aug. 18, four RCMP officers, two civilian cell guards and a civilian watch clerk — all of them men — watched the two women engage in what appeared to be consensual sex without intervening.

The women had been arrested in two unrelated incidents for and were being held in a cell that is monitored by closed-circuit video, said Shields.

Don’t let your summer end without spending at least one evening at the festival-style show.

Tonight, Canadian Jesse Cook (Fall At Your Feet, On Walks The Night) takes the stage with his eclectic sound that’s made him famous all over the world.

The Summer Night Concerts are included with a Fair Gate Admission pass.

They cost $20 at the gate and $16.80 at www.pne.ca.

The Vancouver-based company said more than 95 per cent of the votes cast at special meeting Tuesday were in favour of the deal, which will see Uranium One issue 356 million common shares, worth about $1.3 billion at their most recent market price, to JSC Atomredmetzoloto, also known as ARMZ.

In exchange, Uranium One will acquire interests in two Kazakhstan uranium mines plus US$610 million in cash. Approximately $479 million of this will be paid directly to shareholders by way of a special dividend of $1.06 per share.

A majority of Uranium One’s board will continue to be comprised of independent directors. However, the board will be reduced to nine directors from 13 and ARMZ will be entitled to appoint three. Canadian mining veteran Ian Telfer will continue as chairman and Jean Nortier will remain as chief executive officer.

Uranium One is one of the world’s largest publicly traded uranium producers, with a portfolio of assets in Kazakhstan, the United States, South Africa and Australia. The company has a primary stock listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg stock market.

Shares in Uranium One were unchanged at C$3.52 in Tuesday trading on the TSX.

Vancouver-based YS said Tuesday it will offer 12 cents a share for all the outstanding shares of Tagish Lake.

This exceeds another bid on the table from Vancouver-based New Pacific Metals Corp. (TSXV:NUX), which is offering nine cents in cash, 0.1233 of a common New Pacific share or a combination of half in cash and half in shares for Tagish Lake.

New Pacific’s offer expires on Sept. 15, while YS said its bid will be open for at least 35 days.

The deal requires the approval of at least half of Tagish Lake’s shareholders. YS said about six per cent of the company’s shares have entered into a lock-up agreement. The company already owns about 11 per cent of Tagish Lake.

About 41 per cent of YS is owned by Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. (TSX:YNG), and the rest is owned by Chinese company Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Co. Ltd.

Tagish Lake is a junior gold miner with gold-silver deposits in the Yukon.

Shares in Tagish added half a cent to 11 cents in Tuesday trading on the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Vancouver-based company, which is developing the Kitsault molybdenum mine in B.C., said both losses amounted to less than a penny a share.

The miner did not disclose any revenue for the three months ended June 30.

Looking ahead, Avanti (TSXV:AVT) says it is looking at selling a minority interest in the Kitsault project.

“This strategy, if successful, will be less dilutive to the shareholders than raising the required equity through the public equity markets,” Avanti said in a news release.

“The company is in discussions with potential strategic partners.”

Vancouver-based Avanti said a final feasibility study will be available by the end of October, which will include a US$50-million to US$70-million reduction in the initial capital costs.

According to the company, Kitsault has proven and probable reserves of 215 million tonnes.

Shares of Avanti Mining were unchanged at 17 cents in afternoon trading Tuesday on the TSX Venture market.

The first incident happened at a house party near 18th Avenue and Nootka Street, said Insp. John Grywinski.

“A group of young males had attempted to crash the party and a fight ensued,” he said.
Three men were stabbed in the face. A fourth victim was stabbed in the abdomen and rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

No suspects were arrested.

Less than an hour later, police were called to Brunswick Street and East 5th Avenue where a man had been stabbed in the head.

Police arrested a suspect nearby.

All five victims are expected to make a full recovery, police added.

“We tend to ignore the house that is the most common in the city,” said Elana Zysblat, programming director with the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.

Each year, the foundation had hosted heritage tours that featured different decades. Tour goers began to joke that eventually the foundation would begin running tours of Vancouver Specials.
Zysblat said ignoring the Special, was like “ignoring the elephant in the room.”

The houses were built from the mid-60s to mid-80s, predominately on the East Side by blue-collar immigrant families. The simple boxy houses were designed to maximize square footage on Vancouver’s 33-foot lots.

At the time, the explosion of Specials, was “scary” for the establishment and resulted in the house-style’s poor reputation from the beginning.

To this day, Vancouver Specials can be a polarizing subject, and bring out “strong emotions,” she said, for people who love them and for people who hate them.

The tour, which is now in its second year, will look at four modernized and renovated Specials. Last year, the foundation sold 600 tickets, many to realtors and people who owned Specials themselves.

The tour runs Sept. 25 from 12 to 5 p.m. For tickets and information visit vancouverheritagefoundation.org.

Daniel Sturm is believed to be with Kenneth Morey, 56. They were last seen in a white Honda Accord, B.C. licence plate 045 NFM.