TransLink Pulls Newsboxes

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and a North Vancouver NDP candidate have questioned TransLink's decision to remove newsboxes from Waterfront Station shortly before a B.C. election campaign.

On April 14-the day before Prime Minister Paul Martin was scheduled to make an announcement near the SeaBus terminal-TransLink seized newsboxes of several publications, including the Georgia Straight. The Straight distributes up to 2,000 copies weekly to TransLink passengers, many of whom are bound for North Vancouver on the SeaBus.

Craig Keating, the NDP candidate in North Vancouver-Lonsdale, told the Straight that he is concerned about the timing of the decision. "On the eve of an election, I think TransLink had better tread very carefully around anything that limits the diversity of media," Keating said.

Last week, the Straight published two election-related articles as part of a cover package: one featured a fictitious "devil" giving campaign advice to the three major party leaders; the other highlighted Premier Gordon Campbell's dismal voting record in the legislature.

BCCLA president Jason Gratl told the Straight that his organization is "very concerned" about recent efforts by TransLink and the City of Surrey to restrict access to media. Gratl added that he thinks it's far too early to "micromanage the box issue".

"We think there is an obligation on municipalities and on TransLink to provide reasonable space that should be equitably distributed to several publishers," Gratl said.

TransLink spokesperson Ken Hardie told the Straight that publishers did a poor job maintaining newsboxes at Waterfront Station. He described the area as "an absolute disaster", with garbage and even discarded needles strewn against the wall behind the boxes. "We took them out because we simply had to clean up," he said.

Shortly after the boxes were removed, TransLink permitted 24 hours, a daily commuter paper jointly owned by B.C. billionaire Jimmy Pattison and Quebecor Inc., to place hawkers in the atrium. According to an April 18 e-mail written by TransLink's John Beaudoin, 24 hours contracted with TransLink's advertising licensee, Lamar Advertising, to distribute papers at this location.

Hardie insisted there was no input from TransLink chairman Doug McCallum, who is the mayor of Surrey and a staunch Liberal supporter. Initially, Hardie wouldn't provide any assurances that the boxes of other publications-including Xtra! West, Shared Vision, the Vancouver Courier, and the North Shore Outlook-would be returned to the terminal prior to the May 17 provincial election.

However, after being alerted to Keating's comments, Hardie sent an e-mail to the Straight saying boxes of "branded publications" could be returned to the location by Monday (April 25) and possibly sooner. TransLink also plans to introduce newsracks that carry several publications in one large dispenser.

Meanwhile, the City of Surrey recently began enforcing a bylaw that only paid publications with permits may place their boxes on public property. McCallum has told media outlets that this was in response to new commuter dailies placing boxes on sidewalks without permits. McCallum did not return a call from the Straight.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of expression, including freedom of the press. "With regard to the Surrey bylaw, we would say that free expression isn't contingent on purchase of that expression," Gratl said.

On April 18, District of North Vancouver council voted 6-1 in favour of a policy restricting the number of newsboxes to two per block face and charging a $25 annual licence fee for each box. In competitive locations, staff will hold a lottery.

Coun. Ernie Crist was the only dissenter, saying he would prefer to see a "free-for-all" for the time being. The Edgemont Community Association had earlier written to council urging the removal of all newsboxes from Edgemont Village.

Lisa Pearkes, a lawyer with the City of Coquitlam, told the Straight that her municipality only allows newsboxes on city boulevards with the written permission of council. She said staff removes boxes that are placed on public property without council's approval.

Jim Lowrie, director of engineering in the City of New Westminster, told the Straight that staff are writing a report to council to address the placement of newsboxes on public sidewalks. "I'm not sure what it's going to look like at this point in time," Lowrie said. "We've been conversing with a few neighbouring municipalities."

Meanwhile, Burnaby Coun. Nick Volkow told the Straight that he has asked staff to prepare a report on introducing multiple-publication newsracks. He said he hopes that this report will go to council on May 2, which is the same day that New Westminster city council and Surrey city council will address the newsbox issue.