NEWS-CLIPS Oct 19/2018 to Nov 21/2018

New Seymour River suspension bridge nearly finished.pdf 66 year old bridge bound for replacement.pdf Nobody home.pdf A look at the election results.pdf North Shore a leader for homes built with the BC Energy Step Code.pdf Addiction recovery facility opens for men in North Van.pdf North Van students learn waterway restoration.pdf BC have a choice of 3 good PR systems.pdf North Vancouver Election Results.pdf BC proportional representation vote is dishonest.pdf North Vancouver hostel owner found in contempt of court.pdf Bridge to the future.pdf North Vancouver residents warned of water testing scam.pdf Capilano Substation.pdf North Vancouver student vote mirrors adult choice.pdf Change of office.pdf Notice - Early Input Opportunity.pdf Climate change activist spamming politicians for a better tomorrow.pdf Notice -PIM for a Heritage Revialization Agreement .pdf Consider the cost before you vote for electoral reform.pdf Notice-PIM-for-1510-1530 Crown Str.pdf Developers furious with City of White Rock as council freezes tower plans.pdf Old grey mayors - the story of NV early leaders -part 1.pdf Dog ban part of long-rang plan for Grouse Mountain park.pdf Old grey mayors - the story of NV early leaders -part 2.pdf Dont like density - you aint seen nothin yet.pdf Old grey mayors-part2.pdf Drop in anytime.pdf Outgoing City of North Van council entitled to payouts.pdf Electoral reform not that complicated.pdf Pot pipe in car earns driver ticket in West Van.pdf ELECTORAL REFORM PUSH ABOUT POWER -IDEOLOGY.pdf Pro-rep pros and cons.pdf Energy efficiency gains will do the opposite of what economists claim they will do.pdf Province announces seismic upgrade for Mountainside.pdf For affordability try building apartments.pdf Province updates North Shore crash clearing rules.pdf Former councillor Mike Little elected new District of North Vancouver mayor.pdf Put a sock on it.pdf Former councillor Mike Little elected new DNV mayor.pdf REAL DATA ON PRO REP.pdf Forum aims to get young people more involved in local politics.pdf Rejection of affordable project is shameful.pdf Fourteen months needed to change voting systems.pdf Report reveals top earners among North Shore municipal employees.pdf Game of 21.pdf Six-Figure public service salaries need a closer look.pdf Heavy rains trigger North Shore floods and slides.pdf So long folks.pdf How PR could reshare BS political parties.pdf Take a cue from developers.pdf How rapid development killed a business.pdf Those who show up.pdf Interesting ad.pdf Trouble in Paradise.pdf Jonathan Wlkinson - Killer whale a symbol of urgency.pdf Two North Shore MLAs weigh in on electoral reform.pdf Just say no to proportional misrepresentation.pdf Two North Vancouver housing projects get provincial funding.pdf Legal tax is the elephant in legal aid debate.pdf Visions reign of error finally ends.pdf Major players not optimistic about Metro Vancouver housing prospects.pdf Voters split on electoral reform as deadline nears.pdf Majority government corruption.pdf We can do better - Delbrook affordable housing project.pdf Mayors Message - 10 bits of advice.pdf We warned of traffic - 35 years ago.pdf MLAs debate electoral reform.pdf When it comes to transit funding - all roads lead to disagreement.pdf Neither voting system on ballot flawless or ideal.pdf New councillor wants city to reconsider duplex bylaw.pdf New mayors may throw wrench in NDP machine.pdf

66-year-old bridge bound for replacement

Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News

October 16, 2018 07:37 PM

The Marine Drive Bridge over Mosquito Creek, which dates back to 1952, is set for replacement in 2019. photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News

After 66 years the Marine Drive Bridge over Mosquito Creek is set for its last crossing.

City of North Vancouver council voted unanimously on a $9-million replacement for the 1950s-era bridge.

The city is set to contribute $1.93 million to go along with $3.2 million from TransLink and $3.87 million from Build Canada’s Small Communities Fund, a federal and provincial partnership.

The bridge, which was widened in 1973 and 1981, was found to have a “heavily corroded steel tendon” in a girder during a 2015 inspection. Replacement was recommended based on the bridge’s age and “the uncertainty of the condition of the post-tensioned tendons in the other girders,” the report stated.

With construction set to begin in the spring of 2019, the replacement bridge should: “improve pedestrian, cycling, and transit connections across Mosquito Creek,” according to the city staff report.

The old bridge was recognized by the B.C. Historical Federation as the first pre-stressed concrete bridge in Canada. The technique, which uses compression to overcome weaknesses in concrete, is now widely used.

The motion for the bridge was passed without discussion.

“It’s carried unanimously,” Mayor Darrell Mussatto noted. “So, we’ll build a bridge.”

Moving forward on crucial issues in both Vancouver and the region will require skillful leadership and a willingness to compromise. Daphne Bramham Updated: October 21, 2018 After nearly a decade of alignment on crucial issues of housing and transportation, B.C.’s two largest cities are now at odds. Vancouver is yin to Surrey’s yang, while Burnaby (the third most populous city) straddles the divide. Housing dominated every race in Metro Vancouver and the civic election results indicate a deep divide over how to maintain affordability for low- and middle-income earners, how to house the homeless and how not to destroy neighbourhoods’ character and livability in the process. Vancouver’s Independent mayor-elect, Kennedy Stewart, will lead a council that seems ready to take some aggressive measures to deal with affordability. Of course, it may take some skilful negotiation since the council includes five Non-Partisan Association councillors, three Greens and one each from COPE and OneCity. But it’s likely the majority will leave in place the controversial (and last-minute) decision of the Vision- dominated council to allow duplexes in every residential neighbourhood as well as agree to use city-owned land for more co-ops and social housing. Regionally, Vancouver will find allies in Coquitlam, New Westminster, North Vancouver City, West Vancouver and in Port Coquitlam where mayor-elect Brad West talked about possibly banning foreign homebuyers. Surrey’s mayor-elect, Doug McCallum, wants to pause development of new highrise condos and focus more on gradual densification. So do Port Moody’s new mayor, Rob Vagramov, and the new mayors in Burnaby and North Vancouver District — Mike Hurley and Mike Little. Hurley, in particular, wants time to figure out how to stop demovictions — the eviction of renters from affordable apartments that are being demolished to make way for highrise condos.

City of Burnaby Mayor elect Mike Hurley celebrates with supporters at his election headquarters after winning the 2018 municipal election, Burnaby, Oct., 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM / PNG Hurley won because for years Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan dismissed affordability and homelessness as problems that are the responsibility of the senior levels of government and refused to do anything about the two issues. This year alone, the city is on track to approve close to $1.4-billion worth of highrise condo construction. In Maple Ridge, mayor-elect Mike Morden has vowed to get rid of the homeless by tearing down the 18-month- old tent city and possibly giving temporary, modular housing that was built to house them over to seniors and low-income earners. But any pauses on growth will only increase pressure on neighbouring municipalities, signalling difficulties ahead for Metro. The regional government — its chair, boards and committees — is comprised of mayors and councillors with the number of positions weighted to reflect the population in each. Through compromise and consensus, Metro has a regional growth strategy aimed at creating a compact urban area to meet its goals of economic and environmental sustainability. Co-operation on the Mayors Council led to the federal and provincial governments’ commitment to spent $7 billion on regional transportation, including the $1.65-billion, light-rail line in Surrey and the Broadway Avenue subway in Vancouver. But that’s now at risk. Both McCallum and incoming Langley City mayor Val van den Broek pledged to stop the LRT construction. They want SkyTrain and are willing to risk losing the LRT funding to get it.

Safe Surrey Coalition mayoral candidate Doug McCallum celebrates his win in the civic election Saturday night in Surrey. Jason Payne / PNG Delta’s incoming mayor, George Harvie, also wants to put a wrench in regional transportation plans. Delta’s recently retired chief administrative officer wants to revive plans for a 10-lane bridge to replace the four- lane George Massey Tunnel. The bridge isn’t part of Metro’s plan, but it was promised by the B.C. Liberal government before the 2017 provincial election. Just as Vancouver’s new mayor must build support, Metro will also need strong leadership to avoid having its hard-won growth and transportation strategies left in tatters. That task may fall to the few incumbent mayors — Coquitlam’s Richard Stewart, New West’s Jonathan Cote or Richmond’s Malcolm Brodie — to provide that leadership. What’s at risk are billions of dollars in infrastructure money. Without consensus on the regional needs for housing, transportation and dealing with the opioid crisis, it will be even harder to wrest money from senior levels of government, even though most of these big-city and regional issues are their responsibility. Finally, some stray thoughts on Saturday’s results. After the councils are sworn in on Nov. 5, Metro will have as many mayors named Mike as female mayors. Vancouver’s council will be the first in 32 years to not have a single Chinese-Canadian councillor. It’s also now been 46 years since a South Asian councillor has been elected. There is still value in the NPA brand despite its stumbles. As for Vision Vancouver and Surrey First? Not so much. School trustee Allan Wong was the only Vision candidate to be elected. Surrey First got one seat on council, but swept the school board. And, while there was a lot of whingeing in Metro about too many candidates and too much choice, dozens of B.C. municipalities couldn’t field enough candidates to have a race. In Lions Bay, Lytton, Radium Hot Springs and Zeballos, all of the councillors and mayors were acclaimed. [email protected] More coverage of the B.C. Municipal Election: Municipal elections marked by long lines, heavy advance polling Vancouver Election Results: Stewart wins nail-biter to become Vancouver’s next mayor Victoria Election Results: Helps returns as mayor for a second term Nanaimo Election Results: Leonard Krog wins mayoral race B.C. Election Results: Incumbents flourish in cities around B.C. Delta Election Results: George Harvie elected in Delta on promise to work for a new bridge Surrey Election Results: Doug McCallum returns as mayor, Safe Surrey Coalition nearly sweeps council Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Election Results: New mayors sweep to power Burnaby Election Results: Corrigan upset by retired firefighter Hurley B.C. Election Results: Mary-Ann Booth edges out Mark Sager in West Van North Vancouver Election Results: Two new mayors after incumbents opted not to run again Richmond Election Results: Mayor Malcolm Brodie wins yet again Tri-cities Election Results: Young mayors elected in Port Coquitlam and Port Moody Langley Election Results: Peter Fassbender fails in bid to return as mayor of Langley City Abbotsford and Chilliwack Election Results: Henry Braun wins a second term in Abbotsford CLICK HERE to report a typo. Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email [email protected]

Men’s addiction recovery facility opens in North Van Turning Point site first proposed in 2015

Ben Bengtson / North Shore News

October 31, 2018 09:00 AM

Mina Abernethy is the operations manager at Turning Point’s North Shore men’s facility, which had its grand opening last month. photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News

After several years in development, a Turning Point facility has opened its doors in North Vancouver in order to support men in the community who are ready to turn a corner.

The 10-bed residential support facility, which offers addiction recovery services for drug and alcohol use, officially opened its doors last month on Burr Place, close to the nearby Berkley Care Centre (formerly known as the Kiwanis Care Centre). related

 Turning Point recovery house approved in North Vancouver

The grand opening, held Sept. 28, was attended by dignitaries such as outgoing District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton and local MLAs Jane Thornthwaite and Bowinn Ma.

Brenda Plant, executive director at Turning Point Recovery Society, noted that the residential program offered at the North Shore men’s facility generally runs between three and five months for most visitors. “It’s for people who voluntarily want to come to get clean and sober and transition back to society and community after they’ve graduated,” said Plant, adding that most clients range in age between 35 and 45. “It’s not an intensive clinical program, and we also don’t accept people that are court mandated, we only take people who have recognized they have a problem and want help.”

The non-profit Turning Point Recovery Society currently offers recovery services for men and women at its facilities in Vancouver, Richmond and the North Shore. Turning Point opened a 10-bed North Shore recovery facility for women approximately four years ago in North Vancouver, added Plant.

“Priority is absolutely given to North Shore residents. It’s one of the reasons that we built both the women’s house and the men’s house with a lot of support from council over the years – was because there was nothing residentially for people on the North Shore. Now there is. We fill that gap, which is terrific,” she said.

While Turning Point operates the two residential addictions recovery facilities on the North Shore, the organization also runs outreach programs and a drop-in centre elsewhere in Metro Vancouver, and helps fund subsidized housing for people in recovery through a recently opened social enterprise café based out of Richmond.

It’s endeavours like this, explained Plant, that allow Turning Point to offer a continuum of care, meaning patients can access resources and supports, such as outreach workers or housing, even after they’ve completed their time in direct recovery.

“You have a better chance of reducing recidivism if you have this longer term continuum,” she said, adding that ideally there would be more supportive housing in North Vancouver that would provide people in recovery with “somewhere to go when they graduate from our program, to extend their recovery experience and participate in our after-care program.”

The North Shore men’s facility was first proposed back in 2015, much to the ire of many local residents who at the time feared that putting the recovery house in the originally proposed residential area on Windridge Drive was too much of a risk.

“There was a lot of resistance when the project was originally proposed,” said Plant. “There was significant community opposition and council made the decision that we’d be better able to meet our mandate if we were in a different location.”

The men’s facility project was eventually passed by council after relocating the development to Burr Place.

In the three years since the facility was first proposed, Metro Vancouver has experienced an unprecedented opioid crisis but Plant noted that alcohol use was still the No. 1 substance that Turning Point clients were coming in for in search of treatment options.

“We’re also finding a lot more people presenting with complex mental health challenges, so we’ve had to change our program a little bit so we can address those needs,” she said. “What’s at the core of our program is that all clients have to develop an individual service plan, which is like a treatment plan that maps out the work they’re going to be doing when they’re in care with us.”

More work still needed to be done in communities across Metro Vancouver to support men and women with addictions, added Plant.

“I don’t think we have nearly enough beds anywhere.”

LETTER: B.C. voters have the choice of three good proportional representation systems

North Shore News

November 21, 2018 08:53 AM

First past the post has had its time and now we need to look to a system that better reflects the world today. photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

Dear Editor:

Really? Who thinks the streets will be full of jack-booted, goose-stepping soldiers and violent protests whilst warning of neo-Nazi extremism if B.C. adopts a proportional system of voting?

 EDITORIAL: Pro-rep pros & cons

That was the message proponents of first-past-the-post recently presented in TV ads. This type of fear mongering is not welcome in B.C. and more than anything, discredits the supporters of FPTP and undermines sane and reasonable debate. You only have to look south to see the consequences of inflamed rhetoric, mistruths, actually no, let’s call them by what they are, outright lies, to know this is not healthy; this is something I do not want to see in B.C.

FPTP has been around since the time of the rotten boroughs under the Westminster system; its time has passed and we need to look to a system that better reflects the world today. There is a reason that prospering nations have moved to PR. Look at New Zealand and Norway, for example They are doing pretty well all round.

One of the most repeated criticisms of a proportional representation system is that there is a likelihood of more minority governments. So what?

Please tell me what is wrong with our elected representatives having to co-operate and collaborate to move along what needs to be done. And things do get done under a minority government.

Of late, I have had to use our medical system pretty heavily. Each time I leave the hospital, clinic, or doctor’s office I think, “Thank you, Lester Pearson and your minority government, for giving us Medicare.”

I have recently retired and each month my CPP arrives in my bank account, the Canada Pension Plan having been put in place by a minority government. Post-secondary education was opened up to anyone via the Canada Student Loan program, again the result of a minority government.

You get my drift.

Minority governments can be very productive if there is a will for collaboration and co-operation.

New Zealand is a good example of a move from first-past-the-post to a proportional representation system, with the proviso that if, after two election cycles the people were not happy with PR they could revert to FPTP. They did not; instead, overwhelmingly voting to stay with their MMP PR system.

What happens when regular citizens come together to look at which voting systems are best for B.C.? Answer: proportional representation wins by a landslide. In fact by 146 to seven. Did 146 people collectively experience a brain freeze? Of course not! That was a result from the B.C. Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, an innovative and copied process put in place back in 2004 by then-premier Gordon Campbell to look at electoral reform. Two people were randomly selected from every riding in the province to take part; I was one of the two from North Vancouver-Seymour. We heard a united message from British Columbians via public hearings, written submissions and community conversations.

Three reasonable requests resonated:

Firstly, make local representation more effective. The message came through that FPTP prevented MLAs from being community champions when the party position overruled community concerns. We overwhelmingly recommended a PR system because voters want their MLA to be a community champion.

Secondly, give voters more choice. Without choice you do not have a viable option to hold politicians accountable. Without being held to account politicians are free to serve vested and party interests. We overwhelmingly recommended a PR system to hold our politicians accountable.

Thirdly, put in place a system that delivers accurate outcomes. We heard “make my vote matter.” FPTP delivers extreme swings with small changes in voting, which leads to “false majorities” (when 65 per cent of voters do not vote for you but you are elected), wrong winners (more people vote against you than vote for you but you are elected) and missing local representation when party interests take precedence. We overwhelmingly recommended a PR system because voters wanted their vote to matter and reflect actual outcomes.

More than a decade ago, we considered, discussed and hashed out all we heard and recommended (by a vote of 146 to seven), a PR system known as BC-STV; a system where every single vote cast matters and is used. The bar set by the politicians for acceptance was unreasonably high: 60 per cent of ridings in the province had to accept a PR system and 60 per cent of voters had to vote for this. In actual fact, every riding in the province except for two voted for a PR system, so the first bar was overwhelmingly surpassed and close to 59 per cent of voters voted for the recommended system. Anywhere else, 50 plus one would be enough but not here! So the wrong winner prevailed.

We now have the choice of three good PR systems. They will work in B.C. Each has been designed with our population and geography in mind and will deliver the benefits of PR. The B.C. citizens’ assembly previously overwhelmingly decided that a PR system would meet the requirements for a successful voting system. Now, years later, it is simply up to you to vote for it.

Lynn Hill North Vancouver

https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/opinion/guest-column-b-c-s-proportional-representation-vote-is-dishonest-misleading/

Veteran of 2005 Citizens’ Assembly urges rejection of new voting systems

 Oct. 21, 2018 8:30 a.m.

By Gordon Gibson I was born in British Columbia a bit more than 81 years ago and have spent most of my life here. It has been a great privilege to live in this province and, like many, I have done what I could to give back. My method was via politics. I ran five times, elected twice as an MLA. I was executive assistant to Pierre Trudeau and then leader of the B.C. Liberal Party in the 1970s. I contested that position again in the 1990s, losing to Gordon Campbell. I have since been non-partisan. In the last election the record will show I gave $2,000 to the campaign of NDP MLA Carole James. Over that time I have learned there are two parts to politics. Most of the year-to-year decisions belong to our elected representatives, including taxation and spending. That is fine. However some basic things – our rights and freedoms – do not belong to politicians. Central to our rights and freedoms is our electoral system by which we select our representatives. Politicians are hopelessly conflicted and naturally will seek personal advantage in any change. But democratic elections belong to us, and if the rules are to be changed they should be changed by us. In 2002 I was tasked by the B.C. government to design the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. That process was unanimously adopted by the B.C. legislature. It has been studied and copied around the world as the gold standard for making such important changes. All 160 members of that assembly studied, consulted and deliberated for a year and proposed a precise system (it was called BC-STV) that was put to a referendum vote. That is the way to do it: citizen design, citizen approval. Almost 58 per cent of British Columbians voted in favour. That was not enough for the government of the day, though none of its members could even dream of such support personally. So the initiative support dwindled and died. Now we have a new proposal for electoral change, but with a huge difference. This one is designed by partisan politicians for their benefit, however high-sounding their words. Anyone who follows sports knows the importance of detailed rules. Even apparently tiny ones can tilt the playing field and rig the game. To all but the closest students of the game the tricks are invisible, but they determine who wins. That is the basic problem of the current referendum on electoral change. Specific details like community representation, what bosses will choose party list MLAs, how many votes you will have and how counted – these essentials are hidden, to be decided only after the referendum by conflicted politicians. But that is too much of a mandate to give to a saint, let alone your average MLA. In short, this process is dishonest, misleading and wide open to down-the-road manipulation. What MLAs who support this referendum are advocating is an erosion of our rights and freedoms, as the politicians write their own employment contracts. We know the right citizen process in B.C. and have used it in the past. That is the honest way to consider the respectable but very complex question of electoral change. Our current government is following a process that is wrong. I say, for shame. On this self-serving and deceitful question, “No” is the vote for democracy. Gordon Gibson was leader of the B.C. Liberal Party from 1975 to 1979. He was inducted into the Order of B.C. in 2008. 80 years ago people walked across the Lions Gate Bridge for the first time

Maria Rantanen / North Shore News

November 12, 2018 10:00 AM

British Pacific Properties established a vital connection between Vancouver and the North Shore by designing, constructing and financing the Lions Gate Bridge. Photo supplied West Vancouver Archives Eighty years ago Vancouverites first walked across a new span from Stanley Park to West Vancouver – a bridge that was to be the entrance to Greater Vancouver, like another famous bridge in California. The Lions Gate Bridge opened to pedestrians on Nov. 12, 1938, and to cars two days later. West Vancouver archives show articles going back to 1926 that describe the construction of the bridge, initially called the “First Narrows Bridge.” The West Van News, in a front-page article on May 14, 1926, declared that “Lion’s Gate” was a better name as the entrance to Greater Vancouver. “(First Narrows) is not a distinctive name for the entrance to a channel nor is it an euphonious one,” declared the West Van News. The article goes on to cite the name of the “Golden Gate Bridge” in San Francisco, how it is known worldwide as the entrance to the “Golden State of California.” Using the name “Lion’s Gate” would “do more to advertise the attractions of Greater Vancouver than the continued use of so common and kindergarten a name as ‘First Narrows.’ ” The bridge was built by the Guinness family to encourage people to move to their newly acquired British Pacific Properties, 4,000 acres of prime real estate that they purchased for $75,000 with a promise to build amenities to go with the homes planned for West Vancouver. BPP spent $6 million building the bridge, $102 million in today’s dollars. Geoff Croll, the current president of BPP, said the Lions Gate Bridge transformed North Vancouver and West Vancouver from “sleepy little cottage communities” to what they are today, thanks to the foresight of a local engineer and entrepreneur, Alfred James Towle Taylor. “What I find fascinating is the vision of A.J. Taylor who really pushed that project forward,” Croll said. “He was a visionary who really saw the potential of what that bridge could do.” This was especially impressive, given there was no money from any level of government, significant public opposition and stalling from the federal government. “I find the persistence and drive of A.J. Taylor to make that happen – when a lot of other people would have given up or walked away from it – it’s a real testament to his vision that it went through,” Croll said. Croll said he’s impressed at the ingenuity of the bridge design and points out it was used as a model for building other bridges. “As an engineer, I marvel at how quickly they built it – at the time it was the longest span of the British Empire,” Croll said, adding that they needed to use new technology, a new design and new ways of construction to build the bridge. Later, similar bridges were built throughout the world. “It was a feat, not just for our company but I think for the entire region,” he said. But for Croll, it’s not just the engineering aspect of the bridge that impresses him. “The esthetics of the bridge, something about how it’s like a gateway to the harbour. … There’s an emotional impact there, not just a technical,” Croll said. Workers building the Lions Gate Bridge circa 1938. Photo supplied West Vancouver Archives For Expo 86, the Guinness family donated lights that illuminate the bridge at night, nicknamed Gracie's Necklace after MP Grace McCarthy, who co-ordinated the gift. There was talk already in 1914 of building a bridge, but in 1926, this talk got serious and funds were put aside to build it. However, the citizens of Vancouver in a plebiscite that year rejected the idea of a bridge and it was put on ice. Opposition to the bridge partly stemmed from the fact the access point would be Stanley Park, which meant a road through the pristine greenspace. However, on Sept. 19, 1930, there was a shipping accident that knocked the Second Narrows Bridge out of commission for four years. Opposition to the plans for a new bridge at First Narrows quickly dissipated when the Second Narrows connection was gone. In June 1930, the First Narrows Bridge Company was formed out of two companies. But Taylor didn’t have enough capital to build the bridge, so he approached the Guinness family. A deal was made that the Guinness family would buy 4,000 acres in West Vancouver for $75,000 and they formed the British Pacific Properties. A plebescite on Dec. 13, 1933 in Vancouver finally gave a green light to the project. Everything was in place to build the bridge, except the federal permit. The prime minister of the day, R.B. Bennett, was asking for a span of 1,800 although the plan was for a 1,500-foot span, according to the locally published 1999 book Lions Gate, co-authored by Lilia D'Acres and Donald Luxton. Federal assent was given on April 29, 1936 after Bennett’s Conservative government was defeated and even more political intrigues within the Liberal government. Seventeen years after the bridge was built, it was bought by the province and the tolls were removed. Croll pointed out that the bridge was in good shape when it was handed over to the province because the tolls were used for maintenance. By 1998, it was in rough shape, but the province decided, instead of rebuilding the bridge, to refurbish it. Official opening of Lions Gate Bridge. West Vancouver Reeve Joseph Leyland and Vancouver Mayor George Miller standing with a reporter from CKWX and a group of children on the bridge. They are looking up at a photographer in the steel girders of the bridge. Photo supplied West Vancouver Archives

The Lions Gate Bridge was transformative for the North Shore, and benefited many others, not just BPP, Croll said. “As far as I can tell, we are the only developer on the North Shore that put any money into infrastructure like that and every other developer who’s come since has had the full benefit of that bridge being there,” Croll said. “We certainly did more than what was required of us as a land developer.” BPP has been planning its next vision – the Cypress Village development in the Upper Lands, a complete community where residents can live, work and play, Croll said, 12 minutes from the beach and 12 minutes from the ski slopes with a private transit service. This, he believes, is the vision that’s needed to wean the region off single-occupancy cars and fight the gridlock. “If we do this right, we can show the region that this is a way forward,” he said. “We call this village our bridge to the future. We think what the Lions Gate Bridge was to the 1930s, the Cypress Village can be to West Vancouver in 2018.” © 2018 North Shore News

Capilano Substation What's new Activity update Please join us at our public information session to learn more about this upgrade.

Delbrook Community Recreation Centre Fir Room M17 851 W Queens Road, North Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, November 7, 2018 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

What we're planning To continue to provide reliable electricity in North Vancouver, we're upgrading the Capilano substation by replacing it with a new substation on the western half of the existing substation land. The new substation will include:  Two outdoor transformers.  A building for indoor electrical equipment and a control room.  Steel support structures to support the new and existing power lines.  Other associated outdoor electrical equipment in the substation yard. The east side of the substation will remain operational during construction to continue to provide a reliable supply of electricity to nearby homes and businesses.

Why we're doing it

Capilano Substation is a set of electrical equipment built in 1950s that takes electricity at higher voltages (60kV) and converts it to a lower voltage to supply power to homes and businesses in the neighbourhood. This type of substation is called a distribution substation as it converts power from transmission voltage levels to distribution voltage levels.

There are approximately 12,000 customers currently being served by Capilano Substation. The service area currently supplied by Capilano Substation extends north to the base of Grouse Mountain, south to 1st Street, west to Capilano Road, and east to Lonsdale Avenue.

Most of the major equipment in the substation is near end-of-life and needs to be replaced.

Schedule

We're currently in the planning and design phase of the project. A schedule of activities will be available in 2018 once we have refined our plans.

Our planned operational date is 2022. We estimate that construction work will begin approximately 3 years in advance. Reports & documents

 Project factsheet – June 2018 [PDF, 583 KB]  Project introduction letter – May 2016 [PDF, 245 KB] Contact [email protected] 604 623 4472 Toll free: 1 866 647 3334

Capilano Substation upgrade Maintaining Reliability for the North Shore

To ensure reliable electricity supply for the North Shore, we’re upgrading our Capilano Substation located on Woods Drive at Pemberton Avenue.

The existing substation has a western section and eastern section. On the west side, we’ll remove and replace the existing substation building and outdoor equipment and install:

○○ two outdoor transformers;

○○ a building for indoor electrical equipment and a control room;

○○ steel support structures to support the new and existing power lines; and

○○ other associated outdoor electrical equipment in the substation yard.

The east side of the substation will remain operational during construction to continue to provide a reliable supply of electricity to nearby homes and businesses. After the west side is operational, we will decommission the east side.

WHAT IS CAPILANO SUBSTATION?

Capilano Substation was built in the 1950s and converts electricity from a higher voltage (60kV) to a lower voltage to supply power to homes and businesses in the neighbourhood.

There are approximately 12,000 customers currently being served by Capilano Substation. This number is expected to grow as density in the area increases. The service area currently supplied by Capilano Substation extends north of 1st Street, west to Capilano Road, and east to St. George’s Avenue.

Generation: Transmission: Substations: Distribution: Electricity is generated by Electricity is moved from Voltage is reduced at Low voltage electricity is BC Hydro and independent where it is produced to substations to provide provided to neighbourhoods power producers. where it is used. power suitable for use in and businesses. homes and businesses.

B17-008

WHAT’S THE BENEFIT OF THIS UPGRADE?

This upgrade will provide increased reliability to the electrical system and address near end-of-life equipment. This upgrade will also prepare for future growth in the area by increasing the station’s capacity to support homes and businesses.

BCH17-147 CONCEPTUAL MATERIAL AND DRAWING FOR CAPILANO SUBSTATION

MATERIAL SCHEDULE 12 6 LINE 12 12 1 CONCRETE 2 CONCRETE REVEAL

ROOF LEVEL +15.50m PROPERTY 7 MATERIAL SCHEDULE 3 INSULATED CONCRETE PANEL 12 6 2 LINE 4 REMOVABLE CONCRETE PANEL 12 18 1 CONCRETE 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT 2 CONCRETE REVEAL 5 INSULATED METAL PANEL -PAINTED ROOF LEVEL +15.50m PROPERTY 7 14 13 3 1 5 INSULATED CONCRETE PANEL 6 FRP GRATING ENCLOSURE CONTROL ROOM 2 SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 4 18 REMOVABLE CONCRETE PANEL 7 INSULATED METAL PANEL WITH FRP SCREEN 1 2 8 18 VENTILATION LOUVER 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT EQUIPMENT ACCESS SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m 5 INSULATED METAL PANEL -PAINTED 9 14 METAL ROOF 13 1 5 6 FRP GRATING ENCLOSURE CONTROL ROOM SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 7 INSULATED METAL PANEL WITH FRP SCREEN 10 METAL GUARDRAIL -GALVANIZED 7 1 2 8 VENTILATION LOUVER 11 EQUIPMENT ACCESS 18 METAL GUARDRAIL -PAINTED SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m 9 2 METAL ROOF 12 LIGHTNING ROD 13 1 5 INDOOR EQUIPMENT 10 METAL GUARDRAIL -GALVANIZED 13 MAIN LEVEL +1.80m 7 METAL DOOR AND FRAME-PAINTED 11 METAL GUARDRAIL -PAINTED 14 RAIL WATER LEADER 2 12 LIGHTNING ROD 15 TINTED GLAZING IN METAL FRAME GRADE 13 1 5 1 8 16 3 INDOOR EQUIPMENT 13 METAL DOOR AND FRAME-PAINTED 16 MAIN LEVEL +1.80m CABLE ROOM PROJECT SIGNAGE BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m 14 SOUTH ELEVATION RAIL WATER LEADER 17 TILE ON CONCRETE 15 TINTED GLAZING IN METAL FRAME GRADE 18 SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT LINE 1 8 16 3 LINE 16 12 CABLE ROOM PROJECT SIGNAGE BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m 12 SOUTH ELEVATION 17 TILE ON1 CONCRETE PROPERTY SETBACK PROPERTY 18 SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT LINE LINE 9 12 ROOF LEVEL +15.50m 12 1 6 PROPERTY SETBACK PROPERTY 14 12 9 18 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT ROOF LEVEL +15.50m 9 6 13 CONTROL ROOM 11 14 SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 8 12

18 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT EQUIPMENT ACCESS SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m 9 4 18 12 13 5 CONTROL ROOM 11 SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 8 6 MATERIAL SCHEDULE 1 EQUIPMENT 12 ACCESS 6 LINE SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m 4 18 12 5 1 CONCRETE 2 2 CONCRETE REVEAL

ROOF LEVEL +15.50m PROPERTY 7 INDOOR EQUIPMENT MAIN LEVEL +1.80m6 3 INSULATED CONCRETE PANEL 1 2 4 18 REMOVABLE CONCRETE PANEL GRADE 2 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT 3 5 INDOOR EQUIPMENT INSULATED METAL PANEL -PAINTED SCALE: 0 1 5 10 METRES MAIN LEVEL +1.80m 14 13 1 CABLE ROOM 1:150100 5 BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m 6 FRP GRATING ENCLOSURE CONTROL ROOM SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m WEST ELEVATION 7 INSULATED METAL PANEL WITH FRP SCREEN GRADE 12 1 2 8 18 VENTILATION LOUVER EQUIPMENT ACCESS 3 SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m MATERIAL SCHEDULE 9 METAL ROOF SCALE: 0 1 5 10 METRES CABLE ROOM 12 1:150100 MARCH DRAWING 6 BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m CAPILANO SUBSTATION EXPANSION LINE FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 12 WEST ELEVATION 2018 A2.3 1 CONCRETE PRELIMINARY10 METAL GUARDRAIL -GALVANIZED 7 BUILDING ELEVATIONS: SHEET 1 2 CONCRETE REVEAL 11 METAL GUARDRAIL -PAINTED

ROOF LEVEL +15.50m PROPERTY 7 2 3 INSULATED CONCRETE PANEL 12 LIGHTNING ROD MARCH DRAWING 2 CAPILANO SUBSTATION EXPANSION FOR DISCUSSION13 ONLY 4 REMOVABLE CONCRETE PANEL 1 18 5 2018 A2.3 INDOOR EQUIPMENT PRELIMINARY 13 MAIN LEVEL +1.80m BUILDING ELEVATIONS:METAL DOOR SHEET AND FRAME-PAINTED 1 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT 5 INSULATED METAL PANEL -PAINTED 14 RAIL WATER LEADER 14 13 1 5 6 FRP GRATING ENCLOSURE 15 TINTED GLAZING IN METAL FRAME CONTROL ROOM GRADE SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 7 1 8 16 3 INSULATED METAL PANEL WITH FRP SCREEN 1 2 8 VENTILATION LOUVER 16 PROJECT SIGNAGE EQUIPMENT ACCESS CABLE ROOM 18 SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m SOUTH ELEVATION 9 METAL ROOF 17 TILE ON CONCRETE 18 SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT LINE LINE 10 METAL GUARDRAIL -GALVANIZED 7 12 11 METAL GUARDRAIL -PAINTED 2 12 1 PROPERTY SETBACK PROPERTY 12 LIGHTNING ROD 13 5 1 9 INDOOR EQUIPMENT MAIN LEVEL +1.80m 13 METAL DOOR AND FRAME-PAINTED ROOF LEVEL +15.50m 14 RAIL WATER LEADER 6 15 TINTED GLAZING IN METAL FRAME GRADE 14 12 1 8 16 3 18 16 CABLE ROOM 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT PROJECT SIGNAGE BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m 9 SOUTH ELEVATION 17 TILE ON CONCRETE 13 BCH18-299 CONTROL ROOM 11 18 SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 8 SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT LINE LINE 12 EQUIPMENT ACCESS SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m 4 12 1 18 PROPERTY SETBACK 5 PROPERTY

9 6 1 ROOF LEVEL +15.50m 6

14 2 12 INDOOR EQUIPMENT MAIN LEVEL +1.80m 18 12M ZONING ROOF HEIGHT 9 13 CONTROL ROOM GRADE 11 SECOND LEVEL-B +10.10m 8 3 SCALE: 0 1 5 10 METRES CABLE ROOM 1:150100 EQUIPMENT ACCESS BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m SECOND LEVEL-A +9.50m 4 18 WEST ELEVATION 5

6 CAPILANO SUBSTATION1 EXPANSION MARCH DRAWING FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 2018 PRELIMINARY A2.3 BUILDING ELEVATIONS:2 SHEET 1 INDOOR EQUIPMENT MAIN LEVEL +1.80m

GRADE

3 SCALE: 0 1 5 10 METRES CABLE ROOM 1:150100 BASEMENT LEVEL -1.0m WEST ELEVATION

FOR DISCUSSION ONLY CAPILANO SUBSTATION EXPANSION MARCH DRAWING 2018 A2.3 PRELIMINARY BUILDING ELEVATIONS: SHEET 1 EDITORIAL: Change of office

North Shore News

October 23, 2018 02:52 PM

The North Shore is under new management following the successful mayoralty bids of Mary-Ann Booth in West Vancouver, Mike Little in the District of North Vancouver and Linda Buchanan in the City of North Vancouver. All three mayors, as well as a total of nine new councillors, are set to be sworn in Nov. 5 at their respective council chambers. photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News With the smoke beginning to clear and election results soon to be made official, we are getting a glimpse of what the North Shore is to become in the years ahead. The District of West Vancouver has elected a council and mayor with an appetite for change. related  Former councillor Mike Little elected new District of North Vancouver mayor  Mary-Ann Booth elected West Vancouver mayor by 21 votes  Linda Buchanan elected City of North Vancouver mayor The District of North Vancouver has seen the biggest shift in the balance of power where candidates with more conservative platforms essentially ran the table. In the City of North Vancouver, mayor-elect Linda Buchanan certainly benefited from vote splitting with three high-profile opponents all running on a similar message. But when you look at the rest of council, there is no question that urbanism has a mandate in the city. We have been pleased to see this peaceful transfer of power oiled, for the most part, by clean and positive campaigns. And we commend as well the roughly 35 per cent of North Shore residents who found their way to a ballot box. In reality, it is a pitifully low number but it’s a huge increase from the last election. Surely there are a handful of West Vancouver folks who couldn’t shut off Netflix for an hour now wishing they had. The mayoral race there was decided by just 21 votes, as if we needed any more reminders that every vote counts. With the well of democracy refreshed, we are eager to see all our new councils sworn in on Nov. 5. Whether you campaigned on bringing about change or making things more like they used to be, there is a lot of work to be done and those bylaws aren’t going to pass themselves. What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.

Climate change activist spamming politicians for a better tomorrow

Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News

November 21, 2018 08:28 AM

Emily Kelsall fans out a selection of the portrait postcards that she’s planning to mail to every British Columbia MP and to Justin Trudeau every week until October 2019. The focus of the project is to make policy makers aware of the tide of concern about climate change. photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News “What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient . . . highly contagious.” – Inception, 2010 Emily Kelsall is hoping to change minds about climate change one stamp, envelope and postcard at a time. The West Vancouver environmental activist recently embarked on a year-long quest to influence public policy via spam. Kelsall is planning to send one postcard a week to every British Columbia member of Parliament as well as Justin Trudeau. “I don’t want him to feel left out,” she explains. Each postcard is set to feature a different person holding up a sign that makes the simple statement: I Am a ___ Who Cares About Climate Change. They can fill in the blank however they like, Kelsall explains. There’s been a marine engineer, a dancer, homo sapiens/alien, and one “aging rock star,” Kelsall notes. The thrust of the project was to display the diversity of the movement and the depth of the discontent, Kelsall explains. A lot of environmental protests are dominated by, “young kind of hippie-ish type people – which is awesome,” Kelsall says. “But I realized in order to actually make a movement it needed to be really inclusive.” She initially experimented with doing photos of different groups of professionals who care about climate change but soon abandoned the idea. “Organizing a bunch of orthodontists, per se, is kind of tricky,” she says. Following a friend’s advice, Kelsall started haunting Granville and Burrard streets and the SeaBus with her camera and placard. The project was emotionally draining, according to Kelsall, who said she got rejected a lot. “If I stood on the side of the road . . . like I was going to sell something, it didn’t work,” she says. But if she explained the purpose of the photo project, Kelsall says most people were receptive Out of the hundreds she approached, only a handful wanted to debate the impact of climate change or assert that it didn’t exist, she says. “The only people that don’t are in denial or aren’t very educated about it.” Rather than mixed opinion, Kelsall found most respondents had given a fair amount of thought to climate change when discussing the reasons for their concern. “The most common answer I got was: because it affects everything.” While still in her teens, Kelsall lobbied West Vancouver to adorn gas pumps with stickers warning of climate change in 2014. - file photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News Kelsall toyed with the idea of turning the photographs into a project on Instagram but she quickly warmed up to the notion she should: “turn them into postcards and spam politicians.” “I think everyone cares about climate change but it’s a lot for people to sit down and write (to) politicians,” she notes. Kelsall, who previously was part of a campaign to affix West Vancouver gas pumps with warning labels while still a teenager, is currently working as a one-woman letter- writing campaign. We are at a critical junction, Kelsall notes. If climate change isn’t reversed – or at least dramatically slowed – the projections are catastrophic. Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, who’s been writing about climate change since it was called the greenhouse effect, recently penned a New Yorker essay that emphasized the inescapable nature of global warming. “The planet’s diameter will remain eight thousand miles, and its surface will still cover two hundred million square miles. But the earth, for humans, has begun to shrink, under our feet and in our minds,” McKibben writes. As habitable land vanishes, Kelsall wants to ensure that policy makers aren’t able to escape from the need to address climate change. “We don’t talk about it over dinner a lot. It’s must easier to talk about Donald Trump,” she says. “It’s easy to point fingers.” But there is a widespread “silent discontent with the status quo,” Kelsall says. Kelsall sees herself giving voice to that silent majority and hopefully starting a conversation. People need to be able to “hold their heads high” and define themselves as environmentalists just as they might classify themselves as believing in racial equality. “It should just be a standard,” she says. The project has had its hiccups, as many of Kelsall’s postcards were returned and marked Postage Due. It turns out it’s free to mail a letter to your MP in Ottawa but not to their local constituency office, she says. Currently, the plan is to send 28 of the 52 postcards to Ottawa. “But for the remaining 24, I’m on the hook for a hefty amount of postage dues,” she writes on her blog. She’s hopeful she can get people engaged. “In an ideal world, I think I would like to be able to plant the seed of change in the politicians’ subconscious,” she says. “Sort of like Inception.” “Everybody cares,” she says. “We just need to mobilize behind that silent discontent.” © 2018 North Shore News

LETTER: Consider the cost before you vote for electoral reform

North Shore News

November 2, 2018 05:00 PM

file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

Dear Editor:

Re: Neither Voting System on Ballot Flawless or Ideal, Oct. 31 View From the Ledge opinion column.

An excellent column by Keith Baldrey on the pros and cons of proportional representation. He encourages us to do some reading up. One aspect of the consequence of PR that seems to be left out is the potential cost.

A very good article in the National Post on July 28, 2016 entitled Why Do Governments Elected By Proportional Representation Spend More Money states that a PR government tends to spend an average of six per cent more of gross domestic product. Often through borrowing and deficit spending.

One would think that with the economy of scale as more and more people pay taxes, the cost of government should be less but all taxes seem to rise faster than inflation. Consider the cost before you vote.

William Sherlock North Vancouver related

 BALDREY: Neither voting system on ballot flawless or ideal

Developers furious with City of White Rock as council freezes tower plans

Glenda Luymes More from Glenda Luymes

Published: November 8, 2018

Updated: November 8, 2018 4:50 PM PST

White Rock's new council is “opening a can of worms” by freezing development of two planned 12-storey residential towers at its first meeting since the election. This is one of the sites, at 1310 Johnston Rd. Francis Georgian / PNG White Rock's new council is “opening a can of worms” by reducing the height of two planned residential towers from 12 storeys to six storeys at its first meeting since election.

White Rock council voted Wednesday to hit the pause button on two 12-storey residential towers planned for the city’s downtown core, a decision one developer said would “obliterate” several years of planning work.

The newly elected mayor, Darryl Walker, said he heard from many residents during the campaign who were frustrated by overdevelopment, specifically “height restrictions that were well above what the people of White Rock thought to be reasonable.” At a meeting Wednesday night, the first since Walker and four of his Democracy Direct running mates were elected, council voted to cut the allowable height for two proposed mixed-use buildings on Johnston Road from 12 storeys to six while the city reviews its Official Community Plan, or OCP.

Although both projects, the 12-storey Lady Alexandra and the 12-storey Solterra, had received development permits and were within the limits set out in the city’s OCP, they had not yet applied for a building permit. Projects that had received or applied for a building permit, including several towers over six storeys already under construction, were not affected by council’s decision.

At the same meeting, council also voted to review the OCP, which was passed by the previous council in 2017 after almost three years of consultation.

Walker said he could not comment on the process used to arrive at the city’s current OCP because he was not on council, but he felt White Rock had given him a mandate to “go back and review” the document that guides planning and land use in the city.

Coun. Helen Fathers said her intention in voting to review the OCP and building heights was “not to decimate these projects.”

The incumbent councillor said debate in White Rock is often split between pro- and anti-development voices, and “council’s job is to find something in the middle.”

The developer behind one of the proposed buildings on Johnston Road said he was worried council had become anti-development.

“We’ve spent years working on this, consulting with city planners,” said Peter Cross. “The first thing (council has) done is attack us.”

Cross said going from 12 storeys to six storeys will require a complete redesign of his project. He was also concerned about an approximately 20 per cent reduction in the allowable density on the site.

“I think they’ve opened a can of worms,” he said, adding he anticipates his team will be seeking legal advice on next steps.

Former mayor Wayne Baldwin said the OCP process was extensive and included many public meetings and open houses.

“The new council is comprised entirely of people who did not agree with some of the decisions made in that process, so it comes as no surprise that upon election they would immediately take on a process of attempting to reverse the OCP in some areas at least,” he said.

Baldwin said he felt it was council’s right to reverse past decisions as long as it was done within the law.

“White Rock has a history of bouncing between councils that want to deal with growth and change, and those that want no growth and no change, and right now we are dealing with the latter.”

[email protected]

twitter.com/glendaluymes

Dog ban part of long-range plan for Grouse Mountain park

Maria Spitale-Leisk / North Shore News

November 6, 2018 04:15 PM

A couple of hikers tackle the Grouse Grind earlier this year. file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

A long-term plan for Grouse Mountain Regional Park, including the banning of dogs on a popular trail, was unanimously approved by the Metro Vancouver board on Oct. 26.

Upgrading the B.C. Mountaineering Club trail, a more rugged route adjacent to the Grouse Grind, is at the top of the priority list. Banning dogs on the BCMC is also part of the 20-year plan.

 Metro Van mulls Grouse Park tweaks

After the area officially became a regional park in 2017, Metro Vancouver reached out to stakeholders, local First Nations and the greater public this past summer for ideas and advice on how best to use the 75 hectares of land.

Hikers want a rustic experience on the BCMC – a trail that saw 95,000 visitors from May to September of this year – is what Metro staff learned during the engagement process. By comparison, the Grind attracted 250,000 hikers in the same time period this summer. “They don’t want (the BCMC) to look exactly like the Grouse Grind,” said Jeff Fitzpatrick, Metro Vancouver regional parks manager for the west area.

As part of a gentle facelift the BCMC – which has been described in online hiking forums as what the Grind looked like before it was developed – is set to be slightly more defined.

Steep sections of the BCMC that have experienced erosion will be reinforced with steps built out of natural materials. It will likely take a few seasons to finish the BCMC upgrades, with work expected to start next spring.

Banning dogs on the BCMC, a proposal supported by the majority of those surveyed, came after looking at environmental impacts and talking to the public, according to Fitzpatrick.

Some hikers take their dogs on the BCMC because they are not allowed on the Grind.

“Off-leash dogs can surprise hikers and expand the width of the trail, and impact the wildlife adjacent to the area,” Fitzpatrick explained.

Metro Vancouver staff will be developing a signage plan that will include information about dogs in the park. Hikers can still walk their friendly companions on a leash along the Baden Powell trail, which cuts along the base of Grouse Mountain Regional Park for about half a kilometre.

As for Mother Nature’s Stairmaster, those who weighed in on the park survey want to see the Grind stay the same.

“On the Grouse Grind what we heard from people is that they were quite happy with the trail in its current condition … and they don’t want to see a lot of changes to the way the trail looks,” said Fitzpatrick.

The plan for the Grind now is to keep hikers out of harm's way through regular maintenance and improved signage but not to change its look or feel. During the winter months, there will also be sporadic openings of the Grind when the conditions are safe.

In the long term, Metro might look at upgrading the trailhead at the base of the Grind and BCMC – to open up the space and make it more “user-friendly” and less congested, explained Fitzpatrick.

Also included in the plan is a new connector trail – about a quarter of the way up – which would take hikers from the Grind over to the BCMC and down to the Baden Powell trail.

If they bit off more than they could chew with the Grind, hikers can switch into a lower gear and head along the Baden Powell. The connector trail also creates a loop for hikers who can access the varying terrains on the markedly different trails.

“Loops are really popular for folks and the benefit of this is it makes the park a bit more accessible to people who are maybe not as fit or as up for that kind of challenging hike,” said Fitzpatrick.

Metro will set aside $250,000 annually, beginning in 2019, for trail maintenance and construction in Grouse Mountain Regional Park, as part of a five-year regional parks' capital budget.

In 2020, there will be $30,000 spent for a detailed design of the park trailhead.

Paul Sullivan / Contributing writer

October 25, 2018 03:35 PM

There's been some major shakeups at all three North Shore municipalities during this recent election, but some things won't change. file photo North Shore News

Clearly, we live in interesting times. Certainly, if you’re Mary-Ann Booth, the new mayor of West Vancouver by a razor-thin margin of 21 votes, life is already too interesting. But if we’re looking for patterns of interesting, the North Shore is shaping up to be a certifiably interesting place to live and work over the next four years.

Roughly speaking, it’s looking like status quo in the City of North Vancouver and the District of West Vancouver with a major hoo-ha in the District of North Vancouver. related

 EDITORIAL: Change of office  Linda Buchanan elected City of North Vancouver mayor  Mary-Ann Booth elected West Vancouver mayor by 21 votes  Former councillor Mike Little elected new District of North Vancouver mayor

Consider: If you liked the leadership of Mayor Darrell Mussatto in the City of North Vancouver, you’ll love his successor, Linda Buchanan, who voted with Mussatto on all matters and was endorsed by Mussatto as his successor. Holly Back and the venerable Don Bell were also re-elected. More interesting, perhaps, is the fact that three major critics of the past administration: Guy Heywood, Rod Clark and Kerry Morris, were all defeated by Buchanan in the race for mayor.

If the three of them had managed to sit down and draw straws to stand as the single slow-growth candidate, the city could be a different place today, but politicians gotta run for office. That’s what they do. I’m sad to see that Heywood, one of the more thoughtful and scrupulous community-minded citizens I’ve ever known, won’t get to be a part of all the fun.

Meanwhile, it looks like development as usual in the city, where they appear to be testing the boundaries of the word “density.” Consider: In West Van, Mary-Ann Booth was a middle-of-the-road councillor who now promises to be a middle-of-the-road mayor. Four of her fellow councillors were re-elected and two non-radical rookies joined the team. Together they have to figure out how to prevent West Vancouver from dying a slow demographic death. Good luck with that. The only people who can afford to live in West Van are legacy residents and those who win the lottery, both relatively exclusive populations. But for really interesting you gotta love the District of North Vancouver. Mike Little, the only guy I know who still wears a tie even if it’s not a wedding or a funeral, has been overwhelmingly elected mayor of a team of no- to-slow growth warriors that could throw a change-up into the brave new world of highrise development spawned under former Mayor Richard Walton. Joining slow-growth advocate Little are slow-growth advocates Lisa Muri, Jim Hanson, Betty Forbes and Megan Curren. Robin Hicks, who often voted with Walton, was defeated. That leaves Mathew Bond as the last man standing from the Walton ally group, as well as rookie Jordan Back, who may find himself wondering if he took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the Shire. I imagine Lisa Muri will find it hard to resist asking Bond how-it-feels-now-that-the-shoe-is-on-the-other-foot, but she will probably be too busy rejecting development proposals. Little’s army buried the Building Bridges party headed by Ash Amlani, who came a distant second in the race for mayor. Amlani seemed to come out of nowhere, which didn’t help her during the campaign, but she came across as the voice of reason throughout the campaign, which of course, led to her defeat. Bond is the sole survivor of the slate on council, and it will be interesting to see if Building Bridges survives to another election. Before the election, polling showed that people across the North Shore were worried about gridlock traffic, a scarcity of affordable housing, and an overall less-tangible, but troubling, deterioration in the quality of life. It’s still early, but it looks as if this unease has been most clearly reflected in the District of North Vancouver results. You could feel it coming. At all-candidates meetings Mike Little and his cohorts often spoke to a non- stop applause track. And it was a near thing in the city – Heywood lost to Buchanan by a mere 400 votes, and altogether, the slow growth faction received twice as many votes as Buchanan in the race for mayor. This leaves Don Bell as the foremost advocate for slowing things down in the city: “Too much density, too fast” he told the North Shore News. I have a feeling he ain’t seen nothin’ yet. One final note re: my favourite hobbyhorse. Seventy-nine per cent of district voters said yes to spend $100,000 to study amalgamation with the City of North Vancouver. This is unrequited love, as the new city council remains unmoved by the idea, fearing that the district likes density (and the tax dollars that it brings) only when it’s in the city. Still, at least the embers of amalgamation are glowing, which will keep the times ahead just that much more interesting. Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Vancouver resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. [email protected] What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below. © 2018 North Shore News

EDITORIAL: Drop in anytime

North Shore News November 13, 2018 03:37 PM

file photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News Affordability, we’re often told, is a relative concept. Like taste or humidity, it varies so widely from one person to the next that it’s impossible to quantify. However, there is one simple way to measure affordability on the North Shore: gridlock.

related  Two North Vancouver housing projects get provincial funding  Public hearings scheduled for North Van affordable housing projects  Delbrook below-market housing decision punted to next council Because when we look at the line of 20,000 or so workers who put the North Shore in their rear-view mirrors every afternoon, what we’re mostly seeing are folks who can’t afford to live here. That’s just one of the reasons we’re grateful the province is putting $19 million towards 196 units of affordable housing on the North Shore. Naturally, some contend the free market would eventually provide the housing we need. Well, if given enough time, the human body might naturally produce enough antibodies to fend off disease, but we’d prefer medicine. While Metro Vancouver home sales fell 43 per cent compared to the same period in 2017, benchmark prices rose 2.2 per cent. Even if the real estate boom is over, we’re still grappling with aftershocks. This money means 106 homes for seniors at the Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society at Whiteley Court and 90 homes for families near Phibbs Exchange – depending on the wishes of the newly elected District of North Van council. We note the below-market Delbrook housing project is threatened not by a lack of provincial funding but by a lack of support from its neighbours. We’re hopeful our new council will overcome political gridlock and help the legions priced out of the North Shore. The new funding may be a drop in the bucket. But the way we see it, that’s all the more reason not to waste it. What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below. © 2018 North Shore News

PREST: British Columbians are not too dumb to understand electoral reform

Andy Prest / North Shore News

November 14, 2018 11:47 AM

You haven't voted in the referendum yet?!?! photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News

You know that style of infomercial where some hapless fool completely fails to accomplish an everyday task that no normal person would ever struggle with?

Someone is cooking a turkey but they can’t find anywhere to put down the meat thermometer so they end up resting it on the side of the counter, but then it flips off the side of the counter and they try to catch it and they burn their hand and now the thermometer is flying across the room. Look out, Grandpa! Oh no – meat thermometer in the eyeball!

Those commercials are hilarious and a little sad because they portray us humans as the most useless species in the world, unfit for using such complicated devices as cling wrap or bottle openers without accidently decapitating unsuspecting passersby. Arggh!

I’m bringing this up because it seems to me that one of the main arguments used by the “No” side of the electoral reform debate going on now in British Columbia is basically one of those infomercials running on a loop. We can’t have proportional representation – it’s too confusing! Ranked ballots? Transferrable votes? We’re not smart enough for that! If we try proportional representation, we’ll go into the ballot box, get flustered while looking at the list of candidates, mark our Xs all wrong, bite the pencil in half and get lead poisoning and drop dead. Then they’ll revive us in the ambulance but we’ll discover to our horror that the MLA we voted in is a talking hedgehog and our new premier is a slightly wilted rhododendron. Grrrr. Voting is hard!

A quick search produces a number of examples of this line of thinking.

In an op-ed that appeared in our paper, the CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce argued that with the referendum question, “voters have basically been handed a ballot written in code.”

Point No. 1 on the website for “No” side reasons that “the system for calculating winners is so complex that a confusing algorithm chooses MLAs for us.”

Wow, this all sounds impossible!

But is it, though? Is it really that confusing? Sure, at first glance when you open up the referendum ballot you are greeted with something that many people in the social media age don’t encounter all too often: an actual piece of paper filled with words. Static, non-emoji words, with not a single LOL in sight.

But then you read those words and string them together into sentences and then paragraphs and at the end of a few minutes you understand what is going on. It’s really not that hard. And for those who do struggle to understand what they are reading, you can go online to the Elections B.C. referendum page and easily find a video that neatly explains the questions being asked. There are also a lot of follow-up videos and info pages to further explain the choices, as well as translations into 14 different languages. It’s all right there! It’s not that hard!

That’s why the insinuation that this is all far too complicated for us is so irksome. Dozens of countries around the world use proportional representation in national elections. Are we saying that Norwegians, Faroe Islanders, Burkina Fasoans and Luxembourgers are smart enough to sort through proportional representation questions, but we aren’t?

Burkina Faso? Burkina Not So!

We’re plenty smart. And it seems that the insinuation that we’re not smart enough is disingenuous scaremongering rather than actual concern about the process.

It’s a shame that the debate has disintegrated into a partisan issue with the Liberals backing the “No” side – the side that just so happens to routinely hand them majority governments with nowhere near 50 per cent of the popular vote – and the NDP taking up the “Yes” side. The “Yes” men aren’t bathing themselves in glory either. NDP Leader John Horgan’s proclamation that “pro rep is lit” made me want to grab a stick of dynamite and take back the true meaning of “lit.”

What really should happen here is the removal of all the scare tactics and use of the word “lit” to get to the basic question: what kind of democracy do voters want? There is no perfect system, so we all have to decide which one – flaws and all – we want the most.

With the current first-past-the-post system, which tends to elect majorities, the major decisions are made within political party conventions and then presented to voters. With proportional representation, which is less likely to produce a majority, the path the province takes is more likely to be a compromise negotiated between parties.

I’d personally like to give proportional representation a try, employing a fair system in which the number of seats a party gets correlates to the percentage of the votes they receive. It’d also be nice to see the Green Party able to set down a few roots in the legislature to offer periodic reminders that humanity is marching itself into a toaster oven and turning the dial to Broil.

That being said, I can also see the value in the FPTP assurance of knowing exactly who your representative is, even if you didn’t vote for that person. But neither system is scary, and neither is really all that complex.

So for all of you out there with that referendum ballot still sitting in your to-do box – and you surely outnumber the keeners who have already sent in their ballots – know that you are smart enough to puzzle this one out. I believe in you!

Grab your black pen, fill in your circles and pop that ballot into the weird privacy paper thingy and then the envelope and then the other envelope and then a mailbox. It’s really not that hard.

And then you can celebrate with a nice glass of B.C. wine. Grab the bottle opener – and don’t forget the safety glasses!

Andy Prest is the sports editor for the North Shore News and writes a biweekly humour/lifestyle column. He can be reached via email at [email protected].

ELECTORAL REFORM PUSH ABOUT POWER, IDEOLOGY

8 Nov 2018 Vancouver Sun

John Hansen, a Halfmoon Bay resident, is a retired professional engineer who has worked at senior policy levels in both the federal and B.C. governments, and in the private sector, including 10 years as chief economist for the Vancouver Board of Trade and European-style utopian welfare state is the goal, John Hansen writes.

There are some volatile countries where the coalition governments have been notoriously unstable.

The mantra of the proponents of proportional representation is that it is “fair” because the number of seats in the legislative assembly would be somewhat proportional to the votes garnered by the various parties. Does this mean better government, which, in the end ought to be the objective? It does not! Let’s look at some of the implications of going down the pro-rep road, and let’s understand what is really driving the move for pro-rep.

It is a demonstrated fact that pro-rep voting systems virtually guarantee coalition governments. Should B.C. voters select a pro-rep system, it is almost certain that we will have coalition governments in the future. It could be NDP- Green; LiberalGreen; Liberal-Conservative; or Libertarian, or Communist party, or any other fringe party that garners some votes and gains a few seats.

Coalition governments by their nature are based on deal-making and appeasement of the interests of the other parties to maintain power. (Some deal-making may be open and visible, but a lot of deals are cut behind closed doors in political offices, out of public view.)

Look at our current provincial government or any federal or provincial minority government: The party that holds the balance of power has the ability to bring down the minority government. The party — or parties — that hold that balance of power will get more or less everything on their agenda. This inexorably means more government, more spending and higher taxes. One only has to look at the European countries with some form of pro-rep. They are characterized by high taxes, enormous bureaucracies, and governments that reach deeply into the lives of their citizens. I give you my birth country of Denmark as an example, just on the tax picture. In Denmark, the general sales tax is 25 per cent. Tax on new cars is a whopping 180 per cent.

In Canada, one prime example is the Pierre Trudeau government of 1972 to 1974, a minority government in coalition with David Lewis’ NDP. There were new programs and new spending; whatever it took to keep the NDP coalition partners happy. I worked in Ottawa at the time and saw first-hand what was happening. This period sowed the seeds for massive deficit spending and it took subsequent governments 40 difficult years to dig out of the deficit hole.

Pro-rep has also been shown to spark small specialinterest groups and splinter parties to run for election, anticipating a piece of the action in the formation of a coalition government. The European countries with pro- rep typically have a dozen or more parties. Spain, for example, has 10 mainstream parties and another 19 regional/special-interest parties. Belgium has 19 main political parties and another 17 fringe parties. The recent Danish national election had 80 candidates on the ballot in any given riding.

There are some volatile countries where the coalition governments have been notoriously unstable; Italy, Greece and Spain are examples. In 150 years, Italy has had 58 prime ministers, 37 of whom lasted less than two years. Amintore Fanfani’s government in 1954 lasted 23 days. Benito Mussolini ruled for 21 years. But he was a dictator and seized power under a pro-rep election system. (And yes, it’s true, Adolf Hitler too, gained power under a pro-rep system.) The partners in stable coalitions in Europe may change, slightly, but for the most part remain the same players stroking each other to stay in power. Power can shift a little to the right or to the left, but it’s rare for the electorate to “throw the rascals out.” (It’s like having a city council where the councillors and the mayor change seats from time to time, but you never get rid of them.) When it does happen, it is generally with great social upheaval, with riots and strikes, as in Greece and Spain last year.

Pro-rep, as proposed in any of the three options put on the ballot by the current coalition government, is complicated. Two of the options have never been tested anywhere in the world. All three involve multimember seats and allocation of additional seats ( by the party machinery not voters) to approximate the percentage of vote to the population. All this will distort and dilute openness and accountability.

Strip away the cloak of high-minded objectives hyped by the proponents of pro-rep in B.C., I believe the true driving forces are these three:

First, cynical self-interest by the Green party to gain more seats and, ergo, more power.

Second, opportunity seen by other special-interest parties to gain influence and power.

Third, many “social reformers” in our society see coalition governments as the road to achieve their vision of a European-style utopian welfare state.

Check the list of “endorsers” of pro-rep on the Yes PR website. Many are the same ones who signed to the NDP LEAP Manifesto, 2015, which was panned as being too socialist and too elitist even by the NDP itself.

In other words, the push for pro-rep is about power and ideology, not good government.

I would urge everyone to do some research and think about the potential consequences. (Premier Horgan is suggesting that we take a “leap of faith” and trust him that pro-rep will be good for B.C.) I believe we should not go down the pro-rep road on a leap of faith, but be fully informed and fully aware of what we are voting for and what the consequences will be.

Please vote No.

20 Comment(s)

Ron Sanderson 08 November 2018 07:38 Stop using the word “reform” with its positive connotations...use electoral “change” when referring to this push by the NDP to bring in some form of pr. Doug Lyons 08 November 2018 07:56 Very well written with extremely important points for all to consider. Thanks for this article. Politics 08 November 2018 08:56 More good points on why we should stick with current system. Zaxxon 08 November 2018 08:57 This well written article is a must read for anyone thinking of voting in favour of this madness. Wet Coaster 08 November 2018 09:22 Another Gotterdammerung scenario author. I am getting really tired of these opinion pieces which are really hit pieces with very carefully selected facts. In riposte I could point to our south to show the evils of FPTP. Even the Economist magazine, a conservative leaning weekly, rates the US as a flawed democracy. Britain, another FPTP country, is in that category too. Guess which nations were in the full democracy category? Mostly European led by Norway and other Scandinavian countries. PR countries. We made the list as did Australia and New Zealand. You can Google it. Australia is partially ranked ballot and NZ has a form of PR. The real hypocrisy is that the FPTP supporters are also about power and ego. This author must have attended republican ad makers school. Few facts and lot of distortion.

GMan 08 November 2018 10:01 Wet Coaster: So Wetty, what you want to see is a hit piece with very carefully selected facts that support your side. Stop attacking the message and refute the actual points. Don't talk around them by suggesting that "it works in Norway etc." Talk to the fact that it doesn't work in Greece, Spain, Nazi Germany etc. CRP12 08 November 2018 13:38 The minority party doesn't get everything it wants because there is always the chance a new election would result in their loss of power. I believe that theoretically PR should be a good system but the options we get to choose from are two no one has and a third that Isn't even fully defined. I can't vote for change in these circumstances.

Lord of Truth 08 November 2018 13:42 Here we go an elite talking down to the people of BC to con them to vote no, using all sorts of fear tactics and comparisons with countries that have nothing to do with BC. BC doesn't need any elites telling them how to vote on anything, the people of BC can make up their own minds and vote accordingly. Pop Rep gives the average persons on the street a real voice in the Legislature or Parliament, if I was part of the Green party I would want my vote counted and have the same value as every other vote and FPTP does not do that. Look at Trudeau, Notley in Alberta, the Liberals in BC, the NDP in BC and all across Canada, majority governments with less than or close to 40% of the popular vote. The real majority, the 60% have to put up with their ideology for 4 years and they can do anything and will do anything they want because they have ultimate power to do it and they will push their agenda because the know they have to do it in the next 4 years. The system is sick and it's not real democracy, it favours the elites with big money not the people on main street. Vote yes for Pop Rep give the elites like this guy and the Trudeau's of this country a slap down.

RHW 08 November 2018 14:09 Wet Coaster: Check your tax rates wetty. Stryder 08 November 2018 14:19 Ron Sanderson: But it is positive. It's fairer and more democratic and nobody has been able to refute that.

Stryder 08 November 2018 14:20 oor Wullie: You're being naive if you think that backroom deals don't go on after. And, being realistic as you are, how can a group of parties makes deals before they know what their individual situations are?

Stryder 08 November 2018 14:21 Politics: What good points? You mean the lying Liberal talking points?

Stryder 08 November 2018 14:23 Wet Coaster: Way to go, Wettie and I mean that sincerely. OH.OH, now we're going to be accused of being in bed together, with BAUM and maybe RR.

Stryder 08 November 2018 14:25 GMan: Are you really serious? When have you come to the table with facts other than Liberal talking points? Referring to Greece, Spain and Nazi Germany indicates to me that you are not being serious. Those are straw horses. No comparison. Wet Coaster 08 November 2018 14:26 I was confident I was poking a hornet's nest. 1. I dislike a ProRep screed just as intensely. These opinion articles don't do much to inform us. They just trash each other. 2. I was pointing out that the "facts" pointed at obvious failed states and countries with difficult histories. We are light years different from the failures which debunks the main argument. 3. The author selected Denmark. A recent survey said they were the happiest country on earth. Yes, what a terrible country. Get Real..... 4. Taxes are low in a lot of places that I would never consider living in and whose poverty rates are bad. The US has a terrible gap between rich and poor. Is that a model we want to emulate? 5. Some FPTP supporters seem to have blinders on regarding very successful PR election systems. 6. Lastly, I have little confidence in the two main parties in this province. Both have major flaws that I hope can be mitigated by another election system. I can be very specific about serious mistakes under the FPTP system for both parties. Every governing party needs some checks and balances. Where I worked, they had a "4 eyes" principle. No one could take any significant action without a review. I'd like a similar constraint on our political parties. Stryder 08 November 2018 14:28 CRP12: Then you are letting little things get in the way of a fair system and you're opting to stay with a seriously flawed system. I can't take you seriously. That crap about the 2 that no one has is just that, crap. You need to spend some time looking at the voters guide.

Stryder 08 November 2018 14:32 Right on, Lord. Fear mongering and lying to advance their own cause. Hop into bed with the other good guys. How they can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning and talk about their wonderful Canadian values, is beyond me. And on Nov. 11, they are going to stand sanctimoniously at some ceremony and thank the some 130 000 people who gave their lives to protect our democracy and then go home and mail in their ballots voting to keep a flawed system.

VanIsle 08 November 2018 15:10 Stryder: What a pile of sanctimonious crap!!! The system you call "flawed" has served this Country well for over 150 years. It was the system that existed during both world wars. That you should call people who believe the current system are somehow "unCanadian" is an incredible insult IMO - a clear demonstration of a lack of your vaunted Canadian Values on your part. You really need to get a grip, Daryl. These constant character assinations directed at people who have legitimate concerns about the process surrounding this referendum is getting very tiresome.

GMan 08 November 2018 15:10 Stryder: Sorry Strydes but just because you wish to cover your ears and go LA LA LA LA does not make them straw horses or any other kind of straw animal. They had PR and the larger party had to kow-tow to the smaller party to form a government. A dictator was born in one case and economic ruin came from the other cases. BAUM 08 November 2018 20:20 People are tired of bickering politicians. They want the legitimate parties to work together to formulate policies that benefit the citizens of BC. FPTP was NOT designed for the kind of cooperation and nuanced negotiations that people expect from a modern government. It was designed a couple of centuries ago for two-party states.

Well, we have moved way past that scenario in BC and we need to collectively move into the 21st Century by moving to a ProRep system that allows for a new kind of politics and I dare say a new type of politician.

It's not a big leap, we even have an escape clause (to move back to the present system) if it doesn't work out.

Vote YES to ProRep. Tim Garrett warns — Energy efficiency gains will do the opposite of what economists claim they will do

As energy efficiency increases, civilization grows faster, consumes more resources faster, grows the economy: The bad news — Energy consumption and CO2 emissions accelerate.

No 2393 Posted by fw, November 9, 2018

NOTE — To access my other posts related to Dr. Garrett’s research on a global economic/civilization collapse by the end of this century, click on the Tab in the top left margin, titled Civilization/Economic Collapse ~ Links to All Posts By or About Dr. Tim Garrett’s Research

“Improving energy efficiency is our best hope to slow global energy consumption and limit carbon dioxide emissions. Makes perfect sense, right? Better technology for more jobs and a healthier planet! Yay capitalism. But let’s look a little closer. … It is easy to find economists … pointing to … examples in economic sectors or nations where energy efficiency gains have led to less energy consumption. For example, the USA has become more efficient and thereby stabilized its rate of energy consumption. While these counter-examples may be true, they are also very misleading, especially if the subject is climate change. … Taking this global perspective with respect to the economy, efficiency gains will do the exact opposite of what efficiency policy advocates claim it will do. If technological changes allow global energy productivity or energy efficiency to increase, then civilization will grow faster into the resources that sustain it. This grows the economy, but it also means that energy consumption and CO2 emissions accelerate. CO2 emissions can be stabilized despite efficiency gains. But this is possible only if decarbonization occurs as quickly as energy consumption grows. At today’s consumption growth rates, this would require roughly one new nuclear power plant, or equivalent in renewables, to be deployed each day.” —Tim Garrett, Nephologue

The above passage captures the essence of atmospheric physicist Tim Garrett’s article, reposted in full below. In addition, at the bottom of the post is a link to a related paper, also by Garrett, to which I have reposted the paper’s abstract.

To read Garrett’s energy efficiency article on his blog, Nephologue, click on the following linked title.

**********

Is increasing energy efficiency driving global climate change? by Tim Garrett, Nephologue, September 20, 2018

Improving energy efficiency is our best hope to slow global energy consumption and limit carbon dioxide emissions.

Makes perfect sense, right? Better technology for more jobs and a healthier planet! Yay capitalism.

But let’s look a little closer. People may choose to drive more often if a vehicle is fuel efficient: driving is useful or pleasurable and now it is more affordable. Or, less money spent on fueling energy efficient vehicles could enable more money to be spent on fuel for home air conditioning.

The idea was first introduced by William Stanley Jevons in 1865. Jevons was emphatic that energy efficient steam engines had accelerated Britain’s consumption of coal. The cost of steam-powered coal extraction became cheaper and, because coal was very useful, more attractive.

Economists do acknowledge this to some degree referring to a phenomenon called “rebound”. A very few studies even argue for “backfire”: gains in energy efficiency ultimately lead to greater energy consumption. Calculating the total magnitude of rebound or backfire has proved contentious and elusive. The problem for academics has been that any given efficiency improvement has knock-on effects that can eventually propagate through the entire global economy. Estimating the ultimate impact is daunting if not impossible.

Imagine you buy a nice new fuel efficient car. An unequivocal good for the environment, right? Sure feels good to do one’s part to save the planet. And you have a fatter wallet too since you spend less on gas. Life’s good! You can spend that saved money now (for argument’s sake) on better household heating and cooling so that you sleep better at nights. Being more rested you become more productive at work, giving you a raise and your employer higher profits. The business grows to consume more while you take that much deserved flight for a vacation in Cancun.

In this fashion, the ramifications of any given efficiency action might multiply indefinitely, spreading at a variety of rates throughout the global economy. Barring global analysis over long time scales, conclusions about the magnitude of rebound or backfire may be quantitative but highly uncertain since they are always dependent on the time and spatial scales considered.

Analyzing the global economy like a growing child

There’s a way around this complexity — ignore it by treating the economy only as a whole.

Stepping back like this is a standard part of the physics toolbox. Imagine describing the growth of a child without being an expert in physiology. It shouldn’t take a doctor to comprehend that the child uses the material nutrients and potential energy in food not only to produce waste but also to grow its body mass. As the child grows, it needs to eat more food, accelerating its growth until it reaches adulthood and its growth stabilizes (hopefully!).

Now, an inefficient, diseased child who cannot successfully turn food to body mass may become sickly, lose weight, and even die. But a healthy, energy efficient child will continue to grow and some day become a robust adult who consumes food energy at a much higher rate than as an infant.

What could be treated as a tremendously complicated problem can also be approached in a fairly straight- forward manner, provided we look at the child as a complete person and not just a complex machine of component body parts.

Efficient civilization growth We can take the same perspective with civilization. Without a doubt, consuming energy is what allows for all of civilization’s activities and circulations to continue — without potential energy dissipation* nothing in the economy can happen; even our thoughts and choices require energy consumption for electrical signals to cross neural synapses. Just like a child, when civilization is efficient it is able to use a fraction of this energy in order to incorporate new raw materials into its structure. It was by being efficient that civilization was able to increase its size.

[*In this paragraph, Tim essentially defines ‘dissipation’]. When civilization expands, it increases its ability to access reserves of primary energy and raw materials, provided they remain or are there to be discovered. Increased access to energy reserves allows civilization to sustain its newly added circulations. If this efficiency is sustained, civilization can continue to grow. In a positive feedback loop, expansion work leads to greater energy inputs, more work, and more rapid expansion.

This is the feedback that is the recipe for emergent growth, not just of civilization, or a child, but of any system. The more efficiently energy is consumed, the faster the system grows, and the more rapidly the system grows its energy consumption needs.

Ultimately there are constraints on efficiency and growth from reserve depletion and internal decay. But in the growth phase, efficient conversion of energy to work allows civilization to become both more prosperous and more consumptive.

Implications for climate change

It is easy to find economists willing to express disdain for the concept of backfire, or even rebound, by pointing to counter-examples in economic sectors or nations where energy efficiency gains have led to less energy consumption. For example, the USA has become more efficient and thereby stabilized its rate of energy consumption.

While these counter-examples may be true, they are also very misleading, especially if the subject is climate change. Nations do not exist in economic isolation. Through international trade the world shares and competes for collective resources. Quite plausibly, the only reason the USA appears to consume less energy is that it has outsourced the more energy intensive aspects of its economy to countries like China. Should an economist argue that “There is nothing particularly magical about the macroeconomy, it is merely the sum of all the micro parts” we can be just as dismayed as we would upon hearing a medical practitioner state that “there is nothing particularly magical about the human body, it is merely the sum of all its internal organs”. Connections matter!

Fundamentally, through trade, civilization can be treated as being “well-mixed” over timescales relevant to economic growth. In other words, trade happens quickly compared to global economic growth rates of a couple of percent per year. Similarly, excess atmospheric concentrations of CO2 grow globally at a couple of percent per year. They too are well-mixed over timescales relevant to global warming forecasts because atmospheric circulations quickly connect one part of the atmosphere every other. For the purpose of relating the economy to atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the only thing that matters is global scale emissions by civilization as a whole.

Taking this global perspective with respect to the economy, efficiency gains will do the exact opposite of what efficiency policy advocates claim it will do. If technological changes allow global energy productivity or energy efficiency to increase, then civilization will grow faster into the resources that sustain it. This grows the economy, but it also means that energy consumption and CO2 emissions accelerate. CO2 emissions can be stabilized despite efficiency gains. But this is possible only if decarbonization occurs as quickly as energy consumption grows. At today’s consumption growth rates, this would require roughly one new nuclear power plant, or equivalent in renewables, to be deployed each day.

For more details

Garrett, T. J., 2012: No way out? The double-bind in seeking global prosperity alongside mitigated climate change, Earth System Dynamics 3, 1-17, doi:10.5194/esd-3-1-2012

Abstract. In a prior study (Garrett, 2011), I introduced a simple economic growth model designed to be consistent with general thermodynamic laws. Unlike traditional economic models, civilization is viewed only as a well-mixed global whole with no distinction made between individual nations, economic sectors, labor, or capital investments. At the model core is a hypothesis that the global economy’s current rate of primary energy consumption is tied through a constant to a very general representation of its historically accumulated wealth. Observations support this hypothesis, and indicate that the constant’s value is λ = 9.7 ± 0.3 milliwatts per 1990 US dollar. It is this link that allows for treatment of seemingly complex economic systems as simple physical systems. Here, this growth model is coupled to a linear formulation for the evolution of globally well-mixed atmospheric CO2 concentrations. While very simple, the coupled model provides faithful multi-decadal hindcasts of trajectories in gross world product (GWP) and CO2. Extending the model to the future, the model suggests that the well-known IPCC SRES scenarios substantially underestimate how much CO2levels will rise for a given level of future economic prosperity. For one, global CO2 emission rates cannot be decoupled from wealth through efficiency gains. For another, like a long-term natural disaster, future greenhouse warming can be expected to act as an inflationary drag on the real growth of global wealth. For atmospheric CO2 concentrations to remain below a “dangerous” level of 450 ppmv (Hansen et al., 2007), model forecasts suggest that there will have to be some combination of an unrealistically rapid rate of energy decarbonization and nearly immediate reductions in global civilization wealth. Effectively, it appears that civilization may be in a double-bind. If civilization does not collapse quickly this century, then CO2 levels will likely end up exceeding 1000 ppmv; but, if CO2 levels rise by this much, then the risk is that civilization will gradually tend towards collapse.

FAIR USE NOTICE – For details click here

OTHER VOICES: Want affordability? Try building apartments

Jennifer Maiko Bradshaw / Contributing writer

November 16, 2018 10:22 AM

An architect's rendering of an all below-market rental housing project up for a vote on Monday night in the District of North Vancouver. image supplied

Every year, fewer kids trick-or-treat in the District of North Vancouver for Halloween. This was very evident as I visited my parents in the Edgemont Village neighbourhood for the evening.

“We only had 20 trick-or-treaters this year. When you were young we had over 100,” my mother said wistfully. related

 EDITORIAL: To be continued . . .  Public hearings scheduled for North Van affordable housing projects  EDITORIAL: Go big or go home  District of North Vancouver gets first peek at Delbrook Lands affordable housing  Delbrook Lands plan moving forward

“It’s because young families can’t afford to live here anymore,” I replied.

“Nothing can be done about that,” she said quickly, changing the subject.

I smiled wryly. Indeed, much can be done. In fact, there is a very simple reason why her adult offspring had no choice but to move to the City of North Van and East Van, and why so few families with young children are left here.

It’s because the District refuses to accept apartments.

The District is a sea of single-detached houses (SDHs, historically known as “single-family houses”), rarely selling for under $2 million. It is increasingly gentrified as only those households with several hundred thousand in annual income and a hefty down payment could come to live here. I know very few in my millennial generation that have managed to stay in the area, for (oftentimes illegal) basement suites are usually the only option and we are now in our prime family-forming years.

The luxury SDH market has cooled somewhat in the last few months, reflecting global patterns and reacting to provincial regulations, but there is still little chance of my average salary of $63,000 affording anything here - unless we can divide the land cost between more units. That means building apartments.

Apartments are cheaper than SDHs, which use up much more land per home. Thus, buildings with multiple units are affordable for those with average income, as this data illustrates:

The pattern is consistent from city to city: buildings with more units can house people of moderate means.

So why aren’t we building more apartments? The short answer: politics.

Take this example of the non-profit rental project proposal in Delbrook. It is an excellent social housing project of 80 units, 25% of which offer deep affordability, which is subsidized by the units for those with relatively higher income (like me). The average cost is 20% below-market rent. It provides a seniors’ respite care facility. There is no displacement as it builds on a parking lot. This is precisely the kind of social housing we should be clamouring for. However, there is a vocal, unrepresentative minority in this neighbourhood, such as some Delbrook Community Association homeowners, that oppose this project.

I fear the newly elected mayor and council will halt this project, a much-needed step toward affordability, to cater to this opposition, which fights non-profit rental projects during a housing crisis. This opposition is the political headwind that is preventing bold strides for affordable homes in the District.

Let me remind the new council that the status quo is far less affordable. By saying no to non-profit rental projects, council will be effectively telling everyone who isn’t extremely wealthy, including their own children and grandchildren, to live elsewhere. Perhaps we’ll have to leave the West Coast altogether. Service workers would have to live further and further away, exacerbating traffic and emissions issues. I hold out hope that the new mayor Mike Little and council will take the bold steps needed to achieve affordability in the District and allow this project to move forward. We need it, and many more like it.

The fireworks were loud and echoing this year. I wonder how much more of a ghost town my hometown will become if it maintains the status quo and refuses apartments. How long will the District exclude middle class and young families? How much or how little will Mayor Little and council do for us future generations?

We will see on November 19th when they vote on the project.

If you support affordable, non-profit rental projects like this one in the District, please write a letter to council at [email protected] or use this simple tool: http://www.abundanthousingvancouver.com/letter_generator?p=600westqueens

Jennifer Maiko Bradshaw is a renter, data analyst, and activist of Abundant Housing Vancouver.

Former councillor Mike Little elected new District of North Vancouver mayor One small step for the North Shore, one Little step for the District of North Vancouver Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News October 20, 2018 08:02 PM Updated: October 23, 2018 03:37 PM Two weeks before their debut in chambers, the majority of the next District of North Vancouver council were in the same room – toasting and being toasted as they celebrated Mike Little’s successful mayoralty bid. Little, a former three-term councillor, won 59 per cent of the vote, besting Building Bridges candidate Ash Amlani by more than 8,000 votes. Speaking to a packed crowd at Canlan Ice Sports on Mount Seymour Parkway, Little focused on the imminent demolition and demovictions at Emery Place. That redevelopment forced the community to define what it was, and to “figure out what we wanted to become,” he said. Little singled out Emery Village mother Kelly Bond for uniting returning incumbent Coun. Lisa Muri, himself, and newly elected councillors Betty Forbes and Megan Curren. “Your efforts this spring brought us all together,” he told Bond. “You now have a new council to work with.” That new council also includes incumbents Jim Hanson and Building Bridges member Mathew Bond as well as Jordan Back, who squeaked by Barry Forward by 101 votes to earn the last spot on council. Coun. Lisa Muri continued to be the most popular councillor among district voters, finishing with more than 12,000 votes – 2,300 ballots more than runner-up and frequent ally Hanson. “I had faith that my community was still here,” an ecstatic Muri said. “We have a majority now.” After finding herself on the short end of a series of 4-3 council votes, Muri celebrated the election of new Mayor Mike Little along with potential council allies Jim Hanson, Betty Forbes, and Megan Curren. - Jeremy Shepherd, North Shore News “It’s been a lonely, lonely four years,” she said, explaining her contention that the implementation of the district’s official community plan had been accelerated by a frequently inflexible council. After finding herself on the short end of a series of 4-3 council votes, Muri celebrated the election of new Mayor Mike Little along with potential council allies Jim Hanson, Betty Forbes, and Megan Curren. The night was a vindication of both her stubbornness and love for her community, Muri said. District voters also seemed keen on amalgamation, with 79 per cent of voters favouring a $100,000 study on reunification with the City of North Vancouver. District residents also voted yes – albeit by a razor-thin margin – to spend a maximum of $150 million to create at least 1,000 units of non-market housing by 2029. The final poll listed 51.64 per cent of voters in favour and 48.36 per cent opposed. In his victory speech, Little singled out his “very principled friend,” Megan Curren, who, “against all advice,” decided not to erect a single plastic campaign sign. A staunch environmentalist, Curren promised to view every council issue: “through the lens of climate crisis.” Noting her priority to massively cut greenhouse gas emissions, Curren listed transportation and building as “the top two offenders.” “I’m ready,” she said following her win. “Shocked and ready.” It was a disappointing night for longtime councillor Robin Hicks, who was voted off council after finishing with 5,926 votes – 1,024 votes fewer than in 2014. One of the first crucial votes awaiting Little as mayor is the Maplewood Innovation District, a massive project including 680 rental units, 220 units for Capilano University students, and an employment hub estimated to generate 4,500 jobs. Council elected to deal with the proposal after the election. “The community is not prepared for a massive planned community of that scale in that area,” Little said, suggesting he would sit down with the developer to determine “something more modest.” In a reflective moment, Little recalled first running for council in 2002 at the age of 26. Little described moving his three signs from neighbourhood to neighbourhood each day in the hopes enough district voters would see them. It didn’t produce a “winning result,” Little said. But it led to his joining community groups, eventually winning a spot on council and finally becoming district mayor. Stepping away from a packed table at a Pemberton Avenue restaurant, Amlani was meditative in defeat, having finished with 22 per cent of the vote. “I was hoping for better,” she said. “But I think we got a lot of people engaged that were not paying attention and of that I’m really proud.” While she wasn’t certain that election night marked the beginning of a political career, Amlani said it likely marked “the beginning of a political movement.” Amlani was tentative about making another run for the mayor’s chair but promised to stay engaged in municipal politics, highlighting the importance of a potential OCP review. “The district definitely needs a more progressive voice, a united voice that is speaking to the needs of young professionals, that is speaking to the needs of people of diverse backgrounds in this community.” The result countered stereotypes about disengaged youth and lazy millennials, according to Amlani. “We’re a credible threat to the status quo and I think that’s something we should all be proud of,” she said. “Most of our volunteer workforce was under the age of 40, which is amazing for a community that lost most of its middle generation.” Back at Canlan Ice Sports, Emery Village mother Kelly Bond literally and figuratively embraced the new council. While acknowledging the bittersweet feeling of having the council she wants only days before likely getting an eviction notice, Bond said she was thrilled with the result. “We’re going to work together to get some affordable housing back in the community.” Voter turnout in the district was 36.5 per cent, a huge spike from the 24 per cent four years ago or 17.1 per cent in 2008. Former Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn ran for council in his new community of Qualicum Beach but fell 214 votes shy of a council seat. For the full election results, visit our election page North Shore Votes 2018 at nsnews.com. © 2018 North Shore News

Former councillor Mike Little elected new District of North Vancouver mayor One small step for the North Shore, one Little step for the District of North Vancouver

Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News

October 20, 2018 08:02 PM

Updated: October 21, 2018 12:36 AM

Four years after stepping away from council, Mike Little is set to become the District of North Vancouver's next mayor. file photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News Two weeks before their debut in chambers, the majority of the next District of North Vancouver council were in the same room – toasting and being toasted as they celebrated Mike Little’s successful mayoralty bid. Little, a former three-term councillor, won 59 per cent of the vote, besting Building Bridges candidate Ash Amlani by more than 8,000 votes. Speaking to a packed crowd at Canlan Ice Sports on Mount Seymour Parkway, Little focused on the imminent demolition and demovictions at Emery Place. That redevelopment forced the community to define what it was, and to “figure out what we wanted to become,” he said. Little singled out Emery Village mother Kelly Bond for uniting Coun. Lisa Muri, himself, and newly elected councillors Betty Forbes and Megan Curren. “Your efforts this spring brought us all together,” he told Bond. “You now have a new council to work with.” Coun. Lisa Muri continued to be the most popular councillor among district voters, finishing with more than 12,000 votes – 2,300 ballot more than runner-up and frequent ally Jim Hanson. “I had faith that my community was still here,” an ecstatic Muri said. “We have a majority now.” “It’s been a lonely, lonely four years,” she said, explaining her contention that the implementation of the district’s official community plan had been accelerated by a frequently inflexible council. The night was a vindication of both her stubbornness and love for her community, Muri said. Voters also returned Coun. Mathew Bond to municipal hall. Bond was the lone member of Building Bridges to win a spot on council. Jordan Back is set to join district council after besting former school trustee Barry Forward by 101 votes. District voters also seemed keen on amalgamation, with 79 per cent of voters favouring a $100,000 study on reunification with the City of North Vancouver. District residents also voted yes – albeit by a razor-thin margin – to spend a maximum of $150 million to create at least 1,000 units of non-market housing by 2029. The final poll listed 51.64 per cent of voters in favour and 48.36 per cent opposed. Little singled out his “very principled friend,” Megan Curren, who, “against all advice,” decided not to erect a single plastic campaign sign. A staunch environmentalist, Curren promised to view every issue: “through the lens of climate crisis.” Noting her priority to massively cut greenhouse gas emissions, Curren listed transportation and building as “the top two offenders.” “I’m ready,” she said following her win. “Shocked and ready.” It was a disappointing night for longtime councillor Robin Hicks, who was voted off council after finishing with 5,926 votes – 1,024 votes fewer than in 2014. One of the first crucial votes awaiting Little as mayor is the Maplewood Innovation District, a massive project including 680 rental units, 220 units for Capilano University students, and an employment hub estimated to generate 4,500 jobs. Council elected to deal with the proposal after the election. “The community is not prepared for a massive planned community of that scale in that area,” Little said, suggesting he would sit down with the developer to determine “something more modest.” In a reflective moment, Little recalled first running for council in 2002 at the age of 26. Little described moving his three signs from neighbourhood to neighbourhood each day in the hopes enough district voters would see them. It didn’t produce a “winning result,” Little said. But it led to his joining community groups, eventually winning a spot on council and finally become district mayor. Stepping away from a packed table at a Pemberton Avenue restaurant, Amlani was meditative in defeat. “I was hoping for better,” she said. “But I think we got a lot of people engaged that were not paying attention and of that I’m really proud.” While she wasn’t certain tonight marked the beginning of a political career, Amlani said it likely marked “the beginning of a political movement.” While she was tentative about making another run for the mayor’s chair, Amlani promised to stay engaged in municipal politics, highlighting the importance of a potential OCP review. “The district definitely needs a more progressive voice, a united voice that is speaking to the needs of young professionals, that is speaking to the needs of people of diverse backgrounds in this community.” The result countered stereotypes about disengaged youth and lazy millennials, according to Amlani. “We’re a credible threat to the status quo and I think that’s something we should all be proud of,” she said. “Most of our volunteer workforce was under the age of 40 which is amazing for a community that lost most of its middle generation.” Back at Canlan Ice Sports, Emery Village mother Kelly Bond literally and figuratively embraced the new council. While acknowledging the bittersweet feeling of having the council she wants only days before likely getting an eviction notice, Emery Village mother Kelly Bond said she was thrilled with the result. “We’re going to work together to get some affordable housing back in the community.” © 2018 North Shore News

Forum aims to get young people more involved in local politics

Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News

November 14, 2018 09:05 AM

North Shore Community Resources executive director Murray Mollard is organizing a Nov. 15 forum in a bid to help young people get involved in politics and to help North Shore politics get a bit more youthful. file photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News Picture the scene: It’s 5:52 p.m. on a Monday night for a pair of young, North Shore parents. Work was rough. Traffic worse. The kids are apparently trying to hold a no-holds barred wrestling extravaganza in the basement, we’re almost out of milk, and did you just say your 10-page report on John A. Macdonald is due tomorrow? It’s unlikely any rational human would suggest swinging by a municipal chambers to check out the council meeting on a night like that, notes Murray Mollard. “One of the challenges that I experience, and I think anybody who’s out in the community and going to public events . . . public meetings, council hearings, public consultations led by local governments, it’s hard to find people who are under 40 at those events actually voicing their views,” he says. “They’re not necessarily able to get to a city council meeting on Monday nights at 6 p.m. and that’s kind of when it happens.” Mollard, executive director of North Shore Community Resources, is trying to find a way to help young people to take a more active part in municipal politics beginning Thursday night. Mollard is organizing Young Ideas for the North Shore. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the two-hour forum is intended to reach out to adults between 18 and 39 who live, work or study on the North Shore. “They’re just uncertain about: what are the opportunities and whether their voices are going to be heard,” he says. Child-minding subsidies are available, he adds. The movement to involve more young people is partially the result of working with Generation Squeeze founder Paul Kershaw, who discussed the economic challenges facing young Canadians in a forum held in spring 2017. Noting that “hard work doesn’t pay like it used to,” Kershaw focused on the particularly high real estate prices in North and West Vancouver and the importance of getting involved in politics. “You don’t need to have deep pockets to affect electoral politics,” he said at the time. “For younger people they were finding it a challenge and (were) uncertain about how to plug in and participate and how to influence decision making,” Mollard says. The upcoming forum is about ensuring that voice – too often absent – gets stronger, Mollard says. “We need younger voices at the table and as part of the conversation when we’re making decisions in the community about the present and the future,” he says. “We need their voices because we know that many of those decisions are going to impact them . . . as much if not more than older generations.” The forum will largely focus on government process and how that process could be improved to “make sure that younger voices are included in the decision making,” he says. There are some reasons to see the tide turning as all three North Shore councils have at least one councillor under the age of 40. On the City of North Vancouver council, the average age of a newly-elected councillor is more than eight years younger than it was in 2014. However, Mollard is adamant that the success or failure of the forum will ultimately rest with the people who show up. “We’re just convening this,” he says. “Ultimately, we’re going to rely on the voices and the ideas of the young people that are part of this project.” NSCR is also holding its annual general meeting Nov. 20. The event is set to feature former City of North Vancouver mayor Darrell Mussatto, who is slated to: “reflect on the past and imagine what the future holds for the City of North Van but also the North Shore,” Mollard says. Young Ideas for the North Shore is slated to be held at 2220 Dollarton Highway in North Vancouver. The event is free but seating is limited. Registration is available through Eventbrite. © 2018 North Shore News

Fourteen months needed to change voting systems, ridings if proportional representation approved Votes before 2021 remain on first-past-the-post system

Jeremy Hainsworth and Graeme Wood / Glacier Media

November 1, 2018 05:43 PM

If British Columbians opt for a change in how they elect governments, Victoria’s work kicks into high gear to write new legislation and examine riding boundaries before the 2021 provincial election. Voters may choose to keep the existing first-past-the-post (FPTP) system or opt for a new proportional representation (PR) system that balances seats in the Legislature with the popular vote. On the ballot are three PR options — Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP), Dual Member Proportional (DMP) and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) — which will result in varying legislation and expected outcomes. It won’t be the end of referendums, though. If PR is chosen after the Nov. 30 mail-in deadline, there will be another vote in 2026 to confirm the decision after two elections. What else would happen? An all-party committee would need to be struck to make recommendations for the implementation of the chosen voting system. University of B.C. political scientist Richard Johnston said—as many on the No-PR side have—that several issues remain outstanding: the exact district boundaries, how many districts and regions there will be, and whether to have open or closed lists of candidates. The number and complexity of such issues depends upon the specific voting system. It is known that all three PR systems will have 87-95 seats. But the committee will also need to decide on seat “overhang,” which is when one party happens to win more seats in local ridings than the popular vote would allow. In such a case seats could be added. That committee would report its findings no later than March 31, 2019. Legislation would be drafted and debated to establish the new voting system. As well, an independent Electoral Boundaries Commission would be required to recommend new electoral boundaries following guidance from the committee, a process that is expected to take until fall 2019. After receiving the final boundaries, Elections BC would go to work on examining the nuts and bolts and making it work. Deputy chief electoral officer Nola Western said an estimated 14 months would be needed to put things in place for the first election under PR. “There’ll have to be an Electoral Boundaries Commission and quite a bit of work on our part to figure out how the new voting system will work,” Western said. British Columbians would then have two elections and governments to test-drive the system. A second referendum would be held in 2026 to decide if the new system should be kept or discarded. If PR is discarded in that vote, B.C. returns to the current system.

Jack Weisgerber Former Social Credit Party cabinet member and past BC Reform Party leader Jack Weisgerber rejects the idea that a 2026 referendum can be promised. “It’s not legislatively possible for the government to bind a future government to a decision,” Weisgerber said. Attorney General David Eby disagreed. He said governments are legally bound to follow earlier decisions. But, “certainly a critique. . .that a future government could repeal the legislation is true.” A report last May to Eby identifies the need for further discussion on the details of which PR system is chosen. The number and complexity of those details depends upon the specific voting system. The appendices describing the proposed PR voting systems include a list of design details that would require decision post-referendum. Those considerations include numbers of MLAs and what form of party lists might be used to determine representation under mixed-member PR where voters get two votes—one to choose representative for their single-seat constituency, and one for a political party. © 2018 North Shore News

EDITORIAL: Game of 21

North Shore News

November 6, 2018 04:20 PM

Mary-Ann Booth takes her seat in the District of West Vancouver mayor’s chair following the swearing-in ceremony on Monday night. A judicial recount of the Oct. 20 election ballots found Booth maintained her 21-vote lead. photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News

Mary-Ann Booth is now West Vancouver’s mayor, after a judicial recount confirmed she was indeed the winner in the Oct. 20 election by 21 votes.

Former mayor Michael Smith, who had endorsed candidate Mark Sager, and council candidate Jim Finkbeiner applied to the courts last week for the judicial recount. At issue for Smith were 68 ballots that apparently didn’t register a vote for mayor. Smith questioned whether that meant there were 68 ballots not counted. The district maintained there is nothing unusual about ballots with bubbles left blank. related

 Mary-Ann Booth confirmed as West Van mayor-elect following recount  West Van election recount results due Friday  West Vancouver election recount request headed to court  Mary-Ann Booth elected West Vancouver mayor by 21 votes

Following the recount, a handful of ballots that were previously considered spoiled were put back in play but the outcome and the margin of victory for Booth remained the same.

While we are always grateful for another real-life reminder that every vote counts, we suspect the request for a judicial recount was more of a Hail Mary pass in hopes of changing the election’s outcome than an earnest checkup on the health of our local democracy.

Voters in a municipal election are free to leave portions of their ballot blank and there is no need to make a court case out of it.

But, while we are glad to see this election put to bed for good, there is also the matter of costs. The district hasn’t yet crunched the final numbers on how much taxpayers are on the hook for but it’s estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

We feel on principle the people who requested the recount should be asked to bear some or most of those costs, especially considering the recount vindicated the district and its election process.

Heavy rains trigger North Shore floods and slides Brent Richter / North Shore News November 2, 2018 03:58 PM Crews work to clean up a muddy washout in the Grouse Skyride plaza Friday. photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News Thursday night’s gullywasher dealt some damage to North Shore streets, trails and private property. According to Environment Canada, 65 millimetres of rain fell on West Vancouver between midnight and the early morning. At higher elevations, the Mount Strachan station recorded 75 mm. In North Vancouver, the Mahon Park station picked up 39 mm. Metro Vancouver crews have had to deal with two significant washouts in Grouse Mountain Regional Park and Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. Heavy rains in one of MacKay Creek’s tributaries triggered a debris torrent across the Baden Powel Trail at its junction with the BCMC Trail. Metro staff have set up a detour to allow hikers through. The slide slopped mud across the upper Grouse Mountain parking lot, but the resort is in the midst of a two- week shutdown to prepare for the winter season. “We’re doing a bit of clean-up today but we don’t expect to it impact our winter preparation projects or maintenance,” said Julie Grant, Grouse Mountain spokeswoman. The Lower Lynn Loop is closed until further notice, following a washout about 700 metres up the trail. “All of these trails are currently being assessed for damage and repair. We’re working as quickly as we can do to these repairs and hopefully we don’t sustain any more damage than we have,” said Tom McComb, regional operations supervisor for Metro Vancouver parks. McComb said they expect to have an engineer on site to help plan repairs on Monday. Before going out to any Metro Vancouver park, it’s a good idea to check the park’s website first “There could be updates that we want to ensure the public hears about before they actually get to the site,” said McComb. With another 50 millimetres of rain in the forecast over the weekend, everyone heading out onto the North Shore’s trails should be cautious, McComb advised. “We’re in fairly turbulent weather conditions. People should be prepared when they’re travelling in the backcountry or even the front country, for that matter,” he said. The District of West Vancouver, meanwhile, sustained damage in the British Properties and Ambleside after debris clogged culverts and drains. “District public works crews and members of West Vancouver Fire & Rescue and West Vancouver Police worked through the night to address issues related to the flooding. Damage incurred to private property and district infrastructure due to this flooding is still being assessed,” a statement from the district read Friday afternoon. “We encourage residents to help keep catch basins clear and to avoid sweeping leaves onto the roadway to prevent flooding. Creeks are still running high. Please maintain a safe distance from all creek banks.” Anyone who spots a flood is asked to call West Vancouver’s 24/7 dispatch line at 604-925-7100. Crews were also out in the District of North Vancouver inspecting culverts and debris barriers Thursday, said Stephanie Smiley, district spokeswoman. In one spot in Grousewoods, crews removed six tandem dump trucks of rock, gravel and wood from a creek culvert inlet. Smiley said the upgrades the municipality made to its culvert system following the dramatic Kilmer Creek flood in 2014 were important in preventing further flooding in the district In the City of North Vancouver, a water main break in the 600 block of West 2nd Street, near the intersection of 2nd and 3rd streets, on Thursday night added to the soggy situation and resulted in traffic being rerouted. Water was shut off Friday as crews worked to find the break. City spokeswoman Connie Rabold said in an email crews don’t know yet what caused the break. Crews were still working to repair the water main on Friday afternoon. © 2018 North Shore News

BALDREY: How proportional representation could reshape B.C.’s political parties

Keith Baldrey / Contributing writer

November 20, 2018 05:00 PM

Premier John Horgan and Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson following an electoral reform debate earlier this month. photo supplied Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press

The two grand political coalitions that have governed this province almost 70 years may well fall part or at the very least go through quite a dramatic transformation if the switch is made to a proportional representation model of electing MLAs.

Both the B.C. Liberal party (the natural successor to the old Social Credit party) and the NDP would look radically different after a couple of elections under a PR system. related

 INQUIRING REPORTER: Have you opened your electoral reform ballot yet?  LETTER: For or against, make your vote count  PREST: British Columbians are not too dumb to understand electoral reform  EDITORIAL: Pro-rep pros & cons

Both are big tent coalition parties and both subscribe to public policies that would normally divide them internally, but a coalition of interests can put those differences aside in favour of forming government. Under PR, there is the likelihood those competing interests break apart into different political parties.

The Liberals would naturally split along a liberal-conservative fault line, while the NDP would likely evolve further into an environmental activist party that sheds the union and industrial roots that formed the party in the first place.

For a glimpse of how a PR system could affect the NDP, look no further than the results of the last election.

A PR system would have rewarded the Green party about 14-16 seats, considerably more than the mere three it currently holds. That would have given the Greens a lot more power in any power sharing arrangement it could reach with the NDP, and it is easy to find concrete examples of the kind of impact on public policy that would result.

For starters, the Site C dam would not have been completed. The huge LNG Canada investment would have been kicked to the curb and told to go elsewhere. The Greens are adamant opponents of both projects.

In addition, those union-friendly labour code amendments that are on the horizon? Goodbye. The Greens would likely be fine with some of them, but not with moves like getting rid of the secret union certification ballot. The speculation tax and the employers’ health tax would likely not have the light of day either.

A political partner with 15 seats has a lot more power than one that has just three. As I and others have pointed out many times before, the confidence agreement the Greens have with the NDP required absolutely no bending or comprise by the New Democrats.

Everything in that agreement reflected the NDP’s platform, not the Greens.’ However, under a PR model, that kind of imbalance would surely disappear and the Greens would logically grow in influence when it came to setting public policy.

As for the B.C. Liberals, a PR model may yank them into the politically dire neighbourhood of social conservativism.

The B.C. Liberals have been able to hold those social conservatives – anti-gay rights, anti-abortion etc. – largely in check over the years. The Social Credit party was also able to do that, until the moment it could not, and that is when the party imploded.

That occurred in the late 1980s, when then-premier Bill Vander Zalm tried to ban publicly funded abortion services, a move that tore the party apart. The lesson learned then was not to bring social conservatism – which represents a relatively tiny minority of public opinion – into a political party when it came to setting public policy.

A price the Liberals may have to pay to hold power under any PR system may well be to court any Conservative party that has those social conservative elements within its small tent (assuming it can attract at least five per cent of the popular vote, which it very well could). Banning abortion outright would not happen, but softening things like protective bubble zones around medical facilities might.

Another example is the anti-SOGI attitude that seems to have taken root in parts of the Fraser Valley. Might that kind of sentiment affect public policy in this area under a B.C. Liberal-led government that is forced by circumstance to perhaps heed another party’s on this issue?

At the very least, the B.C. Liberals may feel more pressure from social conservatives than they experience right now.

Big tent political coalitions do not last forever, of course. A number of factors can lead to their demise, but make no mistake – a shift to PR will hasten their disappearance, or their radical transformation.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. [email protected]

What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.

‘North Vancouvered’: How rapid development killed a business https://www.theglobalcanadian.com/north-vancouvered-rapid-development-killed-business/

16 Oct 2018

North Vancouver resident Nicole Robins has an advice– and a warning–for elected officials: Slow down the development in communities.

“It’s time for councils across all municipalities to slow down this never ending development game. Your residents are fatigued. They are angry and they need their elected officials to listen and remember they were the reason they were elected in the first place,” Robins said.

“It was a very difficult decision to close. I am a born and raised North Shore resident. This community is everything to me and my family.”

Robins recently made the difficult decision of shutting down her store, Sprout Organic market in the Queensbury area of North Vancouver. The feverish pace of construction, she says, brought down sales to a point where running a business became unsustainable.

The store originally started as a home delivery of organic food but the delivery side of business was closed down few years ago. Robins said she chose the Queensbury location for a number or reasons: It was just up the hill from the warehouse so existing customers could follow it easily, it was a high visibility corner unit, and it was close to shops such as Mount Royal Bagels and the British Butcher shop that would create a better shopping experience.

She says the store had been doing quite well until the first of the two bike lane projects were initiated by the City of North Vancouver—the bike lanes running on either side of Grand Blvd and the traffic ‘calming’ /bike lanes at the top of Queensbury on Keith.

That effectively made people avoid the construction zone area for nearly one and half years, she says. Alongside, sale of homes for new developments pushed loyal customers out of the area. Add traffic snarls to this mix and the result was a significant drop in the business to the point where there was no other option but to shut it, Robin says.

“It was a very difficult decision to close. I am a born and raised North Shore resident. This community is everything to me and my family,” she said.

On the last day of the Sprout Organic Market, as people browsed through items marked on 50 per cent discount, an emotional Robins gave a succinct response to a customer on why the store had to be closed. It’s a poignant euphemism that that ring true for many long-time residents of North Vancouver.

“I have been North-Vancouvered,” she said.

By Gagandeep Ghuman “Interesting” ad…

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018 north shore news nsnews.com NEWS | A9 INQUIRINGREPORTER SPONSORED CONTENT Have you ever walked across the Lions Gate?

The Lions Gate Bridge JonathanWilkinson officially opened 80 years NORTH VANCOUVER’S MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT ago this week, built by British Pacific Properties in an effort to connect the North Shore with Greater Vancouver. A fun NOVEMBER 16, 2018 fact: when the bridge officially opened in 1938, it was opened to pedestrians two days Killer whale a before cars were allowed to cross. These days, while many commuters might feel like symbol of urgency they’ve been stuck in bridge traffic for 80 years, those who When Iwas akid, family vacations just 40 years we’ve lost 60% of the Erin Dobson Lorena Espinoza opt to bike or walk the span typically involved piling into our world’swildlife. West Vancouver Vancouver connecting Stanley Park and Volkswagen van, heading into West Vancouver can usually “Yes, I just moved here from “No, I’m afraid of heights. It the boreal forest of northern Canada’sSpecies at Risk Act glide right over. Have you ever Toronto, so I was doing makes me pukey just to drive Saskatchewan, throwing our canoes (SARA) became law in 2002 to actually walked the bridge? touristy-type stuff. It was through it.” provide protection for at risk species Weigh in at nsnews.com. super cool, definitely you get a into alake or river and paddling off into the wilderness. and to require actions that would — Ben Bengtson different perspective.” promote species recovery.However, Summers in my teens were spent governments have primarily focused on working at afishing and canoeing listing of species, reporting and some outfitter and sometimes at the log cabin recovery planning rather than direct my parents had built on alake eight action to address biodiversity decline. miles from the nearest road. Presently 771 species in Canada The wilderness Ifell in love with from have been assessed as at risk. To my earliest memories was an ecosystem put this in context, in 2010, there still truly in balance. were 470 species. SARA has not –as implemented to date –halted the This deeply imprinted aframe of decline in biodiversity in Canada. reference that Ibelieve explains my passion for some of the work Inow do Fundamentally,beginning the task on your behalf as Canada’sMinister of turning current trends around Ryan Luth Hannah Rickards Jude McGann of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian will require real recovery plans, real North Vancouver Vancouver North Vancouver Coast Guard –and prior to that as recovery actions and very real political “Yes, I’ve walked across it just “Yes, I’ve biked it. It was great. “It’s a goal!” the Parliamentary Secretary for the will. to go for a walk and get some It’s amazing, you’re very Minister of the Environment and exercise. It was nice to actually high up so you get this really Climate Change. Political will and dollars get out and see the ocean different experience of the Focused on species at risk Such political will is evident in actions and the breeze and be out in shoreline and the distance our government has taken to protect nature, rather than just a typi- between the bridge and the Since being elected in 2015, there is endangered whales off our coasts. Two cal commute over the bridge.” water.” no dossier on which Ihave spent more years ago, we invested approximately time and energy than species at risk. $800 million in initiatives under the My initial assignment in this area dealt Oceans Protection Plan that directly Voters’ message not lost with threats to critical habitat of the or indirectly benefit these whales. Western Chorus Frog –where our In Budget 2018 we announced a government eventually stepped in and further $167 million in funding for on WV’s political class implemented emergency protection on programming dedicated to protecting privately held lands. endangered whales. From page 8 Shore projects as a lawyer, circling developers: West Van Abit later,Ispent nearly two and a Then, two weeks ago, Minister had nuances of differences. is (still) open for business. half years working with provinces and of Transport Marc Garneau and I years in high office, the now (During the campaign, The new council’s territories to define pathways for the announced an additional $61.5 million ex-mayor won a bell-ringer of longtime Coun. Bill Soprovich inauguration last week – I protection and recovery of boreal and to enhance the already unprecedented an endorsement. Booth and ruefully referred to how “I got played hooky, tired and leery Southern Mountain Caribou herds effort to protect and restore the Sager, both broadly “pro- my butt kicked” for yield- of parking – was celebra- in ways that would be as sensitive Southern Resident Killer Whale development,” split 75 per ing to crushing pressure to tory, and Mayor Booth’s as possible to the concerns of local population in the Salish Sea. cent of the 11,818 votes cast cast the decisive vote for speech not only gracious but economic interests. for mayor. Grosvenor.) (here’s a departure!) she had This additional funding will support a Arguably that was The lower and slower- canvassed each member of In my current role as Minister of comprehensive suite of actions that will overwhelming vindication growth candidate, Cassidy, the new council for any ideas Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian address all three key threats facing the of Smith’s record, especially never got the traction or they wanted to contribute Coast Guard Ihave devoted significant SRKW population –prey availability, his Grosvenor waterfront media profile of the well- to it. effort working on developing similar acoustic and physical disturbances and Park Royal shopping heeled top two. Shake of the Coun. Craig Cameron – a pathways for effective protection and from boats and contaminants in the centre negotiations. Booth’s head: 61 per cent of the 30,761 Booth backer, to be sure – recovery of both the North Atlantic water.The bulk of these new measures sentiments were plain on qualified to vote, didn’t. detected a new temperature, Right Whale on the east coast and the will be in place by the time the whales both, but she recused herself The voters’ message indeed a whole new climate in Southern Resident Killer Whale here on return to Canadian waters in greater on Grosvenor because her won’t be lost on WV’s the chambers. Enjoy the hon- the west coast. numbers in late spring. lawyer husband worked on political class, its elite, its eymoon. Safe to say: Michael the Grosvenor deal. Sager, town-hall high bureaucrats, Smith won’t. Climate change cross roads The Southern Resident Killer Whale who has steered big North and multimillion-dollar [email protected] has come to symbolize the urgency of We are at across roads. The impacts the need for real, thoughtful action of climate change combined with the to protect and enhance biodiversity. MAILBOX lack of appropriate consideration of The Government of Canada is making the environmental impacts of human acomprehensive, long-term and Take a cue from developer trying to do it right activity over past decades has resulted sustained effort to help these whales in the declining health of ecosystems survive and recover. Dear Editor: housed at Maplewood Development on the North here in Canada and around the world. Re: Modular Housing Gardens. We must come up Shore is inevitable, so let’s Arecently-released World Wildlife Canadians are counting on us to do no Proposed for Demovictees with more workable solu- hope that other develop- Fund report highlights the fact that in less. in Maplewood, Oct. 19 news tions like this one so that ers take a cue from Darwin story. our communities continue and try to move forward as Kudos to Darwin to be diverse, vibrant and progressively. CONTACTINFO: Properties for taking into accessible and not simply Danielle Dzioba consideration the families comprised of the wealthy. North Vancouver CONSTITUENCY OFFICE: 102West 3rdStreet, North Vancouver EMAIL: [email protected] | TEL: 604-775-6333 LAUTENS: Just say no to ‘proportional misrepresentation’

Trevor Lautens / Contributing writer

November 2, 2018 07:00 AM

First-past-the-post is imperfect, but it's preferable to proportional representation. file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News Don’t make complicated what is simple. Just mark your preference for the current first-past-the-post voting system. Nothing more. Then, down pens. Of course FPTP is imperfect. All systems are. None will ever satisfy everyone on every occasion. It’s a fantasy that any change would end discontent. related  INQUIRING REPORTER: Have you opened your electoral reform ballot yet? John Horgan, Andrew Weaver and David Eby aim to muddle voters with their proportional representation – more accurately, misrepresentation – schemes. In the most common version, people-elected MLAs would sit alongside party-selected MLAs. Power from the people to backroom party hacks. Prominent pro-FPTP New Democrat Bill Tieleman and others see PR as boosting not left-wing fringe parties but extreme right parties – whose zealots are too thinly spread to win seats under FPTP. But over a whole nation they could cross (and have crossed) the typical PR threshold of five per cent ballot support that allows them to “win” the appointed seats that the untrendy not-so-dumb voters declined to give them. In fairness, I wish I had space for the civil PR views of Eric Godet Andersen of North Vancouver, a Danish native responding to another Dane cited here who had slammed Denmark’s system, under which the present prime minister’s party got just 19.5 per cent of the popular vote. Andersen properly pointed out that Denmark is widely admired, and that Danes are happy with their PR system. (The Belgians, who ran around in circles for a year to determine who won a PR election, might differ.) That PR is being choreographed here by the NDP-Green coalition – which is punishing West Vancouver’s homeowners and others with its cunningly misnamed School Tax and Speculation Tax – should be enough to persuade them to decisively reject PR. Above all, the PR backers’ claim that the change would produce a co-operative, more harmonious government is dreamland. Are they that ignorant of human nature? They must get their opinions from CBC Radio. • • • Nothing is colder than the scalpel for an election autopsy two weeks later. In an election-eve email to a highly experienced political operative freshly back in West Van after a long holiday, I predicted a tensely close mayoral race between Mary-Ann Booth and Mark Sager, two ideologically similar scorpions in the same bottle. Right. I also told him Christine Cassidy could conceivably come up the middle and win. Wrong. For a different take on examining election innards, I’ve since mused that each competed under a political liability: Cassidy: It’s true – B.S. baffles brains. Sager: So what have you done for us lately? Booth: Over-produced. The steely Cassidy (my choice) may have led the three in the brains department – none of them slouches. One- on-one, she’s an engaging conversationalist with wide interests including business smarts. Cassidy’s vulnerability with crowds: Little warmth. Disdained to ingratiate herself. Take it or leave it. Sager carried the burden of having actually been mayor. And even though I’d say he was very good, much superior to his mayoral successors, a record sits there waiting to be shot at – or, worse, forgotten or unknown to a new generation. Someone uttered the most laugh-inducing line of the campaign: “He was even before the internet.” Right, shortly after the earth’s surface cooled. Strangest, perhaps: Was I the only citizen who thought winner Booth’s performance was so over-produced that it would turn off the common run of voters? Reeking of money, sleekly professional direction, advertising listing dozens of supporters – like a social register of West Van elites drawn to the Booth cause. More Hollywood star-marketing activity than for any local candidate in this century, if not ever. A Vancouver Sun story quoting only her on housing problems implied Booth was the sole councillor concerned about it; her earnest get-out-and-vote pitch as if she had invented the idea. To this observer, it was crassly over- selling a smart candidate with all the natural sunny charm and friendliness that she needed, without additional lipstick. (But wait: Booth had the best campaign promise: Public washrooms in central West Van.) • • • The WV Chamber of Commerce-sponsored mayoral meeting could have been designed to keep trespassers out. Attendees had to RSVP – combing out the computer-lacking – and the venue, the Kay Meek, is the most hostile to the mobility-constrained in the Western world. So a wide swath of older voters, many against big developments and candidates seen as favouring them, stayed away in droves. As for the RSVP thing: You had to pre-register on a site meant for sales of C of C products or services. (I tried and was timed out.) Collecting your ticket was chaotic – an amorphous mob minutes before starting time resembled the Chicago stockyards. Genial meeting chairman and former councillor Ken Haycock, now a West Van businessman and University of Southern California professor, gently suggested letting in those still in “line” well after the mayoral pitches began. • • • The Wedding Cake School of Architecture mansion that towers over Marine Drive near Kew Beach Road is for sale. The 17,000-square-foot edifice caused much local yakking, and, like many others in WV and beyond, was anomalous in a mellow neighbourhood. Special Agent c7La5s reliably tells me the asking price – by the original owners – is $20.8 million. Anyone for a slice of that cake? • • • Question: Why is retiring Mayor Michael Smith mucking in with his challenge of the Oct. 20 election WV results? He didn’t put his head on the line. Why is he sticking his nose in now? Joining Smith in the recount demand is twice-failed council candidate Jim Finkbeiner. He fell 20 votes short of the last council seat. If he succeeds, he’d bump very nice newcomer and his erstwhile slate mate Sharon Thompson. Nice guy! [email protected] © 2018 North Shore News Ian Mulgrew: Legal tax is the elephant in legal aid debate

'The continued imposition of the special tax on legal services, which is not applied to any other professional services, is not only being diverted from its intended purpose, but it's actually making access to just even more challenging.'

Ian Mulgrew Updated: November 9, 2018 Vancouver Sun

Geoff Plant Consider the huge burr under the saddle of the B.C. bar: For decades, regardless of political stripe, provincial governments have been profiting from the clients of lawyers, using the legal profession as a cash cow, while ignoring the crisis in the courts and beggaring legal aid. Victoria raked in $210.6 million last year from the PST on legal services, yet it provided only about $75 million to legal aid (not including the federal transfer of about $16 million for criminal legal aid). The province now spends on legal aid less than half the money milked from the profession as more and more individuals and families fall through gaping holes in the social safety net. Lawyers bristle at the mere mention of the hoary levy that has been around so long that people forget or don’t realize it’s there. Hopefully, you, like me, have never had to pay it — only the unfortunates that require legal help are robbed. The tax was introduced in 1992 by the NDP finance minister of the day, Glen Clark, who implied the money would be used to fund legal aid. Quelle surprise that that was silver-tongued sophistry: The money was never “officially” designated to support legal aid. The Opposition Liberals throughout the 1990s loudly complained about such blatant fiscal sleight of hand, insisting the tax was supposed to be for legal services, damn it! Geoff Plant, then the justice critic, thundered there really was something wrong with a government collecting all this money specifically intended to fund legal aid and then failing to do so — the socialist scoundrels! Trouble was that when Plant became attorney general he continued the insidious practice. “While I criticized the former government for failing to keep the political promise it made when it introduced the tax — to spend the money on legal aid services — the fact is that during five years as opposition justice critic, I never once said that if we became government we would dedicate the revenue stream,” Plant shrugged. “Nor did I ever promise to maintain legal aid funding.” No, indeed. He slashed legal aid funding by more than 40 per cent, precipitating the current generation-long crisis that has hurt the most vulnerable — First Nations, women, children, the indigent and the needy. Yet every attorney general for a quarter century has defended this legerdemain. In 2014, the last time the levy drew serious attention, then Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said: “When the provincial sales tax was applied to legal services in B.C. in 1992, the (NDP) government of the day did reference that the revenue from the tax would offset the escalating costs of legal aid. However, the tax was never designated to directly fund legal aid. The provincial sales tax collected on legal services is no different from any other good or taxable service. The revenue goes directly to government general revenues, which fund all ministries of government, including the Ministry of Justice.” Legal aid is so underfunded that a single person working full time at the minimum wage is considered too rich to qualify. There is no help for most people with serious legal problems. Yet judicial, prosecutorial and other public salaries within the system have gone through the roof. Still, the government spends only about what it did at the turn of the century on legal aid and the NDP’s David Eby has joined the list of attorneys general willing to accept the status quo. Perhaps it was the dousing of the promise he held out, but a passionate debate has been ignited within the profession that until now has futilely wrung its hands and intermittently howled about the tax. At the Law Society of B.C.’s annual general meeting last month, lawyers were set to have a landmark discussion about the road to be taken. Before the meeting was adjourned because of technical difficulties, Eby said the bar should do more charity work and drop its monopoly on legal services to allow paralegals to compete with family lawyers. It sounded a lot to me like asking the profession to let the government off the hook for its responsibilities. If the bar thought this one-time champion of civil rights was going sympathize with their pleas, forget it. He’s standing with history and his cabinet cronies counting the cash. Victoria lawyer Michael Mulligan has assiduously kept track, through freedom-of-information requests, over the years of how much money the government has made with this tax. “The continued imposition of the special tax on legal services, which is not applied to any other professional services, is not only being diverted from its intended purpose, but it’s actually making access to justice even more challenging,” he fumed. “Every time someone hires a lawyer to help them, they are required to pay the seven per cent special tax. This makes it all the more expensive for people who are struggling to hire a lawyer to help them.” Mulligan is particularly angered that all family law services have been eliminated and single patents needing help to obtain child support or access to their children are ineligible for legal aid. “Even where someone is so poor that they remain eligible for legal aid, and where coverage for their problem still exists, the amount of money provided to hire a lawyer is now so low, that lawyers who are still willing to take on such work are paid so poorly that they are often unable to do the work that is required to assist someone properly,” he said. The numbers that get thrown around are staggering — 50 per cent of relationships end with one in three women experiencing intimate partner violence and 15 per cent of family law cases collapse in high conflict. Those who assault their spouses have lawyers funded by legal aid because it’s a criminal matter and are prioritized by the court over family matters. The shortage of judges means family law cases are delayed and bumped, so women’s concerns are not heard. Additionally, more than half of family cases are done with at least one party self-represented — usually the neediest. For years, lawyers and others (like me) have been pointing out and decrying the injustices that result: Systemic inefficiencies only exacerbate the problems of legal-aid underfunding and the too many disoriented, self- represented litigants it creates. Lawyers have staged futile service withdrawals and now are organizing to make concerted action more effective. Lots of luck with that. The law society plans to resume its meeting and the debate Dec. 4. [email protected] twitter.com/ianmulgrew Major players not optimistic about Metro Vancouver’s housing market prospects Investors, economists issue warnings about investing in region’s real estate right now

Glen Korstrom / Business in Vancouver

November 20, 2018 11:25 AM

CMHC economist Eric Bond sits by a boardroom window at his Vancouver office Photograph By Chung Chow Metro Vancouver’s turbocharged residential real estate market is showing signs of slowing, with sales plunging, prices edging down and a large swath of properties hitting the market. It is enough to temper the enthusiasm of some longtime boosters of the market. related  Home prices will continue to ‘soften’ over next two years: forecast Chip Wilson, for example, has for years been bullish on the region’s residential real estate market, which in October saw the benchmark price for all homes in the region up 76.8% compared with five years earlier. His own home at 3085 Point Grey Road is the priciest in the province, with an assessed value of more than $78.8 million – up more than 124 per cent in the past five years. Wilson also owns rental-apartment buildings through his Low Tide Properties. When Business in Vancouver asked Wilson on October 24 whether it is a good time to buy Vancouver real estate, he did not skip a beat before answering, “Absolutely not.” Wilson’s comment came four days after the most recent civic elections and he did not sound pleased with the result. “We have three levels of left-wing government,” he said. “Money will go to where it is most loved, and investment here is very, very, very difficult right now.” Wilson does not plan to sell his residential real estate holdings, and he expects to develop some of his commercial properties, but he said Vancouver is “not an environment where a smart person would invest.” Housing-policy watchers, however, say there are bigger forces at play in determining the region’s home prices than who sits in the Vancouver mayor’s chair. They include new home supply, mortgage rates and the level of foreign-buyer interest in Metro Vancouver as a safe haven for investment in the face of such measures as B.C.’s tax on home purchases by foreign buyers, which rose to 20 per cent in February. It is also unclear how different new mayor (and former NDP MP) Kennedy Stewart’s real estate initiatives will be compared with those of former mayor (and former NDP MLA) Gregor Robertson. “I don’t know that Kennedy Stewart’s policies sound much different,” said real estate analyst Tsur Somerville, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. “If you look at what he is proposing, there are some changes, but they’re not radically different changes. City council is interestingly split, with a larger NPA [Non-Partisan Association] presence, but then you’ve got a more fractured left-of-centre [faction]. I think it’s hard to figure out what is going to happen there.” Somerville said most housing-related discussion among the three levels of government will centre on how to fund social housing. “The biggest threat to the sustainability of Vancouver is not whether the [city’s] empty-homes tax is one per cent, two per cent or three per cent, but whether people in Vancouver feel that they can earn a living and have housing that they want. That’s a much more fundamental issue for where Vancouver is going forward.” Sales, prices declining The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s (REBGV) statistics for October show that prices for Metro Vancouver homes have started to decline in the wake of sluggish sales and a generous supply of residences listed for sale. “Home prices have edged down between three per cent and five per cent, depending on housing type, in our region since June,” confirmed REBGV president Phil Moore in early November. Prices for a basket of comparable, or benchmark, homes across the region stood at $1,062,100 in October – up 1 per cent compared with a year ago, but down 3.3% since July. To explain the price declines, Moore pointed to the number of homes in the region that sold in October, 1,966, noting a 34.9 per cent decline compared with the 3,022 homes that sold in the same month a year ago. He noted that the 12,984 homes listed for sale in Metro Vancouver in October represented nearly a four-year high. “We’re clearly at a point where prices are adjusting right now,” said Somerville. “We’re in our form of a declining market. You see that in the drop in transactions and the drop in prices. This can play out in different kinds of ways, depending on what investors do with the units that they’ve purchased.” He suggested that investors who have signed presale contracts for condominiums under construction might decide after they take possession of their units that they have already made a sufficient gain on their investment and that if the market appears to be souring, they may be enticed to sell. That, he added, would add supply to the resale market, and would likely put downward pressure on home prices. Other economists say the supply of homes for sale in the Metro Vancouver market will almost certainly rise. Housing starts hit all-time high Eric Bond, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) economist and principal of market analysis, told BIV that this is because the number of homes under construction in the region hit an all-time high of 43,684 in August. That number has dwindled slightly, to 40,911 in October, Bond said, citing CMHC data. Source: CMHC “We have been building homes [in Metro Vancouver] at a pace that exceeds the rate of household formation for a number of years, but demand has been such that we haven’t seen inventories of unsold homes rise over that period,” he said. “We are expecting those inventories to rise over the next two years. That has started in the last few months.” The number of home starts in Metro Vancouver has been falling, and that is an indicator that should eventually translate into fewer homes under construction, and therefore provide a moderating influence on prices in the future, he said. “We expect the average MLS [Multiple Listing Service] price to decline seven per cent in 2019, and then a further four per cent in 2020,” he said. That calculation is for average sale prices, however, and not for benchmark prices for comparable homes, Bond clarified. He expects some of the price depreciation in future home sales to be driven by a higher proportion of sales of lower-priced condominiums and townhomes, compared with sales of pricier detached homes. Still bullish Some developers, however, remain unfazed. Panatch Group president Kush Panatch, for one, is excited about his company’s 50 Electronic Avenue condominium project in Port Moody, which opened its sales centre in mid-October and held two weeks of previews before brokers started to write sales contracts on November 2 for the project’s 138-unit first phase. “In three days we sold 55 units,” he said. He said sales may have been higher had his company not kept its promise to Port Moody city council to restrict early sales to buyers who either live or work in Port Moody. He said that his confidence is tempered by the current market, where home sales and prices are falling, but added it remains high, in part because there are not many newly built homes for sale. He estimated that about 95% of the buyers so far at 50 Electronic Avenue are people who intend to live in the homes and not to flip the units. Panatch predicted that his Port Moody’s first phase could sell out by the end of the year and that sales for the project’s second phase would then launch in February. “We have no brand new standing inventory,” he said of the housing market across Metro Vancouver. “There aren’t hundreds of brand new, finished apartments sitting out there. That’s what gives me confidence.” © 2018 North Shore News

LETTER: Aren’t you tired of majority government 'corruption' by now?

North Shore News

November 4, 2018 11:56 AM

file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

Dear Editor:

RE: Just Say No to ‘Proportional Misrepresentation’ Nov. 2 This Just In column by Trevor Lautens.

What a silly opinion piece by Mr Lautens. He has no real argument for first past the post and proportional representation or against proportional representation other than the world is flat and nothing in the world needs to change. “Just mark your preference for the current FPTP ... then down pens.” Really, Trevor! Are you too lazy to find out about PR?

There are many juristications in the world that are governed by PR. They work well & the sky didn’t collapse on them. Lautens lending ink to the idea that PR would open the doors to political fringe parties is ridiculous and unfounded. We may have borrowed from Trump’s playbook on that one.

A change to PR “would produce a co-operative, more harmonious government is dreamland.” More harmonious, likely not, but it does force co-operation and does better represent the voters choice. FPTP has never represented the will of the people. Aren’t you tired of majority government corruption by now?

Brett Humphreys North Vancouver related

 LAUTENS: Just say no to ‘proportional misrepresentation’

A6 | nsnews.com north shore news FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

Fall is full on at ESCAPE -shop now To get your favourites of the season

116-1151 Mount Seymour Rd., North Vancouver AT PARKGATEVILLAGE OPEN 604-988-6362 MONDAY -SATURDAY

Escape Travel-Wear is just5minutes from the Ironworker’sBridge–takeMt. Seymour Parkway exit to ParkgateVillage. 3doors down from BeanAroundthe WorldCoffee.

the

NEW TOOLS. NEW SPACE.

LAB Come in to The Lab for active, L L L hands-on learning experiences. West Vancouver’s Digital Learning Place

WIKIPEDIA EDIT-A-THON: Local HistoryEdition

Wikipedia is one of the world’smostpopular information sources, and YOU can makeitbetter.LibrariansfromWVMLand UBC will show you how to edit and improve Wikipedia’scontent about West Vancouver and the North Shore.

Online registration is required. wvml.ca/editathon2018 Tuesday,November 13, 6:30–8p.m., The Lab

1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 604.925.7405 |[email protected] NEWSSTAND PULSE 19 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16 2018 $1.25 PRICE Sense and Sensibility Exit 22 theatre company opens season at Capilano University

TASTE 49 Tamarind Hill Malaysian cuisine embodies community’s cultural diversity

DRIVE 64 Mitsubishi Outlander Hybrid crossover plugs into a lucrative market

NORTHSHORENEWS LOCAL NEWS . LOCAL MATTERS . SINCE 1969 INTERACT WITH THE NEWS AT nsnews.com MLAs debate electoral reform

MARIA RANTANEN [email protected]

North Vancouver- Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma wants British Columbia to enter the 21st century and embrace proportional representation, while her West Vancouver-Capilano counterpart Ralph Sultan doesn’t like the “highly partisan” referendum process on electoral reform. British Columbians are sending in mail-in ballots all this month in a referendum on whether to change how they elect their provincial government, and while the rhetoric is heightened on both the yes and no sides, the three new electoral systems are “made-in-B.C.” compromises that combine proportional representation with plurality and maintain local representation. Vancouver-Langara Liberal MLA Michael Lee debated electoral reform with North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP MLA Bowinn Ma at an event hosted by the Canadian Iranian Federation at the John Braithwaite Community Centre in North Vancouver Nov. 4. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN See Electoral page 4 Talking to teens about cannabis crucial

JANE SEYD He added the theory marijuana is a “gateway drug” that can [email protected] Medical health officer fields lead to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin has been debunked. Because there’s been limited research, there are still a lot There’s not much point worrying that legalizing canna- parents’ questions at youth of unanswered questions about cannabis, said Lysyshyn – like bis will “normalize” marijuana use, because it’s already how much is too much and what kinds of risks and benefits ear normal, says Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer health forum in North Van backed up by scientific study. for the North Shore. Many medical benefits touted by marijuana advocates and “When 40 per cent of people admit to using it, we need to be Though marijuana is still not legal for those under 19, legaliza- producers are still an open question, he said. Because medical more realistic about it,” he said. tion is a monumental shift, said Lysyshyn. use of cannabis was legalized ahead of recreational use, a lot of The key for parents and youth is to focus on reducing poten- Lysyshyn said he doesn’t favour fear or abstinence-based people who said they are using marijuana for medical purposes, tial harm and keeping communication open. anti-drug education like the early DARE programs – because they “I don’t think are using it in medical ways,” said Lysyshyn. Those were among the messages Wednesday evening at a can make teens who do use drugs reluctant to seek help. So far, science backs up medical use of marijuana for forum on cannabis legalization and youth hosted by the North School districts are still evaluating options for cannabis symptoms of chemotherapy-induced nausea, multiple Vancouver School District and Vancouver Coastal Health in education, but Lysyshyn said he prefers programs that encour- North Vancouver where about 50 people came out to hear age teens to think critically about marijuana use and the reasons Lysyshyn speak. people use drugs. See Health page 15 A4 | NEWS nsnews.com north shore news FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018

TREVOR LAUTENS: DIFFERENT TIMING, A DIFFERENT MAYOR OF WEST VAN? PAGE 8 Electoral reform ballots trickling in

one electoral district. “A minority government and From page 1 That is not the system two parties that are forced to being proposed here in work together, (…) in order There are “different B.C., Cameron pointed out; to get things done. It’s a seis- visions of democracy” rather, the three PR systems mic shift in the way that we behind those who support proposed in the referendum work – and imagine an entire first past the post and those combine a plurality-based legislature where your suc- who support a proportional system supplemented with cess is defined not by your representation system, said proportionality with a thresh- ability to put the other party UBC political science Prof. old of five per cent – that down, but by your ability to Maxwell Cameron. means parties need to get compromise and work with “People who like the five per cent provincially them.” current system tend to think before they get any seats. The results from elec- democracy is best served All three systems are com- toral reform are often “more when we have decisive promises and not a sharp muted” than has been elections that lead to a gov- turn one way or the other, predicted by both the pro ernment taking office with Cameron said, “intended to and con side in this debate, a majority and governing as find the best of both worlds.” Cameron said. it must to fulfil its mandate Under PR, he added, no “The great benefits that – for a period of time until unelected MLAs would be we anticipate frequently we don’t like what they’ve sent to the legislature. don’t materialize,” he said. done and we have a chance “Likewise, the terrible to throw them out,” Cameron ‘NO’ CAMPAIGNERS POINT scourge that is predicted by explained. But many people TO PROBLEMS IN EUROPE the catastrophizing on the are troubled by this “winner With just two weeks to go, Elections BC has so far received 12,970 ballot packages from Suzanne Anton, who ‘no’ side is unlikely to occur take all system,” he added, registered voters in the North Shore’s four provincial ridings. PHOTO MIKE WAKEFIELD is part of the official “no” as well.” because if the party they campaign, along with Bill Opponents of pro- voted for doesn’t win, their in Edgemont Village or BC NDP and 11 per cent to Sweden and Germany as Tieleman and Bob Plecas, portional representation votes are “wasted.” Dundarave should take their the Greens, and yet, of the examples where PR has said she opposes pro- will point out that both complaints to,” he said. 28 races, the Liberals won 26 created long-term stability portional representation the Swedish and German MLA RALPH SULTAN “They chose me and I’m their and BC NDP won two. and collaboration. Except because it’s a “fundamental systems are experiencing FAVOURS FIRST PAST THE guy and I live amongst them.” This sends a message that for the most recent election, change” in how people vote. challenges, but Cameron said POST He also prefers a system the North Shore is “over- Sweden has voted in the In a first-past-the-post sys- this is not because of PR, but BC Liberal MLA Sultan where differences are worked whelmingly” BC Liberal, and social democrats again and tem, candidates are assessed rather because Europe has called the referendum pro- out before the election and whatever they do will be again, and they’ve governed for their character, leader- been affected by the largest cess a “stunning contrast” candidates coalesce under overwhelmingly accepted in coalitions. ship qualities, reliability, mass migration since the to the citizens’ assembly, a one party, rather than in a by the people on the North “Because the system is their work in the community Second World War. non-political process created PR system where there are Shore, Ma explained. proportional, what tends to and their political party Cameron thinks, if pro- by former premier Gordon MLAs from many parties and “The reality is thousands happen is you get these fairly affiliation. portional representation is Campbell to look at electoral after the election, they form and thousands and thou- stable centrist or centre- “You look at all those chosen, people will learn to reform in 2009, which he said coalitions. sands of people on the North left coalitions, they tend to factors, and, at the end of the appreciate it as a system. politicians were forbidden “I think the present sys- Shore elect for a person who dominate politics over a long day, you will choose a person “The most likely thing is from participating in. tem with all of its warts and is not BC Liberal,” she added. period of time,” Cameron to be your representative,” people will discover, oh, this “This time round we have callouses – it’s not perfect In November 2017, the said, adding “that stabil- Anton said. “And this hap- actually does seem pretty the exact opposite – a highly – produces better govern- attorney general launched a ity is part of what allows pens 87 times around British intuitive, it makes a lot of partisan, very politicized, ment, that’s my conviction, public engagement process these countries to actually Columbia – the community sense, parties will start to lots of things you want to as opposed to governments on electoral reform, soliciting do things like build robust chooses a person to repre- adapt a little bit in probably raise your eyebrows over that are in continual renego- about 92,000 questionnaires welfare states or to shift their sent them. We do not vote for ways that most of us would going on,” Sultan said, tiation,” Sultan said. from the public. This resulted economy away from fossil political parties.” approve of,” Cameron said. adding that people aren’t in the current referendum. fuels.” The fundamental change While Sultan prefers the well-informed about this MLA BOWINN MA PRE- Instead, in Canada, with proportional represen- current system, he wants referendum. “This whole FERS PROPORTIONAL THREE PR SYSTEMS ON there is “an appearance of tation is that the political people to get out and vote, thing is galloping forward REPRESENTATION BALLOT stable majority government, party vote becomes the most no matter the outcome. at breakneck speed and it’s First past the post works Three types of PR are but in fact these majority important because that is “If proportional repre- a very important issue and relatively well when there are being presented as options governments are often very what determines representa- sentation comes in, it’s not there should be thoughtful two parties, said Ma, but it based on the feedback: dual unstable.” With a complete tion in Victoria. the end of the world, but it consideration.” starts to break down when member proportional, mixed turnover of government, While PR proponents say certainly would be a different Most OECD (Organisation there are more than two, and member proportional and situations like in Ontario their system is more fair, world,” he said. “Frankly, for Economic Co-operation parties govern with less than rural-urban proportional. arise where recently elected Anton said their argument folks, I prefer the world we and Development) member 50 per cent of the votes. The ballot will have two Premier Doug Ford is ends there, because the have and as we know it, and countries use PR, Sultan This creates a “false parts, first asking voters if reversing the previous gov- result is not necessarily bet- it has worked very well, but said, making Canada one of majority,” she explained, they prefer proportional ernment’s policies on issues ter, pointing to Scandinavian you have to make up your the “outliers,” but with so “where a legislature or parlia- representation or first past like school curriculum and and other European coun- own mind.” many examples, it shows the ment appears to have an the post, and then asking climate change. tries that have seen the rise Referendum voting pack- strengths and weaknesses of overwhelming mandate for them to choose which of the “We are hardly on the of right-wing racist parties. ages were distributed by mail the system. the work that they’re doing three PR systems they prefer, level of stability – Europeans But Ma argues that voter starting in late October and Sultan said under a but in fact they’re supported either one, none or to rank look at us and they think turnout goes down when must be returned by mail PR system, voters would by less than 50 per cent of them. these people can’t get their people feel their votes are and received by Elections BC not know who their rep- voters that voted in the last The province gave half a act together,” Cameron said. wasted and they start to feel before 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 30. resentative was and local election.” million dollars to both the Those opposing PR often disengaged from politics, Voters can register or representation would be lost Statistics of the last seven yes and no campaigns, which point to “canards” like Italy something she feels is “dan- update their voter informa- since the local vote would provincial elections show have launched websites, nob- or Israel. The PR system in gerous for democracy.” tion – but must do so before need to be topped up by the that, in the four North Shore cprorep.ca and voteprbc.ca, the latter has a low threshold The current power-shar- Nov. 23 – online at elections. popular vote. ridings, 56 per cent of all the with restrictions on further for parties to attain seats ing agreement between the bc.ca/ovr, or by calling 1-800- “At the moment, there’s votes cast went to the BC fundraising. and the entire country, with BC NDP and the Greens is a 661-8683, Monday to Friday, no question who people Liberals, 26 per cent to the Cameron pointed to a population of 8.5 million, is “unique scenario,” Ma said. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018 north shore news nsnews.com NEWS | A5 YouAre Invited to Two new electoral systems ACHRISTMASPAJAMAPARTY highlight B.C.’s 3rd try at PR SundayNovember 18 •12-5

GRAEME WOOD/ GLACIER the first seat. Meanwhile, the Boundaries Commission will SYNDICATED No. 2 candidate will be chosen determine the size of districts Contributing writer by a process of elimination to and regions. Each system meet proportionality to the could see the number of MLAs British Columbians are set provincewide vote. A yet-to-be- go up from 87 to 95. to decide on whether to determined number of rural Should voters choose PR stand pat on our first-past- (northern) ridings will not by mail-in ballot, Elections the-post voting system or change and maintain the one- BC says it will need up to 14 select one of three elec- candidate FPTP system. months to implement changes. toral reform proposals, Attorney General David Eby two of which have never MIXED MEMBER told Glacier Media he would been implemented any- PROPORTIONAL table legislation by February where else in the world. Mixed member propor- to have the new system in Those three proportional tional is used in Germany, New place by the scheduled fall representation systems are Zealand and Scotland. Under 2021 election. Eby will also leg- featured on mail-in referendum MMP, there will be fewer, islate a referendum after two ballots that started arriving at larger districts represented by elections that will ask if people doors at the end of October. one MLA using FPTP. Several want to go back to traditional Citizens will have until Nov. districts are then grouped FPTP. 30 to mail them back, free of together to form regions, charge, to Elections BC, an which will be represented by 2018 MARKSA FAMILIAR independent office of the B.C. several MLAs chosen from a BUT NEW PATH TO PR legislature. party list. Regional MLAs are This will be the prov- “A Warm &Cozy” used clothing drive, During this time, two regu- chosen by a mathematical ince’s third kick at the can please bring us your gently worn pajamas,robes &sweaters. lated groups are stirring public formula to match propor- for PR in 13 years. In 2005 Come &see the staff modeling our favouritepajamas,enjoyfestive debate, acting as proponents tionality to the provincewide British Columbians voted (Vote PR BC) and oppo- vote. It is to be determined 57 per cent in favour of STV treats,alovely gift with purchase &freegiftwrapping! nents (No BC Proportional if voters will simply choose but then-premier Gordon Representation Society) of one candidate (which counts Campbell rejected the results change. Third-party groups are for the party too) or choose a for not meeting a 60 per cent we fit youperfectly from 30 -44A-H limited to $200,000 in expenses candidate and a party (addi- threshold of voter acceptance. and must be registered to tionally, voters may be able to A second referendum in advertise (including paid or rank candidates in an “open” 2009 saw citizens sour to the “sponsored” social media list). Notably, a minimum 60 concept. 1403 Bellevue Avenue content). per cent of MLAs will be from At the root of prior West Vancouver districts chosen by FPTP. referendums was concern FIRST PAST THE POST for how legislature seats are 604 926 2222 Presently, B.C., Canada, the RURAL-URBAN determined — often being United Kingdom and United PROPORTIONAL somewhat or vastly dispropor- States vote using FPTP, gener- A third system called rural- tionate to the total vote count. ally described as the simplest urban proportional is a newly For instance, in 1996, the BC electoral system whereby proposed hybrid system NDP lost the popular vote you check one candidate on likened to one devised by for- to the BC Liberals but won a a ballot and the candidate mer chief electoral officer for majority of seats. Yet in 2001 with the most votes in a small, Canada Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the pendulum shifted to the local riding wins a seat in the who wanted to reach propor- Liberals, who garnered 77 of Legislature. tionality while maintaining 79 seats with only 57 per cent However, FPTP often local MLAs in rural ridings. of the popular vote. results in disproportionate, Devised by Fair Vote This year’s referendum is single-party power arrange- Canada, RUP will use MMP a result of campaign promises ments from a small pool for rural districts/regions and made by the NDP and BC (typically two) of large parties. single transferable vote for Green Party, both of which On the other hand, propor- newly drawn urban districts, proposed electoral reform in tional representation systems which will be the largest under their 2017 election platforms have larger ridings and result any proposed system. and subsequently included in more parties, with two or STV is used in Ireland and it in their Cooperation and more typically reaching power- Australia. Under STV, voters Supply Agreement that formed sharing agreements (coalition rank at least one, or several, of an NDP minority government. governments). the candidates on the ballot. But instead of forming a The mail-in ballot will first Based on how many votes are citizens’ assembly, as in 2004, ask residents if they prefer cast, an MLA is elected once to determine one proposed FPTP or PR. If a majority they receive enough votes; system, Eby conducted online choose PR, a new system to fill the two to seven seats, consultations to proceed with could be chosen based on how MLAs will be elected by receiv- three PR proposals. “The goal citizens rank three PR systems ing secondary votes that are was to determine, through — two of which are uniquely transferred by a process of public consultation, what crafted for B.C. — chosen by elimination. values British Columbians the B.C Attorney General’s Regional MLAs under MMP wanted to see in a proposed office: will help reach proportionality. voting system,” said Eby, who likens the referendum choices DUAL MEMBER POST REFERENDUM IF to a citizens’ assembly. PROPORTIONAL PR IS CHOSEN This referendum has no Mathematician Sean In all three PR systems, a minimum vote threshold and Graham from University of party will need five per cent government can accept a new Alberta conceived dual mem- of the provincewide vote to PR system with a 50 per cent ber proportional. Under DMP qualify for regional MLAs. An plus one vote — although the most districts (ridings) will all-party legislative committee referendum is not binding. double up to become one rep- will determine things such as In 2016, P.E.I. held a similar resented by two MLAs. Voters open/closed lists and the exact referendum and voted 69 will only check one box that number of regional MLAs. per cent in favour of PR; 1457 Bellevue Avenue, West Vancouver | 604 925 8333 includes two candidates from Horgan said recently he would however, with only a 36 per Four Seasons Hotel, 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver | 604 682 1158 any given party (No. 1 and No. direct members of that com- cent turnout, Premier Wade 2). As in FPTP, the No. 1 candi- mittee to not support a closed MacLauchlan decided not to 2018 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR, WEST VANCOUVER date with the most votes wins list. The independent Electoral proceed with reform. STITTGEN.COM BALDREY: Neither voting system on ballot flawless or ideal

North Shore News

October 31, 2018 08:15 AM

Do some reading up, and cast your ballot in what is assuredly a very flawed referendum process. file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News The ballots for the referendum on electoral reform are just starting to arrive in everyone’s home, and already I’m getting tired of the rhetoric and exaggerations from those on both sides of the debate. The advocates of switching to a proportional representation model for electing governments tend to argue their view of the world will lead to a utopian paradise where nothing goes wrong and everyone gets along just swell. And those who favour the current first-past-the-post system darkly suggest any PR system will put extremists on either the left or the right dangerously close to power. The truth is, there are merits to both systems and there some real disadvantages to both as well. Let’s examine some of them. For example, it is true that FPTP tends to lead to a two or three party system, where a ruling party rarely gets a majority of the total popular vote. However, one party’s candidate often gets a majority of votes in the riding they are elected in (in the 2017 election, 48 MLAs received a majority win). For some folks, this kind of result is just fine and leads, for the most part, to good government (which it has, many times in this province) because it leads to loose coalitions that don’t heed the fringe parties. However, others feel this is simply not democratic – that a total majority should rule, and that anything less is anti- democratic and leads to voter cynicism. Critics who point to right-wing populists like Ontario Doug Ford being in power due to a FPTP system conveniently forget that a whole bunch of NDP premiers – Dave Barrett, Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark, John Horgan, Allan Blakeney, Ed Schreyer etc. – benefited from the exact same system. One of the presumed attractions of moving to a PR system is the argument that it will increase voter turnout, particularly among young people. I suspect that would be the case – more parties would have a chance of being elected, and younger voters turned off by a two-party system may find a PR model more accessible for them. And it is clear a PR model would more closely reflect the general popular vote when it comes to determining the makeup of legislature seats. A myth seems to have taken hold about what a B.C. legislature might look like under that system, based on an assumption that it would automatically be a left-Green alliance that forms government. But, historically, the centre-right parties generally get more votes than centre-left parties during elections so it may very well be a centre-right governing coalition that will tend to flow from a PR system in this province. A PR model would also allow some MLAs to be appointed by the party rather than being directly elected by the people. Some folks think this is a travesty because it reeks of backroom wheeling and dealing and makes politicians accountable to their party, and not the voters, while others don’t see much of a problem because the number of MLAs would still be based on the popular vote. Now, a PR system will not cure all of our social or economic ills and it may in fact worsen them. But it is just as likely to out-perform anything resulting from a FPTP outcome. As for so-called “extremist” parties emerging, I think there is a good chance a social conservative party could garner seats under PR and may hold the balance of power under some scenarios. The Fraser Valley could be fertile turf for such a party, and could possibly exceed the five per cent minimum vote requirement for standing in the legislature. And I note with some concern what appears to be rising tribalism in this country as support for immigration and cultural diversity seems to be dropping. But we are a ways away from seeing that reflected in the makeup of our legislature, even if we switch to a PR system. Still ... Neither system is flawless or ideal. But do some reading up, and cast your ballot in what is assuredly a very flawed referendum process (the number of decisions on how a PR system will actually work that will be made by an NDP and Green dominated legislature committee is troubling to say the least). Just ignore the rhetoric and exaggerations. Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. [email protected] What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below. © 2018 North Shore News

New councillor wants city to reconsider duplex bylaw

8 Nov 2018 Vancouver Sun JOANNE LEE-YOUNG [email protected] New city councillor Colleen Hardwick of the NPA has put forth a motion to reconsider the recently passed bylaw allowing duplexes in most of Vancouver’s single-family neighbourhoods by returning the discussion to a public hearing. The bylaw was approved in a majority vote with support from former mayor Gregor Robertson and five Vision Vancouver councillors just before leaving their positions at city hall. Green party Coun. Adriane Carr and NPA Coun. Melissa De Genova, who are part of the new council, voted against the bylaw. Hardwick’s motion for council’s first regular meeting on Nov. 13 notes “there was no meaningful public consultation prior to referral to public hearing to amend the RS zones and related strata guidelines as proposed in the policy report dated June 27, 2018” and “there was significant public opposition at the public hearing on September 18 and 19.” The so-called duplex bylaw was enacted Oct. 30, but “these amendments were implemented immediately before, during and after where most of the then-council members were not seeking reelection in the civic election October 20, 2018,” according to Hardwick’s motion, which does not have a listed seconder. Carr confirmed she had been thinking about putting forth a motion to reopen the discussion, but had been waiting for city staff to answer some technical questions about what options there may be and what wording to use since the bylaw has been enacted. Carr is putting forth a motion to produce a city-wide plan that engages the public in tackling issues such as housing affordability and adding density to accommodate growth. It has been seconded by Hardwick. 2 Comment(s)

GMan 08 November 2018 07:33 Duplexing homes will not increase affordability. An already unaffordable $1 million home will now sell for $1.5 million because it can be duplexed. The developer will then tear down the house and build a duplex with two luxury homes that will sell for $1.5 million each. So duplexing will increase the cost of a home by $500,000. If you don't believe me look at what has already happened with land assemblies. At Granville and Park street 5 $1 million homes were sold to developers for $3 million each, torn down and 16 luxury townhomes were built. Those townhomes are now selling for $1.5 million to 2.2 million each. This can be easily verified on Realtor.ca. At Park and Granville there are currently 6 townhomes selling in the above quoted range. Councillors should block the duplexing of neighbourhoods until bylaws are put in place to ban the building of Luxury replacements for what used to be working class homes. street wisdom1 08 November 2018 09:02 Zoning rules should not be implemented by disgraced politicians on their way out the door. Rescind the bylaw change.

BALDREY: New mayors may throw wrench in NDP machine

Keith Baldrey / Contributing writer

October 23, 2018 02:49 PM

The outcome of the municipal elections in Metro Vancouver will impact the provincial government's standing. photo supplied Darren Stone, Times Colonist

The outcome of the municipal elections in Metro Vancouver will undoubtedly have a serious impact on the provincial political scene in a number of instances.

For example, NDP MLA Leonard Krog’s successful bid for the Nanaimo mayor’s job creates a gaping hole on the NDP’s governing benches. His departure leaves the NDP-Green alliance with a reduced majority of just one seat.

Look for Premier John Horgan to call a byelection to fill the seat rather quickly. The next confidence vote in the legislature will likely be the vote on the budget next spring and, to be safe, Horgan needs that single vote.

Of course, if the B.C. Liberals win that byelection it would produce a tie in the house, and that in all likelihood would force an early provincial election.

A tie would require Speaker Darryl Plecas to vote to break any ties, and that is not a situation that would stand the test of time.

Having said that, it must be pointed out that Nanaimo is historically a very strong NDP riding. However, keep in mind two points: the 2012 NDP byelection win in the Liberal stronghold of Chilliwack-Hope, and the fact that historically B.C. governments traditionally lose way more byelections than they win.

Another example? The return of Doug McCallum as Surrey mayor will bring disruption to the Metro Vancouver civic scene and reverberate onto the provincial one.

His vow to scrap the LRT line in Surrey and build a SkyTrain extension may lead to a chaotic situation. The project will cost $1.65 billion, and most of that funding ($1.12 billion) will come from TransLink and regional government. McCallum seems to think TransLink will willingly shift that $1.12 billion to his plan for a SkyTrain extension. There is no guarantee whatsoever of that happening and the provincial government will be watching this situation with growing alarm.

After all, just last month Premier John Horgan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a joint news conference announcing the LRT project and the Broadway subway line, and now McCallum wants to wreck one of them with potentially nothing to show in return.

In addition, his vow to get rid of the RCMP in Surrey and replace it with a municipal police force is going to drive Solicitor General Mike Farnworth right up the wall. Any move by McCallum in this manner will surely strain relations between Surrey and any B.C. government.

McCallum clearly rode to victory on these kinds of populist issues, but it is hard to see how he can deliver on them. As was made clear in the last provincial election, Surrey is an important political battleground and it will be interesting to see how McCallum’s performance affects the NDP (and the B.C. Liberals) standing there.

Meanwhile, the B.C. Green party must like what it saw in the municipal elections, given that civic Greens elected eight of nine candidates on various Vancouver councils and boards, and elected a candidate (ex-DOA rocker Joe Keithley) to Burnaby council as well.

I am not convinced that kind of breakthrough will translate into a stronger provincial presence for the B.C. Greens, but it has to be encouraging nevertheless.

In addition, the NDP has to like the fact that labour-backed candidates did well in some communities.

Kennedy Stewart, who ran as an independent but is obviously an NDPer, is the new mayor of Vancouver. He will be presiding over a council dominated by right-leaning NPA councillors and three Greens and a far left COPE councillor, which will make things challenging. But hey, a win is a win.

Also, ex-BCGEU president Darryl Walker is now the mayor of the supposedly conservative bastion of White Rock, and labour-supported candidates won in both Port Moody and Port Coquitlam.

Then there is new Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, who also had labour backing. A handful of NDP MLAs told me they were just fine with the prospect of a Hurley mayoralty, even it meant knocking off long-time mayor Derek Corrigan, a strong New Democrat himself.

I expect Hurley – and new Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West – to emerge as major political voices in the Metro region, and that will be good news for the sitting government in Victoria.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. [email protected]

What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.

New Seymour River suspension bridge nearly finished

Brent Richter / North Shore News

November 9, 2018 03:12 PM

Surespan contractors work on the bridge deck for the new suspension bridge over the Seymour River in North Vancouver. photo Mike Wakefield

Deep in the Seymour River valley, the rattle of an impact drill echoes off the canyon walls. Crews are installing the some of the final deck planks on the North Shore’s newest suspension bridge.

Metro Vancouver invited the media for sneak peek of the bridge in its final weeks of construction on Friday. related

 Seymour River footbridge to be built this summer  Metro Vancouver trying again for new Seymour River bridge  Trail bridge over Seymour River delayed due to costs  North Vancouver's Twin Bridge taken out after rock slide  Seymour rock slide creates new lake

Hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians should be able to resume crossing the bridge by mid-December, according to Metro Vancouver.

“I think Metro Vancouver staff and myself are extremely excited to get this bridge back open. It’s been a long time and we’re going to be using it as much as the public to do maintenance and things on the other side. It’s going to be good,” said Mike Mayers, division manager of watershed operations and protection for Metro Vancouver.

In December, 2014, a rockslide choked off the Seymour River, temporarily swamping the original Twin Bridges and making the span structurally unstable.

Mayers said he is expecting trail users of all kinds will be glad to have their bridge back.

“During the week we’d see hundreds of people during the day. On a weekend, maybe up to a thousand. I would expect when it first opens, we’re going to see a real rush of people to get back to their regular routine and also to see the third suspension bridge on the North Shore. We’ve got one on every major river now.”

Surespan contractors have been at work in the 73-metre long, 2.5-metre wide suspension bridge since May. Mayers said it is coming in on its $2-million budget. Even after the bridge itself is complete, Metro crews will still have to rebuild some of the trail connections that were lost to flooding on the east side of the river.

Metro hasn’t quite settled yet on what the name for the new bridge will be. For a time, it was going by the working title of Fisherman’s Trail Bridge but Mayers said they are now leaning toward calling it the Seymour Suspension Bridge, in keeping with its cousins across the Capilano River and Lynn Creek.

EDITORIAL: Nobody’s home

North Shore News

November 20, 2018 04:30 PM

The parking lot at the old Delbrook Recreation Centre. image supplied, Google District of North Vancouver Couns. Lisa Muri, Betty Forbes, Megan Curren and Jim Hanson and Mayor Mike Little all believe we need affordable housing. Throughout the campaign they told us, repeatedly, that North Van has too much market housing and not enough affordable housing. But when it came to their very first vote on an all-below-market housing project in Delbrook, Monday, they all said, “No.” related  'We can do better': District of North Van rejects Delbrook affordable housing project  District of North Van candidates push housing promises The reasons given for preventing 80 working people, families and seniors from having safe, secure, affordable homes to live in, was that it was too tall, too dense, that the unit mix was wrong, that it had too little parking and wasn’t designed to the highest environmental standards. Mostly though, it was to mollify the very comfortably housed neighbours in Delbrook. It was a case of the haves versus the have-nots and this council came down firmly on the side of the haves even though that decision meant squandering a non-profit’s resources, staff time and community goodwill. Provincial and federal dollars for affordable housing projects are now beginning to flow. This vote undoubtedly sends the message to senior levels of government and non-profit housing partners that the district is not at all serious about doing its part to help resolve the crisis. Those who torpedoed this desperately needed project insist we can do better. Well, it’s now on them to come up with a viable Plan B, and do it quickly, or they will have forfeited their right to any further lip service about the housing crisis. Little will wear the chain of office for the next four years. We hope he won’t have to wear this decision for as long. The people in dire need of housing today can’t wait. © 2018 North Shore News

OTHER VOICES: North Shore a leader for homes built with the BC Energy Step Code

Joe Geluch and David Adai / Contributing writer

October 31, 2018 01:38 PM

A laneway house on West 28th Street is built in accordance with B.C. Energy Step Code. file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

This past Canada Day, while all of us were enjoying a well-earned day off, the three North Shore governments together passed an important milestone.

On that day, the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, and District of West Vancouver all began requiring new homes to meet a significantly higher level of energy efficiency than what the building code otherwise dictates. Now, everyone who buys or rents a new home on the North Shore will enjoy better indoor air quality, lower utility bills, and a house that is both warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

We are both home builders; between us we have 40 years of experience on the North Shore. Our companies, Blackfish Homes and Naikoon Contracting, by industry standards are competitors, but we share values rooted in respect for the environment. We specialize in building and renovating single-family homes. Our projects are some of the most energy efficient homes on the North Shore—in our business we call them “high-performance” homes. We are delighted to see our local governments taking the lead and requiring higher-performance new homes with the BC Energy Step Code. At the same time, though, we recognize some builders will have an easier time navigating the new requirements than others, and we do have concerns about adoption and the path ahead.

The BC Energy Step Code regulates building energy efficiency with a staircase metaphor; each “step” from 1 to 5 represents a higher level of energy efficiency. Builders need to demonstrate, through on-site testing and software simulations, that their project will meet the requirements of a certain step. The North Shore governments brought in the BC Energy Step Code at Step 3, which means that every new North Shore home will be at least 20 percent more efficient when the last nail goes in than they otherwise would have been.

The “proving performance” aspect will give consumers confidence that their new home will be built to high standards. (We both know of cases where buyers thought they were getting a more efficient home than they actually ended up with, because there was no regulation in place.)

While we’re pleased to see our North Shore governments now require all builders to use the techniques, materials, and practices that we have been using for years, we know it won’t be easy.

That’s because, to succeed, home design professionals and builders will need to consider energy use right from the initial design phase. High-performance building demands a more collaborative approach—you’re not just “handing off” the project to the next professional, or trade, all the way through construction. For those with less experience with this approach, catching up will be challenging to say the least. There are still a lot of builders and business people across the North Shore who don’t even know what the BC Energy Step Code is!

Though we are competitors, we share common ground as high-performance builders and thus share information, so we can learn from one another. Now that Step 3 is the standard on the North Shore, we hope the industry as a whole will become much more collaborative.

The learning curve will be steep, but our local governments are actually doing our industry a favour. Why? In 2032, the province is going to require every new building in the province to meet Step 5. (Recently, it floated the idea of requiring Step 3 everywhere by 2022.) In other words, if it’s going to happen anyway, why not get out in front of it? There are tons of builder training opportunities underway, too—through CHBA-BC, BCIT, BC Housing, Passive House Canada, Built Green Canada, and through individual municipalities. The time to get Step Code savvy? Right now.

Finally, it is a myth that a high-performance house is an expensive house. New case studies of projects in the interior, on Vancouver Island, and elsewhere have proven that the construction cost premium of building to a Step 3 level is between zero and 2 percent. As more builders get up to speed, we expect these minimal cost premiums will come down. And remember that up-front construction cost is just part of the equation. Those living in a Step 3 home will pay a fraction of the energy costs that they would have otherwise spent, as well as enjoy better air quality and overall healthier home.

Despite the challenges that will arise during the next few years, we are proud of the leadership role that the North Shore has taken. In the booming market that we find ourselves in, it is a huge loss to allow outdated, sloppy building practices to continue. It is exciting that the entire industry is being mandated to learn more sophisticated building science in order to meet better energy standards and deliver better homes to the market.

Joe Geluch is president and owner of Naikoon Contracting, in the City of North Vancouver, David Adair is president and owner of Blackfish Homes, in the District of North Vancouver.

Streaming service: North Van students learn waterway restoration

Maria Rantanen / Contributing writer

November 17, 2018 09:00 AM

Larson Elementary students have a look at a display showcasing the growth and development of salmon. Students from the North Vancouver school were recently given a tour by North Shore Streamkeepers to see the salmon enhancement work done at MacKay Creek. photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News

Larson Elementary students in Grade 5, 6 and 7 saw otters going after salmon, trees mulched on by beavers and neon green glowing moss at a Coho Discovery Day workshop along MacKay Creek last week while restoration and infrastructure work continued along the urban waterway.

Throughout the month of November and into early December, North Vancouver classes are coming to learn about stream restoration and work being done to revitalize water courses on the North Shore.

Kessa Weatherly, a Grade 5 student at Larson Elementary, said she learned a lot about salmon, but also about trees and animals during their educational walk along McKay Creek, as well as the importance of forests.

“(The forest) gives oxygen and animals hide in there – it’s a good habitat,” she said.

Ron Den Daas with North Shore Streamkeepers and the Coho Society said the workshops with students showcase how the environment is doing despite being located next to one of the largest shipbuilding sites in the country.

The restoration work on MacKay Creek comes after 150 years of degradation from logging, heavy industry and urban development.

The two North Vancouver municipalities started the MacKay Creek Flood Protection and Enhancement project this September, funded through federal and provincial programs, Emergency Management BC and Build Canada, to the tune of $1.65 million and with some trail improvements paid for by TransLink. Doug Dwantston of North Shore Streamkeepers point some salmon spawning beds in MacKay Creek to students from Larson Elementary - photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News

While the salmon still live in the creek, efforts are being made to revitalize it and increase the number of fish, said Doug Swanston, a marine biologist who was working with the Larson Elementary students last Wednesday.

At the workshop, Burt Huxley, a Grade 6 student, said he learned about glowing neon green moss that stays moist because it grows in the shade, giving it its unique colour, as well as about keeping the natural surroundings clean.

“It’s really important to help the environment because if you try to block natural water pools, it will make pollution,” he said.

Lucas Cowan, who is in Grade 6, joined his classmates on the Discovery Day last week, which took the class on a walking tour along the creek down to Burrard Inlet.

“I learned that if you throw garbage in the water, you’ll pollute it,” he said after the walk.

The flood protection project from 3rd Street to Marine Drive along the creek includes replacing the footbridge at Hamilton Avenue in order to improve the route for pedestrians and cyclists, construction of a multi-use path, creation of a secondary creek channel in Hyak Park, converting Mackay Road into a one-way street from Roosevelt to Churchill in order to increase flood protection as well as some drainage improvements and the replacement of a sewer main.

Parking will be reduced on MacKay between Churchill and Roosevelt, and on MacKay between 1st and 3rd avenues.

A grant from TransLink will be used to add sections of the walking and cycling path so it extends to 1st Avenue and to Marine.

The work is expected to be finished in spring 2019.

North Vancouver Election Results: Two new mayors after incumbents opted not to run again

North Vancouver voters got to choose two new mayors after the city's Darrell Mussatto and the district's Richard Walton decided not to seek another term in office. Affordable housing and traffic congestion dominated the campaign.

Lori Culbert & Gordon McIntyre Updated: October 21, 2018

North Vancouver city and district both elected new mayors on Saturday, but they have different visions about the pace of development on the expensive and congested North Shore.

Endorsed by outgoing City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, Mayor-Elect Linda Buchanan will continue to support the city’s rate of development, which has seen a major transformation of the waterfront and other areas into townhouses and condo towers.

She disagreed with the public perception – and that of some of her competitors – that growth was exploding across the three North Shore municipalities and is the cause of traffic congestion.

“We are actually one of the slowest-growing (municipalities) in the region,” she said. “So I think what that says to me when I hear those conversations, people who are telling us (development) is too fast, is we need to have a much greater conversation with the community and how we’re communicating with them and engaging them and really getting that information out.”

The new mayor of Buchanan’s much larger neighbour, the District of North Vancouver, promised to slow the pace of development, though, to try to address the affordable housing crisis.

“We have to stop demolishing the affordable housing we already have in our community,” said Mayor-Elect Mike Little. He cited a recent decision by the outgoing council to tear down 61 affordable rentals on Emery Place, so they could be replaced with a massive development with both owned and rental units that are expected to be more expensive.

Instead, the district needs to embrace the new purpose-built rental zoning that the provincial government has now allowed. “We need to be proactive about getting two to four projects a year going forward,” Little said.

Late Saturday night, Little congratulated Buchanan on her victory at his crowded victory party. But several of his supporters booed at the mention of her name.

To address the traffic congestion problem, North Shore leaders must do a better job of explaining to Metro Vancouver the extent of the major backups on the two bridges going into and out of the area, he said. Other cities must agree to prioritize solutions for the North Shore, such as Vancouver and Burnaby, because “the backup is snaking through their communities and fouling up all of their streets.”

Little would also like to see major improvements to the B-Line bus service that is to be added to North Vancouver.

Mike Little shares a moment with his daughters Annie (left) and Alison at his election headquarter in North Vancouver, B.C., October, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM / PNG

Little will be overseeing a slightly fractured council. He was aligned with six council candidates: three were defeated and three – Lisa Muri, Megan Curren and Betty Forbes – were elected. They will have to try to work with three other councillors with different alignments.

Little won a whopping 60 per cent of the vote, easily defeating his closest rival Ash Amlani. In the city, it was a closer race: Buchanan garnered 29.7 per cent of the votes, beating Guy Heywood (26.6 per cent) by 401 votes.

“There are definite challenges,” Buchanan said Saturday night. “Housing affordability, people are frustrated with the traffic congestion and we need to be able to resolve some of those issues.

“I’ve heard loud and clear from some of the people in our community that they’re not happy with some of the things that have been happening.”

Four new councillors join the two who ran for re-election, Don Bell and Holly Back. “It’s going to be an amazing council,” said Buchanan, who served two terms as a councillor.

Photos: Election Day in B.C.

 Kennedy Stewart supporters wait for civic election results at the mayoralty candidate's election...  Victorious Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart and wife Jeanette Ashe celebrate his...  Supporters of winning mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart celebrate his election victory at the...  Vancouver mayoral candidate Ken Sim speaks to his supporters at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in...  Safe Surrey Coalition mayoral candidate Doug McCallum celebrates his win in the civic election...  Victorious Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart and wife Jeanette Ashe celebrate his...  Victorious Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart and wife Jeanette Ashe celebrate his...  A supporter at Ken Sim's NPA headquarters at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in Vancouver on Oct. 20,...  Vancouver runner-up mayoral candidate Ken Sim at NPA headquarters at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel...  City of Burnaby Mayor elect Mike Hurley (left) is congratulated by outgoing mayor Derek Corrigan...  A supporter of winning mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart celebrates his election victory at the...  Vancouver mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart speaks to his supporters at the Waldorf Hotel in...  Shauna Sylvester, a candidate for Mayor in the City of Vancouver 2018 municipal election, speaks to...  Steve Work embraces his partner Shauna Sylvester, after she spoke to supporters after losing the...  Supporters sit through a long wait at Ken Sim NPA HQ at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in Vancouver,...  Supporters react to rising numbers for Sim at Ken Sim NPA HQ at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in...  City of Burnaby Mayor elect Mike Hurley celebrates with supporters at his election headquarters...  City of Burnaby mayor elect Mike Hurley celebrates with supporters at his election headquarters...  City of Burnaby Mayor elect Mike Hurley celebrates with supporters at his election headquarters...  Derek Corrigan at HQ at Burnaby Winter Club on Oct. 20, 2018. Arlen Redekop/PNG  Safe Surrey Coalition mayoral candidate Doug McCallum celebrates his win in the civic election...  British Columbia NDP MLA Leonard Krog celebrates his win as mayor of Nanaimo. He will now have...  B.C. NDP MLA Leonard Krog is recorded on a iPhone as a reporter interviews him as they wait for...  Former City of North Vancouver mayor Darrell Mussatto (right) and newly elected Mayor Linda...  Mike Little shares a moment with his daughters Annie (left) and Alison at his election headquarter...  Mike Little gets a hug from his daughter Alison at his election headquarters in North Vancouver,...  Nanaimo MLA Leonard Krog watches the results of his mayoral candidacy with supporters at the...  Nanaimo MLA Leonard Krog watches the results of his mayoral candidacy with supporters at the...  Brad West celebrates with his wife Blaire after being elected mayor of Port Coquitlam. Joanne...  Independent candidate for Mayor of Vancouver Kennedy Stewart supporters cheer after their...  Kennedy Stewart supporter Mike Wu checks his phone after the polls close in Vancouver, Oct. 20,...  NPA candidate for mayor Ken Sim (left) shakes hands with Hector Bremner (right) of Yes Vancouver...

 NPA candidate for Mayor Ken Sim prior to the polls closing, Vancouver, Oct. 20 2018. Gerry...  Candidate for mayor of Vancouver Shauna Sylvester campaigns at Quebec and Terminal Oct. 19,...  Candidate for mayor of Vancouver Shauna Sylvester talks with a cyclist as she campaigns at...  Independent candidate for Mayor of Vancouver Kennedy Stewart (centre) waves to drivers on Davie...  Independent candidate for mayor of Vancouver, Kennedy Stewart, helps get Amayra Clark back into...  Derek Corrigan HQ at Burnaby Winter Club . Arlen Redekop/PNG  People leave Smiling Creek Elementary school in Coquitlam after voting in the province-wide civic...  Kennedy Stewart supporters wait for civic election results at the mayoralty candidate's election...  Victorious Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart and wife Jeanette Ashe celebrate his...

More coverage of the B.C. Municipal Election:

Municipal elections marked by long lines, heavy advance polling

Vancouver Election Results: Stewart wins nail-biter to become Vancouver’s next mayor

Victoria Election Results: Helps returns as mayor for a second term Nanaimo Election Results: Leonard Krog wins mayoral race

B.C. Election Results: Incumbents flourish in cities around B.C.

Delta Election Results: George Harvie elected in Delta on promise to work for a new bridge

Surrey Election Results: Doug McCallum returns as mayor, Safe Surrey Coalition nearly sweeps council

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Election Results: New mayors sweep to power

Burnaby Election Results: Corrigan upset by retired firefighter Hurley

B.C. Election Results: Mary-Ann Booth edges out Mark Sager in West Van

North Vancouver Election Results: Two new mayors after incumbents opted not to run again

Richmond Election Results: Mayor Malcolm Brodie wins yet again

Tri-cities Election Results: Young mayors elected in Port Coquitlam and Port Moody

Langley Election Results: Peter Fassbender fails in bid to return as mayor of Langley City

Abbotsford and Chilliwack Election Results: Henry Braun wins a second term in Abbotsford

 2018 Municipal Election  2018 North Shore Election  2018 North Vancouver Election  District Of North Vancouver  North Vancouver

North Vancouver hostel owner found in contempt of court

Brent Richter / North Shore News

October 24, 2018 06:29 PM

Updated: October 25, 2018 03:13 PM

The Central Lonsdale townhouse used as a hostel in North Vancouver. file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

Emily Yu, the Central Lonsdale woman who ran a hostel out of her three-bedroom townhouse, has been found in contempt of court and fined.

The strata council at The Beeches townhouse complex on West 13th Street in the City of North Vancouver took Yu to the Civil Resolution Tribunal in 2017 for violating their bylaw that prohibits short-term rentals. The tribunal ordered Yu to stop immediately. related  Strata escalates court battle with North Van hostel owner  North Van Airbnb host fined thousands for operating illegal hostel  Short-term rental owner fights North Van City lawsuit  City of North Van sues to shut down Airbnb hostel Yu appealed the original ruling, arguing that her short-term rentals should be grandfathered in because she had been running the hostel for years before her strata banned short-term rentals. That appeal was dismissed in May. But Yu continued accepting guests in the home in the year since the original tribunal ruling, the strata argued when applying to have Yu found in contempt. Evidence presented at court on Wednesday included ads Yu posted online and reviews from guests who’d stayed in the townhouse, affidavits from residents who kept a log of tourists coming and going from the townhouse, comments Yu made to the media, and Yu’s own affidavit in which she admits she occasionally took in short-term renters even after being ordered not to. “Miss Yu’s activity has been enormously disruptive for the neighbours. She has been, in my submission, disrespectful to her neighbours for the purpose of her financial gain,” said the strata’s lawyer Stephen Hamilton. “To have 10, 15, 20 people staying in a small townhouse in the community is just simply unacceptable. She did all of this in the face of the demands and cease and desist letters from the City of North Vancouver and demands from her own strata community through her lawyer.” And in her defence, Yu argued she only turned to short-term rentals out of financial desperation. But Justice Barry Davies sided with the strata. “Those are not defences to the order. They are not defences to an application of contempt. They are excuses but they are not answers,” he said. “I am very concerned about the continuing nature of this contempt. This is a matter, which has been ongoing for many months and Miss Yu has been obdurate in her defiance of the court order.” Davies ordered Yu to pay an additional $4,000 in fines to her strata for continued violation of their bylaws as well as all of the legal bills the strata incurred in their fight to have the original ruling enforced. When it came to punishment for violating an order of the court, however, Davies opted to put off sentencing for four months. Yu promised she would comply with the court order immediately. If Yu reneges on that promise between now and her sentencing, Davies warned the punishment could be much harsher. “I am of the view that actions must speak louder than words,” he said. “That penalty may not be limited to a fine that was sought by the applicant in this case. It is the court whose process is being ignored. The court will determine the appropriate penalty.” When Yu protested and asked where she would be able to find the money to pay the $4,000 in new strata fines, Davies shut her down quickly. “That’s up to you ma’am. I’ve made my order. It’s over,” he said. Outside the court, residents of the Beeches hugged in celebration. “It’s quite a relief that someone who is completely abusing the laws of this country has been dealt with. Strata bylaws are for the good of everybody and you just can’t ignore them because you choose to,” said Maria Shawcross. But because of Yu’s history, the rest of the complex residents will be watching her “very closely,” Shawcross said. “The best case that I can think of is that Miss Yu accepts she’s not the sort of person who should be living in a strata and move to a house location where she has more control of her life,” she said. © 2018 North Shore News

North Vancouver residents warned of water 'testing' scam

Jane Seyd / North Shore News

October 23, 2018 12:03 PM

North Vancouver residents are being warned by the municipality against a possible water 'testing' scam. file photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

The District of North Vancouver is warning residents about a possible scam involving someone who has called residents wanting to make an appointment to gain access to homes to “test their tap water.”

Mairi Welman, communications manager at the municipality, said the district became aware of the calls after about half a dozen residents called utilities staff to report them over the past month.

Welman said the stories vary slightly so it’s not clear whether those calling have received aggressive sales pitches from companies looking to market a product like water filtration or whether someone is trying to case local homes with a more sinister intent.

Regardless, Welman said anyone claiming to be part of a district utilities crew is definitely a scam artist.

Any water testing on district lines is done from outside of the home, on the street, she said.

“We’d like people to know that the District of North Vancouver does not request entry to private homes to test water quality.”

Welman said the calls received so far appear to have come from different areas of the district.

Welman said anyone receiving a call should note the number it is coming from and call the North Vancouver RCMP non-emergency line at 604-985-1311 to report it.

Sgt. Geoff Harder of the North Vancouver RCMP said so far police have not received any reports of similar activity.

North Vancouver student vote mirrors adult choice Jane Seyd / North Shore News October 26, 2018 01:05 PM

Students in grades 5 to 7 at North Vancouver's Cleveland Elementary took part in a student vote mock election

last week as part of a project to teach kids about democracy and get them familiar with voting. Students at schools in both North and West Vancouver took part in mock elections. photo supplied The apple does not fall far from the tree when it comes to political decision-making in North and West Vancouver. Results of a recent student vote project conducted in North and West Vancouver schools to encourage political engagement among young people showed candidates chosen in the students’ mock elections closely mirrored the real-life choices made by their parents. Results weren’t exactly identical. But six of the seven council members chosen by students too young for actual voting in their City of North Vancouver mock election matched the adult choices made Oct. 20. Students in North Vancouver also mock-elected five out of seven of the same candidates for school board that the adults did on Saturday. Over in West Vancouver, students picked all but one of the same choices made by adult voters on both District of West Vancouver council and the board of education. (In the District of North Vancouver, the student choices strayed a bit further from the real results, with only four of the seven council candidates who were elected chosen by the students.) The close results aren’t so unusual, said Frédérique Dombrowski, spokeswoman for the non-partisan organization Civix, which organizes the student vote program. Often the kids’ vote – which happens the day before the real election, with results released after the real election – does tend to mirror the conclusions adults come to in the voting booth. The aim of the exercise is to get students under the voting age familiar with elections and knowledgeable about how to choose candidates, Dombrowski. “We want to create the habit of voting before kids turn 18,” she added. That’s because research shows one of the best indicators of whether someone will vote is whether they’ve voted in a previous election, said Dombrowksi. Students at Cleveland Elementary vote in mock election. The municipal mock election just held is the group’s 11th project in B.C., which co-ordinates the mock elections to coincide with real municipal, provincial and federal elections. Teachers who signed up received materials including ballot boxes and ballots, as well as materials to help them discuss the democratic process with their students. In North Vancouver, 18 schools took part in the student vote. In one Grade 5 class at Cleveland Elementary, students researched candidates and presented their research to the class. Candidate profiles were posted on the classroom wall and a number of the candidates came to speak to the students in person. On “voting day” one of the classrooms was turned into a mock polling station where students lined up to be checked off a class list and receive a ballot. Clove Cliff also conducted a mock vote in the school library, with some students taking the role of election officials. A similar process took place in some schools in West Vancouver, with classes at Ecole Pauline Johnson researching candidates’ platforms online then walking through the community to look at campaign signs and discuss how those affected their impression of the candidates before voting at a mock polling station. Students at Cleveland Elementary vote in a mock election. More than 5,000 elementary and high school students took part in the student vote project on the North Shore. Provincewide, 60,000 students mock-voted in 105 municipal elections across B.C. last week. To see results of the student mock elections, go to:

Division / VOTE POSITION NAME OF CANDIDATE WARD COUNT Mayor Ash Amlani (Building Bridges Electors Society) 379

Mayor Erez Barzilay 199

Mayor Mike Little 454

Mayor Dennis Maskell 45

Mayor Glen Webb 106

Councillor Jordan Back 453

Councillor Mitchell Baker 259

Mathew Bond (Building Bridges Electors Councillor 233 Society) Councillor Megan Curren 240

Councillor Phil Dupasquier 147

Councillor Mark Elliott 298

Councillor Linda Findlay 203

Councillor Betty Forbes 192

Councillor Barry Forward 208

Councillor Jim Hanson 277

Councillor John Harvey 149

Councillor Robin Hicks 273

Councillor ZoAnn Morten 134

Councillor Lisa Muri 239

Sameer Parekh (Building Bridges Electors Councillor 156 Society) Councillor Greg Robins 206

Councillor Peter Teevan 166

Carleen Thomas (Building Bridges Electors Councillor 202 Society)

A20 | COMMUNITY nsnews.com north shore news WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 WV activist mailing it in on climate change

order to actually make a move- Spamming ment it needed to be really inclusive.” politicians She initially experimented with doing photos of different for a better groups of professionals who care about climate change but tomorrow soon abandoned the idea. “Organizing a bunch of “What is the most resilient orthodontists, per se, is kind parasite? Bacteria? A virus? of tricky,” she says. An intestinal worm? An idea. Following a friend’s advice, Resilient . . . highly contagious.” Kelsall started haunting – Inception, 2010 Granville and Burrard streets and the SeaBus with her cam- JEREMY SHEPHERD era and placard. [email protected] The project was emotionally draining, according to Emily Kelsall is hoping Kelsall, who said she got to change minds about rejected a lot. climate change one stamp, “If I stood on the side of envelope and postcard at the road . . . like I was going to a time. sell something, it didn’t work,” The West Vancouver envi- she says. ronmental activist recently But if she explained the embarked on a year-long quest purpose of the photo project, to influence public policy via Kelsall says most people were spam. Kelsall is planning to receptive send one postcard a week Out of the hundreds she to every British Columbia approached, only a handful member of Parliament as well wanted to debate the impact as Justin Trudeau. of climate change or assert “I don’t want him to feel left Emily Kelsall fans out a selection of the portrait postcards that she’s planning to mail to every British Columbia MP and to that it didn’t exist, she says. out,” she explains. Justin Trudeau every week until October 2019. The focus of the project is to make policy makers aware of the tide of concern “The only people that don’t Each postcard is set to about climate change. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN are in denial or aren’t very feature a different person educated about it.” holding up a sign that makes They can fill in the blank homo sapiens/alien, and one the movement and the depth protests are dominated by, Rather than mixed the simple statement: I Am a however they like, Kelsall “aging rock star,” Kelsall notes. of the discontent, Kelsall “young kind of hippie-ish type opinion, Kelsall found most ___ Who Cares About Climate explains. There’s been a The thrust of the project explains. people – which is awesome,” Change. marine engineer, a dancer, was to display the diversity of A lot of environmental Kelsall says. “But I realized in See Kelsall page 28

EARLYINPUT OPPORTUNITY

Aresidential developmentisbeing proposed for 405-485 Marie Place. Youare invited to ameeting to review the proposal and meet the applicant team.

Date: Thursday,November 29, 2018 Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM Location: North Shore Winter Club – Senior Lounge 1325 Keith Rd E, North Vancouver,BC, V7J 1J3

The applicant proposes to rezone the site from single family zoning to amedium density apartment zone, to permit 115units in two 6-storey wood frame buildings in accordance with the Official Community Plan for the Lynn Creek Town Centre. The proposal includes land dedications for the future expansion of Marie Place Park, and the purchase of 5meters of District of North Vancouver land along Marie Place to be included into the development.

Park dedication

5meters of DNV land to be purchased

Information packages are beingdistributed to residents withina100 meter radius of the site. If you wouldlike to receive acopy or if you wouldlike more information, please contact Karen Smith of EngageArchitecture at (604) 428-6259 or [email protected], or contactCasey Peters of the DevelopmentPlanning Department at (604) 990-2388 or [email protected], or bring your questions and comments to the meeting.

*This is not aPublic Hearing. District of North VancouverCouncil will receive a report from staffonissues raisedatthe meeting and will formally consider the proposal at alater date. A32 | SPORTS nsnews.com north shore news WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 Jackson earns national player of the year award

physical, hard-working player who constantly Blues men finish challenges defenders. “That directness is very frightening for fourth at CCAA any defender he matches up against because of his physical size and his desire to con- championships stantly drive things towards the goal,” said Elliott. “It’s a simple, direct approach that when repeated enough times is going to be ANDY PREST effective. It’s really nice to see especially in [email protected] today’s modern game where things can get overcomplicated. He really does find a way to North Vancouver’s Keith Jackson simplify things. He’s such an amazing student capped off his university career by athlete, and you say ‘student’ first because earning the 2018 CCAA Men’s Soccer he’s an all-Canadian from an academic stand- Player of the Year award following his point as well.” fifth season with the Capilano Blues. Jackson has twice been a CCAA Academic Jackson, a Seycove Secondary grad, heard All-Canadian and CCAA National Scholar. his name called at the CCAA awards banquet According to a release from Capilano, he held recently in Prince Edward Island, the is also part of the CapU Blues peer mentor site of this year’s national championship program, where he helps younger team- tournament. The national award came after mates adjust to university academic life and Jackson earned Player of the Year status in provides guidance on how to become a suc- the PacWest league for the second straight cessful student-athlete. season and was named MVP of this year’s Jackson is the eighth Capilano student to PacWest championship tournament where be named national Player of the Year and the the Blues won provincial gold. second men’s soccer player, joining Corey The prolific striker scored 13 goals in12 Birza who won it in 2007. He becomes the regular season games this year, winning the second Blue to be named the nation’s top PacWest scoring title for the third straight player this year, following Simon Friesen who season. His 44 career regular season goals are was named 2017-18 CCAA Men’s Volleyball the second most in PacWest history. Player of the Year in March. Keith Jackson takes charge for the Capilano Blues. The Seycove grad was recently named the “Completing five seasons with the Blues, !!! CCAA Player of the Year. PHOTO SUPPLIED PAUL YATES/VANCOUVER SPORTS PICTURES at a level that Keith has built his reputation At the CCAA national soccer championships upon, is quite an accomplishment,” stated the Blues finished just off the podium, losing Things looked promising for the Blues the half when midfielder Marco Favaro was Wade Kolmel, CCAA men’s soccer convenor. in the bronze medal game in Cornwall, P.E.I. as goals from Andres Romo and Jeremy shown his second yellow card of the game “A well rounded, competitive student-athlete Nov. 10. Monn-Djasngar put them up 2-0 less than and sent off. such as Keith represents Capilano and all of The Blues were looking to add another 20 minutes into the first half, but it was all The Bruins piled in three more goals in us in the CCAA quite remarkably.” medal to their collection after winning the Bruins from there as Sheridan scored two the second half as the Blues were eventu- In an interview with the North Shore News PacWest provincial title but came up short, quick goals to tie it up and then added a third ally reduced to nine players. Second-year earlier this season, Capilano head coach losing 6-2 against Toronto’s Sheridan College to make it 3-2 heading into the break. The defender Omar Rostant was named the Alex Elliott described Jackson as a strong, Bruins to finish off their season. Blues were also knocked back just before player of the game for the Blues.

Public Information Meeting Watch for our special AHeritage Revitalization Agreement(HRA) is being proposed to restore Holiday Traditions feature the former Panorama Market in Deep Cove. Youare invited to the meeting to discuss the project. in Friday November 23 issue! Location of meeting: Date: Tuesday, November 27th, 2018 Deep Cove YachtClub Time: 6:30pm 4420 GallantAve. North Vancouver BC Enjoy 24 pages full V7G 1L2 Holiday of holiday cheer... Christmas carols, S TRADITION recipes, gift ideas, carols, recipes &gift ideas event listings and heartwarming stories to get you into the holiday Theapplicantproposes the construction of anew two-storey addition at festive spirit! the rear of the site. As partofthe HRA, the exisiting building would be designatedasaheritage resource with arequired conservation and Extra copies will maintenanceplan. It is proposed to use the ground floor as aconvenience be available for store, takeawayrestaurantand office. Thesecond floor will be used for pick up at our twoshort-term one bedroom furnished rental suites and additional office space. No on-sitevehicle parking spaces aretobeprovided.Existing street office...perfect for parking spaces will be retained on Panorama Driveand one additional Keepsake your upcoming street parking spacewill be createdonGallantAvenue. Christmas Edition Christmas parties

KEFIELD inside for acollection WA Look of Christmas carols, locally MIKE Information packages arebeing distributed to the owners and occupants submitted recipes, and and caroling. stories PHOTO some heartwarming you – alldesigned to bring within 100 metres of the proposed developmentsite. If youwould like enjoy! some holiday cheer – Aspecial section of the to receiveacopyorifyou would like moreinformation, contact Caroline James at Deep Cove Properties 604-313-6868 or RobynHay at the DistrictofNorth Vancouver 604-990-2639 or bring your questions and comments to the meeting. To reserve extra copies, please call 604-998-3510 or *This is not aPublic Hearing.The DistrictofNorth Vancouver Council will email [email protected] receiveareportfromstaff on issues raised at the meeting and will formally consider the proposal at alater date. A30 | NEWS nsnews.com north shore news WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018

FIELD FINALS In the top photo, Collingwood’s Jacqueline Webb and Hailey Gayda put the squeeze on Seycove’s Brianna Norman in the North Shore senior girls AA field hockey final, while in the bottom photo West Vancouver’s Mia Zurkovic tracks Handsworth’s Grace Delmotte in the AAA final. Both matches were played recently at West Vancouver’s Rutledge Field, with Collingwood claiming their 12th straight AA title with a 5-2 win and Handsworth earning the AAA crown with a 6-1 win. All four teams will represent the North Shore at the provincial championships next week. More photos: nsnews.com. PHOTOS CINDY GOODMAN

We’reupgrading CapilanoSubstationinMurdo Frazer Park

To ensurereliable electricity to 12,000 homes and businesses, we’reupgrading our Capilano Substation located on Woods DriveatPemberton Avenue.

Come learn more, as well as howwe’re keeping the park and golf course accessible during construction.

Where: Delbrook Community Recreation Centre, Fir Room M17. 851WQueens Road North Vancouver, B.C. (AtDel Rio DriveinWilliam Griﬃn Park)

When: Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Time: 5p.m.to8p.m.

For moreinformation, please contact us at [email protected]

Learn moreatbchydro.com/capsub

5543

Public Information Meeting Amixed-use development is being proposed for 1510-1530 Crown Street and 420-460 Mountain Highway.You are invited to ameeting to review the proposal and meet the applicant team.

Date: Wednesday November 7, 2018 Time: 6:00 PM -7:30 PM Location: North Shore Winter Club, Senior Lounge 1325 Keith Road East, North Vancouver

The applicant proposes to rezone the site from commercial and single family residential zoning to acomprehensive development zone, to permit 349 residential units which will include 7concrete townhomes, two 5storey wood frame mid-rise buildings and a29storey concrete tower.The proposal is in accordance with the Mighty Mouse made Canadian Official Community Plan objectives for the Lynn Creek Town Centre sports history 50 years ago

It was 50 years ago this month that West Vancouver native Elaine Tanner made Canadian sports history, winning three medals at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. The 17-year-old swimmer, known as Mighty Mouse for her small stature and intense training regime, became the first Canadian woman ever to win an Olympic swimming medal and the first Canadian ever to win three medals in a single Olympic Information packages are being distributed to residents within a100 meter radius Games. Her three medals – including silvers in the 100- and 200-metre backstroke and of the site. If you would like to receive acopy or if you would like more information, bronze in the 4x100-m freestyle relay – made contact Martin Bruckner of IBI Group by telephone at 604-683-8797 or via email up 60 per cent of the entire medal haul for at [email protected] or Michael Hartford of District of North Vancouver Canada at the 1968 Games, held Oct. 12-27. Community Planning Department by 604-990-2480 or [email protected], Other highlights of her career include or bring your questions and comments to the meeting. setting five career world records, winning Elaine Tanner shows off her Olympic medals. four gold medals and three silvers at the PHOTO SUPPLIED CANADIAN PRESS/COC 1966 Commonwealth Games, winning two *This is not aPublic Hearing.DNV Council will receive areport from staff on issues golds and three silvers at the 1967 Pan Canada’s junior female athlete of the year at raised at the meeting and will formally consider the proposal at alater date. American Games, and earning the Lou the Canadian Sport Awards. Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete in Tanner now lives on Vancouver Island 1966. She was made an officer of the Order with her husband, John Watt. She was of Canada in 1969 and inducted in Canada’s recognized in a ceremony during the Oct. 20 Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. The Elaine Vancouver Canucks game at Rogers Arena. VOLUNTEER DRIVERS NEEDED! Tanner Award is presented annually to – Andy Prest For more information call 604-515-5400 or visit volunteercancerdrivers.ca Old grey mayors: here's the story of North Van's early leaders Part 1 in a 2-part series on the North Shore's first mayors Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News October 27, 2018 08:00 AM

In 1911, the District of North Vancouver once again had their own municipal office after the city seized the district’s old municipal hall in 1907 as one of the spoils of splitsville. photo supplied, North Vancouver Museum & Archives For 16 glorious years we were together. From Troll’s to Honey Doughnuts to the water’s edge to the mountain’s shadows the North Shore was one big, broad, borderless municipality. And then, not so much. As we anticipate the collective reign of our newly elected mayoralty triumvirate of Mary-Ann Booth, Mike Little and Linda Buchanan, we wanted to look back at the diverse group of early 20th century white men – some with mustaches and a few rugged individualists without – who crafted the bylaws and scratched the zigzagging borders that continue to confine our residents and confound our tourists.

The Phibbs Exchange of Influence Today, “Phibbs” is something we say when we’re worried the lasagna is going to get overcooked, as in: “I’m still stuck at Phibbs, could you make sure to turn off the oven?” But in the 1800s Charles Phibbs was one of the most notorious names in Sligo, Ireland. Phibbs – the one who didn’t become the North Shore’s first mayor – was known for his huge tracks of land and a sensitivity to the plight of others that could be measured in nanometres. Phibbs raised rents during a depression, took the good bog for himself and left his tenants to “dig for peat in a wet and useless bog,” according to historian Einion Thomas’ account: From Sligo to Wales – the Flight of Sir Charles Phibbs. His son, yet another Charles Phibbs, was viewed as “the chief British sympathizer in the area, a situation that he seems at first to have relished,” Thomas writes. However, some of that relish may have slipped off the hot dog in 1922 when a mock grave was dug in front of Phibbs’ house, complete with a mocking epitaph: Here lies the remains of Charles Phibbs who died with a ball of lead in his ribs. His tenants are all aggrieved at as quick he went, for he went of a sudden without lifting the rent. In an account of his great uncle’s life, Fred Thompson writes that Charles Phibbs the mayor was born in Sligo in 1855 but that “little is known” about those early days. Phibbs himself left Ireland while in his 20s, swayed by “propaganda that was spread all over Ireland telling of the wonderful opportunities for young men immigrating to Canada,” Thompson writes. After arriving in Halifax in 1882, it took Phibbs four years to reach B.C.

Soldiers and fortune With two teams of oxen and a pair of wagons, Phibbs and his longtime friend and business partner Fred Thompson were homesteading in northern Manitoba on the suggestion of retired major Charles Arkoll Boulton. It’s where Phibbs might have stayed but rebellion was fomenting and Boulton soon came calling. The Plains’ tribes saw their land vanishing and their food growing scarce amid the extension of the railway and the near extinction of the bison. Under those dire conditions the tribes formed an alliance with the Metis people who saw their life as fur traders disappearing. By 1884, Louis Riel rose from what one historian dubbed: “this cauldron of discontent.” Boulton, a veteran of Gibraltar, Malta, and Montreal, recruited a militia including Phibbs and Thompson with the aim of putting down the rebellion. Both men fought at the Battle of Fish Creek. Phibbs made it through unscathed. Thompson was shot in the shoulder, “but was able to extract it himself,” Thompson blandly writes. If he hadn’t been shot, or perhaps if John A. Macdonald had been more averse to the starvation of the tribes, the North Shore’s history would have been altered. Charles Phibbs came to North Vancouver to buy a milk ranch and stayed to become the North Shore's first mayor. - North Vancouver Museum & Archives There’s a gap in the history at this point, but it seems likely the friends used Thompson’s $500 grant to buy their dairy ranch on the east bank of Seymour Creek, the land that would become the Phibbs Exchange. They settled down just as Vancouver was incorporated, in the age when real estate investors and local governments were as intertwined as the double helix in DNA. “Property owners, most of whom had invested in land but did not actually live on the North Shore, had decided the previous winter that the time had come to form a municipality,” Daniel Francis writes in his book Where Mountains Meet the Sea. “They were encouraged by the creation of Vancouver in 1886 and the spurt of growth that the city subsequently experienced. Property values soared amid a frenzy of building and speculation. Why could not the same expansion occur on the north side of the inlet?”

The house always wins in early elections “ . . . she threw up her job sooner than teach immoral geography.” – Rudyard Kipling, The Village That Voted The Earth Was Flat On Aug. 22, 1891, North Vancouver’s first election was held at a converted saloon on what is now Chesterfield Avenue. Tom Turner’s house, Francis writes, is: “the birthplace of North Vancouver.” And from the moment of birth, voter turnout was something of a problem. While eligible, Rudyard Kipling, perhaps because his suspicions about the merits of democracy or simply because he was out of town, didn’t cast a ballot.

This converted saloon at the foot of Chesterfield Avenue became “the birthplace of North Vancouver.” - North Vancouver Museum & Archives Phibbs began his service as mayor with Thompson and Tom Turner – conceivably because it was Turner’s house and no one wanted to seem rude – as councillors. With the exception of Moodyville and Indigenous reserves which belonged to the federal government, Phibbs essentially had the run of the place as reeve, and he made it worth his while. By December of 1891, a newspaper report notes, Phibbs “had $30 per acre knocked off his assessment,” bringing the assessment on the ranch down to a more comfortable $100 an acre. The big question facing council, then and now, was transportation. Land promoter James Cooper Keith underwrote a loan to build Keith Road, although Francis notes, “progress was slow.” However, overall progress was likely accelerated by John Mahon’s North Vancouver Land and Improvement Company. Mahon, in the fashion of bossy big brothers since time immemorial, sent his younger brother on an errand. Charged with guarding his brother’s investment, Edward Mahon donated the land that became Central Lonsdale’s first church and devised the notion of a single boulevard circling the city ringed by parks and gardens. While the trail looks decidedly different today, the Green Necklace cycling trail is an extension of Mahon’s idea. Phibbs was re-elected in 1892, and one senses he probably enjoyed an advantage due to his experience and the fact the election was held at his house. A News-Advertiser article, dutifully transcribed by the late, local historian Dick Lazenby, recalls Phibbs along with Keith, who would become the district’s next mayor, and several councillors looking at the North Shore from a steamer, thinking about what their planned road would look like. “All present expressed satisfaction at the location of the road and the great boon it will be to settlers when completed,” the reporter concluded. In his last meeting as Reeve, Phibbs collected $63 for expenses for having endured 21 council meetings.

Even Kealy and the business of government While some complain commerce invaded municipal politics, history suggests it may have been the other way around because before there was any government on the North Shore, there was business. Unfettered by bylaw or bureaucracy, Moody’s Mill paid $1.50 a day (or 75 cents plus room and board) to an international work force who shipped timber all over the world. As early as 1865 church services were led by a clergyman with a name escaped from a Dickens novel: Reverend Ebeneezer Robson. A library and museum followed and a school opened in 1870 (although classes sometimes let out early on days when sawmill smoke snuck under the door.) There was also the region’s first local newspaper: The Moodyville Tickler. “The more you paid for your obituary, the more glowing it became,” historian Chuck Davis notes in his History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Lit by dogfish oil lamps, Moodyville was almost – almost – the epicentre of Burrard Inlet. But Francis cites 1885 as a watershed year when Canadian Pacific Railroad’s general manager chose the townsite of Granville over Moodyville as the railway’s terminus. Back then, the region was carved into neighbourhoods with great, evocative names like The Rookeries, Kanaka Row, Maiden Lane, Knob Hill, and – in the sawdust landing where the road dipped into the water – The Spit. “There was nothing much to do in those days, so for something to amuse ourselves we used to watch the logs come down a long runway where Lonsdale Avenue is now,” recalls John Henry Scales, who lived in Moodyville in the early 1870s. The best entertainment was when two logs collided, Scales recounts: “both split into pieces, and huge splinters flew in all directions. It was a wonderful sight; not likely to happen again. ...” Although if you were entertained by sudden, impactful fractures, the best was yet to come.

Splitsville The de-amalgamation process began in 1907 as the most lucrative bit of District of North Vancouver real estate rechristened itself, creatively enough, the City of North Vancouver. “(Ratepayers in the commercial core) thought it would be advantageous to create a smaller, more concentrated municipality with less responsibility for providing services to the large, but as yet sparsely populated, outlying area,” Francis writes. “There was really no one to speak for the interests of the fewer residents who lived beyond the central core.” If you ever wonder why there are two North Vancouvers, well, you're looking at the reason. Arnold Kealy went from being the last mayor of the old District of North Vancouver to the first mayor of the City of North Vancouver and never looked back. - North Vancouver Museum & Archives Serving from 1905 to 1907, Arnold Kealy was the last true mayor of the North Shore. He was also the first mayor of the City of North Vancouver. Kealy couldn’t continue as district mayor, he said, explaining the “financial remunerations are not sufficient to recompense me for the work that I must do.” With a pleasing bass voice that earned him “amateur choral and stag opportunities,” and an old-growth mustache big enough to smuggle a derringer, Kealy took over as city mayor and quickly bumped his salary from $600 to $1,000. (This was at a time when future mayor George Washington Vance was selling “almost cleared” lots for $350, advertising them with the phrase: “The Bridge Is Coming Sure.”) To hear Kealy tell it, the city was getting a bargain. “I believe that if I am elected to the office of mayor that I will put our little city upon such a solid financial basis that for all times to come we need never to fear a financial crisis,” he claims in a 1907 Province article reproduced by Lazenby. Kealy so loved North Vancouver he gave his son the middle name Norvan. He saw the city’s destiny as not just as big as its neighbour across the inlet, but bigger.

In 1905, dozens of workers descend on Victoria Park for a clearing bee - North Vancouver Museum & Archives “At present North Vancouver is one-third the size of Vancouver, but it will be five times the size. Its natural wealth cannot be got over. There are wonderful possibilities in the valleys. ... After a city has reached a population of fifty thousand it grows by leaps and bounds.” But while the city got Kealy, the district didn’t seem to get much. While the city paid “some of the district’s outstanding liabilities,” the district lost its ferry terminal, road making equipment, “even the cemetery,” Davis notes. The city even took the district’s municipal hall at 333 Chesterfield Ave. as their own, Davis notes. But while the city was concentrated and business oriented, by at least one account the District of North Vancouver residents were free to carve out a Huckleberry Finn-like existence. “You fished without a licence and none was needed to hunt, light a fire or pan for gold. In fact, no ‘Don’ts,’” Lynn Valley pioneer Walter Draycott wrote in his diary. Truly, the ‘Good Old Days!’”

An early view of Lonsdale Avenue - North Vancouver Museum & Archives In contrast, the city took several steps to alleviate the spread of fun through North Vancouver by the 1920s. Mayor G.H. Morden was the first official with the courage to bring the hammer down on hucksters and hippodromes, signing off on a bylaw that demanded a $1,000 bond with the city to guard against circus damage. Morden also signed a bylaw that authorized the city to fine parents a maximum of $5 in the event their child (which included anyone “actually or apparently” under the age of 16) was on the street after 9 p.m. Incidentally, the fines were some 20 times heftier for any farmer who failed to provide adequate ventilation and natural daylight for their goats. While Kealy’s mustache can be overlooked as something expected for the times, his racism seemed excessive, even by early 20th century white guy standards. In articles published only one month after racist rioters swept through Vancouver’s Chinatown, Kealy celebrated his role in the Asiatic Exclusion League. “There is no question,” Kealy is quoted as saying in a 1907 Province article reproduced by Lazenby, “but that this should be kept a white man’s country, and only a white man’s country.” Kealy was also known as a central figure in a performance by the Royal Norvan Minstrels, which is every bit as stomach churning as it sounds, described in The World newspaper as: “familiar features behind black physiognomies.” Kealy did show a strong moral backbone on other issues, however, such as when it was suggested Vancouver baseball teams might play nine innings in North Vancouver on a Sunday. “What do they take us for? Do they think that North Vancouver is to be made a dumping ground for what Vancouver will not stand for? There will be no Sunday baseball in North Vancouver. You can rest assured of that,” he declared. On municipal issues, Kealy suggested there were three great questions facing the city: the ferry, the railway, and “the bridge question.”

One bridge, gently used. Motivated seller In 1907, to celebrate the incorporation of the City of North Vancouver, the new municipality held an essay contest. The winner, R. McLean, dubbed the city, “a county of sunshine and mellowness.” Noting a bridge that will form a “permanent binding” with Vancouver, McLean underscored the opportunity inherent in the municipality. “Land values, while increasing steadily and yielding good returns, are moderate and within reach of people of small means,” McLean wrote. “Brisk building operations are in progress everywhere, and a vacant house is a thing unknown.” “This is only the beginning,” McLean concludes. “The tide has not nearly reached its height.” The original Second Narrows crossing opened on Nov. 7, 1925. In less than five years, McLean’s words took on a terrible irony. To save money, the engineers placed the bridge too close to the shallow side of the Narrows. “Vessels routinely struck the piers, putting the crossing out of commission,” Francis writes. Ultimately, a log barge got caught between a high tide and a low bridge and stuck. The crossing wheezed, wobbled and collapsed. And with it went North Vancouver. The bridge had been financed by bond sales, which, Francis notes, placed an “onerous burden,” on local governments. In successive years, the district collected less than 40 per cent of outstanding property taxes while cutting back municipal services by 68 per cent, Francis notes. After having one mayor, then two mayors, the two North Vancouvers were about to have no mayors at all. In Part 2 we examine the aftermath of the bridge collapse and a few of the political machinations that led to the creation of West Vancouver. Tune in next week for more mayors and more mustaches. © 2018 North Shore News

A4 | NEWS nsnews.com north shore news FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

TREVOR LAUTENS: JUST SAY NO TO ‘PROPORTIONAL MISREPRESENTATION’ PAGE 8

Meet the old boss: Part 2 Colourful mayors in black and white

FRIDAY FOCUS

JEREMY SHEPHERD [email protected]

This is Part 2 of a look back at the history of the North Shore’s mayors. Part 1 can be found in the Friday, Oct. 26 issue.

Spain did not reject the North Shore. We just weren’t right for each other. One year before Captain George Vancouver drifted past Stanley Park, Spanish explorer Jose Maria Narvaez and his crew were the first European settlers to cast their eyes on the North Shore’s towering mountains and expansive forests. With a twist of history, we might all be honking at each other on Trabajadores de Hierro second narrows crossing today. But whatever Narvaez saw in 1791, he didn’t see a reason to stop. George Vancouver, however, entered the narrows on June 12, 1792, where he found natural beauty and almost unnatural hospitality. Outgoing District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton looks up to former mayor Don Bell and across at a few of the mayors who gave their labour In welcoming Vancouver’s and their names to the North Shore. PHOTO MIKE WAKEFIELD crew, the Squamish threw clouds of feathers, “which buffalo, and the moose is each should dress up like men and tells us. District of North Vancouver’s The editorial concluded rose, wafted in the air year getting less and less. The walk around the beach. When Morton suggests Ki-ap- third mayor was, as a judge Carroll was “not worthy to be aimlessly about, then fell cariboo is doomed, and our the Haidas and Kwakiutl saw a-la-no may have been a would later put it, “not lacking the Mayor of a great and grow- like flurries of snow to the rivers no longer give forth that them, they thought the men masterful battle strategist in boldness.” ing city like Vancouver.” water’s surface, and rested abundance of fish that was the were still home and they who used a decoy to deci- His political career blos- Carroll was elected District there like white rose petals heritage of our forefathers.” turned back. That’s how it got mate slave-trading raiders in somed on Vancouver’s 1890 of North Vancouver mayor scattered before a bride,” But as Canada marched called Homulchesun, the place a battle that sounds like the council under mayor David in 1895 but he really came according to Squamish leader toward confederation and where the women, children Quentin Tarantino version of Oppenheimer but he soon to prominence in 1902 when Andrew Paull’s account in Moodyville shipped North and elders won without fight- the encounter described by found himself attacked for he bought 59 acres including Daniel Francis’ book Where Shore timber all over the ing,” Baker explains in Francis Baker. appealing the assessed value the land around the Capilano Mountains Meet the Sea. world, West Capilano Mansbridge’s book Cottages to But while most accounts of his property in Vancouver’s dam. A 1902 World newspaper But while Vancouver saw remained largely untouched. Community. of Ki-ap-a-la-no are varying ver- east end. article describes the reaction the North Shore and the North “Moodyville was only some Among settlers, Capilano sions of hearsay and near-say, “It is remarkable that to his ownership succinctly: Shore’s people, his records two miles from the Capilano, entered the lexicon in 1859 Morton includes a childhood the Doctor should appeal, “This piece of intelligence show no sign of the Capilano but it might as well have been when the captain of the HMS memory of Mrs. James Walker, considering the fact that he elicited a series of ejaculations River. a hundred . . . primeval forests Plumper reported that the who met the white-haired man was a member of the Finance from the board. The chair- “Perhaps he did not notice separated the two,” Morton chief of the Squamish tribe a few years before his death. Committee last year, and was man said, “Oh.” Alderman it,” posits historian James writes. “Other than the Indian was named Ki-ap-a-la-no. “He was a great big man thereby largely instrumental in McGuigan said, “Ah,” and the Morton in his book Capilano: village of Homulcheson, there Of course there was a man with a voice like a microphone raising the values of prop- city solicitor said, “Um.” The Story of a River. was no habitation to the named Ki-ap-a-la-no. There on a loudspeaker,” she recalls. erties,” wrote an outraged That August, Carroll got on In the days when West west.” was also a legend not easily “And he always had a smile.” Vancouver Daily World his horse and headed for the Vancouver had value and There was a time, accord- disentangled from the man. There would continue to reporter in a record compiled Capilano dam “with staples, property but no property val- ing to Squamish elder Simon He may have been a tower be skirmishes around Ki-ap- by historian Dick Lazenby. hammer, nails and padlocks,” ues to speak of, the beautiful Baker, when opportunistic of charisma who married a-la-no’s river in the 20th Carroll resigned his posi- and the intention to “close swath of land was known only Haida and Kwakiutl would wait women from the Musqueam, century, although they were tion in 1892, prompting yet everything up.” as West Capilano. until Squamish fishermen ven- Tla’amin, and Squamish mostly confined to the court another blistering attack in the Essentially, Carroll asked Around the turn of the tured away from their home. nations. room. Vancouver Daily World, who for compensation based on century, “white men have so That’s when raiding clans He may have seen Simon referred to him as a shirking, his ownership of the prop- increased that they are like would descend on the land to Fraser land in 1808. But if he THE FIRST RESERVOIR backbone-lacking, laughing erty. The problem, however, a storm of locusts,” Chief grab slaves. did, it’s unlikely he met with DOG stock who quit for fear he was that Vancouver already Joe Capilano vented in 1906. “Someone had the idea Captain Vancouver 84 years “may injure his chance of “They have extinguished the (the women and children) later, as another account John Thomas Carroll, the grasping greater power.” See WestVan page 38 A38 | FOCUS nsnews.com north shore news FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018 West Van attracts dreamers, eccentrics, racists

From page 4

had their waterworks on the property. Carroll escalated the water fight with Vancouver, at one point threatening to drain the city’s reservoir. Described by Morton as a “maverick physician,” Carroll also promised to chop the portion of the Capilano Dam that intruded on his property. “He was referred to as ‘the civic enemy,’ but in a good-natured sense,” Morton Lonsdale Avenue begins to bustle as the City of North Vancouver tears itself away from writes. the district in 1907. PHOTO SUPPLIED NORTH VANCOUVER MUSEUM & ARCHIVES During what one reporter called, “the merciless hail of interrogations,” Carrol Carroll immediately started dollar,” Mansbridge writes. of indiscriminate shooting on demanded the city pay looking into the possibility of Luckily, those misgivings Capilano Road,” at coun- $10,000 for his land, arguing building a hotel in the area. would only recur a few more cil meetings held in a tent that in a few years, “the city times in the municipality’s pitched north of Marine Drive. couldn’t get it for twice that.” LOSING IT(WITH CLASS) history. But while West Vancouver “We want no more propos- West Vancouver’s first may- was home to landscapes and als with strings to them,” While captains of industry oralty election was significant gardens, it was also rife with Carroll said. were reluctant to plant their not so much for the victory of garden variety racists, as one “It was your offer,” the city flag amid the treacherous “cricketer and pioneer drug- of council’s first acts was to This wayward barge almost sunk the North Shore when it hit solicitor shot back. terrain west of the Capilano gist” Charles Nelson but for stipulate: “no Asiatic races be the bridge. PHOTO JEWISH MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES OF BC. “But your string,” Carroll River, the area seemed to the way John Lawson handled employed on any municipal replied. exert a magnetic pull on the loss. work,” Mansbridge writes. Ultimately, the court “dreamers and eccentrics,” After being edged by 15 British Pacific Properties also Vancouverites with each other. to grab his constituent’s mail decided the city would pay Mansbridge writes. votes in the 1912 contest, banned everyone of African Besides initiating the from North Vancouver before Carroll about 10 cents on the With a population that Lawson donated the land and Asian descent from their paving of Marine Drive from schlepping it back over the demanded dollar, or $1,012.50. ranged from 150 to 200 for a permanent and proper homes, unless they were Ambleside to Dundarave, bridge. “For the first time in depending on the weather, municipal hall. servants. Lawson brought phone ser- Ambleside took its name the history of the litigation West Vancouver was birthed But while that hall was Elected on his second vice to West Vancouver and from a town in England’s Lake between the doctor and the by discontent. being built, mayor Nelson attempt, (by a whopping 36 held church services at his District. Dundarave had been city, the latter had won the “Many living west of the authorized the purchase of fer- votes) Lawson connected house. Lawson also trekked called Newcastle until a few day,” Morton writes. Capilano felt they were not ries and took a firm stand to West Vancouver with the across the Keith Road bridge Perpetually undeterred, getting their share of the tax stop, “the dangerous practice North Shore and West in a horse buggy once a week See Lawson page 39

YouAre Invited To Family Services Of The NorthShore’s 9th Annual ToyDrive Presented by NorthshoreAutoMall

Sunday, November 18,2018|1:00 pm to 4:00 pm NorthShoreAcura|805 Automall Dr,NorthVancouver,BC SantaClaus is teaming up once again withthe NorthshoreAutoMall and he needs thehelp of as manykids and families as possible to bring holidaycheer to hundreds in need in our community: 1. BRING anew,unwrapped gift forachild, teenager or senior 2. WRITE amessage or draw apictureofhope to shareonour Wishing Wall 3. MEET Santaand Mrs. Claus to makeapersonal wish as well as awish forsomeone who needs his help Therewill be holidaysnacks and hot chocolatetoenjoy! Register online at toydrive2018.eventbrite.ca

@familyservicesofthenorthshore| @fsnorthshore

We aregrateful to theNorthshoreAutoMall fortheir long-standing support of our organization and forassisting thousands of families through theChristmas Bureau overthe years! FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018 north shore news nsnews.com FOCUS | A39 Lawson defends Canada, lies about his age

From page 38 1940 after a decade in the challenging political jobs in mayor’s chair, his colleagues B.C. astute observers realized the and friends staged a bizarre “North Van district is neighbourhood had a distinct ritual. probably the most difficult lack of coal. Leyland, who once ran on community in the province, I The holly in Hollyburn the platform: “Finance – Pay as think, to be mayor of, because came from the two holly trees you go,” was arrested, accord- we have no town centre.” in front of Lawson’s home. ing to a newspaper account. A The district also has the Burn is a Scottish Gaelic word West Vancouver police officer usual concerns of a growing referring to a place by the told Leyland he was guilty of municipality, but every choice water, Mansbridge notes. being ethical, and of guid- is complicated by the munici- But perhaps Lawson’s ing West Vancouver from, “a pality’s next-door-neighbour most revealing decision came summer camp to a high class relationship with the vast in 1916 when he decided to lie residential suburb.” expanse of forest that com- about his age. The tradition continued pelled Narvaez to keep going With war breaking out in this week with outgoing North and Vancouver to stop. Europe, Lawson, 56, con- Van mayors Darrell Mussatto It’s a place Francis vinced the 158th Overseas and Richard Walton. Caulfeild described as, “the Battalion, that he was still in The two have run into each pearly light on the sea, and the his 40s and served in France. other about twice a week for great snow-clad volcano in the “Here was a man who had 13 years, according to Walton. distance flushing rosy as the seen the first trains of the Aside from the mayor’s sun gets low.” Canadian Pacific Railway pass relationship with the chief Preserving what people . . . who had carved out of the More than a century after incorporation and nearly 70 years after the city’s since- administrative officer and the love about the North Shore virgin forest his garden on the repealed decision to put a 25 cent tax on bicycles, North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Avenue municipal council, there’s no will always spur passionate shore,” praised Vancouver continues to bustle. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN relationship as important as arguments, Walton says. archivist James Skit Matthews. the one with the other North “They’ll always be that Asked about his service of view-obstructing trees. Creek. oxen, 50 cents for sheep, goats Vancouver mayor, Walton way. They’ll always have by Matthews, Lawson only (Publishers H. Hodgson and With the two North and swine, and 25 cents each says. passion at political meetings smiled and said: “I went there Captain F.F. Lovegrove would Vancouvers in receivership, for all poultry. That doesn’t mean it’ll and public hearings,” he says. to become a millionaire.” walk that one back a little bit.) George Washington Vance Vance continued to guide result in amalgamation, he “Sign of a healthy community.” But while Lawson returned But the entire complexion took over as the province- the community until the war- notes, but in terms of police to service as president of the of the North Shore changed appointed commissioner time shipbuilding boom made and fire, “it’s a seamless This article could not have West Vancouver branch of in 1930 when the Pacific through the Depression and the 25-cent poultry trade look community.” been written without the work the Canadian Legion, his son Gatherer barge wedged and much of the Second World like chicken feed. Preparing to leave office of Daniel Francis, Francis Duncan was shot and killed wrecked the original Second War. after 13 years at the helm, Mansbridge, James Morton, by a machine gun bullet at Narrows bridge. Vance, who had previously CUFFED Walton reflects on his status Dick Lazenby, West Vancouver Cambrai about one month Repairing it would cost been hawking those almost as an immigrant from, “a archivist Reto Tschan, and the before the armistice. an estimated $200,000, which cleared lots from his Lonsdale When Joseph Bentley brick row townhouse in very patient and eternally help- wouldn’t have been a problem Avenue real estate office, Leyland stepped away from Manchester,” who ended ful staff at the North Vancouver ENTER GEORGE except for one thing: “Money was suddenly charged with West Vancouver politics in up doing one of the most Museum & Archives. WASHINGTON (SORT OF) had taken a long vacation,” defending the city from filth Lynn Valley pioneer Walter and chaos. One of the greatest Draycott noted. In 1937, Vance established headlines in the history of Just a few years earlier a poundkeeper to regulate, local media is this gem from real estate agents had been restrain, and prohibit, “cattle Public Information Meeting 1926: Watch West Van Grow. peddling 100x132-foot “almost from running at large in public What makes it great is that the cleared lots” for $350. The places,” according to an old Amixed-use development is being proposed for 1510-1530 Crown Street and article is entirely about the ads carried the tagline: “The city bylaw. 420-460 Mountain Highway.You are invited to ameeting to review the proposal and cultivation of large sweet peas. Bridge Is Coming Sure.” In this sense, “cattle” also meet the applicant team. That same year, the But with the bridge out referred to cats, fowl, poultry newspaper chronicled the of commission those sales and rabbits, all of which would Date: Wednesday November 7, 2018 shortage of apartments in dried up. Draycott recalled be fed and milked (as appro- Time: 6:00 PM -7:30 PM West Vancouver and took supporting himself by pulling priate) by the poundkeeper Location: North Shore Winter Club, Senior Lounge a principled stand with a clams from the mudflats at until the owners turned up to 1325 Keith Road East, North Vancouver blistering editorial, entitled Moodyville, gathering hazel- pay $6 for bulls and stallions, Removing a Menace, which nuts along the Seymour River $2 for boars, rams, horses, The applicant proposes to rezone the site from commercial and single family called for the chopping down and fishing for trout in Lynn donkeys, mules, cow and residential zoning to acomprehensive development zone, to permit 349 residential units which will include 7concrete townhomes, two 5storey wood frame mid-rise buildings and a29storey concrete tower.The proposal is in accordance with the Official Community Plan objectives for the Lynn Creek Town Centre

Information packages are being distributed to residents within a100 meter radius of the site. If you would like to receive acopy or if you would like more information, contact Martin Bruckner of IBI Group by telephone at 604-683-8797 or via email at [email protected] or Michael Hartford of District of North Vancouver Community Planning Department by 604-990-2480 or [email protected], or bring your questions and comments to the meeting.

*This is not aPublic Hearing.DNV Council will receive areport from staff on issues In a ritual that goes back to 1940, outgoing North Vancouver mayors Richard Walton raised at the meeting and will formally consider the proposal at alater date. and Darrell Mussatto were lovingly arrested. PHOTO MIKE WAKEFIELD Old grey mayors: watch North Van split, watch West Van grow

Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News

November 3, 2018 07:00 AM

Outgoing District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton looks up to former mayors Don Bell and Janice Harris and across at a few of the mayors who gave their labour and their names to the North Shore. photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News This is Part 2 of a look back at the history of the North Shore’s mayors. Part 1 can be found here. Spain did not reject the North Shore. We just weren’t right for each other.

related  Old grey mayors: here's the story of North Van's early leaders One year before Captain George Vancouver drifted past Stanley Park, Spanish explorer Jose Maria Narvaez and his crew were the first European settlers to cast their eyes on the North Shore’s towering mountains and expansive forests. With a twist of history, we might all be honking at each other on Trabajadores de Hierro second narrows crossing today. But whatever Narvaez saw in 1791, he didn’t see a reason to stop. George Vancouver, however, entered the narrows on June 12, 1792, where he found natural beauty and almost unnatural hospitality. In welcoming Vancouver’s crew, the Squamish threw clouds of feathers, “which rose, wafted in the air aimlessly about, then fell like flurries of snow to the water’s surface, and rested there like white rose petals scattered before a bride,” according to Squamish leader Andrew Paull’s account in Daniel Francis’ book Where Mountains Meet the Sea. But while Vancouver saw the North Shore and the North Shore’s people, his records show no sign of the Capilano River. “Perhaps he did not notice it,” posits historian James Morton in his book Capilano: The Story of a River. In the days when West Vancouver had value and property but no property values to speak of, the beautiful swath of land was known only as West Capilano. Around the turn of the century, “white men have so increased that they are like a storm of locusts,” Chief Joe Capilano vented in 1906. “They have extinguished the buffalo, and the moose is each year getting less and less. The cariboo is doomed, and our rivers no longer give forth that abundance of fish that was the heritage of our forefathers.” Chief Joe Capilano, alarmed at the environmental destruction of the industrial boom, sought an audience with King Edward VII in 1906. - photo supplied North Vancouver Museum & Archives But as Canada marched toward confederation and Moodyville shipped North Shore timber all over the world, West Capilano remained largely untouched. “Moodyville was only some two miles from the Capilano, but it might as well have been a hundred . . . primeval forests separated the two,” Morton writes. “Other than the Indian village of Homulcheson, there was no habitation to the west.” There was a time, according to Squamish elder Simon Baker, when opportunistic Haida and Kwakiutl would wait until Squamish fishermen ventured away from their home. That’s when raiding clans would descend on the land to grab slaves. “Someone had the idea (the women and children) should dress up like men and walk around the beach. When the Haidas and Kwakiutl saw them, they thought the men were still home and they turned back. That’s how it got called Homulchesun, the place where the women, children and elders won without fighting,” Baker explains in Francis Mansbridge’s book Cottages to Community. Among settlers, Capilano entered the lexicon in 1859 when the captain of the HMS Plumper reported that the chief of the Squamish tribe was named Ki-ap-a-la-no. Of course there was a man named Ki-ap-a-la-no. There was also a legend not easily disentangled from the man. He may have been a tower of charisma who married women from the Musqueam, Tla’amin, and Squamish nations. One account has him watching Simon Fraser land. Another has him meeting with Captain Vancouver. Morton suggests Ki-ap-a-la-no may have been a masterful battle strategist who used a decoy to decimate slave- trading raiders in a battle that sounds like the Quentin Tarantino version of the encounter described by Baker. But while most accounts of Ki-ap-a-la-no are varying versions of hearsay and near-say, Morton includes a childhood memory of Mrs. James Walker, who met the white-haired man a few years before his death. “He was a great big man with a voice like a microphone on a loudspeaker,” she recalls. “And he always had a smile.” There would continue to be skirmishes around Ki-ap-a-la-no’s river in the 20th century, although they were mostly confined to the court room. The first reservoir dog John Thomas Carroll, the District of North Vancouver’s third mayor was, as a judge would later put it, “not lacking in boldness.” His political career blossomed on Vancouver’s 1890 council under mayor David Oppenheimer but he soon found himself attacked for appealing the assessed value of his property in Vancouver’s east end. “It is remarkable that the Doctor should appeal, considering the fact that he was a member of the Finance Committee last year, and was thereby largely instrumental in raising the values of properties,” wrote an outraged Vancouver Daily World reporter in a record compiled by historian Dick Lazenby. Carroll resigned his position in 1892, prompting yet another blistering attack in the Vancouver Daily World, who referred to him as a shirking, backbone-lacking, laughing stock who quit for fear he “may injure his chance of grasping greater power.” The editorial concluded Carroll was “not worthy to be the Mayor of a great and growing city like Vancouver.” Carroll was elected District of North Vancouver mayor in 1895 but he really came to prominence in 1902 when he bought 59 acres including the land around the Capilano dam. A 1902 World newspaper article describes the reaction to his ownership succinctly: “This piece of intelligence elicited a series of ejaculations from the board. The chairman said, “Oh.” Alderman McGuigan said, “Ah,” and the city solicitor said, “Um.” That August, Carroll got on his horse and headed for the Capilano dam “with staples, hammer, nails and padlocks,” and the intention to “close everything up.” Before the construction of the Cleveland Dam, John Carroll jousted with the City of Vancouver over land at the Capilano River. - photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News Essentially, Carroll asked for compensation based on his ownership of the property. The problem, however, was that Vancouver already had their waterworks on the property. Carroll escalated the water fight with Vancouver, at one point threatening to drain the city’s reservoir. Described by Morton as a “maverick physician,” Carroll also promised to chop the portion of the Capilano Dam that intruded on his property. “He was referred to as ‘the civic enemy,’ but in a good-natured sense,” Morton writes. During what one reporter called, “the merciless hail of interrogations,” Carrol demanded the city pay $10,000 for his land, arguing that in a few years, “the city couldn’t get it for twice that.” “We want no more proposals with strings to them,” Carroll said. “It was your offer,” the city solicitor shot back. “But your string,” Carroll replied. Ultimately, the court decided the city would pay Carroll about 10 cents on the demanded dollar, or $1,012.50. “For the first time in the history of the litigation between the doctor and the city, the latter had won the day,” Morton writes. Perpetually undeterred, Carroll immediately started looking into the possibility of building a hotel in the area. A classy way to lose it While captains of industry were reluctant to plant their flag amid the treacherous terrain west of the Capilano River, the area seemed to exert a magnetic pull on “dreamers and eccentrics,” Mansbridge writes. With a population that ranged from 150 to 200 depending on the weather, West Vancouver was birthed by discontent. “Many living west of the Capilano felt they were not getting their share of the tax dollar,” Mansbridge writes. Luckily, those misgivings would only recur a few more times in the municipality’s history. West Vancouver’s first mayoralty election was significant not so much for the victory of “cricketer and pioneer druggist” Charles Nelson but for the way John Lawson handled the loss. After being edged by 15 votes in the 1912 contest, Lawson donated the land for a permanent and proper municipal hall. But while that hall was being built, mayor Nelson authorized the purchase of ferries and took a firm stand to stop, “the dangerous practice of indiscriminate shooting on Capilano Road,” at council meetings held in a tent pitched north of Marine Drive. But while West Vancouver was home to landscapes and gardens, it was also rife with garden variety racists, as one of council’s first acts was to stipulate: “no Asiatic races be employed on any municipal work,” Mansbridge writes. British Pacific Properties also banned everyone of African and Asian descent from their homes, unless they were servants. Elected on his second attempt, (by a whopping 36 votes) Lawson connected West Vancouver with the North Shore and West Vancouverites with each other. Before the Lions Gate Bridge stretched across the reach, Mayor John Lawson connected West Vancouver to the world by phone and mail. - photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News Besides initiating the paving of Marine Drive from Ambleside to Dundarave, Lawson brought phone service to West Vancouver and held church services at his house. Lawson also trekked across the Keith Road bridge in a horse buggy once a week to grab his constituent’s mail from North Vancouver before schlepping it back over the bridge. Ambleside took its name from a town in England’s Lake District. Dundarave had been called Newcastle until a few astute observers realized the neighbourhood had a distinct lack of coal. The holly in Hollyburn came from the two holly trees in front of Lawson’s home. Burn is a Scottish Gaelic word referring to a place by the water, Mansbridge notes. But perhaps Lawson’s most revealing decision came in 1916 when he decided to lie about his age. With war breaking out in Europe, Lawson, 56, convinced the 158th Overseas Battalion, that he was still in his 40s and served in France. “Here was a man who had seen the first trains of the Canadian Pacific Railway pass . . . who had carved out of the virgin forest his garden on the shore,” praised Vancouver archivist James Skit Matthews. Asked about his service by Matthews, Lawson only smiled and said: “I went there to become a millionaire.” But while Lawson returned to service as president of the West Vancouver branch of the Canadian Legion, his son Duncan was shot and killed by a machine gun bullet at Cambrai about one month before the armistice. Enter George Washington (sort of) One of the greatest headlines in the history of local media is this gem from 1926: Watch West Van Grow. What makes it great is that the article is entirely about the cultivation of large sweet peas. This article was published May 28, 1926 in the weekly paper, The West Van. News. - photo supplied That same year, the newspaper chronicled the shortage of apartments in West Vancouver and took a principled stand with a blistering editorial, entitled Removing a Menace, which called for the chopping down of view-obstructing trees. (Publishers H. Hodgson and Captain F.F. Lovegrove would walk that one back a little bit.) But the entire complexion of the North Shore changed in 1930 when the Pacific Gatherer barge wedged and wrecked the original Second Narrows bridge. This wayward barge almost sunk the North Shore when it smacked the original Second Narrows bridge. - photo supplied Jewish Museum and Archives of BC. Repairing it would cost an estimated $200,000, which wouldn’t have been a problem except for one thing: “Money had taken a long vacation,” Lynn Valley pioneer Walter Draycott noted. Just a few years earlier real estate agents had been peddling 100x132-foot “almost cleared lots” for $350. The ads carried the tagline: “The Bridge Is Coming Sure.” But with the bridge out of commission those sales dried up. Draycott recalled supporting himself by pulling clams from the mudflats at Moodyville, gathering hazelnuts along the Seymour River and fishing for trout in Lynn Creek. More than a century after incorporation and nearly 70 years after the city’s since- repealed decision to put a 25 cent tax on bicycles, North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Avenue continues to bustle - photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News With the two North Vancouvers in receivership, George Washington Vance took over as the province- appointed commissioner through the Depression and much of the Second World War. Vance, who had previously been hawking those almost cleared lots from his Lonsdale Avenue real estate office, was suddenly charged with defending the city from filth and chaos. In 1937, Vance established a poundkeeper to regulate, restrain, and prohibit, “cattle from running at large in public places,” according to an old city bylaw. In this sense, “cattle” also referred to cats, fowl, poultry and rabbits, all of which would be fed and milked (as appropriate) by the poundkeeper until the owners turned up to pay $6 for bulls and stallions, $2 for boars, rams, horses, donkeys, mules, cow and oxen, 50 cents for sheep, goats and swine, and 25 cents each for all poultry. Vance continued to guide the community until the wartime shipbuilding boom made the 25-cent poultry trade look like chicken feed. Cuffed When Joseph Bentley Leyland stepped away from West Vancouver politics in 1940 after a decade in the mayor’s chair, his colleagues and friends staged a bizarre ritual. In a ritual that goes back to 1940, outgoing North Vancouver mayors Richard Walton and Darrell Mussatto were lovingly arrested. - photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News Leyland, who once ran on the platform: “Finance – Pay as you go,” was arrested, according to a newspaper account. A West Vancouver police officer told Leyland he was guilty of being ethical, and of guiding West Vancouver from, “a summer camp to a high class residential suburb.” The tradition continued this week with outgoing North Van mayors Darrell Mussatto and Richard Walton. The two have run into each other about twice a week for 13 years, according to Walton. Aside from the mayor’s relationship with the chief administrative officer and the municipal council, there’s no relationship as important as the one with the other North Vancouver mayor, Walton says. That doesn’t mean it’ll result in amalgamation, he notes, but in terms of police and fire, “it’s a seamless community.” Preparing to leave office after 13 years at the helm, Walton reflects on his status as an immigrant from, “a brick row townhouse in Manchester,” who ended up doing one of the most challenging political jobs in B.C. “North Van district is probably the most difficult community in the province, I think, to be mayor of, because we have no town centre.” The district also has the usual concerns of a growing municipality, but every choice is complicated by the municipality’s next-door-neighbour relationship with the vast expanse of forest that compelled Narvaez to keep going and Vancouver to stop. It’s a place Francis Caulfeild described as, “the pearly light on the sea, and the great snow-clad volcano in the distance flushing rosy as the sun gets low.” Preserving what people love about the North Shore will always spur passionate arguments, Walton says. “They’ll always be that way. They’ll always have passion at political meetings and public hearings,” he says. “Sign of a healthy community.” This article could not have been written without the work of Daniel Francis, Francis Mansbridge, James Morton, Dick Lazenby, West Vancouver archivist Reto Tschan, and the very patient and eternally helpful staff at the North Vancouver Museum & Archives.

Outgoing City of North Van council entitled to payouts Retirement allowances based on pay for politicians

Jane Seyd / North Shore News

November 2, 2018 07:00 AM

The city is the only municipality on the North Shore that pays retirement allowances to outgoing politicians. file photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News

When new municipal councils get sworn in next week, some outgoing politicians will be leaving with more than just their political legacies.

Retiring City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto and three outgoing council members are in line to receive one-time, taxpayer-funded retirement packages of between $36,000 and $132,000.

 Report reveals top earners among North Shore municipal employees

Collectively, city taxpayers will pay the former politicians in the neighbourhood of $270,000 in retirement pay.

Mayor Darrell Mussatto, who has served on council for 25 years, including 13 years as mayor – is entitled to receive the biggest retirement payout of approximately $132,000.

Longtime Coun. Craig Keating – first elected almost 20 years ago – will be in line for about $55,000 in retirement pay. Coun. Pam Bookham could receive retirement pay of about $47,000, while Coun. Rod Clark – who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in the recent election – could be in line for a retirement payout of about $36,000. That’s in addition to a previous retirement stipend of $7,041 Clark was paid in 2005, when he was defeated in a previous bid for the mayor’s chair. The amount of the retirement pay outgoing council members will be paid is approximate, because the City of North Vancouver refused to provide figures for how much retiring council members are entitled to. That gets calculated and paid out sometime in the three months after councillors leave office, on Nov. 5, according to staff.

The North Shore News calculated the approximate amount of the retirement stipends councillors are entitled to using information on council pay in public statement of financial information reports.

The City of North Vancouver has had retirement allowances for politicians since they were first passed by council in 2005, retroactive to 2002.

The bylaw provides for a retirement stipend to be paid as a lump sum calculated based on what the city pays into a municipal pension plan for its employees and councillors’ total pay received while in office.

Since the bylaw was passed in 2002, the city has paid retirement allowances to seven outgoing council members totalling approximately $122,600. The largest of those payouts were $19,600 to former mayor Barbara Sharp in 2005, $20,800 to outgoing councillor Guy Heywood in 2014 and $25,000 to outgoing councillor Bob Fearnley in 2011.

The city is the only municipality on the North Shore that pays retirement allowances to outgoing politicians.

Some other municipalities in the Lower Mainland do provide retirement allowances. Richmond, Surrey, Delta and New Westminster all provide a retirement allowance calculated similarly to the City of North Vancouver, for instance, while Burnaby pays politicians a retirement benefit on each pay cheque. Some municipalities also have a cap on either the maximum amount of retirement allowance that can be paid to an outgoing politician or a maximum number of years on council that can be considered in the calculation. The City of North Vancouver does not have a cap.

Sanjay Jeram, a professor of political science at Simon Fraser University, said there is rationale for having a retirement allowance for politicians. People tend to leave their careers to go into politics, he said, and may not be able to go back to that same line of work when they are finished.

“If you’re a mayor it’s a full-time job,” he said. “You can’t have another job.”

Jeram said the idea that benefits for politicians should be limited could have the effect of making politics only possible for the wealthy or retired or “people who can afford not to be paid.”

Michael Smith, the outgoing mayor of West Vancouver, won’t be getting a retirement payout and doesn’t think other local politicians should either.

“I think it’s ridiculous. People go into this, it’s public service,” he said. “I don’t understand the mindset of these people.”

Mussatto, Keating and Bookham couldn’t be reached for a comment by press time. Clark declined to comment.

Earlier this year, the board of Metro Vancouver backtracked on voting themselves a retroactive retirement allowance following a public outcry.

Pot pipe in car earns driver ticket in West Van

Jane Seyd / North Shore News

November 6, 2018 03:56 PM

West Vancouver Police handed out their first ticket for possessing open cannabis while driving Nov. 6. photo supplied

You can’t put that in your pipe and smoke it – not if you’re behind the wheel, that is.

Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in Canada but that still doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all, West Vancouver Police are warning motorists.

One 23-year-old Calgary man was the first to get that reminder in the form of a $230 ticket early Tuesday morning, after police conducting a road block on the Lions Gate Bridge around 2 a.m. Nov. 6 spotted a marijuana-filled pipe on the console of the 2010 Jeep Patriot, within reach of the driver.

The pipe wasn’t lit – and presumably neither was the driver.

But the law still prohibits the use of cannabis by anyone while driving or in a vehicle, said Const. Jeff Palmer of the West Vancouver Police.

Adults are allowed to possess and transport up to 30 grams marijuana in a vehicle but it must be in a sealed package, away from the driver – similar to the laws banning open alcohol in cars.

In the case of the pipe-packing driver, there was no suggestion of impairment, said Palmer.

Those who drive while impaired by cannabis, alcohol, other drugs or a combination of those are subject to a 90- day roadside driving ban.

Under the law, smoking or vaping cannabis is banned in all places where tobacco smoking is banned like enclosed public spaces and work places, as well as playgrounds, sports fields, skate parks and other places where children commonly gather.

EDITORIAL: Pro-rep pros & cons

North Shore News

November 15, 2018 01:32 PM

remier John Horgan and Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson following the Electoral Reform Debate at Global Television in Burnaby, B.C. Thursday, Nov., 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Last Thursday evening, Premier John Horgan and B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson went head to head in a televised debate over the ongoing referendum on electoral reform.

The NDP is pushing for B.C. voters to adopt one of the three systems of proportional representation on the mail-in ballot while the Liberals are hoping citizens will stick with first past the post.

 PREST: British Columbians are not too dumb to understand electoral reform

Unanimously, the crowds agree. The debate was a solid win for people who enjoy attacks over substance.

They accuse each other of simply using the referendum as a means to better their chances of holding power in the future. And they’re both totally correct.

This is why we would ask the electorate to get informed by sources that don’t have partisan self-interest at stake.

According to the province, only a handful of ballots have been returned so far, which means plenty of you have yet to make up your minds before the Nov. 30 deadline.

Elections BC has published an excellent voter’s guide and videos on their website, which we would recommend as a good starting point.

There are benefits and drawbacks in any system – stability, proportionality, local representation, simplicity, collegiality.

Your decision should be based on your big picture values, not your hopes for who forms government because the political lay of the land is bound to change regardless of the system we have.

Getting informed and casting a vote is a civic responsibility on par with paying your taxes and filling out the census. Ultimately, this is a question of who will represent you in government. All we ask is that you first represent yourself.

Province announces $23.7M for seismic upgrade at Mountainside All schools in North Vancouver to be earthquake-proof when project complete

Jane Seyd / North Shore News

November 16, 2018 04:20 PM

Minister of Education Rob Fleming was at Mountainside Secondary in North Vancouver Friday to announce $23.7 million in funding for seismic upgrades. photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News North Vancouver’s Mountainside Secondary will receive $23.7 million from the province for seismic upgrades. Education Minister Rob Fleming was in North Vancouver Friday afternoon to make the announcement at Mountainside, which has housed the school district’s alternative education programs for the past five years. Mountainside is the last school in the North Vancouver school district that engineers have identified as being at high risk of collapse during a major earthquake. It’s the 15th building to be seismically updated or rebuilt in the school district since 2007 Construction on the seismic upgrade project is expected to begin in early 2020 and be completed in 2021. Students at the school will be able to continue attending Mountainside while the project is underway, said Fleming. When the work is done, “every single school in North Vancouver will be seismically safe,” said Fleming. So far, Delta is the only other school district that has had seismic work approved or completed for all schools at risk of significant structural damage in the event of a major earthquake. In North Vancouver, construction work has started on the rebuild of $61 million Argyle Secondary. The school district is also in the planning stages for the $62.3 million rebuild of Handsworth Secondary. Mountainside was originally known as Balmoral, which opened in 1959 and functioned as a middle school and junior high school until it was closed by the school district in 2009. It reopened as Mountainside in 2013. Unlike Argyle and Handsworth secondaries, the ministry is not going ahead with a full rebuild of Mountainside. Fleming said a full rebuild of Mountainside would have cost $8 million more than a seismic upgrade. That would be hard to justify given the school’s current enrolment of just over 200 students – about 60 per cent of the building’s capacity, he said. The funding also includes some updates to the building which have been delayed pending a decision from the ministry on the seismic upgrades. Around the province, 179 or 347 schools identified at seismic risk have been upgraded or replaced, while 31 schools are either proceeding with construction or in the process of being approved, according to the ministry. Fleming said the government has been working to speed up the rate at which school seismic projects are approved and completed. “There were a lot of announcements in the past and no follow through,” he said. Following the announcement, Fleming said the ministry has also received the North Vancouver School District’s request to build a new elementary school on the former Cloverley school site and will be considering it along with capital requests from other school districts. “I’ve certainly heard from trustees they’d like to discuss that,” he said. The school district has asked to build a new "dual track" elementary school with a capacity of 535 students, including French immersion, on that site. The estimated cost of the school is $21.6 million. The school district indicated in June it is hoping to have the project approved and built within four years. Pressure has been mounting on the school district to get moving on plans for a new elementary school in the area as nearby schools including Ridgeway, Queensbury and Brooksbank are already overcrowded and new developments are expected to bring further population growth. © 2018 North Shore News

Province updates North Shore crash clearing rules

Brent Richter / North Shore News October 25, 2018 03:27 PM Highway 1 traffic is diverted off the Upper Levels following a crash. file photo Paul McGrath, North Shore News Help may be on the way when it comes to traffic SNAFUs on Highway 1 through the North Shore. The province has signed a new highway maintenance contract with Miller Capilano Highway Services that includes stipulations that should lead to faster clearing of stalls and crashes from the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing and Lions Gate Bridge as well as a higher level of readiness for clearing snow and ice on the roads. related  Escaping gridlock's grip: New plan addresses North Shore traffic problems  EDITORIAL: Getting back INSTPP  District of North Van to push for quicker crash clearing Expedited incident clearing was one of the actions called for in the recently released Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project report, led by North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma. “We already know that congestion and volumes are high but what’s even worse is when there’s a vehicle incident on one of our only two vehicle crossings over the Burrard Inlet,” Ma said. “People have been asking for this kind of service improvement for a long time. Municipalities have been asking for it too.” Under the old contract with Mainroad Group, the contractor was only expected to have one tow truck available 24/7 plus two vehicles during rush hour for the Ironworkers and Cassiar Tunnel. The new contract with Miller Capilano states there must be two vehicles on 24/7 plus a third vehicle between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. And unlike the old contract, the new one specifies there must be a least one flatbed truck and one heavy wrecker truck capable of pulling a broken-down bus or transport truck. “When we have commercial vehicles stalled out on the roadways and the standby vehicles aren’t capable of handling commercial vehicles, it can take a long time for us to get that out of the way. Even a five-minute stall can have repercussions,” Ma said. “Every minute counts here. ... Now we’re definitely prepared for that.” When a winter storm is in the forecast, the new contractor must patrol the highway every four hours instead of every 24, and every 90 minutes during a storm, down from every four hours. Still in place, however, are rules that require the RCMP to investigate before crashes can be cleared. Ma said changing those rules is more complex, but she continues to lobby the solicitor general. “They’re still looking into it. It’s not something I let them forget about, let’s just say,” Ma said. The contract comes into effect on Nov. 1 and is expected to last 10 years, with an optional five-year extension. © 2018 North Shore News Put a sock on it: TransLink readies buses, SkyTrain for winter conditions

More tire socks will be installed on the region's snowiest routes

Kelvin Gawley / Burnaby Now

November 1, 2018 01:40 PM

TransLink will use more Kevlar tire socks on its buses this year. Photograph By Kelvin Gawley Winter is coming and TransLink is ready. That was the message at a press event in Burnaby Thursday morning, as the transit authority unveiled its plan to keep buses and SkyTrain lines running smoothly during the cold months. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a mild winter, but “regardless of any predictions, it’s important we always prepare for winter’s worst,” TransLink spokesperson Chris Bryan said. Buses More buses will be outfitted with Kevlar tire socks this year to help them gain traction in ice and snow. On snowy days, buses to and from Lynn Valley, Simon Fraser University and Grouse Mountain will be outfitted with the tire slip-ons. Last year, TransLink tested the socks on its Burnaby Mountain routes and was impressed with how they improved grip and control, according to Coast Mountain Bus Company’s vice president of operations, Don Palmer. TransLink is believed to be the first transit authority in North America to use the socks. But the socks only last about two hours or 50 kilometres before tearing and deteriorating, Palmer said. “We’re working closely with the manufacturer to find ways to make tire socks last longer before they need to be replaced. Each set of tire socks cost about $250 and last only a couple hours but they're still a cheaper alternative to buying more durable snowtires, according to Simon Agnew, a maintenance engineer with TransLink. He said TransLink would need to buy close to 10,000 snow tires to outfit its vehicles.

“It would be a huge effort for our technicians to try and handle,” Agnew said. “And even the storage of it and the purchasing of that many tires to maybe offer slightly better performance for the odd day.”TransLink estimates the snow socks will cost an extra $9,600 and will be covered by its existing operating budget. Palmer said TransLink will continue working with municipalities to ensure major east/west and north/south corridors are cleared for buses. “The municipalities have been great to partner with,” Palmer said. TransLink will also be spraying its trolley wires with anti-icing spray on cold days and switching out articulated buses for traditional 40-foot buses when traction decreases. SkyTrain There are now two kilometres of heat tracing on the section of the Canada Line that saw heavy ice buildup in 2017, which cause significant delays. And de-icing trains will run the length of all SkyTrain tracks overnight to keep the tracks clear. HandyDART To keep HandyDART service running as smoothly as possible, TransLink says it will increase staffing on bad weather days and contact customers and day programs to ensure walkways and driveways are clear and salted. © 2018 North Shore News

REAL DATA ON PRO REP 12 Nov 2018 Vancouver Sun DOUGLAS TODD [email protected] Twitter: @douglastodd Scholarly research discovers consensus democracies are better in many ways Consensus democracies ... have a better record with regard to protection of the environment. Maybe academics aren’t collectively the sexiest bunch. And it’s true policy wonks can’t compete with movie or sports stars for the spotlight. Nevertheless, opinion polls consistently show the public places some trust in professors.

CHAD HIPOLITO/THE CANADIAN PRESS Premier John Horgan and B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver are trying to rally support for proportional representation, and a number of scholars back their contention that it’s a more fair and robust form of government. So why are scholars’ studies largely ignored in B.C.’s referendum on proportional representation? Researchers are often going through data to compare nations that use some form of proportional representation to those that use versions of the first-past-the-post system, such as B.C. and Canada. Their systematic analyses of government performances are more convincing than the cherrypicked anecdotes most of us trot out to stoke either fear of or utopian thinking about one electoral system over another. Scholars have carefully developed many empirical systems, including international indexes, to measure how countries perform in regards to economics, the environment, individual freedoms, taxation, minority rights, gender equality and governance. Professors have crunched the data to reach conclusions about how first-past-the-post systems (often called majoritarian) compare with proportional representation systems (often called consensual), which are more likely to lead to coalition governments. It turns out proportional representation is strong in representing the diversity of the population (including women and minorities), in reducing government debt, in creating stable governments and combating extremism. The most renowned specialist on pro-rep is Arend Lijphart, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, known for his book Patterns of Democracy, which closely compares 36 democracies. Lijphart’s pioneering research has been followed by many, who have generally concluded pro-rep leads to a number of improvements. KINDER, GENTLER SOCIETIES Lijphart adapted a phrase made famous in 1988 by George W. Bush: “I want a kinder, gentler nation,” to illustrate that compassionate nations are less likely to arise out of majoritarian systems, like that of the U.S., and more likely in pro-rep nations. “Consensus democracies demonstrate kinder and gentler qualities in the following ways: They are more likely to be welfare states; they have a better record with regard to protection of the environment; they put fewer people in prison and are less likely to use the death penalty,” Lijphart writes. “Consensus democracies in the developed world are also more generous with their economic assistance to developing nations.” MORE RESPONSIBLE ECONOMIC POLICY Even though most critics of proportional representation concede coalition governments will lead to fairer societies, they are quick to say consensus governments are inclined to spend more. The Fraser Institute’s Herb Grubel said in a recent opinion piece in The Vancouver Sun that spending as a percentage of national income in recent years has been 2.3 per cent for first-past-the-post countries and 2.9 per cent for those using proportional representation. But that’s not the whole economic story. In his book, How Diversity Can Improve Policy Making, University of Michigan professor Salomon Orellana maintains regions with pro-rep are more fiscally responsible — they build up more budget surpluses and run fewer deficits. Consensus societies are also more equitable, since they are more likely to redistribute wealth. Scholars such as Norway’s Carl Henrik Knutsen, author of Which Democracies Prosper?, even argue that countries with proportional representation produce stronger economic growth. MORE MINORITY REPRESENTATION Proportional representation systems are called such because they are designed to better “represent” the wishes of more diverse voters. Pro-rep typically elects more women, minorities and Indigenous people, show the trans-national studies that have looked at consensus democracies in Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Spain, Paraguay, Chile, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, among others. Orellana also found consensus democracies have greater gender equality, more openness to homosexuality, divorce and assisted suicide and more tolerance of so-called “out groups.” Majoritarian governments, Orellana found, rank 44 per cent lower on formal “prejudice scales.” STABLE GOVERNMENTS Using global indexes created by the World Bank, the Brookings Institute and other organizations, Lijphart was unable to positively prove consensus democracies are better at all aspects of government. Lijphart also came to a negative conclusion about majoritarian democracies, saying “they are clearly not superior to consensus democracies in providing good governance, managing the economy and maintaining civil peace.” First-past-the-post elections typically create systems with two dominant parties, which fight to obtain more than 40 per cent of votes so they can dominate government. Proportional voting tends to lead to coalitions between parties that have to share power and cooperate. A major drawback of majoritarian governments is “policy lurch,” when newly elected parties summarily dismantle their opponents’ legislation. But while some say majority governments can make quicker, bolder decisions, Lijphart is among the scholars who maintain consensus governments often make slower choices that better stand the test of time.

COMBATING EXTREMISM A central accusation made by B.C. opponents of proportional representation is it will lead to more extremism. But fears about extremism have little basis in empirical evidence. Democracies whose governments are based on consensus, including in Africa and Asia, are less likely to be violent, according to researchers Wolf Linder, Bingham Powell and others. Opponents have also warned pro rep could lead to more people wanting to restrict immigration rates. But Orellano found “citizens in countries with proportional systems are not more likely to hold anti-immigrant views.” Indeed, Orellano found that under consensus governments there is less pandering to singleissue groups and to the moneyed interests of the elite. The additional good news is it’s not only politicians who become more conciliatory and sophisticated under consensus political systems. So do the media. Judy McGregor and Janine Hayward have found in studies in New Zealand and elsewhere that the media move away from “horse-race” political reporting when there is a shift to consensus government. Under majoritarian governments, media outlets tend to focus on political manoeuvring. But with consensus governments, more journalists put their focus on interpreting the pros and cons of actual policies. That alone would be refreshing.

LETTER: Rejection of affordable housing project is 'absolutely shameful'

North Shore News

November 21, 2018 01:00 PM

Catalyst Community Development Society’s proposal for the old Delbrook Community Centre site was rejected by District of North Vancouver council during its Nov. 19 meeting. image supplied

Dear Editor:

Re: Rejection of Delbrook affordable housing project. related

 'We can do better': District of North Van rejects Delbrook affordable housing project

To the councillors who voted against the proposal for development at 600 West Queens Rd., and who I presume will vote against pretty much any new residential development during your term – a sincere and heartfelt thank- you! Thank you for ensuring the value of my single-family home continues to increase as you restrict the supply of new housing in the district. My wife and I will need all the additional value our home can get to pay for the increased property taxes I assume will be absolutely necessary as the district’s revenues from new development (a.k.a. progress) are cut off.

In all sincerity, it is absolutely shameful for you to vote against a project that would have provided much needed respite housing for our community’s seniors and affordable rental housing. And spare me your excuses – this is what you campaigned on, so of course it’s NIMBYism and anti-development. Shame on me for being naive enough to think you would limit your NIMBY actions to market housing.

Michael Ferreira North Vancouver

Report reveals top earners among North Shore municipal employees Salary increases were only a small part of overall budget increases in 2017

Maria Rantanen / Contributing writer

October 17, 2018 04:46 PM

The Statement of Financial Information shows the total annual income of employees earning more than $75,000 as well as the salaries of elected officials. file photo North Shore News

Salary increases in North Shore municipalities were only a small part of overall budget increases in 2017, according to financial documents released by the three municipalities.

The Statement of Financial Information, or SOFI report, which each municipality must publish annually, shows the total annual income of employees earning more than $75,000 as well as the salaries of elected officials. Despite the large number of employees earning more than $100,000, all three municipalities only increased salaries by about a million dollars or less in 2017. related

 Six-figure salaries on the rise at city hall  District of North Van mulls mayor and council salaries  Metro council salary increases double that of average worker and inflation  SOFI report, West Van school district  SOFI report, North Van school district  SOFI report, District of West Van  SOFI report, District of North Van

Total salaries for the District of West Vancouver in 2017 were almost $81 million. But this was only up marginally from 2016 when salaries were just under $79.6 million, while the entire municipal budget rose by more than $5 million. In the District of North Vancouver, salaries were also not a huge part of the approximately $8-million increase in the budget – total salaries in 2017 were $78.3 million, up from just under $77.2 million in 2016. And in the City of North Vancouver, salary increases stayed below a million dollars overall, with the total amount in salaries in 2017 at about $54 million, compared to about $53.2 million in 2016.

While municipalities have to report all employees earning more than $75,000, there were many earning well above that.

The top bureaucrats in each of the three North Shore municipalities received very similar salaries in 2017. Ken Tollstam, now retired chief administrative officer of the city of North Vancouver, was paid $286,280 while the district of North Vancouver’s CAO, Charles Stuart, received $288,878. West Vancouver CAO Nina Leemhuis was paid $274,413 in 2017.

In West Vancouver top-paid employees include senior staff, library staff, firefighters and several bus drivers and tradespeople. There are about 317 employees in West Vancouver earning more than $75,000 per year, and almost half (149) earned more than $100,000.

West Vancouver’s director of corporate services, Mark Chan, earned $200,627, while the director of parks, culture and community services Anne Mooi came close to that, with a salary of $198,393. Raymond Fung, director of engineering and transportation, earned $195,380.

While a total of 117 employees earned more than $100,000 in 2017 in the City of North Vancouver, in addition to the CAO, two other staff members earned more than $200,000 – these were deputy director Gary Penway, who earned $253,825, and fire chief Dan Pistilli who earned $213,780 in 2017 (including expenses).

In the District of North Vancouver, in addition to the CAO, four other employees earned more than $200,000 – they were Gavin Joyce, general manager of engineering, parks and facilities, who earned $256,032 in 2017, Dan Milburn, general manager of planning, properties and permits, whose salary was $212,747, general manager of corporate services Charlene Grant with a salary of $211,455 and fire chief Victor Penman with a salary of $202,473. In total, 191 employees earned more than $100,000.

At the North Vancouver School District, the top paid employee was the superintendent, Mark Pearmain, who earned $204,956 in 2017. Ninety-seven employees earned more than $100,000 in the school district.

The financial statements also give the salaries of elected officials, including mayors, councillors and school trustees.

The three North Shore mayors’ salaries varied widely. City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto earned the most, $162,737 in salaries and expenses including his Metro Vancouver salary. North Vancouver city councillors, in the meantime, earned about $39,085 as a base salary with taxable benefits and expenses on top of that. Salaries ranged from $40,958 (Pam Bookham) to $53,476 (Don Bell).

Mussatto’s pay as mayor of North Vancouver was $118,877 in 2017, and his expenses were $10,541, totalling $129,418. As a member of the Metro Vancouver board of directors, Mussatto earned $29,702 and had $3,617 in expenses.

Richard Walton in the District of North Vancouver, received a mayor’s salary of $102,821 in 2017 and spent $13,102 on expenses. In addition, he received $12,035 for his Metro Vancouver duties and $85 in expenses. His total in salary and expenses for 2017 was $128,043 while councillors earned about $43,000 in 2017.

West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith learned a bit less than his North Shore counterparts – he received $87,350 in salary and taxable benefits and $920 in expenses. When his Metro Vancouver salary of $11,656 and $120 are factored in, his total salary was $100,046. West Vancouver councillors’ salaries ranged from about $39,000 to more than $44,000 with expenses.

In contrast, North Vancouver school board chair Christie Sacre earned $28,056 and had $1,067 in expenses in 2017, and North Vancouver trustees earned around $24,000 to $26,000. In West Vancouver, trustees earned about $20,000 and the board chair, about $23,000. Expenses varied from $710 to $3,667.

West Vancouver resident David Marley, who has advocated in the past for fiscal restraint would rather see a reduction in employees at the municipal level rather than increases and he’d prefer the money be put into fixing failing infrastructure.

With the census showing that the population of West Vancouver is decreasing and inflation remaining low, “there’s no justification for the rate of increase,” Marley said, citing reports by the Fraser Institute and the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses that show municipal spending increasing at a faster rate than the population.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently released a report showing overall in B.C., municipal operational spending (not including capital expenditures and adjusted for inflation) went up by 43 per cent between 2006 and 2016 while the population of the province grew by 12 per cent.

The population of West Vancouver fell by 221 people between 2011 and 2016.

Marley challenged the incoming council, which will be elected on Oct. 20, to hold the line on spending.

“The question is: Will the new council do anything about it?,” Marley said. “Unless the public really starts to make a lot of noise about it, probably not.”

Marley said “back in the day,” people who went into public service were paid less than those who went into the riskier private sector.

“Because you had basically guaranteed employment for life and you could retire early with a nice pension plan and all these benefits, you were paid less, that was the quid pro quo,” Marley said. “If you went into the private sector where you had to scramble to make an income … and you don’t get a pension and you don’t get all these fancy benefits, the idea was you’re supposed to make more money.”

Note: The file package that contains the City of North Vancouver's SOFI report is too large to attach to the above story. Visit the city's website and click on the agenda pack for June 25, 2018 to read the report.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2018 north shore news nsnews.com NEWS | A9 INQUIRINGREPORTER Time to upgradeyourhearingaids? How are you curbing your energy use?

The rupture of a 36-inch natural gas transmission line near Prince George could limit the province’s natural gas supply by as much as 50 per cent, according to FortisBC. Following the Enbridge pipeline explosion that caused the rupture on Oct. 9, the province’s natural gas utility is encouraging people to limit their natural gas use as it works on repairs. Inquiring Reporter ventured out to ask folks how they might scale Conrad Chevalier Ana Fortes back their energy use while Vancouver North Vancouver the supply of natural gas “We’ve turned our furnace “I’ve been here only two remains at a lower volume. down to a lower temperature.” months, but we are trying Today’sDigital HearingAidslet youhearwhatyou need to hear, Weigh in at nsnews.com. to be conscious. We haven’t — Ben Bengtson turned on the heater yet.” even in themostcomplex hearingenvironments. Tryapair forfree!

Call fordetails.

WESTVANCOUVER NORTH VANCOUVER 604.281.3691 604.988.9900 114–2419 Bellevue Ave. 102–125E13thSt.

Tony Parsons Oﬃcial spokesperson forNexGenHearing Josh Kodak Katherine Wilson Brandon Barbieri nexgenhearing.com North Vancouver Langley North Vancouver “Just wear sweaters!” “I use very little energy “One recommendation I could GetyourcopyofHEARING TODAYmagazine anyway. I’m living in a mobile, suggest would be opting to visit: nexgenhearing.com/hearing-today so I don’t need all that energy cook a steak on the oven in a small space, and I only (cooktop) instead of on the WorkSafeBCand other Provincial WCBNetworks, VAC, BCEA andNIHBaccepted turn the heat on when it’s zero barbecue.” Registered underthe CollegeofSpeechand HearingHealthProfessionalsofBC (degrees).”

MAILBOX Helpuskeep bears wild Six-figure public service salaries need a closer look

Dear Editor: would venture to guess that are living on fixed incomes As a former resident and the FTE (full-time equivalent) or investment portfolios that councillor of the District of count is pretty close to what it rarely, if ever, generate more North Vancouver I like to keep was in 2002. than three to four per cent apprised of what is going So how is this even return on investment. on in my old “hood.” I was possible in a time when the I would venture to say actually quite stunned to read consumer price index rarely, if the same story plays out in last week of the reporting of ever, exceeded three per cent? municipalities all across the the 2017 SOFI (Statement of We will likely read a few country. It is time for all of us Financial Information) for the responses to my letter that will to take note of how our local three North Shore munici- attempt to justify or rational- government civil “servants” palities. Of particular note was ize this extraordinary statistic. are lining their pockets at our that salaries and benefits in Excuses such as “tight, collective expense and then BEARS ARELOOKING FORDINNER DNV had grown to approxi- competitive labour markets;” demand a full accounting of YOUR FOOD SCRAPS SHOULDN’T BE ON THEMENU mately $78.3 million. In fiscal “costs of inputs to municipally this travesty. 2002, the year I was elected provided services exceeding Alan Nixon to council, that number was CPI;” “citizens demanding high Nanaimo, B.C. approximately $29 million. levels of service,” etc. STOREIT That is growth of 170 per cent Nothing should justify Editor’s note: Read the SOFI Keep your Green Can indoors or in asecure area until collection day in 15 years. In case you were these extraordinary rates of reports as well as our story at wondering, that is a com- salary increases when a large nsnews.com. Find by searching KEEP IT CLEAN pound rate of 6.8 per cent. I number of DNV constituents “SOFI.” Wash your Green Can regularly to reduce odour Embers of amalgamation are glowing WRAP IT Wrap food scraps in newspaper to minimizeodour From page 8 likes density (and the tax dol- Journalist and lars that it brings) only when communications consultant FREEZE IT $100,000 to study amalgama- it’s in the city. Paul Sullivan has been a tion with the City of North Still, at least the embers North Vancouver resident StoreSt smelly food scraps in the freezer until collection day Vancouver. This is unrequited of amalgamation are glowing, since the fall of the love, as the new city council which will keep the times Berlin Wall and the rise remains unmoved by the ahead just that much more of Madonna. p.sullivan@ FORMOREINFOVISIT idea, fearing that the district interesting. breakthroughpr.com cnv.org/WildlifeAwareness or northshorebears.com EDITORIAL: So long folks

North Shore News

November 2, 2018 09:01 AM

In a relatively small community, holding public office means never truly being out of the office. file photo North Shore News

It’s very easy – and not by any means wrong – to criticize your mayor and council. But around midnight on a Monday night when the 27th speaker on a rezoning application launches into a diatribe that could try the patience of an evolutionary biologist, those politicians earn our sympathy.

We may not always agree with the leaders who try to guide our communities, but we thank them for trying. related

 Outgoing City of North Van council entitled to payouts  Report reveals top earners among North Shore municipal employees

Running for election, particularly amid the intellectual pestilence of social media and the bile of online comment sections, takes bravery. Insults are hurled, baseless accusations are too-often made and far too-often repeated.

In a relatively small community, holding public office means never truly being out of the office, even and especially during one of those five-alarm skirmishes that outrages half the community.

We’d wager every one of our mayors and councillors has sacrificed their private life to some degree for the sake of the community.

Today’s North Shore News includes a story about the taxpayer-funded retirement packages for outgoing City of North Vancouver council members.

There are some who will see those payouts as undeserved golden handshakes for politicians who knew what they were getting into.

There is a reasonable debate to be had about how much politicians should be paid and what benefits they get. But no reasonable person would suggest only the rich and retired need apply.

Soon a new group of politicians will take up the challenge of public life. It won’t all be rainbows and unicorns. But in return they’ll earn something priceless: a chance to make a difference.

LETTER: Take a cue from developer trying to do right

North Shore News

October 23, 2018 09:52 AM

An architect's rendering of a temporary modular housing building proposed to house demovictees from a potential development of Maplewood Gardens in North Vancouver. image supplied

Dear Editor:

Re: Modular Housing Proposed for Demovictees in Maplewood, Oct. 19 news story. related

 North Van developer proposes modular housing for demovictees

Kudos to Darwin Properties for taking into consideration the families housed at Maplewood Gardens.

We must come up with more workable solutions like this one so that our communities continue to be diverse, vibrant and accessible and not simply comprised of the wealthy. Development on the North Shore is inevitable, so let’s hope that other developers take a cue from Darwin and try to move forward as progressively.

Danielle Dzioba North Vancouver

EDITORIAL: Those who show up

North Shore News

October 26, 2018 06:00 AM

Showing up to the ballot box is a good first step. Continuing to show up after that is crucial. photo supplied iStock

The signs have now come down and Saturday’s election is shrinking (some would say mercifully) in the rear view mirror. For all the campaign slogans and candidate forums, in the end what mattered most is who showed up to the ballot box.

That issue was certainly tied to allegations of mail-in ballot fraud and possible vote buying in other Lower Mainland communities. On the North Shore, apathy remained a bigger scandal. related

 EDITORIAL: Change of office  Former councillor Mike Little elected new District of North Vancouver mayor  Mary-Ann Booth elected West Vancouver mayor by 21 votes  Linda Buchanan elected City of North Vancouver mayor

Yes, the novelty of a mayor’s race in West Vancouver boosted voter turnout about 10 per cent in this election. District of North Vancouver flashpoints like demovictions upped turnout there by a similar percentage. But smaller communities still put the North Shore to shame. And yes, Bowen Island, we’re talking about your 67 per cent participation rate – where the new mayor has been elected by a margin of two votes.

In the every-vote-counts department, never mind that West Vancouver elected a mayor by a mere 21-vote margin. In Peachland the result was a tie, raising the possibility the mayor will be decided by essentially drawing straws. A dual at dawn almost seems less painful.

While much attention was focused on the mayors’ races, issues in the end come down to a vote in council chambers and council remains the seat of decision-making power.

Regardless of who voted for them, those elected are now charged with rep-resenting the whole community just as the community is charged with continuing to pay attention and to participating.

Showing up to the ballot box is a good first step. Continuing to show up after that is crucial.

What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.

BC voters, especially in the suburbs, just threw some wrenches into their legendary transit-oriented growth machine.

Cascadia's green capital: downtown Vancouver, BC. Photo by Gord McKenna, used with permission.

Author: Michael Andersen (@andersem) on October 24, 2018 at 10:58 am To paraphrase Calvin Coolidge: The chief business of British Columbia is British Columbia. Construction and real estate add up to a hugely disproportionate share of the Cascadian province’s economy, Bloomberg Businessweek noted Saturday, as BC voters went to the polls in dozens of municipal elections whose overriding issue was housing. Those elections indicated that BC’s housing policy may be brewing another big shift. There’s no mystery why the business of allowing more people to become British Columbian, without simultaneously preventing anyone from remaining British Columbian if they want to, is both the cornerstone of the province’s economy and its core political issue. The province is comically beautiful. Its cities, especially Vancouver and its inner suburbs, are international beacons of multiethnic openness, harmony, and prosperity. In April, former Vancouverite Jarrett Walker told the Seattle Times, accurately, that Vancouver is the only city in North America to successfully develop in the modern era around mass transit, just as all pre-1940 cities had. All that is to say: BC is an extremely nice place. It’s also to say the stakes in Saturday’s municipal elections were high. Last month, Vancouver became the first North American city to end the most extreme (though extremely common) variety of housing ban: On the way out the door, its local center-left Vision Vancouver party re- legalized duplexes on almost every lot where a detached home is allowed. The suburbs, meanwhile, have seen tenants in rent-controlled low-rises evicted for new towers and unable to find new homes, even as some homeowners lucky enough to own a patch of the region’s scarce land have opposed the suburbs’ broad legalization of “secondary suites” (BC’s term for attached accessory dwellings). It’s added up to quite a fight. And when it’s happening in Cascadia’s greenest metro area—as close to what the future could look like as you’ll find anywhere—it’s worth learning from. Vancouver: A pro-housing mayor will lead a splintered left

Lonely voice? Future Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart speaks at a 2014 event. Photo by Mark Klotz, used under creative commons. Vancouver’s five leading mayoral candidates sum up its political spectrum on housing production. They were a vocally pro-car advocate for south-side homeowers; a wishy-washy center-right businessman; a center-left academic who called for upzoning low-density lots for four-story co-ops; a union-backed Member of Parliament who promised both taxes on foreign homeowners and lots of mixed-income housing; and a build- build-build technocrat who called for the city to look “more like Paris than Saskatoon.” The fourth candidate on that spectrum, former Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart, squeaked past the businessman, Ken Sim. Each took about 29 percent of the vote. Academic Shauna Sylvester trailed them with 21 percent. The two most extreme candidates, Wai Young and Hector Bremner, took distant fourth and fifth places, with 7 and 6 percent of the vote respectively. (For those keeping track, that’s roughly a 56/35 split in favor of accelerating housing production, not counting an array of more minor candidates. It’s also yet another argument for ranked-choice voting, which my colleague Kristin Eberhard has been studying; winning with 29 percent of the vote seems barely democratic.) As mayor, Stewart seems likely to resemble his predecessor, Gregor Robertson, a champion of the city’s lightning duplex re-legalization and of a broader effort, up for debate next year, to re-legalize other sorts of “missing middle” homes. But Vancouver’s new city council, all elected Saturday in a single “pick any 10” contest, will drive the shift in city politics. (Kristin would want me to note that this bloc voting system is inherently less representative than multi-winner ranked-choice voting would be.) Five are from Vancouver’s center-right NPA. The other five are split among three Greens, one from the social- democratic OneCity party and one from the democratic socialist COPE party. As the Georgia Straight’s Charlie Smith notes, the Green councilors are likely to be swing votes on housing issues. In recent years, Vancouver’s local Greens have been pro-housing in the abstract but prone to oppose specific proposals or to call for affordability mandates—50 percent below-market-rate homes in every multifamily building, for example—that would, without massive new subsidies, amount to near-bans on major housing construction. “It looks like the Greens will now have to come down from that carefully constructed fence if they are to support Kennedy in his ambitious targets for housing supply,” Smith wrote Monday. There’s also the possibility, of course, that Stewart could build a bridge to one or more NPA members on housing issues. Colin Stein, managing editor for the Vancouver urbanist blog Price Tags, told me Monday he saw almost no chance of any NPA councilor breaking ranks with the others. If, on the other hand, the NPA and Greens were to vote as a bloc on housing (even if they describe themselves as having different reasons to say “no”) they could call all the shots—and even overturn the recent duplex legalization over the new mayor’s objection. Globe and Mail reporter Frances Bula, though, told me Tuesday that she’d asked Green leader Adriene Carr about this possibility last month. Carr said her party wouldn’t go so far as to reverse the duplex legalization after its passage. Suburban turmoil: A ‘pause’ on new building?

Looking west from the Vancouver-Burnaby border. Photo by Jerry Meaden, used under creative commons. Outside Vancouver, meanwhile, British Columbia may have just seen the closest thing in years to a revolt against housing growth by suburban voters. The trend wasn’t universal or uniform. Pro-housing candidates easily defeated loudly anti-housing ones in North Vancouver and across the strait in Victoria, while anti-housing challengers won in the smaller suburbs White Rock and Port Moody. In Richmond, whose new Skytrain line has brought the region’s latest surge of suburban condo towers, the longtime mayor cruised to re-election. But Burnaby and Surrey, two large cities to Vancouver’s east and southeast with 20 Skytrain stations between them, both handed big victories to mayoral candidates who promised a “moratorium” (Burnaby) or “pause” (Surrey) on new housing. Burnaby: Anger at ‘demovictions’ from rent-controlled homes In Burnaby, voters kicked out local institution Derek Corrigan, a five-term incumbent who was unusually sharp- tongued in his support for new condo towers. Corrigan publicly compared people evicted by redevelopment from rent-controlled far-below-market apartments near transit to “eggs” that needed to be broken for the sake of a transit-oriented “omelet.” In a different interview, Corrigan explained his opposition to a homeless shelter by saying (via a reporter’s paraphrase) that “many are the type of folks who, if they found you dying on the sidewalk, would pull out your gold fillings.” He ended up being trounced by a retired firefighter named Mike Hurley, described by the editor of local newspaper Burnaby Now as “mildly affable” and a “virtual unknown” who “didn’t exactly light it up when it came to big policy ideas.” But Hurley did promise something Corrigan wouldn’t: “a moratorium on developments … until accommodation at the same rent levels can be found for residents.” “One by one, the buildings fell, people were dumped out into the streets and Corrigan seemed unconcerned,” writes Burnaby Now‘s Chris Campbell. “Even worse, he whined about how his hands were tied.”  Find this article interesting? Please consider making a gift to support our work. Now, it may be Hurley’s hands that wind up tied: Voters kicked out Corrigan but returned Corrigan’s governing allies to near-complete control of Burnaby’s city council. It’s anyone’s guess where housing policy lands under Hurley, though Burnaby politics seem certain to be different without Corrigan. Surrey: A pro-housing politician changes his tune After decades of rapid growth inward and upward, British Columbia’s No. 2 city (and, at 525,000 residents, Cascadia’s No. 4) has been on track to become BC’s largest around 2040. That’s still likely. But slower growth is exactly what some residents just voted for in this huge suburban city that grazes the US border. Housing was one of exactly three issues that resurrected the political career of Doug McCallum, 74, who already served as Surrey’s mayor from 1996 to 2005. Generally pro-housing in his earlier career, this year he recruited a slate of candidates who vaguely promised a “pause” on development the party said had “clearly been too fast.” “Developers should expect to create some affordable housing options in exchange for the density increases,” the platform said. McCallum, who focused more on crime and transportation than housing in his personal campaigning, took 41 percent of the mayoral vote, sweeping aside all comers including the governing party’s Tom Gill, his closest runner-up with 26 percent. McCallum’s handpicked slate won seven of eight council seats. (My colleague Kristin’s analysis about the dangers of first-past-the-post executive races and bloc voting comes to mind again.) Daphne Bramham, a columnist for the Vancouver Sun, said in a video analysis Sunday that she wasn’t sure McCallum would stick with this campaign theme for long. “I don’t think we’ll be able to answer affordability questions very easily, particularly if Doug McCallum says ‘no more development here,'” she said. “When they really sit down in those chairs, in those councils, and they have people saying ‘I’m losing my home’ and they start to see a rise in homelessness, and they start to have tent cities, they may decide that maybe there’s something good about developing affordable housing.” All signs point to the same tool: Inclusionary zoning

Condo towers near Burnaby Metrotown’s skytrain station. Photo by Kevin Boyd, used under creative commons. Bula, a veteran housing reporter in Vancouver, said it’d be easy to misinterpret Saturday’s elections. “In Vancouver and Burnaby for sure, it’s not about stopping development,” she said. “It’s about wanting to produce a new kind of development that has some mechanism for including apartments that can be rented for less than $2,000 a month.” In other words, it’s about inclusionary zoning. But Bula said she doesn’t think any proponents of inclusionary zoning have done the math to figure out what 25,000 new below-market-rate homes, for example, would really cost, how the public or private sectors would pay for them, or what might happen if out-of-balance affordability mandates were to shut down housing production completely. “I’m actually going to start phoning developers this week to ask them about all of this,” she said. So for British Columbians, the stakes remain high. Blocking homebuilding could trigger a double-barreled economic disaster, if home costs spiraled further up even as the housing industry withered. But (as Bloomberg Businessweek also mentioned in its Saturday report) the main obstacle to diversifying the province’s economy to include more green tech, advanced manufacturing or tourism seems to be … housing prices. One way or another, a change has got to come.

Two North Shore MLAs weigh in on electoral reform There are pros and cons in reforming B.C.’s electoral system Maria Rantanen / Contributing writer October 25, 2018 01:00 PM

Referendum voting packages are being distributed now through Nov. 2 and must be returned by Nov. 30. photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma wants British Columbia to enter the 21st century and embrace proportional representation, while her West Vancouver- Capilano counterpart Ralph Sultan doesn’t like the “highly partisan” referendum process on electoral reform. Starting this week, British Columbians are sending in mail-in ballots in a referendum on whether to change how they elect their provincial government, and while the rhetoric is heightened on both the yes and no sides, the three new electoral systems are “made-in-B.C.” compromises that combine proportional representation with plurality and maintain local representation. related  Referendum info cards in the mail  OTHER VOICES: Electoral reform voters have been handed a ballot written in code There are “different visions of democracy” behind those who support first past the post and those who support a proportional representation system, said UBC political science professor Maxwell Cameron. “People who like the current system tend to think democracy is best served when we have decisive elections that lead to a government taking office with a majority and governing as it must to fulfill its mandate – for a period of time until we don’t like what they’ve done and we have a chance to throw them out,” Cameron explained. But many people are troubled by this “winner take all system,” he added, because if the party they voted for doesn’t win, their votes are “wasted.” MLA Ralph Sultan favours first past the post BC Liberal MLA Sultan called the referendum process a “stunning contrast” to the citizens’ assembly, a non- political process created by former premier Gordon Campbell to look at electoral reform in 2009, which he said politicians were forbidden from participating in. “This time round we have the exact opposite – a highly partisan, very politicized, lots of things you want to raise your eyebrows over going on,” Sultan said, adding that people aren’t well-informed about this referendum. “This whole thing is galloping forward at break-neck speed and it’s a very important issue and there should be thoughtful consideration.” Most OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries use PR, Sultan said, making Canada one of the “outliers,” but with so many examples, it shows the strengths and weaknesses of the system. Sultan said under a PR system, voters would not know who their representative was and local representation would be lost since the local vote would need to be topped up by the popular vote. “At the moment, there’s no question who people in Edgemont Village or Dundarave should take their complaints to,” he said. “They chose me and I’m their guy and I live amongst them.” He also prefers a system where differences are worked out before the election and candidates coalesce under one party, rather than in a PR system where there are MLAs from many parties and after the election, they form coalitions. “I think the present system with all of its warts and callouses - it’s not perfect - produces better government, that’s my conviction, as opposed to governments that are in continual renegotiation,” Sultan said. MLA Bowinn Ma prefers proportional representation First past the post works relatively well when there are two parties, said Ma, a BC NDP MLA, but it starts to break down when there are more than two, and parties govern with less than 50 per cent of the votes. This creates a “false majority,” she explained “where a legislature or parliament appears to have an overwhelming mandate for the work that they’re doing but in fact they’re supported by less than 50 per cent of voters that voted in the last election.” Statistics of the last seven provincial elections show that, in the four North Shore ridings, 56 per cent of all the votes cast went to the BC Liberals, 26 per cent to the BC NDP and 11 per cent to the Greens, and yet, of the 28 races, the Liberals won 26 and BC NDP won two. This sends a message that the North Shore is “overwhelmingly” BC Liberal, and whatever they do will be overwhelmingly accepted by the people on the North Shore, Ma explained. “The reality is thousands and thousands and thousands of people on the North Shore elect for a person who is not BC Liberal,” she added. In November 2017, the attorney general launched a public engagement process on electoral reform, soliciting about 92,000 questionnaires from the public. This resulted in the current referendum. Three PR systems on ballot Three types of PR are being presented as options based on the feedback: dual-member proportional, mixed- member proportional and rural-urban proportional. The ballot will have two parts, first asking voters if they prefer proportional representation or first past the post, and then asking them to choose which of the three PR systems they prefer, either one, none or to rank them. The province gave half a million dollars to both the yes and no campaigns, which have launched websites, nobcprorep.ca and voteprbc.ca, with restrictions on further fundraising. Cameron pointed to Sweden and Germany as examples where PR has created long-term stability and collaboration. Except for the most recent election, Sweden has voted in the social democrats again and again, and they’ve governed in coalitions. “Because the system is proportional, what tends to happen is you get these fairly stable centrist or centre-left coalitions, they tend to dominate politics over a long period of time,” Cameron said, adding “that stability is part of what allows these countries to actually do things like build robust welfare states or to shift their economy away from fossil fuels.” Instead, in Canada, there is “an appearance of stable majority government, but in fact these majority governments are often very unstable.” With a complete turnover of government, situations like in Ontario arise where recently elected Premier Doug Ford is reversing the previous government’s policies on issues like school curriculum and climate change. “We are hardly on the level of stability – Europeans look at us and they think these people can’t get their act together,” Cameron said. Those opposing PR often point to “canards” like Italy or Israel. The PR system in the latter has a low threshold for parties to attain seats and the entire country, with a population of 8.5 million, is one electoral district. That is not the system being proposed here in B.C., Cameron pointed out; rather, the three PR systems proposed in the referendum combine a plurality-based system supplemented with proportionality with a threshold of five per cent – that means parties need to get five per cent provincially before they get any seats. All three systems are compromises and not a sharp turn one way or the other, Cameron said, “intended to find the best of both worlds.” Under PR, he added, no unelected MLAs would be sent to the legislature. ‘No’ campaigners point to problems in Europe Suzanne Anton, who is part of the official “no” campaign, along with Bill Tieleman and Bob Plecas, said she opposes proportional representation because it’s a “fundamental change” in how people vote. In a first-past-the- post system, candidates are assessed for their character, leadership qualities, reliability, their work in the community and their political party affiliation. “You look at all those factors, and, at the end of the day, you will choose a person to be your representative,” Anton said. “And this happens 87 times around British Columbia – the community chooses a person to represent them. We do not vote for political parties.” The fundamental change with proportional representation is that the political party vote becomes the most important because that is what determines representation in Victoria. While PR proponents say their system is more fair, Anton said their argument ends there, because the result is not necessarily better, pointing to Scandinavian and other European countries that have seen the rise of right- wing racist parties. But Ma argues that voter turnout goes down when people feel their votes are wasted and they start to feel disengaged from politics, something she feels is “dangerous for democracy.” The current power-sharing agreement between the BC NDP and the Greens is a “unique scenario,” Ma said. “A minority government and two parties that are forced to work together, (…) in order to get things done. It’s a seismic shift in the way that we work - and imagine an entire legislature where your success is defined not by your ability to put the other party down, but by your ability to compromise and work with them.” The results from electoral reform are often “more muted” than has been predicted by both the pro and con side in this debate, Cameron said. “The great benefits that we anticipate frequently don’t materialize,” he said. “Likewise, the terrible scourge that is predicted by the catastrophizing on the no side is unlikely to occur as well.” Opponents to proportional representation will point out that both the Swedish and German systems are experiencing challenges, but Cameron said this is not because of PR, rather Europe has been affected by the largest mass migration since the Second World War. Cameron thinks, if proportional representation is chosen, people will learn to appreciate it as a system. “The most likely thing is people will discover, oh, this actually does seem pretty intuitive, it makes a lot of sense, parties will start to adapt a little bit in probably ways that most of us would approve of,” Cameron said. While Sultan prefers the current system, he wants people to get out and vote, no matter the outcome. “If proportional representation comes in, it’s not the end of the world, but it certainly would be a different world,” he said. “Frankly, folks, I prefer the world we have and as we know it, and it has worked very well, but you have to make up your own mind.” Referendum voting packages are being distributed now through Nov. 2 and must be returned by Nov. 30. Voters can register or update their voter information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr, or by calling 1-800-661-8683, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. © 2018 North Shore News

Two North Vancouver housing projects get provincial funding

Brent Richter / North Shore News

November 13, 2018 03:38 PM

A soon-to-be-built, six-storey expansion of the Kiwanis Lynn Valley Manor is shown in front of the existing tower. image supplied

North Vancouver is on its way to getting another 196 units of affordable housing following a major funding announcement from the province on Tuesday.

The Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society will receive $10.6 million towards its 106-unit, six-storey seniors’ housing project on Whiteley Court. The Sanford Housing Society and Hollyburn Family Services Society have been granted $9 million for a 90-unit family-oriented project adjacent to Phibbs Exchange. related

 EDITORIAL: Drop in anytime  Delbrook below-market housing decision punted to next council  Public hearings scheduled for North Van affordable housing projects

Across B.C. 4,900 new units of below-market housing were included in Tuesday’s announcement.

“It’s historic, actually,” said Bowinn Ma, North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP MLA. “From what I understand, it’s the most units ever funded at once in B.C.”

About 18 of the units in the Hollyburn/Sanford project will be reserved for people in “deep need” – folks on disability benefits or seniors on fixed incomes who only receive about $375 for rent. The rest of the project is targeted for people with families living and working on the North Shore on low-to-moderate incomes. “Really, the goal is to try to keep people in the communities where they currently live and work,” said Allyson Muir, executive director for Sanford. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction for affordability for average people working in the city so it’s really important.”

Of the 90 units, 63 per cent will have two or more bedrooms.

The District of North Vancouver is providing the land on the corner of Oxford and Orwell streets but the project still must go through a rezoning process and win the support of the new council. If all goes well, it could be four years before the new units come online, but Joy Hayden, innovation and engagement specialist at Hollyburn Family Services, said she is excited.

“To be able to say ‘We’re going to put you in safe, affordable, quality housing for life …’ we’re ecstatic,” she said.

But, Hayden added, there is still a tremendous need in the community, particularly for seniors and young people facing homelessness on the North Shore.

“We need long-term, permanent affordable housing. There hasn’t been an investment like this for decades,” she said. “Give us another 2,000 units and now we’re talking.”

The Kiwanis project received its rezoning and development permit from the district in September.

“We continued to work on all those things with our fingers and toes crossed in hopes the funding from BC Housing would arrive and enable us to have all the funding required to start construction,” said Patrick McLaughlin, Kiwanis president.

The rest of the project’s funding is coming from the equity Kiwanis raises through its more than 600 other seniors rental apartments, as well as a mortgage, McLaughlin said. Rents in the new project will be capped at 80 per cent of market rates. McLaughlin said he is hoping to get building permits approved next month and start construction in June.

The province selected the projects after vetting their business cases and viability, Ma said. “Our goal here is to try to get the biggest bang for our buck. We want as many homes as possible for our investment and we want these projects to be successful,” Ma said. “I can tell you that not very many days go by in my office when we do not hear from a person on the North Shore who is either already living in their car or on the street or very close to it.”

Elizabeth Murphy: Vision's reign of error finally ends

 By Elizabeth Murphy Vancouver Sun Originally Published: Oct 29, 2018

Vision Vancouver, having pushed though their failed agenda for the last decade, was wiped off city council in the Oct. 20 election. They exit leaving an affordability crisis, record homelessness, unsustainable development policies and a ballooning debt and tax burden. But Vision’s developer backers prospered well. The public has made a clear and decisive vote for change. It’s about time. The only remnants that remain of the party are those who didn’t run under the Vision name. Mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart, an “independent,” only won by less than 1,000 votes. He has no council majority or mandate to implement his policies that mirror Vision’s. Stewart talks to the media as if he represents council opinion, but that is far from the case. Only one of the councillors for One City, Christine Boyle, has a similar platform to his. Both the Greens and NPA voted against the controversial recent city-wide RS rezonings, and they both have made significant gains in the election, in part because of this stand. The Greens elected nine of their 10 candidates, with a substantial breakthrough on council from one to three councillors. Two of whom got the most votes, more than the mayor by a significant amount. The NPA won five seats on council, with their mayoral candidate Ken Sim coming close. And one seat for COPE’s Jean Swanson. It’s a very mixed council with no majority. The yes-in-my-backyard crowd have made lots of noise on Twitter, but they counted for few actual votes. They don’t represent the millennials’ interests, as they claim, mainly just the development industry that endorses and funds them. In 2016, Bob Rennie encouraged the YIMBYs advocating for development in San Francisco to be replicated here. Based on platforms and the campaign, the votes on council will likely vary depending on the issue. Stewart can’t take anything for granted. The lame-duck, outgoing Vision council is bringing the final citywide RS rezoning bylaw for approval on Oct. 30. Despite Stewart’s support for the rezoning, the new council could repeal it a few weeks later at the next public hearing opportunity. The Greens and NPA will initiate a city-wide plan with broad public consultation, rather than Stewart’s platform to continue the Vision agenda of pushing through massive rezonings without adequate or meaningful consultation. A first step in a city-wide planning process would be providing accurate data, such as real numbers on existing zoned capacity, both city-wide and by neighbourhood and zone. Also, realistic growth projections based on census data. Stewart’s push for a subway to the University of B.C. is not supported by either the Greens or NPA unless fully funded. So far, even the Broadway subway to Arbutus needs the city/regional approval of their portion of funding that has increased from to 28 per cent from 20 per cent. Colleen Hardwick campaigned on replacing the subway with more affordable streetcars and trolleys across the arterial grid. Despite polls supporting the subway, Hardwick got the second-most votes for the NPA while opposing it, proving the polls are wrong. Swanson focuses on social housing, homelessness and renters’ interests. The rest of council are supportive too, but there are varying opinions on how that should be achieved. COPE’s mansion tax is a non-starter since neither the Greens, NPA nor Stewart support it. Adriane Carr has also publicly voiced her opposition to the provincial government’s school-tax surcharge on the local property tax bill. She said, “Instead, I support, and have already been lobbying for and received the support of Andrew Weaver and the B.C. Greens, the raising of funds specifically for affordable housing, including housing to end homelessness, by increasing the income-tax rate on the highest B.C. income-tax bracket. This would tax people with actual real income and does not impose a burden on those whose property wealth may be high, but whose incomes are not.” A Ministry of Finance analyst has confirmed that only a 0.25-per-cent increase to the top income tax bracket would cover the $250 million the B.C. surtax is proposed to cover annually. This would mean that someone making $150,000 net income wouldn’t pay, while someone making $250,000 net income would only pay $250 additional income tax. Certainly more affordable and within the provincial tax base, rather than an encroachment onto the municipal tax base of property taxes intended for municipal services. Even though Stewart supports the B.C. NDP property surtax, the Greens and NPA on council may vote to oppose its implementation in 2019 as proposed and request that the province withdraw it. The B.C. “speculation” empty homes tax is on top of the city’s empty homes tax. This tax does nothing to address speculation and it unfairly affects locals more than foreign buyers. Tripling the city’s empty homes tax isn’t the answer either. The 25,000 empty units in Vancouver are a symptom of the bigger problem of overbuilding for the luxury home market that commodifies housing and inflates land values. Taxing it doesn’t really address the actual issue that we need to stop building so much of this kind of development. The new council may also consider asking for more of the tax funds raised in Vancouver get returned to Vancouver. For example, the existing school taxes, without the B.C. “school” surtax, already goes into general revenue and in 2016 covered 111 per cent of the Vancouver School Board budget. The provincial average is only 46 per cent, so Vancouver is already subsidizing the rest of the province. Some of this existing funding should be returned to the city to cover much-needed school improvements and operating expenses. And much of the provincial and federal economic activity and related income taxes are raised in Vancouver, especially through the development industry. More of these income-tax funds should be returned to Vancouver to pay for affordable housing and transit infrastructure to support the growth that created this income-tax base. Property taxes cannot cover everything since they are not based on the ability to pay. Higher assessed properties already pay significantly more property taxes than those with lower assessments. The city budget has ballooned over the last decade, much higher than population growth would justify. The city also stopped providing line by line budgets that need to be restored for transparency and a full audit done to determine where all that money has gone. It is with great pleasure that we can say good riddance to an incompetent regime that has reigned without listening to the public. We need to ensure the public interest is being served. Without a majority on council, this is more likely possible. Vancouver will have a broad mix on council, but with goodwill between them, much can be achieved. Elizabeth Murphy is a private-sector project manager and was formerly a property development officer for the City of Vancouver’s Housing and Properties Department and for B.C. Housing. [email protected]

Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at [email protected].

BALDREY: Voters split on electoral reform as deadline nears

Keith Baldrey / Contributing writer

November 13, 2018 07:00 PM

As of this column’s writing, less than four per cent of the ballots for the referendum had been returned to Elections BC. photo supplied Dan Toulgoet, Vancouver Courier

If less than a quarter of the population support the idea of moving to a proportional representation model for electing the provincial legislature, does that strengthen democracy or weaken it?

That’s not a rhetorical question. Rather, there is a very real chance of precisely this kind of scenario happening because of the NDP government’s convoluted referendum process for electoral reform. related

 Two North Shore MLAs weigh in on electoral reform  BALDREY: Neither voting system on ballot flawless or ideal  INQUIRING REPORTER: Have you opened your electoral reform ballot yet?

As of this column’s writing, less than four per cent of the ballots for the referendum had been returned to Elections BC.

That number will increase of course over the next couple of weeks, but there is every reason to think the final response turnout will be less than 50 per cent, and not more.

Various polls show the two options – the current first past the post system versus a move to a PR model – are in a dead heat in public opinion (with “don’t know” apparently getting a similar share).

If that is the case (and again, no reason to think that will change tremendously as the Nov. 30 deadline for voting nears), then the answers to the pivotal first question on the ballot (do you want to stick with the status quo or make a switch) will split fairly evenly. For argument’s sake, let’s say the PR side wins with a 55 per cent to 45 per cent and the turnout rate is 40 per cent. That would mean less than 25 per cent of the population would change the voting system, which is at the heart of our democracy.

That number will be lowered even further when we move to the second question, which asks which of three PR models do people like the most. Again, assuming a close near-three way split on that question, this could result in less than 10 per cent of the electorate choosing the specific voting method.

If this kind of scenario does indeed unfold (and again, I think there is every reason to think there is a good chance of it happening), I fail to see how this strengthens democratic values and instills fairness in our electoral system.

It is not enough to say that you get what you get with a low voter turnout. The bar should have been set much, much higher for changing something so critical as the voting system (a higher threshold than the 50 per cent plus one that the NDP has set for starters).

A better approach would have been to create another “citizen’s assembly” (as the B.C. Liberals did before during another referendum) to construct a single question on whether to stay with First Past the Post or make the switch to a specific PR system (be it Single Transferable Vote or Mixed Member Proportional or whatever).

The assembly would have been able to supply details such as ridings, maps and a much, much clearer picture of exactly what the new system would look like and operate in action.

Instead, many of those details will be worked out by a legislative committee dominated by the two parties wanting a shift to PR (no matter how few people may actually end up being in favour of it) or by a commission.

This lack of details is the single biggest complaint I hear from folks. Moreover, it is exactly the issue that B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson zeroed in on repeatedly during his televised debate with Premier John Horgan last week.

While Horgan came off as more pleasant and personable than his opponent did, Wilkinson likely sowed plenty of seeds of doubt among many when it came to the lack of fairness in the referendum process.

The NDP government, for some unfathomable reason, chose a muddled approach that was criticized at its inception and now may be careening to a disaster of illegitimacy.

There are good arguments out there for sticking with the status quo, or for switching to PR. Both sides have merit and both have disadvantages.

The sanctimony from the PR side and the exaggeration from the “No” side is troubling, but a reasoned debate can be had, if enough facts are known.

However, a lack of specific information may end up suppressing the vote and if that happens, our democratic system will be weakened, not enhanced.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. [email protected]

'We can do better': District of North Van rejects Delbrook affordable housing project

Brent Richter / North Shore News

November 19, 2018 11:32 PM

Catalyst Community Development Society’s proposal for the old Delbrook Community Centre site has been rejected by District of North Vancouver. image supplied In one of its first major decisions, the new District of North Vancouver council has shot down a below-market housing project that had been in the works for more than two years. Council voted 5-2 Monday night to defeat 80 units of below-market rentals and a seniors’ respite centre in a six- storey building on the parking lot of the former Delbrook Recreation Centre. related  OTHER VOICES: Want affordability? Try building apartments  Public hearings scheduled for North Van affordable housing projects  Delbrook Lands plan moving forward  EDITORIAL: Go big or go home  District of North Vancouver gets first peek at Delbrook Lands affordable housing Under the agreement with the non-profit Catalyst Community Developments Society, the district would offer up the land and wave its usual charges and fees for development – about $9 million in total. Catalyst was to cover the capital costs and offer the 16 studios, 41 one-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom, and eight three-bedroom units for $1,000 to $1,660 a month – about 20 per cent below the market rates. Coun. Jordan Back urged his fellow council members to vote in favour, reminding them that everyone at the council table had campaigned on the need to create affordability. “If we are serious in our desire to create more rental housing in the midst of a housing crisis, I would urge my fellow councillors to move this project forward and not use it as some sort of political hot potato. It will provide housing to those who need it the most, respite care to our seniors and caregivers who need it the most, and it’s going to do so without displacing a single resident,” he said. For the majority on council, though, the project had too many flaws to proceed. Among them, the height and density, feared parking and traffic impacts on the neighbourhood, and the wrong unit mix with too many suites targeted for singles and not enough for families. Couns. Jim Hanson, Lisa Muri, Betty Forbes, Megan Curren and Mayor Mike Little voted against the project, sending it down to defeat. “Obviously I support this with the goals of affordable housing. Obviously I support the goals of respite care, but I am voting against this proposal because we can do better,” Hanson said. “The local community has serious concerns about design, about the impact of this structure on their community, and, frankly, from my point of view, those concerns were never integrated into our analysis. We need to find win-wins.” For Curren, it was the fact the project wouldn’t do enough to address climate change. “I want to aim for a net-zero building, which means that it’s an 80 to 90 per cent reduction in maintenance and energy costs and a 100 per cent reduction in reaching zero per cent emissions,” she said. “I think that when we have the opportunity on our own land, we need to lead our municipality.” Coun. Betty Forbes said she supported the seniors respite facility but added she shared the concerns brought up in the process. “I am all in favour of affordable housing,” she said. “I also ran on a campaign on looking at the full spectrum of housing and I don’t think that this council has really had a chance to look at the full spectrum and see what is in the process, what is coming down the tubes at us.” Muri said the process that led to Monday night’s vote lacked integrity. She also questioned Catalyst’s untested non-profit housing model and raised the worry that future residents in the building would find themselves pushed out if their family income rose above the eligibility threshold set by the non-profit. Seeing the vote going down to defeat, dissenting Coun. Mathew Bond reminded the rest of council what they could be sacrificing in the name of protecting the status quo. “I would like to say that 80 good affordable rental homes is better than zero perfect ones,” he said. Mayor Mike Little noted the difficulty of voting on a project that was shepherded through the process by the previous council, including two public hearings. “My preference in this situation would be we open up an additional hearing night somewhere down the road, allow this council to actually talk about the issue in the community again,” he said. “I think we do have to go through and gently go back to the community associations and the neighbours and try to find out if there are ways we could change the project to make it more appetizing to the immediate community around.” Following the vote that scuttled the project, Little asked if there were any follow up motions from council, but district clerk James Gordon quickly pointed out no further motions are allowed. “It’s dead,” Gordon said. District staff are expected to meet with Catalyst to determine next steps. © 2018 North Shore News

LETTER: We warned of traffic ... 35 years ago

North Shore News

October 19, 2018 08:04 PM

file photo North Shore News

Dear Editor:

My wife and I attended a public meeting about 35 years ago regarding a Park Royal expansion. Traffic concerns were brought up. We were assured that the problems were being addressed. A new road connection from Park Royal going east was assured. Must be invisible.

All that ever happens is another study.

Stewart Frew West Vancouver

What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.

When it comes to transit funding, all roads lead to disagreement

Mario Canseco / Glacier Media

November 8, 2018 06:00 AM

Photograph By iStock

In the first days of November, the political attention of the province has shifted away from municipal politics. Provincial representatives are worried about the outcome of the referendum on electoral reform, and the federal Liberal Party is celebrating the third anniversary of its comeback victory, as well as the 12-month countdown for the next countrywide ballot.

Over the past few years, housing has consistently topped the charts as the most important issue facing municipalities in the Metro Vancouver region. Transportation – in all of its forms – was usually ranked in second place, unless you happen to live in Surrey, where public safety has always been a more paramount concern. But just what to do in order to deal with transportation is still a matter of debate.

It may seem like ages ago, but it was just in the summer of 2015 when most voters in Metro Vancouver rejected the idea of an additional school tax to pay for improvements to transit and transportation. At the start of the plebiscite campaign, victory seemed assured for the “Yes” side, which boasted the support of unions, corporations and most municipal governments. When all ballots were cast and counted, 62 per cent of voters in the mail-in ballot said “No” to the proposed tax amendment.

Relying on a sales tax for transit funds, which has worked well in municipalities such as Los Angeles and Denver, was not the way most residents of Metro Vancouver wanted to go. Three years later, whether you drive, take public transit, bike or walk, you are still without the infrastructure and safety features that appeared within grasp and were included in the information packages that accompanied your mail-in ballot in 2015. Late last month, Research Co. asked Metro Vancouverites about specific ways in which transit projects could be funded in Metro Vancouver over the next few years. The answers outline a population that is reticent about anything that entails paying more, and decidedly wary of specific concepts.

Not one out of six different ideas to come up with funds to pay for transit managed to get the support of half of residents. The most popular one was tolling bridges, a practice abandoned by the current New Democratic Party (BC NDP) provincial government.

Bringing tolls back is supported by 44 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents, and opposed by 53 per cent. Drivers are not that convinced, with 39 per cent voicing support for this idea. But those who commute to school or work through public transit are in favour (52 per cent).

Other jurisdictions around the world have implemented a levy based on the distance travelled by a vehicle in the past year. This idea resonates with 37 per cent of residents, but a majority (55 per cent) disagree. Once again, public transit users were more likely to endorse this concept (43 per cent) than those who drive their own vehicles (31 per cent).

Only a third of Metro Vancouverites (33 per cent) would consent to increasing transit fares to fund transit projects. The level of support is even lower for three other ideas: increasing fuel taxes (30 per cent), increasing property taxes (29 per cent) and tolling roads (26 per cent).

So, long story short, very few residents are currently willing to pay more to use the roads that already exist. Bringing back tolls will be extremely complicated, as the public has now grown accustomed to toll-free driving, and it would not be politically astute for the provincial government to abandon a key campaign promise.

The increase in property taxes to pay for transit projects is extremely popular for Metro Vancouverites who rent (47 per cent support it). As expected, support for this idea plummets among residents who own their home (16 per cent).

At this point, there seems to be no “silver bullet” to make sure that some additional funds are available so that transit projects can be delivered quickly and effectively. No option is popular for residents, and rookie mayors and councillors will have to deal with different challenges.

We can expect a few ribbons to be cut in the next few months. The Vancouver extension of SkyTrain to Arbutus and all the way to the Point Grey campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) is popular. The long-awaited light rail transit (LRT) in Surrey was also backed by a majority of residents before last month’s municipal elections, but incoming Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum has expressed a preference for SkyTrain.

In any case, asking Metro Vancouverites about how to have better transit infrastructure appears to only lead to people wanting someone else to cover costs. Drivers want public transit users to pay more. Transit users are more likely to voice support for drivers to pony up for using the road. Renters want homeowners to dish out more in property taxes. Faced with so many warring factions, it will take a lot of political will to achieve something that resembles unity.

Mario Canseco is the president of Research Co.