Vancouver Courier March 27 2015 by Vancouver Courier

FRIDAY

March 27 2015 Vol. 106 No. 24

OPINION 11

Olson on jagged little pills PACIFIC SPIRIT 12

Celebrating Passover STATE OF THE ARTS 26

Killing in the name of puppets There’s more online at

vancourier.com WEEKEND EDITION

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

Advocates raise alarm over DTES rent spike Report says nine hotels charging $700 a month for rent

Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

A Downtown Eastside advocacy group working on behalf of low-income residents in the community says a survey it did of rents at 68 single-room-occupancy hotels revealed at least nine that charge up to $700 a month for accommodation. The Carnegie Community Action Project says the findings are alarming and evidence of gentrification in a community where many residents receive only a $375 monthly allowance from the provincial government for housing. “Do you want to know why we have homelessness on the streets now?” said Jean Swanson of the Carnegie group at a press conference Wednesday at the Carnegie community centre. “Well, [single-room-occupancy hotels] are being gentrified. Lowincome residents are being evicted. Landlords are doing modest renos and seeking working people and students to replace the really low-income people.” Though the City of Vancouver and B.C. Housing operate hotels in the Downtown Eastside, the Carnegie group focused its research on privately owned

hotels. Group members posed as prospective tenants to collect rent data from desk clerks, managers and tenants. The ﬁndings were put together in a report, On The Brink: The DTES Housing Crisis. Of the nine hotels renting rooms for up to $700 month, which included the American Hotel, Alexander Court, Golden Crown, Grand Trunk and New Columbia, all had raised the rents by $100 or more over the 2013 rate, the report said. “Seven hundred [dollars] a month is almost twice what a person on welfare gets for rent and it’s $90 more than that person has for all their living expenses,” said Swanson, noting the $700 monthly rents applied to 445 rooms in the nine hotels, where tenants share washrooms and have no kitchen. Swanson noted the rent increases come as more than 700 new market rental units are being built in or near Chinatown, with only 11 social housing units among the mix. Wilson Liang, a member of the Chinatown Concern Group, said the community needs more housing for Chinese seniors, many of whom were playing cards in a room at the Carnegie during the press conference. Continued on page 6

Health Canada grants exemption to injection site

Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

Health Canada has granted Vancouver’s Insite supervised drug injection site an exemption to operate for another year, Vancouver Coastal Health announced in a statement Wednesday. But the city’s former drug policy coordinator is worried legislation passed by the Harper government this week in the House of Commons will make it difﬁcult for more injection sites to open in Vancouver and across the country. “That’s the problem with all this,” said Donald Macpherson, the director of the

Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. “I know how much work it is to apply for one of those exemptions. So this is really a make-work project by the federal government for health authorities, community groups and provincial governments. It’s a lot of work.” The legislation passed in the House of Commons is known as the Respect for Communities Act. Health ofﬁcials and harm reduction advocates described the bill as setting out an onerous list of criteria that makes opening another injection site in Canada very difﬁcult, if not impossible. Continued on page 4

AIR JERWIN Churchill Bulldog Jerwin Ibit (No. 10) hangs in the air to avoid David Thompson Trojan Parm Hyare (No. 15) in the senior boys all-star basketball game at Sir Charles Tupper secondary March 25. In the eighth annual tilt, the West beat the East 98-97 in overtime. Read more on page 28. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

Plebiscite participation difficult to predict 12TH&CAMBIE Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

I expect I will receive my transportation and transit plebiscite ballot this week. I plan to vote. And I plan to dutifully drop my carefully sealed ballot in the mailbox at the end of my street so it ﬁnds its way to Elections B.C. for counting. I wonder how many will do the same. What do you think — will voter participation be more or less than the 43.4 per cent of eligible voters who took part in the 2014 civic election? Maybe these numbers will give some perspective: • The last time Elections B.C. ran a mail-in only vote was in 2011 when voters cast ballots in the HST referendum. Remember that one? The province-wide vote saw 52.7 per cent of eligible voters return ballots, with a majority electing

All registered voters in Metro Vancouver should receive ballots in mail by May 27 for the transit and transportation plebiscite. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

to scrap the HST. • When Christy Clark’s Liberals embarrassed pollsters with their surprising win in the 2013 provincial election, voter turnout was 57 per cent. “Is there any reason that

I would think [turnout for the plebiscite] would be any different?” said Don Main, a spokesman for Elections B.C. “Not necessarily. But it depends on engagement and people’s awareness of it.”

Main pointed out 1.56 million packages, which include a certiﬁcation envelope, “secrecy” envelope and the ballot, will have been mailed to registered voters in Metro Vancouver by March

27. Elections B.C. also plans to open nine service centres around Metro Vancouver in April and have staff on hand to answer questions and collect ballot packages, if people choose not to mail them. Though the public won’t learn the results of the vote until sometime this summer, Elections B.C. plans to at least give us a sense of how many people have voted. Beginning April 1, on a weekly basis, the agency will release the number of ballots returned in each of the 23 municipalities. Unlike last year’s civic election, where ﬁnal results were tabulated by a machine and released within hours of the polls closing, the plebiscite ballots require 50 staff to manually open all the envelopes. It’s, as Main described, “labour intensive.” So how much is all this costing? About $6.2 million. Yep, that’s a lot of cash. But not when compared

to the $36 million it cost to administer the 2013 provincial election — the same election that led to the Liberals calling for a plebiscite on any new funding tools proposed to pay for transit and transportation upgrades. Hence the ballot. Hence the request for a 0.5 per cent increase to the existing seven per cent sales tax to help pay for a 10year, $7.5 billion plan that aims to cut congestion. Regular readers will have read the back-andforth between the Yes and No sides, and I trust some of you actually read the mayors’ 10-year plan. Many of you likely already voted. For those who haven’t, and are registered to vote, then open up that envelope and vote. One mark for a Yes or No is all it takes and maybe a walk to the mailbox. If you’re not registered to vote, then get registered. If you don’t vote, don’t complain. twitter.com/Howellings

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

News Health officials concerned with federal legislation

Continued from page 1 Under the bill, criteria an applicant must meet to get an exemption includes providing information outlining the views of police, municipal leaders, public health officials and provincial health ministers. The applicant is also required to provide documentation that shows the site’s expected impact on crime rates, treatment options for drug users, the public health reasons for needing such a site and evidence there are resources to sustain the site’s operations. Dr. Patricia Daly, the chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, wasn’t available for comment this week but said in a statement the health authority was “troubled by the numerous conditions set out in the new legislation, which will make it much more difficult for Insite to apply for an exemption in the future, and near impossible for a new supervised injection site to receive exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.” Daly pointed out Insite, which is staffed with nurses supervising injections at the East Hastings facility, prevented thousands of overdose deaths, reduced the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C and connected drug users to detox, health care and housing. Studies published in various medical journals, including the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded Insite saves health care dollars and does not increase crime or perpetuate active drug use. Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose told the Courier in October 2013 the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in 2011 to allow Insite to operate indefinitely “does compel the govern-

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The Insite drug supervised injection site on East Hastings began operating in September 2003. Health authorities say no one has died in the facility of a drug overdose. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

ment to ensure that whenever an application is made for a supervised injection site, that certain parameters are met. That’s exactly what our legislation is about and, as health minister, not only am I compelled but I’m obligated to do that.” When asked about the scientiﬁc research done at Insite, which has shown no overdose drug deaths, a decrease in the spread of infectious diseases and drug users being referred to treatment, Ambrose said she was “not interested in having a debate about harm reduction.” Added Ambrose: “Let’s talk about harm elimination. We do need to recognize that there are thousands of Canadians across the country that I don’t think we’ve done enough to reach out to — to talk about recovery and talk about treatment and prevention. I want to see us do more of that and you will see us do more of that.” Since the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in 2011, in which the court said Insite has “proven to save lives with no discernible negative impact on the public safety and health objectives of Canada,”

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the federal government said the health authority must apply for an annual exemption from Health Canada to operate Insite. The matter landed in the Supreme Court because of the federal government’s appeal aimed at shutting down the facility that began as a three-year scientiﬁc experiment when the Liberal government was in power. The health authority says no one has died of a drug overdose at Insite, where nurses have supervised more than 1.8 million injections since it opened 12 years ago. Up to 800 clients visit Insite each day. Health Canada, meanwhile, still hasn’t decided whether to grant an exemption to the Dr. Peter Centre, which has operated a three-booth injection room for its registered clients since February 2002. The injection room is a small component of the centre, which houses a day health program and a 24-hour care residence. The facility caters to people with AIDS and those dealing with mental health and addictions issues. twitter.com/Howellings

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F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

Helmcken application heads back to public hearing Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

City council voted in an 8-2 decision earlier this week to refer the rezoning application for 508 Helmcken St. back to public hearing, with NPA Coun. George Afﬂeck and Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr opposed. The decision came after a debate about whether or not more information should be included in the staff report. The Helmcken rezoning, which council approved two years ago, was among city decisions quashed in a late January B.C. Supreme Court ruling that the city is appealing. The Helmcken site was part of a complicated land swap between the City of Vancouver and Brenhill Developments Ltd. challenged by a community group. In July 2013, council voted to rezone 508 Helmcken St. for Brenhill Developments to build a 36-storey tower beside Emery Barnes Park. The rezoning was conditional on Brenhill developing a 162-unit social housing project on 1099 Richards St. to replace the city’s 1985-built Jubilee House at 508 Helmcken. The court’s decision also quashed the development permit for the project at 1099 Richards St., which was already under construction. A stop work order was subsequently issued. Head planner Brian Jackson told the Courier Wednesday that staff included information in the rezoning report for 508 Helmcken that’s meant to address questions raised in the court decision. “We have prepared the

On Tuesday, city council referred the rezoning application for 508 Helmcken St. back to public hearing. The public hearing is expected to take place in April. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

report taking into consideration the judge’s decision [by] providing more information for the public and for council with respect to both the CACs [community amenity contributions] and the land exchange issue,” he said. “So the report is an expanded version of both the rationale, as well as the details associated with the land exchange to facilitate the development of social housing on the other property.” Jackson expects the public hearing for the rezoning application will be scheduled for mid-April. Meanwhile, the development application for 1099 Richards St. goes back to the Development Permit Board April 7. Neighbours were sent notiﬁcations of that meeting earlier this week. “The judge did not talk about more information to be provided as part of the development permit. He actually did not provide

detail as to why he quashed the zoning bylaw for that site,” according to Jackson. “But we are going back and having another development permit board meeting to reconsider that development permit. The new information will be additional comments received from the public as a result of the notification, which has just been sent out.” Another public hearing to address the court ruling was also underway this week dealing with amendments to the Downtown Official Development Plan [DODP]. It started March 24 and was expected to continue March 26 after the Courier’s print deadline. “[The judge] quashed the DODP definition of social housing because what he considered to be the inadequate notice to all the people who live in the DODP,” Jackson said. “That was the subject of last night’s public

hearing, which continues [Thursday]. That is to put back the definition of social housing that he quashed when he quashed the West End amendment that had been previously approved.” While these process are underway, the city is also dealing its appeal, which goes to court in April. Jackson said one of the questions raised at Tuesday’s city council meeting was whether the city should wait for the appeal to be heard before dealing with a public hearing for the Helmcken site. “No. Because we’re responding in a way that addresses the judges concerns while at the same time, because of the wider implications is has for other social housing projects in Vancouver, as well as broader implications in general for negotiating community benefits, that we decided to appeal the decision,” he said. —with files from Bob Mackin twitter.com/naoibh

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

News 1

1. The New Columbia hotel at Cordova and Columbia rents some its rooms for $800 per month or more, according to a report released Wednesday. 2. Jean Swanson of the Carnegie Community Action Project says the ruling Vision Vancouver council could do more to prevent the Downtown Eastside from losing low-income housing stock. PHOTOS DAN TOULGOET

Gentrification of SROs a growing concern shockwave will spread throughout Chinatown and the whole Downtown Eastside area.” The group listed several recommendations for all three levels of government to act upon, including an increase to welfare rates, build more social housing, impose rent controls and commit to a national housing plan. At the city level, the re-

port recommended a series of requests, including the city being more forceful with its standards of maintenance bylaw to crack down on hotels in disrepair, lease hotels to nonproﬁts to keep them from being gentriﬁed, designate land for social housing and stop market housing development in the Downtown Eastside until the hotels are replaced with “safe, secure, self-contained

and resident-controlled low-income social housing and [then] no one needs to sleep on the streets or in shelters.” The Carnegie report was released the day after Mayor Gregor Robertson conceded that he hadn’t met his goal to get hundreds of homeless people off the street and into shelters or homes by 2015. At a press conference Tuesday, Robertson said

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Continued from page 1 Liang said he is worried more development will lead to the demolition of low-income housing stock for seniors who can’t afford expensive condominiums. “The current Chinatown developments are like a deep water bomb that sends out not only a ripple effect but a shockwave,” Liang said. “This

one of the reasons for homelessness was tenants of single-room-occupancy hotels being displaced during renovations, or what’s commonly been referred to as “renovictions.” On Thursday, Robertson successfully tabled a motion at city council that asks the renters’ advisory committee to review the Residential Tenancy Act and “identify potential changes to increase resources and strengthen protections for renters and affordable rental housing.” Vision Coun. Kerry Jang, who has been his party’s lead councillor on the housing ﬁle and supported the mayor’s motion, defended council’s efforts to get people off the street and into decent housing. “They want us to enforce the standards of maintenance bylaw, so we have,” Jang said. “But we’re very careful about it because in order for the landlord to do his repairs, he has to get his money from somewhere, and that has meant raising the rents. So I don’t know what we can actually do with that. We can’t buy them, we can’t afford that.” Jang said council’s goal is to create mixed-income buildings in the Downtown Eastside so market units can subsidize lowincome units, despite protests from Swanson and other housing activists. “They don’t like it because

their entire goal is to have a completely governmentsubsidized low-income neighbourhood, exclusively for low-income people,” he said, noting the Downtown Eastside plan, which was developed with input from the community, was “very clear that mixed-income development was the only way the city could move forward.” Jang said the ruling Vision council, which has been in power since 2008, has done more to get people off the streets than previous administrations. He cited the city’s partnership with B.C. Housing to build 14 supportive housing buildings, the opening of shelters and temporary housing and a rent bank as evidence of council’s commitment to ending “street homelessness.” Some of the Carnegie group report’s other ﬁndings include: • Of 3,004 rooms surveyed, 2,444 rent for $425 or more. • The average rent in privately owned hotels is $485, which is $110 more than the welfare shelter rate. • Some hotels allow two people to share one small room and collect rent from both tenants. • Between 2009 and 2014, the average lowest rents surveyed increased from $398 to $485 per month. • Only nine per cent of hotels surveyed rent all rooms for $375 or less. twitter.com/Howellings

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News PlentyOfFish schooled with fine

PlentyOfFish (POF) may have cast its net a little too wide when emailing users last year — so much so Ottawa is serving the online dating service with a $48,000 fine. The Vancouver-based company has agreed to pay the five-figure penalty following allegations it violated Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) between July and October of 2014. The Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said it began investigating POF following complaints the dating service was sending commercial emails to users without a clearly visible unsubscribe option. CASL went into effect July 1, 2014, but the CRTC said the violations continued until Oct. 8. Once POF was made aware of the investigation, the CRTC said the company updated the unsubscribe option in emails sent to users. “This case is an important reminder to businesses that they need to review their unsubscribe mechanisms to ensure they are clearly and prominently set out and can be readily performed,” CRTC chief compliance and enforcement officer Manon Bombardier said in a March 25 statement. POF has since implemented a compliance program to ensure it follows CASL regulations, according to the CRTC. The online dating service announced last week it has reached 100 million users worldwide and its annual run rate for 2015 was pegged at $100 million. It’s the first time the private company has officially re-

leased financial information to the public. The CRTC said the emails that were under investigation notified users of services available on POF. POF did not respond to multiple interview requests. Earlier this month, the CRTC levied its first major CASL-related fine ($1.1 million) against CompuFinder. The commission said the Quebec-based company sent emails promoting business training programs without the consent of recipients.

Yogaware shares stretch upwards

Strong fourth quarter sales, flat profit and international expansion plans helped send shares of yogawear maker Lululemon soaring. Revenue jumped 16 per cent to US $602.5 million in the quarter that ended Feb.1, the Vancouverbased company announced March 26. Annual sales were almost as strong, rising 13 per cent to US$1.6 billion. “Our solid performance in the fourth quarter builds on the momentum that began in the third quarter and reflects improved traffic and a strong guest response,” said CEO Laurent Potdevin in a statement. “In 2015, we expect to substantially complete this foundational work and accelerate our investments in innovation to drive sustainable global growth as we continue to lead the market that we created.” That global expansion includes a goal of having 20 stores each in both Europe and Asia. Other new stores are set for the U.K., Germany and Hong Kong.

Potdevin said in a conference call that he believes international expansion could eventually exceed North American revenue. That would be quite a change for the company, which many years ago expanded to Japan and Australia only to see those stores underperform. The company then pulled out of Japan in 2009 and whittled down its number of Australian franchised locations.

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Fuel rebate reduces ferries fare hike

A one per cent fuel rebate announced March 25 by B.C. Ferries will reduce the fare increase set to come into effect on April 1, the corporation says. Fares will rise 3.9 per cent as expected, but the fuel rebate for both major and minor routes lowers the hike to 2.9 per cent. “We’ve been doing everything we can to keep fares down,” B.C. Ferries president and CEO Mike Corrigan said. “We know the challenge that everyone has around ferry fares.” Work on fuel-purchasing practices and other measures, along with current market conditions, has made the fuel rebate possible, Corrigan said. That includes a program for “hedging” or locking in fuel prices into the future. Fares on routes from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and from Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii will go up by two per cent, and are not affected by fuel surcharges or rebates. Increases from 2016 to 2020 have been tentatively set at 1.9 per cent by B.C. Ferry Commissioner Gord Macatee, who will make a ﬁnal decision in September.

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News

All in all, you can buy bricks from the walls CLASS NOTES Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

Bill 11

Education Minister Peter Fassbender announced a bill, Bill 11, to amend the School Act, the Independent School Act and the Teachers Act Thursday morning shortly before the Courier’s press deadline. The changes concern professional development, the sharing of services among school districts to save money, improving accountability for student learning and aligning the disclosure of student data with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Vancouver School Board chairperson Christopher Richardson said Thursday morning staff was seeking further clariﬁcation on the proposed amendments to sort out short- and long-term implications.

School calendar

Spring holiday time will stretch even longer next year. Monday night, the Vancouver School Board approved school closure days that fall between spring break and Easter weekend in 2016. Students will be out of school from March 14 to 28. Trustees approved ﬁve closure days in total, as they have done for the three previous years. The ﬁfth is May 20, making the Victoria Day weekend longer. “It started in the underlying foundation that it was a cost-saving measure, given budget shortfalls that have existed in Vancouver for a number of years now,” said David Nelson, VSB director of instruction. “We are one of the majority of districts, if not all districts in the province who have moved to a two-week spring break. I’m not sure what their rationales are.” He believes spring break and school closure days will coincide in districts across Metro Vancouver in 2016. The board estimates

Bricks, wrought iron columns and granite were saved for reuse before the demolition of General Gordon elementary started in January. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

$125,000 is saved for each school closure day, largely as a result of not requiring teachers on call. The VSB approved 10 school closure days in 2011-2012 and saved a million dollars. But trustee Mike Lombardi, who previously chaired the VSB committee that considers the school calendar, said

that created “tremendous hardship” for parents and teachers on call. It’s also troubled teachers. The Vancouver Teachers’ Federation approved the 2015-2016 calendar. “It’s not jump for joy agreement but there was agreement, given the realities of our district ﬁnancially, that this is the lesser of two evils,

I guess, in the cost savings it brings,” Nelson said. “The research that I’ve seen, and the superintendent shared with us before, it’s pretty clear that it does impact vulnerable students,” Lombardi said. “Vulnerable students are impacted any time you have fewer days of school and more gap time between learning and time off. For the rest of the students, it’s not that signiﬁcant. Finland’s got the best education outcomes in the world and their school year is much shorter than ours.” The VSB has spoken to UBC about the possibility of researching the effects of school closure days on students.

General Gordon bricks

Those sad to see the more than a century-old school at West Sixth Avenue and Bayswater Street in Kitsilano crumble earlier this year can now buy a piece of history. The General Gordon Parent Advisory Committee is

selling a limited number of commemorative bricks from the 1912 school for $19.12. The bricks, which come with certiﬁcates of authenticity signed by the chair of the Vancouver School Board and the school principal, can be reserved through the school’s website. All proceeds will go to the school’s playground fund. The PAC not only strives to raise money, but also to retain the connection of the school to the neighbourhood. The PAC plans to host a groundbreaking ceremony for the new school in the spring and distribute the reserved bricks then, along with a build-ityourself paper model of the old school that’s designed to hold a brick. The PAC wants retired teachers and staff, neighbours then and now, and former students to get in touch and attend the groundbreaking and the dedication of the new seismically safer school that’s expected in 2017. Details at gordonelementary.ca/bricks. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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by Cheryl Rossi, inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans Of New York

We have a three-week-old and Grace is just over two years… When they grow up it’s the bullying [I worry about most]. You want to make sure they’re not bullies or they’re not being bullied. It’s a different world out there from when I was a kid. There’re just so many avenues for people to get picked on now in terms of social media. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Opinion

The faint of heart need not apply

Compassion in a pill hard to swallow

Help wanted: One (1) auditor general for local government, and one (1) B.C. treaty commissioner. The B.C. government is looking for thrill-seeking self-starters who thrive on challenges and won’t take no for an answer. Or yes, for that matter. We’re looking specifically for people who excel at reconstruction, given that both positions have blown up in our faces recently. If you like making something out of half-baked messes — or just like unmaking half-baked messes — talk to us. Preference will be given to people with bomb-squad experience, given the explosive situations that exist. Circus acts will also be considered, given that both situations are now clown shows. The successful applicant for the auditor job will be a hard-charging visionary with a knack for justifying their existence. We already have an auditor general, but we want another one. Never mind why, we just do. The job involves scrutinizing the minutes of 190 municipal councils’ meetings, looking for waste, inefficient administration and duplication (such as having two auditors general, for instance.) The mission is to find $2.6 million in savings annually, because that’s the budget for the office (see “justifying existence” above). The production benchmark is anything over one audit every two years. The position is open due to an unfortunate experience involving the one audit that arrived, instead of the 18 that were promised. Some experience in the field of covert extractions or hostage-negotiating is an asset, given that the person who made that promise has barricaded herself in the office and shows no signs of coming out without a fight. Talking your predecessor out of the office safely, paying off all the legal bills, fixing the dysfunctional work environment and starting over will all come out of the existing budget, so the initial production quota is negotiable. Do you like dealing with resentful, suspicious municipal councillors? Are you good at explaining how you’re not the “real auditor general”? Do you welcome the challenge of taking over an office where nearly everyone is

A pill to make you more compassionate and more willing to hand out spare change to the needy? Scientists have taken a big step in that direction, according to UC Berkeley News Centre of a study published in Current Biology. Research subjects were asked to play a simple game of ﬁnancial sharing. After taking the drug tolcapone, they divided money with strangers in a fairer, more egalitarian way than they did after taking a placebo. Beyond the intriguing fact that there’s a caring n’ sharing substance with the word “Capone” in it, the research promises a better understanding of “the interaction between altered dopamine-brain mechanisms and mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or addiction,” states the UC Berkeley press release. “Our study shows how studying basic scientiﬁc questions about human nature can, in fact, provide important insights into diagnosis and treatment of social dysfunctions,” said Ming Hsu, a co-principal investigator and assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Any sentence containing the words “treatment of social dysfunction” and “school of business” immediately catches my attention. Sounds like someone’s blue-skying a lucrative scheme to turn compassion-fatigued citizens into blissedout Boddhisattvas. If so, this kind of thinking goes way back. “Scientists plan for peace with a pill,” declared a headline in a March 17, 1967 edition of the Observer. Dr. K.E. Moyer of Pittsburgh University insisted that human aggression could be treated by pill, and that brain scientists were “on a threshold similar to that on which the atomic physicist stood in the early 1940s.” The same year as the story in the Observer, author Arthur Koestler enthusiastically predicted the mass manufacture of a pill to turn “Homo maniacus into Homo sapiens.” Unfortunately, dreams of social engineering through drugs have often resulted in nightmares, from the narcotized dissidents in Soviet gulags to the ’50s-era victims of the CIA-backed psychiatrist and buzzkill Dr. Donald Ewan Cameron, who put unknowing Canadian patients into insulin-induced comas to erase their memories and “rebuild” their psyches. The notion of mass-medicating people

Les Leyne Columnist lleyne@timescolonist.com

unhappy, frustrated and upset at the constantly changing priorities? This is your dream job. The successful treaty commissioner will be a fan of suspense movies and marathon poker games, given that we like to dangle the job for months and then snatch it away at the last minute after lots of bluffing. Applicants must be able to discern all the subtle shades of meaning in the phrase: “It’s a deal. The job is yours.” Knowing that “yes” means “maybe” and “maybe” can mean anything are assets. Interviews will be conducted by Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad. Don’t worry if you flub it. He’s completely irrelevant to the process and whatever he thinks of you doesn’t matter. Applicants should be aware that former cabinet minister George Abbott had this position locked up until the deal fell apart last week at the last minute. Some people are asking “Why?” but you should be asking “Who?” as in: “Who’d be crazy enough to step into this mess?” You, that’s who. We’ve shown we’re crazy. If you can out-crazy us, you’re in. Or out. We change our minds a lot. It depends on how we feel. Don’t count on actually having the job until you get the government credit card. On a more serious note: Premier Christy Clark addressed both openings on Wednesday and took one and possibly both off the jobs board. She says they’re not going to name a chief treaty commissioner, although the word last Friday was that the search is still on. After a “long, thoughtful process,” cabinet decided not to name a new commissioner because the treaty process (four treaties in 23 years, at a cost of $600 million) isn’t working. She said communication with Abbott over the position — which went on for months — was “terrible, really, really poor.” But she took full responsibility for that. As for the auditor general for local government, “all options are on the table for reform to make this work.” Whether that means folding the job into the existing auditor general office likely depends on how much money is left after fired ex-auditor Basia Ruta is through suing the government. “It hasn’t worked out as successfully as we’d like,” said Clark. twitter.com/leyneles

The week in num6ers...

485 48

In dollars, the average monthly rent in privately owned hotels in the Downtown Eastside, $110 more than the welfare shelter rate.

In thousands of dollars, the fine given to online dating service PlentyOfFish for violating the CRTC’s anti-spamming regulations.

The number of available Uber vehicles on Vancouver streets any time soon after the rideshare company quit plans to operate here under legal pressure from cab companies.

Geoff Olson Columnist mwiseguise@yahoo.com

In cents, the added cost of a bottle of Seven Deadly Zins Zinfandel wine in B.C. liquor stores as of April 1, according to a leaked partial price list.

into institutionally acceptable behaviour has leapt from the pages of Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World into U.S. classrooms and study halls. A mind-boggling 19 per cent of high school-age boys — ages 14 to 17 — in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperativity Disorder, according to a 2013 report from the U.S. Centre for Disease Control. This has been a highly profitable development for the makers of Ritalin. And now we’re hearing about oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The psychiatric bible DSM-5 defines ODD as “a pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behaviour, or vindictiveness lasting at least six months as evidenced by at least four symptoms from any of the [defined] categories and exhibited during interaction with at least one individual who is not a sibling.” Official symptoms include, “often actively defies or refuses to comply with adult requests or rules,” and “often argues with adults.” Teenage rebellion, in other words. When ODD coexists with ADHD or depression, a long-term prescription for moodaltering drugs is usually not far behind. There is an irony to mention about the mental health treatment of adults. Clinical trials using psychoactive substances like MDMA, psilocybin and ibogaine — which reportedly can produce lasting health benefits after a small number of sessions — are on the rise, but still tightly restricted. I submit one reason researchers have found great difficulty in obtaining past federal approval and funding for such promising substances is because the preliminary findings threaten the accepted model of mental health management through longterm medication/addiction. I rather doubt that anyone connected with the Berkeley study believes poverty and other social ills can be seriously addressed by the random charity of tolcapone-tweaked citizens. While society is dominated by the dopamine-spiking elements of money, power, and status, a solution probably isn’t forthcoming in a big pharma blister pack, particularly if the effect of empathogens runs counter to consumerism — which depends on a reliable mass supply of anxiety, alienation and discontent. Arthur Koestler was a great one for smashing idols and ideologies. And he was wise enough to ask of his own proposal for a peace pill, “Who is to control the controls, manipulate the manipulators?” Exactly the sort of question you’d expect from someone with oppositional defiant disorder. geoffolson.com

0 600

The number of puppets killed or injured during performances of Famous Puppet Death Scenes, running until April 19 at the Cultch.

In millions of dollars, the amount of money Ivanhoe Cambridge are spending to develop a giant shopping mall on Tsawwassen First Nation land.

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Inbox LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Helping the homeless is everyone’s responsibility

Re: “Mayor fails to meet goal of ending homelessness,” March 25. Your article notes the excellent effort the mayor has made on behalf of the homeless. He has talked our provincial government into funding 14 supportive housing buildings; the same provincial government that fails to adequately fund schools, universities, health care, and social services. Mayor Robertson’s pledge has focused attention on some of our most needy citizens. That focus helps us remember we are citizens, with responsibility for other citizens, and not just parsimonious taxpayers. We need to take care of each other, and helping the homeless is part of that caring, the duty of every citizen. Frank Harris, Vancouver

Letter writer offered poor representation of transit use

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

Canucks coach handed suspension

March 27, 1982: Vancouver Canucks coach Harry Neale is handed a 10-game suspension by the NHL for angrily wading into the stands after a fan tried reaching over the glass to get at Tiger Williams in a Mar. 20 game in Quebec City at Le Colisée against the Nordiques. Defenceman Doug Halward was also given a seven-game suspension for punching a fan in the face. Associate coach Roger Neilson was forced to take over behind the bench, and the team went on a 5-0-1 tear to end the regular season. They then went 4-0 in the first four playoff games on their way to reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in the team’s 12-year history.

Vander Zalm resigns as premier March 29, 1991: Premier Bill Vander Zalm announces he will resign when his Social Credit party chooses a new leader due to an investigation for improper real estate dealings relating to the sale of his family’s Fantasy Gardens to a Taiwanese billionaire. He was eventually charged with criminal breach of trust but found not guilty in B.C. Supreme Court. Vander Zalm was succeeded as premier by deputy premier Rita Johnson, who led the party to an historic defeat in the October general election that saw the SoCreds win just seven seats.

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Re: Letter to the editor, “Voting Yes will push out poor,” March 18. “It is well documented that the core users of any transit systems are the poor.” Where is the proof that the core users of any transit systems are the poor? The majority of the TransLink passengers I see, day in-day out, appear to be people working in all sorts of jobs. Many have cars, but a monthly three-zone pass is cheaper than the $200 plus monthly permits I see advertised in downtown parkades. Surely families that buy condos nearby a transit station do it because at least one member of the family will use transit? The Canada line success come from people in Richmond and beyond that used cars and have found that it is easier and economical to use transit. I lived in Toronto for 10 years, using transit daily. I have visited London and Paris many times, and visited quite a few towns in Europe, North-America and Asia, using transit in all of them. Everywhere it was obvious that the majority of the people that endured being crushed in a bus or commuter train, at rush hour were going to or coming from work. J.L. Brussac, Coquitlam

ONLINE COMMENTS Floating some ideas for fixing B.C. Ferries service

Re: “B.C. Ferries face big challenges to curb costs,” March 25. Horseshoe Bay terminal should be primarily for Bowen Island and Langdale. A new, long-envisioned terminal, in Richmond near the jetty beside the

Barry Link

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Why are employees free rides not restricted to stand-by? After all paying passengers are accommodated, then let them use the “free space.” Recently I’ve seen sailing waits and ask myself how many employees are on that ship while we wait two hours for another sailing. Seems a reasonable question that no one can answer. IslandMan, via Comments section

Fired up over affordability

Re: “Fire hall and housing project goes to open house,” March 25. It is interesting that this project uses 30 per cent of income as a benchmark, but West End affordability was determined to be “whatever you can afford.” Wouldn’t that qualify as a double standard? Perhaps someone from Vision would care to comment on this apparent dichotomy? Timothy Stark, via Comments section

Fassbender’s financial folly

Re: “New requirements could delay school budget,” March 25. So the province has money not just for its own external consultants but also to pay off the external consultants already contracted by the Vancouver School Board, yet can’t ﬁnd money for actual, you know, education? Is that how we’re supposed to interpret Fassbender’s actions? ACMEsalesrep, via Comments section

Mayor’s housing plan nothing to write home about

Re: “Mayor fails to meet goal of ending homelessness,” March 25. You forgot the word “again.” @teririch, via Twitter

•••

If @MayorGregor enjoys irony, empty homes across the city are an excellent joke. @BEmptyHomes, via Twitter

•••

Maybe it’s time to use the investors’ empty homes? Repurpose them as affordable housing if left vacant. @charlesmenzies, via Twitter

Last but not East Village

Re: Kudos & Kvetches, “East of burden,” March 25. It’s a toss-up between “Hastings Lite” and “Where You Move When You’ve Finally Had Enough of Commercial Drive.” Niki Hope, via Facebook

have your say online...

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Dee Dhaliwal

airport could serve both Nanaimo terminals, or end on Gabriola with a connecting bridge for a one-hour ferry trip. It would require a short bridge over the North Fraser to connect with Southwest Marine Drive. Imagine how the locals would like that! But spending $200 million to seismically upgrade Horseshoe is a waste. Peter Friton, via Comments section

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A RC H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Community

While there are many ways in which people celebrate Passover, Rabbi Ilan Acoca — shown here holding a Torah scroll that’s more than 100 years old at the Sephardic Jewish synagogue Beth Hamidrash — prefers to emphasize the similarities. “That’s the beauty of it. You have people from the four corners of the world who are coming under the same roof, praying and congregating.” PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Similarities outweigh differences during Passover

Twelve tribes of Israel’s Exodus reenacted in symbolic seder PACIFIC SPIRIT Pat Johnson

paciﬁcspiritpj@gmail.com

According to Jewish tradition, when the 12 tribes of Israel ﬂed Pharaoh’s bondage and escaped through the parted Red Sea, each tribe followed a different path. The Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown next Friday, and Jewish Vancouverites will celebrate freedom by reenacting that Exodus in a symbolic and ritualized meal known as a seder. Every family’s seder is different, often following various versions of the narrative as told in the Haggadah — which doubles as the story of Exodus and a manual for leading the family through the steps — but the similarities outweigh the differences. That is a message Rabbi Ilan Acoca stressed to me when I asked him how his celebration of Passover differs from that of most Jew-

ish Vancouverites. Acoca is the spiritual leader of Beth Hamidrash, the only Sephardic synagogue in town — indeed, the only one west of Toronto. Sephardic Jews are generally considered those from North Africa and the Middle East, descended from the Jews who were forced from Spain and Portugal in the last decade of the 15th century. (Chances are strong that many of the Jews from the far reaches of the Middle East are not descended from the Spanish refugees at all, but Acoca accepts a broader definition, which views Sephardic Jews as followers of the wisdom of Maimonides, the 12th century Jewish philosopher of Spain.) Far away from the Ashkenazi Jews of Europe, the Sephardic Jews stayed true to their ancient traditions, but influenced and were influenced by the cultures in which they lived. Though there are significant differences between the

Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions and rituals, it is more striking how similar they remained despite half a millennium of separate development. While I wanted to know how they differed, Acoca wanted to emphasize the similarities. “We have 12 tribes that you could distinguish between, and each tribe has his tradition,” says the rabbi. “However, we are crossing the sea at the same time.” Still, of the things that would be most obvious to a member of any other synagogue in Vancouver who stepped into services at Beth Hamidrash, Acoca says, it’s the tunes. The sacred chanting of Sephardic Jews reflects the cadences of the music of Andalusia. And while the music influenced the Jews, the Jews influenced the music. “Flamenco, as it’s known today, is originally from Andalusia and the Jews were part of the development of Flamenco music,” he says. The food, understand-

ably, is different too. While Ashkenazi Jews’ Sabbath meal will often centre on chicken or brisket, Friday at the Acoca home is Moroccan ﬁsh, Mediterranean spices and maybe couscous. The Jews of North Africa, whose ancestors ﬂed Spain in the 1490s, and the Jews of the Mideast and central Asia, some of whom were part of 3,000-year-old communities, were uprooted again in the second half of the 20th century. After the state of Israel was born and much of the Arab world rose up to destroy it, Jewish people who had lived relatively securely across the region were suddenly viewed as spies and enemies. In successive waves, as many as a million Jews were made refugees from 1948 until today, when there are few or no Jews in countries where Jewish communities had thrived for millennia. “There’s a lot of history there,” Acoca says. “History that sometimes is forgotten. Jews from Arab

countries, most of them if not all of them, left their countries with nothing.” As a country of immigrants, Canada has felt the ripples of this history. The faces of Beth Hamidrash may be the most visible example. “We have a whole mixture of people, which makes the congregation unique,” Acoca says. “We have Jews from all over, Jews from Algeria, Jews from Yemen, from Morocco, from Iraq. We have someone who was born in Japan whose parents were from India and grandparents from Iraq. That’s the beauty of it. You have people from the four corners of the world who are coming under the same roof, praying and congregating.” If you can’t see the difference, you’ll hear it. “In my congregation,” he says, “you’ll have people who speak French, English of course, Judeo-Arabic, Spanish, and we have a few, not too many, who still speak Ladino,” a language

descended from medieval Spanish that is to Sephardic Jews what Yiddish is to Ashkenazi Jews. While there are different rituals in Sephardic Passover celebrations, the most obvious takes place immediately after the weeklong holiday ends. Unknown in Ashkenazi tradition, Sephardic Jews end Passover with a celebration called Mimouna, a festival of springtime and a return to eating the foods that are forbidden during Passover, when very strict dietary restrictions are observed. As all sorts of Jews prepare for Passover next week, Acoca reﬂects on his different — but not too different — congregants. “Sephardic Jews contributed a lot to their societies,” he says. “They integrated into the society. However the beauty of it is that they kept their Judaism alive, relevant and very, very open for people to come and be part of this beautiful Judaism.” twitter.com/Pat604Johnson

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News Urban forest grows one tree at a time Deanna Cheng

dmwcheng7@gmail.com

A non-proﬁt organization wants Vancouverites to start planting trees in their own front and back yards, and is holding a tree sale to help out, with ﬁg trees at $15 and other fruit trees at $10 each. There’s also eight types of ornamental trees available for those seeking a prettier view without the fruit cleanup. The sale will be held at various community centres from April 11 to 22. TreeKeepers is a program focused on encouraging city dwellers to plant trees on private property and add to Vancouver’s tree canopy. David Tracey, executive director of TreeKeepers, says having an abundant tree canopy keeps the city healthy. “The city is an urban forest. We don’t think of it that way. We think of it in terms of the neighbourhoods, or the transportation and infrastructure or buildings, but in reality it is an urban forest. It just happens to have people and buildings and roads and things in it.”

According to Tracey, the health of the city is tied to how healthy the urban forest is and one way to measure that is the canopy cover, how much of the land, looking from the sky down, is covered by trees. “We’re actually losing canopy cover in Vancouver,” said Tracey. The 2014 Urban Forests in Canadian Cities report states: “While the overall canopy cover is estimated at 43 per cent, there is a large variation across the region: in the city of Vancouver, canopy cover is only 18 per cent — the lowest of the major cities we have examined. In contrast, Surrey, a suburb, has a canopy cover of 32 per cent.” Tracey said trees provide cleaner air and intercept rainwater so fewer stormwater infrastructures are necessary. He also said trees give us aesthetic pleasure by softening the harsh lines of infrastructure and maintain a thriving biodiversity by providing habitats for birds and insects. Vancouver largely has

street trees, trees on private property and in parks as opposed to its original rainforest state. “It’s kind of an artiﬁcial forest, in a sense, that we’ve created,” said Tracey. TreeKeepers sold more than 4,500 trees last year. The target was 4,000 trees and the target remains the same this year. TreeKeepers’ youth program manager Matthew Kemshaw is in charge of the School of the Year campaign, and last year, Vancouver Talmud Torah school, a Jewish community day school, won by 31 trees. The contest is akin to the Terry Fox Run pledges. Students take home forms and ask family members or neighbours to sign up for a tree. The school with the most trees sold wins a trophy and $500 towards the school. Kemshaw, who also works as a tree consultant and mentor with schools said planting a tree isn’t as daunting as some might think. “All you need are the basics: healthy soil and [that they’re] watered regularly.”

Here is a list of upcoming tree sales: April 11: Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Dr., 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 12: Kitsilano Community Centre, 2690 Larch St., 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Killarney Community Centre, 6260 Killarney St., 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 18: Slocan Park, 2750 East 29th Ave., 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Sunset Rink, 390 East 51st Ave., 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 19: Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer St., 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Dunbar Community Centre, 4747 Dunbar St., 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 22: Mount Pleasant Community Centre, |1 Kingsway, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit treekeepers.ca. twitter.com/writerly_dee

Vote Yes in the Transportation and Transit Referendum

Has your transit referendum ballot arrived in the mail? The City of Vancouver will offer eight courtesy ballot drop-off and information locations from March 20 – April 10. The locations will also serve to fill a gap in service offering by Elections BC which opens its Plebiscite Offices in the region April 13th. You can drop off your completed ballot at any Canada Post mailbox or office or at one of these locations which will be open Tuesdays – Fridays, 2 to 6 pm and Saturdays, 10 am to 2 pm.

Tax savings |

Community Centres • West End Community Centre, 870 Denman Street • Kitsilano Community Centre, 990 West 59th Avenue

Get tax savings working for you. There are all kinds of tax relief measures available to help Canadian families, such as the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit, the proposed enhancements to the Universal Child Care Beneﬁt*, and the First-Time Donor’s Super Credit. Plus, when you ﬁle online and sign up for direct deposit, you get your refund faster. Learn more at Canada.ca/TaxSavings.

• Hillcrest Centre, 4575 Clancy Loranger Way • Marpole Oakridge Community Centre, 990 West 59th Avenue • Britannia Community Centre, 1661 Napier Street • Mount Pleasant Community Centre, 1 Kingsway Vancouver Public Library branches • Central Branch, 350 West Georgia Street • Renfrew Branch, 2929 East 22nd Avenue Deadline to return ballots is May 29, 2015.

*Subject to parliamentary approval

Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Tao Miracle Healing Courses ™

Open your 3rd Eye and Soul Communication Channel with Dr. and Master Sha

News Stanley Park causeway to get $7M bike lanes Maria Spitale-Leisk

mspitale-leisk@nsnews.com

Cyclists will soon be able to roll through the Stanley Park causeway more safely, after the province committed $7 million this week to an upgrade project. Preliminary plans for improved pedestrian and cyclist safety unveiled last winter show a reconﬁgured causeway with widened northbound and southbound cycling lanes separated on opposite sides of the road. The east sidewalk will be widened by 1.9 metres and be designated for two-way pedestrian trafﬁc, while the west sidewalk will gain a more modest 0.4 metres and be limited to southbound cyclists only. Both sides will be separated from the road by a 1.4-metre high safety fence. Liberal MLAs Naomi Yamamoto and Jane Thornthwaite were on hand

Free Tao Miracle Healing Evening Wed • April 8 • 6 - 9 pm • In person & Live via webcast

in Stanley Park Tuesday as the province announced — as part of a new 10-year transportation plan — it would fund $7-million of the causeway facelift. “With this investment in infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, we will be improving safety for all users on the causeway, and are helping to promote alternative modes of transportation on a very busy corridor,” stated B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone in a press release. Cycling advocacy group HUB is among the stakeholders contributing input on the project, along with the Vancouver Park Board, the City of Vancouver and local First Nations. The causeway design plan meets the needs of both cyclists and pedestrians, according to HUB spokeswoman Heather Drugge. While she hasn’t seen the latest iteration, Drugge is conﬁdent the ﬁnal design

won’t deviate from what has already been revealed. “What’s good about this announcement is they (the province) are committing to an actual number. That $7 million will go a long way to create a high-quality infrastructure — way better than it is now,” said Drugge. HUB has been advocating for causeway safety improvements since May 2013 when a North Vancouver woman was killed after she fell from her bike into the path of a bus. “The unseasonably warm weather this winter has led to an increase in cyclists on the road. We are also heading into tourist season which creates congestion and often conﬂicts for cyclists and pedestrians in the causeway,” said Drugge. A timeline for the project, which hinges on ﬁnal approval from the park board, has not been announced yet.

Pet of the Week

A rare, inspiring evening of miracles & powerful blessings to bring greater success, flourishing, joy and happiness in your life. You could also win: • A guest pass to Open Spiritual Channels Retreat • Soul Reading and Life Guidance sessions, • Books by New York Times bestselling author, Dr. and Master Sha.

Open Spiritual Channels April 9 -13 • Special offer in person $200 (up to April 4th) Live Webcast $95 • 3 Guest Passes per registration! Learn to connect with your own soul, spiritual guides in Heaven, Divine, and more! Open your soul's ability to communicate and see beautiful 3rd eye images for success in all aspects of life. • Open your Third Eye Channel • Open your Soul Communication Channel • Open your Direct Knowing Channel

Personal Consultations April 14 -15 • By Appointment only. Call Nancy 604-312-1661 Rare opportunity to receive Soul Reading & Tao Healing directly from Master Sha.

More than an invitation ... a sacred calling!

Pet: Lily

Owner: The Courier’s Barb Foot

Breed: Labrador retriever

Age: Three years old

Together: Two years

Attributes: Lily loves hiking, but her favourite pastime is watching soccer.

Venue: 1495 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6H 1C9 Call: 1.800.935.7570 • 604.670.7843 DrSha.com • Facebook.com/DrandMasterSha • YouTube.com/ZhiGangSha

Do you own the next Pet of the Week? Please send a clear photo of your pet — humans are welcome to be in photos as well — their breed, name, age, how long you’ve been together and any special attributes or idiosyncrasies they might have to sthomas@vancourier.com and we’ll publish as many as possible in print and online.

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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News B.C. liquor store price-hikes to be minimal on April 1 BCLDB to stop providing price-guide booklets for competitive reasons

Glen Korstrom

gkorstrom@biv.com

Widespread speculation that B.C. liquor store prices will rise signiﬁcantly on April 1 appears to be misguided given a leaked partial price list. Attorney General Suzanne Anton said last week that the government would release its liquor store prices on March 20. Many expected that this release would be for the public. Restaurant owners, the media and the public, however, were kept in the dark. The British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) did release price lists of future B.C. liquor store prices to wine agents. Some of those agents refused to provide their lists, saying that the BCLDB forbids them to reveal internal documents to the media. One agent, however, provided a partial list and he said that prices on the whole were pretty much identical to the current prices across the board.

For example, the California red wine Republic currently retails at BCLDB stores at $16.99. The future shelf price of that wine will be $14.79 although a 10 per cent provincial tax and a 5 per cent federal tax will be added at the till, bringing the new sale price to $17.01. The Seven Deadly Zins old vine Zinfandel wine from California’s Lodi region currently retails for $24.99 at BCLDB stores. On April 1, that price rises to $25.06 after all taxes are paid at the till. Napa Valley’s Plume Winery produced a cabernet sauvignon in 2010 and 2011 that currently retails at BCLDB stores for $29.99. The price on April 1 will rise to $30 after all taxes are paid at the till. For those who prefer Tuscan wines, the winery Rocca Delle Macie produced a wine it calls Roccato in 2009, which currently retails at BCLDB stores for $49.99. The obtained price list shows that the price of that wine will rise to $50.01

Despite initial fears, B.C. liquor store prices shouldn’t rise significantly on April 1, according to Attorney General Suzanne Anton. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

on April 1. Finally, for those who like to splurge, the price of some Laurent Perrier rosé Champagne is currently $99.99 and is set to rise to $100.06 at the till on April 1.

“We’re expecting that the government stores’ prices in April will be more or less what they are in March,” Anton said March 18. “The vast majority of the products are about the same

[price]. There’re a few that are more. Generally the overall package for you and me as a consumer going into a government store will look the same in April as it will in March.”

Historically, the BCLDB produced price booklets that listed all products that its stores carry along with the retail price. Anton said that, although the BCLDB may produce some marketing materials from time to time that highlights its pricing, consumers should not expect to have a single location that lists all of the BCLDB stores’ pricing. The rationale for this is that BCLDB stores are competing with private retailers who also rarely provide price-guides. There will be a website, however, where consumers can plug in the name of a speciﬁc product to ﬁnd out its price. The B.C. government’s change to create alcohol shelf prices that exclude a 15 per cent tax that will be added at the till was done because of new software, Anton said. “We bought an out-ofthe-box software and we don’t have to make massive changes to it. We’re just now displaying [pre-tax] prices like most retailers do.”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

News TransLink’s focused on ‘finding efficiencies’ Interim CEO Doug Allen says Compass Card and fare gate system also priorities

Jen St. Denis

jenstdenis@biv.com

Doug Allen repeatedly uses the word “complicated” to describe work he found interesting during his long career in government. So he may have landed in the right place as interim CEO of TransLink, a post he adopted on the eve of a contentious transit funding plebiscite. He will hold the job for the next six months. “TransLink is a very interesting organization,” said Allen during an interview at the organization’s head ofﬁce in New Westminster. “I just hope that by the time six months is up, we’re not only a better organization but people understand how well TransLink has performed in the past.” Allen, 66, has been involved with or in charge of several big changes to the way government entities operate. In the early 1990s, he was deputy minister of health during the regionalization of the system; in 2002, he was appointed

interim president of B.C. Ferries as it restructured to a semi-private model. As a management consultant, he moved both the B.C. Safety Authority and the Land Title and Survey Authority out of government to become private authorities. For the past three years, he’s been CEO of InTransit B.C., the private corporation that runs the Canada Line and has a contract to sell its services to TransLink. His appointment follows TransLink’s board’s decision to oust its previous CEO, Ian Jarvis, in February. Allen, who emphasized that he commutes to work every day by bus and SkyTrain, said his focus will be on running TransLink, “ﬁnding efﬁciencies” and making sure major projects are on task. Those major projects include carrying out 20 recommendations to upgrade and improve SkyTrain following two

Doug Allen, TransLink’s interim CEO, said his focus will be on running TransLink, “finding efficiencies” and making sure major projects are on task. Photo ???

system failures last summer. Those upgrades will cost $71 million. The long-delayed Compass Card and fare gate system is also top of mind, Allen said.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time getting briefed on exactly where it stands, what the issues are and how we can be successful at every stage of rollout of that program,” he said.

He also plans to turn his attention to customer service and to improving communication between TransLink, the media and the public. Allen said he will draw on his experience with the Canada Line to emphasize seemingly simple things, like smoothly running escalators and elevators and improved signage. “There isn’t any substitute for speaking to customers about not only how we’re doing, but things we’re proposing to change or things they think we should be changing,” he said. “There’s a customer interface here that needs special attention.” Although he has a wealth of experience transforming public entities into private or semi-private ones, Allen’s mandate at TransLink does not include exploring privatization. But he said he believes private or hybrid entities are often more accountable. “Every one of these entities that are purely private or a hybrid, the focus is on per-

formance measurement, and that has tremendous pluses in my mind,” Allen said. Finally, Allen will also be responsible, with the board, for ﬁnding a new CEO. That’s where it gets tricky, said Gordon Price, a former Vancouver city councillor and director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, because of the competing political interests at play. For years, TransLink has been pulled between the province and the region’s mayors, a relationship that was not improved when, in 2008, then-transportation minister Kevin Falcon took governance of TransLink away from a regional Mayors’ Council and handed it to an appointed board. In 2013, Transportation Minister Todd Stone handed over responsibilities for regional transportation strategies and setting executive pay; the board still has responsibility for operations. Continued on page 18

Debunking Money Myths

A seminar designed to boost seniors’ money sense presented by Tapestry at Wesbrook Village

Wednesday, April 15, 2:00pm – 3:30pm In retirement, it’s more important than ever to feel confident and stress-free as it relates to your financial management. But common myths and misconceptions about aging and finances are all around, and they can distract you from focusing on what’s really important. Join us at Tapestry at Wesbrook Village for a lively and participatory seminar featuring Tracy Theemes, MA, CFP Financial Advisor from Sophia Financial Group. Tracy will walk you through some of the most common questions that impact financial freedom as we age and bust the myths. Being in control of your finances is a great stress reliever – and a sure fire way to make sure you enjoy your retirement years! This is a free seminar open to seniors and their families. Space is limited, so please RSVP to 604.225.5000.

DiscoverTapestry.com Tapestry at Wesbrook Village 3338 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver

604.225.5000

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

MARTIN LUTHER EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

505 East 46th Avenue, Vancouver (one block West of Fraser St) Phone 604-325-0550

WE WELCOME YOU

Good Friday, April 3rd

West Point Grey Presbyterian Church & U-Campus Baptist Church (Mandarin) Welcome You to Worship!!

(Both Services with Holy Communion)

Easter Sunday, 10:00 am Combined Service followed by an Easter Breakfast April 5th

You are invited to our Holy Week Services

4397 West 12th Ave. (Corner of 12th Ave. and Trimble St.)

Joint Good Friday service April 3rd @ 11a.m.

Led by music leaders, children, and youth in both West Point Grey Presbyterian and U-Campus Baptist Churches.

Easter Sunday April 5th morning services: UCBC Mandarin service @ 9:15am WPG Presbyterian Church Easter Communion with Rev. Joyce Davis @ 11a.m. Blessings to you all at Easter time!!

9:00 am German Service 11:00 am English Service

Good Friday Bilingual Service April 3, 10:30am

西點長老會和UBC區校園浸信會歡迎您來敬拜上帝! 我們的地址是溫哥華西12街4397號，在Trimble夾12街的拐角處。 4月3日，禮拜五，主耶穌受難日聯合敬拜：上午11點開始，由西點長老會和 UBC區校園浸信會聯合主辦。 4月5日，復活節，UBC區校園浸信會(國語)主日敬拜：上午9:15開始。願神祝福大家!!

Rev. E. Lindstrom

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Celebrating over 100 years of faithful ministry in West Point Grey

Easter Worship Celebrations Sunday, April 5 English 10am Cantonese 11:30am

Chown Memorial and Chinese United Church 3519 Cambie St (at W19 Ave) Vancouver Tel: 604.876.7104

604.224.7744 or www.vcn.bc.ca/wpgpc

Holy WKKk ODL EOHGKP OG DFDNOP HKEJIGH UDEGKL CIFPMI Palm Sunday, March 29th at 10am

ST. MATTHIAS & ST. LUKE ANGLICAN CHURCH

Palm Parade, Silhouette Storytelling

An open-hearted community journeying with Christ…come join us!

Maundy Thursday, April 2nd at 6pm Eat, drink and remember

HOLY WEEK & EASTER WORSHIP SERVICES

Good Friday, April 3rd at 10am A time of spiritual practice

Curious about Christianity? Want to get connected (again) with faith and religion?

St. John Passion (J.S. Bach) at Dunbar Heights UC, April 3rd at 7pm or at St. Andrew’s Wesley UC, April 4th at 7pm

Everyone is welcome at these family-friendly worship services. Palm Sunday:

March 29th, 10:30 a.m. Outdoor procession with palms and Eucharist.

Dunbar Heights United Voices & Postmodern Camerata - by donation

Easter Sunday, April 5th at 10am

Maundy Thursday: April 2nd, 7:30pm Foot-washing & Eucharist

Communion and more!

Good Friday:

April 3rd, 12 noon Church available at 11am for private prayers Meditation on the Cross & Distribution of Communion

Easter Sunday:

April 5th, 10:30am Service of Light & Eucharist + Children’s Easter Egg Hunt

All ages, all questioners welcome every Sunday

3525 West 24th Avenue 604 731 6420 www.dunbarheightsuc.ca

604-321-7101 Email: info@stmstl.org Facebook: 2 blocks west of the Langara-49 Ave StMatthiasStLukeAnglicanChurch

680 West 49 Ave Vancouver, BC V5Z 2S4 Canada Line SkyTrain Station

To advertise contact Nadia Mather nmather@van.net 604-998-1203

www.stmstl.org

You are invited

to join in the drama of Holy Week and celebrate the Joy and New Life of Easter To ﬁnd the details of the services happening near you please see our website www.westsideanglican.ca

With our love and blessing for a Happy Easter from the Anglican parishes on the West side of Vancouver

Diocese of New Westminster

Anglican Church of Canada

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

FINAL DAYS TO SAVE!

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The Vancouver Taxi Association has dropped its lawsuit against rideshare service Uber, which says it has no plans to operate in Vancouver. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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Vancouver taxi companies have announced that they are dropping their lawsuit against rideshare service company Uber Canada and its drivers. The Vancouver Taxi Association launched the lawsuit in November, alleging Uber’s plans to set up shop in the city were illegal. The suit alleged that Uber did not plan on getting the appropriate licences from either the City of Vancouver or the Passenger Transportation Board. Uber now said it does not have plans to operate in Vancouver. “The Vancouver Taxi Companies are thankful

to Uber for respecting and abiding by the laws in The Province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, just as the Vancouver Taxi Companies have had to do for over 100 years,” the cab organization said in a release. The group is not ruling out future legal action, however. “If Uber announces in the future that it will be operating in the city in breach of the legal requirements for taxi service, the Vancouver Taxi Companies will reﬁle their lawsuit to prevent this from happening,” it said. “We hope that will not be necessary and that if Uber decides to operate in the City, it will do so in

compliance with the legal requirements.” The cab companies say following the laws in question protect the public interest. At the time the lawsuit was launched, however, Uber said the taxi companies were simply looking out for their own interests and the organization was “protecting its own cartel, even at the expense of consumers and its own drivers.” Uber services were available in Vancouver for a short period in 2012 before the company was forced to stop after it was determined that it was essentially a limo service and, as such, had to follow limo rules. — With ﬁles from Jen St. Denis

Competing interests at play

Continued from page 16 “I think it’s way too early to say what a CEO should be doing if you don’t know the intent of the province [or] the outcome of the referendum,” Price said. “And you don’t know what the mayors would push for. “So you’ve got maybe three distinct sets of marching orders — why would any CEO take that on?” Ideally, the CEO should be an “unabashed champion of transit,” said Brent Toderian, Vancouver’s former chief planner and a vocal supporter of the Yes side. They should also not

be afraid to speak up when they think the wrong decision is being made. “At the end of the day, if the elected ofﬁcials do the wrong thing, it’s their prerogative to do the wrong thing, and it’s the civil servants’ job to implement the wrong thing as best as they can,” Toderian said. “But up to the point of that decision it’s their job to speak out.” Toderian and Price have both criticized the provincial government for its habit of readily funding road and bridge improvements while transit funding stalls.

Toderian was skeptical that a chief executive matching his idea of an effective CEO would be hired. “Many organizations say they want that kind of leader, but in truth they don’t really, because they think it’s easier to have someone they can control,” he said. “I’m sure Ian Jarvis was doing exactly what they wanted him to do. But in the end he was also the easy guy to cut.” As to who the next CEO will be, Allen is sure of only one thing. “I am not a candidate.” twitter.com/jenstden

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Community

KEY PLAYER: Pianist Lang Lang recently paid a visit to Vancouver. Prior to headlining a sold out show with the Vancouver Symphony, the Chinese superstar fronted several charity events as part of his work through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, which promotes music education around the world. First, the 32-year-old artist hosted a master class, playing alongside 100 students who doubled up to perform Schubert and Brahms on 50 pianos at the Orpheum Theatre. Following the piano lesson, Lang Lang was guest of honour at a $1,800-a-ticket meet and greet. VSO School of Music and the Foundation of Charitable Chinese Immigrants partnered to host the exclusive affair, staged in Pyatt Recital Hall. At the event, 60 guests rubbed elbows and had their photo taken with the international superstar while raising $108,000 for various local charities including the VSO School of Music, the Sam Sullivan Disability Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. SEEING GREEN: CBC’s Margaret Gallagher and yours truly emceed the Cultch’s annual gala. One hundred and fifty guests — ardent supporters of the venerable East Side arts organization — gathered for the sixth annual “Celtic celebration” led by executive director Heather Redfern, managing director Cindy Reid and party chairs Sally Emmerson and Ryan O’Connor. Attendees enjoyed a rousing evening of entertainment and a sumptuous three-course dinner on the company’s historic theatre stage before opening their wallets for the non-profit, which celebrated its 41st season. While none of the party principals donned the Celtic colours, the dominant hue was green as a reported $40,000 was netted from the St. Paddy’s Day dinner and auction. FINE DINING: First staged back in 1994 to support people affected by the AIDS crisis, Dining Out for Life returned last week for its 21st edition. One hundred restaurants from Whistler to White Rock once again signed on for the annual campaign, donating 25 per cent of their food sales to support A Loving Spoonful and Friends for Life, charities that help people dealing with the disease and other life-threatening illnesses. While rates of infection have declined and new treatments extending lives, the need is still there for the reported 17,000 people in B.C. living with HIV/ AIDS. Yours truly hosted a preview dinner at Robbie Kane’s Café Medina. Media personalities, tastemakers and influencers filed into the Richards’ Street eatery for the campaign launch.

email yvrflee@hotmail.com twitter @FredAboutTown

All smiles were party planner Maureen Fleming and auctioneer David C. Jones after $40,000 was generated from the Cultch gala dinner and auction.

Fiona Lin, VSO School of Music board of director, and QiQi Hong, Foundation of Charitable Chinese Immigrants president, fronted the exclusive $1,800-a-ticket Lang Lang meet-and-greet.

Gala host Margaret Gallagher welcomed Irish lads Joshua McVeity, left, and George McWhirter to the Cultch’s Celtic celebrations in support of the venerable East Vancouver arts organization.

Party chairs Sally Emmerson and Ryan O’Connor fronted the Cultch’s sixth annual fundraiser complete with Irish music, Irish dancing and an Irish pub.

Maestro Bramwell Tovey welcomed international superstar Lang Lang to Vancouver. The acclaimed pianist held a master class with 100 students before fronting a cocktail reception in support of the VSO School of Music and local charities.

From left, piano students Jennifer Song, Crystal Feng and Vanessa Liu had the honour of performing in front of acclaimed pianist Lang Lang.

Café Medina’s Robbie Kane welcomed Grey’s Anatomy actress Sara Ramirez to the Dining Out for Life dinner. The restaurant was one of 100 establishments that donated 25 per cent of food sales to support A Loving Spoonful and Friends for Life.

Executive directors Kim Angel (Friends for Life) and Lisa Martella (A Loving Spoonful) aimed to raise $100,000 from their 21st Dining Out for Life campaign to help those living with HIV/AIDS and other life threatening illnesses.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Travel

England’s Scarborough more than just fair Yorkshire city famous for its beach, castle and resident playwright John Masters

Meridian Writers’ Group

SCARBOROUGH, England—On any given day, Alan Ayckbourn can be sure that at least one of his 70-plus works is being performed somewhere on the globe. Ayckbourn — Sir Alan since 1997 — is considered a national treasure in Britain. His star waxes and wanes in the rest of the world, but never disappears entirely. In the mid-1970s he had four plays onstage simultaneously on Broadway. In 2010 he was back in Manhattan to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Tonys. Ayckbourn writes comedies that are funny and touching by turns, full of people rarely bigger than life, but who are engaging, lovingly drawn and, for all their Britishness, universally familiar. His best-known

works include A Chorus of Disapproval, Absurd Person Singular and Communicating Doors. You’d think that such a vital force in the theatrical world would live in London. Instead, for virtually all his four-decades-plus career, he’s been based far to the north, in the coastal Yorkshire city of Scarborough. Scarborough (pop. 50,000), once upon a time, was a well-to-do spa town. People came to take the waters and breath the sea air. But in the early 20th century it lost its allure. The spa turned off its tap in the 1930s when the water was declared unfit. It still has the ruins of its magnificent, 12thcentury castle, atop a headland, but its Grand Hotel, once Europe’s finest, has been taken over by bus tour groups, and its South Bay beachfront is lined with arcades and

your meal idea

The waterfront city of Scarborough is home to renowned playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn. PHOTO THOMAS TOLKIEN

fast-food joints. Ayckbourn moved here because his mentor, Stephen Joseph, was running a small, regional theatre. But after Ayckbourn’s plays began to transfer

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regularly to London’s West End — as more than half of his plays have — why did he stay? “It’s the right size of town for me,” he says, and “it’s a very nice place to live.” People leave him alone. (“They’re Yorkshire people. If you just keep walking with your head down, they all respect your silence.”) Perhaps more to the point, Ayckbourn is an admitted control freak, and in Scarborough he’s got to run his own show as director of the Stephen

Joseph Theatre. Every year he writes at least one new play for the theatre and, once he does, “I have to go through a committee of people approving it, and the committee is me.” That would not happen in a London or a New York. Ayckbourn is also a devotee of theatre-inthe-round, pioneered by Joseph, whose ideas are embodied in the playhouse bearing his name. “He decreed so many seats and the space had to be so big,” says Ayckbourn. “Which is what

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makes it really work as a theatre, I think. The relationship between the audience and the playing space.” Once in a while Sir Alan goes down to London, more rarely to New York. Mainly, he stays home. If you want to catch a glimpse of him, your best bet is the Lanterna Ristorante at 33 Queen Street. That’s where he goes to celebrate every time he ﬁnishes a new play — which, in his case, is quite often. More stories at culturelocker.com

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Travel

China’s finest treasures are found in Taiwan Peter Neville-Hadley Meridian Writers’ Group

TAIPEI, Taiwan — To satisfy an interest in Chinese art, it seems obviously best to head to Beijing. The Palace Museum, as the Forbidden City home of 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors is now known, claims to hold the world’s largest collection of Chinese art amounting to about 1.8 million items. But by an accident of history the greatest collection of Chinese art, displayed to international standards in a purposebuilt and recently refurbished museum, is to be found in Taiwan. The collection of Taipei’s National Palace Museum may be only a third as big as that of Beijing, but 90 per cent of it is the cream of the horde accumulated by the emperors themselves — the finest of Chinese fine art. The two collections both claim direct descent from the first version, which opened in several

halls of Beijing’s Forbidden City in 1925. But in 1933 a selection of the best pieces began an extraordinary 16-year journey of more then 10,000 kilometres, moving ahead of the invading Japanese, and then after the end of the Second World War, ahead of communist advances. After the communist triumph of 1949 about a quarter of the original collection, the very best of the best, was taken to Taiwan and given a welllit and labelled rest in new museum buildings. Treasures include an 18th-century Qing dynasty version of the scroll painting, Along the River During the Qingming Festival, more than 10 metres long. This ultimate panorama follows the winding, treelined route of a waterway through a bustling city during one of China’s most important annual festivals, teeming with such detail of everyday life it would repay days of study by itself.

The National Palace Museum in Taipei was purpose-built to house the cream of China’s imperial treasures, once hidden away in Beijing’s Forbidden City. PHOTO SYLVAIN SARRAZIN

Ceramics range from chunky Neolithic painted earthenware to vessels of elegant simplicity from every dynasty in glowing celadon and ruby red, and highly decorated teaware, painted with misty landscapes or swarming with roses, seemingly so

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delicate that it might be shattered by merely a glance. Assorted jades, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, agate, carnelian and quartzes have been transformed by carving into delicate animals, ﬂowers and foodstuffs.

A piece of banded jasper has been exploited to the fullest by carving it into a piece of pork with its skin intact, and which looks so soft and moist that could you but reach through the glass and poke it, the surface would yield gently.

Public Open House – April 8

University Boulevard Precinct Planning

UBC is updating plans for the University Boulevard Precinct. In February 2015, we gathered feedback from the University community on how to complete the precinct vision. This feedback, in combination with further design analysis was used to develop draft planning and design concepts for the precinct. Please join us at a public open house to review the emerging planning and design concepts for the precinct.

Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2015 Time: 11:00am – 2:00pm Place: Main Concourse, Student Union Building (SUB), 6138 Student Union Boulevard Refreshments will be served. Can’t attend in person? Online consultation will run from April 7 - 19. Visit planning.ubc.ca to learn more.

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For additional information on the project, contact: Aviva Savelson, Senior Manager, Consultation, Campus + Community Planning at aviva.savelson@ubc.ca or 604-822-9984

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The museum’s labyrinth also contains ancient documents in spidery calligraphy, monstrous marble tomb figurines, and boxes of ivory shaved so thin and carved so finely as to be indistinguishable from lace, along with religious objects, jewelry, tapestries, embroidery and China’s greatest bronzes — vast dishes, more than 2,000 years old, also sprinkled with calligraphy. Today the communists have finally surrounded the fleeing collection, if only in the form of an influx of mainland tourists, their numbers increased by a recent relaxation of cross-strait tensions. Many are keen to see the finest achievements of Chinese art, and to take it home in the form of well-made catalogues from numerous bookshops. Somewhere over the horizon their own Palace Museum is still struggling to catch up. More stories at culturelocker.com

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Proper photo ID required upon registration. Payments: Visa, M.C., Debit, Cash and Certified Cheques. Some reserves may apply. Sale subject to additions, deletions, errors and omissions. 15% buyers premium & applicable taxes to be added. COOPER STERLING AUCTIONS.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Arts&Entertainment

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GOT ARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com

March 27 to 31, 2015 1. One of the most talked about and critically acclaimed horror ﬂicks in recent memory, David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows turns the teen horror genre on its bloody ear. See what all the fuss is about March 27 to 29, April 3, 4, 11 and 18 at Vancity Theatre. For details and show times, go to viff.org.

2. Motown Meltdown brings some added soul to the Commodore Ballroom March 28 in support of Seva Canada’s efforts to bring sustainable eye care programs to impoverished regions around the world. Twenty-six singers including Ali Milner, Dalannah Gail Bowen, Jim Byrnes, Marcus Mosely, Will Sanders and the Sojourners, among others, belt out Motown classics in front of a 12-piece band. Tickets at Highlife Records and ticketmaster.ca. 3. Local electronic indie duo HUMANS gets the sweaty dancefloor at Celebrities moving March 28. The group will be hunched over their gizmos and bobbing their heads in support of their debut album Noontide. They’re still called albums, aren’t they? Positive, world music-y Vancouver peeps Bestie opens. Tickets at bplive.ca. 4. Los Angeles by way of Vancouver piano popster Tobias Jesso Jr. is currently enjoying a deafening buzz surrounding his debut release Goon. Drawing comparisons to Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson, performing recently with the Roots on Jimmy Fallon and getting rave reviews from the tastemakers at Pitchfork, Jesso Jr. brings his beautiful and catchy sad-sack songs about heartbreak and loss to Electric Owl, March 30. The show is sold out, but a limited amount of tickets will be sold at the door on a first come, first served basis.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Arts&Entertainment

Fauré Requiem

The Good Friday Concert 8 pm | Friday, April 3, 2015 Orpheum Theatre Vancouver Chamber Choir | Pacifica Singers | Vancouver Youth Choir Vancouver Chamber Orchestra | Jon Washburn, conductor Our annual Good Friday concert highlights the Romantic masterpiece Fauré Requiem and two very special Baroque works – the touching Seven Last Words of Heinrich Schütz and the tragic Jephtha’s Daughter by Italian master Giacomo Carissimi.

www.vancouverchamberchoir.com 1-855-985-ARTS (2787)

BALLET BC

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POSTER OF THE WEEK

Show: Swank, We Found a Lovebird and Pill Squad, March 28 at LanaLou’s. Poster artist: Graphic designer Scott Beadle uses the movie poster for the 1931 film noir classic Public Enemy starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow for the equally corrupting powers of rock ‘n’ roll. Send high-res jpegs or PDFs to mkissinger@vancourier.com for Poster of the Week consideration.

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Matcha gonna do? EXOTIC JUNK FOOD REVIEW

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$4.99 at A&L Market, 458 West Broadway Country of origin: Japan What it is: As the name suggests, these cute little KitKats are made with, or at least made to look like they contain, matcha tea, which explains the unsettling avocado-like hue. According to the ingredients, the matcha is actually “green tea paste,” consisting of green tea powder, sugar and vegetable oil. The way nature intended. Verdict: More milky

At the very least, KitKat Matcha Green Tea Mini Bars taste healthier.

tasting than regular KitKats, with a hint of green tea, these bite-sized babies taste like they’re healthier than their mainstream counterparts. And isn’t that what’s

important? Just ignore the list of ingredients and the fact you’re consuming a Nestle product and everything will be Zen. —Michael Kissinger

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Arts&Entertainment

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Despite the promise of Patricia Clarkson tending to a shirtless Scott Speedman on a rug, October Gale won’t knock anyone over.

October Gale blows MOVIE REVIEW

Julie Crawford

jcrawfordﬁlm@gmail.com

A portrait of grief quickly evolves into a cabin-in-thewoods thriller in October Gale, which shows just how strong — and silly — lone women can be. We don’t mind the lapses in credulity quite so much when Patricia Clarkson is in the lead role. Clarkson always elevates the ﬁlms she is in, even when she’s required to calmly ignore bloody handprints on her front door and shut herself inside a deserted cabin. Helen is a Toronto doctor taking an indeterminate leave, mourning the death of her husband (Callum Keith Rennie). She heads to their Georgian Bay cabin, suppressing the happy memories as she packs up old shirts, books and remnants of the life she has lost. She hears a noise outside and ﬁnds a small boat belting violently against her dock and a boat smeared with blood. A smart character wouldn’t have left the door open, nor calmly walked back inside past the aforementioned bloody handprints: then again, smart wouldn’t have resulted in the rogue boat’s hunky occupant (Scott Speedman) lying prone on her rug. There’s no point heading for the hills: the cottage is on an island, and power and

cell service is spotty thanks to the storm that’s brewing, one to rival the October squall that claimed Helen’s husband. It doesn’t occur to Helen to be frightened of the stranger with the bullet wound; she’s more curious than frightened, and takes that Hippocratic Oath to heart. It gives her something to do, of course, and Helen welcomes the chance to be useful in contrast to the time spent dependant on her husband. The doctoring takes her mind off things but an upcoming crisis will force Helen to face her grief head-on. The man’s name is Will, and Helen coaxes his story from him in between playing games of crib and ﬂirty episodes in the shower. Their guilt (hers, survivor; his, criminal) unites them. But real danger isn’t far off. It never is when Tim Roth is in the frame. Things get frantic as Helen and Will analyze how best to defend themselves on the island. (Filming locations Parry Sound and Lake Joseph, Ont. make for pretty backdrops whatever the weather.) There’s a lot of running around in the dark woods, with the wind blowing a gale, plus one empowering moment when Helen wields the gun and asks Will to make the coffee. Beyond that, our characters resolutely conform to type, leaving Speedman and Clarkson (and Rennie, in ﬂashbacks) to work

wonders in order to make October Gale work. October Gale opens Friday at International Village.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Arts&Entertainment

Adult puppet show perfects art of dying

Old Trout Puppet Workshop brings Famous Puppet Death Scenes to York Theatre STATE OF THE ARTS Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

When mounting a seasonal production of Pinocchio, an “uncharacteristically family friendly show,” Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop couldn’t resist going dark. “Pinocchio kills Jiminy Cricket, like on page 5. Brutally, with a hammer — that’s in the original book — and so we kept that,” said Old Trout co-founder Judd Palmer. Pinocchio struck Jiminy once and the audience gasped. A second time, spurred titters of uncomfortable laughter. A third time, the cricket moaned and the audience spewed belly laughs. A fourth time, and theatregoers seemed struck by the tragedy. “It was a roller coaster of cricket murder,” Palmer

said. “That was the coolest moment of the play… when a puppet dies, so we thought what [would] happen if we made a play that was nothing but the best bits?” The motley crew of writers, illustrators, sculptors and carpenters who formed Old Trout in 1999 culled the most famous death scenes from beloved puppet shows to bring their fantasy to fruition. Famous Puppet Death Scenes premiered at the PuSh festival in 2007, returned in 2008 and a new version will play at the York Theatre, March 31 to April 19. Death scenes include “Edward’s Last Prance” from The Ballad of Edward Grue by Samuel Groanswallow and “Bipsy’s Mistake” from Bipsy and Mumu Go to the Zoo by Fun Freddy. “We have the Scandinavian Theatre of the Insufferable, we have neo-realist Irish working-class drama from the ’40s, we have ’70s German existentialist children’s programming,”

Puppets die in an assortment of creative ways in Famous Puppet Death Scenes March 31 to April 19.

Palmer said. In truth, these renowned puppet shows exist only in Old Trout’s imaginations, but Palmer insists part of the fun for puppeteers and audiences alike is imagining what these puppet productions could be. Famous Puppet Death Scenes has played in 35 cities in Europe, Canada

and the U.S. and impressed critics with its hilarity and inventiveness. Press bumph promises Famous Puppet Death Scenes will cure your fear of death. “Say goodbye to anxiety about difﬁcult choices, to dreading birthdays, and to desperate pleas for immortality through fame, art, or progeny,” reads a

press release. But Palmer explains the show’s popularity another way: “People have an unadmitted sadistic feeling towards puppets, they want to see them suffer,” he said. “The show manages to be quite hilarious, but sneaking in from the side, suddenly you ﬁnd you actually are kind of moved,” Palmer con-

tinued. “You are, through this relentless tragedy and wailing and gnashing of teeth, somehow brought into a new kind of comfort with your own mortality.” Palmer concedes Old Trout’s fondness for dark humour wasn’t the puppet workshop’s only impulse for creating Famous Puppet Death Scenes. “Death is a real thing, as we all know,” he said. “And it’s art’s purpose to help us process things.” The “rough and tumble cowboy types” behind Old Trout explore both heavy and hilarious themes with puppets because they’re so disarming. “Even in a puppet show for adults, we’re being asked to act in a childlike way and to believe that a block of wood has hopes and dreams and fears, and that’s a beautiful, fragile little magic spell that we get to cast,” Palmer said. For more information, see thecultch.com. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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Sports&Recreation

GOT SPORTS? 604.630.3549 or mstewart@vancourier.com

By Megan Stewart

Giants seek fifth coach in a year

The Vancouver Giants parted ways “on really good terms” with head coach Claude Noel, the WHL franchise announced Wednesday. “The search for a new bench boss will begin immediately.” Noel was brought in before Christmas to turn around a slumping team, but the Giants ended the 2014-15 season in the basement of the Western Conference. If a new Claude Noel coach is hired by the end of next month, it will be the junior hockey club’s fifth coach in a year. At the end of April last year, veteran coach Don Hay was let out of his contract and returned to the Kamloops Blazers after a 10-year tenure in Vancouver. He was followed by Troy Ward — a hiring that smacked of head office compromise— who coached the Giants for 25 games before he was released during a road-trip at the start of the season and assistant coach Matt Erhart took the helm as an interim bench boss. Noel began his stint on Nov. 30. At the time, the former Winnipeg Jets head coach did not commit to more than a year in Vancouver but said he didn’t rule it out, either. His record with the Giants was 17-232-2. “We’d like to thank Claude for his time with our club,” said Giants owner Ron Toigo. “Claude would like to pursue pro opportunities, and we need to move forward. We really appreciate him stepping into this role mid-season — we’re ending our time together on really good terms and we wish him all the best in the future.” On Wednesday in the WHL draft lottery held in Calgary, it was determined that the Giants will pick third overall in the May 7 bantam draft. It is the second time since 2001 that the Giants will pick third. The G-Men have held a top five pick on three other occasions, taking Gilbert Brule first overall in 2002, Daniel Bertram second overall in 2002 and Tyler Benson first overall in 2013.

Early registration for B.C. Superweek

Registration is open for B.C. Superweek, the popular cycling series recognized as one of the most progressive in sports for equally funding women’s and men’s prizes. The series, which has six criteriums and two road races, includes the Gastown Grand Prix and UBC Grand Prix, in addition to the Tour de Delta, Giro di Burnaby and Tour de White Rock. Men’s races are open to Pro 1/2 riders and women’s races to Pro 1/2/3 categories. The races run July 10 to 18. Race director Mark Ernsting said registration opened early this year because the series is a highly anticipated event on the calendar. “With the growth of B.C. Superweek as one of North America’s most recognized professional road race series, the interest from teams and riders to register as soon as possible has also grown,” he said. More than $70,000 in cash and thousands more in crowd primes (cash incentives) is on the line in the six criteriums. “B.C. Superweek is one of the most highly respected and top-tier women’s events in North America,” said four-time Canadian national criterium champion Leah Kirchmann, who rides with the Optum Pro Cycling team sponsored by Kelly Beneﬁt Strategies. “I appreciate the effort from race organizers to offer equal race opportunities and prize money for the women, setting an example for other races around the world to follow.” Online registration is open at bcsuperweek.ca.

In these family photos, Christine White poses on the beach and takes an art class alongside her younger sister Laura, who died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 15. Each summer since 2011, White has cycled 240 kilometres from Vancouver to Seattle in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, doing so twice with her father, Rob White. She is already training for her fifth ride this August.

Riding the miles in memory of a sister

Christine White has raised more than $10,000 for cancer charity CYCLING Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

Romantic love and a ring was the focus for Christine White when she ﬁlmed the rom-comiest of reality game shows last summer on the Bachelor Canada. But for the 29-year-old music teacher and model, the enduring love she feels for her late sister is what has pushed her along 240 kilometres of coastal highway each summer for the past four years. White’s little sister Laura died of leukemia three weeks after she was diagnosed in 2002. Laura was 15 and was in remission when her heart stopped abruptly. Since 2011 and again this August, White has cycled from Vancouver to Seattle in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. On two occasions, her now 68-year-old father Rob White rode alongside her. “The loss of my sister became increasingly more painful as the years went on and as the realization set in that I would never physically see her again,” White wrote while on a family trip

to the Philippines. “The Ride helped me grieve and channel my emotions of sadness and anger into something very positive and sacred — I was cycling in her memory and for the sake of others, in hopes that no other person will have to suffer as she did.” According to research, the cure rate for Laura’s cancer was just 11 per cent in 2002. The survival rate for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is now between 60 and 80 per cent. These gains continue to push White forward in commemoration of her sister. “I cycle annually because I see results,” said White. “I hear of children like Laura who are diagnosed with AML and survive. They undergo new protocol and treatment. Laura beat the disease when it was only a slim 12 per cent ‘cure’ rate but died from the treatment’s side effects. Now that the cure rate is [higher] for children diagnosed with AML, I feel I have contributed in some way even if it is just a little. That makes me so happy.” Each year she completes the distance, White becomes stronger. Her body remembers the route, she

is prepared for climbs and knows how to push through the hardest miles because she can look forward to waffles at each pit stop. She’s seen changes in more than her endurance. “I became emotionally stronger because of the Ride. There was a time when I could not even mention my sister without welling up in tears. Before I got involved with the Ride, I was afraid that mentioning my sister or any memories I had with her would make others uncomfortable. I was pained with the feeling that because she died, her name became taboo,” said White. “It was the Ride that later gave me the voice and confidence to speak truthfully and passionately about my sister’s battle with cancer and her fight.” In addition to riding in her memory, White found that cycling brings back literal memories of her sister. The physical act is meditative, she said, and has been a powerful part of grieving. “The time I make for the journey is my own, and my thoughts are always with my sister. When I cycle through our old neighbourhood, I remember her walking her

dog Ayla. When I cycle past our elementary and high schools, I remember our music classes together and the fun times we had composing music. The soccer field, the candy store, etcetera,” said White, who graduated from UBC’s school of music with top-ofher-class academic honours. As a contestant on the Bachelor Canada, White drew attention to her cause by wearing the kind of bracelet that has become unmistakable in its association with the disease. Before she went home in the third week, the bracelet was visible through the episodes and on her wrist as she held red roses. Long before filming began, she wore the black and yellow Ride to Conquer Cancer wristband. “I did talk about the cause, but it was mainly off camera,” she said. “I am hoping to have another fundraiser in the future and collaborate with many of my now-friends from the show.” In her first year, White raised $2,500 to benefit the B.C. Cancer Foundation. Since then, she’s contributed another $7,500 to the cause. twitter.com/MHStewart

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Sports&Recreation

All-stars strut their stuff in annual tip-off Killarney, Kits meet in rematch of B.C. junior title game BASKETBALL Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

The home gym of the Tupper Tigers was the site of the eighth annual senior and junior boys basketball all-star games and on Wednesday night, with the West narrowly edging the East for back-to-back bragging rights. (The VSSAA is the city’s public school league.) “This year’s games were two of the most entertaining and thrilling in memory,” wrote the host’s coach Jeff Gourley in an email. In the junior bout, players were drawn from across the city and from the two teams that battled earlier this month for the 2014 B.C. championship title, Killarney and Kitsilano. The West, led by Kiti-

John Oliver Joker Devin Johal (No. 12) carries the ball past Point Grey’s Alan Zhu (No. 9) in the senior boys VSSAA all-star basketball game Wednesday night at Tupper secondary. The West won 98-97 in overtime. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

METROTOWN

lano’s George Dokmanovic with 26 points and Luka Lizdek with 12 more, prevailed 73-70 over the East. In the loss, the East counted 18 points from Killarney’s Kinate Knight with 13 more from teammate Jason Tantengco. The seniors contest came down to a ﬁfthframe game-winning shot, but the East’s would-be buzzer beater fell short and the West came away with the 98-97 win in overtime. Churchill standouts Gary Minhas and Jerwin Ibit led the West with 25 and 19 points, respectively, and Tupper’s Santi Ubial added 14 in the win. The East’s Immanuel Gautani racked up nine of his 13 points on three straight treys in the last 90 seconds of regulation to push the game into overtime, said Gourley. The East’s marksman-

ship persisted as Windermere’s high-tempo pointsman Ravi Basra lit up the scoreboard with a game-high 29, including a string of three-pointers in OT. Gourley said he was pleased with the action and the turnout that packed the bleachers at the East King Edward Avenue school. “With a crowd estimated at over 300, which included coaching representatives from almost every college and university in the Lower Mainland, this was one of the most successful all-star nights,” he wrote. The VSSAA, the Vancouver public school sports league, held the junior and senior girls all-star games Thursday (after the Courier’s print deadline). Check this space Wednesday for results and photos. twitter.com/MHStewart

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 TO THURSDAY, APRIL 2

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Notre Dame forward Jolene Robinson was a top rebounder at the senior girls AA B.C. championship. PHOTO CHUNG CHOW

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Store Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 am - 9 pm | Sat. 9 am - 6 pm | Sun. 10 am - 6 pm ■ 2.4 H15 *Some exclusions apply. We accept Hudson’s Bay MasterCard, Hudson’s Bay Credit Cards, major credit cards, debit cards, cash. No cheques. All sales final. No returns, exchanges or price adjustments to prior purchases on any items. No rainchecks and no other discounts apply. Selection may vary. While quantities last. Some exclusions will apply. See in-store for details.

BASKETBALL

Robinson packs her bags for Pasadena Notre Dame triple-threat Jolene Robinson has committed to play basketball at Pasadena City College for the 2015-16 season. The senior also played volleyball for the Jugglers and lacrosse for the Burnaby Lakers, but opted to play basketball at the respected L.A. transfer college. Robinson was named a first-team all-star at the senior girls AA B.C. basketball championships earlier this month. The five-foot-11 forward was third overall in total rebounding with an average 11.5 board per game. She also averaged 3.2 steals and assists over four games, putting her among the top six players in the tournament for each category. She added 12.25 points per game as Notre Dame finished fourth overall at the 2015 championship. The Lancers play in California’s venerated South Coast Conference, considered one of the most competitive college conferences in the U.S. Robinson intends to study nursing and transfer to university after her time in the two-year college program. —Megan Stewart

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

START NOTHING: 6:57 a.m. Monday to 11:12 a.m. Tuesday, 2:01 a.m. Thursday to 0:07 a.m. Friday, and after 8:58 a.m. Saturday. PREAMBLE: Astrology is the study of patterns. Mars and Venus are the romantic, amorous planets. Accordingly, they embrace the Earth, one on each side. On the outside is poor Mercury, the planet of talk. Women often say they want conversation; in my experience, words can win a woman but only if the man is willing to commit himself and swear his love ten times more than he normally would, or if his talk is so witty, light and provocative that he has her constantly laughing (giggling is better). But in general, women respond to looks and touches — just as men do. And just as Mercury sits like a third wheel outside the Mars-Venus embrace, so the talkative man usually stays on the outside.

You remain energetic, charismatic, effective and in charge. Your sense of timing is superb. This is a great time to start signiﬁcant new projects, especially in partnerships, cooperating with others, in dealings with the public, negotiations, grasping opportunities and relocation. All these are favored to mid-November, but right now (into April 19) you have a great chance to push these forward.

You are the penultimate sign of marriage. But I have been warning you for months not to marry anyone before midNovember 2015. (You can still have fun, friends, lovers, romance — just don’t commit or cohabit. Well, this week and the next two, you are ﬁrmly placed in the partnership lane of the relationship highway. Opportunities, negotiations, relocation, dealings with the public also contain the same problem.

Lie low, rest, don’t volunteer for extra duty at work, but do give time, money to charity. From Tuesday onward for six weeks (into mid-May) your determination and sexual magnetism increase but it’s a little early to take advantage. Your “determined actions” could get you in a tight spot, so relax and guard your health. If you’re unattached, a ﬂirtation can lift your heart, but let this come as it comes, don’t push it.

Tackle work. Do what you must, without becoming a slave to your chores or your dependents. (These latter will probably do better without your “constant” supervision, anyway. Kids need freedom, too.) Though this is usually the time (this week and the next two) for repairs, home maintenance, buying tools/machinery, sharpening, nutrition planning – all these are not recommended now, as they could prove unwieldy.

The general accent lies on popularity, light romance, optimism, entertainment and social joys. You might have noticed that over the past year you’ve been less popular than you’d like (or in some cases, more popular than you’d expected) — this is/was karma and it will end by November. Despite the accent on friends and socializing, now your inner life has grown sweet. You like being alone to some degree to April 11.

Until Nov. 12, I strongly advise you to chase light romance, to play the ﬁeld or to have a friendly affair — anything but deep, heavy infatuation. This can lead you down the primrose path to self-deception, dead ends or other disappointments. It’s like a dream — the more you chase someone who makes your heart pound and your face blush, the more elusive he/she will become.

The focus lies on ambition, career, community status and relations with VIPs, parents, bosses and authorities. (Pay those parking tickets.) The criticism or impatience you’ve received from these quarters ends by Tuesday. Still, be wary on these fronts; it’s easy to wander into a “prestige trap.” Resolve to take the money, let the status go. It will return, after November.

The accent, this week and the next two, lies on home, real estate, family, garden, soul, nutrition, security and retirement – all things which you should handle with a light, non-committal touch until mid-November. Don’t buy real estate. You are in a splendid, lucky investment period through early August in anything but realty. (It sounds odd to say “be non-committal” toward family.

The accent lies on intellectual pursuits, religion, philosophy, culture, social rituals (weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc.) far travel, international contacts, higher learning, and law — all things which you’d be wise to avoid until November. In some cases, the effect is almost non-existent (far travel). In others, it is strong and fearsome: DON’T get into a lawsuit. In higher learning, you might unwittingly pick the wrong course of study.

Busy work, paperwork, details, calls, communications, travel, errands, casual friends and siblings — these ﬁll the weeks ahead. But don’t let them “over-ﬁll.” You can waste a lot of time chasing wild geese, potential clients who will never sign, etc. Know when to back away. Listen to the part of you that wants sink into home sweet home, and into reverie. You have a lot to ponder.

The accent lies on research, detective work, mysteries and secrets, sexual yearnings, intimacy, investments, debt and major ﬁnances, health diagnoses and lifestyle changes, commitment and consequences. In general, don’t commit. That way, you’ll escape consequences which seem desirable now, but could prove to be a burden, dead-end, trap or similar disappointment.

The emphasis lies on rote learning, sensual attractions (and furnishings) earnings, purchases and possessions. Realize a possession might be holding you back (e.g., a man with a boat in his yard never goes on vacation because he’s afraid someone will steal his boat). Rote learning can prevent you from reaching profound knowledge/thoughts. An over-emphasis on earnings can prevent success elsewhere, including in investments, etc.

Monday: Celine Dion (47). Tuesday: Angus Young (60). Wednesday: Debbie Reynolds (83). Thursday: Emmylou Harris (68). Friday: Alec Baldwin (57). Saturday: Robert Downey Jr. (50). Sunday: Pharrell Williams (42).

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Today’shomes

No sale in biggest real estate deal of 2014 Ivanhoé Cambridge and partner sink $750 million into Tsawwassen First Nation shopping centre

Frank O’Brien

wieditor@biv.com

A landmark agreement between Canada’s second-largest pension fund and a tiny aboriginal band not only topped the list of the biggest real estate deals for 2014 in B.C. but is also the biggest nonresource agreement ever inked by a First Nation in British Columbia. And it did not involve a land sale. “I think it is the biggest single deal for any First Nations in the province, certainly in the Lower Mainland,” said Chris Hartman, CEO of the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) Economic Development Corp. In January 2014, the 450-member TFN leased 108 acres of its land for 99 years to Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of giant Quebec pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Tsawwassen Mills, the largest enclosed mall being built in Canada, is scheduled to open in mid-2016 on 108 acres leased from the Tsawwassen First Nation. PHOTO IVANHOE CAMBRIDGE

The former farmland is part of a 2009 treaty agreement with the province that removed 511.5 acres from the Agricultural Land Reserve and transferred it to the TFN.

Ivanhoé Cambridge is spending $600 million to build the biggest enclosed shopping mall under construction in Canada, along with a 76-acre parking lot for 6,000 cars.

“This is one of the largest retail projects in British Columbia history,” said Jeff Brown, director of development for Ivanhoé Cambridge, of the sprawling site near

the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in South Delta. The roof alone will cover 32 acres of the first enclosed shopping mall built in B.C. since 1988. When it opens in mid-2016, an interior stroll through the mall’s five First Nationthemed shopping districts will cover nearly a mile and half. Construction of the 1.4-million-square-foot centre will require 4,500 workers, and another 3,000 will work in the complex when it completes as B.C.’s secondbiggest shopping mall. Hartman, citing confidentiality agreements, refused to comment on reports that the lease agreement does not include a TFN share in the mall’s future income. However, he said he is proud of what the TFN has accomplished. “The number of job opportunities exceeds the number of members we

will ever have,” Hartman said, adding, “I think [the TFN] has become a major player in the economy of the Lower Mainland.” Ivanhoé Cambridge owns 32 Canadian shopping centres, including the Metrotown mall in Burnaby — B.C.’s biggest shopping centre — and CrossIron Mills in Calgary, which is the template for Tsawwassen Mills. U.S.-based Bass Pro Shops has committed to 145,000 square feet at Tsawwassen Mills, but Brown said a full list of the other 16 anchor tenants has not yet been released. Walmart, Rona, Canadian Tire and PetSmart are among tenants booked into the adjacent $150 million Tsawwassen Commons, a 550,000-square-foot mall that is being simultaneously developed by Vancouver-based Property Development Group.

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Today’shomes Co-ops face tough choice

Frank O’Brien

wieditor@biv.com

Aging B.C. housing cooperatives are in limbo as federal government subsidies end and restrictions limit their options. Ironically, for some of Vancouver’s 108 non-proﬁt housing coops, real estate speculation could be the saviour. There are 264 housing cooperatives in B.C., mostly in Metro Vancouver. About 6,000 Vancouver residents live in co-ops, some of which are located on prime West Side real estate. The federal government started building co-operative housing in the 1970s and ‘80s to provide housing during a crisis in the rental sector, explained Thom Armstrong, executive director of the Cooperative Housing Federation of B.C. Under the agreement, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. provided co-ops with a subsidy for the entire life of the mortgage, which allowed co-ops to keep rents below market value. For a percentage of members, the subsidy kept rents at 30 per cent of their income. Those people, an estimated 1,600

in Vancouver, include single mothers, new immigrants, people with disabilities and the elderly. All of the federally-funded co-ops signed operating agreements with CMHC that ran for either 30 or 35 years. Starting this year, those agreements — and the subsidies — are ending. About 70 per cent will have expired before 2020 and 2017 will be the peak year for agreements to end. “Housing co-ops face a horrible choice,” Armstrong said if the province, which is now responsible for housing, doesn’t step up with funding. “The co-ops either have to cover the rental subsidy themselves or stop maintaining the asset.” Armstrong estimates “from $20,000 to $80,000 per door” is needed in upgrades to keep the decadesold structures liveable. “We estimate a total of $400 to $500 million in reinvestment is required,” he said. Housing co-ops are able to borrow funds to cover such repairs and maintenance, Armstrong said, and realize they will have to raise rents. But, without govern-

ment assistance, they cannot afford to also continue subsidies for the lowestincome residents, most of whom would be forced out. But there is a third choice open for Vancouver co-ops that are in the right locations. “We get approached every day by real estate developers,” Armstrong said. Some Vancouver co-ops are located on large parcels of land near Canada Line stations or have much lower density than current zoning allows, he said, making the properties extremely valuable. For the 50 per cent of Vancouver co-ops that own rather than lease their land, strategies being discussed include land swaps and even joint-venture condominium developments that could increase the number and quality of co-op units and still cover the rental subsidies, he explained. Non-proﬁt housing coops cannot turn units into condos and individual members can’t proﬁt from the sale of assets, but they could earn money from real estate speculation and plow it back into developing modern coop units, Armstrong said.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

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PRIORITY REGISTRATION www.rivergreen.com Illustration reﬂects the artist’s interpretation of the project and may be noticeably different than what is depicted. This advertisement is not an offering for sale. Such an offering can only be made with a disclosure statement. E. & O. E.

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F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Spring Car Care

Before you hit the road Get your motor runnin’… head out on the highway

Laurence Malley

lmalley@hotmail.com

Because today’s vehicles are often driven further than 320,000 kilometres, regular maintenance is more important than ever, says a study commissioned by the Automotive Industries Association of Canada and compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultant. Fortunately, according to another study conducted by DesRosiers, 85 per cent of Canadians are prioritizing vehicle servicing and repairs. Reasons for maintaining their

vehicles included avoiding large repairs in the future, increasing family safety, enhancing the environmental performance of their vehicle and protecting resale value. But the term “spring and winter tune ups” is redundant and has its roots in the generation of vehicles up to the early 1970s when non-electronic ignition systems and more frequent lubrication and engine electrical maintenance were required, hence spring and summer visits to a dealership or repair facility. However, advances in

technology have resulted in the average vehicle requiring substantially less maintenance than in the past and lowering the cost of ownership. The current format for service is outlined in your scheduled maintenance book, which would have come in the glove box of your vehicle when new and is also available from the manufacturer online. It outlines all the speciﬁc maintenance requirements and intervals necessary to maintain your vehicle to factory speciﬁcations. If you follow these recommendations,

trouble-free motoring will follow. However if the maintenance of your vehicle has not been a priority in your life recently, then here are some of the important items to check in preparation for the spring/summer seasons.

Fluid levels

There are several ﬂuids that require attention, including engine oil, power steering, brake and transmission ﬂuids and windshield washer solvent. Fluids are typically inexpensive and easy to change, but without

them, vehicle reliability and functions may be affected, which can lead to expensive repair costs and pose safety risks.

Filters

Changing the oil and the oil ﬁlter as recommended in your vehicle’s maintenance manual is one of the best ways to keep an engine running trouble-free. Neglecting to replace engine oil can result in poor engine performance, higher fuel consumption and even severe engine damage. Continued on page 40

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

Spring Car Care

Don’t let poor planning ruin your Continued from page 39

Wiper blades

If they’re torn or cracked your wiper blades won’t do you much good in the middle of unrelenting spring showers when visibility is reduced.

Lighting

Check all exterior and interior lighting to identify any problems. When your vehicle’s lighting is defective, other motorists may not get the message that you intend to stop or turn. The end result could be disastrous.

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Summer heat is just as hard on batteries as winter cold. For spring, clean and tighten the terminals, but also have it stresstested to determine the health of the battery for the coming heatwaves.

Air conditioning

Today air conditioning is standard on more than 90 per cent of new car models — you could even say it’s a must-have. But how familiar are you with your air conditioner? Did you know most current vehicles have a replaceable “cabin ﬁlter,” which keeps dirt and debris from

entering your vehicle? Like any other vehicle system, your air conditioner requires routine maintenance to ensure it’s in good working order. Over the years, ﬂuid is inevitably lost and needs to be replenished. Refer to your scheduled maintenance book for the serving intervals required even if the system is working properly.

Tire pressure including the spare

Yes, it’s the most obvious item on the list, but check your tire pressure before taking off on a longer trip. Inspecting, and properly inflating, your tires to their recommended pressures will not only prevent uneven wear patterns, but could help you catch a potential puncture on an underinflated tire. It’ll also improve fuel economy — for every five psi [pounds per square inch] below the recommended pressure, your mileage worsens by close to two percent. The correct tire pressures for your vehicle should be listed on a sticker on the driver’s side B-pillar or door jamb, and also in your owner’s manual.

Items to take on your trip Jumper cables

We sometimes forget car batteries still conk out from time to time, usually from old age, benign neglect or from leaving the radio or lights on. When help ﬁnally arrives, it’s jumper cables to the rescue. Peace of mind demands you buy the best you can afford: bargain bin jumper cables seldom last long and can crack or break.

Flashlight with back-up batteries

Batteries in the ﬂashlight, and a few extras, ensure you’ve got light at night when you need it, but only if they’re fresh. Like other items in the kit, batteries will be exposed to extremes of heat and cold, so they should be changed once — preferably twice — a year. Cold temperatures can cut a battery’s power by nearly two-thirds, depending on the type.

First-aid kit

You’ll more likely need a roadside safety kit for an accident than a breakdown.

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

THE

WORKS

Multi tool

Tool-wise, it doesn’t get much better than these handy little units, with several tools that fold out from either end of a common handle. Typically they include one or two screwdriver heads, tiny scissors, pliers, a knife blade or two, mini ﬁle and/or metal pick. It doesn’t hurt to also pack the following: a ﬂat head screwdriver, pliers, vise grips, an adjustable wrench and a lug-nut wrench or tire iron.

FOR ONLY

Jacks can sit in the trunk, forgotten, underneath the (hopefully inﬂated) spare tire for years before being called on for duty. This makes them prone to rust and their screws prone to clogging with grime, so be sure to clean and inspect them periodically.

Electrical tape and rags

friend. Should you need to splice wires for any reason, electrical tape’s your ticket.

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Old towels cost practically nothing, but can be useful in sopping up spilled ﬂuids or wiping fogged windows.

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2015

LEASE FOR ONLY

DOWN 60 MOS.

2015

GLS model shown·

ELANTRA GL SEDAN AUTOMATIC

L Limited model shown·

LEASE FOR ONLY

/DAY (plus tax)

ON APPROVED CREDIT

FIRST PAYMENT DUE AT DELIVERY.

DOWN 48 MOS.

/DAY (plus tax)

0.99

ON APPROVED CREDIT

FIRST PAYMENT DUE AT DELIVERY.

PLENTY OR STOCK FOR BOTH VEHICLES AT DESTINATION HYUNDAI!

SPRING CLEARANCE SALE

New, Certiﬁed Pre-Owned & Demo Cars - More selection on site! STOCK # G15185 SO15375 E15053 SF15189 SF15088 SO15030 SO15050 HY10941 HY10942 HY10937 HY10940 HY10934 HY10935 HY10921

YEAR 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014

MAKE Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai Hyundai

MODEL Genesis 3.8 Luxury Sonata GL Elantra GL Sedan Santa Fe 2.4 Premium AWD Santa Fe 2.0T Limited Sonata Hybrid Ltd Tech Sonata 2.0T Ultimate Genesis 3.8 Luxury Genesis 3.8 Luxury Sonata GL Sonata GL Elantra GL Sedan Elantra GL Sedan Santa Fe 2.4 Premium AWD

DestinationHyundaiVancouver @destinationhyun

COLOUR Silver Gray Gray Gray White Gray Silver Black White Silver Blue White Gray Silver

PRICE $50,323 $26,022 $21,369 $33,119 $41,969 $36,522 $36,822 $40,995 $40,995 $23,995 $23,995 $17,995 $17,995 $27,995

445 Kingsway, Vancouver Call 604.292.8188 DestinationHyundai.com

SALE PRICE $47,587 $24,767 $20,325 $31,235 $37,037 $31,524 $32,100 $38,888 $38,888 $20,888 $20,888 $16,888 $16,888 $25,798

TYPE New New New New Demo Demo Demo Certified Pre-owned Certified Pre-owned Certified Pre-owned Certified Pre-owned Certified Pre-owned Certified Pre-owned Certified Pre-owned

*Some restrictions apply. On approved credit. R/™The Hyundai names, logos, product names, feature names, images and slogans are trademarks owned by Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. Offers available for a limited time and subject to change or cancellation without notice. Dealer# 31042.

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A43

Automotive

Has Top Gear finally hit the red line?

Brendan McAleer

brendanmcaleer@gmail.com

Whether or not you’re a fan of the BBC’s Top Gear, it’s certainly the best-known automotive show . . . in the world. However, a recent kerfuffle might just spell the end for the show — a somewhat ignominious end. A statement issued by the BBC this week indicated that lead presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended indefinitely and that the balance of the show’s season is in jeopardy. The statement references a “fracas” that allegedly occurred between Clarkson and one of the producers on the show. Clarkson is no stranger to controversy — rather the opposite. In fact, you might say that Clarkson and controversy are old friends and that the outspoken commentator has built his career on always appearing to stick his foot in his mouth. Here though, he appears to have (allegedly) skipped the usual and instead stuck his fist in someone’s face. That’s not gone well. At time of writing, rumours were further emerging that Clarkson would possibly not return to the program even if the suspension was lifted. The situation has dismayed current Top Gear fans, and delighted Clarkson’s critics. The fact of the matter is, the show long ago lost the rapscallious charm it once had, and has now become a hugely profitable juggernaut. Even if its time on the air is now at an end, we’ll always have the old episodes.

Fiat version of MX-5 to be called 124 Spyder

Mazda is rather proud of their MX-5 roadster. “Look at us!” they say, “More than 25 years of motoring joy.” Well that’s all well and good, but other manufacturers have a far longer legacy of fun-todrive little open-air cars. Granted, there was more than a little pain (read as: unreliability) mixed in with the pleasure, but judging by the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, the buying public seems to be into that sort of thing. The new Mazda MX-5 (still called the Miata by many folks, including me) is ﬂat-out excellent. Apart from the electric steering, which is something nobody seems to have ﬁgured out yet, it’s both an improvement on the

original and hasn’t lost any of the magic. It’s a lovely little car, just as it always has been. However, Fiat has a deal with Mazda around the MX-5’s platform, and it’s pretty interesting stuff. Building on that lightweight Mazda chassis, Fiat just announced that their version would be called the 124 Spyder, hearkening back to a gorgeous little Italian two-seater from the 1960s. Perhaps Fiat’s version of the Miata will get the turbocharged power so many have been aching for. An Abarth version is surely not out of the question. Whatever the case, this fusion of Italian style and Japanese reliability can’t be anything but good news.

hand, and a red light on its chest — they swivel in place and let the cross-traffic flow. They also appear to be wearing sunglasses, so perhaps the idea is that some sort of Terminatorlike effect will take place and more people will obey the robots than a standard traffic light. Truth be told, we could probably use a few robo-lights around here. “Running a yellow? Hasta la vista, baby.” twitter.com/brendan_mcaleer

A recent kerfuffle might just spell the end for Top Gear.

Honda CR-Z could go turbocharged

Excited about the new Acura NSX? I know I am, new Ford GT notwithstanding. I figure it’ll retain some of that daily driveability of the original, and still provide thrills — an everyday answer to the million-dollar Ferrari LaFerrari (and with a less silly name, to boot). However, the twin-turbocharged midengined Acura is still going to be really expensive by the standards of most people. With Honda returning to Formula One racing and expanding their IndyCar efforts, what about ordinary fans of the brand? This might do it. Based on a chopped-down version of the next-generation Civic, a higher-performance version of the CR-Z is set to ditch its complicated hybrid powertrain in favour of some form of the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine found in the currently Euro-only Civic Type-R. Ooh yes please — but it doesn’t need to have the same 280 horsepower punch. A lightweight little 200 h.p. coupe that’s a flyweight front-drive match for cars like the Juke Nismo RS and the Scion FR-S would be very interesting indeed, and just the comeback kid that Honda needs to stir up excitement in the youth market. Meet the Congo’s robot traffic lights Remember Robocop? Well apparently he got busted down to traffic detail, in the best traditions of all 1980s cop shows. Actually, these three new traffic circle robots are solar-powered, automated versions of the police officers who direct traffic in Kinshaa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Each has a green light mounted on each

% PURCHASE

FINANCING

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UNRIVALLED SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY CHNOLOG

GT models shown

2015 M{zd{3 BI-WEEKLY LEASE OFFER FROM

89 2.49

at APR with $0 down for 60 months. Taxes extra.

2015 CX-5

THAT’S LIKE

BI-WEEKLY LEASE OFFER FROM

134 1.99

APR

with $0 down for 60 months. Taxes extra.

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GT model shown

MAZDA’S UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY. STANDARD ON ALL 2015 AND 2016 MODELS. 3-YEAR

NEW VEHICLE ANTY UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY

3-YEAR

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‡Based on total Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) Category wins (various) up to the 2014 model year. *To learn more about the Mazda Unlimited Warranty, go to mazdaunlimited.ca. ÐSigning Bonuses are available on retail cash purchase/finance/lease of select new, in-stock 2014/2015/2016 Mazda models from March 3 – 31, 2015. Bonus amounts vary by model. $500 Signing Bonus applies to all 2014 Mazda2, all 2014/2015 Mazda3, 2014/2015 Mazda5, and 2015/2016 Mazda6 models. $750 Signing Bonus applies to all 2015/2016 CX-5 models. Maximum $1,000 Signing Bonus only available on all 2015 CX-9 and 2014/2015 MX-5 models. Signing Bonus will be deducted from the negotiated price before taxes. See dealer for complete details. †0% APR purchase financing is available on all new 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 (NVXK65AA00) with a financed amount of $25,000, 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) with a lease APR of 2.49%/1.99% and bi-weekly payments of $89/$134 for 60 months, the total lease obligation is $11,528/$17,365 including down payment of $0. Lease offers include $500/$750 Signing Bonuses. 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. As shown, price for 2015 Mazda3 GT (D4TL65AA00)/2015 CX-5 GT (NXTL85AA00) is $27,790/$35,490. All prices include freight & PDI of $1,695/$1,895 for Mazda3/CX-5. PPSA, licence, insurance, taxes, down payment and other dealer charges are extra and may be required at the time of purchase. Dealer may sell/lease for less. Dealer order/trade may be necessary on certain vehicles. Lease and Finance on approved credit for qualified customers only. Offers valid March 3 – 31, 2015, while supplies last. Prices and rates subject to change without notice. Visit mazda.ca or see your dealer for complete details.

Vancouver’s Only Mazda Dealer

1595 Boundary Road, Vancouver CALL 604-294-4299 | Service 604-291-9666 www.newmazda.ca /DestinationMazdaVancouver

Your journey begins here.

@Destinationmzd

Dealer #31160

A44

THE VANCOUVER COURIER F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

BURNABY CREST’S ANNIVERSARY Prices Effective March 26 to April 1, 2015.

100% BC Owned and Operated PRODUCE

MEAT

Organic California Grown Rainbow Carrots from Cal Organics

Fair Trade Organic Gold Cherry and Mini Roma Tomatoes

340g bag product of USA

1 pt and 340g product of Mexico

2.98

BC Grown Organic Sweet Orin Apples

454g bag • product of USA

1.37kg bag product of Canada

7.99lb/ 17.61kg

9.99 each Black Forest European Wieners

Heat and Serve Fort Hardy Barbecue Fully Cooked Ribs

9.99lb/ 22.02kg

3.98

2/5.00

assorted varieties

t Gr ea ! c i Pr e

3.98

Organic California Grown Green Kiwi Fruit

Extra Lean Ground Turkey

Farmcrest Whole Marinated Split Chickens

GROCERY

9.99 each

DELI

Hardbite Gluten-Free Potato Chips assorted varieties 150g • product of BC

Farmer’s Market Organic Purees and Pie Mix assorted varieties

Choices’ Own Shepherd’s Pie or Macaroni and Cheese Entrées

Armstrong Cheese assorted varieties

600g • product of Canada

SAVE

397-425g • product of USA

30%

SAVE 2/5.00

4.99-6.99

FROM

30%

7.99-8.49

Maple Hill Free Range Medium Eggs 1 dozen • product of Canada

SAVE

3.99

Dairyland Organic Milk

Silver Hills Bread

assorted varieties

1L • product of Canada

2/7.00

26%

While quantities last. Not all items available at all stores. We reserve the right to correct printing errors.

assorted varieties

Endangered Species Chocolate Bars assorted varieties 85g • product of USA

650-907g • product of Canada/USA

FROM

23%

Choices’ Own Frozen Organic Blueberries

product of Canada

2/5.00

SAVE

37%

430-615g

SAVE

6.498.99

37%

3/7.98

WELLNESS Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotics assorted varieties and sizes

Ener-C Effervescent Vitamin C Drink Mix assorted varieties

.49 singles 11.99 box of 30

4.99 each

9.99

SAVE

2.19

Nature’s Path Organic Eco Pac and Envirokidz Cereals

assorted varieties

500ml Jug • product of Canada

27%

SAVE

Dofino or Tre Stelle Cheese Slices

Luc Bergeron Organic Maple Syrup

SAVE

37%

GLUTEN FREE Easter Baked Goods assorted varieties and sizes

1kg • product of BC ( random weight packaging )

2.99-3.99

9.99

GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha Beverages

BAKERY xxx

xxx • product of xxx

assorted varieties 480ml • +deposit +eco fee product of USA

SAVE

25%

2/6.00

Easter Baked Goods assorted varieties and sizes

1.79-3.99

Happy Anniversary, Choices Burnaby! Saturday, March 28, 11:00am - 3:00pm.

Whole Earth & Sea Whole Food Supplements assorted varieties and sizes

20% off

regular retail price

www.choicesmarkets.com

Our Burnaby Crest location (8683 10th Avenue) is turning 8 years old on Saturday the 28th! Come join in the festivities, including cake, coffee, free prize giveaways and live music. Best of all, we’ll have a draw to win a $250 Choices gift card and an exclusive entry into our 25th Anniversary grand prize draw for $25,000 cash. Make sure you stop by and enter between 11am and 3pm.

/ChoicesMarkets

@ChoicesMarkets