Vancouver Courier December 6 2018

12TH & CAMBIE CAN COUNCIL KEEP UP ITS TORRID PACE? 4 NEWS THE OTTER AND THE DAMAGE DONE 5 COMMUNITY KITS SHOWER PROGRAM BRINGS COMFORT 25 FEATURE LIFETIME ON AIR WITH VETERAN RADIO HOST JON MCCOMB 20 THURSDAY

December 6 2018 Established 1908

There’s more online at vancourier.com

2018 Newsmaker of the Year: This year saw the election of a new mayor, an almost entirely new council and the obliteration of the city’s ruling party for the last 10 years.

Local News, Local Matters

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

SEE PAGE 12

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Season’s Greetings

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As of January 7, 2019, Minerva’s Restaurant and Barra 41 will be closed on Mondays.

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

News 12TH & CAMBIE

New council sets torrid pace in first month of office Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

This new Vancouver city council is going to run out of topics to discuss if this torrid pace continues.

They’re on a tear.

Two weeks ago, Mayor Kennedy Stewart and councillors introduced no less than 10 motions on notice in their first full week of public meetings.

Topics included the opioid crisis, social housing, a renters’ office, a citywide plan, the budget and protecting tenants from “renovictions” and aggressive buy-outs. More than 100 people registered to speak to council that week.

This week, there’s another 10 motions before council.

Topics include the mayor’s call for conflictof-interest rules related to elected officials and staff, the creation of a lobbyist registry and a review of the mayor’s office budget.

There are motions requesting support for the B.C. Poverty Reduction Coalition’s plan to reduce

poverty, the need for more child care, a bylaw change related to ride-hailing and a few motions involving taxes.

As of Monday, a total of 43 people were registered to speak to these motions.

The majority — 22 — will be in the council chamber to address NPA Coun.

Rebecca Bligh’s motion to seek a “proposed alternative to provincial encroachment on the City of Vancouver’s municipal tax base.”

Bligh’s motion requests the mayor write a letter to Premier John Horgan, Green leader Andrew Weaver and Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson to withdraw the proposed tax that targets residents whose homes are assessed at $3 million or more.

She suggests the province use other tax-generating options such as “the progressive income tax system” to fund the B.C. budget. As readers may recall, the socalled school tax — which is supposed to be effective next year — sparked several protests earlier this year.

Frankly, I’m surprised only 22 speakers signed up.

By the end of the week, Mayor Kennedy Stewart and councillors will have debated at least 20 motions since being sworn in to office Nov. 5. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

That’s this week.

Next week, on Dec. 11, council will hear from city staff on the $1.5-billion operating budget. Council will also consider $371 million for new capital projects.

City staff has proposed a 4.9 per cent property tax increase. It was 4.24 per cent last year, and 3.9 per cent the previous year.

Council will decide at its Dec. 18 meeting on the increase, which city staff say is being driven largely by costs to “cover inflationary and wage costs of existing services, and new investments to maintain and improve services.”

In other words, police officers and firefighters are getting salary and benefit increases. In fact, this year,

public safety wage increases climbed 2.5 per cent, a rate higher than inflation.

As I wrote in a previous piece, the arbitrated settlement between the Vancouver Police Union and the Vancouver Police Board will expire at the end of this year, “adding uncertainty and additional cost pressures for future years,” according to budget documents.

But the new council’s pace is not unprecedented.

The same week Gregor Robertson and his Vision team of candidates were sworn in to office back in December 2008, they opened homeless shelters and dumped then-city manager Judy Rogers, who was replaced by Penny Ballem, who has since been replaced

by Sadhu Johnston.

Those actions were followed by a succession of motions introduced on topics related to building affordable rental housing, creating a mental health plan, amending the Residential Tenancy Act to help renters and creating a bike lane on the Burrard Bridge.

Interestingly, thencouncillor Tim Stevenson introduced a motion way back on Dec. 16, 2008 calling for the city to use its own Standards of Maintenance bylaw to repair buildings and charge costs to the owner.

That was 10 years ago.

My research shows the city has done minor repairs on buildings and billed owners, but never a complete renovation.

For years, the bylaw has been referred to by housing activists when dilapidated single-room-occupancy hotels such as the Balmoral and Regent in the Downtown Eastside are discussed. One of those housing activists, Jean Swanson, is now a city councillor.

I predict another motion, but likely not this week.

The Balmoral and Regent, meanwhile, remain closed while the city and the hotels’ owners battle over the city’s desire to expropriate the properties, which have been notorious for disrepair and crime for decades. @Howellings

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A5

News

Reign of rogue river otter’s terror cost $1,000 and 11 koi 50-year-old koi named ‘Madonna’ remembered fondly

Jessica Kerr

jkerr@vancourier.com

The otter has left the garden.

After almost two weeks, 11 koi lost and close to $1,000 spent on a wildlife relocation expert, the elusive river otter that had set up shop at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden quietly slipped away last week.

“As of this morning there’s still no sign of the otter,” Howard Normann, director of parks, said Nov. 29. “We feel that Elvis has left the building and he’s no longer on site, or she.”

The garden was closed to the public for several days as staff tried to get a handle on the otter. It reopened last Thursday.

It was an emotional couple of weeks for staff and volunteers at the garden as they watched the otter kill most of the resident mature koi fish including Madonna, the most famous of the garden’s residents.

“Madonna is certainly one of the koi that has a lot

of emotional associations and attachments,” said executive director Vincent Kwan. “Whether it’s staff or volunteers or our board… I think a lot of people are still trying to digest what’s happened and it’s certainly very emotional.”

Madonna was more than 50 years old and had lived in the garden’s pond for more than two decades.

Many of the adult koi had lived in the garden since it opened in 1986.

The rogue river otter was first spotted in the garden Nov. 18. Park board staff set out three traps in an effort to capture and relocate the animal. However after three days and no success, the board called in a wildlife relocation expert who set up a network of traps.

Then on Nov. 24, the decision was made to try and round up the remaining koi.

Staff were able to catch one that day and transport it to Vancouver Aquarium for safe keeping. Last week park board staff lowered the water level in the pond and staff from the aquarium, the gar-

Staff from Vancouver Aquarium, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and Vancouver Park Board, with help from Aquaterra Environmental, which donated the use of its 100-foot seine net, corralled the remaining adult koi as well as 344 juveniles Nov. 28. PHOTO SUBMITTED

den and the park board, with help from Aquaterra Environmental, which donated the use of its 100-foot seine net, corralled the remaining two adult koi as well as 344 juveniles, which was unexpected, Normann said.

“The surprising thing for us was that even though before we didn’t have a lot of

baby koi, since we re-developed this pond a year and a half ago and re-opened it, it looks like the large koi were spawning so there was 344 baby koi taken out of the pond yesterday,” he said.

Normann said it’s believed that the otter made its way to the garden from False Creek and was able to

squeeze through one of the garden gates.

“We’re not sure exactly at this point where it came from or where it went but we have some idea that being so close to False Creek… we feel that it’s more than likely the otter came out of False Creek because we know over in Hinge Park in Olympic Village there’s been some otter sightings before,” he said, adding that there are otters at various locations throughout the city.

“The unique part here — walled garden, 20-foot walls, limited access. How the otter figured this place out we’re still not sure,” Normann said.

As for the koi, they will be staying at the aquarium for the time being. There are plans to return the koi to the garden, but likely not until spring, Normann said.

“The plan is we’re going to put a couple of small cameras around the pond.

We’ll see what the movement is like, if the otter returns or not, and if it doesn’t I would guess over

a period of several months we’ll make that decision to put the koi back in to the pond,” he said.

As for replenishing the stock of mature koi, the story has gained much attention both here at home and abroad, and from this, Kwan said, the garden has had several offers from people wanting to donate adult koi to the garden.

“There’s a lot of logistical and technical issues that we need to look through…”

The garden, which has been closed to the public for several days, also re-opened on Nov. 30, with some alterations.

“We’re installing some grates on both our doors, we’re going to have automatic door closers, we’re putting a plate along the bottom to prevent the otter or any of the otter’s friends to revisit the garden,” Normann said. “We hope that will solve that issue of them coming back into the garden. That’s the only source that we found of access.” @JessicaEKerr

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

News

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City says its ready for winter Jessica Kerr

jkerr@vancourier.com

With temperatures dipping below zero in the evenings and a chance of flurries this weekend, the City of Vancouver says it’s ready for whatever Mother Nature may throw at us this winter.

“We’re well prepared.

We’re hoping that we’re over prepared and we have a lot less snow this year,” Howard Normann, director of parks with Vancouver Park Board, said at a recent press conference.

Normann and Erin Hoess, manager of street operations with the City of Vancouver, were on hand at the city’s National Works Yard to outline the city’s plan to tackle snow and ice this winter.

“In the cold weather months, we are continuously monitoring the weather and in the event that we are alerted to frost or freezing conditions, or snow conditions, we have staff operating 24/7,” Hoess said. “So we reassign those staff and we put them onto snow and ice duty.”

In the event of cold and dry weather, the brine trucks are sent out and it if it’s cold and wet the brine is replaced with salt. On those rare occasions when it’s colder than normal, sand is mixed in with the salt.

“When it does snow we have a couple of priorities that take precedence,” Hoess said.

Arterial roads, emergency routes and bridge decks are plowed first, followed by pri-

The city’s snow plows are at the ready. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

ority hills, school routes, bus stops and priority bike routes.

“The City of Vancouver, like many similar municipalities, does not treat residential side streets for the most part,” Hoess said. “In the event of really prolonged weather events, we may do some spot clearing of side streets and that would be to support sanitation services but typically we prioritize our arterials and our emergency routes.”

The city has more than 95 pieces of equipment that can be used to deal with snow and ice, 67 of which that can plow or distribute salt. Normann said the park board has more than 54 pieces of “snow fight” equipment, which includes eight new pieces added this year. The city works yard has the capacity to store up to 1,500 tonnes of salt. There is currently 1,300 tonnes of salt ready and waiting.

“I feel quite comfortable, and I’m sure that engineering would echo that, that this year we’re very well prepared and equipped,” Normann said.

Hoess said the city recommends drivers equip vehicles with all-weather mud and

snow tires or winter tires and, in the event of snowfall, steer clear of plows.

“In the event that it is snowing, we also want to remind drivers that if they see city fleet on the roads clearing the roads just to take some caution and keep some distance,” she said. “These are big pieces of equipment and they’re preforming a very important function for the city under difficult conditions, so we just want to give them room.”

Hoess also reminds homeowners and businesses that sidewalks should be cleared by 10 a.m. the morning following a snowfall. And the city’s Snow Angels program deploys volunteers to clear snow for seniors or others with limited mobility who are unable to clear snow and ice themselves.

“Last year was a good year, we didn’t have a lot of snow compared to the [previous] year,” Normann said. “I think we’re all still a little bit traumatized from the year before. That was an anomaly, I hope. As far as budgets are concerned, we’re on budget, we’re on schedule, so if we can have another year like that I’d be thrilled.” @JessicaEKerr

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A7

News

Vancouver’s empty homes tax revenue higher than expected City anticipates collecting $38 million — $8 million higher than predicted

Courier staff

vancourier.com

The City of Vancouver estimates it will bring in $38 million from the first year of the empty homes tax — $8 million more than initially predicted.

So far, about $21 million has been collected. Most of the revenue will be used for affordable housing initiatives — $8 million has already been allocated — but it will also cover one-time implementation costs ($7.5 million) and first-year operating costs ($2.5 million).

The latest numbers were revealed in the city’s first empty homes tax annual report, which was released Nov. 29. In the first year, close to 184,000 declarations were submitted, representing 99 per cent of all residential property owners in Vancouver.

Out of the total 186,043 properties, 178,120 were occupied, 5,385 were exempt and 2,538 were vacant.

Under the empty homes tax program, which was approved in late 2016, owners are required to rent out their empty or under-utilized, non-principal properties for at least six months of the year. The six months don’t have to be consecutive, but must be in periods of 30 or more consecutive days.

The goal is to motivate homeowners to rent out homes they don’t live in full time. Vancouver’s current vacancy rate sits at .8 per cent. The empty homes tax is implemented at a rate of one per cent of a property’s assessed taxable value.

Measuring the success of the tax is difficult, according to the city, but it will continue to monitor the impact

of the tax on housing supply and affordability, including the empty homes tax property status declarations data year over year.

“Isolating the effect of a single policy like the EHT in a rental market as dynamic as the City of Vancouver is challenging,” the first-year report states.

“With the first year of the declarations complete, staff will begin monitoring the changes in the number of vacant properties on an annual basis.”

In 2017, 2,132 property owners failed to file declarations and were initially deemed vacant. They were required to submit a notice of complaint with supporting evidence for consideration and to have the tax potentially rescinded. Complaints were also triggered when a property owner was selected for an audit and disagreed

with the determination or declined to provide supporting documents and other information at the audit stage.

The total complaints the vacancy tax officer received, including those related to properties that were deemed vacant because owners didn’t make a declaration, to Nov. 18, were: Complaints: 1,459 Accepted: 1,207

Rejected: 252 In progress: 82 The declaration period for the second year of the tax is now open. The deadline is Feb. 4, 2019. Property owners who have yet to receive their advance property tax notice in the mail can still make their declaration online using the folio and account numbers from their previous tax notice.

Those who need help to make their declaration online can visit city hall or any Vancouver Public Library branch for in-person guidance, connect with the city using the VanConnect app or call 311, which offers translation services. Instructions for how to declare are also available in multiple languages online.

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Development Permit Board Meeting: December 10, 2018 The Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel will meet:

Monday, December 10, 2018 at 3 pm Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue Ground Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room to consider the following development permit applications: 1555 Robson Street To develop a 28-storey, mixed-use building consisting of residential (market and non- market units), office and retail uses, all over five levels of underground parking accessed from the lane. The proposed floor space ratio (FSR) is 9.63, including 10 per cent additional heritage density, and the building height is approximately 91.44 metres (300 feet).

325 Carrall Street The proposed development site is made up of two parts: 1. To restore the existing two-storey, municipally designated class M heritage building on 325 Carrall, designate it to commercial use, and add five-storeys of mixed-use dwelling units above.

2. To develop a new seven-storey, mixed-use building on 333 Carrall with a basement, a total of 38 dwelling units and 13 micro-dwelling units on the site.

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A8

THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

News Development involves preserving facade of historic McConnell Block Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

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A development application that would see the two-storey façade of historic McConnell Block at 323 Carrall St. saved and restored, with a seven-storey building constructed behind it, goes before the Development Permit Board Dec. 10.

Human Studio Architecture + Urban Design filed the application with the City of Vancouver. Millennium Development owns the property. Donald Luxton and Associates prepared the conservation plan.

“The [McConnell Block] building is in extremely poor condition and could not be maintained as is. Something had to be done,” Luxton told the Courier. “It’s a good news story in that we’re not losing the whole building.”

Other names associated with the structure include Louvre Saloon and Louvre Hotel.

If approved, the overall development project will create 38 secured market rental units — 15 of which will be micro-suites — and commercial space at grade level.

Aside from the new sevenstorey building, plans envision an addition constructed above the McConnell Block.

Built in 1889 and named after Gilbert Smyth McConnell, a prominent Vancouverite of that era who served a two-year term as an alderman, the building originally wrapped around the corner of the CPR right-of-way.

It was first home to the Vancouver Drug Company and the Vancouver Tea and Coffee Company, which were managed by Won Alexander Cumyow, the first person of Chinese descent born in modern day Canada. Other businesses used the space in

A rendering of the proposed development. Human Studio Architecture + Urban Design

subsequent years.

Eventually, it became the Louvre Saloon and later the Louvre Hotel.

The Bijou Theatre was located next door and took up part of the McConnell Block. When the theatre was torn down in the 1940s, its portion of the McConnell Block was torn down with it, undermining the structural integrity of the rest of the building.

Later, during the restoration of the Bank at 1 West Hastings, cracks were found in the McDonnell Block, which led to the shoring up of the façade.

The Gospel Mission has been occupying the upper level of the building, which sits adjacent to Pigeon Park, since 1941.

According to the Statement of Significance (SOS) for the property,

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the building is valuable for its connection to the initial development of Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood, its association with early commercial businesses and proprietors, and its late Victorian-era design by architects Mallandaine & Sansom.

The original recommendation was to demolish the building because of its poor condition.

Luxton said almost nothing is holding it up in the interior, it would never survive an earthquake, and it will require extensive restoration work to preserve the parts that are salvageable.

“Amazingly, there’s a certain part of the original fabric of the McConnell Building still intact, including the façade elements,” he said. @naoibh

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A9

News Residents raise concerns over proposed 54-storey ‘Granville Gateway’ Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

A group of neighbourhood residents is objecting to the prospect of a 54-storey tower being built at the north end of Granville Bridge.

Pinnacle International’s proposed building at 601 Beach Crescent, along with Westbank’s Vancouver House under construction on the other side of the bridge, are meant to create what’s been dubbed the “Granville Gateway” leading in and out of the downtown.

The application, which is being considered under the city’s Higher Building Policy, includes plans for 303 market residential units, 152 social housing units, 442 underground parking spaces and 970 bicycle spaces. GBL Architects is the architectural firm of record for the project.

An open house about the rezoning application was held at the Executive Hotel Nov. 26.

Shilo Lam, who lives nearby, was collecting names on a petition against the project at the entrance to the hotel.

She said many residents are opposed to the proposed height for the highrise and have united under a group called Vancouver Beach District.

Lam thinks 54 storeys is far too high, and she’s worried about issues such as open space, light and shadow. She also said the neighbourhood doesn’t have the appropriate infrastructure, such as schools and health services, to handle the increased density.

The city’s higher building policy was adopted in 1997.

It’s a set of guidelines to be used in conjunction with other policies for reviewing buildings seeking significant increases over existing height limits. The policy has been amended many times, including in 2011 when the “Granville Gateway” sites were added after a public

consultation process.

Pinnacle’s rezoning application for a height increase from 17 to 54 storeys under this policy requires a public hearing and council support before it’s approved.

Jan Magnolo and her husband bought a condo at Park West 2 near George Wainborn Park last year. They thought that only a 17-storey building was possible on the site so they were surprised to discover that 54 storeys could be considered through the rezoning application.

Mira Bajic, who lives in the same building, agrees.

She shares concerns about a lack of existing infrastructure. Bajic said the area is very residential and Beach Avenue wasn’t designed to handle the traffic that would be produced.

It’s “just adding housing without taking into account how it’s going to fit in the neighbourhood,” she said.

Bernd Banke said the developer is trying to push for extra density without consulting the neighbourhood properly.

“What our neighbourhood is upset about is 54 storeys versus 17. It seems like no one has ever asked us,” said Banke, who cites losing views and congestion as among his concerns.

He believes the addition of social housing into the project and the fact it’s being pitched as creating a “Granville Gateway” are being used to ensure it’s approved at the proposed height.

“So I am worried it will go through,” he said.

“Some people don’t even know about it.”

Not everyone opposes the project. Yong Sun, who lives close to BC Place about 10 blocks away, told the Courier well-designed developments make the city more interesting.

He said a lot of the architecture downtown is banal but “in recent years we’ve started to see better design.”

When Sun first saw Van-

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couver House, he thought its architecture was “gutsy.”

“When I saw [601 Beach], part of what I liked about it was it’s a rather elegant response [to Vancouver House]. It’s not over the top,” he said.

Sun is impressed by the street-front design and how the design enlivens the “dark and unsafe” space under the off-ramp.

Nicely planned spaces also help address concerns

about isolation and loneliness, according to Sun. He doesn’t think height should be a concern in the downtown core and it’s more important that it’s not a cookie-cutter design.

“That affects people a lot more,” he said, while adding it’s unrealistic for the tower to be shorter because that would kill the gateway concept.

Kandice Kwok of JYOM Architecture, who’s involved

in the project, said they looked at the greater master plan when developing the concept for and positioning of the building. They also considered how the tower would relate to, contrast with, and complement Vancouver House when determining the design.

Kwok said Vancouver House is like an art sculpture standing on one side of the bridge, while 601 Beach’s shape creates a

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sense of movement or dance on the other side.

The idea was to create the gateway “without being a goal post.”

“Something that would be strong and moving and organic, yet with straight lines at the same time,” she said.

“The Vancouver House [design] is the lifting of a curtain. We’re the dance or the show. That’s how we pair together with them.” @naoibh

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Opinion

Council has opportunity to get first post-Vision budget right Approving $1.5 billion budget shouldn’t be rushed Mike Klassen

mike@mikeklassen.net

Take a moment to pity your city councillors.

After knocking on thousands of doors, turning up at every citywide event they could possibly squeeze into their schedule, while soliciting donations from everyone they know, and foregoing time from their families and from making a living, all in the hope they will serve you, they are now being tasked with approving a $1.5-billion budget mere weeks after taking office.

But what’s the rush? The fiscal year begins April 1, and provided the city has provisional spending power, council does not have to finalize the budget immediately.

Council can and should ask some tough questions about spending priorities established by Vision Vancouver, the now decimated elector organization.

Of course, council should provide firm direction to staff as soon as possible.

No one is proposing the curtailment of core municipal services such as libraries, community centres, waste management or permitting.

We have just been through what is widely deemed as a change election, yet the majority of the budget decision-making took place before council was sworn in.

Since taking office, councillors have been lobbied mightily by many city departments such as firefighters and police, who arranged for equipment demonstrations and ridealongs, to make sure the sizable public safety budget remains intact.

Last year, Vancouverites got their largest property tax increase in memory at 4.5 per cent. It will be a miracle if the next increase is below five per cent.

Some are predicting a tax increase coming in at over six per cent.

Part of the increase will be attributed to the Employers Health Tax established by the provincial government. Naturally, the city would love to blame outside forces for the cost increases.

Another spike in

City council is tasked with approving a $1.5-billion budget mere weeks after taking office, but they should also ask some tough questions about spending priorities, says columnist Mike Klassen. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

property taxes is due to ballooning costs for water, waste and sewer utilities passed down by Metro Vancouver, whose own profligate spending has made headlines.

After sewer and water infrastructure upgrades, the second largest line item on the city’s capital plan

is now affordable housing.

It was not so long ago the city was not in the housing business at all. Social housing has traditionally been the bailiwick of the provincial government and the regional district.

New spending on housing initiatives has put downward pressure on other

funding priorities, such as street cleaning. The park board budget has also dropped as a percentage of the city’s spending for several years.

The city’s move into a district heating energy program is almost guaranteed to drive up the cost of hot water and home heating in affected neighbourhoods. District energy is one of many programs wrapped inside the city’s Greenest City plan.

The Greenest City Action Plan is another budget item that deserves real scrutiny by this council. Are the actions set out at the start of the decade still delivering on greenhouse gas emission decreases and waste reduction?

If not, then scrap them.

The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) is a costly $3-million endeavour with dozens of staff and largely unknown outcomes. This office was once led by a handful of business-savvy advisers, running on a comparatively lean six-figure budget.

It is astounding that the VEC has little interaction with groups such as the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade or the B.C. Business Council. Its Vancouver-only

focus has meant that opportunities for working across municipal boundaries have not been explored either.

The VEC needs a complete re-think.

We have read about Vancouver’s gargantuan communications office with somewhere north of 40 full time employees. Council must ask if the city can get by with less.

Another budget that has skyrocketed over the past decade has been the one for the mayor’s office.

The previous mayor never seemed to lack for funds to take meetings in New York or Paris, or hire consultants. The mayor’s office discretionary budget is an eye-popping $700,000.

There is a motion tabled

by Coun. Lisa Dominato to review the mayor’s office budget, which one hopes will get the support of her peers.

With only four opportunities to shape the city’s budget, it is hardly fair to expect this council to rush their vote.

As part of their fiduciary duty, council should take the time to put their own stamp on the budget, and the city’s priorities. @MikeKlassen

All those taxes and possible rental restrictions won’t help renters Michael Geller

geller@sfu.ca

Last week, many Vancouver residents were delighted to hear on the radio and read in their newspapers that the Empty Home Tax had generated a windfall of $38 million — $8 million more than expected.

I was not one of them.

For one thing, only $21 million has actually been collected. While this is not an insignificant sum, it is less than $38 million.

Secondly, buried in the city report were the one-time implementation cost of $7.5 million and first-year operating cost of $2.5 million. I expect these costs to increase.

However, my main concerns are that this tax doesn’t just apply to empty homes; it also applies to second homes regularly occupied up to six months a year.

As a result, it is forcing B.C. and out-of-province residents to sell the homes where they live while visiting relatives and friends, or volunteering at a local hospital, as is the case with one Sunshine Coast doctor.

Furthermore, there is no evidence the program is achieving its initially stated goal of “bringing up to 25,000 empty and underutilized properties to the market as long-term rental homes for people who live and work in Vancouver.”

I am not blind to what many consider the injustice of homes being kept empty while others have nowhere to live. I understand that.

However, this tax seems designed to appeal to those like Graham P. who recently wrote on Twitter that “second home owners (unless perhaps renting out a property) are among the most selfish people. Every purchase of a second home deprives someone of a first one.”

To add insult to injury, the province copied the Empty Home Tax when it created its so-called Speculation Tax. It too is a form of wealth or inheritance tax (when it’s deferred) that impacts not only empty dwellings but also second homes.

To date, we have received little information on how this program will be administered, or how

Columnist Michael Geller says the so-called Empty Home and Speculation taxes and potential new rental restrictions will inhibit the supply, renovation and maintenance of purpose-built and long-term condo rentals and do little to address the rental housing crisis. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

much it will cost.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart and other city councillors are now musing about tripling the Empty Home Tax. While I question the effectiveness of the tax other than as a cash grab, I might accept this increase provided the program is altered to exclude legitimate second homeowners who regularly occupy their properties, say, up to 60 days a year.

Two weeks ago, I was invited to speak at a

CMHC National Housing Conference in Ottawa on how to increase the supply of affordable rental housing. I reviewed Vancouver’s practice of inclusionary zoning, which encourages private developers to build affordable housing in return for extra density. I also discussed the city’s somewhat positive experiences encouraging purpose-built rental housing construction under STIR and Rental 100.

While I was in Ottawa,

CMHC issued a report revealing the number of Metro Vancouver condos in long-term rental had declined by 1,081 units as investors sold or repurposed their properties.

The biggest declines were within the city boundaries.

At the same time, some city councillors were suggesting new restrictions on landlords undertaking renovations of older buildings.

They propose tenants be allowed to remain in their

suites during renovations.

Alternatively, those forced to move should be allowed to return at the same rent.

That’s not all. The province is about to release its long-awaited Rental Housing Task Force report. Many landlords fear it will tie rent increases not only to tenants but also to units. As a result, the incentive to renovate a suite after a tenant moves out will disappear.

I understand and sympathize with the plight of renters who can’t afford rental increases or may be forced out of their homes due to renovations. But after five decades of working in affordable housing with CMHC, the private and institutional sectors, I worry that the cumulative effect and unintended consequences of the so-called Empty Home and Speculation taxes and potential new rental restrictions will not help renters.

Rather, they will inhibit the supply, renovation and maintenance of purpose-built and long-term condo rentals and do little to address the rental housing crisis. @michaelgeller

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A11

Inbox letters@vancourier.com LETTERS

Not down with snake yoga Re: “Snake yoga? It’s a thing and it’s coming to Vancouver,” online, Nov. 30.

The reptile community in B.C. is against this type of exploitation of reptiles, and we are horrified that this event is even being considered. I am a board member of the B.C. Reptile Club and can tell you this event does nothing to further our hobby here in B.C. and

the country. We are very much at risk of having legislation created to ban our beloved reptiles, and it’s people like this who give reptiles and our hobby a bad name. This isn’t an event that was created with the health and welfare of the snake in mind. This event was created by selfish, greedy people who are only thinking of themselves and how best to line their pockets, at the expense of an animal that cannot speak for itself. What happens if someone gets bit? It’s a live animal and anything can happen when stress and fear are factored into the mix.

There is nothing about this event that is right and it needs not to happen.

Lisa Gibbs, Langley

Michelle Bhatti

Michael Kissinger

mbhatti@vancourier.com

mkissinger@vancourier.com

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Feature

The overhaul of city hall Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

It was, without question, an extraordinary year in Vancouver civic politics.

A topsy-turvy election campaign had everything to do with that.

So it will not come as a big surprise to readers that our choice for Newsmaker of the Year is the overhaul at city hall that saw Vision Vancouver’s 10-year rule come to an end.

The party’s crushing loss at the polls influenced our decision.

So did the plot twists and turns of the various campaigns and leadership races.

But the Oct. 20 election was, in fact, the climax of a long narrative that really began in January when Gregor Robertson announced he would not seek a fourth term as mayor.

His announcement led naturally to all kinds of speculation on who would run to replace him.

It also led to non-stop talk about who had the best solutions to get Vancouver out of its housing mess.

Robertson’s decision came as a shock to some, but it wasn’t inconceivable. The previous year, his longtime friend and colleague, Andrea Reimer, announced she would not seek re-election. Geoff Meggs, another Robertson loyalist, resigned months earlier to take a job as chief of staff with Premier John Horgan.

Meggs’ resignation triggered a byelection in October 2017 which saw Vision’s council candidate, Diego Cardona, finish fifth, far behind winner Hector Bremner of the NPA. Bremner, on the night of his victory, boldly declared Vision was “done.”

The results of the Oct. 20 general election showed Bremner was almost bang on in his assessment: Vision’s Allan Wong, a longtime school trustee and former COPE member, was the party’s only candidate to get elected.

The party that ruled city hall since 2008, and once boasted a membership of close to 20,000 people, would not have any representation on council or park board, let alone someone in the mayor’s chair; the party failed to run a mayoral candidate for the first time in its history.

The Vision era was clearly over.

Kennedy Stewart, the former Burnaby NDP MP, is now the city’s mayor. Stewart, who ran as an independent, leads what is largely an inexperienced council, with only the NPA’s Melissa De Genova and the Green Party’s Adriane Carr winning re-election.

For the first time in decades, no one party has a majority at city hall, with the NPA holding five seats, the Greens with three and OneCity and COPE with one each. Of the 10 councillors, eight are women, which is unprecedented in the city’s history.

Overall, it’s a big change, and big civic news.

The shake-up at city hall, as the Courier’s editorial staff concluded, was more newsworthy than any other event or development in Vancouver over the past 11 months.

That’s not to say there were no contenders.

Homelessness, which is at an all-time high with more than 2,100 people recorded in the city’s March homeless count, and the opioid crisis, which for the second consecutive year will see more than 300 drug users die of overdoses, were serious considerations.

In fact, they were choices for Newsmaker of the Year in previous years. The ongoing affordability crisis (also a previous choice for Newsmaker two years running) was on the list. New to the conversation this year was the legalization of marijuana and the B.C. wildfires, which brought heavy, debilitating smoke to the city for a good chunk of the summer.

Out with the old, in with the new. Voters elected a new mayor, eight new councillors and only two incumbents to city hall this year. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

On the home front

Although he denied it back in January, Robertson must have known after the byelection that his party’s demise was inevitable.

Cardona’s disastrous fifth-place finish was proof of voters’ growing intolerance for Vision.

Why the intolerance?

The common response from critics was that Robertson and his Vision administration allowed developers to have free reign on the city, make lots of money while doing it and, as a result, turn Vancouver into one of the most unaffordable cities in the world.

Robertson vehemently disagreed.

“It’s ridiculous to assert that,” he told the Courier in October in one of his last interviews as mayor. “The numbers are very clear — we’ve built more rental housing than any city in the country. Last year, over half of the rental housing we approved was for people on low to middle incomes.”

He continued: “Ten years ago, rental housing was five per cent of the housing supply being approved at city hall. We broke through 25 per cent a few years ago, and now we’re at two-thirds this year. So we’ve made huge progress on adjusting the mix, and ensuring there’s the right supply of housing for people who live and work in Vancouver.”

Still, the vacancy rate is less than one per cent and rents are extraordinarily high.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released its annual rental market survey last week and it showed the average rent for an occupied one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was $1,408 per month. The average rent for a vacant onebedroom was $1,679 per month.

The price of a single-family home, meanwhile, continues to be way north of $1 million and out of reach for many people with good jobs.

Those realities, no matter how Robertson steered the conversation about the city’s efforts on housing and stressed the need for help from senior levels of government, were central to the campaigns of many, if not most, of the mayoral and council candidates in this year’s election.

The common theme: Vision didn’t do enough, we can do better.

Many candidates promised more affordable housing and to find ways to use existing municipal government tools and create policies to dampen speculation and protect renters.

They also promised to pressure the provincial and federal governments to bring relief to the city’s red-hot housing market, including leveraging cash for projects on city land, providing incentives for developers to build rental housing, implementing marketcorrecting taxes and other measures.

Which, by the way, were elements of Robertson’s housing playbook, too.

Now it’s Stewart’s turn.

Critics characterized him during the campaign as an ally to Vision and said his housing plan wasn’t much different from Robertson’s, except for the fact Stewart promised to build 85,000 homes over 10 years instead of the 72,000 finalized by the Vision administration.

Under Stewart’s plan, at least 25,000 of those homes will be non-profit and affordable for households earning $80,000 or less per year. Another 25,000 purpose-built market rental homes and laneway homes will be “fast-tracked” over the next 10 years.

Stewart, a renter, also promised to triple the empty homes tax and hire a renters’ advocate. He is expected to deliver a report within the first year of his term that outlines how to make life more affordable for renters.

Seeing his housing plan through, however, will mean he will have to work harder than Robertson in the council chamber on the diplomacy front. As an independent mayor without a caucus, he must convince a council dominated by the NPA that his agenda is the best way forward.

That challenge will be interesting to watch.

Although Stewart beat the NPA’s Ken Sim in the mayoral race, it could be argued the NPA’s housing plan resonated most with voters — that’s if the election of five council candidates is a measure of the public’s desire for changes to the city’s approach to tackle the affordability crisis.

The party’s plan calls for allowing two secondary suites in detached homes and fast-tracking housing for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities. Municipal taxes, fees and charges for laneway homes and new secondary suites that house long-term renters should be reduced, too, the party said.

Renewing outstanding co-op rental leases and designating city land for “attainable rental accommodation” is also part of the NPA’s plan, as was the call for a city-wide plan, which was not an original idea and one promoted by various candidates.

Last month, the new council unanimously approved the first step to develop such a plan.

‘Change election’

Stewart’s successful run as an independent was a first in decades in the city’s political history.

An independent mayor hadn’t been elected since Mike Harcourt won the 1980 election, although both politicians’ NDP lineage and support from the Vancouver and District Labour Council were well known during their campaigns.

The power of a party brand was evident again in this year’s election, despite some high-profile candidates running as independents. Sarah Blyth, a former Vision

Vancouver park board commissioner and current harm reduction activist, had the best showing of an independent, finishing 19th in the council race with 29,456 votes.

All seats went to party-affiliated candidates, including Christine Boyle of OneCity — the party’s first-ever council win — and Jean Swanson of COPE, a party that saw a rebirth at the polls with Gwen Giesbrecht and John Irwin elected to park board and Barb Parrott to school board.

New finance rules were another first in this year’s election.

Candidates and parties could no longer accept money from unions or developers, although big money was in play: The NPA raised more than $800,000 from individuals two weeks prior to election day, and Stewart and 26 other candidates got a boost in third-party promotion from the Vancouver and District Labour Council.

Many candidates and pundits referred to this year’s campaign as a “change election.”

Robertson was retiring, so were many of his colleagues, new finance rules were in place, the election ballot was randomized and a record-setting number of 49 independent candidates took a shot at getting elected.

What didn’t change is eligible voters’ apathy for elections. Voter turnout was 39.3 per cent. That means only 176,450 people out of 448,332 bothered to cast a ballot. That’s a sobering number to keep in mind as the public calls on politicians to respond to persistent crises in affordable housing, homelessness, overdose deaths and mental health.

Those who did vote elected a mayor and city council that is all white except for Green Party Coun. Pete Fry, who is of mixed-race heritage, with a British father and a mother from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

It was an outcome Stewart addressed at his inauguration.

He acknowledged the council does not reflect the ancestral diversity of Vancouver.

He said he was deeply concerned that not one person of Chinese, South Asian or Filipino descent holds a council seat.

That means more than 50 per cent of the population’s ancestry is not represented at city hall.

The mayor pledged to do “everything I can to reach out to your communities and to make sure the decisions we make at city hall take your experiences and realities into account.” He also acknowledged there was no one of Indigenous descent on council, but promised to continue the work of the previous council’s reconciliation efforts.

Some of the analysis of why Vancouver elected a predominantly white council, which spawned the Twitter hashtag #CouncilSoWhite, pointed to the city’s at-large voting system. Stewart himself has been a critic of the system and plans to implement a different method of voting for the 2022 civic election.

According to the mayor, Vancouver could have a ward system or some form of proportional representation in place for the 2022 election. That will, undoubtedly, take some convincing of his council mates before he even thinks about approaching the provincial government for such a change.

In the meantime, the newly minted council — white or not — has to demonstrate to the voting public that its work over the next term, particularly on housing, has an impact on all those residents who are tired of surviving in this city and just want to live in it.

They’ve got four years.

A longer version of this story appears at vancourier.com. @Howellings

N

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A13

Feature

tops this year’s news

Newsmaker runners-up: Homelessness at all-time high

Unlike Mayor Gregor Robertson who promised to end “street homelessness” by 2015, Kennedy Stewart has not been as bold in his early days in office. He takes over as mayor at a time when Vancouver’s homeless population is the highest it has ever been since data was first collected in 2005 to determine how many people are living on the street and in some form of shelter. The city’s homeless count in March revealed 2,181 people were homeless in Vancouver.

Overdose deaths persist

The topic was the Courier’s Newsmaker of the Year in 2017. It could have been again this year, with more than 300 people expected to die in Vancouver for the second consecutive year. Last year, the total number of deaths reached 367, which was a substantial increase over the 234 in 2016 and 138 in 2015. In the past decade, the lowest number of overdose deaths occurred in 2008 when 38 people died. Fentanyl has been responsible for the surge in deaths, with 79 per cent this year connected to the deadly drug and 81 per cent last year.

Unaffordable city

Vancouver is no more affordable than it was last year, even though the city has added rental housing stock across the city and implemented measures such as the empty homes tax, which is directed at property owners who leave homes vacant instead of renting them out. In November, the city released an annual report on the empty homes tax that showed 99 per cent of all owners made declarations on the status of their proper-

ties. Out of 186,043 properties, 178,120 were said to be occupied and 5,385 were exempt. Total number vacant: 2,538. So far, the city has collected $21 million from the tax and net revenue will be used to pay for affordable housing initiatives.

Legalize it

The legalization of recreational marijuana Oct. 17 was a big day for cannabis enthusiasts.

People are now allowed to smoke pot in public (but not in parks or on beaches) and carry up to 30 grams — which is the same amount allowed to be carried on B.C. Ferries and on a plane travelling in Canada. Four plants can also be grown per household. So far, no B.C. government licences have been granted to any Vancouver dispensaries, although some are being processed. Police will continue to focus on impaired driving and illegal marijuana grow-ops.

Smoke on the water

This summer’s wildfires across the province were not only a hazard for residents and travellers on Vancouver Island and up country, but for Vancouverites too. Heavy smoke hung over the city and across Metro Vancouver for a good chunk of the summer. Air quality warnings were commonplace, with 21 issued in Metro Vancouver in the summer. The 14-day span of continuous advisories from Aug. 13 to 26 was a new benchmark. At the time, more than 500 fires were reported and close to 1.3 million hectares had burned since April 1.

With files from John Kurucz TOP FOUR PHOTOS DAN TOULGOET RIGHT PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

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News Park board wants more gardeners Commissioners vote to ask city hall for additional funds in 2019 budget to hire more horticultural staff

Jessica Kerr

jkerr@vancourier.com

Vancouver Park Board wants more money from city hall to help maintain the city’s more than 230 parks and gardens.

On Dec. 3, the board unanimously approved a motion, brought forward by commissioner John Coupar, formally asking city council to authorize additional funding in next year’s budget “to enable increased care and maintenance in our cherished parks and gardens.”

Coupar said the park board currently has around 30 gardeners on staff, and he has often compared that number to the city’s communications department, which has around 40 people on staff. Those 30 gardeners are responsible for maintaining more than one million square metres of annuals and perennials throughout the city.

“It’s clear to me through my own observa-

tions that the standards are not as high as they used to be,” Coupar told the Courier prior to Monday night’s meeting.

During debate of the motion, he said there was a lot of talk during the recent election about trying to improve the standard of care in the city’s parks.

“I heard a lot talk about trying to improve the standard of care of our parks,” he said. “What I’d like the legacy of this board, and it’s early it this board’s mandate, but this could be the board that puts the park back in park board.”

Newly elected commissioner John Irwin agreed.

“I think we did hear quite often during the election that things aren’t quite as well tended as they could be…” he said.

“I know it’s a lot of effort and having other gardeners to do it as soon as would probably help to get the standards up, because we did hear that quite a bit at the all can-

didates’ meetings and on the door steps.”

The motion did not specify exactly how much more money the board would be requesting, however Coupar said he would rely on park board staff to come back with a more detailed request to be included in the 2019 budget.

“I’d like to note that the city of Vancouver budget has expanded by about 45 per cent in the last 10 years,” he said. “Our contribution from the city has really not even kept up with inflation over that 10-year period so it’s no wonder that our staff are challenged and are falling behind.”

The request will have to be completed quickly.

Commissioners have a special meeting scheduled for Dec. 10 to discuss and approve the 2019 budget, which is then sent to city council to be considered as part of the overall city budget. Council’s budget meeting is set for Dec. 11. @JessicaEKerr

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Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, HCMA Architecture + Design, PCL Constructors Westcoast and McGinn Engineering and Preservation won a heritage award in 2015 for the retention and rehabilitation of fire hall No. 15. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

City of Vancouver seeking nominations for heritage awards

Courier staff vancourier.com

If you know of an individual or group who’s made their mark on heritage conservation in Vancouver, the city wants to know about it.

Nominations are being sought for this year’s Heritage Awards.

They can be submitted in these areas: • Heritage Conservation: restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive re-use or continued maintenance of build-

ings, structures, cultural landscapes or other natural features including seismic or energy-efficiency upgrades.

• Advocacy: efforts by an individual or group resulting in the preservation of a heritage site or addressing broader heritage issues.

• Education and Awareness: the use of a publication, exhibit, activity, social media or website to promote an aspect of heritage conservation or local history.

• Community Revitalization: improvements related to heritage conservation,

planning or other management initiatives.

Projects must have been completed within the past six years and not have previously received a City of Vancouver Heritage Award.

The deadline for nominations is Feb. 3, 2019 at 4 p.m. Submission requirements and nomination forms can be found at vancouver.ca/heritageawards.

The Heritage Awards will be presented in spring 2019. The awards are presented every other year, mostly recently in 2017.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

T-shirts based on B.C.Õs quirky past PAGE 22

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WINTER 2018

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

“The chef here really knows his business.”

I’ve been a working man all my life. I worked hard, and I learned to appreciate the simple things. Having my mates over for a pint at the pub and enjoying an excellent plate of fish and chips being at the top of my list. The chef here really knows his business, and the boys always want to come back for more.

I still love a simple meal, and with all the choices chef makes available I’m trying new dishes and discovering new favourites.

To find out more about life at Tapestry, visit DiscoverTapestry.com or call to schedule a complimentary lunch and tour. For a tour at Tapestry at Wesbrook Village call 604.225.5000 and for Tapestry at Arbutus Walk call 604.736.1640.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Older Wiser Many senior organizations depend on charity and goodwill during the holidays MARGARET COATES | LIONS_VIEW@TELUS.NET

It’s that time of year when many of us are bombarded with requests to donate to a charity.

simply make you feel good about yourself.

It seems that Canadians understand the importance of As a person who both works donating. Statistics Canada’s for a charity and volunteers for most recent data shows that a couple of them, I thought I’d 84 per cent of Canadians aged weigh in to let you know that 15 and over (or, about 23.8 donations can be the life-blood million Canadians) donated for organizations in need. to charitable and non-profit Donating is more important organizations. than ever for many reasons.

The average individual Of course there are many donation is about $446 per other reasons to donate year. In total, that’s roughly — helping others in need, more than a billion dollars bringing more meaning to donated by Canadians every your life, giving back to the year. community, strengthening Fundraising in the charitable your personal values, sector is very challenging. modelling good citizenship values for your children and Grants for operating costs others, supporting a cause (paying the rent, utilities you believe in and, very or staff) can be extremely importantly, donating can difficult to obtain for

many organizations. These organizations rely on volunteers to get the work done, but they still need paid staff support. There is money available federally and provincially, but those funds are generally based on time-limited projects for specific programs and services and there is often no administration money attached to the grant. Also, the amount of funds these grants provide does not seem to grow with the increased need for services, which means organizations are competing for thinner slices of the same size pie.

Why give to a seniorÕs organization or an organization that serves seniors?

Many of these organizations, as I have said, don’t have access to operating funds, so they must rely on raising donations from foundations,

grants from non-senior targeted funding sources or directly from individuals.

I believe that the funding challenge will likely worsen as the older-person demographic grows in the future unless we can persuade government to recognize the importance of funding the seniors sector with operating funds as well as project funding.

As many of us in the seniors sector who fundraise can attest “seniors are a hard sell.” In part this seems to be

because of the myths about seniors being undeserved.

Many seem to believe that most seniors are well heeled and don’t need special consideration. Of course this is not true — seniors do need our support for services.

In a report called “Raising the Profile of the CommunityBased Seniors’ Services Sector in B.C,” it states that “The community-based seniors’ services sector plays a critical role in supporting seniors by providing a broad range of low-barrier and low-cost services that support seniors

to remain physically active, be socially engaged, build resilience and be as healthy and independent as possible.”

In this gift-giving season, and as we near the end of the tax year, perhaps you too could think about supporting your local seniors program or centre with a tax-deductible donation.

Don’t forget, giving can make you feel good, so get out that credit card or your cheque book and find a charity to support.

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH The key to perfect Scottish shortbread?

Mixing it by hand

Harrop isn’t sure how much longer she’ll be making the shortbread.

MEGAN DEVLIN

“I’m 90, and my hands are getting not so good,” she said.

Richmond grandmother Rena Harrop is known by friends and fellow church members for making the most exquisite shortbread.

But not to worry, she shared the recipe and all you have to do is decide whether to use your hands or an electric mixer.

“It’s sweet... It’s very rich. I haven’t met anyone who did not like it,” she says. “I learned to make the old way and it seems to be the right way.”

INGREDIENTS

The 90-year-old, who grew up in Ayr, Scotland, says she’s been practising the recipe she learned from her mother for at least 70 years.

“I’ve given the recipe to many, many people and they always say it’s not the same. But they use their mixers,” she said. “So it’s more like a cookie.”

Shortbread, she says, is a treat that’s usually only eaten at Christmas time in Scotland.

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shortbread recipe T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

1 lb butter (Harrop says to use farm-fresh butter, not salted) 2 cups berry sugar (also known as superfine or castor sugar) 4 cups flour 2 tablespoons rice flour DIRECTIONS Mix the sugar and two flours together in a bowl.

Start incorporating the dry mixture into the butter.

Harrop says using her hands to do this achieves the desirable consistency.

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Bake the cookies in the oven at 300F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Don’t wait until the cookies turn brown — remove them once the edges start to turn a cream colour.

Place cookies on a rack to cool and sprinkle more sugar on top.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Veteran radio host celebrates 35 years at CKNW

Jon McComb is also an advocate for people living with mental illness SANDRA THOMAS | STHOMAS@VANCOURIER.COM

The voice is unmistakable.

reticence and fear I had at the time about anyone finding out, then they couldn’t shut me up,” McComb, says laughing.

As Jon McComb greets this reporter in the lobby of Corus Entertainment on West Georgia Street, no introductions are needed.

It’s a voice that’s been heard on air for almost 50 years, first as a DJ, later as a news broadcaster and finally as a speaker and vocal advocate for people living with a mental illness.

ÒThere will always be a demand for local news.Ó

McComb says his empathy for anyone living with a mental illness comes from his own struggles with anxiety and depression.

On Dec. 1, McComb will have been with CKNW news radio, a division of Corus, for 35 years, the last five hosting the morning show — the early morning show he took over from long-time radio

“It was around 2010, 2011 when I started talking about mental health and for all the

host Philip Till. McComb’s morning show team includes producer Pippa Reed, co-host Niki Reitmayer and tech producer Greg Schott.

“I leave for work at about 4:15, which means I get up at quarter after three,” says McComb. “I’m 65-years old and I tell you, sometimes when that alarm goes off at 3:15, it’s a huge challenge to get up. Before accepting the job, I described it to my wife as a total lifestyle commitment.”

McComb starts the day with a protein/vitamin energy drink, followed by a cup of coffee before getting behind the wheel to make the drive from

North Vancouver, where he lives with his wife Kristin McComb. The couple shares four kids, five grandchildren and four cats.

McComb says regular listeners know their oldest son Scott is living with ALS. “ALS is as brutal and unrelenting a disease as they say it is,” says McComb.

To that end, the family regularly dedicates time fundraising for those living with ALS, including the annual Hoops for ALS three-on-three basketball tournament in Maple Ridge organized by the couple’s son Neil McComb.

“The thing about this business is that after a while listeners get to know everything about

you and they’ll ask, “How’s your son?” says McComb.

“They also ask, ‘How’s Phil?’ And for the record he’s just fine.”

And just as Till did for years, McComb talks politics and current affairs while on air.

“In a lot of ways I have a love/hate relationship with politics,” says McComb. “On one hand, I’m really interested in trying to understand how the political process works and I try and convey that to the audience. On the other hand, some of

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the things politicians and governments do drive me around the bend and I wonder how rational people can do some of the things they do.”

That’s one of the reasons McComb and other journalists from CKNW doggedly pursued answers from the B.C. Ministry of Health after it fired senior pharmaceutical researcher Roderick MacIsaac, who died by suicide months later in December 2012. MacIsaac was one of seven researchers fired by the ministry in September 2012, due to alleged misconduct related to data-management practices.

MacIsaac and the other employees were wrongly told an RCMP investigation into their conduct was underway.

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

“Over my career I’ve taken politicians to task over various things, but this was one we dug our teeth into and we kept hammering away at the Health Ministry firing case,” says McComb. “That was a turning point in my career.

That was when I first came out on air about my own depression and anxiety.”

Pursuing answers from politicians and governments is a long way from playing rock music at a radio station at age 17 in Tucson, Ariz. where McComb went to high school. His first radio job in Vancouver was at CKVN in 1972 at 19, but he later worked in Portland and Montreal before heading west again and landing at CKNW in 1983.

“I eventually became a newscaster and left rock and

P TO: DAN TOULGO PHO OET

JON MCCOMB

roll behind because I thought all everybody wanted was news,” says McComb. “Who knew classic rock and Led Zeppelin would still be around today?”

And as for the future?

On a personal note, McComb isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be on air before deciding to retire.

He notes wife Kristin would like him to retire as soon as possible so the couple can live a normal life — without the 3:15 a.m. alarm.

But without him or not, McComb has faith the radio station and traditional media will be around for a long time to come.

“There will always be a demand for local news,” says McComb.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Vancouver Is Awesome launches online store focused on B.C.’s oddball heritage Gift the gift of B.C. history this holiday season BOB KRONBAUER | BOBK@VANCOUVERISAWESOME.COM

BcIsAwesome.com takes cues from of our history TV show, B.C. Was Awesome, honing in on the quirky characters and pieces of British Columbia’s history that have helped shape this province. It also has

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CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE CREMATION. GRAVESIDES. FUNERALS PRE-PLANNING. PRE-FUNDING

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

I give to my community and with Vancouver Foundation, my giving lasts forever.

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A25

Community

18 years on, shower program brings comfort to Kitsilano’s homeless ‘There’s no

line between us and them’

John Kurucz

jkurucz@vancourier.com

Quite a bit of fanfare has been devoted lately to a littleknown program in Kitsilano that does a lot of good.

Faith in humanity restored, the tweets read.

What a great new program, others declared.

Except it’s not a new program. And keeping things close to the vest is very much part of the point.

The weekly shower program at Kitsilano Community Centre has helped the area’s homeless population for about 18 years with some of the most basic, universal comforts: a hot shower, coffee and camaraderie.

Penny Rogers is the lone volunteer who has been with the program since its inception. Each Saturday, Rogers and a rotating cast of volunteers provide a hot breakfast, clean clothes, toiletries and a bagged lunch to go to roughly 30 people.

“We like to keep under the radar, because our philosophy is that this program is where people can come and relax,” Rogers said.

“They can enjoy themselves, meet friends and talk openly and feel safe.”

The program got started in the halls of St. Augustine’s Church in Kits.

Members of the church’s social justice committee were watching a film on local homelessness and an interview subject mentioned how difficult showers were to come by.

It was a roughly 10-second clip in the film that compelled Rogers to act.

She put the feelers out with other churches in the area, but none had the necessary infrastructure. Rogers then contacted longstanding homelessness advocate Judy Graves for suggestions, who then linked her up with community centre director Judy Andersen.

A match was made and off they went.

“They had their own private, little Saturday morning club,” Graves recalled. “They went way above and beyond any-

Penny Rogers with an armload of towels at Kitsilano Community Centre, where she and 40 other volunteers have helped run a shower program for the area’s homeless population for 18 years.

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

thing I ever could have thought of. Penny was thinking from this maternal perspective — what would my family like, what would my kids like, what would my husband like?”

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gram were lean and to the point. Outside of the showers, attendees were given a hot meal to take with them.

Graves prepped volunteers on what to expect from people who’ve long been entrenched in homelessness.

They’d have to get used to some swearing, remember names and remember their individual backstories.

“One of the most painful things on the streets is that nobody knows you, nobody knows your name, nobody

knows where you grew up,” Graves said. “It’s so important to remember a name, even if it’s just a first name.”

The following years have seen expansion on a number of fronts: free haircuts, free shoes, help with filling out housing forms, getting formal ID and establishing spots for shopping carts and dogs.

A mobile health unit also visits twice a month with volunteer doctors.

“The beauty of that service is there is a continuum,” Rogers said. “There is good follow up for these people which sometimes we couldn’t do.”

Rogers has seen a lot of the same faces over 18 years. Most of them are men in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Some come from the Downtown Eastside, but the core group is from Kits.

“I’m really blessed to have a home, a family, people who love me and to live in Canada and in Vancouver,” Rogers said. “You just have to talk to these people like you would with a friend. There’s no line between us and them.” @JohnKurucz

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Public Open House

TRIUMF - Institute of Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI)

Join us on Tuesday, December 11 to view and comment on the proposed 3,400m2, 5-level (2 levels below grade) Institute of Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI) at TRIUMF, Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics.

Date: Tuesday,December11, 2018 Time: 4:30 - 6:00PM Place: Reception, TRIUMF Administration Building, 4004 Wesbrook Mall Plans will be displayed for the proposed IAMI building to accommodate a new TR-24 cyclotron and integrated lab and office space. IAMI will support medical isotope production and research into next-generation medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.

Representatives from the project team and Campus + Community Planning will be available to provide information and respond to inquiries about this project.

This event is wheelchair accessible.

We provide treatments at the prices of the Fee Guide of B.C. Dental Association.

Contact us to discuss the best option to replace a missing tooth.

We offer family and cosmetic dentistry, braces, invisalign, immediate dentures, implants and wisdom teeth extractions.

Dr. Marianna Klimek & ASSOCIATE DENTISTS Renfrew Station Dental • 2685 Renfrew Street, Vancouver

www.mariannaklimek.com 604-876-5678

VISIT OUR WEBSITE PHOTO GALLERY FOR MORE BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

For further information: Please direct questions to Karen Russell, Manager, Development Services karen.russell@ubc.ca 604-822-1586

Can’t attend in person?

Online feedback will be accepted until December 18, 2018.

To learn more or to comment on this project, please visit: planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/projects-consultations

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Making spirits bright

Sandra Thomas sthomas@vancourier.com

A visit to Kerrisdale during the holidays is like stepping back in time — but with modern shopping and services. And if you do go, keep an eye out for decorated storefronts and special holiday and Christmas events.

Holiday Decorating Contest It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Kerrisdale, with the annual Window Decorating Contest in full swing.

The contest is a way for the Kerrisdale Business Association to encourage local businesses to light up the dark days and nights of December. The KBA suggests while it doesn’t take much to dress up planters and entry ways with some green and red, the effort goes a long way to making the village look welcoming and festive during the holidays, no matter what customers and clients are celebrating during the busiest retail month of the year.

And if you’re not sure where to start, the KBA suggests Southlands Nursery for festive greens and a variety of holly, London Drugs for lights and Thomas Hobbs Florist and Buchan’s for dazzling baubles of every shape and size. This year, the KBA added financial institutions and banks to the contest, which will have

their own category in the general retail group. The judging takes place today (Dec. 6) so that means if you’re looking for ways to get into the holiday spirit, a stroll through Kerrisdale is a great way to start.

New Seasonal Lighting Last year, the KBA extended its lamp standard seasonal lighting all the way along West 41st Avenue between Larch and Maple streets as part of an approved capital project.

This year the association has completed the lighting scheme with four special motif light designs at the east and west entrances to Kerrisdale Village.

Free Horse and Carriage Rides Dec. 8, 15, 22 & 23 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

West 41st Avenue & Yew Street north Bundle up the kids and grandparents and take a ride in a carriage pulled by the gentle giants from AAA Horse & Carriage.

The huge horses will be decked out in bells and red velvet ribbons, a reminder of festive seasons in Kerrisdale Village from a century ago. Riders can enjoy carols old and new while they take a slow trot past the beautiful holiday windows throughout the village.

Christmas Quartets and Tubas and Brass Bands

Free Village Skating Dec. 16 • 5:30 –7 p.m.

Kerrisdale Arena: 5670 East Blvd.

Enjoy free skating and skate rentals, Christmas music and free refreshments at the Kerrisdale rink while they last. This free skate is sponsored by Kerrisdale shops and services.

Even if you don’t skate, the KBA encourages everyone to drop by and sit in the stands while children and adults glide around the arena.

Dec. 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 & 23 Noon to 4 p.m.

Sure, Kerrisdale’s Christmas quartets, roving singers and brass players could perform under a tent, but the KBA wants these roaming musicians to entertain shoppers all around the village — with opportunities to stay dry when Mother Nature isn’t cooperating.

The KBA guarantees the singers, along with a gaggle of tubas and roving brass bands, will remind shoppers why they should be enjoying the holidays and to embrace their inner holiday spirit.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Community

Is False Creek home to the world’s

Developer’s 3.5-acre ‘community park’ includes ball hockey court, ping pong tables, beach volleyball, amphitheatre

VANCOUVER SHAKEDOWN Grant Lawrence

grantlawrence12@gmail.com

Maybe you’ve already noticed it, or maybe you’ve already used it.

There’s a large new park on the shore of False Creek, and it might be a world record holder.

My friend James lives in one of the Main Street towers that overlooks the northeast corner of False Creek.

A few weeks ago, he posted a photo on Instagram of the view from his condo.

Wait a second. Since when is there… a beach volleyball court down there? And… is that an outdoor amphitheatre with log seating? Is that actual… grass?

After a brief exchange with James, he told me that it was a “new, temporary park” that Vancouver real estate titans Concord Pacific opened earlier in the fall.

Concord Pacific footed the bill for a temporary park along False Creek, which opened at the end of Sept. PHOTO GRANT LAWRENCE

For years, if you’ve ever walked, jogged, or cycled along the north False Creek seawall, you’d be used to seeing a barren, cracked

concrete wasteland in that ugly armpit of the city — a no man’s land between Science World and the former Plaza of Nations.

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If you think about it, it’s shocking that prime waterfront property has remained undeveloped for more than three decades since Expo 86.

Over those years, that vast and mostly vacant space, owned by Concord Pacific, has been occasionally used for special events such as the Molson Indy (from 1990 to 2004), Cirque de Soleil, or that outdoor dinner where everyone wears white. But mostly, the

land has sat inexplicably drab and empty.

I had to cycle down and see the new park for myself. Sure enough, there it was: brand new, pristine and deserted. I wondered if it was even open. That’s when I spotted a sign that read “Welcome to Concord Community Park.”

I wandered its large, sparkling expanse. I spotted bright Adirondack chairs, a dozen large picnic tables, a ball hockey court, ping pong tables,

acres of emerald green lawn space, and, yes, the faux sandy beach complete with volleyball net, and an amphitheatre with log seating and views of False Creek to the south and the mountains to the north.

All of it sat as vacant as a Twilight Zone episode.

It turns out this popup park officially opened Sept. 30 (it was supposed to pop up in the summer, but you know how these things go). According to Patsy McMillan, the chair of the False Creek Residents Association, a park in that space or close to it has been more than 18 years in the making.

“The original development plan for North False Creek stated that Concord Pacific was permitted to build 7,650 residential units in exchange for certain community amenities, including 42 acres of park or green space,” McMillan explained to me.

Today, much of that green agreement already exists along the north shore of False Creek, including several parks stretching from the Granville Bridge to the Cambie Bridge, and yet the northeast pocket of False Creek remained undeveloped, even though, to McMillan’s count, Concord Pacific has in fact developed 11,500 residential units.

Vancouver’s problem with homelessness is at an all time high, with many of those with no home of their own being under the age of 24. At the Courier, we decided to provide an opportunity to our readers to give a little cheer and kindness to the youth on our streets this holiday season.

When out shopping for those stocking stuffers this holiday season, see what’s on special and grab an extra something on top of your usual purchase.

Please note that we ask that all items be NEW! Simply drop your items at the Vancouver Courier office at 303 West 5th Avenue on Alberta between November 5th and December 19th.

Hours are Mon-Fri, 7:00 am to 2:30 pm.

For further information contact June Stafford at 604-630-3501

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Community

largest pop-up park?

“There have been several delays for a final permanent park. The economy, the Olympics, and now the impending viaduct removal,” McMillan said.

With the viaduct takedown slowing up a permanent park’s placement, Concord Pacific offered to build a temporary “pop up” park on an interim basis.

“What Concord offered wasn’t enough,” McMillan said. “So we worked with them to secure that 3.5 acre corner site for which they were responsible for the design — with our input.”

Once the viaduct does come down, a swap will be made: a permanent park will be built inland, and Concord Pacific will likely develop more condo towers on the waterfront site.

“The permanent park will be under the SkyTrain track, rather than the waterfront park we were promised,” McMillan said.

But at the rate things progress in this town, McMillan thinks the wa-

terfront pop up park could be there anywhere from three years to 15 years. No one can say for sure.

Ann Phelps has been the executive director of Dragon Boat B.C. for 29 years and was named the project manager for the new Concord Community Park. When I spoke to her, she was giddy with excitement over the fact that the park could be a world first.

“The other day I heard on the CBC that the biggest pop-up park in the world was somewhere in Europe, and it was something like an acre,” Phelps told me. “But our park is 3.5 acres, which would make ours the biggest, and it’s right here in Vancouver.”

According to Phelps, when many of the residents purchased their apartments, they were promised a park would be built on that corner of the creek shore.

“It’s been a long time coming. Dragon Boat B.C. became involved

because we are going to build a new community boating centre there, for all paddling sports, and we’ve had a lot of support from Concord Pacific, so it was a simple step to take over the day-to-day operations of this new park.”

Concord Pacific foots the bill. According to Phelps, the pop-up park was slated to cost around $500,000, but construction came in closer to $2 million.

“It’s quite the commitment from Concord Pacific, and it’s something they should be commended for,” said Phelps.

“It costs Concord about $250,000 a year to maintain the grounds, and right now the park is employing four people, including three Indigenous youth from the area.”

Phelps was also quick to point out that I must have popped in to the park on an off day.

“The park is open from dawn to dusk, and on sunny days there are people playing basketball,

volleyball, table tennis, or just enjoying the view from the big Adirondack chairs. It’s great to see.”

Both Phelps and McMillan are eager to see the park utilized and want more people to know about it.

December ping pong, anyone? @grantlawrence

ERICK LICHTE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Arts & Entertainment

Mondo Italian: ‘I ate the whole thing’ at Anton’s Pasta Bar Occasionally, when people say I can’t do something, I like to prove them wrong...

Elisia Seeber

eseeber@vancourier.com

“I don’t know whether to be disgusted or impressed,” my boyfriend James said to me with a look of shock on his face as I twirled my last mouthful of linguine onto my fork and forced it into my mouth.

I’m proud to say that in the above moment I had just finished my first food challenge.

“I ate the whole thing” at Anton’s Pasta Bar, and I have the pen to prove it.

That’s a 63.2-ounce or 1.79-kilogram plate of pasta… plus meatballs.

To put it in perspective, that’s the weight of 48 doughnuts or 15 cheeseburgers.

Occasionally, when people say I can’t do something I like to prove them wrong.

This was one of those moments.

The conversation prior to walking into the legendary Italian restaurant in Burnaby, known for its lines out the door and huge portions of spaghetti that people struggle to finish, went something like this: James: “There’s a place I have been meaning to take you that serves massive bowls of pasta that no one can finish.”

Me: (Eyes light up) “I’m listening.”

James: “My friends at work told me about it.

They’re not small guys and they say they can’t finish it and have enough leftovers for at least two more meals.”

Me: “I bet I can do it. I grew up eating a lot of pasta.”

James: “There’s no way you’ll be able to do it if they can’t.”

Me: (Laughs) “Challenge accepted.”

On the way to the restaurant I googled the place, seeing the pictures of the servings I started to feel a little intimidated. Maybe I was being overly confident.

I was about to find out.

When you grow up in an Aussie/Italian family you learn to eat your fair share of spaghetti. Let’s just say my nonna [grandmother] trained me well. Perhaps it was all for this moment.

We sat down and ordered.

I picked the linguine con polpette — meatballs topped with a tomato meat sauce.

James chose the fettuccine creola — Italian sausage, chicken and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce.

When the plates hit the table, I couldn’t be happier.

I mean, who wouldn’t be happy with a mountain of spaghetti and meatballs in front of them.

I dug in. It was a thick linguine so I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task, but I twirled my way through half the plate without much effort.

I had a little break at the half way mark. Taking a few sips of beer and a couple deep breaths I continued through the mountain of pasta before me.

James, not a big pasta eater, was struggling to get

Before and after: It takes a certain kind of person who can eat a 63.2-ounce or 1.79-kilogram plate of pasta… plus meatballs. And the Courier’s Elisia Seeber is that person.

through even half of his spicy dish.

I hit the three quarter mark, and I started to feel my stomach tighten and beads of sweat develop of my forehead. The pasta sweats had struck. It was getting tough.

Me: “James, I don’t think I can do it. Maybe I should stop.”

James: “You have to do it now, you’re basically finished.”

Me: (Takes deep breath, while staring at plate) It was at this moment that a bubbly waitress walked up and said: “Oh you’re going for it!”

Me: “Going for what?”

Waitress: “The pen!

You’re going to eat the whole thing. If you eat the whole thing you get a pen.”

And somehow this was the last push I needed to complete the meal. In that moment, I wanted that pen.

It was all I could see.

So I pushed the boundaries of my stomach and scooped

the last of the pasta up.

While James shook his head in disbelief, I felt a strange sense of relief and accomplishment.

I could not move afterwards. I looked pregnant for at least two days. I’d be lying if I said there were no repercussions from eating more than a kilo of spaghetti in one sitting.

I endured the biggest carbohydrate hangover of my life all for a pen.

But I’m not the first, and I certainly won’t be the last.

Feeling pretty happy with myself for completing this great feat, I became curious to know more about why the servings were so big and how many others had taken up the challenge.

I had a chat with a server at the restaurant, Juliette Belanger, who told me three to 10 people finish a plate at Anton’s every day.

She also said more than 80 people a day wouldn’t come close.

“A lot of people will try and get the pen — they’ll eat food to the point that it makes them feel sick just to get it,” Belanger said.

“We’ve had people eat it all and then get sick right at the table — some people get pretty desperate for that pen.”

I can now relate.

An Australian abroad, I didn’t know the full story behind Anton’s.

Proprietor Tony Mauro had travelled by boat to Vancouver as a teenager from Calabria, in the southern part of Italy, following his father who had previously ventured over for better work opportunities.

In 1983, he opened the pasta restaurant with three of his mother’s sauce recipes, a four-burner electric stove and nine tables.

It was named Anton’s because Antonio’s (Tony’s full first name) was already taken.

In a short video, Anton’s Pasta Bar: Big Portions and

Bigger Hearts, put together

by UBC students, Tony explains why he began dishing out big servings all those years ago, and his answer is pretty simple.

“It started because I used to go to restaurants for dinner and I would go home and eat again,” he told the students.

He didn’t want his customers leaving unsatisfied.

“So when I first started I made sure people pigged out,” Tony explained.

Originally, if a customer finished the whole plate of pasta, it was free, and if they were still hungry, Tony would give them more pasta on the house.

Once word got out of the huge plates of pasta a neighbourhood following started to grow and so did the lineups… which continue today. Anton’s later moved to the location where it is now to accommodate the larger crowds. It’s known as Vancouver’s original pasta bar.

The free plate of food later turned into a free Tshirt, but things are a little more expensive these days so now you get a free pen if you’re hungry enough to eat the whole thing.

“A lot of people come here for the big portions,” Belanger said.

“People can come and feed their whole family for a really good price.”

Or you can just attempt to eat the entire plate by yourself... like I did.

Think you can do it? You’ll find Anton’s Pasta Bar at 4260 Hastings St., Burnaby.

If you have a food challenge you’d like to see me tackle next let me know: eseeber@ vancourier.com.

Can you fit three pounds of soup in your belly in 20 minutes?

Vancouver restaurant launches gut-busting vegan food challenge Lindsay William-Ross

lindsay@vancouverisawesome.com

There are three pounds of vegan goodness in that bowl, ready to fill your belly.

PHOTO COURTESY DUNDAS EAT + DRINK

Vancouver loves a food challenge. From fiery hot wings and ramen to massive bowls of pho, from heaps of saucy pasta to burgers bigger than your head, there are lots of ways to stuff yourself to victory in the city.

Now there’s an epic new food challenge aimed at those who prefer a plant-based diet.

Dundas Eat + Drink has launched a new eat-

ing challenge as a sequel to last year’s Six O Pho madness, but it’s all vegan. Their Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge pits diners against a threepound bowl of the dish, with 20 minutes on the clock to slurp it all down.

The Vegan Bun Bo Hue is made with tofu, thinly sliced imitation meat, noodles and a deliciously sour and mildly spicy broth.

Dundas stipulates that noodle lovers must finish the whole bowl, including

the soup, in 20 minutes.

If you finish, you’ll get a prize, and the fastest five eaters will go into a final table round where they contend for a $500 worth of cash and prizes, plus and each of the five will automatically receive a $100 gift card to Dundas.

No matter how you fare against this epic bowl of noodles and soup, you’ll be paying $25 for the eats.

Dundas Eat + Drink is located at 2077 Dundas St. in Vancouver

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

Arts & Entertainment IT’S ALL DRINKING WATER. Running full loads of laundry uses water efficiently, and your clothes get just as clean.

Left: Looking for a skull this Christmas? This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven and Betamax Studios hosts the Weirdos Holiday Market Dec. 8 and 9. Right: Get your hot pastrami on rye fix at the Mensch.

Jewish Delicatessen Pop-Up at Faculty Brewing.

Keep Christmas weird

And four other events that make Vancouver awesome this week

Lindsay William-Ross

lindsay@vancouverisawesome.com

Weirdos Holiday Market

Use a little less and care a little more.

Visit welovewater.ca for water-saving tips, in any season.

Back for a second year, the Weirdos Holiday Market is the perfect shopping event for the truly unconventional. Hosted by This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven and Betamax Studios, the Weirdos Holiday Market launched in 2017 to rousing success. Much like the carefully curated curios found at This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven, the vendors at the Weirdos Holiday Market will run the gamut from the occult to the purely scientific — we’re talking crystals to anatomical curiosities.

Dec. 8 to 9 The Hall at Britannia Community Services Centre, 1739 Venables St. thismonkeysgonetoheaven. vendecommerce.com

Yule Duel

Proud to be Canada’s #1 Community News Site vancourier.com

CHECK US OUT

If all you want for Christmas is to hear those beloved holiday tunes, take note that the halls of Gastown — or rather the street — will be decked with carol singers galore taking part in Yule Duel. The fun, festive, free event takes place outside each year in Gastown, and finds dozens of local choirs and singing groups going head-to-head in an exciting sing-off fundraiser. Fans can cheer on their favourites, while a panel of judges cast their votes for their picks.

Dec. 6, 6 to 9 p.m.

Water Street in Gastown yuleduel.com

City of Vancouver Book Awards

The City of Vancouver recently revealed the four finalists for their annual Book Award. Finalists for the City of Vancouver Book Award are chosen by an independent jury. The winner will be announced at the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch

at an event that will also include a panel discussion with the finalists. Featuring an eclectic assortment of genres — poetry, long-form journalism, memoir and anthology — a central theme for this year’s finalists is connection and healing.

Dec. 8, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Ninth floor, VPL Central Library, 350 West Georgia St. vancouver.ca/people-programs/city-ofvancouver-book-award.aspx

Mensch. Jewish Delicatessen Pop-Up

Hand-crafted and hand-sliced hot pastrami piled high on fresh rye bread. Beet cured lox on a poppy seed bagel with a schmear of house-made labneh. Briny pickles. The very best of the Jewish deli experience is the hallmark of the itinerant Mensch.

Jewish Delicatessen, which has been doing pop-ups in Vancouver over the last couple of years. They’ll be serving up signature slow-brined and smoked pastrami in sandwiches (with mustard and a homemade pickle on the side), along with the aforementioned bagels and lox for one night only, so get it while it’s hot.

Dec. 11, 6 p.m. until they run out Faculty Brewing, 1830 Ontario St.

Vancouver Story Slam Storytelling Championship

The 14th annual Vancouver Story Slam Storytelling Championship is the grand finale of a year-long live storytelling competition, and you get to help choose the winner. The top storytellers of the 2018 Vancouver Story Slam season bring their best stories to the stage, and the audience casts anonymous ballots to determine who leaves the theatre victorious. Let the stories begin. 19+ only.

Dec. 11, doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m.

The Rio Theatre, 1660 East Broadway riotheatre.ca

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Arts & Entertainment THE SHOWBIZ

Actors tackle diversity in emotionally charged roundtable videos Sabrina Furminger

sabrina@yvrscreenscene.com

If there’s one conclusion to draw from UBCP/ ACTRA’s diversity roundtable videos, it’s that no two culturally diverse actors have the same experience navigating the ’biz.

Another conclusion is that, if any real change is to occur — if TV shows and movies are going to prominently and accurately feature diverse actors and stories — these experiences need to be heard, and mulled over, by people in positions of power.

UBCP/ACTRA — that’s the Union of British Columbia Performers, a branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists — is the screen performers’ union. Its membership includes actors, stunt artists and voice and background performers working the local screen scene.

In the aftermath of social media discussions about onscreen diversity that birthed hashtags such as #OscarsSoWhite and #StarringJohnCho, UBCP/

ACTRA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee took a page from organizations south of the border and hosted a series of diversity roundtable discussions.

The first roundtable — filmed in late 2016 — featured African-Canadian actors and was released to the web a year later (it was hosted by yours truly and is available on YouTube).

The new roundtables feature Vancouver-based Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and East Asian actors.

They were filmed in June 2018 and released in midNovember on YouTube.

The aim of the roundtables is to elevate and amplify underrepresented voices in the Vancouver film and TV industry, says Patrick Sabongui, an Egyptian Canadian actor (Homeland, The Flash) and producer, who chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Committee with actress Angela Moore.

“As diverse actors, we used to sit around on set and have these conversations amongst ourselves,” says Sabongui.

“Now these conversations

In the wake of online movements such as #OscarsSoWhite and #StarringJohnCho, UBCP/ACTRA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee hosted a series of diversity roundtable discussions, and posted them to YouTube.

are starting to emanate out into the larger consciousness.

Now they’re including ears and voices that used to not be included.”

Moore agrees, adding that the roundtable discussions were posted online so that anyone in a position to affect change — from studio execs to casting agents to audiences — could benefit from the lived experiences of the participating actors.

“This isn’t to further the actors’ profiles,” says Moore.

“What we tried to do is have a fulsome discussion about some of the challenges that they’ve faced over the course of their careers.”

The diversity roundtables are diverse entities unto

themselves. The panelists — Anousha Alamian, Carmel Amit, Michael Benyaer, Medina Hahn, Mozhdah Jamalzadah, Sabongui and Marcus Youssef on the MENA panel, and Benita Ha, Hiro Kanagawa, Thai-Hoa Le, Mayumi Yoshida, Valerie Sing Turner and Raugi Yu on the East Asian panel — represent a range of cultural backgrounds, professional experiences and opinions.

In the videos, that diversity leads to emotional moments where the panelists directly challenge each other. At one point, MENA panelists reflect on how their careers were impacted by 9/11 (one panelist was horrified by the abundance

of auditions for terrorist roles that began to come his way, another welcomed the work). In another discussion, a couple of the East Asian panelists disagree as to whether Asians are adequately represented in the film and television sphere.

The panelists also differ when it comes to authenticity, and whether or not they feel a personal responsibility to changing how their cultures are portrayed in screen media.

“It’s not a ‘them versus us’ thing,” says Moore.

“It’s about educating and challenging and inspiring each other. I think people need to learn how to listen. They did that here.”

Not every actor who was invited to participate in the roundtables welcomed the opportunity to do so.

“Several actors and stunt performers would hear me out, and then, after silence and some questions, would say, ‘I don’t think I’m comfortable talking about this,’” says Sabongui.

Some of the performers who declined to participate told Sabongui they were worried about being pigeonholed

B.C.’s natural gas supply may be limited this winter

Reduce your use Due to the rupture of the Enbridge-owned natural gas transmission pipeline earlier this fall, B.C.’s natural gas supply will be restricted this winter. Although Enbridge has repaired their pipeline, it is operating at a limited capacity, meaning B.C.’s natural gas system may be challenged during times of peak demand this winter. Where possible, reduce your use by: • lowering the thermostat to 18 to 20 °C when home and awake and 17 °C when away or asleep • shortening showers by two minutes • washing laundry in cold water Every amount you save helps ensure we have the natural gas to keep all homes warm and businesses working. fortisbc.com/reduceyouruse

FortisBC Energy Inc. uses the FortisBC name and logo under license from Fortis Inc. (18-311.42 11/2018)

as part of a single cultural group, thus limiting their employment opportunities.

Others worried that participating in a conversation about diversity would invite discrimination, because “taking a stand for inclusion somehow aligns you with a political group and a political perspective,” says Sabongui. “I think people are hyper-sensitive to becoming part of that debate.”

Regardless, the conversation will continue.

UBCP/ACTRA is planning roundtables covering the experiences of LGBTQ, First Nations, disabled and South Asian actors.

“This is an unfinished project,” says Sabongui.

“This is the beginning of something. There are so many other communities that need to be heard.”

The 2018 UBCP/ACTRA Awards, which honour acting, voice and stunt achievements by UBCP/ ACTRA members, will be handed out Dec. 8.

Follow @sabrinarmf for red carpet photos and results.

A34

THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

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Wally Buono has his day at Vancouver city hall

Courier Staff vancourier.com

Longtime B.C. Lions coach and general manager Wally Buono hung up his clipboard and called it a day at the end of this season.

But before he retreated to the golf courses and Tommy Bahamas shirts of retirement, Buono dropped by city hall, where Mayor Kennedy Stewart proclaimed Dec. 4, 2018 as “Wally Buono Day” in Vancouver.

“Wally has not only been a central figure in Vancouver’s sports community, he’s been a leader off the field as well,” said Mayor Stewart. “Wally’s unre-

Longtime fan Gordon McDonald chats with Wally Buono after the ceremony at city hall. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

lenting commitment to teamwork, leadership, service and family exemplifies the very best in civic spirit and serves as an inspiration

THE GROWLER: DRINK THIS

Double Infinity (Eureka!) by Superflux Brewing Rob Mangelsdorf editor@thegrowler.ca

There seems to be all sorts of drama these days in the craft beer world about contract brewing — that is, the practice of brewing beer at a brewery that isn’t yours.

Recently, Doan’s and Postmark were acquired by Craft Collective Beerworks, which will be brewing their packaged product from now on.

Some people in the craft beer industry don’t like this and think these beers should have a higher mark-up (a.k.a. tax).

I’ve written about the subject ad nauseam, but at the end of the day, personally, I don’t care. If the beer is brewed in B.C. by B.C. brewers and — most importantly — it’s good, then power to you, you’re going to get my money.

I couldn’t care less who actually owns the brewing equipment. I get the feeling a lot of consumers feel the same way.

The acrimony is perplexing, though, since contract brewing accounts for less than one per cent of the craft beer market. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me that some craft brewers are so hung up on these piddly little crumbs when there’s this massive pie representing 78 per cent of the beer market that’s still drinking macro

Superflux’s Double Infinity rides a fruity wave of Eureka! hops, but at 8 per cent packs an unsuspecting wallop.

garbage that’s far more worthy of their attention.

For a lot of up-andcoming brewers, though, contract brewing your beer is a great way to get your brand out there and attract some investment so you can eventually open up your own brewery. Breweries are expensive, and not everyone has a rich relative to bankroll their beer dreams — so they need to get creative.

Case in point, Superflux.

These guys are absolutely killing it in the $20-fourpack IPA game right now (which I can’t believe is actually a thing). Their beers are delicious and super approachable, their branding is on point, and their stuff is just hard enough to find that they have the public clamouring whenever a new release comes out.

Superflux started out as

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Machine Ales under the Callister Brewing umbrella (which is really just a contract brewery with a co-op model), and has since bounced around, contract brewing at a number of local breweries until it landed at Strathcona. Currently, Superflux has plans to open a brewery in North Vancouver, and I, for one, can’t wait to see that happen.

No one slags Superflux when the topic of contract brewing comes up, though, because it’s awesome. The latest instalment of the Double Infinity DIPA is a perfect example why.

This is a goddamn fruit salad of a beer, with notes of everything from passion fruit to peach to berries to melon in there. There’s a bit of sweetness that helps those fruit flavours blossom, and just enough hop

bitterness to keep the finish from lingering. This singlehopped fruit bomb owes it all to the mighty Eureka! hop (yes, the exclamation mark is part of its branding), a U.S.-developed hop that’s fruity enough to hang with the cool kids from Australia, such as Galaxy and Vic Secret.

Lots of booze, too. These babies are eight per cent, and if they weren’t, like, $5 a can, you could easily suck down a half dozen before you realized it, and end up on your ass (a phenomenon I like to call “Fat Tug Syndrome”).

Double Infinity (Eureka!) by Superflux Brewing (8 per cent ABV)

Appearance: Hazy deep gold/amber with a sturdy white head.

Aroma: Pineapple, passion fruit, citrus, peach, melon, bubblegum.

Flavour: Passion fruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, berry, melon, tropical fruit, mandarin orange, tangerine, slight alcoholic warmth, big hop flavour with low hop bitterness, slightly sweet with a faint bready malt note.

Body: Medium to full-bodied with a semi-dry finish and some boozy warmth.

Pairs with: Grilled lamb, carrot cake, scurvy and fake Ray-Ban sunglasses.

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for all Vancouverites.”

In accepting the proclamation, Buono said: “I’m honoured and grateful for today’s proclamation from

His Worship and the City of Vancouver. I will be forever indebted to this great city for the years of support of our organization and the CFL. The championships we brought to Vancouver and the province of British Columbia are among the most vivid memories of my life in football and today is a very special one for my entire family.”

Buono retires as the all-time winningest coach in CFL history. He spent 46 years in the Canadian Football League as a player, coach and general manager, including 16 years as head coach or general manager of the B.C. Lions Football Club.

Correction Notice In the circular beginning Friday, November 30, 2018, we incorrectly stated Christmas Packaging is Clearance – it is not Clearance. The B1G1 50% off Bernat Yarn offer also excludes Everyday Value program.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

BC RECYCLING HOTLINE 604-732-9253 1-800-667-4321 RECYCLING COUNCIL OF B.C. MEMBER

T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

The hockey blog that knows who needs the puck

A35

Pass It to Bulis Stick-taps & Glove-drops • A tap of the stick to the Seattle expansion bid, which was approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors this week. The as-yet-unnamed Seattle team will join the NHL for the 2021-22 season and immediately provide a geographical rival for the Vancouver Canucks.

• I’m dropping the gloves with the Canucks for sending down Sam Gagner when Jay Beagle returned to the lineup. Gagner was playing well in the top-six and on the first power play unit and deserved to stay with the team.

Jay Beagle missed 24 games after breaking his forearm blocking a shot against the Florida Panthers. PHOTO DARRYL DYCK/CANADIAN PRESS

Jay Beagle and the comfort of a broken bone After missing two dozen games, Canucks centre eager to rejoin team

Backhand Sauce Daniel Wagner

Jay Beagle was itching to get back in the lineup, particularly when the Canucks hit their recent losing skid.

“The hardest thing is being sidelined during the hard times,” he said before he made his return to the lineup on Tuesday night. “To be sidelined and watch your team do good and be winning games, that’s great, but when it’s the hard times, that’s when you really want to get back out here.”

Beagle missed 24 games after breaking his forearm blocking a shot against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 13. Oddly enough, Beagle suggested the injury itself was almost comforting. At the very least, it took all the guesswork out of his recovery.

“Broken bones are always, I think, easier mentally than soft tissue stuff,” he said. “When you have something happen where it’s a tweak of a groin or hips or something happens where it’s the soft tissue, that’s pretty frustrating because there’s never a timeline. You don’t know if it’ll be a week or four weeks.

“This, they knew. They told me, beginning of December I’ll be back.”

That stands in stark contrast to the recent return of another Canuck, Brock Boeser, who was playing through a groin injury until a tweak in a game against the Colorado Avalanche took him out of the lineup until it was back to 100 per cent. For Boeser, the hardest part was the uncertainty.

“It’s tough when you have that same pain that doesn’t go away,” said Boeser before his return last week. “I think that was one of my main issues, I wanted to know what was wrong.”

So often, we don’t notice our bodies until a moment of dysfunction — an injury or an illness — and it can feel like a betrayal, like the body is some alien thing outside of ourselves acting as an obstacle. For a professional athlete, whose identity is wrapped up in what they can accomplish with their body, not knowing what is wrong inside their bodies can be particularly terrifying.

With that in mind, it’s easier to understand why a simple injury such as a broken bone would be a relief. There’s nothing unknowable there; it’s not a threat to his identity as a hockey player.

The broken bone could almost be considered a blessing, in fact, as it allowed Beagle to be with his family for the birth of his daughter.

“You have to look at the positives, right?” said Beagle. “After it’s happened

and surgery goes well and everything goes well, I looked at it as obviously something that I can’t control. I just have to take the time to heal it well, but also to be with my family. We had a baby girl and I was able to be there for that after the surgery, I think it was a day or two later that we had our baby girl.

“By the time all the dust settles and all the emotions settle, it was something where I really looked to spend time with family and spend time with my three kids and wife and just enjoy it, because there was nothing else I could do.”

Beagle talked about the unexpected opportunity of being there for the first month of his baby girl’s life instead of spending most of that month on the road with the Canucks. It’s an opportunity that most hockey players don’t get during the season, though he joked that the surgery came in time that he couldn’t use his broken arm as an excuse to get out of changing diapers.

Now, back on the ice, his focus is on being in the moment with his teammates and helping them secure a few more wins late in the third period.

Big Numbers • 650 The Seattle ownership group will pay an NHL record $650-million expansion fee, which is $150-million more than that paid by the Vegas Golden Knights.

• 44.1 Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks were 30th in the NHL in scoring chance percentage, as measured by Natural Stat Trick.

At five on five, the Canucks had just 44.1 per cent of the scoring chances and have been outchanced 669 to 527 this season.

For daily Canucks news and views, go to Pass It to Bulis at vancourier.com.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018

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All advertising published in this newspaper is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services offered are accurately described and willingly sold to buyers at the advertised prices. Advertisers are aware of these conditions. Advertising that does not conform to these standards or that is deceptive or misleading, is never knowingly accepted. If any reader encounters non-compliance with these standards we ask that you inform the Publisher of this newspaper and The Advertising Standards Council of B.C. OMISSION AND ERROR: The publishers do not guarantee the insertion of a particular advertisement on a specified date, or at all, although every effort will be made to meet the wishes of the advertisers.

Further, the publishers do not accept liability for any loss of damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of an advertisement beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by the portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred. Any corrections of changes wil be made in the next available issue.

The Vancouver Courier will be responsible for only one incorrect insertion with liability limited to that portion of the advertisement affected by the error. Request for adjustments or corrections on charges must be made within 30 days of the ad’s expiration.

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Legitimate employers do not ask for money as part of the application process; do not send money; do not give any credit card information; or call a 900 number in order to respond to an employment ad.

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Electrician, Res/Comm New or old wiring. Reasonable rates.

Lic #22774 604-879-9394

EXCAVATING

.

Get MORE

LIVING ROOM Find it in the Rental Section

To advertise call

604.630-3300

#1 Backhoes & Excavators Trenchless Waterlines Bobcats & Dump Truck & All Material Deliveries

Drainage, Video

Inspection, Landscaping, Stump/Rock/Cement/Oil Tank & Demos, Paving, Pool/Dirt Removal, Paver Stones, Jackhammer, Water/Sewer, Line/Sumps, Slinger Avail, Concrete Cutting, Hand Excavating, Basements Made Dry Claudio’s Backhoe Service

604-341-4446

• House Demolition & • House Stripping.

• Excavation & Drainage.

• Demo Trailer & • End Dump Services.

Disposal King Ltd.

604-306-8599

www.disposalking.com

SHAW

.

LANDSCAPING Power Washing sidewalk & sundeck We do Complete Landscaping

778-688-1012

BC GARDENING

FALL CLEAN-UP • Pruning • Hedges • Tree Top •Trimming • Lawn & Garden Maint.

Gutters • Rubbish Removal 25 yr exp. WCB. Insured.

All Work Guar. Free est.

Donny 604-600-6049

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YARD CLEAN-UP • Trimming Shrubs • Hedges • Pruning.

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MASONRY

HANDYPERSON MASONRY AND REPAIRS

BAYSIDE PROPERTY SERVICES

HOUSES FOR RENT

LANDSCAPING

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HANDYMAN Reno, kitchen, bath, plumbing, countertop, floors, paint, etc. Mic, 604-725-3127

LAWN & GARDEN

GUTTERS

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320-9th St, New West Suites Available.

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VILLA MARGARETA

A37

AAA All types repairs, renos, kitchens, baths, tiling, painting, plumbing, electrical and more.

David 604-862-7537

•Stone Walls •Bricks •Chimneys •Fireplaces •Pavers •Asphalt •All Concrete Work •20+ yrs exp

GEORGE • 778-998-3689

MOVING #661/8#".7 51-034 GGGE5??,CD5-4B1,HBCA-+E+,1

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James • 604-786-7977

HOME SERVICES Find the professionals you need to create the perfect renovation. to advertise call

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018

HOME SERVICES OIL TANK REMOVAL

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Call: 778.522.0007

Primary Mechanical Ltd

Plumbing & Renovations

• Kitchen • Baths • Trenchless Waterlines

D&M PAINTING .

Interior / Exterior Specialist Many Years Experience Fully Insured Top Quality, Quick Work Free estimate

604-724-3832

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Integral Contracting All types of Renos - big or smallNew home builds, kitchens, bathrooms, additions, decks, sheds, carpentry, finishing, etc. integralcontractingltd.com Anders 604-916-2000 35 years of experience

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CALL THE EXPERTS

TREE SERVICES (*."2448; :!.'"%6 *6& 842%

LAWNS • GARDENS • TREES • SHRUBS EST. 1994

Residential, Strata, Commercial A-1 Contracting & Roofing New & Re-Roofing • All Types All Maintenance & Repairs GUTTER CLEANING Gutter Guard Installations -never clean gutters again!

WCB. 25% Discount.

• Emergency Repairs •

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D & M Renovations.

Flooring, tiling, finishing.

Fully Insured. Top quality, quick work, 604-724-3832

Steve 604-830-8555

PAINTING/ WALLPAPER

PAINTING (25+ yrs exp) BBB Top Quality Paint & Workmanship. Interior: 3 Coats & Repairs for $250 each room.

778-545-0098 604-377-5423 .

Masterbrushespainting.com

ALL RENO’S; Int & Ext. Paint Kitch/Bath, Tile/Floors, Drywall Fence/Decks.778-836-0436

• H/W Tanks • Drains “Old Home Specialist”

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BC’s BEST Painters in Town!

MASTER BRUSHES

RENOS & HOME IMPROVEMENT

Call Jag at:

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Removal, Planting •Walkways Stump Grinding.

David@rakesandladders.com •Repairs 7 Years Experience

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Certified • Insured • WCB

rakesandladders.com

AUTOMOTIVE

SCRAP CAR REMOVAL

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Canam Roofing 778-881-1417 Res. Roofing, New, Re-roofing & Repairs. Peace of mind warranty. www.canamroofing.ca

GL Roofing & Repairs. New Roof, Clean Gutters $80. info@ glroofing.ca • 604-240-5362 MCNABB ROOFING All Roofing & Repairs. GUTTERS Insured, WCB, 40 yrs exp.

Call Roy • 604-839-7881

Your Clunker is someone’s Classic.

604.630.3300

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MCR Mastercraft Roofing Right the 1st time! Repairs, reroofing, garage, decks.

Hart 322-5517

RUBBISH REMOVAL

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Residential / Commercial • Respectful • Responsible • Reliable • Affordable Rates All Rubbish, Junk & Recycling needs.

Johnson • 778-999-2803 reddyrubbishremoval.com

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T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Vancouver Is Awesome is proud to announce the launch of a new online store!

BCIsAwesome.com takes cues from of our history TV show, BC Was Awesome, honing in on the quirky characters and pieces of BC’s history that have helped shape this province. It also has one foot in the present, with takes on topical issues of the moment.

In all, we’re offering 30 different t-shirt designs for our launch, priced at $25 each.

There are also posters, hats and framed artwork, throw pillows and coffee mugs on offer.

We hope that you’ll want to proudly wear our t-shirts, hang our prints on your wall, or drink coffee out of our coffee mugs.

We will be adding more products and stories every week. Check BCIsAwesome.com regularly to learn a little bit about your province, and maybe own a piece or two of it.

BCIsAwesome.com

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A40

THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, DE C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

EXCEPTIONAL BUILDING, EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNITY NOW LEASING FOR JANUARY 2019 European Style Kitchens Featuring Gas Cooktops

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Chances are 1 in 482,000 (total tickets for sale) to win the 50/50 prize.

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