News & Events 
The City of Burnaby was recently named the best run city in Canada in the first annual MacLean's magazine survey of municipal governments. According to the article, published in the July 16 issue of the magazine and available on-line at www.macleans.ca, Burnaby rated #1 overall and scored top marks in environmental health, recreation and culture and economic development. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan and his team of BCA Councillors are heaping praise on the city's administrative staff, volunteers and the citizens of Burnaby for their contributions in the effectiveness of local municipal government. In an article published in the Burnaby Now, Corrigan stated, "I'm thrilled for our city staff. They work very hard. But I don't want our volunteers to be missed," noting that city committees have volunteer members serving on them, on top of the many events and activities that volunteers assist in. "We wouldn't have been successful if it wasn't for the help and advice from citizens over the years. It's a credit to our staff, it's also a credit to the people of Burnaby." For the full article, please visit www.macleans.ca. For local news coverage, click on the following links: Burnaby Now Burnaby Newsleader
Burnaby Mayor Corrigan guest speaker at 2009 BCA AGM; Executive elected March 29, 2009 - Members of the Burnaby Citizens Association, whose candidates swept all Burnaby City Council and School Board Trustee seats in last fall’s local municipal elections, gathered at the Burnaby Firefighters Hall on Sunday, March 29, for their Annual General Meeting and to elect the officers and executive board members for the organization. Guest speaker Mayor Derek Corrigan congratulated the group for their activism that has helped Burnaby become a leading business center and a preferred location for families to settle, educate their children and raise their families. He also thanked the membership for their hard work in the recent municipal elections and acknowledged their ongoing support. Elected to serve as President of the BCA is Gord Larkin, long time community activist and member. He is joined by Lee Loftus as Vice President, Glen Porter as Treasurer, Lee Anne Keple as Secretary and Noreen Boudreau as Treasurer. Fifteen directors were also elected from the general membership to sit on the group’s Executive Board. The Burnaby Citizens Association has achieved success with electing civic candidates to a majority of seats on Burnaby’s City Council and School Board for more than 20 years.
Burnaby Citizens make history by sweeping all Council and School Board seats! 
November 15, 2008 - Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan was returned to a third term and will be accompanied by full slate of Burnaby Citizens candidates for City Council and School Board in tonight's historic election victory.  "I'm sorry, but I'm speechless," said Corrigan as he entered the Alan Emmott Hall in South Burnaby to applause from over 200 jubilant supporters.
Corrigan handily beat challenger Andrew Chisolm 20,365 votes to 10,110. Returning to City Council are incumbents Pietro Calendino (15,817), Dan Johnston (14,333), Sav Dhaliwal (14,006), Colleen Jordan (13,994), Nick Volkow (13,337). Joining them are three new BCA Councillors Richard Chang (13,242), Paul McDonell (13,100), Anne Kang (12,989). School Trustees returned to office are Ron Burton (17,477), Diana Mumford (17,137), Larry Hayes (16,210) and Tony Coccia (16,167). New BCA candidates elected are Gary Wong (14,228), Baljinder Narang (13,022) and James Wang (12,609). Click here for more photos.
BCA candidates receive endorsement from Council of Senior Citizens Organizations of BC November 13, 2008 Dear Mayor Corrigan, Too often we blame our municipal representatives for misdeeds and a lack of positive action on behalf of our municipal populations. In your case however, the Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations has nothing but praise for you and your BCA fellow counsellors. We have been working with your Council over the last five years on a number of projects. We have found nothing but cooperation and support for issues such as Elder Abuse Prevention, the maintenance of healthcare services and the provision of health literacy among seniors. When it comes to the provision and maintenance of services to seniors your council has an excellent record. Your present support for our implementation of the World Health Organization's Age-Friendly Cities Concept makes you one of the leading cities in Canada when it comes to planning with seniors. We know that you and your BCA colleagues will soon face a municipal election. We earnestly hope that the Burnaby electorate, especially seniors, will judge you and your BCA colleagues by your many good deeds and continue to re-elect you so that you can continue your excellent work in this forward looking City of Burnaby. In closing let me express on behalf of senior citizens around the province our thanks for having made Burnaby the beacon of an Age-Friendly City. On behalf of the officers and members of the Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations I wish you and your fellow BCA Counsellors every success in the election. Very truly yours,
Art Kube
President
In the News: Georgia Straight endorses BCA Slate, published November 13, 2008 The Burnaby Citizens Association has been in power for 21 years, probably making it the longest-serving government in BC. history. In an article on Straight.com, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan offered a few reasons why his party has remained at the helm for so long. There are more jobs than residents, thanks to the municipality’s knack for luring businesses from other parts of the region. Burnaby also puts on outstanding concerts in Deer Lake Park, something that is usually forbidden in Vancouver parks. The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts has emerged as a leading cultural facility. There is more. Burnaby is debt-free, has low tax rates, and the staff produce some of the best reports in the region on important issues such as the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and the risks posed by peak oil. Mayor Corrigan deserves to be reelected for lots of reasons, but mostly because he remains one of the sharpest politicians in the Lower Mainland. We need him on the board of Metro Vancouver because of his keen understanding of how the pieces of the region fit together. Team Burnaby mayoral candidate Andrew Chisholm has tried to capitalize on what he calls “Computergate”—a $19-million cost overrun on a municipal computer system. At $19 million, according to Chisholm, it’s way smaller than the liabilities that Vancouverites could end up facing in connection with hosting the Olympics. Chisholm has chastised the BCA for opposing the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge. To us, it’s a reflection of the BCA’s sound approach to environmental issues. Chisholm has also claimed that Burnaby needs 100 more police in the next three years. In the Burnaby Now, Corrigan retorted that the city approved 25 new officers in June, and another 23 were hired this year, they might reconsider their position. BCA councillors Nick Volkow, Dan Johnston, Pietro Calendino, Sav Dhaliwal, and Colleen Jordan deserve to be reelected. Fairchild TV host Richard Chang, special-education teacher Anne Kang, and retired Vancouver deputy fire chief Paul McDonell round out the BCA slate. Team Burnaby councillor Lee Rankin keeps getting reelected to keep the BCA on its toes. Rankin, a councillor for 22 years, used to be an outstanding director of Metro Vancouver, focusing a great deal of attention on air quality and climate change.
In the News: Opinion/Editorial from Mayor Derek Corrigan in Burnaby NOW, published November 1, 2008 In My Opinion I am responding to Andrew Chisholm's op/ed in the Oct. 25 issue of the Burnaby NOW. I can't let his comments go uncorrected as I believe his inappropriate accusations could damage our city's reputation. In the last municipal election campaign, Mr. Chisholm's TEAM Burnaby did every thing it could to try and paint Burnaby as a crime capital. Their quest for votes led them to make factually incorrect statements without regard to the effect on Burnaby's well-deserved image as a great place to live and operate a business. TEAM's actions were irresponsible. And in this election Mr. Chisholm seems to be taking the same approach. The majority Burnaby Citizens' Association council recently hired 24 police officers, and 25 more are on the way. Over the last four years we have added 80 more police positions. Mr. Chisholm says that isn't enough. He says Burnaby needs 100 more officers. But he fails to provide a rational explanation of how he would pay for them. The cost would be more than $11.8 million every year. In addition, there would be millions of dollars more on civilian support and equipment for the officers. This amount is equivalent to closing every recreation centre and all recreation programming in Burnaby - permanently. Or, TEAM might choose to close every library, plus several of the recreation centres. Or, TEAM could raise property taxes by 10 per cent, over and above inflation and wage increases. Faced with this dilemma, Mr. Chisholm says he will use the city's reserve funds to pay for his promises. But he doesn't realize that the interest on those funds keeps Burnaby taxes five per cent lower than what they would be if we didn't have that revenue. So if Mr. Chisholm used the reserves, he would still be raising taxes while also eliminating our savings. Our BCA councillors have been working to reduce crime by hiring more officers under an affordable plan, getting tough on problem properties and graffiti, closing bad businesses and promoting crime prevention. I can assure the residents of Burnaby that we will continue to do whatever it takes to keep Burnaby safe. And our actions are producing results. Provincial statistics show Burnaby's overall crime is down 19 per cent. RCMP officers, staff and community volunteers deserve credit for the great work they are doing. They don't deserve irresponsible fear-mongering. I hope Burnaby residents will support a responsible approach to keeping Burnaby strong and protecting our citizens. Derek Corrigan is mayor of Burnaby and running for re-election on the BCA slate.
In the News: From the Georgia Straight, published October 24, 2008 Derek Corrigan: Burnaby is on the right track Mayor Derek Corrigan (Burnaby Citizens Association) on his plans for the future of Burnaby We are very proud that the Burnaby Citizens Association, a progressive centre-left civic political party, has been elected seven consecutive times to serve the people of Burnaby. Over that 21 years, Burnaby has evolved from a quiet Vancouver suburb into a vibrant regional centre, with high density development and increasing urban character. At the same time, we have carefully guarded our small town values and our sense of neighbourhood. The BCA believes that citizen participation is the fundamental principle for ensuring that we meet our objective of a successful, inclusive community. With over 100 citizens participating on our committees and many more involved in specific task force proposals, we do our best to draw on the wisdom of our residents, businesses and community organizations. We recognize that advice on the future of our city must come from the widest cross-section of our community and it must incorporate the full range of ideas and options. In order to establish long-term plans for our city, we have completed an Economic Development Strategy and we are presently undertaking a comprehensive study of our social infrastructure. We are also reviewing the state of our environment to update our long-standing foundation of environmental regulations and best practices. Each of these processes involves expert advice, citizen-based committees and broad consultation. We intend to bring these interrelated elements together to produce our next twenty year vision for a sustainable Burnaby. We know we’re on the right track because we’ve made a lot of progress over the past two decades. Burnaby now has a 25% rate of transit ridership (equal to Vancouver). We have also constructed over 125 kilometres of cycling/pedestrian trails. We’ve established intensive density around SkyTrain stations, leading to 40% alternative transportation usage in Metrotown. Our city is now 1/4 parkland, unparalleled by any urban centre in BC. We have more jobs than residents and many of those jobs are in the high-paying, knowledge-based sectors. BCIT and SFU, two of the best educational institutions in Canada, provide creative graduates to our businesses and even help us to design our community plans. A good example is the internationally recognized UniverCity development on Burnaby Mountain. We are also very proud of our efforts to attract the movie and television industry with over 50% of all BC studio space now located in Burnaby. And we know how to have fun. We host the Giro d’Burnaby, Hats Off Day in the Heights, the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival and dozens of local community events. In partnership with Live Nation, Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park regularly welcomes top quality musical performances and the city-owned Swangard Stadium is a favourite place to watch international sporting events. From Copeland Arena to our skateboard parks and mountain bike course, Burnaby’s recreational facilities are second to none. Burnaby is also the most financially stable city in the region. We have no debt and we hold substantial cash and property reserves. We also maintain residential and business taxes at rates that are among the lowest in the Metro area. The BCA believes that financial responsibility is an important cornerstone of sustainability. Not only do we owe future generations a healthy environment, we also owe them a healthy bottom line. We are particularly excited about the new opportunities that are arising from the interaction of cultures as our city becomes more and more diverse. People from Afghanistan to Zanzibar call Burnaby home and we speak over 100 languages. When we reach out to the rest of the world, we have the wonderful advantage of citizens who know and understand our new friends. In fact, our outstanding group of BCA candidates is very representative of our multicultural identity and the increasing participation of new Canadians in reshaping our community. The future of Burnaby is in the hands of our citizens. As we nurture the ideas and creativity that abound in our city, we fully expect another two decades of progress. To continue our tradition of great local government, we sincerely hope that Burnaby voters will support the Burnaby Citizens Association. | 
