Constance Barnes

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Constance Barnes is an elected Vancouver Park Board commissioner in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and operations manager of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.[1][2] She was elected in 2008 as a member of the Vision Vancouver slate.

Background

Barnes is the daughter of the late Emery Barnes, who was one of the first two black politicians elected to a legislative office in British Columbia, and Laverne Barnes, Canada’s first female sport commentator.[3] She grew up in Port Moody, British Columbia.[2]

Acting career

Barnes started acting at age 12 and prior to raising her children appeared with the CBC and local television stations.[3] She went on to numerous roles in shows such as the X Files, Poltergeist, and 21 Jump Street.[4]

Emery Barnes Park

A 2010 expansion to the Emery Barnes Park in Vancouver includes a fenced "offleash area" for dogs and their owners.

Barnes was instrumental in the naming of Emery Barnes Park, in honour of her father.[5]

1976 Car accident

There was a civil judgment against Barnes and her father as a result of an accident in 1976 where she was driving on Vancouver Island.[6] A passenger in the car was left an incomplete quadriplegic.[6] The judgment was for $445,000.[6] Barnes was 17 at the time of the accident.[1]

2009 Drunk driving incident

On June 10, 2009 during a press conference at SFU Harbour Centre, Barnes admitted that driving under the influence of alcohol was "a really stupid mistake."[7] In a press release issued on June 10, 2009 Barnes stated, "I have made a serious mistake. On May 23, 2009 I was charged with driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. I was returning home from an afternoon at Iona Beach in Richmond and was arrested and charged by the Vancouver Police Department around 11pm. I do not intend to challenge this charge. The police arrested me outside of a home in South Vancouver where I had fallen asleep at the wheel and hit a residential home. No-one was injured in this incident, however there was damage to the property. I take full responsibility for my actions and acknowledge my lack of judgment."[8][9] On June 10, 2009 Barnes said she would plead guilty at a June 29, 2009 court appearance,[1][10] yet she failed to appear for that hearing.[11] She is facing three charges: impaired driving, driving with an alcohol count of over 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.[11] She was scheduled to make a court appearance on September 3, 2009[12] yet did not.[13] Instead her lawyer, Natalie Dunbar, and the Crown prosecutor said they were close to a sentencing agreement on the three charges.[13] Dunbar said that Barnes would appear in court on September 24, 2009 for sentencing.[14] Barnes did appear on September 24, 2009 and pleaded guilty. She had her drivers license suspended for one year, was fined $1000 for driving over the legal limit and $750 for dangerous driving.[15]

After the incident Barnes took a medical leave and got involved with Alcoholics Anonymous,[6] yet still continued to receive pay from the city while on leave.[16] The Vision Vancouver chair of the park board, Raj Hundal, stated that it was up to Barnes to decide when she would stop receiving pay.[16] In August 2009 Barnes stated that she would repay her stipend to the city, claiming a mis-communication regarding it.[12]

Barnes enrolled for treatment on Bowen Island at the Orchard Recovery Centre, a residential drug rehabilitation and alcohol addiction treatment centre.[17] The treatment cost $18,000, $3000 of which was loaned to Barnes by the City of Vancouver.[18] The loan was interest free.[19] Barnes had earlier said she was paying for rehab herself, and NPA park board commissioner Ian Robertson called for an explanation on August 27, 2009.[20] Opposition critics called the loan "unethical" while Vision Vancouver said there was no special treatment for Barnes.[19] Vision Vancouver officials said that while Barnes received the same treatment any civic employee would receive under the circumstances that because Barnes was an elected official she had more of a right to privacy, reversing their earlier statement about no special treatment.[21]

Family

Barnes is a single mother of two grown children.[22]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Vancouver park board commissioner Constance Barnes on leave after drunk driving", Vancouver Province, June 10, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Vancouver park commissioner Constance Barnes sheds tears of joy as Obama inaugurated", Georgia Straight, January 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Stellar group to gather for celebrated Women in the Director’s Chair Workshop", Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists Website, Accessed August 28, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Constance Barnes Filmography", IMDB, Accessed August 28, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Barnes park to finally expand", Vancouver Courier, April 18, 2008.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Crash leads to charges", 24 Hours, June 11, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Park board commissioner Constance Barnes calls drunk driving "a really stupid mistake"", Georgia Straight, June 10, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Vancouver park board's Constance Barnes charged with drunk driving", Georgia Straight, June 10, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Parks Commissioner Constance Barnes's written apology", Vancouver Province, June 10, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Park board commissioner facing DUI charges takes medical leave", CBC, June 10, 2009.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Park board's Constance Barnes scheduled to appear in court August 10", Georgia Straight, July 29, 2009.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Barnes looking forward", CKNW, August 25, 2009.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Vancouver park commissioner to plead guilty to drunk driving", CBC, September 3, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Commissioner to plead guilty for impaired driving", CTV, September 3, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Vision Vancouver backs second official nailed for drunk-driving", Vancouver Province, September 24, 2009.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Constance Barnes getting paid while on leave", Georgia Straight, July 2, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Did taxpayers pay for Constance Barnes' treatment?", 24 Hours, August 26, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Commissioner gets loan for rehab", CKNW, August 27, 2009.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Parks board commissioner borrows taxpayer money for alcohol treatment", Vancouver Province, August 28, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Who paid for Commissioner's treatment?", CKNW, August 27, 2009.
  21. ↑ "Park commissioner's rehab stint under scrutiny", CTV, August 28, 2009.
  22. ↑ "About Constance Barnes - Tradition of Change", ConstanceBarnes.com, Accessed August 27, 2009.
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