Vancouver Courier September 24 2014 by Vancouver Courier

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WEDNESDAY

September 24 2014

Remembering Jim Deva

Vol. 105 No. 77

STATE OF THE ARTS 23

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School start brings relief

Parents, kids, teachers return to routine Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

Police Chief Jim Chu says police calls to the Marguerite Ford Apartments on West Second Avenue, like the one captured in this photograph, have “taxed the resources” of patrol officers in the district. PHOTO MIKE HOWELL

Social housing project generates 729 police calls in first 16 months Housing minister “not happy with outcome”

Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

A man in handcuffs lies face down on the sidewalk outside the Marguerite Ford Apartments, a recently opened 147-unit social housing complex on the edge of the former Olympic Village. A crimson shin pad pokes out from one of the man’s pant legs. A police ofﬁcer in plain clothes stands next to him, holding a bat-sized wooden stick seized from the combatant who turns out to be a resident of the apartments at 215 West Second Ave.

Police arrested him after he and another tenant got into a fight with a former resident in the lobby. The fight spilled out onto the sidewalk, where police on patrol intervened in the melee. The incident — the aftermath of which was witnessed by the Courier in March and featured in a photograph with this article — was one of hundreds police responded to over the past 16 months at the building. Vancouver police answered 729 calls to the Marguerite Ford Apartments from the month it opened in May 2013 to August of this year. The calls involved fights, drugs, weapons, threats, break-ins, stolen property, frauds, suicide attempts, domestic disputes, missing persons, abandoned 911 calls and assisting paramedics and firefighters. In comparison, the 129-unit social housing building known as First Place, located

a few blocks east near Main and First Avenue, recorded 261 police calls in its ﬁrst 16 months of operation. Why such a disparity? The simple answer, as provided by city manager Penny Ballem, is this: Too many homeless people with mental health and addictions issues were moved into Marguerite Ford too quickly and didn’t get the support they needed. “The honest truth is, we got behind there,” said Ballem by telephone from her ofﬁce. “That got away on us and we’ve done a lot of work to bring it back.” Surveillance cameras, a security guard, creating one entrance and exit to the building, adding more staff, more visits from health care workers, forming a committee that includes neighbours and relocating some tenants are among the changes. Continued on page 12

On the first day of class, students and their parents at John Norquay elementary were greeted by the parent advisory council with baked goods. Inside teacher-librarian Joy Smith checked whether parents knew school would only be in session for a short time Monday, with the first full day of classes to begin across the district Tuesday. Outside, kids hollered as they were dropped off and said goodbye to their parents. In a school year delayed by a bitter strike, it was all about returning to normal, and for parents and many students alike, it couldn’t come too soon. Parent Trieu Duong brought his son Michael to school for the first time since classes shut down prematurely in June. He was happy to have his son at school instead of hanging out at the family’s restaurant with his mother because there was no one else to take care of him. Michael was happy his summer vacation stretched three weeks longer than scheduled because of the prolonged labour dispute between teachers and the government. The Grade 5 student feels shy about making friends at a school that’s new to him. He attended Queen Alexandra until the family moved. Parent Lovelle Dy said her two school-aged children, who are in Grades 3 and 5, urged her to hurry while they waited outside for her in the rain because they were so keen to return to school. “They said it’s so boring at home, saying when is school going to come back again? Complaining every day,” Dy said. Her children swam at Killarney Community Centre, played soccer and visited the library while they waited for school to start. Dy is relieved she’ll be able to focus on her 10-month old son during the school days ahead. BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE AT IDSWEST.COM OR AT THE DOOR

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News FOI request to city takes five months, reveals little

12TH&CAMBIE Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

A few weeks ago, I sent a tweet out into the Twittersphere that got some attention. If you can believe it, I was trending on Twitter for a few hours in early September, according to Trendsmap Vancouver. Which, of course, means all that notoriety has put me in line for a signiﬁcant raise and Bill Maher has called to get me on his show. Oh, how I joke. Let’s get to the tweet… This is what I sent out: “Sure glad I waited 5 months for that #FOI from @cityofvancouver #publicloses #vanpoli.” Genius, right? Not exactly. Truth be told, it was really the photograph accompanying the tweet, which was taken by colleague Michael Kissinger, that resulted in the whopping 5,800 views of my little Twitter bomb. The photograph was a

simple shot of my hands holding four redacted pages I received from the City of Vancouver. I posed with four pages for effect but should have been more creative and shown you all 48 fully or partially redacted pages. Yes, 48 pages out of a possible 68. Crazy, eh? Many of you were curious about the topic of my request. Now I can tell you because I wrote a story that appears on the front page of today’s edition of the paper. For the better part of a year, I’ve wanted to write a story about the Marguerite Ford Apartments at 215 West Second Ave. This is one of the 14 social housing buildings built or under development by the province, the city and the Streetohome Foundation. I wanted to pursue the story after hearing complaints from neighbours and regularly noticing police cars and ﬁre trucks parked out front of the building. But rather than put something together earlier this year, I decided to ﬁle a

The Courier’s request for information from the city about a troubled social housing building resulted in dozens of redacted pages. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act request with the city to see what else I could ﬁnd out. Which, it turned out, wasn’t much. This is what I wanted: “All reports, memos, emails, correspondence and repair bills from April 1, 2013 to April 10, 2014 regarding the Marguerite

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Ford Apartments (209, 215 and 229 West 2nd Avenue) from the Housing Department and/or authored by or copied to Abigail Bond, Penny Ballem, Brenda Prosken, Jim Chu and John McKearney.” What I received was a letter citing section after section of the FOI Act and why I couldn’t read all 68

pages. I didn’t even bother to examine the reasons, knowing it would probably take another ﬁve months or so to get a response. I used some of the information from my request in today’s story. But the rest was collected through interviews, reports and information given by the two non-proﬁts operating the

Marguerite Ford building. The Vancouver Police Department also provided me with statistics showing number of calls to the building. Both Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and the B.C. Ambulance Service were no help, refusing to say how many times each responded to calls at the building. To sum up: After ﬁve months of waiting, the city provided a stack full of redacted pages about a public building that cost $38 million. And services such as the ﬁre department, which is funded by the public, won’t provide basic information about how many times they responded to calls at the $38 million public building. Note: The B.C. government is apparently no better in its release of information as a report released Tuesday by B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham revealed. The title says it all, “A Step Backwards: Report Card on Government’s Access to Information Responses.” twitter.com/Howellings

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

News Schools ‘more than just an educational facility’

Continued from page 1 Margaret Jorgensen, who’s starting her ﬁrst year as Norquay’s principal, felt relatively relaxed about the start of school, “It was a hard way to say goodbye to a community and a hard way to enter a new community because all those normal transition things that I would normally attend, year-end events, yearend community events, I didn’t have an opportunity to,” said the former principal at Strathcona elementary. “But the staff and the parents [at Norquay] have been really, really warm and welcoming.” Teachers were paid to work Friday, whether they readied their classrooms or not. “The parking lot was completely full here on Friday,” said Smith. “I’m really, really happy to be back,” added the woman who has worked in schools for more than 25 years. “The strike was brutal. It was brutal. But I’m trying to put that all behind me and just move on.” Two dozen Grade 1

Early Mandarin Bilingual Grade 1 teacher Pinky Kwan gets her class going on the first day of school for the 2014-2015 year at Norquay elementary, Sept. 22. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

students gathered at Pinky Kwan’s feet and spoke mainly in Mandarin Monday morning. They were the same students she taught in kindergarten in the Early Mandarin Bilingual program last year. They all returned.

“That’s why their Mandarin is so good,” she told the Courier after class, with a laugh. The Mandarin program is in its fourth year at Norquay and most of Kwan’s 24 Grade 1 students hail from families that speak

no Mandarin at home. The program is delivered half in Mandarin and half in English so it doesn’t serve English-as-asecond-language students well. EMB students need to be ﬂuent in English ﬁrst. The program primar-

ily focuses on spoken Mandarin. PAC co-chair Mary Wilson’s oldest child, Isla, is entering Grade 2 in the Mandarin program and Wilson says Isla can understand and speak in simple sentences to shopkeepers in Chinatown. “And they all say she has a fabulous accent,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of funny because a little kid speaking Chinese, they don’t expect it at all.” Isla also recognizes some Chinese characters. Wilson’s daughter Ana starts kindergarten in the Mandarin program, which is open to children from across the district, this week. The family lives near Rogers Arena. Wilson works for a large international organization, has frequent contact with people in Asia and sees the value of learning a second language. “It’s a huge gift for a child,” said Wilson, who doesn’t speak a second language and wishes she did. “In fact, I think we’ll all end up taking Mandarin

lessons eventually… So I can hear what they’re planning in a different language right in front of me, right,” she said. As parents clustered under umbrellas outside the school at 9:30 Monday morning, Kwan reminded her students to bring lunches Tuesday because the school’s breakfast and lunch program wouldn’t resume until Wednesday. That’s what the public needs to remember, said Smith. Schools offer “so much more than just an education facility. “The woman that runs the breakfast and the lunch program is like the most wonderful mother to everybody,” Smith said. “All those connections kids have with so many different people on staff, plus with each other, that all goes missing when school’s not in.” The new playground at the back of the school, which the PAC raised money for and had installed last year, buzzed at 9:40 Monday morning as children laughed, slid and swung. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Greens open to alliance — after the election Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

The Green Party of Vancouver is seeking the balance of power on city council so it can implement a series of policies outlined in an ambitious platform released last Thursday to kick off the party’s civic campaign. To do that, Coun. Adriane Carr, who is the party’s lone representative on council, would ﬁrst need candidates Pete Fry and Cleta Brown to get elected to a council presently dominated by Vision Vancouver. Then the party would have to seek alliances on the 11-member council, which has been ruled by Vision Vancouver since 2008. The NPA has two spots on council with George Afﬂeck and Elizabeth Ball. “If there’s no majority, it’ll be a better council — it’ll be a more fair, it’ll be a more transparent, it’ll be a more democratic council,” said Carr from a gazebo outside the Telus World of Science, where she was joined by the party’s candidates for council, park

board and school board. Earlier this year, the Green party’s membership decided against seeking alliances with any parties in its campaign. Green members also chose not to run a mayoral candidate or endorse someone running for mayor. Those decisions, Carr said, should not be read as the Greens wanting to go it alone if she, Fry and Brown are elected. But Carr wouldn’t say which party or parties the Greens would seek alliances with in a new council. “The way Greens have worked in jurisdictions where they’ve been elected all over the world — forming coalition governments in many, many cities, states, countries — is to not do those alliances beforehand,” Carr said. “But to wait and see what the electorate delivers and working with those who are elected towards collaborative decision making at the council table.” The Greens’ candidates for park board are former park board commissioner Stuart Mackinnon, who

Green city council candidate Cleta Brown (right) and incumbent Green Coun. Adriane Carr were among the party candidates unveiling their platform Thursday morning. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

is a special education teacher, and Michael Wiebe, a business owner and vice-president of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association. Longtime parent advisory council leader Janet Fraser, who is a chemist, is running for school board along with Mischa Oak, a teacher and queer rights advocate. The Greens’ platform outlines a variety of initia-

tives, including revamping the city’s planning process to involve more people, holding public hearings in neighbourhoods, increasing development fees and moving morning and afternoon council meetings to the evening for more working people to participate in decisions. On the park board side, the Greens want to give community centres independence to make plan-

ning decisions that “reﬂect the community needs and values,” according to the platform posted Thursday on the party’s website. The party also favours a plebiscite on whether to keep whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium. The party’s education planks includes working to build more schools in the International Village,

Coal Harbour, the former Olympic Village and East Fraserlands. Also, the Greens would fully implement the updated sexual orientation and gender identities policy and “monitor its implementation and success at every school.” The party would upgrade the LGBTQ support worker to full time. At the root of the party’s platform, and what became a common refrain at Thursday’s press conference, is the Greens want to get more people involved in decisions, particularly those fed up with Vision Vancouver and its model of public consultation. “We are seeing a council dominated by Vision where the decisions are made in caucus meetings behind closed doors,” Carr said. Mayor Gregor Robertson responded to the criticism Thursday, saying the city has had “unprecedented levels of engagement” and consultation in neighbourhoods. He said Vision Vancouver is committed to “keep improving on that front.” The election is Nov. 15. twitter.com/Howellings

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Glen Chernen (right) stepped down last week from running for mayor in order to support independent candidate Bob Kasting, who tossed his hat into the ring Sept. 25. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Chernen drops out of mayoral race Cedar Party endorses independent Kastings

Andrew Fleming

aﬂeming@vancourier.com

Toronto’s Rob Ford isn’t the only person running for mayor in a fall civic election to drop out and go for city council instead. The Cedar Party’s Glen Chernen, however, didn’t decide to resign his mayoral candidacy due to health reasons but rather because he didn’t want to run against newly announced independent candidate Bob Kasting. Chernen made the announcement last Friday afternoon at a press conference held in the upstart party’s office in Kitsilano, saying he first met Kasting when looking to hire a litigation lawyer over a conflict-of-interest lawsuit filed against Mayor Gregor Robertson. “I met Bob about a year ago and throughout the past six months have gotten to know him,” Chernen said. “I heard Bob might be interested in running for mayor and I was relieved when I got the indication

that he really wanted to run. I am relieved he is taking over and I can step back and I will be running for council. I fully support Bob’s run for mayor with anything I can provide.” Kasting announced his mayoral candidacy Sept. 17 outside city hall. When asked by Globe and Mail reporter Frances Bula why he chose to run against Chernen, who was also at the meeting, he replied that he felt Chernen would make a much better candidate for city council instead. Two days later, Chernen now joins his brother Nicholas on the ballot as Cedar Party members running for city council. Other candidates include Charlene Gunn, Jeremy Gustafson and Wesley Mussio. Kasting also attended the announcement but said he has no plans to run as a Cedar Party candidate, saying that his desire to rid city hall from the inﬂuence of deeppocketed development companies is something a number

of smaller parties share. “I am both humbled and honoured by the fact that Glen had decided what he believes, and what I believe, are the best interests of Vancouver and to step aside to create a coalition of people who are thinking in a like-minded way,” said Kasting. “I think I have things in common with several of the small parties, or at least less small parties without the powers of the larger parties that are development-funded and development-controlled. Cedar is one of them and, for example, I looked in the press this morning and saw what the principles of the Green Party are and they are remarkably similar and TEAM’s as well.” Kasting also received an endorsement from Bill McCreery, a former NPA council candidate who last year started The Electors Action Movement (TEAM) grassroots party that isn’t running any candidates in the Nov. 15 election. twitter.com/ﬂematic AL W PU AY B S W LI EL C CO

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News Locally made Ebola drug fasttracked by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is fast-tracking an experimental Ebola treatment developed by a Vancouver-based pharmaceutical company. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals announced Sept. 22 the FDA had given the company a green light to treat patients with conﬁrmed or suspected Ebola virus infections outside clinical trials. In July, the FDA put a hold on Tekmira’s TKMEbola drug. The hold prevented the pharmaceutical company from conducting clinical trials on humans. But in August, the U.S. government agency partially lifted the hold, allowing clinical trials on humans. Tekmira is now developing TKM-Ebola under a

$140 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. The current Ebola outbreak hitting West Africa is the largest in history, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. More than 2,600 people have died this year after contracting the virus.

Lawsuit launched over coal terminal

Ecojustice has launched a legal challenge of Port Metro Vancouver’s approval of a new coal transport terminal at Fraser Surrey Docks. In a suit ﬁled in Federal Court Sept. 19 on behalf of two individuals and two organizations, Ecojustice asks that the approval of the new coal terminal be overturned on the basis it breaches certain provisions of the Canadian Environmental

Assessment Act. On August 21, Port Metro Vancouver approved a $20 million coal transport facility at Fraser Surrey docks that would be used to transport thermal coal from Wyoming to barges, where it would go to Texada Island and then be loaded onto ships destined for Asia. In its application, Ecojustice argues Port Metro Vancouver and the Attorney General of Canada failed to consider the adverse environmental consequences of burning coal in other countries. It also argues on behalf of Surrey resident Christine Dujmovich and Paula Williams that health impacts on residents near the terminal were not fully taken into consideration. Ecojustice also alleges that Port Metro staff acted in a biased manner.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Vision promises to boost breakfast program for kids

NPA’s LaPointe says it was his idea Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

Mayor Gregor Robertson and school board chair Patti Bacchus, both Vision Vancouver candidates up for re-election, promised to double the amount of money spent on a breakfast program for hungry Vancouver kids. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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ing Vision Vancouver party promise to spend $400,000 to double the amount of money dedicated to the Vancouver School Board’s breakfast program. The budget for the program is currently at $200,000, all of it raised through charitable donations. The program serves 650 students breakfast every morning at 12 elementary schools. The $400,000 would be provided from the city and means 1,300 students could receive breakfast, said Mayor Gregor Robertson at a press conference last Thursday to announce his campaign promise. “There is no reason why in a city as compassionate and prosperous as Vancouver that every kid shouldn’t have a good start to the day and a warm meal,” he said on a sidewalk outside Strathcona Elementary school, which has a breakfast program. “That is one way to make sure that every kid in Vancouver can succeed and achieve their dreams.” The mayor, who is seeking a third term in ofﬁce, challenged other levels of government to match the $400,000 contribution, which he said would come from a contingency fund. Asked whether the city’s contribution would be the beginning of more funding for programs that should ultimately be funded by the provincial government, Robertson said it was important the city make a statement and commitment ﬁrst. Patti Bacchus, the school board chairperson and member of Vision Vancouver, noted last year’s breakfast program had a $60,000 shortfall. Bacchus, who is also seeking re-election in November, said the $400,000 will give stable funding to the program. Bacchus said the most cost-effective way to deliver the program is through the schools, noting it costs about $1.80 per child per day to serve a nutritious breakfast. “Which would be far

more expensive to set up in any other way,” she said, noting the current budget can fluctuate depending on charitable donations. “If the donors don’t come through, or there is a gap, then we can say there is funding there and we can continue, at minimum, doubling the program.” News of Vision’s promise quickly reached Kirk LaPointe, the NPA’s mayoral candidate who on Sept. 7 — the day he announced he was running for mayor — talked about doing more for poor children in Vancouver. “Gregor Robertson has had six years to develop this program and hasn’t,” LaPointe wrote on his blog Thursday. “His group clearly heard that I have been talking about this idea in community groups and in discussions from the first day of my candidacy, so their announcement today is designed to take on the idea. I wonder how much people can trust him to do that, given that he hasn’t pursued it to date. But the idea is essential if we’re going to build the Vancouver we want, and I know I can deliver it authentically.” The NPA also released a video today, telling LaPointe’s story of poverty. As a child, LaPointe said in his first press conference, he grew up in poverty in west Toronto where he never knew his father. He only met his brother when he was seven or eight, his mother having to choose whom she could afford to raise before sending one child to live with relatives in New Brunswick. “I have a great deal of understanding of what that life is like to have an empty stomach when you go to school,” he said, noting some days he resorted to eating butter and sugar sandwiches. “And those are people that I would prefer to focus on.” The NPA has yet to roll out its platform or give specifics on what a breakfast program or programs devoted to children would look like. The election is Nov. 15. twitter.com/Howellings

W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

City wants CP to return to table CP debuts public relations campaign criticizing ‘internal city politics’

Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

A Vancouver city councillor says the city will not be “bullied” into a deal with Canadian Paciﬁc over the Arbutus Corridor lands now that the train company has ramped up its public relations campaign over the property that runs from False Creek to the Fraser River. Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal was reacting to Canadian Paciﬁc’s full page ad published Monday in both the Vancouver Sun and Province titled “clarity and context” that said the company must get “fair value” for its property or put it to use. “I’m really disappointed and we’re not going to be bullied into paying a huge amount more than the transportation value of that land, and I wish they would come back to the table with us,” said Deal. At issue is determining fair value, with CP referring to a previous independent appraisal of the lands saying it

CP began clearing trespassing gardens and items from the Arbutus Corridor in August. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

was valued at more than $400 million. Presently, the lands would be worth more, said the ad signed by chief executive ofﬁcer E. Hunter Harrison. “Recognizing the importance of this property to the citizens of Vancouver, CP has been prepared to accept far less in order to reach an agreement,” said the ad, which was also to run in this issue of the Courier. “The City of Vancouver has, in turn, offered only a fraction of that discounted price.” But Deal pointed out

the appraisal included the value of the line’s adjoining residential and commercial lands which she said signiﬁcantly increases the price. The adjoining lands cannot be included, she said, because the permitted land use of the corridor — as determined in a lengthy court battle — is for transportation. Deal said the city’s assessment value of the land as a transportation corridor is about $20 million. In Richmond, she said, that municipality was able

to buy in 2010 a portion of CP’s lands based on what it was worth as a transportation corridor. The city expects the same type of parameters, Deal said. The CP ad, which comes as Deal’s Vision party and others are ramping up their re-election campaigns, said “we fear that due to internal city politics, the council is not able to reach a fair and equitable settlement.” Deal she had no idea what CP was referring to. The ad goes on to say CP has a responsibility to its shareholders to generate a return on its assets. “If there is no agreement, we will use it for rail operations and expect to have the rail line up to operating standards later this fall,” the ad said. In August, CP began removing community gardens and structures at the south end of the Arbutus Corridor. CP stopped using the line in 2001, which led to the planting of hundreds of gardens and regular use of the corridor by pedestrians and cyclists. twitter.com/Howellings

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Opinion

Time to put the focus Broadway subway back on the students may be wrong way Les Leyne Columnist lleyne@timescolonist.com It’s curious how little the details matter, after months of agonizing about every comma that’s on the table in the teachers’ negotiations. Everything pales in comparison to the fact there’s a deal that finally ended the strike. It happens in nearly all high-profile disputes. They run for weeks or months and seize more and more of the public’s attention. The media dive deep into every facet of the talks and details start piling up about what each side wants and how far apart they are. Then the crisis abates. It always does, eventually. A deal is reached and the wave of relief that accompanies it washes away much of the curiosity about who won what. B.C. Ferries got to the brink of a shutdown 11 years ago and negotiations were in full crisis mode, with a roundthe-clock media watch just like the one this week. Mediator Vince Ready worked his magic and the crisis dissipated, along with most of the public interest in the details. Teachers were again at an impasse in 2012 with little hope of a deal when mediator Charles Jago helped pull off a miracle to get a deal. The crisis went away and so did the public attention to the deal (until the government’s tactics were condemned in court 18 months later). Schools have finally reopened. That’s all that counts. Apart from the parties themselves, the details of the deal will mostly interest just the hard-core followers of the battle. The War of 2013-14 had so many different fronts, it’s hard to keep track of them all. That’s obviously why it lasted so long. And when it comes to settling up at the end of the day, it’s also why it will be hard to score the wins and losses. Once the pressure built toward a settlement, sizable amounts of money could be shuffled back and forth between the class-size issue, the class-composition argument, the wages and benefits package and the grudge match over the Supreme Court rulings. Early outlines suggest moving that money around under Ready’s expert guidance got it done. The teachers’ straight salary package looks as if it was reduced from the origi-

The one lingering concern is whether this overall deal will make any difference on one of the core problems in the schools.

nal demand to something pretty close to the going rate for the public sector. The government will claim that as a win. And it appears the funding to address class size and composition has been bulked up enough for the B.C. Teachers’ Federation to claim a victory. So the government can claim it avoided the prospect of inflating upcoming public-sector deals and breaking the budget by holding the teachers to the going rate. All the extra costs can be labelled as policy spending on education improvements, separate from wage negotiations. The union can cite some increased spending on learning conditions as the benefit they were looking for all along. And the grudges over the Supreme Court findings that the government cheated are settled with a huge one-time payout that eliminates tens of thousands of potential grievances going back 12 years. That’s a substantial hit, in the $100-million range, but it heads off even higher potential costs. The swapping was obviously the route to a solution all along, but it looked a lot easier in theory than it was to execute. The one lingering concern is whether this overall deal will make any difference on one of the core problems in the schools. That’s the increasing number of damaged, challenged or underperforming children who not only aren’t getting the help they need, but are bleeding away the attention that other students need. “Composition” is the euphemistic shorthand phrase used to outline that dilemma. It’s a shame that the most sensitive issue of all in education has become so wrapped up in labour negotiations that everyone else is either shut out from discussing it, or has to pick sides if they want to contribute anything. The next five years are a chance to talk about it. twitter.com/leyneles

Michael Geller Columnist

michaelarthurgeller@gmail.com

As a young man, whenever I had to take a bus, I would always ask in a loud voice, “What’s the fare?” so other passengers would not think I was a regular bus user. Today I am somewhat embarrassed by this past behaviour since like an increasing number of Metro residents, my attitude towards public transit has changed. Rather than avoid it, I favour it since it allows me to check email, enjoy a few drinks without worry and avoid costly parking. Regular transit use can also contribute to better health. I have been thinking about public transit this past week as a result of Mayor Gregor Robertson’s election promise to build a subway along Broadway, and a presentation from Metro Chair Greg Moore to a group of planners and real estate professionals. Moore, who is mayor of Port Coquitlam, is one of the region’s most affable and intelligent politicians. He has a particular interest in transportation since he graduated from SFU in Urban Geography. His presentation included highlights of the Mayors’ Council transportation plan released this past June. It notes Metro’s population is expected to grow by more than a million people over the next 30 years. That’s 35,000 people every year on average, equal to the population of Penticton. A large percentage of this growth will happen south of the Fraser in Surrey and Langley. Currently there are approximately six million daily trips around Metro: 109,000 by cycling, 667,000 by walking, 848,000 by transit, 970,000 by car passengers, and 3.4 million by car drivers. Another million people could translate into another 1.4 million daily car trips unless we change how we get around. To meet the challenges of growth and congestion in a way that is affordable and fair, the Mayors’ Council has developed a 10-year transportation investment plan. It includes a new, safer Pattullo Bridge; a 25 per cent increase in regular bus service, primarily south of the Fraser; and 11 new B-Line routes providing rapid bus service. Improved rail service will include upgrades to the West Coast Express, the Millennium and Canada Lines, and new

The week in num6ers...

729 70 400 65

The number of visits by Vancouver police to the Marguerite Ford social housing complex since it opened 16 months ago.

At last count, the percentage of Marguerite Ford residents who are accessing primary care through Vancouver Coastal Health, including mental health and addictions services.

In hundreds of thousands of dollars, the amount Vision Vancouver is pledging in annual funding to provide a breakfast program for needy students.

The age gay rights activist Jim Deva was when he fell to his death from a ladder on Saturday.

Light Rail Transit lines in Surrey. Of greater interest to Vancouverites is what the plan proposes along Broadway. The planners and real estate professionals in attendance were surprised by what Moore had to say. In the first 10 years, the Millennium Line would be extended west from VCC– Clark along Broadway to Arbutus Street at which point everyone going to UBC would transfer to waiting B-line buses. Many wondered how well this would work. Eventually there would be either a further extension of SkyTrain or light rail out to UBC. What most of the audience did not know is that while the Mayors’ Council endorsed a tunnelled line along Broadway, it is contingent upon a partnership agreement with the City of Vancouver, which would be responsible for the incremental cost associated with tunneling “beyond that which was technically or functionally required.” Stated another way, if an underground line is preferred for aesthetic reasons, something most of us would endorse, the City of Vancouver will be responsible for the additional cost, currently estimated at $500 million. The mayors, especially those from Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster, adopted this position since they had to live with elevated lines in their municipalities and questioned why Vancouver should get special treatment. While City of Vancouver planners are hopeful undergrounding the entire line to Arbutus and beyond can be justified on technical grounds, I am advised only that portion from VCC-Clark to Main Street could be so rationalized. From Main westward, the justification is aesthetic, meaning Vancouver will have to come up with the extra bucks, presumably from other levels of government and the private sector. However, as long as Robertson opposes Stephen Harper’s desire for pipelines and oil tankers, and if Dianne Watts wins South Surrey for the Conservatives (and the Conservatives retain government), I would not be surprised if Surrey’s light rail plans proceed before a Broadway subway. Maybe it is time to reconsider that alternative light rail proposal along Broadway all the way to UBC. Or elect a new mayor who gets along very well with Harper. twitter.com/michaelgeller

The number of siblings currently running for city council. Glen Chernen has joined his brother Nicholas on the ballot after stepping down from running for mayor.

The number of shorthanded goals scored last season by new Vancouver Giants captain Dalton Sward, tying a franchise record.

W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Mailbox Just say no to the status quo To the editor:

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

PM apologizes to Japanese-Canadians

Sept. 22, 1988: Prime Minister Brian Mulroney formally apologizes to Japanese Canadian survivors and their families for the forced mass relocation beginning in 1941 of approximately 22,000 people, most of them from the Vancouver area, from their homes and subsequent internment under the War Measures Act. “Military necessity” was used as a justification by Prime Minister MacKenzie King for the decision despite the fact that senior members of Canada’s military and the RCMP had opposed it. Mulroney also announced a compensation package that included $21,000 to each surviving internee.

Canucks debut at new home rink

Sept. 23, 1995: The Vancouver Canucks play their first game at General Motors Place. The new $160 million arena was built to replace Pacific Coliseum as the city’s main indoor events venue and also to be home to the Vancouver Grizzlies as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada. Defenseman Jeff Brown scored the first goal at the new rink, now called Rogers Arena, in the home team’s 4-3 preseason win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Brown is best remembered today for his contributions to the team’s 1994 playoff run, having recorded fifteen points in total, including two goals in game six of the series against the New York Rangers that forced a seventh game. ADVERTISING

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Re: “B.C. teachers approve six-year collective agreement,” online only. I woke up Friday to two strong votes to maintain the status quo. I refer to Scotland rejecting independence and B.C. teachers voting to return to work with worse conditions than when they began their strike in the spring. Both events clearly show that while people are increasingly feeling discontented and desirous of change, they are prevented from acting decisively by fear and lack of imagination as a result of a mystiﬁcation of thinking which collapses what are essentially socio-economic (and hence, changeable) limits into natural, immutable laws. While I appreciate the exhausting work of Jim Iker in standing up to an unresponsive, ideologically-driven and autocratic neoliberal government for so long, his total capitulation in accepting an offer which doesn’t include one iota of concession from the government and which leaves teachers worse off then when they began the strike shows a startling lack of imagination. If the government is unwilling to budge and cites economic reasons for this, then maybe we need to think about overcoming this limit; it is after all, one that humans — people of this province — created by voting in this government. It is as such, not beyond the agency of the people to change. How could this be done in the context of the teachers’ strike? Walk away from the negotiating table if the government is inﬂexible. Return to work if you need to replenish the coffers — both on the BCTF and that of individual teachers’ families in order to prepare for another

strike. Better yet, call on the other public sector unions to join teachers in a general strike. I guarantee that a general strike would not be long in leading to the ouster of this government, especially with public opinion on the side of the teachers and a movement for a recall already sprouting in social media. But instead, we have Iker and his advisors believing the line that the intransigence of the government constitutes a natural and insuperable limit and the teachers, in their “yes” vote, going along with it. So the status quo of corporatecontrolled neoliberal dismantling of the state and public services against the will of the people continues. Things will never change. Alex Charron, Victoria

Money doesn’t grow on trees

To the editor: Re: “City to rescue corridor fruit trees,” Sept. 17. Now, the Vision-led park board wants to waste valuable funds to transplant fruit trees illegally grown on CP land in the Arbutus Corridor. Previously, the city council led by Vision withheld information on the Burrard Bridge contractual improvements with a spurious claim of terrorism secrecy necessity. The Vision party simply feels it is warranted to use civic funds to further their political agenda time and again, and to keep information from taxpayers if necessary to further their goals. We need a change to politicians that realize they are not empowered to make spending decisions designed to improve their political fortunes at our expense . Rick Angus, Vancouver

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COURIER STORY: “Kasting calls for voters,” Sept. 19. Randy Chatterjee: Finally, an independent candidate more mainstream than all the rest who is calling both for fiscal responsibility and the only proven solution to rapidly rising rents, a Housing Authority. He’ll stop predatory planning by city hall that is just benefiting insiders and driving up housing costs, and will also keep the city working. No more long labour strikes, as happened the last time NPA was in power. Andrew Ferris @andyferris: Serial lawsuiter decries lawsuits. Elect him to stop him suing the City of Vancouver. COURIER COLUMN: “Development taken to new level by Vision,” Sept. 19. Hermesacat: Vision’s “save the community gardens from big, nasty, greedy CP Rail” initiative, which in theory I agree with, looks like PR window dressing to try to shore up Vision’s green credentials, which are crumbling as this article suggests. Note the city is not even succeeding, so far, in protecting community gardens along the Arbutus Corridor. I feel cheated having voted last time for Gregor’s gang. I don’t know who I’ll vote for next time but it won’t include a single member of (tunnel) Vision. Ratherberidin: Surely, no one buys anymore of Vision’s government by spin and fauxconsultation overlaid by greenwashing, do they? Just follow the money: the developers fund Vision’s elections and Vision rams development through neighbourhood resistance. And repeat. Unlike at the federal and provincial level, there are absolutely no restrictions on civic campaign financing, so this institutional developer/political corruption flourishes. The B.C. Liberal government said it was “too difficult” to bring in civic campaign financing restrictions when they stretched civic terms to four from three years.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Feature

Lessons learned from housing

The city manager and the mayor believe things are improving at Marguerite Ford, located at 215 West Second Ave. They point out the police calls for August dropped to 28 from a high of 63 in November 2013. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Continued from page 1 Still, the police answered 357 calls to the building over the first eight months of this year. Owners of neighbouring condominiums continue to be concerned for their safety and told the Courier of drug activity, fights, a steady stream of arrests, loitering and other concerns identified in police statistics. Their frustration and anger has reverberated all the way to Victoria and Housing Minister Rich Coleman’s office. The provincial government is the chief financier for construction and operating costs of 14 social housing buildings already built or in development on city properties, including the Marguerite Ford Apartments, which cost $38 million. (The city donated the property worth $5.2 million and waived $772,000 in municipal costs, while the Streetohome Foundation contributed $2.9 million). In an interview, Coleman said he’s “not happy with the outcome” of the experiment at Marguerite Ford and made it clear the provincial government was concerned about the city’s desire to increase the ratio of homeless people in the building. Now he’s questioning whether to continue moving such a high percentage of homeless people, who typically have mental health and addictions issues or both, into the four remaining buildings to be built under the 14-site agreement with the city.

“We were concerned that mix might not work as well as other mixes,” said Coleman. “But there was some tension back then about the fact that the city management wanted a mix change and they were being somewhat demanding with regards to it.” Added Coleman: “Given the experience of Marguerite Ford, we’re going to want a whole lot more rigour put to the next buildings if we’re going to tenant it in a similar way.” Coleman’s position puts the province and city in a potential battle that could ultimately derail Mayor Gregor Robertson’s promise to ﬁnd homes by 2015 for more than 500 people living on the street. That’s because the mayor’s promise hinges largely on hundreds of homeless people moving into the four remaining social housing buildings, which total 477 units. As Coleman pointed out, it was Robertson’s pledge to end street homelessness by 2015, not his.

Complex needs

The trigger for the city to push for more homeless people in the buildings occurred in October 2011 when city council learned only 37 per cent of tenants at the ﬁrst four buildings had previously been homeless. “It’s a real concern and certainly one I’ll raise with [Coleman] and ensure the taxpayer investment in those sites is respected by homeless people getting housed,” Mayor Gregor

Robertson told the Courier at the time. Coleman said the provincial government reluctantly agreed to revise the original memorandum of understanding with the city to allow for what’s become known as the 50-30-20 formula. It means at least 50 per cent of the tenants must be from the street or a shelter, 30 per cent from singleroom occupancy hotels and 20 per cent at risk of homelessness, including people discharged from hospitals and jails. The new mix ﬁrst came into play at the Marguerite Ford building, which so far has the largest number of units among the 10 buildings already open across the city. The original agreement reached between the city and the province in 2007 indicated the Marguerite Ford building would house a third to half of residents who had a mental health and addiction problem, or both. “What we ended up here with, frankly, is a group of people with complex needs,” said Coleman, emphasizing the negative ripple effect a project such as Marguerite Ford can have on convincing other neighbourhoods to accept social housing. “Today, if I went to a public hearing, I suspect I would get everybody pointing to Marguerite Ford and saying, ‘We don’t want this around.’ And that’s an outcome I never wanted to have because I think it’s important to integrate this form of housing so [homeless] people get

MAP BY ADRIAN CUNNINGHAM

better outcomes.” City council’s desire in 2011 to boost the number of homeless people in the buildings prompted the city’s former housing director Cameron Gray to write a letter to council, warning them of the consequences of such a move. “The partnership with B.C. Housing is achieving exactly what was intended,” he wrote in 2011, noting, however, it was council’s prerogative to fill the buildings with more homeless people. “But it should be done explicitly with B.C. Housing’s agreement, and council needs to realize it is late in the process and there could be design, program and financial consequences.” Gray urged the city to applaud the early success of the partnership with B.C. Housing instead of lamenting that only 37 per cent of tenants in the first four buildings were previously homeless. In an interview this month, Gray said had the city sought his advice, he would have told them to slowly move in people so relationships could be built between tenants and staff. He, like Coleman, said the problems with the Marguerite Ford building should not be blamed on RainCity Housing, the non-profit hired to provide support services for the tenants at a cost of $1.4 million per year. The Sanford Housing Society is responsible for operating the building at a cost of $2.1 million per year. “In this case, you’ve had the city in their desire to

deal with the homelessness issue impose upon the nonprofits too much direction as to whom they could select,” Gray said. “If you’ve got Big Brother — whether it’s the city or the province — telling them who to put where, you’ve got a recipe for ongoing conflict and friction, which will drive the non-profits mad and cost the taxpayer money.” Added Gray: “The city pushed too hard and now they have to back off. And backing off is a lot harder. Getting a project back on track once it’s sort of lost it is a lot harder than managing it from when it stays on track. So I hope that the city learns from this.”

Mental health and addictions

Bill Briscall, communications manager for RainCity, said there was no interference from the city or the province in selecting the tenants. But Briscall acknowledged the size of the building’s population and mix of tenants meant for a longer time to establish relationships with residents. It’s the biggest building RainCity manages. A document obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request with the city revealed 70 per cent of Marguerite Ford tenants were accessing primary care through Vancouver Coastal Health, including mental health and addictions support. That was in November 2013. Amelia Ridgway, acting associate director for

RainCity, said that percentage is probably higher now but she didn’t have a breakdown when contacted last week. Both Briscall and Ridgway, who were interviewed via speaker phone, said connecting tenants with health care was important. But so, too, was introducing them to a variety of programs available at the building, including a women’s group, cooking classes and a beekeeping project, which have given tenants a positive outlet. Ridgway noted a survey of tenants in November 2013 found that 83 per cent of respondents said they enjoyed living at Marguerite Ford and 76 per cent acknowledged it was a more positive environment than their previous living conditions. “What we know from our experience is the first year of housing folks can be a bit of a challenging year because you have a group of people coming inside, some of whom for the first time in a long time,” she said. That is a conclusion reached by Shayne Williams, the executive director of the Lookout Emergency Aid Society, which manages First Place, the social housing building at 188 East First Ave. that recorded 261 police calls in its first 16 months of operation. Though First Place isn’t yet located in a heavily populated residential neighbourhood like Marguerite Ford, which might explain some of the disparity in volume of calls to the two buildings, Williams described the first year at First

W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Feature

project ‘that is not working’

Place as “pretty volatile,” with a range of calls similar to those generated at Marguerite Ford. “We just had a really, really challenging tenant mix,” said Williams, noting police calls have dropped since First Place opened in August 2012. Police statistics show 105 calls between January and August of this year. To decrease problems at First Place, Williams said it was important to gain the trust of a core group of residents to get them linked with services and programs to help them and, by extension, bring calm to the building. “People who are staying with us need our help and connecting them to the appropriate specialist to take that next step is really a large part of our job,” he said. RainCity’s experience with the challenges at Marguerite Ford forced the non-profit to take a more calculated approach in filling up the former Biltmore hotel, which is now a temporary housing site. RainCity slowly moved people into the building on Kingsway and ensured women and families were the first tenants. This mix, Briscall said, set the tone for the building. “And it’s going really well,” he said, noting a similar approach will be taken when RainCity begins to manage another one of the 14 buildings on Princess Street in the Downtown Eastside. That building is scheduled to open early in the new year with 146 units, one fewer f than Marguerite Ford. The Courier requested an interview with a tenant of the Marguerite Ford building but RainCity said it was unable to find someone willing to share their story. RainCity had initially asked that questions be emailed before an interview could occur and allow all quotes to be reviewed before publication, which the Courier rejected. Sanford Housing Society declined a request for a tour of the building but confirmed two of the building’s units sustained fire and water damage. A plugged toilet that overflowed and an apartment sprinkler that was set off also caused water damage to the building. All four incidents were covered by

insurance. Other incidents required window glass to be repaired at a total cost of $7,000 and $5,000 to ﬁx light ﬁxtures. Elevator access panels were also ripped out.

Neighbourhood fears

The sensitivity around the building and its problems was evident in the Courier’s interviews with residents of the James condominium complex, which shares the alley with the Marguerite Ford building. Three residents told stories of people injecting drugs in the alley and a narrow pathway alongside the James building. They talked about needles discarded on property — one tenant’s dog stepped on a needle — tenants throwing furniture from their windows, a naked man passed out in their elevator, people loitering on residents’ steps, people sleeping in the alley, police using their homes to conduct surveillance and frequent screaming, yelling and loud music coming from the Marguerite Ford building The residents, some of whom paid $800,000 or more for their homes, requested their names not be published because they didn’t want to attract the attention of any problem tenants. A member of the strata council’s executive said via email that his lawyer advised him not to speak publicly about his concerns. In heavily redacted Freedom of Information documents obtained by the Courier, an email sent in August 2013 from a resident to the city’s Brenda Prosken, who is responsible for the city’s housing ﬁle, said “the city’s desire to end homelessness

Mayor Gregor Robertson

should not come at the expense of our residents.” David Kwong did speak to the Courier on the record. He is the president of the strata councils for The Foundry building and Wall Centre East, which are neighbours to the Marguerite Ford building. Kwong regularly attends meetings with the committee set up to address problems associated to Marguerite Ford. Kwong said the committee should have been created prior to the building opening but is thankful he now has a venue to speak to others, which include representatives from RainCity, Vancouver Coastal Health, the VPD and the city. Kwong said he twice witnessed people injecting drugs in the narrow pathway alongside the James building. The Foundry and Wall Centre East have had attempted break-ins and he’s noticed spent needles on both properties. “We have never had that before,” he said of the incidents. In the past few months, however, Kwong said there appears to be less suspicious activity or public disorder in the neighbourhood, saying “if we don’t see it, then it’s better.” And, he added, “as long as [tenants] are not harassing people, I’m OK with that.” He said he understands the need to provide housing for people with mental health and addiction problems. He also understands the type of housing needed for such people cannot be centralized in one neighbourhood. But Kwong pointed

out the Marguerite Ford building is within two kilometres of the Yukon shelter (at Fifth and Yukon) and the First Place building East First Avenue. “It’s too strong of a concentration,” he said. “But if you ask me if it’s getting better here, I would say yes — at least compared to what was happening in the beginning.”

1,803 homeless

The city manager and the mayor also believe things are improving at Marguerite Ford, pointing out the police calls for August dropped to 28 from a high of 63 in November 2013. That’s good news for all concerned, particularly for Robertson, who is seeking re-election in November and holding steady on his promise to end street homelessness by 2015. “We’re trending in the right direction and it’s an ongoing issue that we’ll need to manage carefully,” he said of the problems at Marguerite Ford. “But this is all part of taking care of people who are most vulnerable and ensuring they have a place to live and they get the support they need.” The Metro Vancouver Homeless Count conducted in March revealed a total of 1,803 people identiﬁed as homeless in Vancouver, with 536 on the street and 1,267 in shelters. That total is the highest it’s ever been since homeless counts have been conducted in Vancouver. The mayor’s push to get more people off the street is bolstered by the ﬁndings of a Mental Health Commission of Canada study released in April that showed it’s cheaper to house the homeless than to treat them

VPD Chief Jim Chu

on the street. For every $10 invested in the so-called housing ﬁrst model, $8.27 was saved in money spent on services for society’s most vulnerable people that include hospital visits, shelter stays, interactions with police and the judicial system, said the report, which involved participants from the At Home/Chez Soi project at the former Bosman hotel downtown. Though Robertson is on the political front lines of the homelessness crisis, Ballem is working behind the scenes with B.C. Housing CEO Shayne Ramsay and others to get more homeless people into the 14 social housing buildings. She has no plans to back off on the aggressive approach. Here’s one reason: “Every single ribbon cutting around these [14] sites, there’s a huge sign behind Mr. Coleman that says ‘provincial homelessness initiative.’ So that was a conversation that Shayne and I had — like, OK, it’s our homeless initiative, it’s your provincial homelessness initiative. If only 30 per cent of the people in the units are homeless, that’s a tough thing to sell to the public because they think we’re solving homelessness with all this money.” Here’s another reason: “We can make a decision to back off on that [5030-20] formula. But at the end of the day, we’ve got 1,800 homeless in the city. If you back off and reduce the number of homeless by half, then the question is: ‘Where is the rest of the capacity that we’re going to be able to use?’”

Housing Minister Rich Coleman

Meanwhile, police continue to answer calls to the Marguerite Ford building, which Police Chief Jim Chu said has “taxed the resources” of his patrol ofﬁcers working the district. He said police continue to work with RainCity to ensure proper services, staff and support are in place for the tenants. But Chu also pointed out the recent decrease in calls to Marguerite Ford, which is three blocks from the VPD’s Cambie Street station, and said the department fully supports the city’s plan to spread social housing buildings across Vancouver. “We believe that all of the hard to house — those people suffering from drug addiction and mental illness — should not be just dumped in the Downtown Eastside,” he said, noting other social housing buildings under the agreement between the city and province have “worked better,” including a highrise at Seventh and Fir and a smaller complex at 17th and Dunbar. “In fact, their best chance of recovery is living in other communities. It’s not an easy road.” As for Coleman, who also recognizes other buildings operating under the agreement with the city are stable places to live and providing help for homeless people, he knows how easily a building’s reputation can tarnish any future work in the ﬁght to end homelessness. “It’s a big concern for me because I don’t want to lose the momentum and support for the people with the most needs in our communities just because we have a building that is not working.” twitter.com/Howellings

City Manager Penny Ballem

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

There’s a sucker and mole born every minute

Anne Marrison

I had a similar problem with a grafted contorted hazel. Finally I layered it and three years later had a new little tree which I planted. I felt so guilty hauling the original off to the transfer station, but the suckers on the new tree stay close in to the trunk — and every one is contorted. For the original pulling of tiny suckers, you really need to use pliers or some other grasping tool. It is very hard work and needs strong hands.

amarrison@shaw.ca

Q. Can anything be done to stop suckers from growing up around the base of my prune tree? I have cut them off, put landscape paper around the base of the tree and even sprayed some weatherprooﬁng tar on them, but they keep coming back. The roots under the lawn are also sending up shoots. Jean Lloyd, Vancouver A. The only cure for most suckers is pulling them off when they are very young and tiny. It has to be pulling (not cutting) because that’s the only way you can remove the growth shoot that gives rise to the suckers. Pruning too much tends to cause excess suckering. But even a little pruning can stimulate suckers on some trees. Prune plums are especially notorious for this. I wonder if your tree is grafted or on its own roots. This is very signiﬁcant be-

Deterring moles is difficult and frequently disappointing work since none of the home methods for mole removal (flooding, weird noises, putting noxious plants in tunnels) is reliable. PHOTO WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

cause if it’s on its own roots, each one of those suckers, if severed with a piece of the root attached and replanted, would in time give you an identical tree. Think of your own root suckers as clones. Then you could make a fresh start with the only expenditure being time.

Often grafted trees tend to sucker more because the rootstock is an especially vigorous species chosen to get the topgrowth tree off to a good, fast start. If you have a grafted tree, any planted sucker would produce something fast-

growing but inferior quality. In this case, the only cure for suckers is discarding the tree you have, digging all its suckers and planting a new tree. More suckers would reappear for a while, but then vanish when the energy of the remaining mother-tree roots is used up.

Q. What is the most effective way to deter moles? Raquel Barria, Coquitlam A. Deterring moles is difﬁcult and frequently disappointing work. It’s probably little comfort to reﬂect that moles always pick gardens with rich, nutritious soil. In fact molehills make excellent, sometimes weed-free, potting soil. First of all, none of the home methods for mole

櫻花牌

removal (ﬂooding, weird noises, putting noxious plants in tunnels) is reliable. Most don’t work at all. Floods drain away and it’s no problem for a mole to simply tunnel around repellents. There are people who specialize in mole-catching. The Fraser Valley has a number of them listed on the Internet. They usually use traps. But once moles are eradicated, the next challenge is keeping new moles away. That’s because once a good set of mole tunnels goes vacant, they become very attractive to other moles. So after a pause (usually a few months, sometimes longer) more moles arrive. When gardens are on small lots, the moles may be afﬂicting your neighbours too and can seek refuge there before returning to you. Anne Marrison is happy to answer garden questions. Send them to amarrison@ shaw.ca. It helps me if you give the name of your city or region.

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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It has its problems but the American-based Hulu could be the best friend a cordcutter has. Unless you live outside the United States.

Showmi the money and learn from Hulu THE PRACTICAL GEEK Barry Link

blink@vancourier.com

With fall arriving, let’s catch up with a couple of items left over from summer. First up, in August Rogers and Shaw announced they’ve teamed up to offer Showmi, which has been described as their “Netflix competitor.” Debuting in November in beta form initially only for customers of the two communications giants, it will work essentially the same as Netflix with a bundle of TV shows and movies you can stream online as much as you want. Showmi will cost exactly the same as a new Netflix subscription at $8.99 per month and will be available on the web, tablets, Xbox 360 and set top boxes. It places heavy emphasis on television content, with promises of past seasons of shows like Modern Family, Sons of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow, Shameless, 2 Broke Girls, Vikings and New Girl. Unlike Netflix, it will also have 30 per cent designated Canadian content, an interesting wrinkle since Netflix is unburdened by Cancon requirements thanks to Internet content being unregulated in Canada. On the surface, Showmi might not be a bad service. The interface demonstrated in promotional videos looks attractive and, like Netflix, it’s reasonably priced. And while more competition for

online entertainment would be welcome in Canada, it’s interesting that Showmi in its own statements has positioned itself not as “Netflix competitor” but as a complementary service. Fair enough. But there are two problems. The first is that, at least initially, Showmi requires you to be a TV or Internet customer of either Shaw or Rogers, and it’s unclear what the future requirements for subscribing will be. As is, Showmi stinks for cordcutting. The bigger problem is that Rogers and Shaw are borrowing from the wrong model. Canadians don’t necessarily want another Netflix. We want Hulu. Hulu is best known to Canadians as the service we can’t get. It’s a U.S.-only offering, which hosts current TV programming from most of the major American networks and a limited selection of older movies and original programming. Available through the web, it releases episodes of shows often as soon as the day after they air on broadcast or cable. In basic form it’s free, with ads inserted into programming. A paid monthly subscription of $8 US a month is required to watch Hulu in high-definition or through apps on Android, iOS, gaming consoles and devices like Apple TV. Hulu is far from perfect. Some programming is available on the free version but not through the paid version except on the web and vice versa. Some episodes take longer than a day to appear

on the site after its initial TV broadcast. Seasons of shows seem to appear and disappear with no logic. It lacks heavy-hitting cable networks like HBO, which means no Game of Thrones or Girls. Most egregiously, the paid version still has advertising. But it’s the single best friend the cordcutter has because it’s the easiest and simplest way to access current network TV programming online without being beholden to cable. And it’s superior in function to any of the disastrous online apps created by Canadian networks. Showmi, as described, will be limited to past seasons of programming. Want to watch Season 3 of Vikings? Sorry, you’ll have to wait a year. Be sure to avoid all the spoilers on Twitter in the meantime.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Community

1. Mauro Vescera, Il Centro’s executive director, says the Friday markets are an opportunity for Vancouver’s Italian community to share its rich culinary history with local residents. 2. Glen Valley Artichoke Farms provided some of the edible goods at the market held at Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre. 3. Meals were prepared by Il Centro’s chef. PHOTOS REBECCA BLISSETT

Flavourful Italian market serves up food and culture

CITY LIVING Rebecca Blissett

rvblissett@gmail.com

There were coffee carts, homemade crafts, jams and locally grown vegetables — the usual suspects that make up a farmers market. But the market set up in the parking lot of Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre just off Grandview Highway was the ﬁrst of its kind in this city as it was an “Italian” farmer’s market or Il Mercato. As one would expect from an Italianhosted event, food was the main draw as indicated by a white board listing the meals (rotini pasta with zucchini, olive oil, onion, garlic and tomato sauce; arancini; Italian sausage on a bun with peppers; or pulled pork on a ciabatta bun) each under $10). In a nice departure from the street food scene where meals are self-consciously devoured while standing in watchful range of urban vermin,

Il Centro provided round dining tables for eating in a civilized manner while strains of Luigi Tallarico’s acoustic guitar filtered through the crowd visiting Il Mercato. Il Centro’s executive director Mauro Vescera milled about the Italian Cultural Centre’s second market (the first was last month with two more planned for the third Fridays of each month) in a navy casual suit that looked decidedly European, especially so when he sat on a white Vespa on display to pose for a photograph. “My mandate is to take the legacy of the centre, which is a 37-year-old organization, with the idea to reflect the past, engage the present and build a legacy for the Italian community in Vancouver,” he said. “It’s a very vibrant community and the centre was built as a place for Italians to meet, an Italian home outside of Italy.” The plan is a lively one. In addition to the market, which will be a regular part of the centre’s programing from here on in, Vescera said there are plans to add a

free outdoor movie screening during the summer market days as well as broaden the centre’s culinary programming. A community garden on the centre’s property is also planned with an outdoor bake oven to be built this April — another first for the city. The garden will be grown in partnership with the Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society. “We promote language, heritage and culture and, if you’re Italian, food is part of your culture,” said Vescera. “We see it as an art form.” Film is also a part of Il Centro’s programming; Il Centro works along with the Italian Cultural Institute in Vancouver, the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada West as part of the Italian Film Festival. Vescera enthusiastically confirmed this April’s appearance of Italian actress/model/filmmaker Isabella Rossellini’s one-woman play, Green Porno, at the Vancouver Playhouse. With equal enthusiasm five tent stalls down from Il Centro’s information booth, Orazio Scaldaferri was talking about an-

other staple in the Italian diet — olive oil. Samples of bread and bowls of his oil were on offer as Scaldaferri told his story about his passion for oil-production on his family olive grove in the rural town of Piana di Cerchiara, Italy, after he realized there was a missing connection between people in his adult home of Vancouver and their food. Editor and publisher of Vancouver’s Italian newspaper Il Marco Polo, Rino Vultaggio vouched for Scaldaferri’s olive oil. “If it sings in your mouth, the oil is good. You don’t have to be a connoisseur, right. This is very good. It’s taken from the tree and then taken to the press.” Vultaggio’s newspaper helped raise funds to build the centre four decades ago and he gave the thumbs up to expanding its cultural activities, to prove Vescera’s assertion that the older Italian community is eager to share its heritage with Italians and non-Italians alike. “It’s a very beautiful idea. I think it’s going to work very well.”

W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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urbansenior

A celebration of activist Jim Deva’s life will take place this Saturday, Sept. 27, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Wesley Church. PHOTO CHUNG CHOW

‘A wonderful man and a wonderful friend’ Sandra Thomas

sthomas@vancourier.com

I’ve always remembered a story activist Jim Deva told me during an interview in 2008, not long after he and his lifelong partner Bruce Smyth made the difﬁcult decision to sell their business, Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium on Davie Street. The story took place at the height of the epic battle he, Smyth and bookstore manager Janine Fuller fought against Customs Canada, now called Canada Border Services Agency, in the 1980s over the seizure of gay and lesbian books and comics they ordered from outside of the country. Deva told me about one day, during that decades-long

ﬁght against censorship, when he found himself standing on the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa. “Someone took a photo of me standing on those stairs,” Deva said. “I came out of there at one point and looked around and I was absolutely amazed. There had to be 20 or 30 lawyers and all of these community activists around and I realized they’re all here for us. It was a very moving moment.” Maybe the reason that story has stayed with me for so long is because of how much it meant to Deva, who died unexpectedly Sunday after falling off a ladder while trimming bamboo in the backyard of the West End home he shared with Smyth. He was 65.

To say this city’s LGBT community has lost a voice is an understatement. The reason I use the term LGBT instead of the extended LGBTTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirt and Questioning) considered more politically correct today, is that Deva told me a few years back he thought the community was becoming one made up of “alphabet people.” “That might make me some kind of dinosaur,” Deva told me at the time, laughing. Deva was never afraid to say exactly what he was thinking, which is refreshing at a time when many others will only speak to a reporter via press release. But Deva always made time for me, no matter how busy

he was, and I was always guaranteed a good quote or two. His insistence in speaking his mind and doing the right thing cost Deva dearly over the years. He invested two decades and huge amounts of money in the Canada Customs case, and in attacks Deva always assumed were motivated by hate towards gays and lesbians, the store was ﬁre bombed three times — in 1987, 1988 and 1992. When I interviewed Deva about the sale of the bookstore, he gave me a list of conditions any new owner would have to meet before he’d OK the deal, including a passion for human rights and community activism — and keeping Fuller on as manager. The list made me smile because at the time,

and ever since, because I had the feeling Deva might not be quite as anxious to sell the store as he was making out to be. But to call Little Sisters simply a “store,” is a disservice. Over the years, the hole-in-the-wall tucked into a tiny plaza off Davie Street became a place of action, a safe place for those just coming out to seek advice and solace, and a place to buy some of the funniest, albeit naughtiest, greeting cards available. It was at the store where Smyth gathered with family and friends Sunday night just hours after the news of Deva’s death spread via social media. Longtime friend Barb Snelgrove said the crowd gathered at the store was

simply “gutted.” “He was a wonderful man and a wonderful friend,” Snelgrove told me Tuesday. “Jim always had your back and you could trust in the knowledge he’d be there for you no matter what. The time for healing might be now, but it’s going to be a long one.” A celebration of Deva’s life will take place this Saturday, Sept. 27, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Wesley Church. Rev. Gary Patterson is ofﬁciating as previously requested by Deva and Smyth. The family requests no ﬂowers, but instead please donate to the LOUD Business, LOUD Scholarship Foundation, a cause near and dear to Deva’s heart. twitter.com/sthomas10

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

urbansenior Oktoberfest returns to the Heights CALENDAR

718-5857 or visit artsandhealthproject.com.

Sandra Thomas

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sthomas@vancourier.com

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Get out the lederhosen and dirndl skirts, it’s Oktoberfest time again at Champlain Heights Community Centre, Oct. 7. The cost is $12, which includes a traditional lunch and entertainment from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Transportation is available via the Killarney bus. The Killarney Community Centre is hosting a high tea Oct. 14, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. The event includes a talk entitled Silk Road Tea. Call 604-7188200 for more information.

Sunset

The Sunset Community Centre is looking for bridge players to join its friendly group. The program is free, but a prior knowledge of bridge is required. The group meets Tuesdays from 12:30 to 3 p.m. now through Dec. 23. Sunset is also looking for carpet bowling players to join its recreational team, which includes skilled mem-

Oakridge Centre is hosting a shoe drive for Dress for Success.

bers who’ve competed at a provincial level and enjoy teaching ﬁrst-timers how to play. Refreshments are provided and the program is free with membership. The players meet Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. now through Dec. 31. If tai chi is more to your liking, Sunset is offering a special beginners class Mondays now through Dec. 15, with instruction by Simo Lisa Low. No class Oct. 13. And ﬁnally, on Tuesdays now through Dec. 9, a free tea provides an opportunity to meet with new and old friends from noon to 2 p.m. Sunset is located at 6810 Main St. For more information, call

604-718-6505. The Moberly Arts and Culture Centre, 7646 Prince Albert St., is launching its Healthy Aging Through the Arts project beginning Oct. 2. This art and health project, which runs every Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m., is a weekly dance workshop for seniors with choreographer Jacci Collins. Seniors can explore cultural traditions, personal history and movement through improvisation and dance. Meet other older adults in the community and explore your creativity together — drop-ins are welcome. For more information, contact Margaret Naylor at 604-

Fall often marks the start of a new shopping season for women looking to refresh their work wardrobe for the year ahead. But for those re-entering the workforce, it also signals the start of interview season, which can be overwhelming for women in need who are trying to pull together a look to fit the part. That’s where Dress for Success comes in. The non-profit group supplies clothing and accessories to these women to help give them the confidence they need to get back to work, but at this time Dress for Success is very short of bags, purses and shoes. In hopes of encouraging shoppers to make a difference, Oakridge Centre has partnered with Dress for Success Vancouver to host a bag and shoe drive to provide these much needed items to women in need. On September 27 and 28 fashion-lovers are invited to drop off their gently used bags and shoes and in return, will be entered to win prizes from Oakridge Centre retailers. twitter.com/sthomas10

Let us do the cooking. Food nurtures the body and soul, especially when it’s made fresh by an Amica chef. That’s something residents of Amica retirement communities enjoy every day. Selection, service with a smile, and no clean up afterward. Bon appetit!

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Sponsored by HUMN Pharmaceuticals

Humn Pharmaceuticals makes Lidocaine available as a Topical Pain Relieving Cream Many Canadian seniors may be suffering pain needlessly according to Rowan Hamilton, Research Director of Humn Pharmaceuticals of Winnipeg. “Despite the fact that Lidocaine is on the World Health Organization’s list of Essential Medicines, most people are unaware of how well it relieves a wide range of pain conditions,” says Hamilton. For those who know Hamilton, a herbalist, wholistic dermatologist, student of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a graduate of the School of Herbal Medicine in England, it may come as a surprise to hear him

promoting a synthetic drug. Hamilton notes, however, that the only naturally occurring Local Anesthetic is cocaine. In the late 1880s cocaine was the first local anesthetic used in dentistry and an improvement on the previous approach: copious amounts of alcohol. Lidocaine, however, became the dentist drug of choice when it was made commercially available in the late 1940s. The biggest difference between Lidocaine and earlier local anesthetics is its stability in water; that allows it to remain near the point of administration so its numbing effects

remains close to where it is applied. Further, Lidocaine was the first amide-type local anesthetic; until its discovery local anesthetics were all “esters”. “Ester type anesthetics are much more likely to cause allergic reaction compared to the amide type local anesthetic,” says Hamilton. “All that, is a long way of saying that Lidocaine acts as a nerve block to prevent pain signals not only from travelling to the brain, but from being initiated at all. And it does that without addiction, fewer unwanted side effects and much fewer allergic reactions.” The American Geriatrics Society has also

recognized the value of Lidocaine. In their 2009 Clinical Practice Guideline on persistent pain, they strongly recommend that “all patients with localized neuropathic pain are candidates for topical lidocaine.” “I’m very happy to be associated with Humn Pharmaceuticals,” says Hamilton. “Humn created TPR20 topical lidociane cream to ensure people have access to this proven, safe and effective pain reliever. Go Humn!”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

CLARITY AND CONTEXT

ON CP’S DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY OF VANCOUVER OVER THE ARBUTUS CORRIDOR Much has been written and reported in recent weeks on the future of the Arbutus corridor, an 11 km rail line owned by CP that runs from False Creek to the Fraser River in Vancouver, and is the subject of ongoing discussions between CP and the city. Many of those reports have been contradictory, and, at times, inflammatory. I would like to provide the context and clarity necessary for residents, and all stakeholders, to fully understand the issue. The corridor, zoned by the city expressly for transportation, is the property of CP and has fallen into disuse over the past decade as the company and the City of Vancouver have sought to come to an agreement for its sale or disposition. During that time, CP has put forth a variety of proposals, some of which would involve no cost to the citizens of Vancouver, including a plan that would see small portions of the corridor rezoned for development by CP with the remainder donated to the city for the recreation and enjoyment of its citizens. This proposal was part of a Visioning Process undertaken in 2006 with the direct involvement – and endorsement – of community groups that represent the residents along the corridor. A land swap was another option tabled by CP, which would see a number of parcels of unused City land traded for the corridor.

of rail corridor – the Arbutus corridor has been valued at more than $400 million. As this was done a number of years ago, the value is significantly higher today. Recognizing the importance of this property to the citizens of Vancouver, CP has been prepared to accept far less in order to reach an agreement. The City of Vancouver has, in turn, offered only a fraction of that discounted price. We were disappointed last week to be asked back to the table only to find the city not prepared to move reasonably on its position. We fear that due to internal city politics, the council is not able to reach a fair and equitable settlement. CP management has a responsibility to its shareholders to generate a return on its assets. Simply put, we must get fair value for our property or put it to use. The new CP is not a company that will let this corridor lay dormant while discussions with the city drag on for another decade. If there is no agreement we will use it for rail operations, and expect to have the rail line up to operating standards later this fall. Contrary to many reports, CP has been and continues to be flexible in its approach. The company stands ready to sell this asset, but at a fair price, or to find a creative solution that satisfies all stakeholders at no cost to the citizens of Vancouver.

These proposals, and others, have been rejected. At the heart of the issue is the value of the corridor. Based on independent third-party appraisals using the value of adjoining lands – the standard method for assessing this type

www.cpr.ca

E. Hunter Harrison Chief Executive Officer Canadian Pacific

W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Arts&Entertainment

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GOT ARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com

2 Sept. 24 to 26, 2014 1. The 33rd annual Vancouver International Film Festival kicks off Sept. 25 to Oct. 21, screening close to 365 films from more than 70 countries. From Oscar-baiting films starring well-known actors playing flawed people (Reese Witherspoon in Wild, Steve Carell in Foxcatcher) and Quebecois auteurs (Xavier Dolan’s Mommy) to Chinese film noir (Black Coal, Thin Ice) and Spanish road trip dramedies (Living is Easy with Eyes Closed), there’s something for everyone. Look for reviews and features in upcoming issues of the Courier. For more details, go to viff.org. 2. Expect a bawdy good time as UBC Theatre and director Stephen Heatley set Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night in modern day New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Featuring live original music, composed in both cajun and dixieland style by Richard Link, Twelfth Night runs Sept. 25 to Oct. 11 at UBC’s Frederic Wood Theatre. Details at theatrefilm.ubc.ca. 3. “Urban realist” David Wilson’s latest exhibit, Intersections, depicts Vancouver street corners in all of their rain-pelted, city-slicking, headlight-illuminated glory. The paintings will be on display Sept. 25 to Oct. 11 at Kimoto Gallery, with an opening reception Sept. 25, 6 to 9 p.m. Details at kimotogallery.com. 4. France’s world-renowned Ballet Preljocaj brings its limber limbs to Scotiabank Dance Centre Sept. 25 to 26 as part of the Dance Centre’s Global Dance Connections contemporary dance series. Created by the company’s choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, Empty moves (parts I, II and III) is set to the 1977 recording of John Cage’s “Empty words.” For info, call 604-6066400 or go to thedancecentre.ca.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 Painting “Stalking Leopard” by Karen Lawrence-Rowe.

Arts&Entertainment

Homegrown horror SKOOKUM CITY Andrew Fleming

aﬂeming@vancourier.com

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“Summers on the Kingston Peninsula are beautiful but Winters will kill you.” This was a bad joke when I was growing up in southern New Brunswick back in the ’80s, a bit of gallows humour after the arrest of mass murderer Noel Winters, who lived and preyed on victims on this vast stretch of countryside reached by ferry from the working class city of Saint John. Slasher movies were all the rage in those days and Winters, who hung himself in his cell before his victims’ bodies had all been found, soon became our very own homegrown bogeyman. While Jason Voorhees was busy on screen stalking horny teenagers at Crystal Lake, Winters was actually killing people near Crystal Beach. Due to the grisly nature of his crimes, he soon became an almost larger-

than-life figure, an axewielding maniac children would tell campfire stories about to scare each other much as they probably do today in northern B.C. about Cody Legebokoff. But it was quite different for filmmaker Jason Bourque; Noel Winters was his neighbour. “My parents thought [the Peninsula] was the ideal place to raise a family,” says Bourque. “It’s now buzzing with a horrific tale of shotgunned neighbours and garbage bags of hacked-up bodies disposed of at the Browns Flat dump. It’s brutal, terrifying and leaves an indelible mark on me, a 13-year old aspiring filmmaker.” (Full disclosure: I went to high school with the guy and even appeared in an early “action” video of his — also involving an axe — which mercifully has never been uploaded to YouTube.) Thirty years later, Bourque (Music for Mandela, Shadow Company) has finally made a feature film loosely based on Winters’ tale.

For budget reasons, Black Fly was shot here in B.C. with Denman Island and Pitt Meadows filling in for New Brunswick. Bourque has also taken some artistic liberties, changing the killer’s name to the less Christmassy Noel Henson (played with simmering, mulleted menace by Matthew MacCaull) and adding a fictional younger brother (newcomer Dakota Daulby) forced to test the limits of dysfunctional family loyalty. The final result is a chilling, highly believable portrait of a serial killer that is far removed from a typical horror film, focussing on the amoral psychology rather than the gore. It offers a serious attempt to answer questions about the kind of person who kills without remorse. Picture Trailer Park Boys as imagined by David Cronenberg and set next door to Stephen King’s rural Maine and you’ll be on the right track. Black Fly premieres Sept. 27 at the Rio Theatre as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival. twitter.com/flematic

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Arts&Entertainment

Film fest spotlights style, inequality, B.C. VIFF’s new executive director emphasizes festival’s support of local artists STATE OF THE ARTS Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story follows filmmakers and couple Grant Baldwin and Jen Rustemeyer as they scrounge and subsist on discarded food for six months. This film that won the Emerging Artist Award at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival is one of 13 feature films included in the Vancouver International Film Festival’s B.C. Spotlight program. Another is Everything Will Be, a meditation on the changes that loom over Vancouver’s Chinatown that brings the neighbourhood’s often overlooked older occupants and ways to the fore in a beautifully shot doc. Visitors to VIFF’s mustseeBC microsite can help decide (until Sept. 24) which feature will screen at the BC Spotlight gala, Oct. 4. Jacqueline Dupuis, the new executive director of the Vancouver International Film Festival Society, introduced B.C. Spotlight last year. “It’s really important for any festival to really focus on engaging community and showcasing local artists,” she said. “We have such a vibrant arts and cultural community here

Highlights of the 33rd annual Vancouver International Film Festival include (clockwise from top left) Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story, Everything Will Be, Advanced Style and Welcome to Me.

and a very vibrant ﬁlm industry as well, so it was a really important way to put a stake in the ground and put forward our support of these amazing local artists.” The 33rd annual festival, which runs Sept. 25 to Oct. 10, features more than 350 ﬁlms from more than 65 countries, including 223

ARTHRITIS

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features and 130 shorts. VIFF boasts 32 world premieres, 38 international premieres, 22 North American premieres and 47 Canadian premieres. Emerging themes this year include income inequality, or what the festival has dubbed “the great divide” and troubles

that affect an aging population, called “Gentle on My Mind” after a song by Glen Campbell. The documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, Sept. 27 and Oct. 1, focuses on the Rhinestone Cowboy’s journey with Alzheimer’s on his farewell tour, with Bruce Springsteen, the Edge and

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Bill Clinton weighing in. VIFF has also joined forces with Eco Fashion Week to launch a Style in Film series that includes six features that spotlight fashion, style, art and design and is complemented by fashion panels and a party

at Holt Renfrew. Dupuis has too many favourite films to mention, but in addition to Just Eat It, she recommended two films that have received much buzz. One of the Style in Film selections, Advanced Style, profiles seven New York women aged “between 50 and death” as one of them used to respond when asked her age, whose approaches to style sing with vitality. The film was inspired by Ari Seth Cohen’s blog and directed by Lina Plioplyte, who will attend the Oct. 3 and 5 screenings. Dupuis hasn’t seen director Shira Piven’s film Welcome to Me, which stars Kristen Wiig (of Bridesmaids and Saturday Night Live) as a woman with borderline personality disorder who wins the lottery and launches her own talk/variety show, but Dupuis didn’t hesitate to recommend it. “It’s supposed to be hilarious,” she said. VIFF opens with director Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild, staring Reese Witherspoon and based on Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir. The festival closes with the American thriller Whiplash about an ambitious jazz drummer and his savage instructor. Details at see viff.org. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

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W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Sports&Recreation

GOT SPORTS? 604.630.3549 or mstewart@vancourier.com

Sportshorts Weekend Scoresheet AAA varsity football, Week Two: In their ﬁrst game of the regular season, the Notre Dame Jugglers (1-1, 0-1) came up against the undefeated Mt. Douglas Rams (3-0) who looked all the part of a three-time defending provincial champion — that is gunning for four in a row. The Jugglers challenged the Rams on the ground, but Mt. Douglas switched up their offence and threw for four touchdowns in a 36-7 win at Burnaby Lake Park on Sept. 19. Nicholas Carusi, a ﬁve-foot-ten running back, scored Notre Dame’s lone touchdown. Across town, Vancouver College (1-1, 0-1) had a bye last week because their scheduled game against Belmont secondary, a public school in Langford, was postponed since the Bulldogs’ program wasn’t running through the teachers’ labour dispute. The two teams will meet Nov. 8.

Sailing the St. Francis 9, skipper Ben Mumford and his crew defended the historic Alexandra Cup in a match race held on English Bay Sept. 13 and 14. Racing the 6 Metre yacht, Mumford also won the North American Championship. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Five Jugglers, including Luca Rizzo (No. 66) and Matteo Triggiano (No. 44), pile on the ball-carrier during a 36-7 loss to the Mt. Douglas Rams on Sept. 19. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Vancouver Giants: Dalton Sward will wear the “C” for the Giants. The fifth-year Giant from Abbotsford was picked in the first round of the 2009 Bantam Draft and, on Saturday, was named the WHL team captain. His teammates elected him captain. Last year, Sward, 20, tied a franchise record with six shorthanded goals in a season and Dalton Sward, Giants Captain has 48 goals and 48 assists in his WHL career in Vancouver. He took over the captaincy last season and in the first round of the playoffs after Dalton Thrower stepped back because of injury. Jackson Houck, Joel Hamilton and Mason Geertsen were named alternate captains.

dismayed... There was a strong feeling that, without school, should there be school sports? Personally, my feeling was no.

-- Kurt Thornton, the head coach of Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, was dismayed the B.C. High School Football League went ahead with the fall football season. He was interviewed by Howard Tsumura for a podcast by the Province.

Alexander Cup revival a Canadian win Historic race returns with Royal Vancouver Yacht Club victory MATCH SAILING Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

It was no small feat, defending the 99-year history of a cross-border sailing trophy that, for nine decades, went uncontested by U.S. rivals and was harboured at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. Ben Mumford, a 34-year-old skipper, and his skilled crew safe-guarded Canada’s honour and the prestigious Alexandra Cup by defeating elite septuagenarian Seattle sailor Bob Cadranell in a match sailing race on English Bay over Sept. 13 and 14. “We were defending a challenge from the St. Francis Yacht Club [of San Francisco, Ca.] and we were honoured to be chosen,” said Mumford. “The people who accepted the challenge asked who they felt was the most capable crew in the yacht club to defend it.” In fact, on the previous weekend Mumford had won the 6 Metre class North American Champi-

onship. The fastest Canadian and American boats were chosen to compete for the Alexandra Cup. Mumford, seen by many as a rising star in the sport, did not disappoint. The head-to-head match race for the Alexandra Cup was decided in six races held over two days. Each race was weighted differently: the first two races were valued at one point, the second two at two points each and the third pair at three points each. Essentially, said Mumford, the first team to six points would win the Alexandra Cup. Cadranell won the first two races but Mumford counter ed, and tied the tally, by winning the third race. He also won the fourth race, which gave him four points to the American’s two. “We were aware of the deficit after the first two,” he said. Mumford sailed the St. Francis 9 with an experienced, albeit young, crew that included Connor MacKenzie at the bow, Jeremy Baxter on the lines, Jason Vandergag trimming the Genoa sail and Erik Jespersen on the main sail. “The interesting thing

about these boats is that they’re a development class boat, so they can constantly be changed. Like an F1 car, you’re able to tweak the fins and the sails,” said Mumford of the specialized 6 Metre class sailboats. “We knew we had to beat them on the water.” The Alexandra Cup was decided in the fifth race. Cadranell couldn’t win (three points would give him only five, total) but Mumford knew he could secure the trophy by charting the correct course. The trick was to cross the start line (which boats approach under sail in an attempt to time their crossing with the start gun) already ahead of their competitors. Then, they could outmanoeuver the Americans on the course itself. “The crew worked flawlessly together,” said the helmsman. In the last two races, in fact the whole weekend, the crew didn’t make one single mistake. It was really an honour to sail with those guys.” It’s an honour they can share with the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. twitter.com/MHStewart

100 years in the making At the turn of the last century, sailing was an exciting, front-page sport that drew spectators and investors. The first Alexandra Cup was contested in 1907, two years after the trophy was presented by the B.C. lieutenant governor. The first match race was held in Seattle between 45foot, 29-raters. The U.S. boat Spirit won over Canada’s Alexandra. The next year, Alexandra bested Spirit. But then, in 1909, the race ended in an acrimonious dispute over the measurements of the new U.S. yacht Spirit II. Competition ceased — the Canadians packed up the Cup and shelved it at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. For nearly a century, it gathered dust. Then, in 2008, thanks to a rekindled relationship between the Seattle Yacht Club and RVYC sailors contested the Alexander Cup again. Now with 6 Metre yachts, the competition was back on 99 years after its debut. — Compiled with the help of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club historian David Williams

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Sports&Recreation

One West drummer Angela Louie pounds a beat for her paddling teammates in the 200-metre standard boat open final at the Club Crews World Championships in Ravenna, Italy on Sept. 5. One West won gold in the race. PHOTO BRADLEY QUAN

West wins four medals at When every second counts, One World Championships paddlers push their limit DRAGON BOATING

Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

Committing to our planet’s future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. That’s why the EPRA, an industry-led not-for-profit organization, works to keep 100,000 metric tonnes of end-oflife electronics out of landfills each year through convenient and regulated e-recycling programs. Technology advances fast, but we only get one earth.

Learn more and find out what you can recycle and where, at:

recycleMYelectronics.ca/bc For collection site locations, visit:

return-it.ca/electronics/locations

This program is funded through Environmental Handling Fees that are applicable to new electronic products sold in the province.

Over the short course of a dragon boat race, the entire field can cross the finish line within 60 seconds. The difference between those that finish on and off the podium is no more than the time it takes to call out the sport’s basic command: “Push!” One West, a competitive dragon boat club that trains at False Creek and draws paddlers from Vancouver, returned to Canada this month weighed down with four medals from the Club Crews World Championships in Italy and an appreciation for those few seconds between first and second. One West won two gold and two silver medals. “Our strategy was to get them off the start and then from there, hold on until the finish,” said Paige Misfeldt, 26, who won silver in the women’s 500 metre race. “We lost it in the last 100 metres, right at the finish.” In the final, the 12 women in the undersized boat were pushed on by their caller Kathleen Abuan. A caller, said Misfeldt, “motivates us at the finish. They tell us, at around 75 per cent of the race to give it our all. They give the ‘Push!’ call to give 110 per cent and you just dump it. Especially in the 500, that was the race of the season.” One West’s second-place time of two minutes, 23.58

seconds was 1.1 seconds behind the winners from Germany. All eight teams finished in less than eight seconds. The women won gold in the 200m sprint. One West also took gold in the mixed 200m and silver in the mixed 500m events. “It feels great to win, like we were on top of the world,” said Anthony Cao, a One West paddler in the 200- and 500-metre mixed finals. “For every race, we had strategized for what to do right after we got off the start line. It was mostly up to our caller, Angela [Cheong]. She can see what’s going on in the race. If we need to push, she would call it out and we would try to give more.” Already paddling at maximum output, it’s not easy to amp up power and velocity when the caller demands it, said Cao, 25. “We just try to find it within ourselves. For me, I think about who we’re racing for, which is my teammates besides me and the people on the shore. The strength just comes. And the whole boat moves together so you feel that push.” One West has sent nearly two dozen paddlers to the Canadian national teams, including Cao who raced for Canada in Tampa, Fla. in 2011. Ten more One West racers joined Team Canada for the 2013 World Championships in Hungary and more hope to qualify when the international event is hosted in Ontario next summer.

DAVID BERNER

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VANCOUVER / NORTH SHORE / BURNABY / RICH RICHMOND / DELTA / SURREY / WHITE ROCK / NEW WEST Kids are Back to School MINSTER / COQUITLAM / MAPLE RIDGE / LANGLEY / VANCOUVER NORTH SHORE / BURNABY / RICHMOND Monday September 22, 2014 / DELTA / SURREY / WHITE ROCK / NEW WESTMIN STER / COQUITLAM / MAPLE RIDGE / LANGLEY / VAN For the safety of the children, please drive carefully and obey traffic signs around school grounds. COUVER / NORTH SHORE / BURNABY / RICHMOND / The following are traffic signs that are typically posted around Vancouver schools. DELTA / SURREY / WHITE ROCK / NEW WESTMINSTER “NO STOPPING 8am - 5pm SCHOOL DAYS” These signs designate the zones where vehicles are not permitted to stop under any / COQUITLAM / MAPLE RIDGE / LANGLEY / VANCOU circumstances. These zones are kept clear to provide good sight lines for drivers to VER NORTH SHORE / BURNABY / RICHMOND / DELTA see students and students to see drivers. / SURREY / WHITE ROCK / NEW WESTMINSTER / CO QUITLAM / MAPLE RIDGE / LANGLEY “NO PARKING 8am - 5pm SCHOOL DAYS”

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Kids are Back to School

These signs designate the zones for active picking up and dropping off of students. Do not park and leave the vehicle in these zones.

School Area Signs

This sign is used in advance of school to warn drivers that children may be walking along or crossing the road. On local streets 30 km/hr signs are posted and the speed limit is 30 km/hr from 8am - 5pm on school days.

School Crosswalk Signs

A school crosswalk sign indicates where children will be crossing the road. Vehicles must yield to pedestrians at all intersections and crosswalks. Vehicles must remain stopped until children are safely across and on the curb. Please remember children are playful and impulsive and may enter the roadway suddenly.

School Safety Patrols

School safety patrols direct and help students cross at intersections near schools. The school safety patrols are given important responsibilities and follow established procedures to help to ensure the safety of students. Please respect the patrol.

Traffic Safety Tips for Parents

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Encourage walking, cycling, or carpooling to school. If you must drive, park a couple of blocks away and walk to the school. Reduce traffic congestion and make school zones safer.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, SE P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

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