Langara student’s novel wins award, highlighting benefit of the self-publishing industry. P4
Teaching the ancient arts in the modern era in a city with space constraints. P6
Student homelessness is on the rise. Dr. Weissman tells us more. https://bit.ly/4202STD
By MARC BOLEN
Langara College is cutting all Chinese classes from the department of modern languages, beginning fall 2025. The cuts come amidst what the college called “a five percent cut across the board” in response to a budget shortfall.
Wei Xia, the assistant chair of the modern languages department, said a total of 35 sections will no longer be available by spring 2026, resulting in layoffs. Out of the seven faculty members impacted in the humanities division, six of them are from her department, including four complete layoffs and two partial layoffs, she said.
In B.C., a temporary or partial layoff means that an employee is given less work or no work with an expectation of returning. A complete layoff means a termination of employment.
Huimin Lin, a Chinese language instructor at Langara, said that her students were very upset when she told them the news.
“They said Chinese is such [an] important, marketable skill for them to find a job in the future. It’s not just a three-credit course,” Lin said.
Both Lin and Xia have received layoff notices that will take effect in the upcoming fall semester.
“I think our departments are very much targeted,” Lin added.
At a town hall meeting late last month, Langara College announced it is expecting back-to-back budget deficits as a result of declining international student enrolment.
The college is anticipating a $1.5 to $2 million deficit for the current fiscal year and $13 million in the next.
Other departments are being impacted by the shortfall. Niall Christie, the department chair of history, Latin and political science, said his department is also having to make cuts, including two sections in history and one section in political science.
“[Deans] are looking at enrolments, looking at the number of sections, and deciding how many sections they need to reduce in their respective faculties,” he said. Summer enrolment numbers will be the next indicator for which classes will be cut, according to Christie.
Michael Koke, Langara’s vicepresident of administration and finance, said in last month’s town-
hall that the executive leadership team is planning a five per cent cut “across the board” and a 25 per cent cut to travel and team engagement in their respective departments.
In B.C., post-secondary institutions are not permitted to run budget deficits, but the college is working with the Ministry of PostSecondary Education and Future Skills to get approval for Langara’s current budget.
Yusuf Varachia, vice-president of external relations and community engagement, said in an interview at the town hall meeting that the federal government’s international student cap is having a profound impact on the college.
“Everyone in this room — our faculty, our staff, the executive team, everyone — [is] working with government, with each other, with community, to try to solve some of these concerns,” Varachia said.
Ivan Kuba, a former Langara student who took a Chinese language course, started a “Stop Chinese Exclusion at Langara College” petition that he hopes will encourage the school to reverse their decision to cut Chinese language courses. As of March 9, it had gathered over 600 signatures.
By OKSANA SHTOHRYN
Local transit advocates say Vancouver’s late-night transit system cannot support hospitality workers if plans to extend liquor service hours get the go-ahead.
Denis Agar, executive director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, said current transit services are not equipped to support the growing late-night economy, leaving workers, many of them students, without reliable or affordable ways to get home.
“It’s gonna cost more money,” Fernandez said. “You have to start to find different ways to get home.” Vancouver’s NightBus system provides some late-night service, but routes are limited, and travel times can be long, especially for workers commuting outside the city.
A TransLink spokesperson said in an email that SkyTrain hours cannot be extended due to overnight maintenance requirements. Translink’s 2019 Late Night Service Report found that later hours would leave staff with insufficient time to maintain the system.
TransLink said expanding NightBus service could be a solution, but there is no additional funding.
“We need more night buses. We need them to be more frequent and we need them to go more places. ”
“Our NightBus system is bad. We need more night buses. We need them to be more frequent, and we need them to go more places,” Agar said.
— DENNIS AGAR, TRANSIT ADVOCATE
Vancouver’s liquor rules, unchanged since 2004, are under review following feedback from businesses. Restaurants can currently serve alcohol until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends, while bars and nightclubs can serve until 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., depending on location. The City of Vancouver says the proposal aims to modernize regulations.
While businesses say the change could boost the hospitality sector, some workers worry that the change will create new challenges without improvements to late-night transit.
Langara College student Juan Valencia Fernandez, who works two restaurant jobs while studying fulltime, said transit options are already unreliable for late-night workers.
The last bus from the SkyTrain station to Fernandez’s home leaves at 12:20 a.m. He said that when he works a late shift and misses it, he has to take an Uber or a taxi.
“If TransLink is given a choice between increasing funding for NightBus or addressing overcrowding during the day, they’re going to pick overcrowding,” Agar said. Some hospitality managers say they have taken matters into their own hands.
Stephen Sherry, restaurant manager at Glowbal, where Fernandez works, said staff often arrange their own transportation when transit is unavailable.
“A lot of our staff go home together … senior staff often give younger workers rides,” Sherry said.
Coun. Mike Klassen said the city wants to balance business needs with worker safety.
“Ultimately, we want to make sure that people can get to and from their workplace and do so safely,” Klassen said.
But Agar warned that without new funding, service could get worse, not better.
“TransLink has said that if they don’t get additional funding soon, they may have to cut 50 per cent of bus services and 30 per cent of train services starting in 2026,” Agar said.
Many hospitality workers will have to rely on expensive or unreliale options to get home without improvements to late-night transit.
By MAJENTA BRAUMBERGER
Despite public opposition to the proposed Victoria Police Department budget, council approved a motion to fund Victoria’s portion in full.
The city funds VicPD in partnership with Esquimalt, shouldering $69 million of the total $80 milliondollar budget for 2025, with Esquimalt providing the difference.
On Feb. 27, council voted 7-2 in favour, with councillors Susan Kim and Jeremy Caradonna opposed.
The decision comes on the heels of council’s February review of public input for Victoria’s 2025 draft budget, where the city invited Victoria residents to provide written comments or recorded video and share it with the city via email last fall.
Responses overwhelmingly opposed the proposed police budget increase of about 10 per cent. Of the 81 comments received regarding policing, 83 per cent objected to the proposed VicPD budget.
Many urged council to reallocate funds to social services. Kim cited the public feedback in her decision to oppose the budget during the Feb. 27 meeting.
“I will be voting no, just to represent those folks who are asking for a
no on this one,” she said.
VicPD says its own community outreach contradicts the public response to the city’s 2025 draft budget.
Cheryl Major, director of VicPD’s community engagement division, said in an email the police board meets with Victoria and Esquimalt councils and community interest groups. VicPD also conducts an annual survey.
In the same email, Major said “years of statistically relevant community surveys tells us residents overwhelmingly feel that VicPD should be appropriately funded to address the concerns of the community.”
In 2024, VicPD randomly mailed 3,150 surveys to residents of Victoria, 587 of which were completed. Findings drawn from the responses included the perception of increasing crime, declining safety and a desire for more police presence.
Elizabeth Cull, vice-chair of the Victoria and Esquimalt police board, said the finance committee draws up a list of organizations to consult on the budget each year, including business groups, tourism, social service providers and Indigenous support groups.
VicPD does not publish either the findings from these conversations or the list of organizations consulted
publicly.
Cull read all the letters sent to council from residents about the draft budget, but said there was “clearly a campaign to send those letters in.”
“You’re much better off if you look at their [the City of Victoria’s] poll results, because the poll is much more supportive of making sure the budget for the police is adequate. And that’s what we find when we do our surveys as well,” Cull said.
A survey conducted as part of Victoria’s 2025 draft budget public engagement showed residents think the city should give the most attention and investment to housing. Public safety ranked second.
Community advocates expressed disappointment over the police budget.
Sylvia Ceacero, CEO of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, said increasing the police budget is “a way of keeping the peace, not about solving the issue.” She said there is a lack of dialogue with the agencies on the ground, noting that her and many of her colleagues’ organizations in the homelessness services and housing sectors have not been consulted.
“I’m sure if 83 per cent of the population had said, ‘Of course you need to increase the police budget,’ that would have been used,” Ceacero said.
bike play-
By SOFIA MOHAMED
Burnaby might one day be producing skilled young cyclists as the city looks at building a bike playground to teach road safety.
Coun. Alison Gu proposed the playground idea, with Burnaby council agreeing in January to study the proposal.
Bike playgrounds mimic city streets with child-sized versions of roads, roundabouts and intersections. Their purpose is to provide a safe environment for children to navigate riding a bike to ease the transition to city streets. They are known by many names: traffic playground, traffic garden, safe city and safety village.
village is a “safe environment” for children to learn the ways of the road.
“Falling down when they’re really trying to just get their balance and their bearings is one piece of it,” Weitz said. “But then to instruct the kids on what are the types of signages they’re going to see ... the different types of scenarios that they may see, so that when they do come across it, they know what to expect.”
Weitz said that the village also teaches children road safety from the “pedestrian point of view.” The village has recently included delayed pedestrian crossings and is looking to install pedestrian-activated traffic lights.
Weitz said she has personally witnessed the value of the bike safety programming.
“Recreation for kids and spaces for kids to play is a huge goal that we have at the City of Burnaby”
— ALISON GU, COUNCILLOR CITY OF BURNABY
“Recreation for kids and spaces for kids to play is a huge goal that we have at the City of Burnaby, that we haven’t necessarily done especially well in the last decade or so. We’re really trying to turn a leaf,” Gu said.
She was inspired to bring bike playgrounds to Burnaby after a trip to Copenhagen funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. A further $20,000 in funding has been secured for the playground from the federal agency, as a follow-up to the grant trip.
While the playground is a first for Burnaby, it won’t be for the province. Penticton Safety Village has educated children on safe riding for over 40 years, serving 5,000 kids per year. Not only does it focus on bike safety, it also offers programming like fire, sun and water safety. Manager Katie Weitz said that the
“[Kids are] coming in completely not understanding how to balance, and by the end of it are just going so fast and being comfortable on that bike,” Weitz said. The village collaborates with schools across B.C., which Kay Teschke, lead investigator of the Cycling in Cities research program at UBC, says is a great way for playgrounds to integrate educating children. The program investigates cycling route designs linked to increased injuries and factors that encourage cycling.
“In the Netherlands, they start out on one of these bike playgrounds, they learn the rules of the road, they learn how to ride their bikes safely,” Teschke said. “Eventually at two different stages along the way, they have tests to make sure [they know how to ride]. When they pass one of the tests, they’re able to go and cycle on the roads. .... it would be nice to have the same thing worked into the curriculum in Burnaby.”
Gu said she plans to include educational programs and collaborate with the school board to organize field trips.
The ads are placed in high-traffic
By AMBER MONIZ
As Langara College struggles with declining international student enrolment, a new advertising campaign is targeting domestic students in Metro Vancouver.
Launched in fall 2024, a mix of print and digital advertisements posted in SkyTrain stations and malls highlight the student experience at Langara, trumpeting engaged instructors and small class sizes.
Adam Brayford, communications director at Langara, said that the goal of the advertising campaign is to broaden Langara’s reach with the local community. He said the college advertises to a broad range of audi-
ences but “most of our efforts are domestic.”
“What we wanted to do is reintroduce Langara to the community, to parents, to students,” Brayford said.
Urvi, a business management student who only uses one name, said she chose Langara because of the good reviews she had heard.
“Langara is kind of a mix, where you get everything with a small class size, but then at the same time, you get exposure,” said Urvi, who is also featured in the advertisement.
She said that she has noticed a considerable difference between Langara’s past advertising efforts and the current campaign, adding that she had previously noticed other institutions more.
“This is the first time that [Langara is] putting so much funds and so much effort into this,” Urvi said.
Julian Ang, a third-year accounting student at Langara, said that he’s had new students ask him for advice when courses they were planning on taking got cancelled.
Ang also said that the changes in the school of management have had a bigger impact on lower year and incoming students.
“I see a lot of uncertainty right now with students who are going into or planning to go into BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration),” Ang said.
Bachelor of Business Administration intake was suspended for the fall 2024 semester due to a high number of students withdrawing from the
program.
According to an email from Langara president Paula Burns, previous declines in domestic students were offset by increasing international student numbers. But because of recent federal government policy changes capping international enrolment, Langara saw a decline of 1,400 students in spring 2025 compared to spring 2024.
The college is also facing a backto-back fiscal year deficit following the decline in international student enrolment, announced at a town hall meeting last Thursday.
The advertising campaign responds to these struggles.
Sofia Hamid, a Langara student featured in the advertisements, said
that many domestic students don’t see Langara as a top choice for postsecondary education.
“Prior to coming to Langara, I never heard of it,” Hamid said. Hamid said she thinks that the changes in student enrolment will be “noticeable in the next year or two.”
Andrew Egan, an environmental studies instructor at Langara, said the drop in enrolment has him worried about the future of many programs at Langara and he has already seen cuts in courses in his department due to lack of enrolment.
“I think that society should be very concerned about the quality of education that’s being provided at different institutions as a result of demand,” Egan said.
Options for Sexual Health clinics face funding uncertainty and strain on services
With many sexual health clinics in B.C. facing potential closures, experts say at-home and online testing can make sexual health care more accessible but warn this is only a Band-Aid solution.
The non-profit Options for Sexual Health, which provides sexual and reproductive health care, narrowly avoided closures to 25 of its 30 clinics earlier this year.
Inder Dosanjh, a nurse practitioner at Fraser Health, said online testing will never replace the care people receive at in-person clinics, but due to long wait times and lack of services available, it’s a great option right now.
Dosanjh said there is a stigma with the younger generation, which can
make students reluctant to get tested for STIs at an in-person clinic.
“Is it a good Band-Aid right now?
Yes,” said Dosanjh. “I think it’s crucial to have in-person care as well because you can’t have everything online. You can’t describe all your symptoms online. It’s really difficult, especially with youth.”
Langara student Leah Taylor said that she would feel comfortable with STI testing in the privacy of her own home if she needed to do a test.
Options reached an agreement with the B.C. Ministry of Health to stay open in 2025.
Tiffany Melius, executive director of Options, said the organization has not received an increase in funding since 2012 despite rising operational costs. Those costs led to staff reductions and clinic closures as funding was stretched.
“It came to a critical point where we weren’t able to do that any longer,” said Melius.
She said planning for the future is difficult when financial support is unsure.
“If nobody is willing to fund us to do this work, then there really isn’t a place for us,” she said.
Options provides sexual health services at its clinics for all ages and sees approximately 12,000 visits annually.
If Options were to close, Langara’s clinic could see more patients.
Mairi Mallett, a nurse practitioner
at Langara Health Services, said in an email, “About 50 per cent of our patients access sexual health services as part of their care at our clinic.”
Mallett said that although they recommend students see a doctor or a nurse in person, they sometimes suggest at-home STI kits to students who cannot access clinics or prefer to self-test.
“It’s still better to see a doctor or nurse in person. The self-tests are limited compared to what’s offered in a clinic visit… that said, it’s better than no testing,” Mallett said.
Langara’s clinic often refers students to Options, especially for graduating students no longer eligible for the college’s clinic. Currently, Langara can meet the demand for sexual health services, she said.
“I think lots of students don’t know about the medical clinic or that we offer sexual health services on campus,” Mallett said.
Langara theatre student Mayara Nobre said she is aware of some of the services provided at the campus clinic, but she wasn’t aware that it offers sexual health services.
“In school, they give you pregnancy tests and other stuff, but that’s all I know about sexual health,” Nobre said.
After facing rejection from publishers due to lack of experience, Max Moreno, a student in the Langara English program, turned to selfpublishing. His second novel recently won the Literary Titan Silver Book Award which recognizes books that deliver engaging and inventive content.
“There was a lot of support, not just from people in my life, but from my inner self as well saying, if I can publish, I will publish it,” said Moreno.
Moreno published his first book, a volume of short poetry, at age 16. Now 18, Moreno has published his second book, Ain’t No Way This is Real.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
encounter with one of his readers, a woman in her 40s, whose experiences resonated with the story’s theme of friendships coming to an end.
Although the book is marketed to young adults, Moreno saw the message resonating beyond his target audience.
“To be able to be inspired by all of these different authors makes the human experience more alive.”
— LUKE HARA, WRITER AND LANGARA GRADUATE
It is a novel that explores the friendship of two high school boys and its eventual demise. Based on Moreno’s own experiences, the book delves into the difficulties that develop when close friendships come to an end.
Louisa Lorimer, former language support teacher and Moreno’s mentor, said that even at a young age he demonstrated a strong determination to achieve his goals.
“I think his greatest strength [is his] desire to accomplish things and move forward,” said Lorimer. “I think it’s a huge attitude benefit to success.”
Moreno’s background allows him to broaden perspectives in his writing. He said that Langara’s community enables him to thrive as a writer.
“When you come to Langara, it’s so diverse,” said Moreno.
“As a Colom bian person, as a Jewish person and as a gay person, I felt so welcomed and safe here.”
Moreno recently held his first book event in Febru ary, at Five Corners Cafe in White Rock to pres ent his book and hand out signed copies.
At the event, he had a heartfelt
“You will realize that this short story can connect with anyone,” said Moreno.
Kathleen Oliver, English department chair, said that having writers from diverse ages or cultural backgrounds enriches storytelling by allowing the exploration of new perspectives.
“I think it’s about tapping into something fresh or meaningful,” said Oliver. “The perspective that age and wisdom brings is very different from the perspective that youth, and vitality and passion and discovery brings.”
Brazilian writer and Langara graduate Luke Hara said that the pursuit of one’s passion at an early age is a beautiful thing.
“There’s always going to be somebody who needs to hear your story… And if you don’t get it out there, then they’re not going to read it,” said Hara. Hara said he is happy the literary industry has made more space for diverse voices in recent years.
“To be able to be inspired by all of these different authors makes the human experience more alive and much richer,” said Hara.
Reading a variety of literature has helped Moreno shape his stories.
“I get to see how different authors of different backgrounds have created their setting and created their characters,” Moreno said. “It really helped develop me as a writer. It was really helpful.”
on March 1, 2025.
Authors recognize selfpublishing as more accesible than traditional publishing
By ROSE LEUNG
As the publishing world enters a digital era, self-publishing has become a more accessible option for writers today.
Self-publishing is efficient for writers who want to get their work out to their audiences quickly without waiting years trying to get picked up by a publisher.
Surrey Libraries’ writer-in-residence, Anthony Nerada, said breaking into the traditional publishing industry remains challenging.
“The gatekeeping of the industry is that you do need to have a literary agent [to represent you] before you’re even allowed to approach publishers,” said Nerada.
Despite writing since he was in high school, Nerada only released his first book Skater Boy at 31 with publisher Soho Teen.
The rise of e-books, online retailers and print-on-demand services has simplified production and distribution processes.
Carmen Wright, who selfpublished four children’s books through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, said she’s happy having her work available to people right away.
“There’s such a thrill out of [it] when you get your first few sales trickling in,” said Wright.
ANTHONY NERADA WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
“It’s immensely satisfying to see that firsthand, which I think is one of the great things about indie publishing.” Publishing houses prioritizing popular genres leave many writers stranded. Wright said that self-publishing allows writers to take control and find their own audiences.
“I think the opportunities now for people to run their author business how they want, and make these choices with more information is so much better now than it ever used to be,” said Wright.
Self-published authors are also able to find support among each other to find bigger reach among personal circles.
“It’s a very, very supportive community,” said Wright.
In a city where finding rental space is a struggle, one instructor is trying something different.
On a mission to be faster and stronger, Keven Melendez began martial arts training at 17, an age some would consider to be a late entry into the martial arts world. But for Melendez, it was fear – a trauma response from being bullied at a young age – that pushed him into it. Years later, he found his calling empowering others through mixed martial arts training.
Melendez is the head instructor of Genesis Martial Arts. He offers private mixed martial arts training to students 15 years and older. Though unable to fund a “professional dojo” right now, Melendez said he hopes to have his own space sometime in the future, one where he can give lessons to larger groups and cater to younger kids. He also meets clients this was the first time he has given
quent classes will be paid. He says that the money made from his classes is going towards paying for a sional set up, and he ing for more ways tise and attract a larger, more committed group of clients who want to train consistently.
tises on Craigslist and Linkedin, while also offering interactive
Melendez watches closely for the little details and corrects when he notices something out of line.
By TUAN TRAN
Local activist choir hits all the right notes in the fight for social justice.
Solidarity in Notes, created in March 2000 with the support of the Vancouver and District Labour Council, has become a stable presence in the city’s social justice movements. They sing a broad range of old and new activist songs of many genres advocating for human rights, gender equality, immigrant rights, housing justice and more.
“We are a choir of people who believe that song is an important motivating force for people in strug-
gle, trying to make a better world,” said Earle Peach, the choir’s conductor and musical director. “It’s not just for the people for whom we sing, but also for the choir members themselves, to give them an outlet to change the world.”
ver 2017 Mayor’s Arts Award for Community Engagement.
“Everybody’s combined emotion in harmony has a powerful influence on people’s bodies.”
— EARLE PEACH, CHOIR’S CONDUCTOR
Peach, a long-time composer and musician, has been the backbone for the choir since its creation. In the fall of 2017, Peach won the City of Vancou -
“I am completely convinced of the power of song and music in any movement fighting for change,” said Peach. “Music has this unique force because there are very few activities that humans do together which are designed to coordinate their emotions.”
Peach said he believes choirs have a vital role to play in activism.
“People give speeches at rallies, and people raise their hands and shake their fists and so on, but that gets pretty boring,” said Peach.
“There’s a lot more nuance to a song, and everybody’s combined emotion in harmony has a powerful influence on people’s bodies.”
Valerie Raoul, a choir member and former director of centre for research in women’s studies and gender relations at UBC, said her reason for singing is both personal and political.
“I first heard the choir on International Women’s Day about 20 years ago singing Bread and Roses,” said Raoul. “I was amazed to find a choir that was singing songs about women
and feminist songs.”
Raoul said she always feels very moved whenever the choir sings Bread and Roses, a labour and feminist anthem, on International Women’s Day.
“It’s a reminder of all the past struggles of women,” Raoul said. “Nothing is ever totally gained—you always have to begin over again.”
Raoul said her experience with the choir has been wonderful as it creates a community.
“Music is a very healing activity,” Raoul said. “When you sing in harmony with other people, it’s something that can give you hope when everything else seems so disharmonic.”
Firsthand earthquake experience creates unique and unconventional tips that can be life-saving in a seismically active city
By TUAN TRAN & DANIEL
BUMANGLAG
Langara international students coming from a more earthquake-vulnerable country can provide helpful and lesser-known tips for people in B.C., a seismically active zone.
Katrina Mirambel, a former Langara web and mobile design and development student, said she
is from the Philippines where earthquakes are common, which often result in destroyed buildings, injuries and loss of life. Mirambel said that she has an earthquake plan in place.
“I always have an emergency bag ready to bring and I would always make an effort to know where to meet with colleagues when I’m at work in case there’s an earthquake,” Mirambel said.
Mirambel said she would also avoid beaches after the earthquake as it “may cause a tsunami.”
“I make sure to know where the concrete pillars are. I was taught to stay behind the pillars because it’s supposed to be earthquake proof concrete. It would be the last thing to be destroyed,” said Mirambel.
Another Filipino Langara student, Neeraj Jeed, said while he doesn’t have an emergency kit, he
is still prepared with canned food, bandages, cleaning alcohol and a flashlight.
Jeed said he recommends people to always have a fully charged
“If I ask a class of 30 students how many have a plan, 10 per cent of the class might say yes.”
— ANDREW EGAN, LANGARA GEOLOGY INSTRUCTOR
power bank in case of an emergency because “you never know what could happen.”
“The most common thing that people have are phones,” said Jeed.
“If you have a low battery and you are in dire need of emergency communication, having a power bank aside could help out.”
Drew Egan, a geography instructor at Langara College, said one of the biggest misconceptions his students have is that there is no point in worrying because earthquakes are unpredictable.
“If I ask a class of 30 students how many have a plan, 10 per cent of the class might say yes,” said Egan. “Maybe one or two of those students will have a kit.”
Langara psychology student Simran Simran said she does not have an emergency earthquake kit.
Another Langara student, Joseph Yohanis, said he doesn’t have a kit either. He said his family is just now
considering purchasing one following last week’s earthquake.
According to the United States Geological Survey, two earthquakes of 4.8 and 4.5 magnitudes occurred near Vancouver in February.
Egan said Vancouver is more prone to seismic events because it sits in a subduction zone, in which the friction and released pressure between two tectonic plates can cause frequent earthquakes.
Brett Gilley, an earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences professor at UBC, said although earthquakes are not as scary as people imagine, having an emergency kit is important.
“While it’s very unlikely that you will die in an earthquake,” Gilley said. “It’s relatively likely that you will be in an earthquake, if you live your whole life in Vancouver.”
By EHRIN LOPEZ
Finding pre-owned specialty equipment for Paralympic hockey is rare in Metro Vancouver, leaving most players to buy their gear online.
Matteo Pellizzari, 18, plays para hockey, formerly known as sledge hockey, with Team BC and Team Canada.
Pellizzari said the basic equipment for para hockey, such as gloves and helmets, is the same as what’s used in stand-up hockey and is very accessible in Vancouver. Specialty gear on the other hand, is much harder to find.
“The specialty equipment, so the sticks, the sleds...the blades and stuff like that, that’s from a company called Unique Inventions...in Ontario,” Pellizzari said. “It’s such a specialty thing, you have to go through Unique.”
While para hockey is on the pricier end, Pellizzari said there are grants for eligible players and there are gear renting alternatives for anyone wanting to play.
Rissa Wilson, from KidSport TriCities said she’d never seen a para
hockey sled before March of this year at their used-equipment sale in Port Coquitlam.
“This is the first time I’ve seen that here at a sale and...we started the sale in 2009,” Wilson said.
Wilson said para hockey equipment in Vancouver is “extremely difficult to source.”
“Each stick is around...$100 to $150 and you have to have two of them because it’s sledge hockey. So, definitely things add up,” said Pellizzari.
While para hockey gear is expensive and less accessible locally, ice hockey is a pricey sport all around, forcing Vancouver parents to find alternatives to buying new gear.
Nelson Fong, father of a Vancouver junior hockey player, said he only buys his son’s equipment on Facebook Marketplace.
“I have never purchased new [skates] — never ever,” Fong said. With a child growing out of his skates every six months, it’s too expensive to buy new, he said.
Patrick Bull, the owner of consignment store Cheapskates Sporting Goods in Dunbar, said the store receives more gear than it can
handle.
Items are priced at 50 per cent of their retail price, then adjusted depending on the gear’s condition.
“We’ll kind of give some guidance of what a market price would be or what things in a similar brand or style or condition would sell for,” Bull said.
Davis Smith, a Cheapskates employee, said prices for used hockey equipment have increased faster than inflation since 2020. Before then, buying second-hand meant fewer upfront costs, making hockey more accessible for parents.
Ben Ludwig, owner of The Sports Exchange in Kitsilano, said a factor in rising prices is equipment companies focusing on the one per cent of elite children’s hockey rather than the recreational 99 per cent.
In addition to the rising costs of equipment, a barrier keeping kids from playing recreationally is the lack of spaces to play in Metro Vancouver. Ludwig said the city has allowed development of towers and housing but hasn’t expanded public spaces for kids to play sports.
“I’m not just mad because it affects our sales,” Ludwig said. “I
think that we’re taking the opportunity away from kids and young adults.”
parking disappears from around recreation centres
By ELLIOT MOFFAT SHONJANIA
Adding to the cost of playing sports in Vancouver, parking around rinks, recreation centres and beaches has now become more difficult and more expensive as many free spots are now paid.
“Now, pretty much everything is pay parking no matter where you go,” said Ken Giesbrecht, a Vancouver resident who has been playing drop-in hockey at rinks around Vancouver for eight years.
Giesbrecht has lived in Vancouver since 1989 and said the parking has gotten worse.
“There used to be a lot more free parking, there’s very little free parking now, so everything’s metered,” said Giesbrecht. “It’s a little bit frustrating.”
In Mount Pleasant, approximately 350 remaining unregulated and time-limited spaces are being converted to metered parking.
Standardized parking rates were adjusted in 2024 doubling the hourly parking rate from $1 to $2 and from $5 per day to $10 per day according to the City of Vancouver website.
“Hillcrest Community Centre also has a very busy parking lot, so they can’t really handle the overflow parking from Nat Bailey Stadium,” said Sara Coyne, a Burnaby resident.
“Now, pretty much everything is pay parking no matter where you go.”
— KEN GIESBRECHT, VANCOUVER RESIDENT
“We knew it was going to be really crowded. We arrived very, very early for the game,” Coyne said. “Like you have a quite a long wait at the stadium to get to street parking.”
Giesbrecht said the West End Rink parkade has been closed for two months. “It’s a tough act to park on the street.”
Although finding parking in Vancouver never used to be a concern for Tracey Rinas, a local realtor, she now has found it increasingly difficult and doesn’t mind paying for a spot, but there’s a limit to the fee that she’s willing to pay. Last year, a Change.org petition was set up and signed by over 8,000 people protesting the installation of paid parking meters at Spanish Banks Beach. Paid meters were put in place as a pilot program by the Vancouver Park Board. However, the meters remain in operation at the beach.