Vancouver Courier February 20 2020

NEWS WEST END SENIORS NOT ONBOARD WITH BUS STOP REMOVAL 6 OPINION WHAT B.C. BUDGET MEANS FOR EDUCATION FUNDING 10 THE SHOWBIZ ACTRESS ALI LIEBERT GETS PERSONAL 15 PASS IT TO BULIS SPORTS PEARSON WELCOMES FORMER LINEMATE 17 THURSDAY

February 20 2020 Established 1908

There’s more online at vancourier.com

2020

4 MORE DAYS to vote for your favourites

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Mystery in a bottle 11,000 kilometres and 16 years later, the curious tale of a message in a bottle and a son’s undying love for his mother. SEE PAGE 12

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News

Military grave markers to get $2.7-million upgrade

City approves restoration of 7,300 graves at Mountain View Cemetery Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

City council has approved a massive $2.7 million project to install new foundations for veterans’ graves and restore more than 7,300 military markers at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery.

The cemetery, which runs over several city blocks adjacent to Fraser Street between East 43rd and East 31st avenues, is the final resting place of more than 12,000 veterans.

The cemetery is one of the largest military burial sites in Canada, with most of the service men and women buried in four military “Fields of Honour:” Jones 45, Abray North, Abray South and Horne2.

More than 1,900 markers were restored in the Abray South section between 2006 and 2011 and the work now will see the restoration of another 7,373 markers in Abray North and Horne2.

“This work will enable Mountain View Cemetery

City council has approved a $2.7-million project to restore more than 7,300 military markers at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

to restore military markers to their original design, improve the aesthetic of two large areas within the cemetery and demonstrate the city’s commitment to respectfully commemorating

the veterans who are laid to rest in the Fields of Honour,” said a city staff report that went before council last week.

City council approved the project without debate.

The report said funding will initially come from the city then be reimbursed by Veterans Affairs Canada, which has primary responsibility for all veterans’ graves.

The Commonwealth War

Graves Commission has additional responsibility for graves of those who died in the First and Second World Wars.

The report notes that 216 of the 575 veterans who died at war are buried in the Jones 45 section of the cemetery. The Canadian agency of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission considers the section the most historically significant site in North and Central America.

Up until 1964, approximately 10,000 of the veterans’ graves at the cemetery were marked with sloping military markers on granite foundations.

As the city prepared for the cemetery’s closure in the 1980s, it laid thousands of civilian upright monuments flush in the ground in an attempt to reduce long-term maintenance costs.

Veterans Affairs Canada approved similar work in the Fields of Honour, with granite foundations in the three largest military areas removed and the markers set flush in the ground.

The cemetery re-opened in 2008 after redevelopment allowed for more burial plots and memorials.

The city’s communications department said in an email to the Courier that renovation work, which includes installing new gravemarker foundations, will also involve lifting markers to their original upright position.

The staff report said material costs represent approximately 60 per cent of the projected budget, with labour and installation pegged at 15 per cent.

The project is expected to take four years to complete.

The city has owned and operated Mountain View since 1886. The cemetery occupies 106 acres of land, where the remains of more than 145,000 people are buried, including 14 former Vancouver mayors.

A veteran of the American Civil War and a veteran of the Spanish American War are also buried in the cemetery. @Howellings

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News

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Wider array of voices sought for Vancouver Plan survey Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

The City of Vancouver is calling for a wider array of voices to respond to an online survey that will help inform the city-wide plan, also known as the Vancouver Plan.

So far, the majority of responses received have been from English speakers over 40 without young children.

Feedback has also been high from people between 20 and 29.

But city staff want to reach a broader audience for the survey, which seeks residents’ views about their hopes and challenges living in Vancouver, as well as the hopes and challenges faced by people who want to live in the city. Results will determine what issues staff will research further.

Susan Haid, deputy director of planning for longrange planning, said staff would like to collect more input from families with young children, young adults, millennials, those with diverse cultural backgrounds, and those who’ve faced barriers or lacked the opportunity to participate in the past.

In addition to English, the survey has been translated into traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog.

Questions range from participants’ hopes and fears for future generations to what they think is the city’s most urgent issue. Information such as survey-takers’ age, gender and postal code is also collected.

To date, about 4,000 people have filled out the survey, which launched in late November and closes at the end of February. Staff hope to hear from at least 6,000.

“It’s really a major opportunity to hear from all

voices in the city about the values that are important to them. It’s really about the heart and the soul of the city,” Haid said.

The survey is part of the initial “listening and learning” phase of the Vancouver Plan, which is intended to help develop guiding principles.

Staff are also conducting what they’ve called an “intercept” version of the survey where they attend events such as recent Lunar New Year celebrations, or travel to various areas of the city to reach a wider variety of people.

“For example, we have a team that is out on the Downtown Eastside, Strathcona, Kitsilano, South Vancouver. Going out into neighbourhoods, we think, is probably a more effective way to hear from more diverse voices,” Haid said.

Phase one has also included discussions with various community groups such as the District Parent Advisory Council, the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. and Sustainabiliteens, whose members are encouraged to fill out the survey. More community discussions will be held over the next couple of months, including by request.

Staff have met with representatives from the Musqueam, Squamish and TsleilWaututh Nations as well.

“We’re looking to their leadership on ways to engage their communities,” Haid said.

NPA Coun. Colleen Hardwick is conducting a personal “50-neighbourhood” tour of the city to collect feedback about where residents think density should be located. Haid said staff will take input Hardwick receives and it will “help feed into the Vancouver Plan process.”

“The neighbourhood scale input is welcome and our outreach will go that direction, as well as really tapping into some of the city-wide issues — some of the issues and communities that are larger than Vancouver,” Haid said.

“For example, when we’re looking at transportation planning or growth management, we are actively liaising with TransLink and Metro Vancouver, other levels of government and the communities that are associated with those. It’s really city-wide and neighbourhood and community-based — running those engagements concurrently.”

Meanwhile, a multi-day community summit is in the works for May, which will look at the future of the city.

Karis Hiebert, manager of the Vancouver Plan project team, is involved in organizing it.

“The May summit is really going to be an opportunity for members of the community and members of the public to attend and share some of their ideas about the future of the city, and for them to learn more about what city staff are working on in various areas,” she said. “…It will pick up on some of the themes that we are working on now, but also ask people to give their ideas about how we can address some areas of challenge and about the kind of future that they want.”

City staff will present an initial report to council in early March, which outlines early results from phase one and next steps. A full report on the first phase of engagement for the city-wide plan will be presented to council in July.

The survey can be found at vancouver.ca.

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News

West End seniors oppose plan to replace bus stop with a parklet Drew Clarke

dclarke@vancourier.com

A group of West End seniors are against a proposal to replace a bus stop with a community parklet.

The site, located at Davie and Jervis streets, is used by many seniors, who voiced their concerns at a “community conversation,” hosted by the West End Business Improvement Association (WEBIA) at Gordon Neighbourhood House, Feb. 11.

Parklets are street-level platforms that include public seating, landscaping and/ or bike parking. According to the City of Vancouver, the purpose of the parklets is to widen sidewalks, expand public space and foster social life. Vancouver currently has 18 parklets and seven commercial curbside patios.

Representatives from WEBIA and the City of Vancouver presented their vision for the transformation of the current bus stop.

Stephen Regan, executive director of WEBIA,

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West End resident Ann Hunter says the potential loss of a bus stop on Davie Street will inconvenience many seniors with mobility issues. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

reasoned that Davie has five bus stops over a five block stretch — at Burrard, Thurlow, Bute, Jervis and Broughton — and the tradeoff of losing one bus stop could have a net benefit for the whole community.

However, many seniors attending the meeting voiced opposition to the plan.

After the meeting, West End resident Ann Hunter expressed concern about the potential loss of the bus stop. “The West End

Business Improvement Association really want to put these parklets in and make our city look beautiful, I understand. But they have no idea of the human impact, no feeling for the people this would inconvenience.”

She gestured to the walking stick slung over her forearm. “There’s quite a large number of seniors, you know — a lot of them like myself, with canes, walkers or wheelchairs.”

Anthony Kupferschmidt,

executive director of the West End Seniors’ Network, explained the central concerns expressed during the meeting. “There’s a high proportion of seniors in this neighbourhood, many with disability and mobility issues, so any risk of losing that important transportation connection is viewed as very problematic.”

He then ran over to a senior on a mobility scooter, who’d become stuck halfway onto the sidewalk.

“You need a push, Sheila?”

He returned, adding, “The other part of the issue is that there is a need for more seating. Seniors have a hard time getting from point A to point B, without knowing there’s somewhere they can rest along the way.

But to make that happen, you shouldn’t have to put a parklet in, and certainly not at the cost of a bus stop.”

A second public consultation will be held at Gordon Neighbourhood House, Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m. @DrewClarkeBC

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Organizers are looking for more than 1,000 volunteers to help with Metro Vancouver’s 2020 homeless count.

This year’s count will take place Tuesday, March 3 in the evening and Wednesday, March 4 between 6 a.m. and midnight.

“The regional homeless count is such an important tool for people working with individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as those in the community housing sector,” Jill Atkey, CEO of B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association, said in a press release.

“The demographic information helps service providers tailor their programs to better meet the needs of the individuals they’re serving, and the trends we see over time are critical for policy development for all levels of government and the non-profit groups that are working to prevent and end homelessness.”

Organizers are looking for about 1,200 volunteers in communities across Metro Vancouver, including: • Vancouver • Burnaby • Delta • Langley (City and Township)

Last year’s homeless count in Vancouver recorded 2,223 residents in the city identified as homeless. FILE PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

• New Westminster • North Shore (City and District of North Vancouver and West Vancouver) • Richmond • Ridge Meadows (Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows) • Surrey • Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody) • White Rock Organizers are looking for volunteers with experience in a previous homeless count, those who work with people experiencing homelessness (nurses, outreach staff or first responders), students in social service fields and people with lived experience of homelessness.

Experienced volunteers are paired with people who

are new to the count.

The Metro Vancouver homeless count has been conducted every three years since 2002. In 2017, the count identified about 3,605 people experiencing homelessness in the region, either living on the streets, or staying in shelters or temporarily in other facilities.

The 2020 Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver is an initiative of the Reaching Home Interim Community Entity, Vancity Community Foundation and Community Advisory Board.

The Homeless Count is delivered in partnership with the Indigenous Reaching Home Community Entity, the Indigenous

Homelessness Steering Committee, the Council of Community Homelessness Tables, and is conducted

by BC Non-Profit Housing Association.

In 2012, the City of Vancouver started conducting its own annual homeless count.

Last year’s count, which took place March 12 and 13, found 2,223 residents in Vancouver identified as homeless — 614 living on the street and 1,609 people living in sheltered locations, such as emergency shelters, detox centres, safe houses and hospitals, with no fixed address.

In January, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and provincial housing minister Selina Robinson refused to predict whether this year’s homeless count will show an increase or decrease.

However, both said they are working together to secure land, build more homes and find housing for the city’s homeless, including having 3,500 new homes underway or completed in Vancouver since 2017.

For more info, or to volunteer for this year’s homeless count, visit vancouver.ca.

— with files from Mike Howell

VANCOURIER.COM

T H U R SDAY, F E B RUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH: Thousands marched through Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Friday, Feb. 14, for the 29th annual Women’s Memorial March honouring the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

See related story and more photos at vancourier.com. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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News Vancouver ranked most walkable

While Vancouver was recently ranked the most congested city in Canada, a new ranking finds our coastal city is quite comfortable on foot.

According to Redfin, a technology-powered real

estate brokerage, Vancouver is the most walkable city in Canada.

The ranking is based off of data from Walk Score®, a Redfin company that rates the walkability of cities, neighbourhoods and addresses. Cities where daily errands do not require

a car score 90 points and above, a score of 70 to 89 points means most errands can be accomplished on foot and a score of 50 to 69 indicates that some errands can be completed on foot.

Vancouver was given a walk score of 80, or very walkable, with report

authors noting the city has “a lively downtown, terrific neighbourhoods, easily accessible natural playgrounds all year round, and a thriving economy.”

“Over the past 10 years, Vancouver has placed a strong emphasis on devel-

INFORMATION SESSIONS:

• Prepare zoning changes to enable rental housing development up to six storeys in some commercial mixed-use areas (C-2 zoning) • Encourage rental housing in low-density areas by enhancing existing rezoning policy. These policy changes would apply on sites currently zoned primarily for single-detached houses and duplexes (RS or RT zoning) located on and near arterial roads and within walking distance of public transit, shopping, parks, and schools.

These proposed changes would not apply in recently approved community plan areas (e.g. Grandview-Woodland, Cambie Corridor, Marpole) and areas where planning programs are underway (e.g. Broadway).

In addition, some minor changes are proposed to apply to the C-2 commercial mixed-use areas city-wide (including in community plan areas) to enhance commercial retail units in all new developments and align with the regulations that would apply to new rental developments.

Please join us at one of our information sessions and visit our website to learn more and share your thoughts on the proposed changes.

INFORMATION SESSIONS Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 4 – 7 pm Killarney Community Centre 6260 Killarney Street Thursday, March 5, 2020, 5 – 7 pm Dunbar Community Centre 4747 Dunbar Street Monday, March 9, 2020, 4 – 7 pm CityLab, 511 West Broadway Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 4 – 7 pm Hastings Community Centre 3096 East Hastings Street Wednesday, March 11, 2020, 4 – 7 pm Kitsilano Neighbourhood House 2305 West 7th Avenue Thursday, March 12, 2020, 4 – 7 pm Polish Hall, 4015 Fraser Street Tuesday, March 17, 2020, 4 – 7 pm Sunset Community Centre 6810 Main Street FOR MORE INFORMATION: vancouver.ca/rentalhousing housingpolicy@vancouver.ca

and bike paths, allowing for a green commute and discouraging single-driver vehicles.”

After Vancouver, the cities of Montreal, Toronto, Burnaby and Longueuil, Que. rounded out the top five.

—Elana Shepert, Vancouver Is Awesome

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS:

Updates to the City’s Rental Housing Programs and C-2 Zoning

On November 26, 2019, City Council approved Secured Rental Policy: Incentives for New Rental Housing. The policy approved by Council directed staff to:

opment that supports walkability, said Brooks Findlay, Redfin Vancouver market manager. “Many of the new developments are focused on areas that are close to transit.”

He added, “The city itself has also been very focused on building new walking

Land Assessment Averaging Current year without averaging

Prior year Taxable value ($)

2019 taxes ($)

Taxable value ($)

Est. 2020 taxes ($)

Current year with averaging Taxable value ($)

Est. 2020 taxes ($)

Sample Residential Strata (Class 1) properties Targeted “hot” property

585,000

781

686,000

1,080

609,200

965

Other property not targeted

748,000

999

686,000

1,080

686,000

1,087

Sample Residential Single Family (Class 1) properties Targeted “hot” property

1,297,289

1,733

1,560,000

2,455

1,328,200

2,104

Other property not targeted

1,719,000

2,296

1,568,000

2,468

1,568,000

2,484

1,993,232

8,513

2,445,000

10,549

2,347,600

10,534

2,368,290

10,115

2,500,900

10,790

2,500,900

11,222

Sample Light Industrial (Class 5) properties Targeted “hot” property Other property not targeted

Sample Business & Other (Class 6) properties Targeted “hot” property

427,200

1,825

846,000

3,650

533,200

2,393

Other property not targeted

795,100

3,396

831,900

3,589

831,900

3,733

Since 2015, the City of Vancouver has used targeted land assessment averaging to calculate property taxes as recommended by the Property Tax Policy Review Commission in 2014. While averaging does not increase or decrease the City’s tax revenue, it affects the amount of taxes paid by individual property owners.

The City transitioned from three-year to five-year targeted averaging in 2019. Under the targeted averaging approach, only those properties facing significant year-overyear increases in property values above a certain threshold (“hot” properties) would be considered for averaging. For eligible “hot” properties, the program calculates property taxes for the City and other taxing authorities using an average of the assessed land value for the current and prior four years, plus their current assessed improvement value, provided that this averaged value does not go below the threshold value. All other properties continue to pay property taxes based on their current year BC Assessment value.

The table presented shows the estimated effect of the targeted five-year averaging program on the City of Vancouver’s general purpose tax levy for sample properties based on the thresholds proposed for 2020 (10% above class average change), subject to Council approval. The program requires an adjustment to the tax rates such that properties below the threshold would pay slightly higher taxes to provide tax relief for those “hot” properties above the threshold.

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

Amounts levied by other taxing authorities such as provincial schools, TransLink, BC Assessment, and Metro Vancouver are not included in the analysis.

On March 10, 2020, Vancouver City Council will consider whether to use targeted five-year averaging for residential (Class 1), light industrial (Class 5) and business and other (Class 6) properties, and determine the appropriate thresholds for these property classes if targeted averaging is adopted.

Should Council decide to use targeted five-year averaging, a bylaw will be adopted.

The report, which details the program and how it could impact property taxes, will be posted on our website at: vancouver.ca/averaging FOR MORE INFORMATION: 3-1-1 or vancouver.ca/averaging COMMENTS? Contact Council: vancouver.ca/your-government/contact-council or write to: Mayor and Council 453 West 12th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4 SPEAK TO COUNCIL: Prior to adoption of the bylaw, you may speak in person at the Council meeting on March 10, 2020.

EMAIL: speaker.request@vancouver.ca or phone 604-829-4272 to register.

VANCOURIER.COM

T H U R SDAY, F E B RUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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News 81-unit rental building could be coming to Shaughnessy

A formal rezoning application has been filed for a fourstorey project on a site that includes 4750 Granville St. and 1494 West 32nd Ave. Domus Homes and Stuart Howard Architects are behind the proposal, which envisions 81 apartments.

Single-family homes currently exist on the two properties.

Last June, city council rejected, in a 7-4 vote, a different rezoning application for a property nearby at 4575 Granville St. after Vancouver Hospice Society objected. Stuart Howard Architects was also involved in that proposal.

Domus Homes’ plans will be presented at an open house March 5, but the developer already held a pre-application open house last September.

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The chair of Arbutus Ridge Kerrisdale Shaughnessy (ARKS) Vision Implementation Committee told the Courier at that event that the plan appeared to conform to its community vision. Members of Abundant Housing Vancouver also attended in support of the project — the group has lobbied in favour of more purpose-built rental housing given the housing crisis.

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The rezoning application includes 70 underground parking spaces and 154 bicycle spaces.

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“We’re not demolishing any old, existing rental stock here. To deliver affordability, it’s really the older apartment stock that delivers that. It’s pretty hard to expect a new market building to be affordable to the broad range of the market,” he said at the time.

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Opinion

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The funding bump doesn’t include a contract settlement for teachers — that would come out of contingency funding.

A community is like a family – show B.C. budget sees 1.8 per cent increase for education funding it some local love FILE PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Tracy Sherlock

tracy.sherlock@gmail.com

FAMILY DAY IS A TIME TO CONNECT WITH OUR LOVED ONES AND REFLECT ON OUR GRATITUDE FOR ONE ANOTHER, BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR WIDER COMMUNITIES? LIKE A FAMILY, A COMMUNITY REQUIRES NURTURING AND CARE IN ORDER TO FLOURISH. This week ask yourself: how well do you know the other families in your neighbourhood?

This year marks the United Way’s 90th anniversary.

With the new decade only just begun, United Way is designing innovative solutions to the issues facing communities of today and tomorrow – including social isolation.

“For the past few years, we have been hearing from residents in communities that social isolation is a growing issue,” says Kim Winchell, Director of Social Impact at United Way. Social isolation can look like not knowing our neighbours, difficulty making friends and feeling closed off in communities that are meant to be connected. Critically, the ramifications are much more serious than feeling a little lonely.

Researchers from the University of Chicago have shown a link between social isolation and increased rates of depression, poor sleep, cognitive decline, heart issues and impaired immunity. The most startling conclusion: these negative health impacts of social isolation are observable at every stage of life, meaning everyone in a community, no matter their age, is at risk.

Luckily, community is also one of our greatest sources of strength – sometimes it just needs a little “local love,” as United Way likes to call it. This is the premise of United Way’s Hi Neighbour initiative, which empowers everyday residents with tools to foster connections in their own unique ways.

Kyle moved to the Burke Mountain area of Coquitlam years ago from Quebec and felt overwhelmed at the number of new moms who admit to feeling isolated in the community.

In order to combat this feeling, she started to invite new mothers into her home to get to know one another. After she saw the demand in attendance, Kyle knew she had stumbled upon a cause very important to her, and was desperate to find more ways to help.

Meanwhile, community engagement specialists at United Way were also tracking a sense of isolation in the Burke Mountain area. That’s why it is now home to one of its eight Hi Neighbour initiatives, and why Kyle has been tapped as a local community builder to spark change in the area.

Recently, Kyle launched her podcast Parent Talk to discuss topics affecting new parents in an openminded and safe space. She’s also partnered up with like-minded community connectors, like Audrey Poulin, founder of a Canadian app called Social Mom. Kyle is using these innovative tools to ensure moms have a place to meet, socialize, and organize real-time events in which all communities can benefit. Help from United Way, and its Local Love Fund in Hi Neighbour Burke Mountain, have been instrumental in helping Kyle expand her reach and mobilize local moms.

As it marks its 90th anniversary, United Way continues to serve vulnerable populations through programs in our local communities – including those that help kids, families and isolated moms. United Way also sees change-makers like Kyle as part of the solution.

“Through Hi Neighbour, we have mobilized teams in eight local neighbourhoods where social isolation is a growing concern. These teams are embedded in the community and are working alongside residents as they design their own solutions to the issue,” says Winchell.

“Our society has never been so connected and so disconnected at the same time,” says Geneviève Kyle, Coquitlam resident and founder, producer and co-host of podcast Parent Talk.

“Meeting in person is a very good way to solve loneliness, anxiety and depression because it is all connected.”

“We really see the importance of providing programs and services for those most vulnerable in communities alongside community initiatives,” says Winchell.

“When those two go hand in hand, we really see stronger, sustainable communities.”

To find new ways to mobilize, collaborate or give back to your community, visit United Way’s website at uwlm.ca

“Access to education creates opportunities that span generations — it has the power to change a family forever.”

That’s a point B.C.’s Finance Minister Carole James made early on in her budget speech on Tuesday in Victoria. She was referring to her own mother, who, as a single mom of two in the 1950s, returned to college to become a teacher.

“It put her on the pathway to economic independence and opened doors for me and my sister,” James said.

In that spirit, James’s mostly status-quo budget offers up a new grant program for post-secondary students, B.C. Access Grants, providing up to $4,000 a year per student. Part-time students and those in programs shorter than two years will be eligible for the needsbased grants, James said.

More than 40,000 students are expected to benefit from the program, which will cost $24 million over the next three years.

“As finance minister, but also as a mother and grandmother, I know the success of our province depends on giving our kids the best possible support in life,” James said in her budget speech.

Kindergarten to Grade 12 students will also see a $339-million budget bump, over three years, to cover increased enrolment of more than 5,000 students this year, supports for an increasing number of students with special needs and a supplement for children in foster care. In the 2018-19 school year, there were 73,107 students with special needs in the province, which was up by 3,422 from the year before.

Since 2016, when the teachers won back class size and composition rules in Canada’s Supreme Court, enrolment has grown about 3.2 per cent, while funding has increased by 17.1 per cent, education ministry figures show.

Total education funding for 2020-21 will be $6.7 billion, an increase of 1.8 per cent.

The funding bump doesn’t include a contract settlement for teachers — that would come out of contingency funding — but James insisted the deal won’t be more than what any other unions have received.

“The mandate is the mandate and the money is in the budget for the mandate,” James said.

There is $600 million in contingencies built into the budget, but that also has to cover risks like global trade uncertainty, commodity prices, weather, interest rates and the local housing market.

But B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Teri Mooring said she’s encouraged.

“I’m hopeful the government will return to mediation at the end of February with a willingness to put new funding on the table that will allow both sides to negotiate a good deal,” Mooring said.

The number one issue for Mooring is improving salaries to be more competitive with the rest of Canada.

“B.C. has an unprecedented number of unqualified and uncertified people working in schools as teachers,” Mooring said.

There are unfilled teacher vacancies every day in every region of the province, she said, which force specialist teachers to be redeployed into classrooms rather than helping students with special needs.

Nearly $3 billion will be spent over the next three

years to build, maintain, replace, renovate or expand schools, the budget says.

Overall, B.C.’s economy is forecast to be stable, but debt is forecast to rise to 17.8 per cent of GDP by 2023, the budget shows.

There are two significant new taxes — one on income tax for people earning more than $220,000 a year that is expected to bring in more than $200 million a year and another on sales of soda pop, that is expected to bring in $37 million a year.

In her budget speech, James also referred to her personal experience of growing up in a home that included dozens of foster kids.

“Growing up alongside children of all ages and abilities showed me that while everyone has something to contribute to this world, not everyone is given the opportunity they need to make their mark,” James said.

In 2017, the NDP government waived tuition fees for former foster children at all public post-secondary schools in B.C. and there are now 1,100 such students getting their post-secondary education for free.

To further support those students, the new budget expands eligibility for an income support program, so that about 250 more former youth in care qualify each year.

There are also small funding increases to help Indigenous kids stay connected to their culture, for foster children more generally and for autism support through the children’s ministry.

Although a deal for teachers is essential, given global volatility, a stand-pat budget feels about right. If these numbers pan out, the province should be on solid ground.

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Inbox letters@vancourier.com LETTERS

Column demonizes triple-net leases Re: “Understanding triple-net leases and how they’re killing the soul of Vancouver,” Jan. 20.

Grant Lawrence’s article unfairly demonizes triple-net lease agreements as being unfair to our small business and arts communities.

Businesses have multiple leasing options based on their type of requirements. It’s also common to have gross leases (where the tenant pays a single, fixed rent amount to the landlord, who then pays all expenses) and retail leases (where the tenant pays a base rent plus an additional percentage based on sales).

Commercial leases are negotiable and will vary considerably based on a tenant’s needs.

Triple-net leases provide lower base rents and longer terms. A landlord passes on exact occupancy costs, including property taxes. These direct costs are exactly what a municipality charges the property.

We agree the “highest and best use” policy significantly impacts our small business and arts communities, and not just in B.C. In other jurisdictions, creative ideas are being discussed to offer relief, such as applying “highest and best use” only once a property has submitted a redevelopment application.

B.C. arts and business groups lobbied the City of Vancouver last year to shift two per cent of the property tax burden from busi-

nesses back to residents over the next three years. The same arts and businesses groups, along with regional mayors and councils, have formally requested the province implement a commercial property tax “subclass,” giving municipalities a tool to offer relief from unsustainable property tax increases. Sadly, we have no details about the provincial government’s recent announcement on their ideas.

Building owners take on significant risk purchasing and maintaining commercial properties. Just look across the Rockies to our neighbours in Calgary, who have experienced dramatic decreases to property values. The City of Calgary has implemented major reductions to its annual budgets this year, along with large scale layoffs due to funding shortfalls.

The City of Vancouver’s budget has increased tremendously in the last decade.

Property taxes have risen accordingly to pay for new services, infrastructure and staff. This, coupled with increases to provincial business taxes, have made small businesses increasingly difficult to sustain.

Commercial buildings provide the space for B.C.’s small businesses and arts organizations to thrive. Many landlords already work closely with tenants to try and mitigate the impact of dramatically rising property taxes. Now, we need the province and municipalities to do the same.

Patricia Barnes, Vancouver Business Improvement Area Partnership Damian Stathonikos, president of Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia

Michelle Bhatti

Michael Kissinger

mbhatti@vancourier.com

mkissinger@vancourier.com

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Feature

The curious tale of how this 16-year-old message From Indonesia to Haida Gwaii, 2003 note expresses son’s love and regret to his mother John Kurucz

jkurucz@vancourier.com

Yoris Naikambo’s love for his mom knows no bounds, not even the vast expanse of the world’s largest ocean.

This much we know.

Who Naikambo is, or was, is a mystery the Courier is now trying to piece together.

It’s a needle-in-haystack scenario that started almost two decades ago somewhere near Indonesia. Sixteen years and almost 11,000 kilometres later, the story shifts first to Haida Gwaii and then on to Vancouver.

All of this, after travelling across the largest tract of open water and uninhabited space on Earth.

A message from 2003

Naikambo’s tie to the West Coast began in August 2019. University of B.C. forestry student Nikki Saadat was harvesting seaweed near the village of Queen Charlotte, off the central coast of Haida Gwaii.

The day’s end saw the boat headed back to shore when an empty plastic bottle was found floating in the surf.

Thinking it was garbage and compelled to do the right thing, crew members slowed down to retrieve what appeared to be an obscure looking, one-litre bottle devoid of any labels or markings.

“It was a beautiful day out,” Saadat recalled. “We swooped the boat around so we could pick it up and we saw there was a note inside of it. You could see the ink had kind of faded a bit.”

Nothing was to be gleaned from the note initially, other than the date: November 2003. Crew members took photos, went back to shore and carried on with their lives.

In Saadat’s case that meant coming home to Vancouver and starting a new semester. The note and bottle remained with Saadat’s boss in Haida Gwaii.

The photos drifted

UBC forestry student Nikki Saadat (above) was aboard a boat last summer near Haida Gwaii when she and her crewmates found a message in a bottle. The message originated from somewhere in southeast Asia. Now, Saadat is trying to find out what happened to both the letter writer and his mother. TOP PHOTOS SUBMITTED. BOTTOM PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

from memory until Saadat recently showed them to classmates. The language was identified as Indonesian and Saadat’s classmates suggested that particular type of bottle is ubiquitous in southeast Asia.

Saadat provided the Courier with a translation, which was then verified by many others who speak Indonesian.

Flowing down the page in poetic form, Naikambo

spoke the most universal of truths.

I love you mom. I’m sorry mom.

“Mama… Forgive me for not listening to your words of advice, even though those were what’s best for me.

Mama… Forgive me for being ashamed of your work, even though you did it all just for me, to provide meals on the table everyday.

And, you’ve never complained about any of that,

but you have me, an arrogant son who doesn’t know how to be grateful.”

“It makes me think of a mother’s love and how universal that is,” Saadat said. “All of us have that time when we’re young and we all have that ego that we don’t realize how selfish we may be being. And then you grow up and you look back and you’re like, ‘Wow, my parents were so selfless and did everything for me.’”

Detective work

Cursory searches online and through social media turned up no one with the name Yoris Naikambo.

The Courier then contacted members of the Indonesian community both locally and abroad to understand the possible motivations, cultural references used, and who Naikambo is, or was.

Liza Wajong came to

Canada in 1999 and is long-standing member of PERMAI-BC, an Indonesian cultural group based in Vancouver.

She spoke to the Courier in her West Fourth Avenue coffee shop, Nusa, and was taken aback with emotion as she read the sign-off in which Naikambo tells his mom he loves her.

“I think it’s sad, it’s so sad,” Wajong said. “His mom probably never got a chance to read this letter. He misses his mom so much.”

Wajong then quickly put her detective hat on.

Yoris is a man’s name.

His use of the word “mama” rather than the more common term “ibu” suggests he’s probably Christian, born into modest means and likely raised in a rural setting in east Indonesia.

There’s a good chance Naikambo wrote and cast the letter off from somewhere outside the island nation. He was likely working and earning more in a foreign country and sending money home.

That Naikambo didn’t send the letter through the mail suggests he could have been working on a cruise ship, according to Wajong.

She did a quick search online and suggested his surname may be local to the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku.

This is a bit of a sticking point for Paulus Bunadhie, who offered to assist the Courier in its research after a callout was made on social media. Reached via Facebook Messenger, the Nanaimoite left Indonesia for Canada in 1987 at the age of 13. His family remains there, and Bunadhie returns for a month each year.

“Based on the name, it’s most likely from the Island of Java,” Bunadhie said.

“South Indian Ocean side I bet.”

Otherwise, Bunadhie’s thoughts on the find are largely in lockstep with Wajong.

Despite the morose tone of the missive, neither believes it to be a suicide note — instead, they suggest it’s a confessional written by someone who really misses his mom.

Suicide, Bunadhie suggested, is rare and taboo in Indonesia.

The text flows in a way that’s characteristic of Indonesian poetry or perhaps a lyric for a song.

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Feature

e in a bottle found its way to B.C.’s West Coast Like Wajong, Bunadhie surmised his countryman wrote the poem from somewhere else in southeast Asia.

“Very common for young Indonesians to be able to provide more opportunities for the family. Average monthly income is only $100 to $200 per month,” Bunadhie said.

Bunadhie took great interest in the paper the poem was written on, suggesting it came from Korea or Taiwan.

Zooming in and reading it in minute detail, Business in Vancouver reporter Chuck Chiang recognized the paper to be from a fortune-telling calendar.

The poem was written on an entry dated for Sept. 28, 2003. It was a Sunday, one of the few in recent years that saw that particular date land on a Sunday — meaning, the paper was printed in 2003 and published just weeks before Naikambo wrote on it.

Chiang’s analysis narrowed the search for the paper’s origin down to four possibilities: Hong

Left: This chart showing ocean currents illustrates how a bottle thrown in the ocean near Indonesia could feasibly wash ashore near Haida Gwaii. IMAGE WIKICOMMONS. Right: Nusa coffee shop owner Liza Wajong is also the past president of PERMAI-BC, an Indonesian cultural group based in Vancouver. Wajong translated the message for the Courier and offered some insights as to the life letter writer Yoris Naikambo may have led. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan or Singapore. Chiang’s hunch is based on the fact the text was written in traditional Chinese characters still widely used in those countries.

Those countries’ geographic locations are key to explaining how the bottle ended up near Haida Gwaii, as some ocean currents originating near southeast

Asia travel throughout the northern Pacific Ocean — in line with the Alaska, B.C. and the western seaboard of the U.S. “Surface currents are such that it is plausible for a plastic bottle to make it from Indonesia to Haida Gwaii,” confirmed Dr. Karen Kohfeld, a professor in resource and environmental management at

Simon Fraser University.

Kohfeld also confirmed that a small plastic item such as the bottle in question could remain intact despite being exposed to salt water for 16 years. She knows this because of a now infamous story of a tanker ship capsizing in the mid-Pacific in 1992. The boat contained plastic bath toys, some of which are still

washing up on shores across the globe to this day. The incident helped scientists better understand ocean currents and is still referenced in current research.

Search continues

All of this brings us back to Saadat’s next step. She’s sent emails to Indonesian media outlets in hopes the story gains traction closer to

home, but there have been no bites yet.

Saadat isn’t even sure if Naikambo or his mother are still alive. Natural disasters have plagued that part of the world in the intervening years since 2003: earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, flooding and drought. The earthquake that hit the region on Dec. 26, 2004 killed close to 225,000 people and the Indonesian death toll ranges between 130,000 and 170,000.

Regardless of Naikambo or his mother’s fate, everyone who spoke to the Courier wants some closure: confirming the identities of the people involved or an update on their whereabouts.

If nothing else, it’s a chance to radiate to a larger audience the love a son felt for his mom on an autumn day in 2003.

“I don’t know what the universe is trying to tell us,” Wajong said. “Somehow this message made its way all the way here. If it’s meant to be, someone may pay attention in Indonesia.” @JohnKurucz

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Arts & Entertainment Talking Stick Festival

The 19th annual Talking Stick Festival features a vibrant celebration of In-

digenous artistry, expertise, talent and knowledge from around the world. Experience, learn and delight in storytelling through

theatre, music, dance and visual art. The fest also includes workshops and youth-centric gatherings.

Programming also includes

many pay-what-you-can opportunities.

When: Until Feb. 29.

Where: Various venues talkingstickfest.ca

The British Isles Heritage Festival

The English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Manx and Cornish will be celebrat-

ing their history, customs and heritage in Vancouver. This free event is open to all and features song and dance performances, tons of vendors and heaps of food, including traditional British Isles eats and globally influenced dishes.

When: Feb. 22, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Vancouver Art Gallery, North Plaza eventbrite.ca

Vancouver International Wine Festival

This is the big one for wine fans in Metro Vancouver. Featuring an array of terrific programming, from big tastings to smaller workshops, dinners and other opportunities to taste and discover, the VIWF is the province’s premiere wine event. There is a focus on a different region or country every year, with its own section in the tasting room and thematic seminars and food and wine pairings throughout the week. This year it’s France.

When: Feb. 22 to March 1 Where: Various venues vanwinefest.ca

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Roam the Beaty Biodiversity Museum after hours at this popular admission-by-donation night. All ages are welcome to drop in anytime, with activities available until 8:30 p.m. The evening includes a Raising Big Blue showing, a guided museum tour, and hands-on activities where you can learn more about specimens in the museum and current exhibitions.

When: Feb. 20, 5 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Beaty Biodiversity Museum, 2212 Main Mall facebook.com

Vancouver Chowder Chowdown 2020

This popular event features 13 B.C. chefs who will present their take on the chowder, using sustainable Ocean Wise-approved seafood, alongside craft beer pairings. As a guest, it’s your duty to taste them all, then vote on your favourites. Please note, the Chowder Chowdown is a 19+ event only.

When: Feb. 20, 7 to 11 p.m.

Where: Vancouver Aquarium, 845 Avison Way ocean.org — Lindsay William-Ross Vancouver Is Awesome More events at vancouverisawesome.com.

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Arts & Entertainment THE SHOWBIZ

Actress Ali Liebert gets behind the camera for Crazy8s

The Quieting finds veteran actress at her most personal Sabrina Furminger

sabrina@yvrscreenscene.com

Anyone who follows the Canadian film and television scene is familiar with Ali Liebert. She earned multiple awards and a global fan base for her work as queer icon Betty McRae on the TV series Bomb Girls, and her filmography includes some of the most beloved indie darlings, television series and blockbuster films of the last decade: The Devout, Wonder, BH90210, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Ten Days in the Valley and When Calls The Heart.

In recent years, Liebert has been expanding into producing (movie of the week for Hallmark Channel called Cooking With Love) and directing (a movie of the week for Reel One called Amish Abduction).

But if you think you know Liebert after enjoying all of her previous work, I’m here to tell you that you don’t.

Not really. Liebert herself is

only just figuring out what she can do. And over the last couple of months, she’s found her storytelling voice and, on Feb. 22, audiences will finally get a chance to hear what she has to say.

Liebert is one of six Vancouver filmmakers with a short film screening at the 2020 Crazy8s Gala. More than 200 filmmaking teams competed for the opportunity to produce their films in eight days (three days for shooting and five days for editing). Liebert’s film is The Quieting, and even though she does not act in it, she says it’s the most personal she’s ever been in her work.

“This is the first thing I’ve ever written and I also directed it,” says Liebert.

“There are so many personal ties. My mom passed away and her passing is a through-line in the story.

We even include photos of us together. It’s going to be meaningful for people who know me, but I’m

Ali Liebert’s The Quieting screens Feb. 22 at the 2020 Crazy8s Gala.

hoping that it has a broader reach for people who don’t know me, and that they can relate.”

The Quieting draws inspiration from Liebert’s own experience coming out as queer in her 30s. This emotional gut-punch of a film stars two heavyweights of the Canadian screen scene: Sara Canning (Remedy and The Vampire Diaries) and Julia Sarah Stone (Weirdos and Honey Bee). Canning

plays Maggie, a 30-something who is one night away from her first date ever with a woman. Stone appears as a figure from Maggie’s past who doesn’t want her to make the leap.

“When I went on my first date with a woman, I was a total maniac,” recalls Liebert. “You have 33 years of quote-unquote being straight behind you — and, if I’m honest, there were many signs before I was 33

that I pushed down — and I had always wanted to tell the story of that feeling, and the anxiety and insecurity that comes with making the plunge in your 30s. Crazy8s gave me the opportunity to finally tell this story.”

While The Quieting is undeniably and unequivocally a queer story, Liebert adds that it’s not just a queer story.

“It’s the night before any type of turning point. It doesn’t have to be coming out, but how, for me, the fear that doesn’t want you to change can get so loud, and I’m hoping that it gives people strength.”

The Quieting was filmed over three days in early February. Filming took place primarily in Liebert’s home.

More than 50 people came out to bring The Quieting from page to screen. “The majority of the crew are people I’ve worked with over the last 20 years who responded to the script and who wanted to support

me,” says Liebert. “I’ve been weeping about that a lot.”

Liebert has other projects — including a feature film — in development, and those of us who follow her work should expect to see glimpses of The Quieting in future projects, namely in the form of the confidence and the honesty that the film managed to unleash.

“The Quieting has allowed me to trust my voice as a storyteller,” says Liebert. “I have never worked so hard in my life. I’ve never pushed myself as an artist like this.

This is a life-changing experience for me. This has inspired me to continue as a writer-director, and to tell more queer stories. Even though I’ve directed before, this is me developing my style and my point of view as a director.”

The 2020 Crazy8s Gala Screening takes place Feb. 22 at the Centre. Tickets at crazy8s.film.

Councillor pitches ‘rent bank’ for cultural spaces at risk of closing Pete Fry’s motion aimed to address ongoing struggles of local arts spaces John Kurucz

jkurucz@vancourier.com

Green Party Coun. Pete Fry wants to throw a muchneeded life preserver into the troubled waters drowning Vancouver’s arts and culture communities.

It’s an idea that appears without precedent in Canada. And, yes, the life preserver will be green.

Fry introduced a motion last week asking staff to establish “a cultural spaces rent bank,” a type of stop-

gap measure intended to help those in tough financial spots from losing the spaces in which they create.

The motion comes after a brutal start to the year for Vancouver artists, as venues such as the Toast Collective, CBDB and Little Mountain Gallery all grapple with closure.

“We’ve incrementally lost spaces over the years to the point that it’s so dire,” Fry told the Courier on Feb. 14. “Back in my day in warehouse spaces, we

would get one space shut down and we would find another space because there were other spaces available.

I don’t think those options are as readily available now.”

The cultural spaces rent bank idea is based on a funding model already in use for renters in Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster and Toronto. It works by way of a personal loan issued to someone with a regular income stream facing eviction due to a

short-term financial crisis: illness, job loss, unexpected expenses, relationship breakdown or eviction.

The loans are low-cost or no-cost and have generous repayment terms, usually up to 24 months.

Established in 2012, Vancouver’s rent bank has helped hundreds. The repayment rate is 67 per cent locally and closer to 80 per cent in Surrey, according to Fry. The seed money for the city’s rent bank comes from the Vancouver Foun-

dation, Hollyburn Properties and Vancity, among others.

Fry’s preliminary talks with staff suggest the cultural rent bank is at least six to eight months out from being a reality. It’s still early days to speculate on the process, but Fry envisions applicants providing financial information, the context around their hardship and proof of an ability to repay as part of the vetting process.

Who the seed money will

come from remains to be seen.

The city already has grant programs in place, but Fry’s motion has more immediacy to it and casts a larger net.

“Access to the grants can be a little bit challenging sometimes because typically they go to established cultural practitioners, they need to be in operation for 10 years and the timelines to get these grants can be a little bit challenging,” he said.

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The hockey blog that knows who needs the puck

Canucks should look to reignite chemistry between Pearson and Toffoli The two friends were great together on ‘That 70s Line’ with the L.A. Kings

Backhand Sauce Daniel Wagner

The Canucks are all-in on making the playoffs this season. If that wasn’t clear when general manager Jim Benning traded a first-round pick for J.T. Miller at the 2019 draft, it became crystal clear when Benning traded Tyler Madden and a second-round pick for Tyler Toffoli.

It’s understandable: the Canucks have missed the playoffs in four straight seasons, something untenable to the Canucks’ ownership and fan base. It’s hard to imagine Benning keeping his job if the Canucks missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year, no matter what progress the team made this season.

Fortunately for the Canucks, Miller and Toffoli are good players, the right type of veterans to complement the team’s young core. An added bonus for acquiring Toffoli is that he and Tanner Pearson are very familiar with each other.

“They’re best friends,” said Benning, and it’s true. The two wingers played together in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs and both graduated to the NHL at the same time. Along with Jeff Carter, they formed “That 70s Line,” so named because they each had a number in the 70s.

That line played a key role in the Kings’ Stanley Cup win in 2014, but beyond their chemistry on the ice, Pearson and Toffoli have plenty of chemistry off the ice as well.

“It’s no secret that we’re really good friends,” said Pearson after Toffoli’s first practice on Tuesday. “We still talk a lot. I think we’re probably talking at least once a week. When I actually went to L.A. for bye week, he gave me his house. Just little things like that, he’s a great guy.”

It didn’t start out that way. The two wingers were fierce rivals in the OHL, with Toffoli’s Ottawa 67’s butting heads with Pearson’s Barrie Colts. One particular highsticking incident cemented their status as enemies.

“I don’t even remember exactly, I just remember him slashing me in the chin,” said Toffoli.

“We didn’t like each other very much in Junior,” Pearson admitted after confessing to the high stick. “But then we started playing together in [Manchester] and built a pretty good friendship.”

Pearson talked about how excited he was for Toffoli to join the team and said he’ll “fit right in” when it comes to the Canucks’ dynamic in the locker room. What will matter

Stick-taps & Glove-drops • A tap of the stick to the Canucks for

providing some clarity on the timeline for Josh Leivo and Brock Boeser, both of whom are now expected to miss the rest of the regular season. The Canucks have been a bit secretive with injuries, but getting that update clarifies the situation significantly.

• I’m dropping the gloves with the Canucks’ reluctance to give Sven Baertschi another shot. Benning made it clear on Tuesday that the team considered calling up Reid Boucher prior to trading for Toffoli, but not Baertschi.

Big Numbers • 18 Toffoli had 18 goals at the time of

the trade, which ties him at third on the Canucks with Bo Horvat.

Tanner Pearson says he’s looking forward to reuniting with former L.A. Kings teammate Tyler Toffoli, who was acquired in a recent trade. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

most, however, is what happens on the ice.

“Him and I played a lot of years together and a lot of minutes and we know how each other play,” said Pearson. “Even out in practice, it’s two on two but it’s funny because I knew where he was going to be the whole time.”

“The faster you can build chemistry the better off you are,” he added.

At Toffoli’s first practice in Vancouver, however, he skated on the top line with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, directly taking the spot of the injured Brock Boeser.

With Boeser expected to miss the rest of the regular season, if not more, it makes sense that the Canucks would try Toffoli on the top line. Where the Canucks need the most help, however, is on the second line, where Pearson and Bo Horvat could use an upgrade on the right wing.

Considering the existing chemistry between Pearson and Toffoli, the Canucks should look to take advantage and upgrade the Horvat line. Toffoli can drive puck possession in a positive direction, which would make him a strong fit for the defensive zone starts and tough matchups that the Horvat line regularly faces.

Pettersson and Miller are a strong enough duo that they should be able to find chemistry with other wingers. In particular, Jake Virtanen has found some success this season on the top line, but the Canucks could try Zack MacEwen or Antoine Roussel on his off-wing.

Making the Horvat line more dangerous would give the Canucks a dual threat to score in the top-six, where right now it’s a little too easy for opposing teams to focus on the top line.

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• 165 One area where Toffoli will replace Boeser is his love of shooting the puck.

Boeser had a team-leading 166 shots this season prior to his injury; Toffoli has 165 shots so far this season.

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604-630-3300

1. Spanish dish 2. Concurs 3. __and her sisters 4. Patti Hearst’s captors 5. Used to refer to cited works 6. A state of excited movement 8. Advertising term (abbr.)

9. Nocturnal S. American rodent 11. New York art district 14. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

15. Pre-release viewing 18. Northwestern Canadian territory (abbr.)

A20

THE VAN COU VER CO URIER T H U R SDAY, F E B RUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 2 0

VAN CO U RI E R. C OM

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Cast your votes in the Stars of Vancouver Reader’s Choice Awards and be entered to win a luxurious spa getaway for two at the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort!

2020

ART & CULTURE 1 CASINO 2 CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINMENT 3 CLASSICAL MUSIC ENSEMBLE 4 COMEDY CLUB 5 COMMUNITY FESTIVAL 6 CRAFT FAIR

Vote online at vancourier.com/contests or alternatively, mail your completed ballot to us at 303 West 5th Avenue, V5Y 1J6.

Must vote in at least 25 categories. Nominees must be located in the City of Vancouver.

VOTING ENDS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2020. ONE ENTRY PER READER. 14 ITALIAN RESTAURANT

13 CHARITY

40 LAWYER

5 DENTURE CLINIC

15 JAPANESE RESTAURANT

14 COBBLER

41 LIQUOR/WINE STORE

6 FERTILITY

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15 COMMUNITY CENTRE

42 MEAL KIT DELIVERY

7 HEALTH & FITNESS CENTRE

17 LATE NIGHT EATS

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8 HEALTH & WELLNESS STORE

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18 LATIN AMERICAN RESTAURANT 19 MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT 20 NEW RESTAURANT (OPENED IN 2019)

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21 PATIO

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49 PRIVATE SCHOOL

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50 REALTOR

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26 TACO

13 OPERA/CHORAL GROUP

27 THAI RESTAURANT

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28 VEGAN

15 TOURIST ATTRACTION

29 VEGETARIAN

7 DANCE/THEATRE PRODUCTION COMPANY 8 GALLERY/MUSEUM 9 INDEPENDENT CINEMA

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30 WORKING LUNCH

LIFESTYLE & SERVICES 1 APPAREL 2 ART & CRAFT SUPPLIES 3 AUTO REPAIR 4 BABY/CHILDREN’S STORE 5 BARBERSHOP 6 BIKE SHOP 7 BRIDAL STORE 8 BUTCHER

25 GARDEN STORE 26 GAS STATION 27 GIFT SHOP 28 GROCERY STORE 29 HAIR SALON 30 HARDWARE STORE 31 HEARING AID 32 HOME APPLIANCE STORE

52 SENIORS RESIDENCE 53 SHOE STORE 54 SHOPPING CENTRE 55 SPA/BEAUTY THERAPY 56 TOY STORE 57 TRAVEL AGENCY 58 VETERINARIAN

17 WALK-IN CLINIC 18 YOGA

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES 1 URBAN HIKE 2 BEACH 3 PUBLIC GARDEN 4 OFF-LEASH DOG PARK

59 VINTAGE/ CONSIGNMENT STORE

5 BIKE TRAIL

60 WEDDING VENUE

6 RUNNING TRAIL

35 INSURANCE BROKER

HEALTH & WELLNESS

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36 JEWELLERY

1 ACUPUNCTURE

1 FIRST DATE

37 KITCHENWARE STORE

2 CHIROPRACTOR

2 MEETING SINGLES

38 LANDSCAPING

3 CROSSFIT STUDIO

3 FAMILY OUTING

39 LASER & SKIN CLINIC

4 DENTIST

4 DOG WALK

33 HOME RENOVATIONS 34 HOTEL

9 CAR DEALER 10 CAR SHARE

FIRST & LAST NAME

11 CAR WASH

EMAIL

12 CATERER

PHONE

2020

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8

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8

F2

THE VA NCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, F E BUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 2 0

T H U R SDAY, F E B RUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 THE VA NCOUVER COURIER

VA NCOURIER.COM

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1

MORGAN CREEK

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2

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5

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3

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6

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IN PERSON

7

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8 $2.2 MILLION TAX FREE CASH!

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F3

F4

THE VA NCO UVER COUR IER T H U R SDAY, F E B RUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 2 0

VAN CO U RI E R. C OM

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Please join us in our quest to improve kids’ lives. Learn more at bcchf.ca