Vancouver Courier September 3 2015

POT SHOPS WAIT TO EXHALE PNE GETS ITS GRUB ON EAST HASTINGS INVADED BY ZOMBIE FASHION SHOW CITY LIVING FARMHANDS LEAVE BARN DOOR OPEN THURSDAY

September 3 2015

There’s more online at vancourier.com

Up the creek ANDALEEB MORALES WENT TO THE SOURCE OF THE FRASER RIVER TO BRING THE MESSAGE OF WATER CONSERVATION HOME

Local News, Local Matters

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

BACK TO SCHOOL Prices Effective September 3 to September 9, 2015.

100% BC Owned and Operated PRODUCE

MEAT BC Russet Potatoes

BC Organic Field Tomatoes from Sundance Organic Farm

value pack

head off

.98lb/ 2.16kg

6.99lb/ 15.41kg

1.99lb/ 4.39kg

1.98

BC Organic Himrod Seedless Grapes from Secrest, Oliver

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Ocean Wise Fresh Whole Pink Salmon

2.27kg bag

BC Organic Gala Apples

Whole Organic Chickens

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Harvest Beef Sticks 35g

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4.49lb/ 9.90kg

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

News 12TH & CAMBIE

Terror suspects complain of dirty Vancouver cells

Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

The names John Nuttall and Amanda Korody are probably familiar to all you current affairs junkies.

They are the couple found guilty in June of plotting a terrorist attack on Canada Day in 2013 that involved bombing the provincial legislature in Victoria.

So what do they have to do with Vancouver?

During the trial downtown in B.C. Supreme Court, the couple spent a few nights in the Vancouver jail on East Cordova Street while awaiting the jury’s decision. Apparently, the conditions in the cells were not exactly five-star, according to Korody’s lawyer, Mark Jette, who let the judge know about it.

I didn’t cover the trial but Geordon Ormand of Canadian Press did. I know this because his story appeared in a collection of emails posted recently on the Vancouver Police Department’s website. Someone obviously requested the information

Documents posted on the VPD’s website answer allegations made by John Nuttall and Amanda Korody who complained about unsanitary jail cells. PHOTO RCMP

under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act and the police department — as it often does — posted the emails.

Here’s what Ormand quoted Jette as saying: “It was reported to me by my client that the conditions were horrendous and unhygienic: blood smeared on

the walls, a toilet that was disgusting, a thin blanket for overnight, no food.”

That information prompted B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce to order the VPD to provide more sanitary accommodations for the couple.

So what did the VPD do about it? Were the allega-

tions true? What was the department’s response to Jette’s allegations?

The emails posted on the VPD’s website provide some insight, although some of the documents are redacted. In response to VPD senior staff Dawna Marshall-Cope’s questions, Sgt. Brett Farragher wrote

that he reviewed video of the couple’s stay. His take: “There does not appear to be anything of note coming out of the video. It is obvious from watching the video that they are not overly happy with their surroundings, but the cells appear clean from the video.”

He adds: “I did note that on the first night, May 30, that both Korody and Nuttall were given blankets and food. But on May 31, they were not given blankets but they were given food. I do not know why this would have happened.”

In the email thread with Marshall-Cope, Farragher also noted he reviewed the observation logs from the jail and found “no mention of any time during the stay by Mr. Nuttall or Ms. Korody where an issue was raised in relation to their treatment in jail.”

Kind of a different story than what the couple alleged.

So someone is either stretching the truth, or not telling the truth.

Interesting that these documents were posted

on the VPD’s website only a month after I wrote another piece about allegations of dirty cells.

Readers may recall that a former inmate of the jail, whose name was not provided in documents, complained the cells were dirty, never cleaned and soiled with dried blood, feces and urine.

The VPD reviewed the complaint, watched some video and concluded “there is no information that corroborates the complaint.”

After I posted/published the story, I had a phone call from a former inmate who said the cells were a mess and not fit for prisoners. He declined to give his name but said the police aren’t telling the whole story.

Maybe, maybe not.

Next time I’m in jail, I’ll be sure to get the whole story. In the meantime, this is a fact: 14,439 prisoners were housed in the Vancouver jail last year and the police say they only received two complaints about the facility’s conditions. @Howellings

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

PNE’s top food treats

From Maple Bacon Doughnut Burgers to Fat Elvis ice cream Emily Blake

JOIN US FOR A FREE PRESENTATION!

Emily_blake@live.com

Thursday, September 10, 2015 | 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

With rides, games and entertainment, there may be something for everyone at the Pacific National Exhibit.

But one of the best parts of the fair is the food.

Many beloved food stands will be returning and this year newcomers make up 30 per cent of the PNE’s food vendors.

Hungry patrons can expect to find the usual deep-fried, sugar-coated and baconwrapped fare but there are also some surprises for the brave connoisseur.

Here are some of the top eats to try at the PNE this year.

Best Canadian flavour

There’s nothing more Canadian than maple and bacon. And while the Fried Veggies stand is based out of Kansas, it offers one of the best Canadian flavoured options at the PNE — the Maple Bacon Doughnut Burger. It’s definitely not

Achieving Your Positive Potential at Any Age

With a positive attitude, anything is possible.

Who better to share his thoughts on achieving good health and wellness than Dr. Davidicus Wong. Through his weekly column Healthwise, published in community newspapers, and his blog and Internet radio show Positive Potential Medicine, Dr. Wong is well known for offering sage and practical advice on health and wellness for people of all ages.

VanDusen Botanical Garden | Visitor Centre 5251 Oak Street, Vancouver Doors open at 6:00 pm. Visit on-site displays.

Donations welcome.

Morgan Stremmel with a Maple Bacon Doughnut Burger.

PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

your average diner cheeseburger. This burger patty is topped with cheese and bacon and sandwiched between two whole donuts with maple frosting. Salty, sweet, cheesy and full of meat, it’s the perfect fair snack and

it’s made with fresh doughnuts from Nuffy’s Donuts in Richmond. This is the Stremmel family’s first year at the PNE and it’s sure to be a memorable one with their unique burger.

Continued on page 15

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

News

Pot shop business licences not expected until next year

Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

It could take six to eight months before the City of Vancouver makes history in Canada and issues the first-ever business licence to a marijuana dispensary, according to the city’s chief licence inspector.

That’s because city staff has to review 176 applications it received as of Aug. 21 and begin a lengthy examination on how many applicants meet the new regulations approved by city council in June.

“Should everything fall into place and somebody has met all of our regulations and meets all of our rules, at the earliest we would issue a business licence would be six to eight months,” said Andreea Toma, the city’s chief licence inspector.

The first step for staff will be to determine how many of the 176 applicants meet the zoning requirements, which call for pot shops to be at least 300 metres from a school, community centre or another dispensary and be located in specific zones.

That process could take up to two months, Toma said.

Those applicants who fall outside the zoning requirements will be required to close their pot shops within six months and may reapply for a new location

The City of Vancouver received 176 applications from people wanting to get business licences to run marijuana dispensaries.

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

in an approved zone.

If an applicant meets the first step, the process becomes more rigorous, with the city examining an applicant’s past business practices and whether he or she has been in trouble with the law. Signing a “good neighbour” agree-

ment and meeting building codes related to health, fire and signs are also required to get a licence.

Of the 176 applicants, 69 have the potential to become so-called “compassion clubs” while the rest applied as a retail business.

A compassion club must

pay an annual $1,000 licence fee while retail operators are charged $30,000.

Though Toma said there are too many variables to estimate how many of the 176 applicants will receive a business licence, Vision Coun. Kerry Jang said his guess is that fewer than 20 will be successful.

“I could be off, depending on what staff finds,” said Jang, who based his estimate on talking with people in the industry and learning of some of the applicants’ past business practices and criminal history.

As he emphasized during the public hearings in June, the city’s goal was to regulate the dispensaries — not the marijuana, which would require the federal government’s approval — and set guidelines that would be directed more to compassion clubs.

“The key thing with compassion clubs is they try to get you off marijuana and replace with other alternative medicines or procedures,” said Jang, noting compassion clubs must provide specific health alternatives under the new regulations.

Jamie Shaw, communications coordinator for the B.C. Compassion Club, the oldest dispensary in the city, said the club is one of the applicants. But, she said, the club is well aware

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it doesn’t meet zoning requirements because it is located across the street from a private school on Commercial Drive.

Shaw said the club has looked at other locations but said they are expensive and some landlords don’t want dispensaries operating out of their buildings.

She said the club’s recourse will be to appeal before the Board of Variance.

“It will all be in the hands of the Board of Variance,” she said, noting the club has a good reputation in the neighbourhood, including letters of support from the Stratford Hall school.

The latest estimate from the city is that about 100 pot shops continue to operate in Vancouver. Toma said the city will tally how many of those 100 operators applied to the city for a licence and how many didn’t. That tally will also determine how many people applied to set up new dispensaries.

Const. Brian Montague, a media relations officer with the Vancouver Police Department, said he is aware new shops have opened up since the city passed the new regulations in June.

This is a fact Jang also pointed out, saying one has since opened near Broadway and Renfrew. Residents of various neighbourhoods have also notified the Courier of new shops setting up over the past two months.

Montague said police know of one shop where the operators said they were operating simply to make money before the new regulations kick in.

“In a store downtown, where we executed a search warrant, the operators didn’t make it any secret that once the licensing came into effect, they were just going to shut down,” he said.

Under the new regulations, the city now has the power to close a dispensary.

Toma wouldn’t speculate on when enforcement, which can include court action, will begin against pot shops that don’t meet the city’s new regulations.

Meanwhile, police continue to raid pot shops, the most recent occurring on Aug. 12 at the Limelife Society on Rupert Street. Police said the dispensary had links to organized crime. @Howellings

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

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UBC researchers attack childhood malnutrition

Emily Blake

emily_blake@live.com

The solution to childhood malnutrition is closer than ever. Researchers from the University of British Columbia have successfully created a new tool to better study the global health issue.

Dr. Brett Finlay, a professor of microbiology and chemistry at UBC, and PhD student Eric Brown have produced the first animal model with symptoms of gut bacterial disease linked to malnutrition.

“It’s a lot of complex science but really I call it a developing country mouse model and it will allow us to really begin to understand much more of what actually goes on in these kids,” said Finlay.

Malnutrition in children is a global problem, especially prevalent in developing countries. According to UNICEF, nearly half

of all deaths in children under five are due to malnutrition. And its effects are long-term, including stunted growth, compromised immune system, poor brain development and delays in motor and cognitive development.

“The number of kids with this is phenomenal worldwide,” Finlay said.

But treating this problem has proven difficult, as it is not just a result of poor diet but also gut bacteria and environmental factors.

“If you’re a young kid eating a malnourished diet, you would think you could feed them a better nourished diet and it would fix it, but that’s not the case,” Brown said.

Many malnourished children in the developing world also have environmental enteropathy, an inflammatory disorder of the small intestine. It results in changes in gut

bacteria, which causes problems absorbing food, vitamins and minerals. It is believed to be caused by environmental factors such as contaminated feces in water.

“There’s not a whole lot of basic research into what are the mechanisms behind the disease,” said Brown.

However, the new animal model brings us closer to knowing more.

They found that when mice were given a poor diet along with E. coli and bacteroidetes bacteria, they developed malnutrition and symptoms of environmental enteropathy including stunted growth, intestinal inflammation and weak immune systems.

“It opens up a whole bunch of ways of really understanding how malnutrition works, how the microbes play a role in that, and also what we can do about it,” said Finlay

of the new model.

Brown says that improving the hygiene of the environment where children are raised may be part of the solution, but it’s not that simple.

“There’s still a billion kids living in these areas and this is a disease not a lot of people know about,” Brown said.

Microbes have a large role in human health, affecting the immune system and nutritional status. They have been implicated in many diseases including obesity, Type 1 diabetes, asthma and inflammatorybowel diseases.

“There’s more microbial cells that live in our body than human cells,” Brown said.

Dr. Finlay is working on a collaboration with Paris’s Institut Pasteur to study the disease in children in Africa for a project called Afribiota. @BlakeEmily

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

News

Urban foragers enjoy city’s bounty Harvesting wild food more than just mushrooms

Emily Blake

emily_blake@live.com

Eating local in Vancouver is easier than you think.

With plenty of resources for harvesting wild foods more people are trying foraging and it’s not just about mushrooms.

Local non-profit the Forager Foundation is one organization helping people to embrace the practice.

This year they are offering foraging tours for the first time, which have generated a lot of interest.

“Especially here in Vancouver a lot of people are really interested in being outdoors and so what we’re trying to do is just add an extra layer for them to learn about the plant life, the animal life that’s here and how it’s been used traditionally by First Nations and other settlers that come to the area,” said Bryce Watts, co-founder and president of the foundation.

Watts became interested

Greens, roots, berries, fruits, nuts and mushrooms are some of the foods Vancouverites can forage.

in foraging while studying anthropology at UBC with an interest in ethnobotany — the study of human cultures and the plants they use. He even took field courses in Panama where he learned from indigenous

peoples. He says people’s reasons for foraging vary but largely have to do with embracing a healthier lifestyle.

“Harvesting wild food is like eating organic foods because it’s from the forest

Join us to celebrate the

so there’s no chemicals, there’s no pollutants,” said Watts.

Tyler Gray is a long time forager and one of the founders of Mikuni Wild Harvest, a company that sells wild foods with a loca-

tion in Vancouver. He says the benefits of foraging extend beyond nutrients and vitamins.

“I feel far more connected to nature and the world around me when I’m out and foraging,” he says.

“It’s very much a way for me to connect to something bigger than myself.”

While there are many benefits to eating wild foods, foraging also has its risks. Just last summer a 52-year-old woman in Toronto needed an emergency liver transplant after eating a poisonous wild mushroom from a local park.

“You should have a healthy respect for mother nature and her flora and fauna,” says Gray. “There’s a saying that there’s old mushroom growers and bold mushroom growers but there’s no old bold mushroom growers.”

Chef and author Bill Jones, owner of Deerholme Farm in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, said he has avoided bad

10th Anniversary

experiences by being cautious and investing time in learning how to forage safely. He recommends being shown as the best way to learn as well as purchasing a good guidebook.

“Even though it’s free food, it takes a bit of a cost in knowledge to get to the point where you can pick wild foods,” he says.

While rural locations are ideal for foraging, people don’t have to travel outside the city to find a healthy snack.

Jones says Himalayan blackberries are especially plentiful in the city this time of year.

“We used to live off Commercial Drive and all through that zone there’s tons and tons of blackberries in all the alleys where people haven’t beaten them back,” he explains.

There are many other foods that you can forage in Vancouver including greens, roots, berries, nuts and mushrooms.

Continued next page

of

Day at the Farm Westham Island Herb Farm 4690 Kirkland Road, Ladner, BC Saturday, September 12 10 AM to 4 PM Sample Local Fare!

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Hay Wagon Farm Tours BC Fresh Potato Dig Antique Tractors/Farm Equipment BC Dairy Association Milking Demo Mini Live Auction Musical Pony Show Wildlife Conservation Displays Fresh Local Produce for Sale Local Food Trucks LIVE MUSIC: CASH AND CARTER TRIBUTE SHOW! 1:30 - 3:30pm Starring Tony Barton & Tracy Neff

Day at the Farm Sponsored by:

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Bake a batch of muffins using local produce and ENTER TO WIN OUR HOMEMADE MUFFIN CONTEST! *Judging is at NOON!*

FREE ADMISSION or by donation

Bring a donation for our local food bank!

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

Bryce Watts, co-founder and president of the Forager Foundation, checks out salal berries in Stanley Park. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET.

“Really any type of vegetable or fruit you’d find in the store there’s something similar that’s a wild fruit or vegetable,” says Watts.

And some of the plants you can eat are surprising

such as dandelion greens, stinging nettles, chicory and cattails.

There are also online resources where people have shared where urban edibles can be found including

fallingfruit.org, the Living Medicine Project and Vancouver’s Urban Foragers Facebook page.

Vancouver parks are home to many wild foods such as chanterelle mushrooms, salal

berries and bittercress. That said, foraging in provincial and city parks is technically prohibited with the potential of fines for those who disregard the law. @BlakeEmily

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A gigajoule (GJ) is a measurement of energy used for establishing rates, sales and billing. One gigajoule is equal to one billion joules (J) or 948,213 British thermal units (Btu).

The Customer Choice name and logo is used under license from FortisBC Energy Inc. This advertisement is produced on behalf of the British Columbia Utilities Commission.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Opinion TRISH KELLY COLUMNIST

trishkellyc@gmail.com

Fashioning your plan for the zombie apocalypse

I

spend significant mental energy planning what I will do when the zombie apocalypse hits Vancouver. I’m pretty honest with myself. I know being verbose and well-endowed with soft skills will not make up for my asthmatic running speed or lack of depth perception. I know my best chance is to paddle out to a small Gulf Island populated by a few meek, old hippies and set to work depopulating the place whilst planting a vegetable garden.

Maybe the fantasy of the dumb hunger of a zombie gives us some relief from the bleak reality of climate change, terrible forest fires and whatever else plagues one’s conscience.

I know my plan is incomplete and wouldn’t get me through a day in postapocalyptic Vancouver. This is why I hold on to a rusty jar of pickles from 2008.

This pickle jar, which I’m pretty sure by now is 50 per cent botulism-causing bacteria, is my exit strategy when the zombies come.

We aren’t in America, where firearms are easily obtained, so I plan to down half the pickle jar, before passing it to my significant other, with a vinegary kiss and assertions of our eternal love. Then,

I don’t know. I haven’t really researched the onset of botulism. I hope it’s a quick death. I hope it makes us taste terrible to the zombies who will eat us.

One area I have neglected in my walking dead prep is the question of what to wear. Luckily, my neighbours Ruth Meta and Brian Parfitt, who own the Strathcona flower shop Floral and Hardy, are on top of the issue. For nearly a year they have been planning a zombie fashion show.

The event, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 5 at noon outside their shop (688 East Hastings St.), will include both professional designers as well as student contributors from Blanche MacDonald Centre, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and the Art Institute.

The fashion show was dreamed up as a primer event for the annual Zombie Walk Vancouver. Every year since 2005, zombies have walked en masse through the streets of Vancouver with attendance peaking a few years ago upwards of 4,000.

This year’s walk is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery steps.

Floral and Hardy owners and their army of students, local artists, and neighbours will be rolling out a black carpet for the catwalk, and all zombie attire will be auctioned off to raise money for three local non-profit groups.

Proceeds will be shared equally by the designer, Aboriginal Front Door, Ray Cam Community Centre and AIDS Vancouver.

Meta also told me the event is intended to give people a chance to be silly. She noted the world is a difficult place to be these days, and people need an outlet.

It’s possible she’s hit on the reason why zombie walks occur and why zombie TV shows like The Walking Dead are so popular they get their own spin-offs.

Maybe the fantasy of the dumb hunger of a zombie gives us some relief from the bleak reality of climate change, terrible forest fires and whatever else plagues one’s conscience.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has found talking about preparing for the zombie apocalypse is easier than asking people to get together their earthquake kit, or to prepare for any other kind of natural disaster that is likely to throw us into at least temporary chaos. In 2011, they launched an emergency preparedness campaign framed around zombie preparedness.

If you’re prepared for zombies, you’re probably in good shape if a flash flood or hurricane hits, is their message. Having a well-stocked pantry, first aid kit and

a rain barrel are universally helpful, no matter what kind of disaster we’re up against. Can I note how useful a head lamp would be? During five seasons of The Walking Dead, an entire canon of film classics, none of the characters has ever hit the Mountain Equipment Co-op for a hands-free alternative to the clumsy flashlight. It’s enraging.

If there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that a tight knit community is the recipe for resiliency. That’s just one more reason to head out to the zombie festivities this Saturday.

When the sh*t hits the fan, it’s your neighbours (and maybe a crossbow) that will get you through. @trishkellyc Allen Garr is on vacation.

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Inbox letters@vancourier.com LETTERS

Seniors feel abused in centre spat Re: “Another impasse for seniors centre,” Aug. 27.

After reading Sandra Thomas’s article about the impasse between the park board and the Killarney Community Centre Society (KCCS), I can only surmise that seniors in southeast Vancouver have become pawns in the board’s attempt to relegate the society to a bit player in the operation of the community centre.

We moved into the Victoria-Killarney area in 1962. The community centre opened in September 1963 after local residents raised $40,000 (more than $320,000 today) to get the centre under way. The KCCS has been very successful in managing and expanding this facility and they have served the community well. They are closest to the community and are aware of community needs. They are an asset our community cannot afford to lose.

The impasse distresses me on two points: The delay in construction means that many seniors may not live to enjoy the facility and, if the city is successful in relegating the KCCS to a bit player, the society may well fold as those who now volunteer may well decide that their services are not appreciated nor respected.

Volunteer societies have been a backbone of Canada’s communities for generations and are one of the reasons for our continued prosperity.

George Grant, Vancouver ••• I am devastated to hear that the work on the new seniors centre has halted. After all these years of working to get this far, we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel then suddenly nothing. Will we not see this much-needed centre for the southeast Vancouver seniors in our lifetime?

You know, we will not just go away.

In fact, seniors numbers are rapidly increasing and could reach more than 25,000 in the next five years. Why punish seniors by withholding the centre they need?

We hope that work can continue and function under the current Joint Operating Agreement between the association and the park board while details of a new agreement are negotiated.

Gail McKay, Vancouver

••• It is, indeed, a big shock and disappointment for us seniors to read Sandra Thomas’s article about the building of the seniors centre for which a tremendous effort, spearheaded by Lorna Gibbs, has been made. It has taken 20 years, and it was a joyous occasion when we were told that the seniors centre would become a reality.

We are being deprived of what we have fought for, and it is a shame. Let us not be the victims of a legal battle — let construction go on while the park board and Killarney Community Association sort out their problems.

Abdul Shaikh, Vancouver

Spelling out a complaint I would like to comment on the crossword from your Aug. 27 edition.

The 47 Across clue of Halle Berry was spelt “Barry,” making the 48 Down clue wrong because of the incorrect spelling of her name. The 52 Down clue of Princess Anne’s daughter Zara again was incorrectly spelled, making the 61 and 64 across clues right but wrong because of the error again in her name.

I have noticed in issues in the past the odd mistake made in spelling and wording. Just thought I would pass this on.

Jeanette Edwards, Vancouver

ONLINE

Re: “Bountiful summer makes for an ominous warning,” Aug. 27.

The Lovelock article is not recent, it’s actually seven years old and in the climate science world that makes it ancient. Also, Lovelock said himself in later interviews that his predictions stated in the Guardian piece were alarmist and extreme. I’m not saying that climate change isn’t a serious threat or that we haven’t crossed over the tipping point, just that further background research on Lovelock would have brought to light his lack of credibility and his own realization that the information in the article cited was wrong.

Greenthumb via Comments section ••• I still look for evidence we are not analogous to lemmings running towards the abyss. @nikinikitimbo via Twitter

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

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Opinion

Geoff Olson

mwiseguise@yahoo.com

You’ve probably seen reports on graffiti artist Banksy’s “Dismaland,” a “bemusement park” located in Weston-superMare, U.K. Among the attractions is a sculpture of an overturned pumpkin carriage with a dead Cinderella hanging out the window, encircled by paparazzi.

Why should austeritybattered Brits get all the artistically sublimated angst? If I have my way, they won’t. Welcome to my newly imagined Canadian tourist trap outside of Fort McMurray, within choking distance of the Alberta Tar Sands.

I call it “Toryville.”

Toryville is a childunfriendly exploration of all things politically down and dirty. You enter through a polyresin replica of the Centre Block of Parliament, complete with a Peace Tower clock set at two minutes to midnight. Here security goons aggressively frisk and then frogmarch you into the Prorogued House of Horror Commons.

This dark, spooky space replicates the Prime Minister’s past stints at blocking legislative proceedings through a dictatorial lights-out.

As you stumble about in the darkened chamber, you’re accosted by actors playing dead and living Tories, including the bow-tied Arthur Porter, chair of the Canadian Security Intelligence Review Committee, who reportedly died in Panama in 2015 after the largest fraud investigation in Canadian history brought corruption charges against him.

Boo! It’s former PM Brian Mulroney clutching a paper bag full of cash, with German-Canadian arms lobbyist Klaus Schreiber at his side! Look out, it’s former Progressive Conservative leader Peter Mackay, wielding the knife he stuck in David Orchard’s back!

Staggering from this scary setting, your eyes adjust to the Technicolor kitsch of the Toryville fairgrounds, complete with the F-35 Tilt-oWhirl, made up of jet replicas. A worker playing

the auditor general loudly cautions you it’s way too expensive to board these Harper-endorsed white elephants. In any case, the ride is immobile until special software is available in 2016.

Off now to the Hall of Robocalls, where you hear misleading and manipulative telephone calls reported from 261 ridings across the country. On your way out, you pass a diorama of the singular figure convicted after these impossibly widespread feats, Conservative staffer Michael Sona, sitting in a prison cell with a copy of Voter Suppression for Dummies.

This dispiriting experience is nothing compared to the Pirates of Rideau Canal. All aboard! A boat painted in Tory aquamarine sails you through a cave lined with actors in

pet project, the Victims of Communism Memorial, revised and reworked for Toryville as the Victims of Malignant Narcissism Memorial.

Time now for the Nigel Wright Career Roller Coaster. Take a slow, click-click-click ride upward, passing the former Harper adviser’s career highlights, till you reach the apex at the PMO. From here it’s a nauseating drop into the Chiantiswilling piehole of an ginormous, misshapen bald head. You’re now in the Mike Duffy Senatorial Sideshow, careening through a blizzard of Monopoly money and screeching to halt in a recreated federal courtroom, where a conga line of lawyer and expert witnesses spell out “PM Duplicity” with their own bodies.

Toryville is a child-unfriendly exploration of all things politically down and dirty. You enter through a polyresin replica of the Centre Block of Parliament, complete with a Peace Tower clock set at two minutes to midnight. Here security goons aggressively frisk and then frogmarch you into the Prorogued House of Horror Commons.

chains playing federal researchers. These gagged minions attempt to sing “It’s a Science World After All” in unison, but it comes out as unintelligible moaning. Several grinning Conservative media contacts dressed in pirate gear mistranslates this as a feel-good jingle about ethical oil and jobs for Canadians.

A surprise awaits at the cave exit: a robot rock band with a robot Harper at the keyboard, banging out robot versions of “Hey Jude” and “Sweet Caroline.” But don’t even think of jumping overboard to escape unless you’re big on tailing pond effluent.

Disembarking, you find the gangplank leads you directly toward an architectural riff on the PM’s

The ride almost seems anticlimactic given the carnival of corruption that preceded it. But there’s still so much more to see and do in Toryville. The Parliamentary Press Hurdle; the Ferris Election Act Wheel; the Long Form Census Target Range; the War-on-Terror-Whack-aMentally-Ill-Mole.

In Banksy style, you exit through the gift shop. Pick up the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the form of a box of confetti. Or buy an inflatable likeness of the late Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas, CCF architect of Canada’s universal healthcare system, holding his horrified face in the style of Edward Munch’s “The Scream.” @geoffolson

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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News

Housing affordability at worst levels ever: RBC Tyler Orton

torton@biv.com

It may be a long, long wait for any potential firsttime homebuyers hoping for Metro Vancouver’s housing bubble to burst before making a down payment.

Strong demand for housing across the region continues to outpace supply and is creating some of the worst levels of affordability ever seen in the country, according to RBC’s second quarter housing affordability index.

The index, which measures the proportion of pre-tax household income needed to covers the costs of owning a home at market values, increased in all categories (an increase in the index indicates a decline in affordability) over the past quarter.

For a two-storey home, the index rose 3.7 percentage points to 90.6 per cent compared with Q1 and went up three percentage points to 88.6 per cent for a bungalow. Condos were the most affordable, as the

index went up just 0.5 percentage points to 40.1 per cent in that category.

“Vancouver’s housing affordability readings are nearing the worst levels ever recorded in Canada, but this is still not reining in buyer demand at all,” RBC chief economist Craig Wright said in a statement.

“Given the current high degree of tightness in the market, further price acceleration and affordability deterioration are even very likely in the near term.”

Nearly half of homeowners offer attached rental units Emma Crawford Hampel

ecrawford@biv.com

Many Vancouver homeowners are dealing with the city’s notoriously high cost of living by renting out parts of their homes to non-family members, according to a recent Square One Insurance survey.

The poll found 43 per cent of Vancouverites who own their own houses are renting out either basement suites, laneway homes or other parts of their residences. This is

the highest percentage of all the major cities in Canada and more than triple the national average of 14 per cent.

It is also more than twice as high as the percentage in Toronto, the city in the number two spot (20 per cent).

British Columbia as a whole comes in first place among all Canadian provinces with 25 per cent of house owners saying they rent out spaces in their homes.

“The high percentage of people renting out a

portion of their houses is understandable given today’s economy and the rising price of real estate across the province,” said Square One president and CEO Daniel Mirkovic.

Mirkovic said he suspects the percentages are actually much higher than the results of the survey showed.

“Some people may be reluctant to disclose this information to their home insurance provider if they haven’t secured necessary municipal approvals and permits,” he said.

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Development Permit Board Meeting: September 8 The Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel will meet: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 at 3 pm Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue Ground Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room to consider the following development permit applications: 4188 Yew Street To develop the first phase (Block A) of the Arbutus Centre redevelopment, with a 64.8 metre, eight-storey mixed-use building over two and a half levels of underground parking.

1188 Bidwell Street To develop a 22-storey, mixed-use building, comprising 108 secured market rental dwelling units, and three commercial retail units at grade, all over four levels of underground parking, accessed off the lane.

Please contact City Hall Security (1st floor) if your vehicle may be parked at City Hall for more than two hours.

TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM: 604-873-7770 or lidia.mcleod@vancouver.ca

Public Hearing: September 17 Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 6 pm City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue Third Floor, Council Chamber Vancouver City Council will hold a Public Hearing to consider heritage and zoning amendments for these locations: 1. 6929-6969 Cambie Street and 515 West 54th Avenue To rezone 6929-6969 Cambie Street and 515 West 54th Avenue from RS-1 (One-Family Dwelling) District to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District to permit the development of two six-storey residential buildings with one two-storey townhouse and one two-storey amenity building fronting the rear lane, containing a total of 72 dwelling units. A height of 22.3 metres (73 feet) and a floor space ratio (FSR) of 2.60 are proposed.

2. 7510-7554 Cambie Street To rezone 7510-7554 Cambie Street from C-1 (Commercial) District, RS-1 (One-Family Dwelling) District and RT-1 (Two-Family Dwelling) District to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District to permit the development of one six-storey, mixed-use building and one six-storey residential building, containing a total of 72 dwelling units and one commercial unit. A height of 24 metres (79 feet) and a floor space ratio (FSR) of 2.93 are proposed.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE APPLICATIONS: vancouver.ca/rezapps or 604-873-7038 Anyone who considers themselves affected by the proposed by-law amendments may speak at the Public Hearing. Please register individually beginning at 8:30 am starting September 8 until 5 pm on the day of the Public Hearing by emailing publichearing@vancouver.ca or by phoning 604-829-4238. You may also register in person at the door between 5:30 and 6 pm on the day of the Public Hearing. You may submit your comments by email to mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca or by mail to: City of Vancouver, City Clerk’s Office, 453 West 12th Avenue, Third Floor, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 1V4. All submitted comments will be distributed to Council and posted on the City's website. Please visit vancouver.ca/publichearings for important details.

Copies of the draft by-laws are available for viewing at the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue, Third Floor, Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. All meetings of Council are webcast live at vancouver.ca/councilvideo, and minutes of Public Hearings are available at vancouver.ca/councilmeetings (posted approximately two business days after a meeting). For real time information on the progress of City Council meetings, visit vancouver.ca/speaker-wait-times or @VanCityClerk on Twitter.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PUBLIC HEARINGS, INCLUDING REGISTERING TO SPEAK: vancouver.ca/publichearings Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Community PACIFIC SPIRIT

German churches face future twilight

First in an ongoing series on Vancouver’s ‘ethnic’ churches Pat Johnson

PacificSpiritPJ@gmail.com

In the 1950s and ’60s, there were several churches in Vancouver offering German language services — and the pews were packed.

There was a Catholic parish and several Lutheran and Baptist churches where German speakers could worship in their first language. Times have changed and the two churches offering weekly German services in the city are vestiges of a past that seems unlikely for a renaissance.

There were two main spurts of German migration to Vancouver. The Rucksackdeutschen, those who came after the Second World War with little but what they could carry in a backpack, and the “container Germans,” who arrived in the 1970s, their middle-class possessions following them on shipping containers. The first were often not from Germany at all, but were ethnic German residents of Eastern Europe. In many cases, their families had lived peaceably as German-speaking minorities in Ukraine and other places for generations. After the war, though, those Germans were in many instances made unwelcome.

The second bump came in the 1970s and included many who feared nuclear war and the possibility that the epicentre of global conflict would be right on the border between East and West Germany.

But German migration has declined to a trickle.

The German economy is humming. As we see in the news every day, Germany is a place migrants are moving to, not from. Each year, maybe 400 Germans come to Vancouver, with a few returning to Europe after a year or two, disappointed by housing and living costs and job opportunities.

Even those who stay, says Pastor Manfred Schmidt of Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church, are fluent in English, like so many European young people these days. If they feel a need for a church at all, they don’t need one in German.

Meanwhile, many of the children and grandchildren of earlier immigrants have moved to the suburbs. And

Pastor Manfred Schmidt of Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church estimates the average age of his congregation is over 70.

PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

the people who are moving into the traditionally German neighbourhood of Sunset are from other parts of the globe.

Schmidt says the average age of his German Sunday service is probably over 70.

He also has an English service that draws some from the neighbourhood, includ-

ing immigrants from Spain and Brazil. There has been a bit of an upswing in recent months, since he began an outreach program when he moved to the congregation from another one in the Fraser Valley a year ago.

“We started with 25, 30 people,” he says. “We are now between 55 and 60

people, all older people.”

But that good news is almost certainly a last gasp.

“It might be — and that is a long term forecast — that one day we have to sell it or give it over to the Chinese Christian community,” says Schmidt.

“There are Chinese Lutheran churches in the

neighbourhood already and they are growing in leaps and bounds.”

Not far away, Pastor Hardo Ermisch is a few months short of 25 years in the pulpit at St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Cedar Cottage. His church, too, offers Sunday services in

both languages, but he is emphatic that his is a German congregation.

“It is still our niche and our major thing here,” he says. “If we would have no German service, we would have no existence in this city because we are serving not only our members but the wider German community.”

In addition to pastoring at the German-Canadian Care Home, clergy at St. Mark’s are routinely involved in activities going on in the community, whether the German business association, choirs and clubs or events sponsored by the consul general’s office in Vancouver.

St. Mark’s draws congregants from all over the Lower Mainland, says Ermisch, including people from across the economic, educational and theological spectrums. By being inclusive, he has managed to keep St. Mark’s comparatively flourishing despite the multiple challenges.

“I would say on average we have between 80 to 110 people on a Sunday,” he says. The English service only draws a bit more than a dozen, but they maintain it to be inclusive. The small size of the congregation is an advantage and a disadvantage, he says. It’s a tight-knit group and that is probably what also draws the handful of non-German-speakers to the church.

“To be honest, there are much more attractive English-speaking congregations than ours and you have a pastor without any accent,” Ermisch says with a laugh.

So what does the future hold?

“I would say we still have a future,” he says, “but if we have a future for the next 50 years… I doubt it.”

There are German-language Lutheran, Baptist and Mennonite churches in the Fraser Valley, and those are benefitting from the next generation’s inability to buy homes in the city. But without more immigrants, the story of German-language churches in B.C. probably has more of a past than a future.

“The immigration figures we have point clearly in a different direction,” Ermisch says, “not to Northern Europeans.” @Pat604Johnson

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

A15

BOSA FOODS NOW OPEN Veggie fare a delicious option ON COMMERCIAL DRIVE Continued from page 5

Most surprisingly delightful

Red velvet is normally associated with desserts, but Pub Grub is serving up red velvet chicken strips and they’re not as weird as you think. Suzanne and Perry Pourier, who’ve been a staple at the PNE for 14 years, say they hit on the recipe idea because customers kept asking for sweet and sour sauce with their chicken strips. The red velvet batter coating (made with funnel cake flour) adds the right amount of sweetness. Paired with honey mustard, these chicken strips are deep-fried genius.

It’s no surprise that the pair who brought deep-fried Oreo cookies, jelly beans and Pop Tarts to the fair would come up with such an original snack.

Best healthy option

While the PNE is a great excuse to cheat on your diet and quit counting calories, options are available for the healthconscious. Curry in a Hurry celebrates its 35th year at the fair and has plenty of tasty wholewheat wraps full of veggies. The latest creation is the Vegetable Kathi Roll, which has a flavourful combination of spicy and sweet. It’s vegetarian but the taste will satisfy even the heartiest meat-lover and is flavoured with a unique tamarin chutney.

The Kainth family was one of the first to bring ethnic flavours to the fair.

Raj Kainth, who remembers manning the cash while standing on a milk crate as a kid, says his fiveyear-old son will be the

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Jason Au of Mini Donut Factory with Red Velvet Mini Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Glaze. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER.

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Tastiest cool treat

In 1957 Elvis performed at the PNE during one of only three performances outside the U.S. This year he’s back, at least in name, with the Fat Elvis at Rocky Point Ice Cream. The King’s namesake features hand-churned chocolate ice cream, sliced banana, local strawberry jam and peanut sauce in a grilled brioche bun. Husband and wife team Jamie and Yvette Cuthbert of Port Moody hope fair-goers are all shook up by their PNE debut and enjoy their handcrafted, locally sourced ice cream. Among the unique flavours they offer are Earl Grey and honey, lemon basil, blackberry sage and

even beer-flavoured ice cream (a crowd favourite).

So don’t be cruel and treat yourself to a sweet, cool treat.

Best classic with a twist

Mini doughnuts are a PNE classic. The warm sugary treats can be bought by the bucketful or sampled off a stick. This year the Mini Donut Factory decided for its PNE debut to offer a twist on the fair favourite with red velvet mini donuts coated with cream cheese glaze. Another red velvet newcomer, they are sweet and delicious. But there’s a trick to eating them off of a stick. “It’s a little labour intensive, but it’s totally worth it,” says Jason Au, owner of Tin Lizzy Concessions. @BlakeEmily

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Community 1

2

3

4

1. Noah MacMurchy is one of the city kids who loves learning about farm life by way of his farmhand summer job in the PNE’s livestock barn. The barn is open to visitors until the fair’s last day Monday, Sept. 7. 2. Farm Country agriculture coordinator Carrie Helter holds one of the chickens as part of the Chickens in the City display. The City of Vancouver started allowing backyard chickens as of 2010 and homeowners are allowed four hens (but no roosters). 3. Alpacas Kizzy, left, and Tia are part of the Farm Country livestock barn at this year’s PNE. In Canada alpacas are raised mostly for their fleece, which is said to be eight times as insulating as wool. 4. One of the Farm Country Staples is the pig races. See photo gallery at vancourier.com. PHOTOS REBECCA BLISSETT

CITY LIVING

Farmhands bring animal logic to PNE barn Agricultural education part of annual fair’s mandate Rebecca Blissett

rvblissett@gmail.com

Even the downsides of Noah MacMurchy’s summer job as a farmhand at the Pacific National Exhibition can’t really be considered as such, mostly because he gets to work with animals.

MacMurchy is 16 years old and is one of the many city kids who have the opportunity to experience the farm life of feeding, handling and cleaning creatures while educating people who come through the PNE’s livestock barn. Sure, some parts of the job aren’t too great such as making sure the pigs, who are naturally drawn to stink and muck, are kept clean. “The pigs are the hard part,” Mac-

Murchy said with a grin.

“They run around and knock you over, especially the mom.” But he added there’s no bad days when working with animals.

The Farm Country barn is staffed with Discovery Barn hosts, who guide families through a food and production maze to educate them about food origins; an agriculture crew of about 40 who tend to all the barn duties; about eight farmhands such as MacMurchy, identifiable by striped overalls; and other staff such as the Country Store vendors.

And they all took umbrage to long-time PNE media and public relations ruler Laura Ballance when she inadvertently caused a fuss when she was new to the fair

during the early 1990s.

“A reporter had asked me — because they wanted to do a profile on jobs — about the best job, worst job, and maybe the top five jobs,” recalled Ballance. “So I said the best job would be a prize home vendor because those young people make base salary plus commission, so they earn the most… So I thought, well, sweeping up after animals, that’s probably the worst job and I arbitrarily put them at both ends of the spectrum. And the next day, I heard from all of these guys,” she said nodding in MacMurchy’s direction, “and I heard from Agriculture.”

The only time Ballance said she heard from the agriculture world even more

was when the media team sent out a photograph of a “grand champion bull” when it was actually a steer.

“I realized how agriculturally-based British Columbia was when about 10,000 people called to claim we didn’t know the difference between a bull and a steer and it was clearly evident in that photo,” she said, laughing. “I must have said, ‘I know, I’m sorry,’ about 500 times!”

Hastings Park has been home to the PNE since 1910, when it was billed as the Industrial Exhibition as a showcase for British Columbia’s agricultural industry. While the fair, and people’s expectations, have long-since changed, the PNE still considers agricul-

tural education to be a large part of its role, Ballance added.

“I think some people think of it as an old-fashioned petting zoo, which it isn’t. The PNE has an opportunity and obligation to continue to bridge that gap between urban and rural, as both are such big parts of our province.”

Interactions with people are never boring, said both MacMurchy and Farm Country agriculture coordinator Carrie Helter, who happens to own many of the animals on display.

“How old is the animal?

That’s the number one question,” said MacMurchy, who has volunteered at New Westminster’s Queen’s Park Petting Zoo since he

was 10. Added Helter: “A long time ago, one person said, ‘I’m so sad!’ They were asked why and they said, ‘The ducks have a pond but the chicks don’t, it’s so unfair!’ OK, let’s go back a bit — chicks don’t swim, and neither do chickens.”

And then there’s educating the deprived kids who evidently never saw a book about farm animals or who don’t know chocolate milk doesn’t actually come from brown cows. Or, even, being able to tell the difference between a horse and a cow.

“We meet a lot of different people from a lot of different walks of life,” said Helter. “But in the end, they have the same curiosity about the animals.” @rebeccablissett

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Feature ON THE RECORD

Conserving water and saving the Fraser Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

For 25 days, Andaleeb Morales travelled 1,400 kilometres from the source of the Fraser River near Mount Robson to the Strait of Georgia. Travelling by canoe and on foot with the Rivershed Society of B.C. and half a dozen paddlers selected by the Sustainable Living Leadership Program, Morales hopes to show Vancouverites — starting with her neighbours — how easy it is to conserve water in their homes. Although Metro Vancouver reservoirs are 60 per cent full following the weekend storm, level-3 water restrictions are still in effect.

During the summer trip, Morales hauled pots of water from the riverbank to camp to boil until it was safe to drink.

Back in her Fairview home, she looks differently at the water that flows, seemingly limitlessly, out of the tap.

“It doesn’t feel right to dump even a little bit away,” she said. “Like when you’re eating dinner and you have a glass of water that you didn’t finish, instead of dumping it down the sink as we normally would do, put it aside and use afterwards to water plants.”

These little measures add up, she said. “It’s small but I feel so guilty now about dumping it down the drain.

It went through such a long process to get here.

It was dammed, collected, filtered… and it’s so clean.”

Morales’s sustainability project starts at her townhome complex where she will monitor her neighbour’s water use and related costs.

She will also distribute the indoor water saving kits that the city no longer sells.

What is a voyageur canoe and what it is like to paddle one?

Andaleeb Morales: I hadn’t really ever paddled in a regular canoe. A regular canoe can have people all in a line, but a voyageur canoe can take up to 20 people with two people on either side. The person in front is leading and one in back is steering. The voyageur canoe also allows us to bring our own packs with us. All our equipment, the entire kitchen, all our gear that we needed to set up camp, it was all loaded up. We were able to live off of the canoe, basically. It took us about an

Andaleeb Morales stands on the bank of the Fraser River after she travelled its 1,400-kilometre distance from Mount Robson to the Strait of Georgia with the Rivershed Society of B.C. She wants to distribute domestic water conservation kits and cut home consumption by at least 15 per cent. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

hour to load the canoe and unpack it.

from salmon carcasses and is transferred into nitrogen.

You were completely self-sufficient?

AM: Yes. When I came back, I realized we really didn’t need that many items to survive or even have a good time. We don’t need five different T-shirts.

One can be enough. Or you don’t need 20 towels in the house. Launder one. It felt like I needed to declutter. It’s a trend for everyone, but it really hit home because we travelled for 25 days and it drove into us that it is possible. If it was a week travelling, I would not have brought that back home with me. We were also eating healthy, we were all trying to be vegetarian, sticking to all organic fruits and vegetables, grains and cheese.

We noticed along the way there were a lot of farms that were only growing [food] to feed the cows. I think cows are the animals that create the most water waste to keep them alive. We saw tonnes of corn fields, but they were not for human consumption, they were for cows. Also the river was affected by pesticides. The salmon are being affected. Salmon are actually one of the biggest factors for our forests. We got to see how far salmon goes into the forest where bears pick them from the river, leave them and are then eaten by other animals and birds. We learned that 80 per cent of trees growing were salmonbased — nutrients came

So, the salmon lifespan extends far beyond spawning.

AM: It affects all of us.

There is so much to tell you. We were visiting a lot of native communities, and their livelihood is salmon.

All along the Fraser River you’d see all the drying racks. We saw how the fishing ban really affected them. Because the water is low and the temperature is high, the fear is the salmon would not be able to go back and spawn.

Why is the water level of the Fraser River low?

AM: It’s climate change.

What scenery has stayed on your mind since returning?

AM: I hadn’t realized B.C. has canyons, and when we entered the canyons near Lillooet... Everything changed, everything became hot. It felt like a blow-dryer was constantly blowing hot air. There were cactuses everywhere. There were these sculptures made in the sand called hoodoos. That was really eye-opening. Glaciers had created all those formations, and they’re called the cathedrals.

We usually see the river from the highway, not the landscape from the river.

AM: It’s not even seeing the river, just driving over it really instead of thinking of going into it. You would think it’s pretty disgusting

here on this side of the Fraser, but where we started, it was shimmering. The sand, they call it fool’s gold because it was sparkling in the water.

How did the river change as you got closer to Vancouver?

AM: We saw a lot of logs stacked along the river banks and a lot more traffic. At the beginning, there was nobody else, just us — us and wildlife. We saw so many birds, bears and big-horn sheep.

As we came into the city, we saw a lot more commercial traffic, boats, trains, bridges.

It felt weird.

What didn’t you know about the Fraser River before making this trip?

AM: We saw sturgeon.

I didn’t think they were in there. We saw a few jumping. They’re still there.

It was kind of depressing at the beginning [of the trip], we were losing hope because there are environmental pollution and disasters, but there is still life in the Fraser River and there is a lot of it. It’s not all negative. I realized also there is a lot of hope and positive things to work towards.

What is threatening the health of the Fraser River Basin System?

AM: There are a lot of things. We had one guest speaker … talk about the Water Sustainability Act, the one [the provincial Liberal government] are just

trying to put through. It will affect all of us. We should all be involved and get our comments in.

What’s the concern?

AM: We are not conserving water. Not all of us are metered. Residential homes are, but the big ones like townhome complexes and apartments are not. We’re taking it for granted. Maybe now though, it seems everyone is a little scared. The restrictions have done that.

Maybe if we do go to level 4, maybe we will realize we have to put [meters] in.

What are the consequences of ignoring water restrictions?

AM: There are fines. As citizens, we can report it if we see it. It sounds like ratting, but it’s also protecting our water.

What are the environmental consequences?

AM: We’ll run out. Soon we’ll be rationing. We can’t borrow for the future — it will just deplete.

Grim.

AM: It is, but I am really positive we can reduce it now because it’s not dire, we’re not California. They are on so many restrictions and they are saving a lot of water. Just from this year alone, they saved 30 per cent. Our greenest city goal in Vancouver, they want to reduce it by 30 per cent, but we’ve only reached 16 per cent. It’s achievable if every person commits.

You’re testing domestic water conservation strategies with your neighbours.

How’s that going?

AM: I hit a road block because I couldn’t purchase [water conservation] kits from the city. They ordered a very limited amount, they didn’t have any left and they’re not reordering them because nobody is really buying them. I guess [Vancouverites] don’t have an incentive to buy them, the water is just here. They don’t see it as a cost-saving thing because it’s not affecting them financially. The kits cost $12 to buy from the city. They have given me the contact for the supplier, based in the U.S. Hopefully I can bring them here and distribute them to my neighbours. It seems everybody is for it, they would like one but they don’t know about it. They don’t know what an aerator is.

What’s an aerator?

AM: It’s like metal C that you put in taps. It adds bubbles or air into the water. You can see that less water comes through the faucet. You turn the end of the faucet until it pops out, install the aerator and close it back up. You can also add an aerator to a shower head.

Everybody can do it.

These come in the city’s water conservation kits?

AM: Each person can buy two each. [The city] said demand is not there but they’ve run out [of kits].

I don’t know anybody who has one of these.

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labour day

THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Power to the EMILY BLAKE EMILY_BLAKE@LIVE.COM

Strong, united and dynamic communities full of people who care for one another. That’s what the labour movement has to offer British Columbians.

We’re travelling the province to spread the word.

BCGEU President Stephanie Smith

Find out how a union can work for you www.bcgeu.ca/joinbcgeu

The Labour Day long weekend signals the end of summer and the coming school year, but it’s also a day to celebrate worker’s rights and has a long history in Canada.

Labour Day in Canada originated from the March 1872 worker strike by the Toronto Printers Union associated with the nine-hour working day movement. It resulted in the passage of the Trade Union Act, which repealed British law that decriminalized unions.

Royal Bank Faculty Research Professor W. Craig Riddell of UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics says a lot has changed since that initial workers strike. He has identified five main labour trends over the past 30 to 40 years in Canada.

unifor467

“They’re not that much different this Labour Day than last Labour Day, but they raise some serious policy issues,” he says.

One trend has been the decline of unions in the private sector, which accounts for 75 per cent of the economy.

Riddell says this is the result of globalization and changes in government legislation that makes it more difficult for workers to unionize.

The biggest issue in B.C. right now is the large gap between rich and poor...

“The increasing globalization of economic activity puts a lot of pressure on companies to move their workforce to lower-wage countries or get lower wages for their

workers in more industrialized countries,” he says.

B.C Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger has also seen the decline in unions.

“The last few decades have been a time where there has been a significant and concerted effort to undermine unions both on the side of government and corporations,” she says.

“Unions force employers to share their power and some employers want to maximize their profits and power.”

Another labour trend is rising income and wage inequality.

This means the distribution of income and earnings has become more unequal at the individual worker and family levels.

WHERE BC’S PROFESSIONALS COME WHEN THEY NEED A UNION

IATSE Local 891 – in solidarity with all union members on Labour Day 2015

Professionals in BC are struggling with some serious issues: excessive overtime, limited job security, lack of a pension, less say in the workplace and stagnant wages. A union that knows professionals can help. www.iatse.com The Union Behind Entertainment

Visit us at pea.org/join to find out more

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

2015

people “That’s a really major development affecting working Canadians and indeed all Canadians,” says Riddell.

Lanzinger notes employees working for minimum wage in B.C. are $6000 below the poverty line and says unions help increase income equality.

“The biggest issue in B.C. right now is the large gap between rich and poor — inequality,” she says. “The people who are paying the price for that are living in poverty and low-wage workers.”

Related to rising inequality is the lack of growth in real wages and real income.

Riddell says one exception is the resource boom in 2000

HAPPY LABOUR DAY G FOR A BETTER BC WORKING

Five main labour trends over the decades

2365 E. Hastings Vancouver BC V5L 1V6

that mainly affected Alberta, Saskatchewan and to a lesser extent B.C.

taking on more of the risk of changes in the economy and preparing for retirement.

These trends have lead to a declining middle class and a growing number of working Canadians in the lower and upper classes. Riddell says this leads to concerns about social cohesion and the polarization of political views.

“It brings with it concern that, when there are shifts in the economy, do we have the right kind of safety nets when workers are laid off?” he says.

“There’s a worry about people on the top exerting too much influence on social outcomes,” he says.

Another important change in the labour market is the decline in career jobs and a move towards more casual employment. Riddell says this means individual workers are

SHANE SIMPSON ON MLA

astings Vancouver-Hastings

He adds these issues are not unique to Canada and are occurring in many other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries including the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

He says there are no simple solutions, but part of the answer is to improve the bargaining power of individual workers through unions, higher

minimum wages or other policy changes.

For complete story, see vancourier.com.

604-775-2277 www.shanesimpson. son.ca @shanelsimpson

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labour day2015

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Greetings from the BC Federation of Labour Labour Day is known for many things — a day off work or the day that marks the end of summer.

But the real meaning of Labour Day is much more significant and it’s important that we reflect on the actual reason we mark this day each year.

More than just a holiday, Labour Day is a day to reflect on the past struggles fought by working people and to celebrate the victories they secured. Victories we all enjoy today.

In fact, most Canadians take for granted the outcome

of these past struggles. The eight-hour work day, overtime pay, benefits, health and safety standards, the weekend — these were all hard-fought for by working people who stood up for their rights and demanded change.

Unions and the labour movement have been at the forefront of improving the lives of all working people for more than a century.

And we continue to play an important role in protecting these rights.

Working people are the backbone of the economy.

And unions play a crucial role in creating a more equal society — ensuring working people receive fair wages, are healthy and safe at work and can support their families and give back to their local economy.

The federal election is our chance to elect a government that respects working people and will protect our basic rights and employment

standards. It is our chance to elect a government that shares our values and believes in building an economy that works for everyone.

This Labour Day we need to reflect on where we came from. We need to remember the mass demonstrations, the strikes and the struggles and the victories they secured for working people right across this country.

Stadium to celebrate Labour Day. This free event will have food, activities for kids and entertainment from the legendary band Chilliwack!

Everyone is welcome.

IRENE LANZINGER President, BC Federation of Labour

And we need to commit to electing a government that respects this history.

In Metro Vancouver, join us on Sept. 7 at Swangard

Olga is one of 46,000 HEU members united around your care.

ha-p, labour day!

Today, and every day.

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

SPACE home design + style

Pleasant Mount Pleasant Sparkle & Shine

PHOTO: DAN TOULGOET

Ask Anne

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

PHOTOS: DAN TOULGOET

Pleasant MountPleasant WORDS BY CHRISTINA NEWBERRY REW.CA

Great burgeoning craft brewery scene, new chic shopping options, plenty of character homes others can be found throughout the area. It’s a fitting trend in the neighbourhood, which was a brewing hub in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

While it’s hard to think of today’s Mount Pleasant as a suburb — it’s a thriving neighbourhood that spans Vancouver’s east and west sides and offers easy access to all parts of the city — it did start out that way. In the early 1900s, the area was one of the first residential communities south of False Creek.

Today, it’s one of the hottest places in Vancouver to call home. Here are five reasons why the more than 26,000 residents of Mount Pleasant love their neighbourhood.

2 GREAT ACCESS TO SCHOOLS There are six elementary schools within the MLS-defined borders of Mount Pleasant, offering good coverage for the area’s families. The 2011 census showed that almost 10 per cent of the neighbourhood’s population was under 11 years of age, and with almost 30 per cent of the population between 25 and 34, that number of children is likely to grow.

1 THE BREWERY SCENE In recent years, Mount Pleasant has become Vancouver’s go-to neighbourhood for local craft beer. Brassneck Brewery, Main Street Brewery and 33 Acres Brewing Company are all located within a few blocks centred on Main and East/West Seventh Avenue. Several

ON! COUNTDOWN IS

4 A HUB OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES From restaurants to bars to shops, there are more independent businesses in Mount Pleasant than big chains.

While major brands like Starbucks and IGA can be found in the area, they don’t dominate. It’s one reason Mount Pleasant has become a hot shopping and dining destination for Vancouverites from all parts of the city who want their dollars to remain in the local economy.

5 HERITAGE HOMES With single homes making up less than three per cent of the dwellings in Mount Pleasant, the houses found in the neighbourhood tend to be something truly special. The 100 block of West 10th Ave. alone features six designated heritage homes and the surrounding blocks are full of homes from the 1890s and early 1900s, many of them painted in charming period colours. Whether you live in one of these homes or just admire them when walking through the neighbourhood, they’re a defining aspect of this historic part of town.

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Valid Friday, September 4 to Thursday, September 10, 2015. 10%, 15% & 20% offers: To redeem, please present this original coupon to the cashier. Discounts are mutually exclusive. One coupon per customer; cannot be combined with any other offer or credit offer, or used in connection with any previous purchases. Coupon offer valid for in-store use only. Refunds will be reduced by the value of the coupon as indicated on the sales receipt. Home Outfitters may dishonour and confiscate any coupon which in its sole opinion has been copied, altered, forged or obtained through unauthorized sources. This coupon has no cash value. This coupon offer cannot be redeemed at our Liquidation Stores at Stone Road Mall, Guelph ON ; Thickson Ridge Power Centre, Whitby, ON; Vaughan Mills, Vaughan, ON & Northland Village Mall, Calgary, AB. 15% offer: Applicable on regular price kitchen electrics, household appliances, beverage pods, beverage consumables, vacuums or personal care items. Excludes Smart Buys, Saeco, Dyson, Breville The Boss™ blender & Jura. 20% & 25% offers: Exclude kitchen electrics, household appliances, beverage pods, beverage consumables, vacuums, personal care, licensed departments, All-Clad, Le Creuset, Gift Cards, Smart Buys, Hudson’s Bay Gift Cards, Point of Sale Activation Cards & Gift Registry online. Hudson’s Bay, Hudson’s Bay Credit, Home Outfitters, hbc.com, homeoutfitters.com and their associated designs are trademarks of Hudson’s Bay Company. Credit is extended by Capital One Bank (Canada Branch). Capital One® is a registered trademark of Capital One Financial Corporation. MasterCard and the MasterCard brand mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated. All marks used under licence. All rights reserved.

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For more details go instore or online @thebrick.com.

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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SPARKLE & SHINE AskAnne

WORDS BY JENNIFER SCOTT WESTENDER.COM

A home is a sanctuary – a sacred space to unwind your mind and recharge your body. It’s therefore fundamental to consider what impact the design of your space will have on your personal wellbeing.

Seeking further insight into the mindful design behind balance and beauty, I had the pleasure of touring the incredible mineral collection at Crystalworks Gallery in Kitsilano. Crystalworks is Vancouver’s premier destination for crystals and a locally owned family business internationally renowned for maintaining only the highest standards in quality, ethicallymined minerals for more than 25 years.

While I am an avid collector of crystals within my own home and often use them within the dwelling spaces I design, I was admittedly awestruck when I entered

As I explored the Crystalworks collection, owners Andrea and Karen Lipsett explained the unique beneficial properties that each of their stones offer, sharing with me where each piece was mined, sourced and hand-selected by their buying team. I discovered that working with carefully Due to this artistic quality chosen crystals within in their appearance, design directly affects the mainstream design has energy within a certain seen a rise in the use of space, giving full striking natural opportunity to crystals within create and décor over Mainstream design balance the past few the feel of has seen seasons, but a rise in the use of aonroom the driving a very factors are striking natural literal not merely level. crystals within visual. For Each room centuries it has décor... within the home been said that serves a different crystals store and transmit personal purpose and energy patterns, which therefore emits and accepts give them the potential to energy differently – using the affect the energy of their surroundings. Using properly right mineral can ensure that your design is working with chosen stones within your and for you, both in terms of home can ultimately give decor as well as mental and you the ability to enhance physical wellness. and correct the energy that flows through it.

For the complete story visit westender.com.

Crystalworks’ West Third showroom. The gallery offers the most comprehensive collection of minerals I’ve had the opportunity to see, with pieces of such a grand scale in size they command the presence of a sculptural art piece rather than simply a stone.

PHOTO: DAN TOULGOET

After recently visiting the first annual Vancouver Gem and Mineral Show, I began to think about how decorating with natural stones and crystals (one of my most favourite design go-tos) can actually offer wellness benefits within the home in addition to a stunning aesthetic.

MINT FLOWERS HELP BEES THRIVE

WORDS BY ANNE MARRISON AMARRISON@SHAW.CA

Q A

My mint plant growing in a pot on my patio in the shade is very tall and has a lot of small leaves. Last year I got big mint leaves. The top of every branch has a bushy purple flower. Should this be cut off? FLORENCE, VANCOUVER

Your mint plant has small leaves because its energy is producing flowers instead.

Insufficient water may be an issue here. Mint is a water-lover. But your garden would benefit enormously if you leave the flowers on the mint. Heads of multiple small flowers are a magnet for honey bees, tiny pollinating bees and beneficial insects of all kinds. If they can’t get flower nectar they’ll starve. Because of the drought, fewer flowers are available this year so leaving your mint flowers in place will save some little lives. Their youngsters will help seeds and crops develop next year.

When the flowers die down, that will be the right time to cut your mint back. If we have a warm fall with some rain, you’ll get big leaves again. If the fall isn’t rainy, try to water the mint at least every other day. Grey water is fine provided you don’t get it on the leaves. You don’t have to struggle with big buckets. Even a saucepan full helps with a container plant.

Anne Marrison is happy to answer garden questions. Send them to amarrison@shaw.ca.

It helps if you mention your city or region.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

SENIOR MEN’S CURLING

Community

Senior Men’s Curling 55+ at Hillcrest Centre

Open House; Sept 3/ 6-8pm; Sept 6/ 10am-4pm Sept 12/ 10am-4pm

Contact: John Reid 604-224-1127 or vancurl.com/leagues/senior-men

The Stanley Park Ecology Society presents the ABC’s of Birding introductory walk Sept. 6. No super bird experts allowed.

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

CALENDAR

BENEFITING:

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Best activities for Labour Day weekend Sandra Thomas

sthomas@vancourier.com

Sept. 3

NEED A JOB? Besoin d’un emploi ?

We offer FREE employment services Tous nos services à l’emploi sont gratuits Services disponibles en français

Connect to your local Rendez-vous auprès de votre

VANCOUVER WESTSIDE

VANCOUVER SOUTH

300-2150 West Broadway

Ground Floor, 7575 Cambie St

Tel 604.688.4666

Tel 604.263.5005

The Employment Program of British Columbia is funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

Le programme d’emploi de la Colombie-Britannique est financé par le gouvernement du Canada et de la Colombie-Britannique.

Discover urban foraging and the art of medicine-making through an interactive workshop identifying wild, edible and medicinal plants growing beneath your feet.

Organized by the Grandview Woodland Food Connection, participants will learn how to incorporate wild foods into their lifestyle, when best to harvest and how to receive the most from these plants from First Nations Metis herbalist Lori Snyder. In the walk-about, participants will receive Snyder’s artwork ‘mind-map,’ a reference guide and learning tool to help integrate these teaching. Meet at the information centre of the Britannia Community Ser-

vices Centre, 1661 Napier St. This urban adventure, which runs from 7:30 to 9 p.m., costs $25. To register call 604-718-5895.

Sept. 6

Interested in becoming a birder but intimidated by the expert birding groups? Join the ABC’s of Birding introductory walk and learn about the birds you’re most likely to see, including the chickadee and white-crowned sparrow. As well, get acquainted with harder-to-spot birds such as the spotted towhee and the bushtit.

This program is sponsored by the Stanley Park Ecology Society, which will supply bird identification books and binoculars to share. No super bird experts allowed. Meet at the Stanley Park Nature House on Lost Lagoon at

10 a.m. below the viewing plaza located towards the water from the intersection of Chilco and Alberni streets. For more information or to register phone 604-718-6522 or email programs@stanleyparkecology.ca.

Sept. 7

The Labour Day Picnic for the Metro Vancouver Area takes place at Swanguard Stadium again this year with games and activities for children, live performances and union information tables with give-away items, displays and literature. The picnic takes place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Swangard Stadium is located at 3883 Imperial St. in Burnaby.

Until Sept. 6

Pop-Up City Hall has partnered with the PNE

for City Pavilion until Sept 6 with different city services on hand to showcase something new every few days including Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and the Emergency Preparedness team.

Later, share your Greenest City story about how the Greenest City Action Plan has inspired you to take action. Learn about city services, download the new VanConnect app and pick up a blue box. Then explore Vancouver Public Library activities for kids and teens, the Summer of Learning and how library materials get circulated.

Enter a giveaway contest, spin the prize wheel and have a great time at the rainbow picnic tables at the City Pavilion. For a complete schedule visit vancouver.ca. @sthomas10

final regular season homestand starts tomorrow, september 4th. vs. seattle mariners affiliate everett aquasox FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th Gates at 6pm. First Pitch 7:05

FOR TICKETS CALL 604.872.5232 OR VISIT CANADIANSBASEBALL.COM

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th Gates at 6pm. First Pitch 7:05

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th

A&W Family Fun Sunday & Umbrella Giveaway First 500 Fans Gates at 12pm. First Pitch 1:05

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

back to school

cheap thrills Higher-learning style for lower price NIKI HOPE, WESTENDER.COM

It’s tough to throw together a few decent outfits on a collegekid’s budget, but there is a trick to finding thrifty threads that don’t look like they were bought from the sale section at a fastfashion outlet mall.

Consignment shopping at stores like the Main Exchange on East 16th near Main Street means you can stock up on pre-loved quality brand-name clothes for a discount that is usually half the price or less than the items cost new.

beige Talula Babaton wool hooded coat for $129.99.The same coat new would probably retail for around $350.

The Main Exchange, which she opened last December, offers a carefully curated selection of on-trend and classic threads that include designer jeans from brands like Rag & Bone and J. Brand with the average price hovering around $40, also many Aritzia offerings, including a stunning

PHOTOS: JENNIFER GAUTHIER

“I need to get a deal [of] at least half price,”Main Exchange owner Miranda Dendewich says, summing up what she loves about consignment shopping.“I need to be able to experiment with trends, experiment with silhouettes. I don’t want to spend a lot. I need to get a deal and I need to be able to do something with it after I am done with it, because realistically I’m going through my clothes quickly.”

“I like being able to go in and get great clothes for a price and then I like being able to have somewhere to bring my stuff to when I’m done with it and I don’t want to wear it anymore, I need to get some money for it,”explains Dendewich, a petite brunette dressed in a snug pair of cuffed jeans, low-heeled black booties, and a fitted white sleeveless midi-shirt.

Farm Country

From cute baby animals and massive Clydesdales to bee beard shows and more! Shop for honey and berry products or watch the classic pig races and bottle feed a baby calf.

We’ve got it all at Farm Country at the Fair at the PNE!

The racks also include a darling Banana Republic wool tunic in soft cream ($24.99) — perfect on a crisp fall day with a pair of black booties and the Wilfred plaid tailored overcoat in forest green (nothing reads fall like plaid).

A number of her regular customers are of college age and are looking to extend their buying power as far as possible.They also appreciate how streamlined the store is in terms of stock.

(closed Aug 24 & 31)

11am-10pm Daily during The Fair at the PNE

Of course, the drawback of shopping consignment is that the size options are slim, so you’ve got to be have the time to hunt and keep stopping in, but there are a number of consignment stores to check out on Main Street, including long time staple Front & Company. Other standouts in the city include downtown’s Mine & Yours, the west side’s Dragon and Phoenix, Hey Jude and Charlie & Lee boutique in Chinatown. As well, the duo behind Hey Jude are opening a permanent storefront at 315 Abbott St. in Gastown in October.

PLU take theSk to The Faids favouriteir , Kidz Disco ve Farm! ry

At the Main Exchange, Dendewich takes in consignment every day of the week (except Mondays because they’re closed), though she’s selective about what she carries and how she prices it.

“You gotta know what people want. You gotta know style and you gotta care.”

For a longer version of this story, visit westender.com.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

A warm and loving environment with an enriched and stimulating program for children 30 mths - 5 yrs

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get geared up for going back MICHELLE HOPKINS, REW.CA

If you’re still enjoying the lazy days of summer, watch out — the start of school will soon be upon us. Here are five fantastic tools to help in your home.

We may still be basking in sunshine but, before we know it, summer will be a distant memory and the hustle and bustle of another school year will be in full swing. Some parents eagerly look forward to September, while others start panicking about everything they need to do prior to the first school bell ring that heralds in a busy fall season.

August is all about ways to get your whole house organized for the best school year yet. Before you hit the mall, there’s much more to do than going through your children’s closets, praying you don’t have to spend a small fortune on new clothes, shoes and sports equipment.

The Courier spoke to Everything Organized franchise owner Kathleen Boland for her best tips to make the transition from summer to schoolroom as stress-free as possible.

“The end of summer is a natural time to refresh our

homes, schedules, wardrobes and habits,” says Boland.

“Back to school is ingrained

in us to move from vacation mode to work mode. Go with it.”

Skate Canada Certified Professional Coaching Staff All sessions held at Killarney Rink (6260 Killarney St) T: 604.430.2330 Email: killarneyskatingclub@gmail.com Website: www.killarneyskatingclub.com

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T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Great tips to get your home ready for back to school

Boland’s Top Five Back-to-School Tips 1 GET THE KIDS TO SORT OUT THEIR BEDROOMS You can have the older kids help out with easy household chores — first off, getting their rooms ready for the fall school year. After they have gone through their closets and rid themselves of clothes, shoes and winter jackets and boots they’ve outgrown, the rooms are then ready to have their windows cleaned, dirt marks washed off the walls, furniture dusted and floors given a good vacuum.

2 CREATE A COMMUNICATION CENTRE You will be inundated with school-related paperwork, so plan to gather it together in a designated place. It will keep things under control and help maintain your cool when looking for permission slips and forms. Boland is a real proponent of the clipboard method because it provides each family member with their own way to keep track of all pertinent school information.

Another great technique is to create a children’s work

station with hooks for backpacks and individual chalk message boards to communicate to each child what the day’s schedule is, including homework and/or dance/sport/music activities, what special books or gear they need to pack and any chores they need to do.

3 DESIGNATE A HOMEWORK AREA Set students up for success by having all their needs taken into consideration in a simple and organized space with no distractions: paper, writing/drawing implements,

calculator, eraser and a dictionary/thesaurus for those without a computer.

If your child has a lot of school supplies, you can buy heavy-duty plastic supply carts or refurbish the old filing cabinet collecting dust in the attic. You can add shelves with dividers with a chalkboard on the side for easy access to homework deadlines.

4 TIME FOR A CHORE REVIEW As children get older their responsibilities should grow as well. Allow them to be

working members of the family, showing maturity as their chores align with their age. Add on tasks that can challenge them, such as cooking, or chores that take more effort to achieve such, as lawn mowing or shovelling snow.The goal is that they are able to take care of themselves by the time they leave home one happy day.

5 DIGITAL DIARY INSTEAD OF PROJECTS EVERYWHERE Does your house get overrun with artwork on walls, science projects on sideboards and a

host of other school-related detritus, which you’re dying to clear out but need a way to record for posterity? A great idea is to start an annual digital diary for each child.

Take photos or videos of those science experiments, certificates earned, music concerts and art projects.

At the end of the school year you can create a slideshow tailored to each child that’s much easier to keep than a pile of craft papers and cardboard.The added bonus is that you can share it with family and friends.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Travel Older Men Needed for Physical Activity Study!

WHO? Men aged 65 and older who are not

regularly physically active.

WHAT? Participate in a new choice-based program that supports physical activity and mobility of older men. You will meet with an activity coach and complete brief health surveys and assessments.

WHY? Increase your physical activity. Receive FREE 3-month transit and rec centre passes, FREE transit training, FREE personalized coaching from certified fitness instructors, health feedback, up to $90 in honorariums, and iPad training WHERE? At your local community centre WHEN? Men on the Move is recruitng now for the fall 2015 and winter 2016

INTERESTED? QUESTIONS? Contact: Alexander Perkins, Project Coordinator alexander.perkins@hiphealth.ca 604-875-4111 ext 21747

Take a tour of Covert Farms, at the foot of McIntyre Bluff just north of Oliver, in the back of this 1952 red Mercury. PHOTO JANE MUNDY

48 Hours in Osoyoos

A culinary weekend in this hot spot includes wine, fine dining and spectacular views

Jane Mundy

janevm@telus.net

Great food and wine, scenery and sunshine without flying anywhere is my idea of a weekend getaway.

And even better, somewhere without crowds — at

my age I can barely tolerate lining up for a plane let alone wait for a flight of wine tastings while trudging from one busy winery to another.

An invitation to Osoyoos was just the ticket. I was happy to discover that despite the recent fires in the region, it

was business as usual for this tourist destination.

An eye-opener

On Highway 3 just northeast of Osoyoos is Spotted Lake, known as Medicine Lake by the First Nations of the Okanagan

who own the property. It looks like another planet.

Concentrated minerals make large, colourful spots on the lake. For now, park on the side of the road for photo ops — a viewing area is in the works.

Continued next page

Seniors’ lifestyle talks + tables

WED., OCT. 7, 2015 • 11AM-4PM VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN GREAT HALL Lifetime is a FREE event that celebrates & educates the 55+ market.

Join us for an amazing speaker line up moderated by Dr. Art Hister, and tables hosted by local businesses.

Contact us for more info or to be involved 604 630 3517.

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A27

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Travel 1

2

View my video with

Has loose Dentures?

Cannot enjoy a meal?

Has a sore mouth?

Has stopped smiling?

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1. Spotted Lake, located on Highway 3 just northeast of Osoyoos, is known as Medicine Lake by the First Nations of the Okanagan. 2. Many Osoyoos winery restaurants offer spectacular views, including Miradoro Restaurant at Tinhorn Creek and Terrafina at Hester Creek. PHOTOS JANE MUNDY

Osoyoos a true desert Hot, hot, hot

The town of Osoyoos is one of Canada’s hot spots. Yes, we really have a desert in Canada, it’s the northern tip of the Sonora Desert that ends in Mexico.

Speaking of which, we first stopped for sangria and excellent pulled pork tacos at Spirit Beach Cantina, located in Nk’Mip Resort, close to Spirit Ridge Resort and smack on the beach — a fun hangout to rub shoulders with the locals.

Farm to vine

This was my third stay at the Watermark Beach Resort and by far the best, thanks to chef Adair Scott’s “Farm to Vine” menu where just about everything is sourced locally, from pork to peas. It also includes salmon and arctic char from the Okanagan.

Fish to farm

Yes, Okanagan sockeye salmon are back in Osoyoos Lake – and arctic

char is sustainably fished in closed containment fish farms on land. We started our seven-course menu at Watermark with “potted” salmon, which is the best canned salmon ever, but served from mason jars, followed by grilled filets of the char and sockeye. The land course included Two Rivers Organics bavette (flap) steak and in-house made pork sausages following which we blissfully waddled to bed.

Continued on page 28

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A lot of people have trouble catching what people say, especially in group situations, despite having good hearing. What a lot of people don’t know is that this may be caused by damage to the so-called motor or amplifier function of special cells in the ear. A new type of hearing aid can help balance this out.

A great many people have difficulty hearing others clearly on a daily basis.

Bad acoustics, unclear pronunciation, background noise and music often make it challenging to catch what people say. This results in them having to repeatedly ask questions, straining to hear and perhaps increasingly avoiding discussions in large groups. As mentioned earlier, this may be caused by malfunctions in special cells in the ear. According to a theory proposed by hearing researchers, “motor cells” are a type of hair cell responsible for amplifying quiet sounds. They vibrate up to 20,000 times per second. If these hair cells do not work properly then

Hair cells in the ear move very rapidly and can act as an amplifier or dampener. If these cells are damaged, they can no longer properly amplify speech and dampen loud noises.

This improvement in hearing can be achieved for some clients through the new Phonak Audéo V’s hearing aids.

This cutting-edge hearing technology comes in a miniature casing that can significantly enhance the user’s ability to hear speech in company. The hearing aids attune to the person you are speaking to and can also recognize if ambient noise increases in the background.

Connect Hearing is currently looking to improve hearing for people who experience these challenges and want to try this new technology. We are quiet sounds are no longer naturally particularly interested in candidates amplified in the ear and loud sounds who have trouble hearing speech in the situations discussed above and can no longer dampened. benefit from a demonstration to see This leads to more difficulty in hearing whether they notice an improvement. what is said in a lot of situations. If the hair cells have been damaged by noise Interested people can register for a free or blood circulation problems, hearing hearing evaluation and a no-obligation aids that amplify quiet speech and demonstration of the Audéo V hearing dampen loud ambient noise can be a aids by calling 1.888.408.7377.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Travel

Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre is a must see

The “potted” salmon at Watermark Beach Resort is served in mason jars. PHOTO JANE MUNDY

Continued from page 27 Unfortunately we didn’t have time for Watermark’s fishing experience.

Throughout August you can snag a sockeye with indigenous guides and either barbecue them yourself or a chef will on the Watermark’s patio.

And new this year, book an evening tour with First Nations people on a pontoon boat — you can hop on from the Watermark’s beach.

U-pick, U-grill

Staying in? Watermark’s kitchens are fully equipped and barbecues are included with the villas and penthouses.

There’s also a communal barbecue area on the pool deck with picnic tables. You can buy local fish from Codfathers in Kelowna and at Spirit

“one of the world’s best winery restaurants.” The view is as stupendous as its neighbour Terrafina at Hester Creek, which also has a decent Italian menu.

First Nations

Do take the time to visit the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, which celebrates thousands of years of Okanagan First Nations life, including a reconstructed traditional village, artifacts — and a few live rattlesnakes.

Bring binoculars and stroll the observation boardwalks as birders flock here.

Wine tasting

If you only have time to visit a few wineries (there are 36 wineries within the Oliver-Osoyoos region), stop at the charming Mooncurser Vineyards,

If you only have time to visit a few wineries (there are 36 wineries within the Oliver-Osoyoos region), stop at the charming Mooncurser Vineyards, known for its use of interesting and rare grapes that are only grown in a small area of Osoyoos.

Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa in Osoyoos. And how about grilling U-pick organic veggies from Covert Farms, at the foot of McIntyre Bluff just north of Oliver.

Before picking, take a 60-minute farm tour of the biodynamic vineyards and vegetable fields in the back of a 1952 red Mercury (book 24 hours in advance). Kids love the wildlife and salmon viewing – and the big bouncy pillow. Back at the farm’s lounge and market, we sipped organically grown wines with a charcuterie platter, of course locally sourced and perfectly paired.

Dining

Great dining also happens at Miradoro Restaurant at Tinhorn Creek.

With Chef Jeff Van Geest at the helm, Miradoro is justifiably recognized as

known for its use of interesting and rare grapes that are only grown in a small area of Osoyoos.

Backyard Farm

We had one more stop before heading home.

Backyard Farm Chef’s Table was expecting us for a cooking demo and lunch. The building isn’t easy to find and there’s little signage on the funky exterior. But inside is very upscale. “We like to keep it exclusive so no one comes in expecting a sandwich or wine tasting,” quipped Van Hooydonk as he butchered arctic char like a ninja.

We spent the next three hours sipping wine, eating perfect pan-seared fillets and heavenly pillows of hand-made gnocchi while learning about chef’s farm-to-table philosophy, which pervades Osoyoos.

We’ll be back.

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Community

B.C. RED WINES SHINE: B.C. wines were put to the ultimate test at the Judgment of B.C. event staged at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. A dozen red and a dozen white B.C. wines were pitted against similarly acknowledged global benchmarks.

Inspired by the original Judgment of Paris in 1976 when renowned British wine critic Steven Spurrier, B.C’s version of the event presented by the Wine Institute of B.C., saw syrahs from Le Vieux Pin, Nichol and C.C. Jentsch make the top five; the latter topping the list of 12 wines. Yarra Valley’s Soumah Chardonnay Single Vineyard 2013 reigned supreme on the white side. Best showing locally came from Blue Mountain, with their 2013 Chardonnay Reserve placing sixth.

WHITE AND BLACK: Vanhattan’s maestros of fun Tyson Villeneuve and Jordan Kallman held their annual Dîner en Blanc Aug. 25. Their fourth installment of the all-white pop-up party was by far the largest to date. More than 4,500 lucky guests attended the invitation-only event at Canada Place. Vancouver’s fancy outdoor picnic celebration attracted a well-dressed crowd, including a bride and groom who made the pilgrimage to the city’s waterfront — tables, chairs, dinnerware and food in tow — for the Parisinspired tradition that began more than 25 years ago. For the reported 30,000 on the waitlist who could not attend, artists George Vergette and Graeme Berglund offered an alternative, Ce Soir Noir, a cheeky response to Dîner en Blanc. Much more casual, attendees sported black and enjoyed a relaxed evening of conversation and picnicking at Crab Park. Several hundred guests attended the inaugural free not-at-all secret event.

HAIL WARREN: Former UBC and B.C. Lion’s football player David Sidoo hosted CFL and NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon at a reception benefitting the 13th Man Foundation, a charity Sidoo founded to improve the fortunes of UBC’s varsity football program. The legendary quarterback was brought in to help advise the team and boost its chances of winning a national title, a feat that has eluded the group for nearly two decades. Moon, who has compiled nine Pro Bowl selections as well as five Grey Cup championships in his illustrious career, joined first-year UBC football coach Blake Nill and newly acquired blue-chip QB Michael O’Connor for two scrimmages with the team before headlining Sidoo’s fundraiser at his Point Grey home. Expect to see more of Moon in the coming months, reports Sidoo.

email yvrflee@hotmail.com twitter @FredAboutTown

Black Sage Vineyard winemaker Jason James anticipates an early harvest and banner year for his reds — cabernet, syrah, merlot — thanks to this year’s prolonged hot summer.

Vancouver artists Graeme Berglund and George Vergette organized Ce Soir Noir, an alternative to the widely popular Dîner en Blanc party. Their free, black-clad, not-at-all-a-secret, picnic at Crab Park attracted hundreds for its inaugural running.

B.C. Wine Institute CEO Miles Prodan, left, and Maggie Anderson welcomed renowned British wine critic Steven Spurrier to the Judgment of B.C. wine event, which carried out two blind tasting comparisons of made in B.C. wine and international labels.

First year coach Blake Nill and 13th Man Foundation founder David Sidoo aim to change the fortunes of UBC’s varsity football team. The pair recently welcomed CFL and NFL legend Warren Moon to the team’s boosters.

Tyson Villeneuve and Jordan Kallman orchestrated their largest outdoor Dîner en Blanc pop-up party to date, with 4,500 invited guests converging at Canada Place. Their next project, Monogram Dinner by Design, pales in size as they invite designers to create tablescapes within a 12x12-foot footprint.

From left, B.C. wine aficionados James Nevison, DJ Kearney, Daenna Van Mulligen and Kurtis Kolt raised a glass to the impressive showing B.C. syrahs made at the blind tasting. C.C. Jentsch 2013 syrah from the Okanagan Valley topped the list.

Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon attended UBC Thunderbirds training camp and the 13th Man Foundation benefit, dedicated to support academic and athletic excellence.

Coast Hotel’s executive chef Shelley Robinson will be among 50 alumni fronting the 50 Years 50 Chefs Gala November 17 held at Rocky Mountaineer to mark Vancouver Community College’s 50th anniversary.

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It’s subtle, but relationships that have been on the slow track since July now get in gear and speed ahead. This could affect a love affair you’ve been in. There will be a definite direction, one way or another. (You might speed this along by admitting that you were wrong, another was right.) In any case, love is now unbound. The general accent remains on work, machinery, daily health and nutrition. Eat and dress sensibly.

Continue to lie low, rest, contemplate, plan, and deal with agencies, government, institutions, large corporations and charities, especially Fri./ Sat. Where red tape or swollen bureaucracies exist, there you thrive, now to next September.

This is an excellent year, week and two days (Fri./Sat.) to apply for government funding or an arts grant, or to take advantage of societysupported programs to heal yourself.

Finish ongoing tasks, projects this week. A subtle disquiet or indecision you’ve felt in yourself since midsummer now dissolves – you’re ready to march forward.

Which is good, as romance, creative and speculative projects, beauty and pleasure are on the broad agenda, and these always require confidence and decisiveness. (“Faint heart n’er won fair lady,” etc.) Errands, short trips, news, casual friends and siblings, communications and paperwork fill Sunday to Tues. eve.

A mellow, compassionate and wise mood flows over you Sunday morning to Tuesday eve – turn your attention to legal, educational, publishing or cultural matters, to intellectual pursuits and far travel, and to love. Someone might reveal their attraction toward you. However, avoid pushing too strongly around Monday noon and night.

Be ambitious Tues. night to pre-dawn Friday (PDT). But again, be cautious Wed. morning, noon, especially in closed-door or management meetings.

Snafus have dogged you since late July in writing, travel, communications, paperwork and “daily business.”

These delays and glitches dissolved partly around August 22, and now dissolve almost completely. Wrap up ongoing tasks/projects now, as next week brings different delays. Meanwhile, the main emphasis this week and next – especially this Fri./Sat. – lies on domesticity, rest (take naps) property, security, parent/ kid relations, retirement plans, stomach and soul.

Life brings change Sunday morning to Tuesday eve. It’s a change that ultimately will please your heart, your head, and your bank account.

It could be child birth, or pregnancy; it could be an investment, or significant debt (e.g., a mortgage). Could be a secret you learn, or a diagnosis you receive, or a lifestyle change you make. Be cautious Monday morning and late night (PDT) – relax, avoid stress.

Money and social delays end now. But home, family and property-related delays will begin next week, so wrap up ongoing projects/tasks now, especially in this area. The main accent lies on casual interactions and information, news, short trips, errands, paperwork, communications and details – this area, emphasized Fri./Sat., will expand for a full year ahead, so now (this week) might be a good time to load up on stationery, upgrade your phone and/or computer, etc.

Relationships confront you Sunday morning to Tuesday eve. Take care Mon. night, when stress can trigger an end or a fight. Otherwise, charge ahead in a diplomatic, co-operative way. You could stumble upon opportunities, even love.

(Turn away from extra-marital affairs, though – one could slide into your life very easily now, especially Tues. to Thurs.)

The general accent remains on money, earnings, buying/selling, possessions, memory and sensual attractions, especially Fri./Sat., when these matters could zoom into a good luck “zone” (“I’m in the zone”). These two days are superb for chasing new clients, asking for a pay raise, selling investments (rather than buying new ones) or rote learning (memorizing lists, facts, etc.).

This month, and especially this week, bring deep and important changes to your life. (These changes might only be sparked or begun now, and could mature, play out fortunately over the 12 months ahead.) Friday/Saturday get the ball rolling in earnest: you might change your lifestyle, plunge into research or detective work, alter your investments, or make a new one, take on debt, even leave one partner for another.

Your charisma, energy, effectiveness and clout remain at a yearly (even a decade) high.

Usually I’d recommend starting new projects now, but your planet, Mercury, goes retrograde next week, bring a few weeks of back-tracking, indecision, missing elements, and delays.

So use this great energy to wrap up ongoing projects, to prepare and protect “scheduled” events (from disruptions or delays) to ensure you have sufficient supplies, etc.

Sunday morning to Tuesday eve brings romance, creative surges and speculative urges, charming children, beauty and pleasure. The earth is like one big poem. However, back away Monday from mid-afternoon to midnight, as stress levels climb.

Tackle chores and protect your daily health (eat, dress sensibly) from Tues. night to pre-dawn Friday (PDT). Brand new projects face a threeweek period of delay, indecision and mistakes, so be patient. All is well!

Sept. 3: Steve Jones (60). Sept. 4: Beyonce Knowles (34). Sept. 5: Bob Newhart (86).

Sept. 6: Idris Elba (43). Sept. 7: Chrissie Hynde (64). Sept. 8: Bernie Sanders (74).

Sept. 9: Michael Buble (40).

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Arts & Entertainment

A31

GOT ARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com

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Sept. 3 to 10, 2015 1. California singer-songwriter and Merge Records recording artist Mikal Cronin brings his well-crafted pop stylings to the Biltmore Sept. 7 in support of his latest creatively named album MCIII. The Cairo Gang opens. Tickets at Red Cat, Zulu and ticketweb.ca.

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3

2. By now the only question about the upcoming Hall and Oates concert at the PNE Sept. 4 is whether or not John Oates has grown his delicious moustache back. You can pretty much guarantee they’ll play sweet hits such as “You Make My Dreams Come True,” “Rich Girl” and “I Can’t Go For That,” but man do we hope Oates’s lipwarmer is back in action. The concert is free with admission to the fair. Details at pne.ca.

3. Live variety show Paul Anthony’s Talent Time returns to the Rio Theatre for its eighth season of controlled chaos, special guests and charming weirdness.

Guests include Gary Oliver, who owned and operated the first animal acting agency in North America supplying animals for everything from The X-Files to MacGyver, comedian Chris James, the Cindy Yang Dance Academy and more.

It all goes down Sept. 3, 8 p.m. Details at riotheatre.ca.

4. Bob Frazer directs Vincent River, Philip Ridley’s “unforgiving, lyrical, and hysterical drama about a bereaved mother and the tormented young man who crashes into her life.” The Osimous Theatre production runs Sept. 9 to 20 at Little Mountain Gallery. For details, go to osimous.com.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Arts & Entertainment MUSIC

‘Old soul’ Madeline Merlo inspired by Nashville scene Country Crush star performing at the PNE Sept. 4

Erin McPhee

to move there if I could. I’m trying to make that happen sooner rather than later. It’s amazing. But there’s also a lot of talented people in Canada as well so when it comes to writing or recording... I kind of like to have a bit of variety,” she says.

Merlo is currently back in the Lower Mainland to perform at the PNE Sept.

4. She’s also been busy with a project entitled Decades, a Throwback Thursday (#TBT) video cover series on CMT.ca. Over the course of two months, the artist will be releasing a weekly video on the site. Each video will see her perform a wellknown song by an artist from the 1940s and beyond who has inspired her.

“Old music is such a staple of what I do and I’m such an old soul and love it so much — I have a young fanbase and I’d love to show them some of the songs that I grew up listening to. I think your playlist on your iPod or whatever really explains who you are and the type of mu-

emcphee@nsnews.com

Sipping on Honey Jack for the first time a few months back, a light bulb went off in singer-songwriter Madeline Merlo’s head when someone she was with commented on the drink, describing it as “strong” but “sweet.”

“As a person, I feel like you should be strong but you should also be sweet.

It’s OK to stand up for yourself but you can also be kind about it,” says the rising country music artist.

Merlo continually finds herself drawing on personal experiences for her songs, and that exchange went on to inspire her new single, “Honey Jack,” released last week.

Merlo penned the song while in Nashville, Tenn., with the help of “two amazing women,” Jesse Walker and Stephony Smith.

“We just had a blast writing the song and laughed the whole time. When we were picking songs for the new round of music,

Rising country star Madeline Merlo splits her time between the Lower Mainland and Nashville. She performs at the PNE this Friday.

“Honey Jack” always was at the top of my list. I just felt like I’m 21 and I’m young and I really wanted to show a fun side of me,” she says.

These days the Maple Ridge-based artist has been spending more time in Nashville, which is home to her label, Open Road Recordings.

“I do most of my writing and recording over there.

It’s just where country music lives, so it’s a really inspiring place to be. I’d love

sic that you love to listen to, and for me I love to make, so I take inspiration from old artists and new artists and all genres,” she says.

As of this week, Merlo has released four covers: Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Shania Twain’s “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” Magic!’s “Rude” and Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” included.

She also just wrapped up filming Country Crush, a country movie-musical. She plays aspiring singer Nancy and saw a lot of herself in the character, even though her onscreen character was a tad “cooler.”

“She can fix cars,” says Merlo with a laugh. “She really, really loves music and is willing to work really hard and do anything she can to do it. I get that desperation,” she says.

Madeline Merlo performs at the PNE on Friday, Sept.

4 at 7 p.m. as part of the Mosaic Music Series. For details go to pne.ca.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

ART SHOW| LIVE MUSIC | FILMS |WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS | YOUTH WORKSHOPS

F E AT U R I N G T H E W O R L D ’ S T O P C O N S E R V AT I O N -T H E M E D A R T E X H I B I T Painting “Day Dreamer” by Robin Murray.

Live Music (Feat. Calvin Dyck) Live Raptor Painting Art Exhibit Preview Meet-the-Artists Awards Dinner Silent Auction Cocktails

5th Annual

ARTISTS FOR CONSERVATION

Vancouver, BC

SEPT 10 - 12 | Fairmont Waterfront SEPT 19 - 30 | Grouse Mountain presented by Painting by Morten Solberg

Thurs, Sept 10 | Fairmont Waterfront front | Tickets: www.artistsforconservation.org/gala vation.org/gala

Musical Celebration of Nature in Art Featuring: Edgar Muenala Andrew Kim Thomas Beckman The Postmodern Camerata & the Artists of the 2015 AFC Festival

Painting by Megan Kissinger

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T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A33

Arts & Entertainment MOVIE REVIEW

Bang Bang Baby is a retro blast Julie Crawford

jcrawfordfilm@gmail.com

Mutants, musical numbers and a roadkill beaver supper: welcome to the wacky world of Nova Scotia-born filmmaker Jeffrey St. Jules.

After developing the film through the Cannes Film Festival Residence program and playing to rave reviews on the festival circuit (picking up the Claude Jutra award at the Canadian Screen Awards) St. Jules’s unique brand of Canadian weirdness is opening nationwide today.

Not much is happening in Lonely Arms, Canada, in the 1960s. Stepphy (Evil Dead’s Jane Levy) is desperate to flee her small town; she spends her days mooning over television singing sensation Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin, Shameless) and working in her dad’s auto shop. Stepphy believes she could be a vocal star too, if only she had the pluck to leave her needy, alcoholic father (Peter Stormare) and head south of the border, where real dreams are made.

Dreams: “they never do come true, best not to have ‘em,” says local farmer/ moonshiner Gord (Boyd Banks) whose own fantasy of becoming a hand model were dashed as a young man in New York City.

Stepphy has no friends and few options, save set-

tling down with Fabian (David Reale, Suits) the earnest but creepy manager of the town’s chemical plant, which dominates the town.

But fate intervenes, as it always does, and Bobby Shore and his perpetually piqued agent Helmut (Kristian Bruun) find themselves in “Canaduh” instead of Kansas, thanks to a wrong turn.

Car trouble necessitates that Bobby bunk up at Stepphy’s house, so dreams really do come true after all. First meal served is that roadkill beaver, of course, nonetheless Bobby finds everything about Lonely Arms pretty quaint. As Stepphy plots a USA escape, Bobby seems less and less anxious

to return stateside, and to the real world.

Automation has not been the godsend that the chemical plant was looking for, and complicating Stepphy’s starstruck plans is the icky purple mist now emanating from the chemical factory and lingering throughout town, a development which is even scarier than Fabian’s unwanted, groping attentions. In one of the film’s catchy, bizzarro musical numbers Fabian warns that “in a quarantined town of freaks, choices are few.” But Stepphy is too busy orchestrating a life with Bobby to take even the most dire warning signs seriously.

The film is zany and full of surprises (who knew Peter Stormare could sing?)

climate action plan 2020 UBC is beginning the process to develop a new Climate Action Plan for the Vancouver campus. Our climate action target for 2020 is to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2007 levels by 67%.

• Energy supply options

• UBC-owned vehicles

• Energy use in buildings (e.g. building design, maintenance and operations)

• Individual behaviours

UBC is on track to achieve the 2015 reduction target set out in the 2010 UBC Climate Action Plan. Join the conversation and help us set the stage for climate action success in 2020.

submit your ideas!

When: September 14 – 27 Where: planning.ubc.ca Questions? Please contact Gabrielle Armstrong, Senior Manager, Consultation at gabrielle.armstrong@ubc.ca or 604-822-9984.

Jane Levy stars in the charmingly kitschy Canadian musical Bang Bang Baby.

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and the camera loves Levy, who is the lynchpin in the whole affair. Writer/director St-Jules skewers ’60s morality — the perils of drinking alcohol, sex outside of marriage, confined roles for women — in a playful, ridiculous way, making sockhopmutant-musical Bang Bang Baby an ideal summer blockbuster tonic.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5

Arts & Entertainment THE HIRED BELLY

Supermarine goes deep with seafood Tim Pawsey

info@hirebelly.com

How curious that Vancouver, with such an abundance of ocean bounty, still doesn’t sport a definitive seafood culture found in other major port cities. Is it our lack of a widespread, local seafood industry and independent fish markets compared to one controlled

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by a few big players? Or is it that we tend to take our seafood for granted? And are just a tad blasé Happily, signs are that marine cuisine is on the rise.

The era of planked Sockeye slabs is long gone. Today we have fresh clams and oysters, happy hours with buck-a-shuck galore, fish ’n chips, po’ boys, fish tacos, cracked crab, programs such as Ocean Wise and a growing number of serious seafood rooms.

Enter Supermarine (1685 Yew St., 604-739-4677), a nifty, cute and cozy offering in Kits from James Iranzad and Josh Pape of Bufala and Wildebeest fame. This neighbourhood, Lilliputian space is the makeover of their long-running Abigail’s Kitchen. It was ditched in favour of something more upbeat, interesting and topical on the plate. Best of all, it’s almost entirely seafood driven.

An abundance of inventive tastes includes crispy octopus chips. The presentation — piled in and on a small mason jar — is pure fun, with a smoky tomato sauce for dipping ($9). Think a crunchy riff on classic patatas bravas.

Or you could be seduced by the “confit” of herring, with romesco verde, toasted hazelnuts and sourdough crumbs, which add up to a tasty twist on this all toooften-overlooked species.

Try them both with a glass of juicy, citrus-toned rosé (from Lebanon’s extraordinary Chateau Musar), or with Schloss Gobelsburg’s crisp Grüner Veltliner. If the menu’s adventuresome, the smartly picked wine list and clever cocktails comes along for the ride.

As much as possible,

RAISE A GLASS TO BC’S WINE & CULINARY TALENT 12 BC CHEFS & 90 BC VQA WINERIES SEPTEMBER 16 | VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE TICKETS & INFO AT ARTSCLUB.COM | 604.687.1644 a fundraiser for

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Supermarine is the latest offering from James Iranzad and Josh Pape of Bufala and Wildebeest fame, located in the former space of their long-running Abigail’s Kitchen. PHOTO TIM PAWSEY

Supermarine stays doggedly close to local sourcing. Yet when it comes to preparations, there are no sacred cows. I love the tongue-incheek treatment afforded to the snow crab, which comes Tempura style, with honey and black pepper glaze and bok choy purée ($16).

Not to be missed, finishing tastes like fresh berries, Chantilly cream and almond cake or yuzu lemon curd with shaved celery and black pepper are fun combinations that push the envelope.

The mood is laid back and the colourful plates sport just the right sense of informality, with a dash of Kits Beach flair to kick things up a notch. There’s edgy creativity at play here, with more than a few tastes to bring you back for more. If you’re in the ’hood, it could be your go-to seafooder. Open 5:30 p.m. until late. Details at supermarine.ca.

Cheese please

Thirty years ago it was next to impossible to buy decent cheese in Vancouver. That all changed in the mid-1980s when Alice Spurrell and her

daughter Allison set up a small specialty cheese business at the corner of 10th and Alma. The space was tiny, but it didn’t matter — people lined up outside the door. Today, Les Amis du Fromage has grown to two busy (and spacious) stores on the East and West Side.

The two have not only nurtured a generation of cheese aficionados but also transformed a restaurant scene where a cheese plate was once as rare as proverbial hens teeth.

Head cheese Alice announced her retirement last month, handing the reins fully to Allison and partner Joe Chaput. Vancouver cheese lovers (and restaurateurs) owe them all a huge debt of gratitude.

Belly’s Budget Best

Spier Chenin Blanc 2014 (Western Cape) It’s tough to beat this food-friendly drop for value. First come aromas of apple, pear and citrus, followed by good acidity and less viscosity, with an edge of citrus zest. Think goat cheese or white Spring salmon. $12.69 (before taxes), 91 pts.

T H U R SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A35

Sports & Recreation CYCLING COMMENTARY

Residents take action to calm neighbourhood streets

City without highways means side streets cope with high traffic Chris Bruntlett

chris@modacitylife.com

When Mark Friesen received a panicked phone call from his wife one April afternoon, he expected the worst.

He raced home to find an SUV protruding from the front window of their apartment building at the corner of West 16th Avenue and Heather Street. His wife Julie, their two daughters, and several neighbours had gathered after the shock to take in the destruction.

Having lived in his building at that intersection for four years, Friesen was abundantly aware of its flaws. It fails anyone not in an automobile, he said.

“We constantly hear the sound of screeching tires, loud horns and near misses from our apartment window,” said Friesen. But it wasn’t until that danger made its way through his front door that he decided it was time to intervene.

He was finishing a master’s degree in Urban Studies from SFU and learned about Portland’s Intersection Repair Program.

Officially sanctioned by the city, it provides residents

4

In Kitsilano, an intersection-sized egg draws attention at West Fifth Avenue and Trafalgar Street.

PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

with tools and administrative support to directly address the types of problems he was experiencing.

Friesen call the City of Vancouver and said he, “Quickly learned they had no such formal process in place.”

He also learned 16th Avenue is designated an arterial route by the Streets and Transportation Department.

“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” Friesen said.

He organized a meeting at the Tandem Bike Cafe — also located at that

3

The playoff elimination number for the C’s as of Aug. 31. Vancouver must win at least three games by Sept.

6 to have a chance to reach the post-season. Of course, league-leading Everett must also lose and the C’s host them in the last home-stand of the season.

Say YES to

Erin Cebula, Global BC

tive public art.

“We sent this document to the city engineering department and hope to implement some, if not all, of these concepts sooner rather than later,” said Friesen, who is confident the city will act.

These types of citizen-led interventions are increasingly common in Vancouver.

Kitsilano residents painted a giant egg — its yolk shining sunny-side-up on the road at West Fifth Avenue and Trafalgar Street — to draw the curiosity of speeding

City of Vancouver can only fix a handful of dangerous intersections each year and otherwise must rely on community-minded citizens to protect themselves and their neighbours.

It’s not just these neighbours’ safety, but their mobility that also suffers because people are less likely to walk and cycle on streets designed for cars.

It’s clear this pressing problem won’t be solved with creative paint projects, but requires cohesive, deliberate and well-funded action from the other two levels of government (which, by the way, collect 92 cents of every tax dollar).

These interventions may present some modest successes but are really just Band-Aid solutions on the gaping wounds that bisect our neighbourhoods. Making travel safer for people in cars was the biggest road safety issue of the 20th century. But making streets safer for those outside of cars will be our challenge of the next 100 years.

Chris Bruntlett is a cofounder of Modacity and is inspired to live a happy life of urban mobility. Reach him at chris@modacitylife.com.

: : Glory measured in blood, sweat and tears

The number of games out of first place the Vancouver Canadians were as of Aug. 31. Their 15-17 record for the second half of the single-A season trails Everett’s 19-13 output. The teams clash at Nat Bailey Stadium Sept. 4 to 6.

BC

CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

Dortetearm y L Rules of Play,

very intersection — and 18 neighbours showed up.

“Each and every person who attended the meeting was motivated by their own personal horror story and a desire for immediate, meaningful change,” Friesen said.

The resulting ideas were compiled in a workbook, which includes illustrations and photos of increased pedestrian space, improved crosswalks, protected cycling facilities and examples of bicycle counters, corrals, street furniture and interac-

motorists in order to slow them down.

These are the signs of desperate and frustrated residents fed up with the city’s inability to fix decades’ worth of inadequate — and dangerous, I would argue — street design. It’s also anger with the police department’s failure to punish unsafe driving.

I am a huge proponent of traffic-calmed infrastructure like that on Point Grey Road or Adanac Street. I still think it’s far too easy for drivers to “rat run” between arterial roads such as Broadway or 12th Avenue onto quiet residential streets. We pride ourselves on not having any freeways within city limits, but it has come at the expense of busy roads spilling onto our neighbourhood streets, with serious implications to the vitality, health and safety of our communities.

Such is the giant game of “whack-a-mole” currently taking place in this and countless other cities.

With very limited infrastructure funding at its disposal (an issue, coincidentally, the failed transportation plebiscite would have gone a long way to address), the

2

The number of Vancouver lacrosse players awarded a scholarship to play in the NCAA as rookies this fall. Van Tech grad Chase Pretti-Pearsall heads to Mars Hill University in North Carolina, and Killarney grad Wesley Lo is off to Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia.

“Love, Sweat and Gears” is the poignant motto of Ride for Refuge, a 10, 25 and 50-kilometre bicycle ride and fundraiser for Covenant House Vancouver Oct. 3. The non-competitive event also includes a five-km walk. Covenant House supports displaced, vulnerable and exploited youth. Visit rideforrefuge.org.

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The first-place finish for Royal Vancouver Yacht Club sailors Eric Lyall and Andrew Moreno in the 29er class at the Canadian Youth National Championships in Kingston, Ont. Aug. 13.

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