Vancouver Courier December 19 2014

FRIDAY

December 19 2014 Vol. 105 No. 102

HOLIDAY HUB 17

Christmas travels SWEET SPOT 24

All hooped up for 2015 SPORTS 29

Rookie showcase There’s more online at

vancourier.com WEEKEND EDITION

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

Goodbye to Granville The Courier bids adieu to its home of 25 years

PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

See page 14

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Discover for yourself what others are raving about MICHELLE HOPKINS

Vancouver’s Cordia Chan is an extremely busy entrepreneur – stress is her nemesis and sleep is a luxury she has little time for. A few years ago, she tried a floatation pod in San Diego. Chan was surprised at how rested she felt afterwards.

The floatation pod - also dubbed a floatation tank, think-tank, isolation tank or a sensory-deprivation chamber – offers devotees an extended period (typically an hour), of lying weightlessly in an oversized tub in total darkness and silence, generally for relaxation. However, the pod is a powerful stress reliever that is said to lower your heart rate and blood pressure while offering many physical and mental benefits.

When Chan discovered Metta Rest Spa, she knew she had to try it again.

“From the moment I enter the doors of Metta, I feel disconnected from work, completely pampered by the staff and it’s my time to de-stress and refocus,” she adds. “I step into that pod, close the lid, lay down, shut my eyes, and it’s like the rest of the world disappears and it’s just me and my mind.”

“I step into that pod, close the lid, lay down, shut my eyes, and it’s like the rest of the world disappears and it’s just me and my mind.”

Metta Rest Spa opened its doors in the Dunbar neighbourhood a little over three months ago in a brand new building on West Broadway.

Since then, longtime friends and self-professed float pod aficionados, Nicole Stratton, Christofer Pritchett and his wife Kimberly Pritchett, have been inundated with calls and people coming in to find out what this burgeoning trend is all about.

“It’s a booming business... in less than a year Vancouver has gone from one location to seven across the Lower Mainland,” says Stratton, who is also the in-house yoga instructor. “An hour spent in the pod is like four to six hours of deep sleep.”

Stratton started thinking about sensory-deprivation therapy after Christofer Pritchett told her he tried it and was instantly hooked. “As soon as I experienced it, I felt calm and a sense of peace,” says Stratton. “As a yogi, I connected with myself on a whole new level and decided I wanted to share this with others.”

After conducting more research, the three young savvy entrepreneurs decided to take the plunge, so to speak. They imported seven top-of-theline pods from premier tank developer Float SPA in Budapest, Hungary.

Not only are these tanks larger than most, they are also innovative. These award-winning Float SPA tanks are equipped with a patented sanitization process that cleans the water twice using four different methods.

Floatation tanks aren’t new. They were invented in the 1950s by Dr. John C. Lilly and his team and have long been associated with stress and pain relief, and on personal-development level, said to boost creativity and introspection.

“People are starting to recognize it as alternative therapy, It’s not new-agey, there’s a lot of research, a lot of science behind it,” says Christofer Pritchett. Stratton says the people who visit Metta Rest Spa fall into three categories: stressed-out professionals, people with injuries or chronic pain and athletes who want to improve their performance.

Meanwhile, the tanks are filled with about 10-inches of bodytemperature water and more than 500 pounds of Epsom salts – the amount of the brine-laced solution is saltier than the Dead Sea. With ears submerged, floaters are shut off from any stimuli or any sense of cold, heat or gravity. “It’s three times denser than the Dead Sea, which makes for an effortless float,” adds Stratton. “It’s as close as you can get to zero gravity.”

Each room is an oasis of pure beauty and relaxation. With soft music wafting, your private sanctuary has its own shower, eco-friendly towels, all-natural shampoo/conditioner/body wash and moisturizer. Once you step into the pod, music and soft lighting will slowly fade as you enter into relaxation mode.

In addition to Metta’s seven World Class Float Spa Relaxation Tanks, there is an Infrared Sauna and Private Yoga Studio. Its Boutique Library is filled with books to inspire and educate you, as well as a fireplace and incredibly comfortable furniture to sink into while sipping Metta’s own organic tea blend. “I love going into the library after my float,” adds Chan. “It is my sanctuary from the world, where I often get inspired and my creativity blossoms.”

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News

Budget forecast calls for big tax hike

12TH&CAMBIE Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

Probably not something all you taxpayers across this great city want to hear going into another year: Expect a hike to your taxes.

Why? “The trend of costs growing faster than inflation is expected to continue over the next four years and beyond. As a result, the city will be challenged to continue to keep property tax increases in line with inflation.”

That, of course, did not come from the mouth of Mayor Gregor Robertson or his Vision councillors during the election campaign. Kind of a bad strategy, I would think, to say vote for me and I’ll raise your taxes.

Anyway, found that nugget of information about the pending hike in a city budget document that outlines what kind of budget year it will be in 2015. You

can read this on the city’s website but I’ll share a few points here: The gap between estimated revenues and expenditures for 2015 is approximately $26 million to $30 million, assuming a two per cent tax increase aligned with forecasted inflation.

Without finding ways to cut spending or increase non-property tax revenues, this would mean a six to seven per cent tax increase. That’s right, six to seven per cent.

What’s largely driving the spending is “above-inflation” wage increases for firefighters and police officers, which will amount to $18 million for 2,580 employees in 2015. Apparently, this is something other municipalities are facing, too.

Let’s take a look at those wage increases…

In 2014, the Vancouver Police Union and the Vancouver Police Department received an arbitrated settlement that established collective agreement terms for 2013-2015.

Wage increases for firefighters and police officers will amount to $18 million in 2015.

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

The settlement set wage increases of 2.5 per cent, two per cent and 2.5 per cent over the three yearterm. The city pointed out the increases were higher than those for CUPE at 1.75 per cent, 1.75 per cent and two per cent.

The city and the Van-

Notice of Development Permit Application - DP 14027

Public Open House

University Boulevard - Site B

Date: Wednesday,January7, 2015 Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Place: War Memorial Gymnasium Lobby, 6081 University Boulevard Representatives from the project team and Campus + Community Planning will be available to provide information and respond to inquiries about this project.

The public is also invited to attend the Development Permit Board Meeting for this project to be held on January 21st from 5:00-7:00pm, at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) Policy Labs A+B, 2260 West Mall.

For more information on this project, please visit: planning.ubc.ca/ vancouver/projects-consultations

on the job also got an additional one per cent hike because of a negotiated grievance settlement.

But it’s not just firefighters and cops getting raises.

According to the city’s 2015 Budget Outlook document, $14 million will be spent on increases

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couver Firefighters’ Union recently received an arbitrated settlement to cover the period from 2012 to 2015. The wage increases were 2.5 per cent over the four-year term and an additional 0.5 per cent increase in 2014. Oh, and firefighters with 10 years

to wages and benefits for 4,010 regular full-time city employees. So when you total that up with what firefighters and cops will receive, that’s $32 million of what the city describes as the “expense pressures” of $55 million to $57 million in 2015.

In other good news for taxpayers: “The city’s contracts with CUPE and other unions will expire at the end of 2015, adding uncertainty to the four-year financial outlook,” according to the city’s budget document.

Ah, the price of living in a great city, right?

You can take a survey on the city’s website to tell the mayor what you think is great or not so great about this city and where your money should be spent.

The city says a report with recommendations on how it plans to balance the budget will be released in mid-February. Council won’t finalize the budget until March. twitter.com/Howellings

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The city approved two Dunbar redevelopments earlier this week.

The applications, both for mixed-use projects, went before the Development Permit Board Monday.

A plan to redevelop 3592 West 29th, formerly known as 4560 Dunbar St., is controversial. It involves a partial fifth-storey on the site, which critics argue violates the community vision’s four-storey limit on buildings. Henriquez Partners Architects submitted the application on behalf of landowner Harwood Holdings Corporation.

Brian Jackson, the city’s manager of planning and development, said 18 people spoke on this application and raised concerns about height.

“It’s interesting because the buildings actually in height are identical. They both go to the discretionary amount for the Director of Planning to consider of 55 feet. In one — the existing

Stong’s site — the slope allows them to get a partial fifth floor,” said Jackson, adding the building is quite long at 240 feet and the fifth floor is about one quarter of that or about 60 feet. “And it is only the unique conditions of that particular site, which allows them the fifth storey to be within the 55 feet, the maximum we can consider under existing zoning.”

Speakers asked if the application would set a precedent in Dunbar. Jackson said each application is looked at on its own.

“The conditions under which we consider the discretionary height here is having a large site, both in terms of length and depth, as well as achieving a community amenity. In this particular case, the development is able to achieve the higher density because they offered a public amenity of a public plaza, which is south facing. We thought it was a worthwhile trade-off for the partial fifth floor. So is another developer able to achieve that? It’s only through an individual development process that we would be able to determine that.”

The second application

approved dealt with 3603 West 27th, formerly known as 4219-4295 Dunbar St. IBI/HB Architects submitted the application on behalf of property owner Dunbar Partnership.

About 28 people spoke about the application.

Their comments centred on traffic concerns.

The city has asked the applicant to provide additional traffic study information on the hours of operation of adjacent schools, daycares and other community uses to ensure there’s a transportation management plan in place prior to final staff approval.

“So we were very clear with the applicant that we expect this new information.

We expect them to address the concerns arising from this particular development to come up with a plan for the size of delivery trucks, the timing of delivery trucks, the number of delivery trucks and a schedule for how to incorporate a new grocery store in this location with the minimal amount of disruption and conflict with the other uses in the area,” Jackson said. twitter.com/naoibh

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Seasons Greetings

News

2010

Council starts fresh with First Nations

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From his front row seat in the council chambers, Robert Joseph watched and listened to a historic ceremonial event at city hall Tuesday that left him proud and hopeful for future relations between First Nations and governments.

As hereditary chief of the Gwawaeanuk First Nation near Alert Bay and the ambassador for Reconciliation Canada, Joseph has dedicated his adult life to bridging differences borne from intolerance, ignorance and racism.

“When I first came to Vancouver in the 1960s as a young man, anything involving aboriginal spirituality or culture was considered taboo,” Joseph told the Courier after a traditional “brushingoff” ceremony for the newly elected council. “Here we are these decades later and our leadership in this great municipal hall of Vancouver are open to the idea that all of our spiritual ways and beliefs have value and purpose.”

Over the singing and drumming of aboriginal singers, women from the

Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations used cedar boughs dipped in water to “brush off” Mayor Gregor Robertson and nine councillors (Vision Coun.

Geoff Meggs was absent) to symbolize the beginning of a fresh start.

The event marked the first time in the city’s history that three nations had come under the roof of Vancouver’s city hall to conduct such a ceremony. It was prompted by the nations, not by council, said Robertson after the event that he called unprecedented and historic.

“It’s never happened before,” Robertson said.

“But we’ve worked hard to strengthen relations with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh and the reconciliation year was a big boost for those efforts.”

Two years ago, city council proclaimed June 21, 2013 to June 21, 2014 as the year of reconciliation in Vancouver and agreed to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Earlier this year, council also passed a motion to have city hall formally acknowl-

edge the city is on unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

The timing of Tuesday’s ceremony and council’s commitment to build new relationships with aboriginal peoples comes as the three nations are set to embark on major development plans for the 52-acre Jericho Lands in West Point Grey.

The three nations partnered with a federal Crown corporation to acquire the prized property along with the site of the former RCMP E-Division property on Heather Street and the former Department of Fisheries and Oceans land in West Vancouver.

Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow spoke at the ceremony and said he and the other nations want to work with city hall to determine what type of project would best fit on the Jericho Lands, which were owned by the Department of National Defence.

“We’re hoping to show other municipalities that by working together, it’s for the betterment of everybody involved instead of having us working against each other,”

said Sparrow, who complimented city council for its commitment to reconciliation.

“Anything that we do, we’ll work diligently with the staff to make sure it fits into their plans. It’s a respect thing.”

Squamish Chief Ian Campbell, who participated in the drumming and singing during the ceremony, said it had been “generations of effort” to build and strengthen the relationship with the city. By extension, he said, the relationship also helped the three nations become closer, cementing protocol agreements between the Squamish, TsleilWaututh and Musqueam.

“We’ve moved from a place of competition to a place of collaboration and to showcase the richness of our culture,” Campbell said. “The commitment to work together and hold these types of ceremonies is a tremendous gesture but it’s also just putting it in action to demonstrate we are all in the same canoe — that we all must put our paddles in the water to move forward for a better future. So I feel very happy to be part of this today.”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

News

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Violet Read (left) and her friend Kate Fry (middle) look forward to Sex At Lunch. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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Condoms were hung from a fireplace with care in the auditorium at Lord Byng secondary Wednesday.

The prophylactics set the scene for the holidaythemed Sex at Lunch session, which a trio mounts approximately every two weeks for students in Grades 11 and 12 and sometimes Grade 10.

“Fa la la la la, don’t get herpes…” read one of the projections for the Wrap Your Package holidaythemed session on sexually transmitted infections.

The 200 students who attended sang “The 12 STIs of Christmas,” which includes the line: “My balls are lumpy and sore.”

Teacher Lisa ShoplandBlack says organizers make the sessions entertaining as well as informative to attract teenagers on a voluntary basis. “So that the kids feel they can take some of these facts home and it opens up conversation,” she said.

Shopland-Black and counsellor Tamara McKay expanded sex ed programs at the school in West Point Grey after they heard Grade 12 students talking about a trip to the Dominican Republic about seven years ago.

“They were just bragging about how it was going to

be endless drunkenness and sexual opportunities with students from all over,” McKay said.

“One of the main messages that we give to kids… is sex is something you do with someone not to someone, so that involves a level of maturity and communication that you need to learn,” Shopland-Black said.

She, McKay and family physician Colleen Kirkham started Sex at Lunch sessions at Byng in spring 2013. Topics have included Vaginarama, Penispalooza, Celebration of the Rainbow, and Consent.

A Byng history teacher has covered the History of Masturbation and a Byng law teacher talked about Sex and the Law. “It communicates to the kids that these teachers are other adults that are on board, that if you have a better connection with them, you can talk to them,” McKay said.

The more they talked about sex, the more students approached and emailed them with questions, such as whether a girl could get pregnant if a guy ejaculated on her vulva or if they had anal sex and whether their anatomy and appetites were normal.

Grade 12 student Violet Read says her favourite session focused on porn.

“It was like the average-

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length penis in a porn is nine inches and in reality it’s four-and-a-half and five [inches long, erect,]” the 16-year-old said.

She reports learning how to navigate sticky situations.

“This probably prevented me from making bad choices,” Read said.

Kirkham says half of secondary students will have had sex by the time they graduate. The average age youth in B.C. have intercourse is 17.5 or 18.

Shopland-Black and McKay say graduated students have returned to thank them. McKay recently ran into a young man who was keen to discuss sexual concerns at a hockey game.

“Sometimes students use us to come out to [as gay].

It’s like, ‘OK, let’s practise how we would tell my parents,’” Shopland-Black said.

The Vancouver Division of Family Practice and the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Providence Health Care have provided money for supplies, treats and door prizes for the program that will run over two years. The trio continues to evaluate the program and Kirkham said the Division of Family Practice is keen to continue to support the lunchtime sessions and see other doctors adopt a school. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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News Strike could hit ports before Christmas

McGarrigle warned that if movement doesn’t happen soon on the file, “it could be a rocky Christmas.”

Two groups of container truckers went on strike last March for a total of 29 days: 1,000 non-unionized workers organized as the United Truckers’ Association (UTA) and 250 members of the Vancouver Container Truckers’

Vancouver-area ports could be shut down once again by striking truckers if the province doesn’t budge on recently introduced payment rates.

“They’re very unhappy,” said Gavin McGarrigle, B.C. area director for Unifor. “All options are on the table.”

Association (VCTA), represented by Unifor.

Both groups were protesting low rates and long waiting times at terminals for which they were not reimbursed.

The strike came to an end after the province, the federal government, Port Metro Vancouver and the truckers negotiated an agreement with the help of labour me-

View my video with

diator Vince Ready.

According to that agreement, the provincial government was supposed to increase trip rates by 10 per cent in one month’s time, as well as strengthen enforcement of rate payment and expand terminal operating hours.

But McGarrigle said it had taken the province not one, but eight months

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Trucking companies can now choose whether to pay their workers by the hour or by the trip. “For the hourly

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drivers who are supposed to be earning $26.28 an hour, that’s about $210 a day.

This new trip rate they’ve come out with is $40 a trip with a minimum of $160,” he said.

McGarrigle said the UTA and VCTA would meet on Dec. 17. Any progress would’ve happened after the Courier’s press deadline.

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Courage lives at Canuck Place A full year of gratitude Karen Reid Canuck Place Children’s Hospice

Canuck Place Children’s Hospice is grateful for the donors who care for over 560 children with life-threatening illnesses and for the families who love them.

Canuck Place provides critical care to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families over the holidays.

Savour life, savour holiday traditions with family Karen Reid

Canuck Place Children’s Hospice

For almost 14 years Canuck Place Children’s Hospice nurse Phillipa Parr has played a key role on the clinical team and in the lives of children and families.

“The most rewarding part of my work is caring for the children and families. Pediatric palliative care forces our inter-disciplinary team to think outside the box.

Palliative care is not just medicine, it is an art form. You balance social and emotional needs along with the physical needs. And you have to take into consideration the child and their whole family.”

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“A few years back over Christmas we had two children, a boy and a girl, in our care who were nearing the end of their journey in life,” said Parr. “Both families knew that this would be the last winter holiday with their child. And we wanted to make it as special as we could.”

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“Children and families have basic needs. They want to feel loved and relaxed when their world is falling apart. Our job at Canuck Place is to make this possible and to give them the best of living in the moment.”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Opinion

Vision weakened by the 2014 election

A stern warning to Santa Claus

Allen Garr Columnist agarr@vancourier.com

Geoff Olson Columnist mwiseguise@yahoo.com

It is all but forgotten in the face of the more recent and remarkable municipal election results, which I will get to in a moment.

But nothing this past year in Vancouver likely caught us more by surprise that the surgical removal of the senior management team of the Portland Hotel Society.

Last spring, the provincial government, in a pincer action most generals would admire, put the squeeze of the Downtown Eastside’s most prominent social agency.

It was led by audit teams from B.C. Housing and Vancouver Coastal Health, and proved, once again, if you want to take someone out, don’t go after their policies, check their expense accounts.

There was not a whimper of protest from other agencies in the ’hood, so successful had the Portland crowd been over the years in pissing every one of them off.

All is now quiet while a government appointed interim board does its work.

The election campaign provided its own distractions with debates around celibate cetaceans, a monologue on masturbation and a secret taping of a union meeting.

The ruling Vision Party and Gregor Robertson were taken on by a wellfunded total political rookie NPA mayoral candidate in the person of Kirk LaPointe.

The NPA relied on Vision’s administrative ineptitude of the past several years, which caused community groups across the city and across the political spectrum to rise up angrily.

As a result there was an initial plethora of political parties forming among those already existing which were being energized in protest.

But as the campaign evolved, and as the election results proved, a number of the centre-right parties — TEAM and Cedar — aligned themselves with LaPointe and Vancouver 1st ran no mayoral candidate.

Meanwhile the centre left continued to battle amongst themselves or made quiet alliances — like Vision, OneCity Vancouver and the Public Education Project, that only served to weaken them all because of vote-splitting. None had more effect at blunting Vision’s pros-

pects than COPE and the Greens, which both attracted progressive voters who were anything but enthusiastic about another term of Vision with the same level of power across the board it held during the past six years.

If all that seems complicated, the results were fairly straightforward. Vision had its worst showing in the past three elections, making it almost a certainty Robertson will not seek another term.

It lost the school board and the park board and it lost its “super majority” of eight votes on council, which will inhibit its ability to pass money bills — the budget, grants and capital programs — without relying on the opposition. In fact, it slid so far down that its successful city council candidates came behind Green and the NPA on the final ballot count.

And, just think, it could have been even worse if not for Robertson’s 11th hour apology, “I hear you,” once again asking forgiveness rather than permission for years of riding roughshod over community protests.

In spite of the mea culpa, that obviously came back to bite Vision nowhere more obviously than at school board.

That’s where Janet Fraser was elected at the sole Green candidate and holds the balance of power there. And while she has the credentials suitable for a school board trustee, she also has a life leading a group called Marpole Matters. They pushed back against the Marpole Community plan and other attempts to bring density to their neighborhood.

Put that together with three years of pent-up resentment by Green Party leader Coun. Adriane Carr as a result of how she was treated by the Vision council during her first term and you have a great recipe for payback. It does help explain what you saw when Carr, Fraser and Green park board commissioner Stuart Mackinnon got together to agree on pushing Vision’s Patti Bacchus out of the school board chair’s position in favour of the NPA’s Christopher Richardson. Ain’t politics fun?

As for winners and losers: well, the Greens have never done better with four candidates elected. And the NPA is making a bit of a comeback at the expense of Vision. The biggest loser was COPE. For the first time since Harry Rankin was elected in 1966, COPE failed to win even one seat anywhere. twitter.com/allengarr

Dear Mr. Claus, The Harper Government of Canada has learned of your intention to pilot an unlicensed, unconventional aircraft over Canadian territory in the early morning of Dec. 25, 2014.

Please be advised the Department of National Defence is highly sensitive to the appearance of bearded males on lowflying trajectories in controlled airspace.

The Royal Canadian Air force is on high alert, and the Prime Minister will interpret any southbound aerial activity by you or your representatives as an aggressive act threatening Canada’s national security, as well as a flagrant attempt to co-opt the birthday of Baby Jesus.

Also, reindeers are not allowed in, on, or off air transport (as livestock or magical flying mammals) without testing negatively for hoof-and-mouth disease by Agriculture Canada inspectors.

On multiple occasions you have publicly expressed a seasonal desire to break into Canadian homes and leave “gifts” behind for children, bypassing federal shipping rates for posted materials. In response, the Office of Public Safety has sent out a communique warning homeowners of possible criminal activity on Christmas morning.

Homeowners have been notified of your inventive approach to home invasions, and advised to block or seal up fireplaces by appropriate means. They have also been instructed that any attempts to leave out spoilable foodstuffs for your overnight consumption may be in violation of the Canadian Health Act. Parents have been alerted to the possible appearance of Kringle-radicalized youth at their bedsides as early as 5 a.m., Dec. 25.

While The Harper Government has reliable intelligence on your scheduled rooftop terror, it has failed to determine your primary place of residence (your mailing address is given as “The North Pole”). However, we are in possession of facsimiles of Canadian children’s letters to “Santa” and their mysterious responses. Federal graphology consultants have found the latter communications to vary substantially in style, from cursive to block lettering. We have reason to believe you maintain a network of homegrown transcribers within Canada Post, a matter the government security apparatus takes very seriously indeed.

The week in num6ers...

12.5 18 500 1

In thousands of dollars, the amount received by COPE from Canreal Management Corp. that was left off the books in a pre-election campaign donation disclosure.

In millions of dollars, the combined wage increase police and firefighters will be paid in 2015, according to the city’s budget outlook document.

In thousands of dollars, the amount local sketch comedy troupe HumanTown won at a Whistler Film Festival contest to produce a half-hour TV special for the CBC.

Out of five nominations, the number of Academy Awards the film It’s A Wonderful Life won in 1946. The holiday classic screens Dec. 20 at VanCity Theatre.

Your appropriation of the legendary “St. Nicholas/St. Nick” as one of your many aliases may encourage Canadians to misinterpret Santa Claus as a fictitious character, but this gambit will not succeed with CSIS, the RCMP or the PMO. To paraphrase Kevin Spacey’s character Verbal in The Usual Suspects, “the greatest trick Santa ever pulled was convincing adults he doesn’t exist.”

Regardless of your public image as a grossly obese yet nonexistent senior, your failure to maintain a fixed, real-world identity in public records constitutes international wire fraud and may result in a warrant for your arrest by Interpol.

Also, be advised that the collection and storage of personal information on Canadians is the jurisdiction of the Office of Public Safety and the multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Harper Government of Canada and our national allies work diligently and legally to determine which citizens are “naughty” or “nice.” In contrast, any surveillance activities conducted on Canadian soil by foreign aliens unauthorized by local law enforcement or the Anglo-American “Five Eyes” security arrangement are indictable offences under The Public Safety Act. Finally, our records indicate “Santa’s Toy Shop” is not your primary residence in the northern hemisphere, and is leased in your wife’s name. This habitation is located on territory disputed by the U.S., Russian, Canadian, and Danish governments. However, any effort to exploit diplomatic differences over a geopolitical flashpoint will not work in your favour.

You have until 1 p.m., Dec. 22 (East Coast time) to disassemble your “Toy Shop” and remove all equipment and vehicles, as confirmed by satellite reconnaissance imagery. Failure to fully cooperate will result in a pre-dawn vertical insertion and airstrike by the Joint Strike Task Force 2, resulting in the permanent elimination of your elf training camp.

Also, please be advised that Transport Canada has reminded domestic border agents that your name and various aliases are recorded on the U.S. Homeland Security no-fly list.

Best of the season, Steven Blarney Minister of Public Safety The Harper Government of Canada Ottawa, Canada geoffolson.com

5

The number of shopping days remaining until Christmas.

25

The number of years the Courier had an office in Fairview on West 7th Avenue. Our new home will be at 303 West 5th Ave. at the corner of Alberta Street.

F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A11

Mailbox Please think of the children

CO U R I E R A R C H I V E S T H I S W E E K I N H I S T O R Y

Vancouver’s first TV station hits the air

Dec. 16, 1953: CBC launches Western Canada’s very first television station. CBUT Channel 2 began airing at 6 p.m. from a converted car dealership on West Georgia Street located a few blocks from the existing radio (CBU) studios in the Hotel Vancouver, and was broadcasted via an 80-metre-tall transmitter set up on Mount Seymour. Prior to CBUT, the only television stations available to Lower Mainland residents originated from Washington State. In 1975, the CBC consolidated its local radio and television operations into one building and shortly after rebranded the TV station “CBC British Columbia” although the call letters are still in use.

Babe dies while watching Canucks game

Dec. 16, 1988: Vancouver Canucks goodwill ambassador Walter “Babe” Pratt, a former Hart Memorial Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion, suffers a fatal heart attack in the media booth during the first intermission of a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames at Pacific Coliseum. The hockey hall of famer was 72. The NHL team honoured Pratt’s memory by stitching “BABE” on their sweaters for the remainder of the season. His legacy lives on through the annual Babe Pratt Trophy given to the team’s best defenceman as voted by fans and presented at the last home game of the regular season. Last year’s winner was Dan Hamhuis.

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To the editor: Re: “Letter: “Poor job on child poverty story,” Dec 10.

How ironic that exactly two weeks before Christmas, the Courier chose to devote its entire Mailbox space to a two-column “are there no workhouses” style of tirade against programs to fight child poverty.

Too bad, Tiny Tim. The writer throws all responsibility back onto the parents, refusing to recognize that effort alone (“personal responsibility”) without opportunities, will not raise a person from poverty.

And whether or not a child’s parents are as resourceful and committed as possible (as most are) or lost in their own problems, the child does not deserve deprivation, hunger, cold, impaired health and limited hopes and opportunities.

It is unconscionable for “observers” to assert that people working in social service in the DTES “do not want to see an end to poverty.” Those workers are out there every day doing their best to help people cope with life-destroying challenges.

Further, the complaint that “hard working middle class people” are being “bled white” by taxes is farcical.

Typical middle class Canadians enjoy warm homes, blankets on their clean beds, ample food, comfy clothes, and various electronic goodies. Meanwhile, poor kids may not have proper pyjamas, do not have their moms home at night because mom has to work two jobs to pay the rent, eat poorly and go to school hungry.

The great Scottish economist Adam Smith asserted that it is opportunity, not

the pinch of poverty, that motivates people to be industrious — but poverty cancels opportunities. Smith recognized that good government (requiring taxes), justice, and personal equality are essential to strong economies. But whatever the rationale, maybe at this time of year we should be thinking more of “suffer the little children” than of our bank balances.

Joan Bunn, Vancouver

School funding under the microscope

To the editor: Re: Letter: Revved up over Chevron cash,” Nov. 28.

Letter writer Terry Dawydiak is rightly appalled that science classes dealing with microscopes have no microscopes. Why isn’t the provincial government doing its job and providing enough funding for schools to operate with the necessary equipment? My schools certainly had microscopes many decades ago.

The idea that we should rely on corporations is nothing less than an abdication of the responsibility of government. One thing I was taught in those same schools is that there is no free lunch. This fossil fuel corporation is not offering money out of the goodness of their hearts.

If they were, they could just offer to pay more taxes, turn down government subsidies or donate the money completely anonymously.

Ron van der Eerden, Vancouver

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters may be edited by the Courier for reasons of legality, taste, brevity and clarity.

Send to: 1574 West Sixth Ave., Vancouver V6J 1R2 or email letters@vancourier.com

have your say online...

vancourier.com FACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaper TWITTER @vancouriernews WEB

COURIER STORY: “Petition seeks Robertson, Meggs ouster over union donation,” Dec. 12.

Kerry Corlett: I applaud this petition and Helten’s fight against a corrupt regime.

These wolves in green sheeps’ clothing must be held accountable. Thanks Bob Mackin for courageously writing what others in Vancouver won’t.

Martin Kendell: If Raymond Louie was there when this “donation with conditions” was offered, why is he not included in the petition as well?

Dane Peterson: If there’s any justice in this world at all, these two will be, at minimum, thrown from office, preferably charged criminally and given a sentence that Joe Average would receive under similar circumstances.

Nicholas Ellan: Thank you NSV for totally discrediting yourselves. I was worried you might turn up again at the ballot box.

COURIER STORY: “Mayors approve referendum question,” Dec. 12. jsomm: This tax is pretty open-ended at the moment. Once projects are paid for, will the tax be lifted? Silly question, I know. As well, there may be implications for merchants bordering on municipalities not served by TransLink. If I lived in Langley, I would seriously consider going to Abbotsford or Aldergrove to buy big-ticket items.

There could well be a domino effect.

Canadian Malcontent: Sorry, I have no more money for TransLink, they get enough from me as it is. Time to have a vote whether we even want to keep TransLink.

TransLink could not run a free peanut stand for squirrels.

COURIER STORY: “Luxury car service seeks ticket to ride,” Dec. 10.

Tod Pelly: I like this idea. Often when we call for a taxi, they will just take the first person they find at that location rather than find the actual person who called it. It looks like this company can solve that issue. Hope it goes through!

A12

THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Community

Christmas trees have been a popular part of Christmas in Vancouver for decades. PHOTO CITY OF VANCOUVER ARCHIVES CVA 1477-590, PHOTO LEONARD FRANK

Joy to the unholy Christmas tree Our traditions evolve and survive over generations

PACIFIC SPIRIT Pat Johnson

pacificspiritpj@gmail.com

A friend moved to Japan 25 years ago and one of the first observations he sent back was the story of a department store Christmas display with a Santa Claus nailed to a crucifix.

Back on this side of the Pacific, a woman I know was astonished when her toddler ran toward a mall Santa calling “Rebbe!” mistaking the man in the white beard for the leader of their Hassidic Jewish sect.

My point — and, as Ellen Degeneres says, I do have one — is that there

is a great deal of confusion around some of the mythologies surrounding Christmas — not only in cultures that do not celebrate it, but even among devout Christians and the millions more who celebrate Christmas without a lot of religious trappings.

I recall my own childish confusion when — maybe it was around Christmas time — I wanted to write a letter to God. My mom clarified that one writes letters to Santa but you just talk to God. This was not satisfying to me because, for one, I’ve always been a print guy, and two, sometimes Santa wrote back. (I think this might have had something to do with Woodward’s department store. Not sure.)

Sometimes things are so blatantly obvious we can’t see them. The proverbial forest for the trees is never more evident (or, should I say, invisible) than in

the “Christmas” tree.

There could hardly be an act or image more laden with pre-Christian pagan and earth-based religious symbolism than bringing a tree into a dwelling and fancying it up in lights and shiny objects. Like so many other pre-Christian traditions, this one has been co-opted by Christians, yet simply hanging nativity figures on the branches hardly hides the roots of the ritual. Like the spring fertility symbols of eggs and rabbits that are somehow supposed to symbolize the crucifixion or, at the very least, the resurrection of Jesus, the Christmas tree’s relationship to the Jesus story is nonexistent except through the most contorted allegory. (Medieval Germanic Christians chopped down the oak trees their pagan neighbors worshipped and declared that their triangular shape

was reminiscent of the holy trinity. Uh-huh.)

Yet these obscure and unholy backstories are part of why I love the Christmas tree.

One of the reasons this time of year is so powerful for so many, even lapsed believers, is the sense of revived tradition and ritual — things that have been in decline over the last few decades. Decorations that have been handed down the generations, songs we hear only now and, not least, the recipes that come out only once a year.

In parts of the world, families have been hauling trees into their homes and decorating them for thousands of winters. How’s that for tradition? (Another friend of mine measures long epochs by the standard of her centenarian aunt’s lifespan, 500 years being a mere “five Aunt Sylvias.”)

By this standard, in Britain, where most of my family

originated, the Christ mas tree is a comparatively new custom, having become popular only after Queen Victoria’s Germanic consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, popularized the tradition in the 1840s (e.g., not even two Aunt Sylvias ago).

And, to be precise, it seems the tradition was not terribly widespread anywhere in Europe until the 15th or 16th century, despite the ancient folkloric roots.

On my Christmas tree, the most treasured items are the few remaining glass figures my grandmother purchased from the Eaton’s catalogue on the first Christmas after she was married, in 1920. Around our tree this year will be a newborn and toddlers who may well be grandparents or great-grandparents by the end of this century.

These people, among the most important in my life, from my grandmother to

these great nephews and niece, will span 200 years — and across those centuries, the way we celebrate the holidays will probably remain surprisingly familiar, because we pass along these traditions.

This is how things like Christmas trees tenaciously survive, as irrational as they may be in the not-so-clever disguise of the current religious culture that supplanted the theologies that first dragged greenery into a cave at the winter solstice. *The Yule concert by the Universal Gospel Choir last weekend (previewed here two weeks ago) was a roof-raiser that made my holiday season. UGC is one of Vancouver’s cultural treasures. Find them on Facebook for future opportunities to hear these magnificent multicultural, multi-faith voices. End of rave. Merry Christmas and/ or happy holidays to all! twitter.com/Pat604Johnson

F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

HELP

News

COPE executive director resigns

BUILD

YOUR

Beuhler says decision was due to ‘honest mistake’ over not disclosing developer donation

Andrew Fleming

afleming@vancourier.com

Coalition of Progressive Electors executive director Sarah Beuhler announced her resignation on Wednesday after it was revealed that the party, who made refusing to accept donations from property developers a main tenet of their election campaign, had in fact received $3,000 from commercial real estate company Canreal Management Corp. and another $9,500 from company president Ray Bergen.

“It was a very busy overworked time,” Beuhler told the Courier over the phone.

“I resigned because of the leaving off of the donation and submitting an incomplete donation disclosure.

COPE failed to disclose the $12,500 sum in a donors list provided in early November, which instead stated the left wing party had only received $18,440 from unions, $41,474 from individuals and $200 from an undisclosed corporation.

None of COPE’s total of 19 candidates were elected Nov. 15.

Beuhler said it was a

data-entry error made during the stressful pre-election period rather than an attempt to hide the donation and that she should’ve had COPE’s financial agent, Margaret Panton, doublecheck the report but by then the two no longer had a good working relationship.

“I can fully understand why it seems suspicious and why it seems corrupt, and so all I can do is say it was an honest mistake and I am resigning… The pressures of the moment eclipsed the imperative to cross all t’s and dot all i’s. I regret this deeply and I am very grateful to the COPE membership for being so deeply concerned about accountability and transparency.”

In a statement by executive co-chairs Heather Gies and Tim Louis issued the day before, they apologized “for letting down the voters of Vancouver, our membership and the candidates who campaigned in good faith” and added “COPE is in the process of developing clear policy on what constitutes a developer.”

The donations were exposed after Panton posted an audio recording online

that was made at a Dec. 14 party meeting.

“When the two contributions did not show up in COPE’s response for parties to disclose campaign contributions to the media prior to election day, my alarm bells went off,” Panton said in the recording.

“Had I known the state of the governance of COPE prior to my agreeing to be financial agent, I would have never agreed to take this position… I believe COPE members need to be very concerned about the governance of their organization.”

Anita Romaniuk, a COPE candidate for park board, has also since resigned from the party’s executive board.

COPE’s executive board say they will return the money, which has been spent, on a payment plan, and has until Feb. 13 to file its financing disclosure statement to Elections BC. COPE’s former mayoral candidate Meena Wong did not respond to requests for a statement and is reportedly suffering from an undisclosed illness. twitter.com/jenstden

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COMMUNITY

Give the gift of community.

Donate in your name or a loved ones name this holiday season.

$25

provides 10 hot lunches for seniors living in your neighbourhood

$50

subsidizes a youth to learn new skills and develop positive peer relationships in our Youth Leadership program

$250

enables a family to develop positive parenting skills and handle crisis better

$350

provides affordable housing for a vulnerable senior living at Kits House for a month

Thank you for giving a one time gift or a monthly donation to build a healthy, safety and vibrant westside community together.

DONATE kitshouse.org 604-736-3588

ADVERTORIAL

`Tis the Season to Give

Notice: City of Vancouver updates to building grade application process

Kin’s new store on Denman Street pictured above.

The City is making changes to the building grade process to reduce processing time for most applicants and help expedite the development process.

Chef Chris Whittaker, from Forage restaurant, pictured on the left with Kin’s 2015 Calendar.

From 2012 through 2014, the City designed all building grades, but required the applicant to provide their own survey information. Starting January 1, 2015, the survey and design of building grades will now be completed by the applicant and submitted for City review and approval. The City may provide road design and building grades only in select cases.

“I am impressed by Kin’s commitment to providing consumers with the highest caliber of local produce possible. It’s not always easy in our northern climate, but I respect the efforts Kin’s is taking to work with the local farming community.”

- Chef Chris Whittaker, Forage

How it works: Step one: Submit application for building grade and pay the review fee.

Step two: The City reviews the application to determine if any of the building grade design is already complete and whether City support is required.

Step three: Applicant is notified as to whether they need to design all of the building grades and submit their survey and design for review, or if the City will be completing a design and building grades for some or all of the roads around their site. If the City will be completing a design for the building grade application, the applicant will need to pay an additional fee.

For buildings requiring the services of an architect, building grade designs will be required to be completed by a professional engineer or architect registered in BC. For other buildings, the building grade design can be prepared by the building’s designer.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: vancouver.ca/buildinggrades Phone: 3-1-1 Visit: Engineering Services at 507 West Broadway, Vancouver Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

RICHMOND, BC. Kin’s Farm Market has partnered with Chef Chris Whittaker of acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant – Forage – for their annual recipe calendar. The calendar is a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society and features 13 of Chef Whittaker’s most popular and interesting fruit and vegetable focused recipes.

Over the past six years, Kin’s Farm Market has raised over $100,000 in donations for the Canadian Cancer Society. A portion of these funds come from the donations for the recipe calendars featured in all Kin’s stores every holiday season.

This year’s partner – Forage is located on Robson Street. Forage is a pioneer in sustainable dining and Chris Whittaker wholly embraces the farm-to-table con

cept. “I am impressed by Kin’s commitment to providing consumers with the highest caliber of local produce possible,” says Whittaker. “It’s not always easy in our northern climate, but I respect the efforts Kin’s is taking to work with the local farming community.”

Kin’s 2015 Calendar features 13 fully vegetarian recipes created by Chef Whittaker and Forage’s Chef de Cuisine Chef Welbert Choi. Each recipe uses fruits or vegetables that are typically available locally and at Kin’s during the month they are featured.

Lia Fletcher, Kin’s Farm Markets’ Marketing Manager says, “These beautiful calendars are flying off the shelves!

They are available for a minimum donation of $3 at any Kin’s Farm Market location and are the ultimate stocking

stuffer!” 100% of the proceeds will go to the Canadian Cancer Society. Shakeela Begum, Director, Leadership Philanthropy, Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division, is very excited about this initiative, “Thanks to the continued support from partners like Kin’s Farm Market and Forage, we are able to continue to fulfill our mission to eradicate cancer and support those living with cancer.”

Kin Wah Leung, Kin’s owner and founder, is pleased with this year’s calendar program.”It is great to see everybody come together during the holiday season to support such a great cause.”

For more information about Kin’s Farm Market, visit www.kinsfarmmarket.com.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Feature t w s i w V p t o

A C O M P I L E D

H

B Y

C O U R I E R

S T A F F ,

P H O T O S

D A N

ow do you say goodbye to a neighbourhood? You can’t when it’s your home.

There are a lot of places to locate a newspaper office, and some of them are awful: corporate towers downtown, business parks on the edge of the city. The Courier, appropriately, has always made its home in a neighbourhood setting. For decades it was Kerrisdale, and for the past quarter century it’s been South Granville.

This weekend we move offices and head east to Mount Pleasant. We’re excited about the move but sad about our departure. This neighbourhood has changed and grown, and we’ve changed and grown along with it. It fed us, provided for us, entertained us and gave us refuge, whether in indie coffee shops or tree-lined streets and parks where we could escape. It was a central jumping off point to news events throughout the city, and Granville Street itself was the lifeblood of an evolving urban culture.

So now we say goodbye. We’ve collected a few thoughts and memories of this area we love and called home.

Thank you, South Granville, for 25 years. We leave here, and we take you with us. —Barry Link, editor

Cafe Salade de Fruits

For the birds

SANDRA THOMAS, lifestyles and travel editor Not sure who’s responsible, but every morning for years, someone’s been scattering bird seed under the Fir Street exit of the Granville Bridge at West Seventh Avenue. I’ve never seen the person, but often wondered who was behind such a kind act.

The location is also a popular one for some of the area’s homeless, who often create crude cardboard shelters under the bridge in an attempt to shield themselves from the cold.

One might guess the two are related, but until we hear otherwise the identity of this bird lover will remain a mystery.

A home in the market

Vive la francophonie

MEGAN STEWART, sports editor Ask anyone. The tucked-away bistro with the classic well-seasoned dishes, the daily crepe that sells out too fast, wine at noon but never ketchup, is known simply as the French Place. The servers, all of them full-lipped beautiful and encouraging when you order moules instead of mussels, but won’t ever bring you a second cup of coffee, represent la francophonie with Parisian and Quebecois accents alike.

In our office, if you return to the newsroom with takeaway fries enough times in a single week to draw suspicion (otherwise known as twice), your curious colleagues will start placing bets on your due date. This happens because it happened. One of us did crave French Place frites during her pregnancy. Of course she did. They’re delicious. The French Place, attached to a bustling cultural centre and its film and book libraries, live theatre and language lessons, dates to 1990. If you’re calling for reservations, look for Café Salade de Fruits on West Seventh.

Paradise alley

DON DELAYEN, director automotive sales What I’m going to miss most is the quirky and unique vibe of the office and its immediate surroundings. Thankfully I can’t say I’ve lived under a bridge but I can say I’ve worked under one. And the back alley route off Granville to the parking required alert and precision driving at both ends of the alley; dodging commercial trucks at the neighbouring Windsor Plywood or negotiating the hairpin turn while keeping your side mirrors intact. New drivers need not attempt.

The office building itself had the charm of the canvas tent from your favourite childhood memories — always too cold in the fall and too warm in summer. And like the canvass tent floor, you’d never dare practise your “upward facing dog” yoga pose on the Courier carpet. But although buildings come and go, the fond memories of our time off Granville will remain.

MARTHA PERKINS, executive director FundAid Granville Island Market is an almost nightly destination during my walk home from work. The ritual is part of why I love this most walkable of cities and why I’m mourning its loss as we move. The relationships I’ve forged with my favourite vendors are personal, not just based on business transactions. I’ve talked politics while buying candied ginger at The Grainry, pondered the meaning of life while picking out the best steak at Armando’s, and turned the young French staff at Rotisserie into my “It’s been a long day and I’m too tired to cook” demi-gods. And then, as I wait for the Aquabus to take me across False Creek for the penultimate leg of the journey, there’s the daily, most wonderful text to my husband: “Heading home. Can’t wait to see you!”

Paper chase

O e s w w

T O U L G O E T

MIKE HOWELL, reporter When I rattle the old brain’s storage locker for memories of my days working in the South Granville neighbourhood, it’s the cafes, the restaurants and a once-thriving newspaper community that comes to mind. Sadly, most of the eating and drinking haunts are gone, as is the Pacific Press building between Sixth and Seventh avenues and the press club across the street. Remember The Normandy restaurant? The one with the nattily attired host? A fire destroyed it. The Aristocratic at Broadway and Granville? Now a Chapters. The Big News coffee shop at the same intersection? Now an art gallery. Mayfair News on Broadway is still there, a place I was introduced to when I worked as a gopher for the Vancouver Sun and had to pick up newspapers from around the world to bring back to the office. That’s when Denny Boyd was still on the job. That’s when the Sun’s editorial floor used to shift and shake when the printing presses began to roll. That’s when the smell of newsprint was the best high in the world; newspaper junkies will know what I mean. Now the property is home to a condo village and, of course, a Starbucks. The Courier building will soon be turned into a warehouse for a lighting company. So goodbye Granville, goodbye newspapers ghosts and hello Mount Pleasant.

c t l

W P Michael Kissinger walking

Walk this way

b l s a f

MICHAEL KISSINGER, entertainment editor When I started working at the Courier in September of t 2002, I was a pale chubby dude who never had a fulltime b job. Before that I had been a substitute teacher on Vancouver i Island and drove a second-hand, bright yellow Loomis van t to work with the words “Piece of Corn” spraypainted on the g side in honour of a dumb song my old band used to play when I had more hair and was less chubby. Freshly employed h at the newspaper and no longer in possession of the Piece of Corn, I started walking to work. That was a dozen years and H twice as many pairs of shoes ago. From my home in Mount N Pleasant, I either walk along the 10th Avenue bike route or the Seventh Avenue bike route, which is a leafy and more at- W tractive strip despite sporting a number of tarp-covered leaky b condos over the years. Occasionally I ride my bike but prefer w to walk since it’s less sweaty and the 35-minute foot-powered i commute means I can listen to an hour-long podcast in a day.t I also like to play at least one invigorating song on my iPhone t before I cross the Courier threshold. One time I put the Os- h mond Brothers’ ridiculous 1972 hit “Crazy Horses” on repeatm h the entire way so I could write a column about the song’s rockin’ effects on my workday. I’ve never done it since. Walk- u ing to and from work an hour a day for the last 12 years has t been more enjoyable and therapeutic than I could have ever u d imagined. And I fear I will lose some of my sanity with the Courier’s new office located an easy, breezy, five-minute stroll away. I guess I’ll always have “Crazy Horses” to fall back on. P T

Carr display

ANDREW FLEMING, reporter One of the things I’m going to miss is walking past “Emily Carr and Friends,” an eye-catching bronze statue of the renowned B.C. artist outside Heffel Auction House on the corner of West Seventh and Granville that has spent more

Emily Carr statue

p i f p o

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Goodbye to Granville time in Vancouver than the woman herself ever did. Carr was known for her love of animals, and the two-metre high sculpture installed in 2005 captures the pencil-wielding artist accompanied by her horse, dog Billie and monkey Woo, who she used to famously promenade through the streets of Victoria in a baby carriage a century ago. Fafard uses an impressionistic style meant to evoke Carr’s signature painting technique, and duplicates of the sculpture are also displayed outside Heffel galleries in Toronto and Montreal.

A friendly face in our garage

CHERYL ROSSI, reporter I worked long hours in earlier days at the Courier.

One day that stretched into night, I parked in the covered parking spot near the office’s front entrance. The street was dark when I exited the building. The garage was pitch black. I screamed when my steps were met with the echoing barks of a dog.

“It’s OK. It’s OK. He won’t hurt you,” a man’s voice comforted from the blackness.

It was the red-faced man who slept with his dog in the Courier’s carport.

The unexpected barking unnerved me, but the homeless man’s familiar face was always a reassuring sight.

Window to shopping

PAM SMITH, accounting The memories that I will miss from Granville will be walking on the seawall around Granville Island at lunch. Having the tomato scramble at Paul’s. Window shopping on upper Granville and West Fourth. I will also miss all the great people that I have worked with for the last six years.

I love Pottery Barn. I usually ask for gift cards from there so that throughout the year I pop in and have bought a few things. My favourite comforter cover is from there. It is a bit costly but they sell beautiful things.

I bought my sectional at Urban Barn. I also like the gift shop Oh My Gift, which is up on West Fourth. I have bought a few gifts from there over the years.

The Aristocratic Sign

Garden of delight

DEE DHALIWAL, publisher One of the most charming parts of this area is Pine Street Community Gardens — I’m really going to miss it.

It’s been my favourite short walk for times when I need to go and clear my head and it has the air of a secret garden about it. Running along an old railway line makes it even more precious — beauty in an area that was abandoned and ignored.

I have occasionally met some of the green thumbed gardeners tending to their squash, garlic and tomatoes and more, and actually joined an impromptu “tomato tasting” with a few of them once. What a delicious way to create community!

Hail, Thane of Windsor

NAOIBH O’CONNOR, online editor We’ll miss Thane Pipes, who owns and manages Windsor Plywood on West Seventh. The business has been at that location for more than 30 years. Thane, who bought Windsor Plywood 25 years ago, is a fixture in the neighbourhood and has been a frequent visitor to the office, particularly during former Courier editor Mick Maloney’s era. Fun facts about Thane: he’s helped run the Cruel Pool cutthroat hockey pool for more than 20 years, which includes a few Courier staff, he owns Rob Feenie’s old BMW, he races cars, he sold us salt for our walkways, he travels around the world to watch Formula One races and, most importantly, he updates us about Mick in his retirement. He also enjoys driving a forklift.

Poacher’s corner

TARA LALANNE, director of sales and marketing I was brand new at the Vancouver Courier and as most people do on their first day at the new job, I was checking out my new surroundings. I had two main priorities for the first day: find the nearest Starbucks and the best place to eat lunch that was walking distance from the office. On a rainy day in Vancouver it has to be close

Plywood pals

Randy MacNeil, waiter at Paul`s Omelettery

enough that I could forget my umbrella and still remain relatively dry. Paul’s Omelettery was close, it was an office favourite, and like a comfy pair of new slippers, it soon became mine. I started going there once in awhile and eventually on a regular basis (OK, at least twice a week) convincing myself it was cheaper — and healthier — to eat there than bring lunch from home. I’ve tried at least half of their omelette menu and sandwiches — all delicious — but opted for something a bit kinder to my waistline as my “regular:” two poached eggs medium but on the soft side of medium. They get it right every time! I’m going to miss that place. It’s a not-so-hiddengem on Granville that will be hard to replace. The good news is, though, there’s a Starbucks a block away from the new office. The question is: who will be my next Paul’s?

MANON PARADIS, sales Our neighbours at Windsor Plywood will be missed.

I think we have all spent time talking to Thane at one point or another in the parking lot.

Over the years they have become a great friends, talking about Formula One, the good old days and listening to Thane’s jokes.

Deck the halls

JACKIE MOLLENHAUER, sales representative I will miss our back deck.

The back deck used to be a place where everyone who smoked, smoked. I didn’t smoke but was lucky enough to smell like smoke by the time I walked to my desk. Our back deck also hosted a barbeque that was used for our lunch-time BBQ’s. One time a goose flew into the power wires above the deck. It got completely fried and landed on the deck. Eventually we had to enclose the deck because we had people sleeping under it.

Once we enclosed the deck it became a new home for rats. I won’t miss the rats, just the deck.

Blossoming thoughts

Thane Pipes of Windsor Plywood

JANIS DALGLEISH, sales The best thing about Vancouver is the cherry blossoms in the spring. When you see the white and pink blossoms you know you can put away the umbrella and break out the sunnies. I love to walk from the office at lunch hour to Granville Island with my camera and take some shots of downtown using the cherry blossoms as an accent. On the way, there are more cherry trees with different backgrounds, daffodils, and neighbourhood gardens. It is an opportunity-filled walk from the office.

I have done it every year since landing at Sixth and Fir, trying to get a better shot than the year before. This year, I was a week too late and they sadly were a little dead, making for an interpretive photo. Next year, I wonder what I will find to match my blossom shot.

Cherry Blossoms

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Season’s Greetings

Warmest Christmas Wishes from Our Home to Yours!

Full Service Retirement Community in the Heart of Vancouver

604.637.1207

ME OUR HO FROM Y S TO OUR OUR S OF DETAIL AL R R E F E R N RAM O PROG EBSITE W R U O

www.cavellgardens.com info@cavellgardens.com 2835 Sophia Street at 12th Ave. Vancouver V5T 4V2

Parents Matt and Laura MacLennan show off their newborn daughter Esmée

Warmest Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season!

to Vancouver’s favourite King of Swing, who dropped by the Maternity Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital Tuesday to play Santa Claus on behalf of Variety — The Children’s Charity.

Dal Richards, joined by his friends at Variety, has made the visit to St. Paul’s to sing and hand out toys and blankets to children

and parents an annual tradition that started more than 20 years ago.

The world-renowned band leader, and ambassadorat-large for Variety, has a special connection to the maternity ward at St. Paul’s, which began with the birth of his daughter Dallas — a “preemie” born at the hospital in November

1951. Richards was so grateful for the care she received during her sixweek stay, he jumped at the chance to represent Variety, which raises funds and distributes grants throughout B.C. to inspire hope, enrich lives and build a better future for children who have special needs.

Photo Dan Toulgoet

The winner of the Courier’s Holiday Hub tech package, including a Samsung Galaxy S5, an Android smartphone with a beautiful 5.1 HD screen, top notch 16 MP camera and an innovative heart rate sensor and fingerprint scanner, is Richmond resident Troy Blackmore. The prize pack also includes the new Samsung Gear Fit, a fitness tracker and smartwatch meant to work in tandem with the Galaxy S5. twitter.com/sthomas10

ANDREW WILKINSON

VANCOUVER-QUILCHENA andrew.wilkinson.mla@leg.bc.ca 604.664.0748

MOIRA STILWELL

VANCOUVER-LANGARA moira.stilwell.mla@leg.bc.ca 604.660.8380

Season’s Greetings

SUZANNE ANTON

VANCOUVER-FRASERVIEW suzanne.anton.mla@leg.bc.ca 604-660-2035

SAM SULLIVAN

VANCOUVER-FALSE CREEK sam.sullivan.mla@leg.bc.ca 604.775.2601

…from the whole family: Erik, Shelby, Rowan, Dirk, Dawn, Baba, Hannah, Joyce and Heather (by Skype) Office of Joyce Murray, MP for Vancouver Quadra: 206 – 2112 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K 2C8 T: 604.664.9220 F: 604.664.9221 E: joyce.murray.c1@parl.gc.ca www.joycemurray.ca

F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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for all things festive

Christmas in Seattle includes carousel ride Sandra Thomas sthomas@vancourier.com Best. Day. Ever.

That was the phrase my partner repeated several times while standing under the belly of a Mach-3 Blackbird spy plane, one of the highlights of the Museum of Flight we took in on a very rainy Seattle day during a pre-Christmas visit.

It was our first time to the museum and while I had expected our visit to run about an hour, my partner was so thrilled with the many exhibits we stayed for more than three.

Not that I didn’t enjoy myself as well, particularly standing in front of actual computer monitors used

by Houston-based Mission Control during the Apollo era and moon landings. A nearby console includes a video of U.S. president John F. Kennedy giving what has become known as the “We choose to go to the moon” speech at Rice University in 1962, which was goosebump inducing.

There is so much to see and do at the museum, I’m still not sure if we actually covered it all, but we did our best checking out as many exhibits as possible including Air Force One, the Birth of Aviation, the NASA Space Shuttle program and the First and Second World War displays. We also sat through a short talk presented by a docent, a flight engineer during the Second World War, who had us mesmerized with his tale of having to ditch a

The Alexis Hotel in Seattle welcomes canine guests.

PHOTO SANDRA THOMAS

plane in the Pacific Ocean after a successful bombing mission over Japan. The museum employs a small army of retired veterans as volunteers, including former employees of NASA, the military and former Boeing engineers, who offer free tours and a wealth of information to visitors.

The best way to take advantage of Seattle’s attractions is through a CityPASS, which we also used to visit the Space Needle and EMP Museum to check out its latest exhibits including a tribute to Super Bowl Champs the Seahawks, even though we’re diehard Raiders fans (not a word).

And of course we also hit one of my favourite Seattle haunts, Pike Place Market, where we caught a Christmas tree lighting with Santa. The market is located a short walk from the Alexis Hotel on First Avenue, a boutique property we stayed at featuring a literary theme throughout, including the Bookstore Bar and Cafe.

The hotel’s lobby sports red bikes for borrowing

The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. PHOTO SANDRA THOMAS

and vintage games laid out for guests to enjoy, in this case water paints and postcards for anyone feeling creative. Also in the lobby was a hot-chocolate cart complete with peppermint sprinkles and chocolate chips for toppings, which went over really well after a walk in a mid-December storm. Meanwhile, the dog-friendly staff have a small station set up near the front door where, daily, they write the name of each pup staying at the hotel on a small chalkboard above bowls for water and treats.

Another nice addition to staying at the Alexis is the complimentary happy hour its serves in the lobby each evening offering wine and appetizers. Our room also provided a birds-eye view of the Seattle Great Wheel (Ferris wheel), which lit up the sky with varying coloured

lights each night of our stay.

The hotel is centrally located enough we were able to walk to the Winter Village at Westlake Park on Fourth Avenue to enjoy the Christmas Story Holiday Carousel, which is powered

by Alaska Airlines, the creators of the Recharge Lounge where visitors can take a rest on an airline seat, charge their smart phones, take in a book reading or help the kids with arts and crafts.

There’s a lot going on in Seattle now through the holidays and while we didn’t have time to check everything out, we gave it an honest try as our tired feet will attest. For a list of other Christmas activities and attractions in Seattle, visit holidaysinseattle.com. twitter.com/sthomas10

PHARMASAVE FOR YOUR LAST MINUTE GIFTS

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Christmas in the capital Michelle Hopkins michelle.hopkins@telus.net Who doesn’t love a ghost story? Best known for high tea and its landmark position in Victoria’s inner harbour, it seems the Grand Lady herself, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, has a resident ghost or two.

Well, I for one love a spooky tale, even at Christmas, so while taking part in local historian John Adams’ Discover Christmas tour, I had to ask about the untimely death of the hotel’s chambermaid, Lizzie McGrath.

Adams says Lizzie fell to her death in 1909 after stepping out of her sixth-storey room to stand on the fire escape, which she didn’t realize had been removed for construction. The history buff

added many an employee of the hotel says Lizzie likes to roam the sixth floor.

The tour is not all ghosts and goblins though. Adams’ 90minute stroll through the Royal B.C. Museum’s Old Town exhibit weaves through festive streets while offering true stories of the season, including stories of Emily Carr’s Christmases as a little girl.

We arrived in Victoria on a clear, crisp evening that saw the capital aglow with brightly coloured lights. With the Parliament Building and every business and hotel along the waterfront sparkling with light, I couldn’t think of a better place to get into the holiday spirit. There’s a lot to do while enjoying Christmas in Victoria, but the following are some of my favourites.

SKATING AT THE EMPRESS HOTEL There’s something almost magical about skating on the lawn of the Empress facing the iconic harbour. Although not the steadiest on skates, I did lace up to experience the hotel’s new rink. I stepped onto the covered ice filled with happy children, parents and young lovers holding hands as they skated around and around and, as the music played, attempted to smoothly glide across the ice without falling. Open now until mid-January 2015.

BUTCHART GARDENS The magic of Christmas is everywhere in this horticultural wonderland and the thousands of lights and decorations on display in the Edwardian-style, 55-acre gardens are enough to make even Scrooge himself smile.

Historian John Adams leads Discover Christmas tours at the Royal B.C. Museum. PHOTO MICHELLE HOPKINS

The night of our visit was chilly but clear as we wandered through the gardens, becoming somewhat competitive as we tried to be the first to spot the life-size Twelve Days of Christmas exhibits.

One of my fellow travel writers began singing the lyrics to the famous carol as we passed by two turtle doves in a gilded cage; three French hens cavorting under the Eiffel Tower and eight lovely maids a-milking.

We then strolled to the Dining Room Restaurant in the original Butchart family residence where we were

instantly warmed by a roaring fire in the heritage home’s lobby. Decorated in its Christmas finest, we were seated in the stately Tango Room — with our host for the evening Graham Bell, who heads up the gardens’ public relations. I started my culinary journey with sea scallops, followed by wild B.C. salmon and sides of winter kale, corn and red potato hash.

The award-winning cuisine was only outshined by the historic surroundings of the elegant residence. The Magic of Christmas runs now through Jan. 6.

GINGERBREAD FESTIVAL The next day we walked to the Inn at Laurel Point to visit the sixth annual Great Gingerbread Showcase, benefiting Habitat for Humanity Victoria.

m From the simplest designs to mind-blowing works of pastry art, these gingerbread creations are worth checking out. I marvelled at the intricacies of the f fairytale characters, aliens and pirates inspired by the j imagination of a little boy; the picturesque Mexican village and a replica of the Ewok’s and Forest Moon of f Endor of Star Wars. On now through Jan. 1.

GETTING THERE The easiest, fastest and most scenic way to get to Victoria is by Harbour Air Seaplanes, departing from Richmond and Vancouver. harbour-air.com.

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F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Finding Christmas in Turkey Writer Megan Kopp had no idea a recent visit to Turkey would include such a connection to Christmas.

Megan Kopp megankopp.com OK, maybe it was only October, but we found Christmas in Turkey.

Proof in the pudding? Church frescoes painted with scenes of the nativity and statues of jolly ol’ St. Nick himself. Who knew a trip to Turkey would surprise us with a journey into the ancient origins of this favorite time of the year?

More than 700 kilometres southeast of Istanbul, the Cappadocia region is a maze of geological formations eroded from volcanic rock.

One such formation is the 100-metre deep Ihlara Valley. Around the fourth century, priests and monks

began carving churches and dwellings into the soft stone of the valley walls. Over the centuries, 105 churches and thousands of rock caverns were created in a 14-kilometre long valley.

Standing on the lip of this valley, our guide Kasim explained the cultural history of the short, three-kilometre section we would walk and my eyes were immediately drawn to the bell-shaped

Descending into the Ihlara Valley. PHOTO MEGAN KOPP

A19

opening of a cavern on the opposite wall. Heading down the metal stairs toward the Melendiz River, we waited patiently for our turn to enter the Ag˘açaltı Kilisesi, the Church Beneath the Tree, also known as the Daniel and the Lion Church.

Like most of the rock-carved churches of the period, it’s cross-shaped in plan. The central section is covered by a dome with high drums (cylindrical walls) and the cross arms are made from tunnel vaults. Painted frescoes decorated in reds, greens and yellows date from the ninth to the 11th centuries. Flowers, rosettes, and checkerboard patterns reflect eastern influences around scenes of religious importance. On the roof of the western arm, fading frescoes show a scene of the nativity and the coming of the three Magi. Faint strains

Faded fresco depicting the Three Magi. PHOTO MEGAN KOPP

of “We Three Kings” run through my mind, “...bearing gifts we traverse afar...”

From central Turkey and Cappadocia, we flew south to the Mediterranean, landing in Antalya. The main focus of this leg of the trip was exploring archaeological sites along the Lycian Way (a 500-kilometre hiking path). As we turned off the highway in Demre heading towards Myra, I knew we’d have to make a detour to visit one special church.

In mid-day heat, passing

pomegranate and orange orchards, we weren’t exactly thinking Christmas, but this was the church of the Bishop of Myra – also known as Saint Nicholas, today more commonly called Santa Claus. Images of the jolly fellow in the white-trimmed, red suit overflowed from every gift shop and adorned restaurant signs along the pedestrian mall on the short block leading to the church.

Born in the ancient Lycian port of Patara in the fourth CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

th 20 Dunbar annual Christmas

Food Bank Drive

Help those in need this holiday season, by donating non-perishable food items to participating Dunbar merchants displaying the Food Bank poster.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

century A.D., the Bishop of Myra gained a reputation for performing miracles and was known as the protector of children, sailors, travellers and the poor. Outside the church, a bronze statue of Santa Claus and three young children feeds the modern connection between the bishop and the now familiar image.

Restaurant sign in Demre.

PICKUPS CAN BE ARRANGED BY CALLING

PHOTO MEGAN KOPP

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Wild

In the late 12th or early 13th century, a devastating flood filled the church and the northern annexes with muddy

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floodwater and soil. Today’s city is about six metres above the ground level of the church. Heading down the stairs to the church entrance, we found another bronze statue, this one depicting a more serious image of the bishop in his robes.

dug up his bones and carried them home. Although his remains are no longer kept at his namesake church, the basilica continues to be a popular pilgrimage. On Dec. 6 — the day of his death — many people still celebrate St. Nicholas Day.

Inside the church, the opus sectile pavement drew our eyes to the floor beneath our feet. The marble floor is a colourful mosaic made from stone cut into different sizes to form patterns. Then stepping up into the burial chamber on the left, our eyes immediately turned skyward to the 12th century Byzantine paintings depicting more than a dozen scenes from the life of St. Nicholas.

Along our journey we discovered that while we may not have travelled to Turkey to find Christmas, travellers don’t have to wait until December to experience the historical magic of the season.

In the middle ages, Myra was an important port visited by merchant ships and by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem who stopped to worship at the church of St. Nicholas. When he died, the Bishop of Myra was buried at the church. It’s said that merchants of Bari, Italy, stopped by Myra while going to Jerusalem in 1087 and tore down Saint Nicholas’s grave,

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Bronze statue of Santa Claus in courtyard above the church.

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IF YOU GO Electronic visas are

available online at https: evisa.gov.tr/en.

Turkish Airlines (turkishairlines.com) offers inexpensive service for travel within the country.

For general travel information, start with Tom Brosnahan’s Turkey Travel Planner (turkeytravelplanner.com).

We rented a car with Turtas Car Rental (antalyarentacar.com) to explore Turkey’s Turquoise Coast.

Government of Canada advisories and additional travel information can be found at travel.gc.ca/ destinations/turkey.

PHOTO MEGAN KOPP

photo by Walter Wielbeckie

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Community

A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: PALS Autism School is the only facility in B.C. dedicated to educating autistic kids. Its mission is to provide year-round scientifically validated educational programs designed to encourage individual growth and personal achievement. Led

by Katy Harandi, parent of an autistic child, the 20-child independent school in East Vancouver is operating at capacity.

Opened in 2007, the school is hoping to expand and find a permanent home to accommodate more students and the daily requests from parents. The charity was the beneficiary once again of Sutton Place Hotel’s Home for the Holidays reception. Proceeds from the property’s annual tree pageant will benefit programs and services offered at the school.

MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT: Yours truly along with a host of local personalities including Mayor Gregor Robertson, police chief Jim Chu and chef Vikram Vij from CBC’s Dragon’s Den were on hand for the 28th CBC Open House and Food Bank Day. Thousands filed through the CBC studios beginning at 5:30 a.m. to party down with their favourite radio and television hosts, tour the Hamilton Street broadcasting centre and try their hand at reading the news.

The single largest food bank campaign in the province, the daylong affair generated an impressive $575,000 for more than 90 food banks across the province.

Every month in B.C., more than 97,000 individuals, children and families turn to their local food bank for assistance.

TOY SOLDIERS: The annual Pan Pacific Vancouver Christmas Wish Breakfast saw a record amount of toys collected. More than 5,000 Vancouverites armed themselves with 20 tons of toys, 476 bikes and more than $20,000 in cash for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. The massive haul, filling five Williams Moving trucks, will be distributed to needy families during the upcoming holidays. From humble beginnings in 1987, the Pan Pacific hosted affair, sponsored by Global TV, Rock 101FM and Dominion Lending Centres, has become a Vancouver tradition and is the single largest toy drive in the province.

email yvrflee@hotmail.com twitter @FredAboutTown

Sutton Place Hotel’s Navid Sariolghalam and Elaine Drever hosted their Home for the Holidays Tree Pageant reception benefitting Katy Harandi’s PALS Autism School.

Remax realtor Karim Kamrani is among supporters helping Andrea Kasunic, head of school and head of Intensive Behaviour Intervention Program, find a permanent home for the innovative school for autistic kids aged five to 18.

Whistler Film Festival’s Shauna Hardy Mishaw, right, welcomed Kim Cattrall and Jason Priestley — two of B.C.’s biggest exports in film and television — to the annual celebration of Canadian films. More than 85 films were screened at the five-day cinematic celebrations.

Vikram Vij of CBC’s Dragon’s Den greeted guests, including Scotiabank’s David Poole, to the public broadcaster’s food bank day and open house.

On behalf of the bank, Poole contributed $5,000 to the effort.

Greater Vancouver Food Bank CEO Aart Schuurman Hess and communications director Kay Cody saw more than $575,000 collected at CBC’s annual holiday drive for food banks across B.C.

CBC’s Laura Palmer, Margaret Gallagher and Shiral Tobin supported the YWCA Crabtree Corner benefit before fronting their annual open house and Food Bank Day campaign.

Dianne Forsythe–Abbott welcomed 200 guests, including inaugural attendees Kevin McKeown and Holly Campbell, to her 20th Crabtree Corner benefit luncheon, benefitting mothers and kids at YWCA’s downtown eastside transition house.

Global TV’s Kaitlyn Herbst and Steve Darling co-hosted the Pan Pacific toy drive that saw a record two tons of toys — the equivalent of five Williams Moving Trucks — collected for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau.

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Arts&Entertainment

A23

GOT ARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com

11

2 Dec. 19 to 23, 2014 1. In our humble opinion, the greatest Christmas movie ever made, Frank Capra’s 1946 holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life screens at Vancity Theatre Dec. 20, 4:15 p.m. If this doesn’t warm your heart, you’re as cold-blooded as that miserable old wind bag Mr. Potter. Details at viff.org.

2. Early Music Vancouver unstuffs its stocking for the group’s annual Christmastime cantatas, featuring J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 1, 3, 6.

We’re just going to keep on typing like we know what we’re talking about. It all goes down Dec. 21, 3 p.m. at UBC’s Chan Centre for Performing Arts. Details at earlymusic.bc.ca.

3. Swing string quarter Van Django gets into the holiday spirit with its Van Django Bells Christmas variety show Dec. 19, 8 p.m. at St. James Hall. The event promises a mix of nostalgic favourites, jazz standards, sing-alongs, pop tunes, some classical touches and a few surprises — all delivered in the group’s swinging gypsy jazz style.

Tickets at roguefolk.bc.ca., Highlife Records, Rufus’ Guitars and Prussin Music.

Details at vandjango.com.

4. Celebrate Christmas and Keith Richards’ birthday with the fifth annual foodbank fund “rager” Keithmas, Dec. 19, 8 p.m. at the Electric Owl. This year’s lineup includes the Rentalmen (featuring members of Spoon River, Rodney Decroo Band, Memory Day and Carpenter), Strange Things, La Chinga, Sh Shakes, the Jolts, the Pretty’s, Rich Hope, Johnny De Courcy, the Highway Kind, and the Midnight Ramblers blasting their way through Rolling Stones’ and solo Keith Richards covers. In a word: awesome. Tickets at Red Cat, Zulu, Highlife, Neptoon and ticketweb.ca.

3

4

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

STAR OF THE SEASON PROGRAM Your donation of only $2 supports the growth of healthy communities.

Now in its 13th year, Choices’ Star of the Season Program enriches the lives of families all across Metro Vancouver and the Okanagan. Kindly donated by Calabar printers, Choices’ Holiday Stars may be purchased until December 24th for a donation of $2.00.

All proceeds are donated to the following neighbourhood houses: • Little Mountain Neighbourhood House •West Side Family Place • Gordon Neighbourhood House • Marpole Oakridge Family Place • Fraserside Community Services • Semiahmoo Family Place

Arts&Entertainment

DO YOU VALUE CATHOLIC FRENCH IMMERSION? The only Catholic French Immersion School in Vancouver

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REGISTER NOW! LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE! For information or to apply, please, call 604-876-7211 or visit www.ecolesaintsacrement.ca

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The past year has been sweet for Watermelon’s Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour, Daniel Wong’s Crackle Crème and Josie Fenton’s Rain or Shine Ice Cream. PHOTOS DAN TOULGOET

Sweet thoughts for 2015 SWEET SPOT

Eagranie Yuh

thewelltemperedchocolatier.com

This year, I resolved to eat more ice cream. I’m pleased to say I didn’t restrict myself to just ice cream — and with help from a few local businesses, it was a sweet year indeed. Here are some of this year’s storymakers and what they’re looking forward to in 2015.

Peter Fong, Ganache Patisserie

“For me, it’s always about getting better.”

This January, Peter Fong unveiled an expanded Ganache, with café seating for 20 and a bigger kitchen.

“It’s more room to do our chocolate production and things for Christmas,” says Fong. He’s had requests for cake-decorating and macaron classes, which means a bit of reorganizing.

“It’s a real working kitchen.

It’ll take some work to turn it into a space I’d be happy to have people come into sit down and learn in.”

Josie Fenton, Rain or Shine Ice Cream

“My personal thing is to be better… in all sort of aspects of my life: my relationships, fitness, eating, trying to make the best product for our company.”

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“crazy summer,” says co-owner Josie Fenton, and just celebrated its first anniversary in November.

With the pint fridge stocked and seasonal flavours on the chalkboard, Fenton’s looking to add ice cream cakes and pies to the menu. Notably, the shop is open New Year’s Day, with a cadre of boozy flavours (spiced rum eggnog, mulled wine sorbet and Brassneck brewery ice cream) to help take the edge off your hangover.

Daniel Wong, Crackle Crème

“I’m getting pretty good at people skills but I think I still need to work harder at it.”

Daniel Wong is still bruleeing custards like nobody’s business. He has seasonal flavours such as peppermint mocha, and rum and eggnog — the latter topped with candy cane bits that look like stained glass when they’re torched. The former automotive refinisher has a big project for 2015, in the form of a 1970s Volkswagen bus that he hopes to turn into a food truck.

“It’s got good bones,” he says. Crackle Crème will be closed for three weeks beginning Dec. 25 while Wong eats his way across Paris, London and Wales.

Christophe Bonzon, Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie

“I would like to be able to exercise a little bit more.”

It’s not like Christophe Bonzon has been busy. This fall, his Bonbons Ananas Avocat won gold medals in

the International Chocolate Awards — first in the Canadian competition, and then at the world finals in London. (Disclosure: I was the 2013/14 Canadian partner for the awards.) The winning piece features an unusual pineapple-avocado ganache and pineapple-lime jelly, all inside a caramelized white chocolate shell that looks like a petite dinosaur egg.

In April, he’ll be one of five hand-picked competitors in the Canadian qualifier of the World Chocolate Masters. The winner will represent Canada at the world finals in Paris, in October. Chez Christophe will be closed Jan. 1–13.

Watermelon, Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour

“I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but every year I quit one thing for a year… I haven’t quite decided what that will be.”

Watermelon has had a great year. “Nobody’s going to make a million dollars in a candy store but my candy sales have been going at a really great rate,” she says.

In January, her eclectic wares included licorice, hula hoops and quinoa waffles.

Since then, she’s added rainbow sunglasses and a curious type of snorting cocoa that she brought back from Belgium in her carryon luggage.

••• As for me, I resolve to play: with my food and my words, and maybe most important, to play outside.

Happy New Year. twitter.com/eagranieyuh

F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A25

Arts&Entertainment

Comedy troupe HumanTown headed for CBC Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

Vancouver sketch comedy group HumanTown will see a half-hour primetime comedy special of its creation aired on CBC Television next fall.

The team won $500,000 in production financing through CBC ComedyCoup at the Whistler Film Festival on Dec. 6.

“This is our dream,” said Daniel Doheny, one of six best friends, three of them housemates, behind HumanTown. “It’s basically what we’ve wanted to do for the last 10 years.”

The sextet has been creating movies and videos since they met at Byng Arts Mini School at age 13. They’ve made videos for YouTube, have written six episodes of HumanTown and have been trying to get the sketch show made for two years.

What sets HumanTown apart is that the sketches are serialized. Characters reappear and storylines continue.

“We just thought it would be nice to reward people for

watching the show more,” Doheny said. “[We’re] trying to build a comedic world that has a little bit more value than just sketch after sketch, like when you’re watching Arrested Development and you learn a little bit more about the characters, every joke becomes funnier. It can still stand on its own but it’s a little bit deeper.”

Reoccurring characters in the dark and absurd world include Orthak the Ork, police officer Hawke and Howard the camera salesman, who reveals shocking personal photographs to customers, while his talk is all tech. “A lot of people die,” Doheny said. “We have a pretty big body count for a comedy show.”

The 23- and 24-year-olds behind HumanTown believe viewers appreciate exploring a united story world.

“People are more excited to watch longer stories than people give them credit for,” Doheny said. “A lot of people say that this is a YouTube generation with really short attention spans, but people are getting really interested in these longform shows.

“We grew up watching a lot of TV but also a lot

of movies and a lot of our sketches are inspired by cinematic tendencies,” Doheny continued. “We like poking fun at a lot of forms of movies, like film noir and Western and cop movies…

In high school, we really liked those kind of movies but we couldn’t pull them off. We just didn’t have the ability to, so instead we like spoofing them.”

Drama students Doheny, Ki Kwiatkowski, Kane Stewart, Jack Heyes, Liam Macleod and Miles Chalmers banded together when they were 13 and made a 42-minute film in their spare time called Monkey: Dawn of the Ape. “It was basically the exact same plot as Terminator, but with apes.”

Teams competed for 10 weeks in the CBC ComedyCoup “digital comedy accelerator.” Fans voted online.

Competitors were whittled down to the final five, which included another Vancouverite, Graham Clark. Then a panel, which included Michelle Daly, senior director of comedy, commissioned and scripted programming for CBC Television, and Dan Goldberg, who was instrumental in the development of Meatballs, Stripes, Old School

and The Hangover series, chose HumanTown as the winner.

In a surprise development, Montreal team Depflies won an immediate development deal for its bi-

lingual sitcom about a family run convenience store.

“My favourite thing about the competition was I got to see all this Canadian content and comedy that I’d never seen before, all these

amazing, talented people I never knew existed in this country,” Doheny said.

You can visit HumanTown at comedycoup.cbc. ca/humantown. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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JOB FAIR TIPS – HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A JOB FAIR

Living in Vancouver?

Looking for Work?

We can help.

All our services are free:

• Job search resources • Personal employment planning • Workshops and training • Career exploration • Financial Support Pick any random week in Vancouver and you can pretty much guarantee that there is a Job Fair happening somewhere in the Lower Mainland.

However, Job Fairs require more work and preparation than just showing up for them to be a useful job searching tool. The list below will help you make the most of attending a job fair.

1. Review: Take a look at the list of participating companies and decide if they are the employers likely to hire for the positions you are interested in.

Identify the employer(s) you are most interested in connecting with.

2. Research: Do some online research on the employers you are interested in. Make sure you know who these employers are and learn as much about the companies as possible.

Think about why you would want to work for this company and what you have to offer them. Most websites have a career or job opportunities page. Take a look at their current posting and decide if there are any positions you are suitable for.

3. Apply Online: Yes, even though you are going to see these employers at the job fair, many employers require you to apply online as part of their procedures. If you see a posting you are interested in, apply online and then when you meet the employer at the job fair you can say you have

already applied on line and now you are one step ahead of the other applicants.

being over dressed but there are many employers who would dismiss you for being under dressed.

4. Arrival: Try to arrive early. The more popular employers may end up with very long line ups. If they are doing on the spot interviews, you may find that you run out of time if you are not among the first in line. To make the most of your time, prioritise the employers you most want to see.

8. Attitude: Come to the job fair with the right attitude. Employers usually want to hire people who appear energetic, positive, confident and friendly. If you are genuinely enthusiastic about working for a particular company, let them know that you are and why.

5. Prepared Resume: You may have to prepare a couple of resumes depending on how different the positions are that you are applying for.

The job postings you found on the company websites should inform you what is important to the employer. If different employers are emphasising different skills and attributes, then you may need to prepare a separate resume for each employer.

9. Follow up: If you are really interested in the job, don’t let this contact with the employer be your last.

Ask them for their contact information and if there is a best way to follow up with them after the job fair. It may be an e-mail restating your interest or setting up an informational interview to explore further how your skills and training match what the employer is looking for.

6. Elevator Speech: Prepare a short 30 second elevator speech which is like a commercial about who you are. Be sure to mention how your past experience, skills and education prepare you for the position you are applying for and how this will benefit the employer.

In a world in which most of our job search and connection with employers is done on line, job fairs are an excellent way to make a personal connection if you are properly prepared to take advantage of the opportunity. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get free support for your job search, connect with your local WorkBC Employment Services Centre in Vancouver.

7. Dress Appropriately: Make sure you are dressed like you are serious about the job. There are not many employers who would fault you for

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F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

START NOTHING: 4:35 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. Sunday, 7:17 p.m. Monday to 6:52 p.m. Tuesday, 7:11 a.m. to 8:07 p.m. Thursday, and 7:44 a.m. to 10:35 p.m. Saturday.

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YOU TELL US

PREAMBLE: Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, everybody! I had an exciting year, with surgery midway.

Actually, I’ve forgotten whole chunks of the July to September period due to painkillers and 16-hour sleeping stretches. The good thing is I became allergic to painkillers, so have had none since October. It’s nice to feel physically half-normal again.

Tuesday brings a big change. Saturn leaves Scorpio and enters Sagittarius. This ends two years of restrictions for every sign in a certain area (sex for Aries, partnership for Taurus, work for Gemini, etc.) and places new restrictions on a different area (far travel and learning for Aries, sex for Taurus, relationships for Gemini, etc.) Perhaps I’ll discuss this more in a few weeks.

The weeks ahead accent ambition, prestige relationships, reputation and worldly position. Forget the challenges and struggles of the past; this is a new ambitious interval. Be eager, hard working, optimistic and ambitious. Forgive everyone, slice away your past, and march to the future. Now, I’m not promising total, easy success; in fact, climaxing around Jan. 20, you can be tempted to aim for exactly the wrong kind of future.

The month ahead features your home and family, nostalgia and mementoes. It’s time to forgive and nurture. Your family is affectionate, talkative and lively. Though this is usually a sluggish, contemplative time for you, either romance, or children and their antics, keep you busy. Your romantic courage is high, but not necessarily astute. If it draws you to an Aries, beware; if to an Aquarian, it’s “hot and honest.”

The weeks ahead bring a mellow mood, wisdom, a broader view, profound thoughts — in some ways a deep, meaningful change of thoughts, of life philosophy, partly due to the influence of others who think differently than you. Even your spouse or business partner might casually say something which makes your intellect start quietly searching for answers.

The weeks ahead, especially this Sunday night to Tuesday, will fill with errands, trips, visits, communications, paperwork, details, siblings and casual friends. Be curious; seek variety. You’ll meet many gracious, affectionate, friendly people.

Tuesday signals a momentous change though it’s a subtle one and will take awhile to effect the change, sort of like a slug travelling across a leaf.

The weeks ahead bring three major things: one, a desire to be popular, which not only won’t work but could backfire; two) a desire to achieve a new level of learning, thought, philosophy or travel, which also can backfire.

An Aquarian friend could be in trouble, but an Aquarian could also steer you into the wrong life path. Help, don’t be led. All these possibilities climax around Jan. 20 but arrive much earlier.

The month ahead accents money, buying/selling, possessions, memory and (low level) sensual attractions, especially this Sunday eve to Tuesday supper. These will flow smoothly, with just a touch of good luck. A boss or peer might approach you with a money scheme (or just want a small loan). You’re very busy with errands, shopping, calls, cards, etc. right into mid-January. Don’t get too romantic – e.g., a small, sincere card better than a big, flowery one.

A month of work and health concerns fades.

Sunday begins four weeks of fresh opportunities, relationships and exploration. You might have to make a choice soon in a crucial relationship. Others treat you with openness and grace, even affection.

They are also becoming more talkative. Be careful with investments until mid-January. Don’t throw your money impulsively into anything.

After a slightly sluggish Sunday daytime, your energy shoots up for a whole month. Your charisma, effectiveness, timing and clout rise toward a yearly high.

You’re in charge, Cap, so take advantage. A new project might begin or you can make one begin. See and be seen, ask favours, call in markers, show important people what you can do. This advice applies especially Sunday night to Tuesday, but in general right to late January.

The weeks ahead urge you to apply yourself. Major chores await. Protect your health during this phase; eat and dress sensibly. Now to early January, coworkers are affectionate and work is almost fun. Be careful with relationships, though — some people react intensely toward you right into mid-January.

This could even attract you to a “fiery” person, but the outcome doesn’t look great.

The weeks ahead bring quietude, lowered energy, especially Sunday night to Tuesday, when a new “background” project might start. Background equals planning, confidential discussions, policy meetings, management, civil servants, institutions, charities and spiritual searches.) Sunday offers a brief happy, social period. But retreat this night to Tuesday, rest, contemplate and quietly love life.

In general, your luck and charisma and “world winning ways” are at a quiet, 13-year low. From August onward, you enter a whole year of giant, surging luck, optimism and charisma! But that’s there; we’re here.

Despite this larger trend of retreat and quietude, the four weeks ahead bring a breeze of romance, affection, creative and speculative success. That romance might or might not solidify into an actual affair, but it will keep you dreaming delicious possibilities.

Sunday daytime might nudge you to be ambitious, but to nil result. This evening to Tuesday eve brings social delights, entertainment, optimism, wish fulfilment, light romance and flirty friends — and that’s just the start, for a whole month of the same faces you! A new social project might start before Tuesday, or you might be drawn into a new group.

But retreat Tuesday night through Thursday. Seek solitude and rest. Contemplate and make plans.

Monday: Ralph Fiennes (52). Tuesday: Eddie Vedder (50). Wednesday: Kate Spade (52). Thursday: Jimmy Buffett (68). Friday: David Sedaris (58). Saturday: John Amos (75). Sunday: Maggie Smith (80).

Voting for Stars of Vancouver Readers’ Choice Awards op opens December 27

vancourier.com/STARS

BURNABY FOUR DAY

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FIND OUT MORE AT BURNABY VELODROME.CA

Photo: Doug Brons

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

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F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Sports&Recreation

GOT SPORTS? 604.630.3549 or mstewart@vancourier.com

Catching up with more rookies In the second of two parts, the Courier asks 2014 high school graduates about life as a university freshman ROOKIE SHOWCASE Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

For the first annual Courier rookie showcase, we’re checking in with Vancouver athletes in their freshman semester at colleges and universities around the continent.

Today, in the second of two parts, we’re catching up with long jumper Andrew de Visser, two soccer players at the University of Calgary, Harvard field hockey goalie Olivia Startup and Vancouverturned-Seattle high school basketball player Drew Urquhart, now in the NCAA.

Olivia Startup

Crofton House graduate tending net for the field hockey team at Harvard I’d say I’m a quintessential rookie in that I went through a period in which I had difficulty balancing school, field hockey, and a social life in college, but realized by the time the season was over that it was all worth it. The whole team stayed in a teammate’s home in Nantucket for a couple days before pre-season training started. We spent a lot of time just getting to know each other and going to the beach, so it was a nice way to break the ice.

As a tradition, the rookies decorate the entire locker room for the day of our first Ivy League game.

It was a cool way for the freshmen to bond with each other while doing something special for the upperclassmen.

My best game by far this semester was against UMass Lowell because it was my first real game in college field hockey. I had played in our pre-season scrimmages and had done well, but this was the first full half of a game I got to play. I got my first collegiate save recorded and a shutout, which was a really cool feeling.

To balance everything, I’ve learned that keeping a schedule is definitely key.

I actually have found that I’m a lot more organized in-season because it keeps me more structured and so I know when I have to get my work done. Something that is essential, I

feel, is having supportive friends around you. When you’re on the go, stressed and tired, being able to come home to someone that cares for you and has confidence in you can really make the difference between just getting by and surpassing your expectations. I’ve been really fortunate to have such great roommates.

My favourite class is English 158A: A History of Western Drama. We read a play per class and just talk about the plays themselves as well as performance and how it has changed and adapted over the years. The best part is the professor because he really makes the class incredible. All of my professors here have been incredible, but Derek Miller has an incredible energy about him. He wears a bowtie to every class, paces back and forth, and talks really fast.

I have five roommates in an apartment suite. I think by looking at my room, you can tell that I’m really proud of where I come from. I’m very proud to be Canadian and everyone who knows me would say that. I have a map of Canada hanging over my bed. I also have a ton of photos of my friends and family from home. I undoubtedly wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without them, so it’s nice to have a bit of home with me here. Lastly, I’m a field hockey goalie, so of course I have a poster of a goalie on my wall as well.

I had Thanksgiving with my roommate’s aunt in New York, and they eat mashed sweet potatoes with a layer of marshmallows baked on top. It was strange, but they actually didn’t taste that bad.

Andrew de Visser

Prince of Wales long jumper now competing at Trinity Western University The first track and field competition is in January, and the Spartans have been training since September.

The senior athletes on the team welcomed the rookies by preparing and serving a meal to us, then introducing us to the rest of the team through a short speech. They made us pulled pork sandwiches.

My coach, Laurier Primeau, has changed the way I train. He creates an atmosphere at training

Harvard goalie Olivia Startup shutout her opponents from the University of Massachusetts in her first start of the NCAA field hockey season. PHOTO HARVARD ATHLETICS

Rick Sutcliffe, was amazing! He’s got to been at least 75 years old so he just had so many amazing stories and a lot of wisdom to share with the class.

From looking at my dorm room, you would see that I really don’t care for decorations at all. I share with a roommate and neither of us has any posters up.

Drew Urquhart

In the home opener for the Vermont Catamounts, Vancouver’s Drew Urquhart led with a double-double in a lopsided 86-41 win.

PHOTO ANNA PHOLOEK / VERMONT ATHLETICS

that brings out the best in his athletes. Although there are times to joke around and have fun, when it’s time to train, everyone is focused on the task at hand and putting in a perfect effort.

In terms of balancing academics and athletics, it is all about being disciplined with one’s time.

Academics must be as high as a priority as training in order to be successful in both departments The biggest difference between being a studentathlete in high school compared to university is I now have little to no time

for watching my favourite shows! (Like the Walking Dead.) I attend classes in the morning, then I have my first training session in the afternoon, then about an hour break for dinner and then a second training session in the evening which is usually some kind of lifting, then I hit the books for a couple of hours, then I hang out with friends for a bit, then I go to bed. It is a crazy and busy life but it is immensely rewarding.

My favourite class first semester was calculus.

The calculus part wasn’t fun at all, but the prof,

Vancouver resident and graduate of East Catholic secondary in Seattle, playing basketball at the University of Vermont I am the youngest player on my team this year, but the older players don’t really make us six freshmen feel younger. They treat us as equals, and I think that helps when we play with each other on the court.

My best performance to date was probably my double-double against Southern Vermont — 12 points, 11 rebounds in 18 minutes. My post game has become a lot stronger and I’ve developed more moves. Our coach, John Becker, really emphasizes defence, so I’ve become a better defender. I’ve gotten better at rebounding and letting the game come to me and not forcing shots.

It has definitely taken time to adjust, but I think I’ve come a long way since I got here. There’s a lot more time management than high school, school wise, but in terms of basketball I think I’m coming along. Also, playing time is earned in practice, and that is a big difference for me because playing time

was always given to me, I never had to earn it, so I’ve adjusted to really going hard in practice, so that I can play in the games.

I’m rooming with Brandon Hatton, a freshman shooting guard from Kentucky, so there’s a lot of basketball posters around our room and a Nerf hoop on the wall. It’s also surprisingly clean. We’ve also got a lot of food in there — you could tell we’re D1 basketball players.

Kaely Biring

David Thompson graduate playing soccer at the University of Calgary I believe I am a very adaptable person, so coming in as a rookie was not a huge challenge for me. I’m very easy-going and disciplined. The veterans were paired up with the new recruits so we always had ongoing support whenever we needed it. However, that also included some marker makeup to the face at the end of the season.

There was definitely heavy eyebrows, moustaches, and I got some flowers drawn on my cheeks and a rainbow on my forehead.

My game has gotten better in that I’m more confident going forward and dribbling at people now. Also, I have improved in making runs past the forwards when the time is right to get into a goal scoring position as a midfielder.

My coach, Troye Flannery, has taught me to keep the bigger picture in mind and not sweat the small stuff.

Continued on page 30

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

Sports&Recreation

FRESH FACES From left, Andrew de Visser competes at Trinity Western University, while Kaely Biring and Heather Berringer are roommates at the University of Calgary.

‘Biggest differences are expectations and intensity’ Continued from page 29 You have to keep yourself organized, have a set time to do your homework, and make sure you have time to relax and socialize.

The fact that I’m living away from home is a big difference from high school to university. My parents constantly remind me that I’m a student-athlete. My favourite class would be psychology. I generally just study in my room but I also enjoy going to the library.

My dorm room style is very minimum, and I go for comfort over style. You would learn that I love soccer — thank god Heather Berringer (another Dino rookie from Vancouver) is my roommate.

Since I live in Alberta, it’s

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Heather Berringer

Prince of Wales graduate playing soccer at the University of Calgary Each rookie on the team was paired up with a veteran for the season, and at the end of the season the vets wore shirts that said “soccer mama” and dressed us all up like babies.

My game improved because I learned to adapt in a different environment than youth league and I learned how to focus more on myself and my game, instead of comparing myself to my teammates around me.

I plan out my homework and studying and make lots of to-do lists to keep

organized. Playing soccer forces you to avoid procrastination and to learn how to time manage. Here, the biggest differences from high school are the higher expectations and intensity, performing away from home, and being away from family support.

I vary my study spots, but usually I study in the library or in an empty classroom.

Anywhere that’s secluded and quiet — never in my room. My dorm room is a little scattered, and I use it mostly for sleeping.

I tried cold, leftover meatballs, and they were much tastier than I expected.

Interviews have been condensed and edited. twitter.com/MHStewart

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, DE C E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

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Leaf

Nissan's electric car is unique in many ways.

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When it comes to electric motor vehicles, one company steals the headlines and the other quietly goes about making the sales figures. Tesla might shine in the spotlight, but in terms of putting keys in the hands of ordinary consumers, the Nissan Leaf is doing for electric mobility what the Prius once did for hybrid technology.

It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Here, sold at a regular dealership alongside ordinary internal combustion engines, is a perfectly ordinary car with four doors and a hatch that just happens to plug into the wall. It’s not wildly futuristic, nor impractical, nor really avant garde. It’s just a car.

Mind you, there are all sorts of details that make the Leaf an unusual choice of transportation. On the market for four years now, Nissan’s electric car is unique in many ways. The question is: does it work for you?

Design

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*MAZDA UNLIMITED refers only to an unlimited mileaage warranty program under the terms of which there are no mileage limitations on the following specific Mazda warranties: (i) 3-year new vehicle; (ii) 3-year 3 roadside d id assistance; it (iii) 5-year 5 powertrain; t i and (iv) 7-year anti-perforation. MAZDA UNLIMITED is applicable only to 20I5 models. All Mazda warranties remain subject to the terms, limitations and restrictions available at mazdaunlimited.ca. ▼With the cash purchase, lease or finance of a new 20I5 CX-5 model, a $500 Crossover Bonus is available to customers who trade in or currently own a competitive vehicle. Offer only applies to the owner/lessor of the competitive model and is not transferable. Proof of ownership/lease required. $50O CX-5 Crossover Bonus will be deducted from the negotiated price after taxes. Cannot be combined with Loyalty offer. Offers valid Nov 1 - Dec 1, 2DI4. †0% APR purchase financing is available on all new 2014/2015 Mazda vehicles. Other terms available and vary by model. Based on a representative agreement using offered pricing of $24,990 for the 2015 CX-5 GX (NVXK65AAOO) with a financed amount of $25,0OO, the cost of borrowing for a 48-month term is $0, monthly payment is $521, total finance obligation is $25,000. ** Lease offers available on approved credit for new 2015 Mazda3 GX (D4XK65AA00)/2015 CX-5 GX (NVXK65AA00)/2015 Mazda6 GX (G4XL65AA00) with a lease APR of 1.99%/D.99%/0.49% and bi-weekly payments of $97/$146/$146 for 48 months, the total lease obligation is $10,089/$15,209/$15,147 including down payment of $O. PPSA and first monthly payment due at lease inception. 20,000 km lease allowance per year, if exceeded, additional 8¢/km applies. 24,000 km leases available. Offered leasing available to retail customers only. Taxes extra. *The starting from price of $17,690/$23,490/$26,290 for 2015 Mazda3 GX (D4XK65AA00)/2015 CX-5 GX (NVXK65AA00)/2015 Mazda6 GX (G4XL65AA00) includes a cash discount of $0/$1,500/$0. The selling price adjustment applies to the purchase and is deducted from the negotiated pre-tax price and cannot be combined with subsidized purchase financing or leasing rates. As shown, price for 20I5 Mazda3 GT (D4Tl65AAO0)/2015 CX-5 GT (NXTL85AAO0)/2015 Mazda6 GT (G4TL65AA0O) is $27,790/$35,490/$34,090. All prices include freight & PDI of $1,695/$1,895 for Mazda3, Mazda6/CX-5.

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With no need for a conventional radiator or the other trappings of a gasoline-powered car, the surprise is how much the Leaf actually looks like its entry-level cousin, the Note. It’s got an amphibious-looking face, LED headlights and taillights, a few blue-means-efficient badges here and there, but to the average onlooker, it’s just a pleasant little hatchback.

Standard wheel size is a 16” steel wheel, with S models coming with 16” alloys, and SL models

Environment

Inside, the Leaf is again mostly ordinary, with a few unusual touches.

Because it saps power to warm up the cabin, there are heated seats front and rear, and a standard heated steering wheel.

This latter is just the best.

I don’t know how we all manage to live through the winter without a heated steering wheel.

The seats are nicely comfortable, with plenty of rear leg room, and the trunk is well-sized. Because it was designed from the ground up to be an electric car, the Leaf doesn’t suffer from the cargo-loss you find it electrified versions of regular cars, such as the Ford Focus EV with its cramped rear hatch.

Other than that, some futurism extends into the cabin, where the instrument display shows a series of dots displaying power use or regeneration.

Mid-range models and up get a range indicator as part of the satellite navigation that shows how far you can go on a charge, and the puck-shaped gearlever is like something you’d expect to find on a Star Trek shuttle.

Performance

Forget Rolls-Royce: this is probably the quietest car I’ve ever driven.

Heavily insulated against road noise, the Leaf is whisper quiet, especially at city speeds, with the loudest thing in the car being the fan.

Power comes from a 107hp, 187lb/ft electric motor that provides instant shove from rest through a single-speed transmission.

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It’s an interesting way to get around, with hardly any drawbacks. Yes, longdistance road trips are a bit tricky, but that’s why you buy a Hellcat Challenger as a second car. Or maybe that’s just me.

Features

As mentioned, mid-range Leaf models come with satellite navigation, based on a 7” touchscreen display. A backup camera is standard, and the top-level cars come with Nissan’s clever Aroundview monitor which shows a view all around the car — hence the name, obviously.

Keyless entry and pushbutton start are standard, as is the aforementioned heated steering wheel, which I may have allegedly tried to steal and install in my own personal car. Allegedly.

There’s also a huge suite of Bluetooth-related technologies, including streaming audio and a hands-free text-message assistant. Possibly the most interesting smartphone-related feature is the Carwings app, which lets you monitor your Leaf’s charging, battery levels, and even kick on the air-conditioning remotely.

Fuel economy is officially rated at the equivalent of 1.9L/100kms, or about $3 to charge. You can also set the Leaf up to draw power during off-peak times, when electricity is cheaper, bringing costs down further.

Green Light

Very quiet ride good; very responsive torque; smart available features; spacious cabin.

Stop Sign

Slow to heat up; power use saps range; no incentives in B.C. make it costly.

TheCheckeredFlag

It’s a completely usable electric car for every day.

If the range fits your intended use, it just works.

All models come with a rear spoiler with the SL trim gaining a small solar panel embedded in it.

The Leaf has a huge suite of Bluetooth-related technologies, including streaming audio and a hands-free text-message assistant.

PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT: Offers valid until January 2, 2015. See toyota.ca for complete details on all cash back offers. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between Toyota prices, rates and/or other information contained on toyotabc.ca and that contained on toyota.ca, the latter shall prevail. Errors and omissions excepted. 2015 Corolla CE 6M Manual BURCEM-A MSRP is $17,540 and includes $1,545 freight and pre-delivery inspection and tire levy. *Lease example: 2015 Corolla CE 6M with a vehicle price of $17,540, includes $1,545 freight/PDI leased at 0.99% over 40 months with $1,350 down payment equals 80 semi-monthly payments of $88 with a total lease obligation of $8,366. Lease 40 mos. based on 60,000 km, excess km charge is $.07. **Finance example: 0.99% finance for 48 months, upon credit approval, available on 2015 Corolla CE 6M Manual BURCEM-A. Applicable taxes are extra. 2015 Tacoma Double Cab V6 5A SR5 Power Package 4x4 Automatic MU4FNA-A MSRP is $33,485 and includes $1,815 freight and pre-delivery inspection, tire levy and air conditioning federal excise tax. †Lease example: 2015 Tacoma Double Cab V6 5A SR5 Standard Package 4x4 Automatic MU4FNA-A with a vehicle price of $33,485 includes $1,815 freight/PDI leased at 2.99% over 40 months with $3,475 down payment equals 80 semi-monthly payments of $168 with a total lease obligation of $16,915. Lease 40 mos. based on 60,000 km, excess km charge is $.10. ††Finance example: 0.99% finance for 36 months, upon credit approval, available on 2015 Tacoma Double Cab V6 5A Power Package 4x4 Automatic MU4FNA-A. Applicable taxes are extra. 2015 RAV4 FWD LE Automatic ZFREVT-A MSRP is $25,820 and includes $1,815 freight and pre-delivery inspection, tire levy and air conditioning charge. ‡Lease example: 2015 RAV4 FWD LE Automatic ZFREVT-A with a vehicle price of $25,820 includes $1,815 freight/PDI leased at 0.99% over 40 months with $1,495 down payment equals 80 semi-monthly payments of $135 with a total lease obligation of $12,288. Lease 40 mos. based on 60,000 km, excess km charge is $.10. ‡‡Finance example: 0.99% finance for 36 months, upon credit approval, available on 2015 RAV4 FWD LE Automatic ZFREVT-A. Applicable taxes are extra. ¥NOTE: Limited availability on 2014 models and suffixes, see dealer for details. Applicable taxes are extra. Down payment, first semi-monthly payment and security deposit plus GST and PST on first payment and full down payment are due at lease inception. A security deposit is not required on approval of credit. Non-stackable Cash Back offers may not be combined with Toyota Financial Services (TFS) lease or finance rates. If you would like to lease or finance at standard TFS rates (not the above special rates), then you may be January 2, 2015. Cash incentives include taxes and are applied after taxes have been charged on the full amount of the negotiated price. See toyota.ca for complete details on all cash back offers. ¥¥“The Freedom 40 Lease delivers a lower monthly payment by extending standard terms by four months without a rate increase and without a corresponding reduction in Lease-end Value”. As an example, standard term of 36 months can be stretched to 40 months. Freedom 40 Lease offer is valid until January 2, 2015. ¥¥¥Semi-monthly lease offer available through Toyota Financial Services on approved credit to qualified retail customers on most 24, 28, 36, 40, 48, 52, 60 and 64 month leases of new and demonstrator Toyota vehicles. First semi-monthly payment due at lease inception and next monthly payment due approximately 15 days later and semi-monthly thereafter throughout the term. Toyota Financial Services will waive the final payment. Semi-monthly lease offer can be combined with most other offers excluding the First Payment Free and Encore offers. First Payment Free offer is valid for eligible TFS Lease Renewal customers only. Toyota semi-monthly lease program based on 24 payments per year, on a 40-month lease, equals 80 payments, with the final 80th payment waived by Toyota Financial Services. Not open to employees of Toyota Canada, Toyota Financial Services or TMMC/TMMC Vehicle Purchase Plan. Some conditions apply. See your Toyota dealer for complete details. Visit your Toyota BC Dealer or www.toyotabc.ca for more details. Some conditions apply; offers are time limited and may change without notice. Dealer may lease/sell for less.

While the Leaf is nominally no more powerful than a Micra, the immediate availability of the torque means that it feels much faster.

That’s assuming you have it in the right mode, however. Put the Leaf in eco-mode, and the throttle response drops to a level that makes it feel like you’re driving through maple syrup. Range is improved, but the car feels very slow.

Flick it back into regular mode while driving (just a push of the thumb on the steering-wheel-mounted button), and the Leaf surges forward with glee.

It’s actually pretty fun to scoot around in regular mode at city speeds, with the Leaf’s point-and-shoot torque meaning you can zip forward to merge with ease.

Now, here are a few words about the range.

The ‘15 Leaf is much quicker to charge than previous models but, with the batteries fully topped off, still only provides a total theoretical range of 135 kilometres. That’s about a quarter of your average compact commuter, and if you run low on electric power, recharging is a somewhat more involved affair than just popping over to the gasoline pump.

However, for most everyday driving tasks, the Leaf is more than up to the job. I drove it home, up the hill from downtown to the North Shore, didn’t bother plugging it in, then I drove to and from Richmond in rush hour. Even though the weather was cold enough to be running the power-sapping heater nearly full blast, there was still enough juice left over to run for groceries, or pick up kids from school, or all the other little end-of-day tasks you might have.

You don’t even really need a quick charger at home, as the Lower Mainland is dotted with chargers these days. Park out front at the Granville Island market and you can

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