Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The BC government provided its long-awaited update on the cost of hosting FIFA World Cup games in Vancouver Friday, showing the tournament is either getting more expensive or more affordable, depending on how you look at it. The gross cost of hosting seven matches at BC Place starting next month is now estimated at between $685 million and $729 million, according to the updated figures the province released Friday ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

BC Green Leader Emily Lowan is calling for a pause in building AI data centres in BC until the environmental, health and security risks of these ­facilities are properly ­understood and regulated. The federal government and Telus, the telecom company building the projects, describe the data centres as a bid to boost Canada’s sovereign ­computing and artificial-intelligence ­infrastructure. Two data ­centres ­— the cost of which have not been disclosed — will be in Vancouver and the other in ­Kamloops. Lowan said the current “build first, regulate later” model pushed by the federal and ­provincial governments is ­reckless and unacceptable for British Columbians ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

The City of Vancouver is drafting plans for the creation of 17 neighbourhood “villages,” where amenities can be reached within a five-minute walk or bike ride. Article content The plan envisions these local hubs would consist of a mix of housing types up to six storeys, a variety of small shops and services, including ground-floor retail in mixed-use buildings, more welcoming and greener public spaces, and wider sidewalks ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena   A 12-year-old girl found alone in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Reports suggest she may have already been sexually assaulted, yet somehow, she ended up on the street without support. The group home she lives in allegedly reported they were “aware” of her location. How can the ministry justify letting a little 12 year old girl in their care wander the DTES on her own and not intervene?  In a statement the Ministry of Children and Family Development said “When a child in care is absent from the home environment, caregivers and social workers are tasked with working in the best interest of the child, which often involves continuous risk assessment, difficult decision-making, and navigating complex factors related to the child’s life circumstances.” Yet, no one intervened, despite reports of sexual assault and drug use. The Downtown Eastside is ground zero for this government’s failed policies. If a child in government care can disappear into ...

British Columbia’s housing minister says he is concerned about the future of supportive-housing projects in Vancouver after the city quashed construction plans in a west-side neighbourhood amid a legal battle with residents over the rezoning changes. The rezoning for the 129-unit, 13-storey project in Kitsilano was rescinded April 30, after a consent order between a local residents’ group and the city essentially overturned a 2022 approval. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said he was surprised by the city’s decision to abandon fighting a lawsuit the Kitsilano Coalition for Children and Family Safety Society had brought claiming the city’s public-hearing process for the rezoning was flawed ... CLICK HERE for the full story

After the federal election, Vancouver’s west side is now represented provincially by an MLA who has openly mocked residential school survivors and by a federal MP who grew up on the Musqueam reserve. It’s an indication of how residential school denialism and push-back against Indigenous rights have become right-wing political themes — and how communities are reacting ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Premier David Eby didn’t have a speech prepared for the opening of the Invictus Games in Vancouver. He hadn’t written anything down. He didn’t have a teleprompter. And just minutes before he was set to walk onto stage to address the packed crowd of thousands at BC Place stadium on Saturday, he ended up tossing out most of what he’d been mentally preparing to say anyway. What followed was an emotional address directly to American service personnel about the shared bonds of the U.S. and Canadian militaries, and a spoken reminder that British Columbians loved and welcomed them even during a time of political strife. “ I was just thinking about how I could deliver that message, that we’re good neighbours and no matter what we’ll always be there for each other ,” Eby said in an interview ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... (it) doesn’t mean there won’t be things to watch in the results tonight. As always, byelection results can be useful barometers to stack up against the polls — will the Conservatives put up a number that matches their polling? If not, how do the results differ from expectations? Could they give us an indication of how well other Conservative candidates might do in the swathe of suburban ridings in the Lower Mainland? And in just how much trouble might other Liberals be in and around Vancouver? The results will give us some hints. So, let’s set the benchmarks for this contest — one that the Conservatives should easily win ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Conservative Party of British Columbia expresses deep concern and condemnation following the recent violent incidents on Granville Street, where three individuals were stabbed by a stranger. This alarming event underscores the urgent need for decisive public safety measures to address crime in our communities. Melissa De Genova, the Conservative Party candidate for Vancouver-Yaletown, issued the following statement: " The safety and security of our residents are of paramount importance. The recent stabbings on Granville Street are an unacceptable affront to the safety of our community. We must take immediate and aggressive action to ensure our streets are safe for everyone. Our community deserves better, and we will not tolerate such senseless acts of violence ." John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, also commented on the incident: " his violent attack is a stark reminder that we need to get tough on crime. It is clear that our current ap...

After boosting Vancouver’s police budget by tens of millions of dollars over the past two years, the city’s ruling party recently cut the money spent on civilian oversight of the department. In December, Vancouver council slashed two-thirds of the proposed budget for the Vancouver police board, the independent governance body for the Vancouver Police Department ... CLICK HERE for the full story for the full story

A man accused of committing multiple acts of graffiti vandalism in Vancouver’s Chinatown last year has been sentenced to 12 months probation after pleading guilty to one of eight mischief charges he was facing. The BC Prosecution Service confirmed that it had stayed the remaining seven mischief charges against Larry Carlston, as well as a single breach of release order charge for allegedly possessing markers on Jan. 9, during a sentencing hearing on March 1. “It seems like a consolation prize given the fact you’ve got one charge that went through out of eight,” said Vancouver Chinatown BIA president Jordan Eng. “It really doesn’t seem like a just punishment considering the amount of work that the Vancouver Police Department has gone through to get it to court because it’s not that easy" . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

Demoralized firefighters reviving the same overdose victim several times on the same day, librarians administering Naloxone to reverse drug poisonings in public libraries, and park board employees spending their days not trimming golf greens but grappling with homelessness and mental illness. Municipal employees in Vancouver, and other cities, are spending far more time and effort than in previous years on the front lines of some of society’s thorniest problems . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

... in October 2021, B.C.'s Director of Civil Forfeiture filed a lawsuit to seize the warehouses on Shaughnessy Street in South Vancouver as "proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity." But the case has hit a snag that could have implications for the province's controversial civil forfeiture regime, with a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruling that part of the act that governs it is inconsistent with the Canadian Charter and must be tested to see if it falls within "reasonable limits." The lawsuit hasn't been resolved, but in a Dec. 29 ruling Justice Jasmin Ahmad said there were "many problematic aspects" to the act's search and seizure provision, and it "does not strike a reasonable balance between the state’s interest … and an individual’s privacy rights." Critics have long claimed that B.C.'s civil forfeiture system is problematic ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Opinion: Deep down inside, the NDP must be whispering a prayer that this emerging civic controversy does not turn into another Surrey police situation Rustad’s news release reminded the New Democrats what happened the last time they got drawn into a controversial action at the civic level, namely the back-and-forth struggle over the RCMP and the Surrey Police Service ... ... The last thing the New Democrats want is a protracted debate over the fate of the Vancouver Park Board. If that is how it shapes up — and Sim has given his critics two full months to stir up opposition to what they regard as a trampling of democracy — then come the legislative session, New Democrats might well be looking for an escape hatch ... CLICK HERE for the full story

After pioneering the quick-build housing model, Vancouver is backing away from the strategy When Phoenix Winter walks past two white apartment buildings on Cambie Street, she thinks of the people she knows who found stability there after being homeless. But although the lights are still on inside, the units are now empty. “It’s really a crime that those usable units are sitting there and they’re not being used" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canadian Mayoral candidate got clandestine financial support from community leaders mobilized by Chinese Consulate in 2022 and 2018: "Intelligence Assessment" A senior Canadian politician running to lead a provincial political party clandestinely met officials inside a Chinese Consulate in 2022, subsequently becoming China’s preferred candidate, and winning campaign support from Consulate proxies, a Top Secret CSIS document alleges. Details of the Consulate meeting are contained in a sweeping CSIS “Intelligence Assessment” dated October 31, 2022.  Without identifying candidates by name, it details Beijing’s efforts to influence leaders of Canadian parties – at the federal, provincial and municipal level – before and after recent elections ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  A Vancouver man busted for shoplifting days after being released from jail for stealing nearly $40,000 worth of art won’t be spending more time behind bars. Frances Boivin was sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty to four counts of theft under $5,000 for a string of thefts between March and September. The incidents happened while he was on probation related to the art theft, with the first case — involving $96 bottle of alcohol from a west side liquor store — having occurred just one week after his release. The other guilty pleas involved the theft of a shirt and hoodie worth more than $3,000 from Holt Renfrew on July 8, $475 worth of food items from London Drugs on Aug. 30, and a $199 power drill he hid in his pants at a Home Depot on September 18th ... CLICK HERE for the full story

By breakfast time on Wednesday, BC Ferries was already warning that anyone wanting to drive onto a ferry on the route between Victoria and Vancouver without a reservation would be out of luck until the 9 p.m. sailing that night. The jam was due to a staffing shortage that had unexpectedly caused cancelled sailings. As passengers who had paid $18 for reservations on the cancelled sailings were shifted onto other sailings, which were already heavily reserved, ferries filled up quickly. The company’s website warned that drive-up space would be scarce and encouraged people without a confirmed booking to instead consider travelling as a foot passenger or via the terminal in Nanaimo, a 137-kilometre drive from the one at Swartz Bay ... CLICK HERE for the rest of the story

An embattled supportive housing provider has decided to sell a $1.2-million loft office space and will no longer operate a troubled single-room occupancy hotel, following a conflict of interest scandal that raised serious concerns about how the organization has been awarded millions in government funding. While the interim CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society says progress has been made since she took on the job on May 30, she adds there is still more work to be done to ensure safe conditions for residents and staff at Atira-operated buildings ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  A Vancouver builder says he made the difficult decision to cancel a social housing project in the city’s Downtown Eastside due to a years-long nightmare process of trying to work with the city to secure a building permit. Perdip Moore still struggles to understand why the property he purchased in 2014 sits vacant amid a housing crisis. It’s a shame,” the senior project manager for PD Moore Homes Inc. told Global News in an interview Tuesday. "I find it really upsetting" ... CLICK HERE for the full GLOBAL news story