WE ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME these days dealing with change. Trying to determine the best way to tackle the homeless crisis, the rent and ownership crisis, the health crisis - and the list goes on. Here's another thing cities are wrestling with - the changing face of downtowns, how to deal with mass changes in philoso...

CONTRARY TO PREVAILING public opinion, City Hall has not always been a place of discontent between councils and administrators.While there have been times when administration has bullied council, and times when administration has happily stepped into the gap when leadership from elected representatives was lacking, in ...

AT SOME POINT, there has to be a line drawn in the sand to distinguish between the needs of an individual over the needs of society as a whole. I have always had empathy for those who are marginalized, whether they be addicts, homeless, seniors, Indigenous peoples and others struggling through difficult times. But I fe...

LAST WEEK, OUR BC UNITED CAUCUS raised concerns about allegations suggesting that the accounting firm MNP engaged in practices that present conflicts of interest in administering two CleanBC carbon tax-funded grant programs. Edison Motors, a B.C.-based electric logging truck company, raised the issue when they claimed ...

IF YOU'VE BEEN WONDERING who to blame for allowing illicit drug consumption and weapons in B.C. hospitals, and leakage from the "safe" drug supply, here's the answer: whoever's in government, anywhere.And who will fix the problem? Easy: whichever political parties are not in government, anywhere.For the past ...

MOST LANDLORDS AND TENANTS have a good, healthy relationship and play by the rules. But we all know there are some bad actors out there that take advantage of the system. That's why last week our government took action to better protect renters and landlords. Too many people have been served an eviction notice so that ...

IT WAS GOOD NEWS when the City announced that all the problems have been ironed out with the Canadian Union of Public Employees over the switch from Bylaws to Community Service Officers. "We can confirm that the entirety of the dispute and all differences have been resolved to the satisfaction of the City and the ...

IF WE PUT ASIDE ALL OF THE HYPE at city council over the McCorkell saga and the mayor's diatribe about the need for "change," let's look at the real issue here - how safe do we really feel we are versus statistics that try to show the real picture?How safe we feel we are is more important than the statistics....

THINGS SOMETIMES arrive in unexpected ways. Take the Integrity Group report on an investigation into Mayor Reid-Hamer Jackson's conduct at City Hall, for example. The investigation, triggered by a shouting match between the mayor and a City councillor in the mayor's office, was completed almost a year ago, and a report...

IF THE CITY WAS SMART, it would book Sandman Centre for next Tuesday's council meeting and sell tickets. We could make a lot of money to pay back the money we've spent on the infighting at city hall. Of course, because it's a personnel issue, much of any debate will likely be behind closed doors.The mayor is creating m...

RECENTLY, WE UNCOVERED A SHOCKING MEMO sent to nurses that permits the use of drugs and weapons in hospital rooms.The entire memo is outrageous - under the NDP, illicit drug use and even drug trafficking in hospitals are not just tolerated but endorsed.Bravely, nurses are coming forward with horrifying stories of daily...

DEVELOPMENT COST CHARGES don't make for exciting reading. In fact, a lot of people probably don't even know what they are, but they go to the root of a very important question: how much should residents be expected to pay so land developers can increase their profits?Right now, with the provincial government rushing pe...

EVERY DAY, more and more people are choosing cycling, running and walking for daily travel instead of driving a car. This also gives people opportunities to enjoy nature, get active and be an important part of building healthy, green, thriving communities.As such, there is a growing demand for infrastructure like trail...

THE BYRON McCORKELL affair is over. Let it stay that way.Acting CAO McCorkell was suspended from his job, then he was re-instated. Let it end there.Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, at first quoted as saying he intends to carry through with his original plan to explain the suspension on April 9, currently appears inclined to l...

IF YOU'VE EVER EMBARKED ON an entrepreneurial journey of any kind, you may have experienced some feelings of loneliness along the way - especially if you're operating solo, it's common to feel isolated. It can be difficult for anyone else to understand the intimate details of your business and the challenges that you a...

AS CANADIANS BRACE for the carbon tax hike planned on April 1, seven of Canada's ten provincial premiers have urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reverse the decision. Most recently, the B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation visited Premier David Eby's Vancouver constituency office on March 21, urging h...

IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, Henry Braun will be presenting a report to the province in his efforts to ease the tensions around the Kamloops council table. Most of you will likely say, "Henry who?"Henry Braun was appointed by the government earlier this year after the city requested some help to calm things down af...

THE CARBON TAX hasn't changed my life. I don't drive less because of it.Yet, I support this tax because I'm an environmentalist at heart and worry about climate change, and the experts say the carbon tax accomplishes what it's designed to do, which is discourage people from burning so much fossil fuel.I just don't happ...

I MUST BE CAUGHT UP in a transformation of some sort. Fitting weekend for that to happen, I suppose.I don't agree with Donald Trump about anything. His thoughts are almost totally out of sync with reality. To me, he represents the worst the world has to offer. But his comments recently about NATO countries and their de...

WITH DAVID EBY STILL PLANNING to increase B.C.'s carbon tax on April 1, our BC United Caucus continues to call on the NDP to halt the hike. British Columbians are facing an affordability crisis with the cost of living higher than ever, folks simply can't afford another government tax grab that only adds to the financia...

THE LATEST BIT of turmoil at City Hall was always bound to end badly. When Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson suspended acting CAO Byron McCorkell on Tuesday, it kick-started a chain of events that has become all too common. Somebody leaks it to the media and by yesterday the whole world knows about it, though not the details. C...

THE DEVASTATING FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES in November 2021 were incredibly challenging and frightening for people, especially throughout the Fraser Valley. We have learned a lot about flood mitigation and emergency preparedness since, including the importance of working together with local communities and First Nations. We...

A LITTLE MORE than a year ago, TRU was in the midst of a major controversy over allegations made against two of its senior administrators. It was big news. Dozens of claims of bullying, sexual harassment and disrespect were made, and the university launched a lengthy and very expensive - $1 million - investigation. Whe...

ALL OF US WANT TO FEEL SAFE and secure in our lives. We want to have a decent place to live. We would like to feel like we can leave our home safely for a couple of days without fear of it being broken into. And we would like to feel free to enjoy the beauty of our city. But sometimes you wonder whether that's possible...

I'LL BET YOU THOUGHT last Sunday was a celebration of the Irish missionary St. Patrick, a time to wear something green and drink green-coloured beer.Well, that, too, but more importantly it was the anniversary of the St. Patrick's Day manifesto, the day in 2023 when all eight City councillors gathered the media in coun...

WHILE THERE ARE INCREASING CONCERNS about a rise in anti-Semitism and general hatred and violence, gender-related issues are of the most concern to me. Women have faced erosion of their basic rights in the past few years - rights that have taken centuries to obtain. Women are still being abused, trafficked, forced into...

DESPITE A MAJOR AFFORDABILITY CRISIS currently gripping British Columbia, the NDP government is proceeding with their planned 23 percent carbon tax increase on April 1. It's the latest in a string of 32 new and increased taxes under David Eby and the NDP that will only increase cost-of-living pressures and make life mo...

I READ AN ARTICLE the other day in which Mayor Reid-Hamer Jackson says the honorific "Your Worship" has lost some of its meaning and he's OK with plain "Reid." Unless those who address him with "Your Worship" are sincere, he said, there's not much point to it. A number of other Canadian ma...