Vancouver Courier March 7 2019 by Vancouver Courier

NEWS PROVINCE COMMITS TO YEAR-ROUND HOMELESS SHELTERS 4 OPINION A WRINKLE IN TIME CHANGE? 10 SHAKEDOWN END OF AN INDIE ROBSON RETAIL ERA 12 SPRING ARTS PREVIEW HOT BROWN HONEY BRINGS THE HEAT 18 March 7 2019 Established 1908

There’s more online at vancourier.com PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

THURSDAY

Home stretch

Mitchell Lagimodiere and Kelli Lubbers are tenants in one of the city’s temporary modular housing buildings in Vancouver. But is the new housing enough to put a dent in the city’s growing homeless population? SEE PAGE 14 Local News, Local Matters

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

News 12TH & CAMBIE

Province commits $3.1 million to keep eight shelters open year-round Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

The ears of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing must have been burning. On Monday, Selina Robinson’s ministry issued a news release saying it has approved an additional $3.1 million to keep eight Vancouver shelters open beyond their March 31 closing date. The eight shelters, which total 240 beds, will now operate until March 31, 2020. The move from government comes after COPE Coun. Jean Swanson introduced a motion to council Feb. 26 requesting that winter shelters be kept open year-round. Swanson’s motion was to be heard Tuesday at city hall while I was writing this piece. But technology being what it is, I picked up the phone Monday and spoke to Swanson. And in her get-to-the-point way, this is what she said: “I hate shelters, right. They’re deplorable. We need housing.” Anyway, she continued,

extending the operation of the shelters is a “no-brainer” in the interim. “I was at the Gathering Place [shelter] last year or the year before it closed and people there were crying,” Swanson said. “They were saying, ‘What am I going to do? I have cancer, I just had a heart attack, I can’t live on the street, I can’t ﬁnd any housing.’ It was terrible.” She then went about calculating the cost to keep each of 240 beds open until March 2020. It’s close to $13,000 a bed. Since being elected last October, Swanson has been doing a lot of math on the cost of this or that and how the money would be better spent on building permanent housing. Swanson said she doesn’t want the provincial government — or the federal government, for that matter — to think that shelters are the way out of homelessness. In addition to the temporary or winter shelters, there are 940 permanent shelter spaces in Vancouver and 120 beds that open when the weather is severe. The city also opens two

The Catholic Charities Men’s Hostel on Cambie Street is one of eight shelters the government will fund to keep it operating until March 2020. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

community centres, the main branch of the public library and the Powell Street Getaway as “warming centres” when the temperature reaches -5 C, or feels like -5 C. In recent conversations with Housing Minister Robinson and Social Development Minister Shane Simpson, they’re keenly aware of the need for permanent housing. As Robinson told me last week, the government is working on it. The 606 temporary modular housing units that have gone up in Vancouver

since last March are an example of that work. According to the release issued Monday, the government said “work has started on more than 2,450 affordable rental homes in Vancouver as part of the province’s investments in affordable housing, some of which include shelter-rate units.” I’ve asked for more information on that sentence to understand what affordable rental means and how many will rent for the $375 shelter rate. I was expecting to get that information late

Tuesday afternoon, after the Courier’s print deadline. “That is the big question — how many are shelterrate units?” Swanson said. “It is so frustrating that they say ‘social housing’ and you don’t have a clue what the rents were. Unless they’re renting for shelter or pension rate, they’re completely useless to people who are homeless.” I tuned in to Tuesday’s council meeting via my computer and it looked as if it would be a while before Swanson’s motion from Feb. 26 would be back on the table. But isn’t it moot now, councillor? Swanson wouldn’t say Monday whether she planned to withdraw the motion, or have something else to say about it. Meanwhile, Vancouver conducts its 10th consecutive homeless count March 12 and 13. Last year, volunteers counted 2,181 people without a home — 659 on the street and 1,522 in some form of shelter. It was an all-time high. So does Swanson think this year’s count will see a

decrease in the number of homeless people? “If it goes down, I don’t think it will go down much,” she said. “And if it goes down, I think it will be because of the opioid crisis.” Of the 1,489 people in B.C. who died of an overdose last year, 382 died in Vancouver. The BC Coroners Service said 58 per cent of the 1,489 deaths occurred in private residences. Twenty-four per cent died in other homes including social and supportive housing, single-room-occupancy hotels and shelters. Another four per cent died in “other inside locations” and 12 per cent died in vehicles, on sidewalks, streets and in parks. The eight shelters that will remain open until March 31, 2020 are at 828 Cambie St. (20 beds), 1138 Burrard St. (12 beds), 1060 Howe St. (40 beds), 131 Dunlevy St. (16 beds), 134 E. Cordova St. (40 beds), 138 E. Cordova St. (30 beds), 1401 Hornby St. (40 beds) and 1648 East First Ave. (40 beds). @Howellings

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News

Better Business Bureau releases top 10 scam list

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That long lost Nigerian brother you previously knew nothing of is getting smarter. It’s not a good thing. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) released its top 10 scam list for 2018, and Canadians were duped out of more than $121 million last year thanks to dating scams, bogus skin cream ads and shoddy advice from otherwise trustworthy sources. When taking into account that only ﬁve per cent of fraud cases are reported, the more realistic annual tab is closer to $3 billion, according to BBB president Danielle Primrose. “Underreporting still continues to be a serious concern as many victims are too ashamed to come forward, they don’t feel that it would gel and they simply may not know where to turn for help,” Primrose said March 1. One of the more disconcerting pieces from the 45-minute press conference was the fact Canadians are increasingly falling into “trust traps.” It’s a duplicitous phenomenon much like the sharing of sketchy articles online that have no basis in fact — a family member or friend gets conned, passes along the

Better Business Bureau president Danielle Primrose characterized 2018 as yet another record-breaking year for scams across Canada. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

con as reputable and the process spreads like the ﬂu. “This method of spreading a fraud often works because if someone you trust brings you an investment, you let your guard down. You rely on that trust and you ignore the other things that you need to consider,” said Doug Muir, director of enforcement with the B.C. Securities Commission. Romance scams came in as the worst offender on the list, costing victims $22.5 million in 2018. That infuriated “CRA agent” who tried to pressure you into payment helped income tax extortion lands in the second spot (more than $6 million lost), followed by online purchase scams (more than $3.5 million lost).

Employment and phishing scams rounded out the top ﬁve, while con jobs around subscriptions, tech support and home improvement were also in the top 10. Muir stressed the universal principle of “if it sounds too good to be true, it is,” while cautioning consumers to educate themselves, ask questions and seek out advisors. There’s also a need to lose the shame and report incidents to the BBB or other applicable authorities as soon as they happen. “If we learn early enough about a Ponzi scheme for example, we can stop a $10,000 scheme from becoming a $100 million scheme,” he said.

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News

Opinions about Commercial Drive change little over 20 years Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

Much has changed in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood over the years — from housing prices to densification — but much has also stayed the same when it comes to people’s opinions about community issues, according to results from the latest of three surveys conducted over a 20-year period. About 730 people living in, working in or visiting the East Side neighbourhood were first surveyed on 30 questions about crime, safety and quality of life in 1997, then a similar number were polled with the same questions, in roughly the same locations, in 2007, and finally in 2017. Findings from the third survey were released Feb. 28. The study, produced by the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre and SFU professor emerita Patricia Brantingham, found that across almost all 30 questions and all demographic groups, the responses in 2017 were remarkably similar to those

given in 2007 and 1997. Questions addressed subjects such as street vending, grafﬁti, sex workers, street musicians, unleashed dogs, drummers playing in Grandview Park, passive and aggressive panhandlers, skateboarding on city streets, promotional posters, drinking and smoking pot in public, trafﬁc, outdoor café seating, public art, and condoms and needles on the ground. Results include: Street musicians soliciting donations. Acceptable or completely acceptable:

2017: 62 per cent 2007: 63 per cent 1997: 65 per cent

Smoking pot in public. Acceptable or completely acceptable:

2017: 33 per cent 2007: 33 per cent 1997: 35 per cent

Drummers playing in Grandview Park. Acceptable or completely acceptable:

Residents’ opinions about Commercial Drive have remained mostly the same in the last 20 years. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Graffiti on public property. Unacceptable or completely unacceptable:

2017: 70 per cent 2007: 68 per cent 1997: 62 per cent

Aggressive panhandling. Unacceptable or completely unacceptable:

2017: 58 per cent 2007: 61 per cent 1997: 55 per cent

2017: 85 per cent 2007: 84 per cent 1997: 82 per cent

Make your money

Litter. Unacceptable or completely unacceptable:

2017: 91 per cent 2007: 92 per cent 1997: 91 per cent

Aside from gauging opinions, the survey also asked respondents if they’d seen the activities in the Grandview-Woodland area over the previous six months. The executive summary underscored respondents’ ability to deal with certain activities, but not others. “People in the Commercial Drive area have maintained a tolerance for a number of things (including passive panhandling, drumming in the park, skateboarding on city streets) that might be viewed as problematic in other neighbourhoods,” it noted. “Activities that are seen as completely unacceptable to the majority of respondents include aggressive panhandling, litter, discarding syringes and condoms on the ground, and sex work in residential areas or near schools. Although these things would be considered unacceptable in almost any neighbourhood, what is signiﬁcant in this survey is that a great many respondents report having seen them

with the past six months.” Longtime GrandviewWoodland resident Eileen Mosca, vice president of the Community Policing Centre board and one of the two writer/researchers on the survey, said she was amazed to see such similar opinions over the years. She was also pleased to see that 86 per cent of the 2017 respondents enjoyed living in the neighbourhood despite dealing with realities such as skyrocketing real estate prices and the fact one in three had experienced property crime. In both 1997 and 2007, 79 per cent enjoyed living in the area. Respondents experienced similar levels of property crime during those years — 43 and 44 per cent respectively. “I think what [the study] shows is people who choose to live around here like it. There’s a high tolerance here for diversity. People like that it’s artistic. It’s the kind of place where — I wouldn’t say anything goes, that’s not the point — but there’s a lot of scope for different opinions and different ways of living around the Drive. I think the study shows that that kind of quality has remained,” Mosca said.

She added that those surveyed represented a wide spectrum of the population — from people in banks to panhandlers to people waiting by the Broadway SkyTrain Station. She’s not aware of any similar survey done over the long-term in any other community. Mosca said it provides an interesting look at the neighbourhood because it’s not a sociological study with opinions about the community — it’s actually the community speaking for itself. In terms of surprises, Mosca said one was the number who saw discarded needles in the latest survey. “One of the more disturbing aspects was — I think it went from 65 per cent to 63 per cent — was the number of people who had seen a discarded needle. In spite of all the measures that have been taken [by Vancouver Coastal Health] to prevent this, it looks like it hasn’t changed very much,” she said. While Mosca acknowledges the Commercial Drive area is different in many ways from when she arrived almost 40 years ago, she said it’s also changed for the better in certain aspects. “There are a lot more amenities, there are a lot more community groups. The changes have been pluses and minuses, but I’ve always loved living here and still do. I’m happy to see that 86 per cent of people feel the same way,” she said. “There was a sense in the comments [in the survey] that people very much want it to stay the way it is — not in terms of housing prices and things like that, but in terms of community feeling. It’s a very different vibe around here. It’s not that you can do whatever you like on Commercial Drive but there’s a lot of allowances made for eccentricities here.” Survey results can be found on the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre’s website.

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T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

Westbank’s Bjarke Ingels-designed ofﬁce tower goes to open house Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

Westbank’s rezoning application for its unusual Sshaped, 17-storey, Bjarke Ingels-designed ofﬁce tower envisioned for 720 Beatty St. goes before an open house March 11. Ingels, a Danish “starchitect,” also designed Westbank’s Vancouver House — the twisty luxury condo tower that’s under construction at the north end of the Granville Bridge. The rezoning application for 720 Beatty St. is signed by Westbank’s Ian Gillespie, Krishnan Iyer of Creative Energy and Ingels of Bjarke Ingels Group. HCMA Architecture + Design is also involved in the project. Westbank paid $32 million in 2014 for the Central Heat Distribution Ltd. lands and its plant at 720 Beatty St. in downtown Vancouver adjacent to BC Place Stadium. The company, which has been supplying low-cost energy to the downtown core since 1968, has been rebranded

as Creative Energy. Creative Energy considers much of the lands on the site surplus to the utility’s current and future needs — a position the British Columbia Utilities Commission endorsed, according to the application, which allows Creative Energy to split the land off from the utility itself. “Creative Energy currently has a customer base of over 210 buildings in Downtown Vancouver, along with major customers such as BC Place Stadium and St. Paul’s Hospital. There are also current and future expansion plans to develop new heating and cooling networks in Northeast False Creek, South Downtown, the West End and the Cambie Corridor,” the application states. “The spin off and development of the surplus land/air rights of this site is necessary to help fund the growth and development of these expansion networks, create new low-carbon sources of energy and upgrade the

An open house for this proposed Beatty Street project is on March 11.

infrastructure of the existing plant, which is now 50 years old. Most importantly, the redevelopment of this site supports a broader neighborhood.” The rezoning application includes a building

with a height of 80.4 metres, a total gross ﬂoor area of 57,307 square feet, a ﬂoor space ratio of 11.55, ground level commerce space, an upgrade to the Creative Energy plant, and four levels of

underground parking with 358 parking and 325 bicycle spaces. Reﬂective glass and metal panels will be used on the building’s façade. The application also includes information and renderings for

an entertainment pavilion planned for 701 Expo Blvd. A development permit application will be made for that site following the rezoning. Meanwhile, the applicant says the ofﬁce tower project, which is being considered under the Central Business District (CBD) and CBD Shoulder rezoning policy, will create more “high quality ofﬁce space designed to attract the High Tech business sector” and it will contribute to goals outlined in the Vancouver’s 2020 Greenest City Action Plan. Aside from an upgrade to the existing plant, a partnership between PavCo and Creative Energy aims to produce a new plant along the east side of Expo Boulevard across the street from the redevelopment site in the future. It will be about half the size of the existing plant at 720 Beatty St., according to the applicant. The open house for the 720 Beatty St. proposal runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Central Library Branch’s Alice MacKay Room on March 11.

City introduces measures to toughen up protections for renters Naoibh O’Connor

noconnor@vancourier.com

The City of Vancouver plans to pilot a new notification system that will inform renters of their tenancy rights by mail when the city receives a permit application to develop select recently sold rental buildings. It’s among a series of measures designed to improve renters’ circumstances, which are outlined in a press release issued by the city Feb. 27. Renters represent more than half — 53 per cent — of Vancouver’s population and have been increasingly vocal about their plight in a city whose tight vacancy rate has averaged 0.9 per cent over the last three years. Many have complained about renovictions, demovictions and an inability to find affordable places to live even if they earn reasonable salaries. Aside from introducing the notification system, city staff are also planning to update the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy. They are consulting with interest groups and plan to present council with an updated policy in June 2019. Options under consideration include: • Strengthening the first-

right-of-refusal provision by providing increased affordability for low income and vulnerable renters. • Adding a temporary relocation option for renovations • Increasing communication between landlords and tenants and increasing city staff oversight of this outreach • Developing options for social housing providers that focus on rehousing, rather than compensation. In April, meanwhile, staff will report to council on ways in which a Renters Office could be developed. The city has already hired its first staff member — a renter advocacy and support services officer — for the office and created a renters enquiry line. Once it’s set up, the Renters Office’s aims to improve city services for renters, to collaborate with and support external community-based, renterserving organizations, and to work with rental advocates to support renters affected by renovation and redevelopment. The city is also working with the provincial government’s Rental Tenancy Board to improve renter protection and to “ensure greater clarity is provided

Renters represent more than half — 53 per cent — of Vancouver’s population and have been increasingly vocal about their plight in a city whose tight vacancy rate has averaged 0.9 per cent over the last three years. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

to city staff, tenants, and the public regarding whether planned work on rental properties justiﬁes eviction of tenants.” Measures to deal with the fact that much of the existing rental stock, which is often more affordable, is aging and in need of upgrades, are also in the works. Since 2010, more than 7,000 new rental units have been approved, built or are under construction, but far fewer rental units

were built between 1980 and 2009. To encourage reinvestment of aging rental stock, city staff are looking at: • Opportunities to encourage critical upgrades, including ﬁnancial incentives or grants, development easements, and regulatory options and aligning these objectives with work underway to develop a strategy for energy and seismic retroﬁts in existing buildings • Developing a pilot

program to support critical energy retroﬁts in existing buildings, including rental, with conditions including no permanent displacement. The city’s Rental 100 program is also under review. The program applies to development projects where 100 per cent of the residential rental housing units are secured for 60 years or the life of the building, whichever is greater. Affordability is achieved

primarily through tenure since renting is less expensive than owning, but the program is also designed to give higher-earning residents more options to choose from, thereby lowering the demand for lowerpriced rental units. Incentives available to developers through the program include the potential for a development cost levy (DCL) waiver if rents meet or fall below city guidelines. To be eligible for the DCL waiver in 2019, proposed rents must meet or fall below these guidelines for the “east area”: $1,607 for a studio, $1,869 for a one-bedroom, $2,457 for a two-bedroom and $3,235 for a three-bedroom. In the “west area,” proposed rents must meet or fall below: $1,768 for a studio, $2,056 for a onebedroom, $2,703 for a two-bedroom and $3,559 for a three-bedroom. “Staff will be reviewing this program to determine how we can deepen affordability. A report to council on the ﬁndings of the review and new policy recommendations for program improvement will be drafted by the end of the year,” the city’s press release states.

THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

Thunderbird Vapes takes mystery out of vaping Vape users come from all walks of life says store co-owner Stacey White Stacey White and husband Brendan Darby decided to start a business dedicated to all things vaping. They opened Thunderbird Vapes located on West Broadway in November 2014. “We work with each customer to determine what the best option is for their speciﬁc needs. That will depend on several factors including how heavy a smoker they are,” says White. White explains Thunderbird’s starter kits are a good way to begin. She adds the kits vary depending on the type of device chosen, but for the most

part they include everything a customer needs to make the switch minus the e-liquid — and possibly a battery. Larger kits will include a “mod” (the part that delivers the power) and tank along with a charging cord and some spare coils for the tank. These larger devices often take external batteries, which are sold separately. Thunderbird Vapes offers these batteries for half price when purchasing a starter kit. Smaller all-in-one kits usually have built in batteries and come with a charging cord and either a pod or replacement coils, depending on the type of system.

“We do have a well curated selection of hand held vaporizers and wax pens,” says White White says Thunderbird Vapes’ customer base varies and, just as smokers come from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds, so do vapers. “There is a misnomer that vapers are all young males, but the majority of our customers are in their 30s to 50s and roughly 40 per cent are female. We have customers who work in healthcare, are teachers, social workers, lawyers, engineers and about every other profession represented in Vancouver.” 

Thunderbird Vapes’ customer base varies and, just as smokers come from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds, so do vapers.

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T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

PNE board stubs out idea of 4/20 moving to Hastings Park Jessica Kerr

jkerr@vancourier.com

The message from the PNE board of directors Monday night was clear — Hastings Park and the PNE are not on the table as a possible future location for the annual 4/20 pot protest. The board passed a motion directing staff to write a letter to city council stating that “Hastings Park will not serve as a relocation site for the 4/20 protest activities” and further that the board “remains committed to only hosting controlled events that fulﬁll the strict PNE event criteria and the City of Vancouver bylaws.” The motion that was presented to the board this week was a far cry from the original motion posted online last week as part of the public meeting agenda. That motion called for the board to direct PNE management to ensure that discussions around relocating the event to Hastings Park be “collaboratively undertaken while ensuring event organizers are willing to meet all required event criteria as outlined with payment of all associated event costs.” Coun. Lisa Dominato, who also chairs the PNE board of directors, told the Courier the motion was changed after the board received considerable feedback from residents in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood. “We started hearing from residents, we started hearing from local businesses and local not for proﬁts and or-

ganizations in the community saying, ‘We have deep concerns if you’re thinking of simply relocating this protest activity,’” she said. Dominato went on to say: “We don’t want to be home to 4/20 protest activities and we have very strict event criteria… and any events that are held here have to meet those criteria. We felt that we needed to be really clear with the community about that, no, we are not wanting to be home to large protest activity.” She added that there is a mutual respect between the PNE and residents in the surrounding neighbourhood, a sentiment that was echoed by some of the residents who spoke at the meeting. “We take pride in that,” Dominato said. Half a dozen residents signed up to speak to the board of directors Monday night. And while all were in agreement with the new motion that was under consideration, they took the time to reiterate their concerns about the event moving to Hastings Park. Steve Canofari said that 4/20 is no longer a protest and is a “commercial endeavour.” “They want to use the goodwill of a protest movement for their own financial benefits… but most importantly they want none of the financial and social responsibility that comes with hosting an event,” he said. Linda Shuto said residents in the neighbourhood don’t think of the PNE as a

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Larsen has yet to respond to a request for comment on the PNE board’s decision. Vancouver city council was set to debate and make a decision Tuesday on a motion proposed by Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung that would direct staff to consult with 4/20 organizers and the public to identify an appropriate non-residential neighbourhood site for the event. A decision was not made by Courier press deadline.

Organizer Dana Larsen previously told the Courier other locations have been considered but finding another suitable spot for an event of that size is difficult. “We thought about a lot of different parks in the city, really, there was a few different spots that we looked at and thought about but mostly they were either too small or not particularly accessible or difficult for safety purposes,” he said.

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the PNE board table was prompted, Dominato said, by the park board’s motion last month asking Vancouver city council and 4/20 organizers to move the event away from Sunset Beach and to ﬁnd a more appropriate location starting in 2020. The annual event has been taking place in the city since 1995. It moved to Sunset Beach in 2016 and had previously been held at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

place, but as an event that happens at Hastings Park. “I want you to think of this place through a park lens, not just a place that holds events,” she said. “Hastings Park is our local park… We’d like more opportunities to bring the public into Hastings Park for small-scale events and we would like Hastings Park to be more welcoming and accessible as most parks are.” The discussion around

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

Opinion

Ditch the switch — it’s high time to stay on daylight savings Research shows more crime, accidents linked to changing clocks twice yearly

Tracy Sherlock

a bill in January to spring forward this March and stay in that time zone forever. “Research has shown that changing to and from daylight time twice per year has negative impacts on public health, increases traffic accidents and crime, disrupts agriculture scheduling, and hinders economic growth,” the proposal says, citing research that shows a greater risk of heart attacks, workplace injuries and increased suicides in the days just after the switch. If Washington and California stop the time change, you can bet B.C. won’t be far behind. As I wrote a couple of years ago, the time change makes us all feel crappy and cranky twice a year, for no good reason. About 10 years ago, daylight time was extended by four weeks and that has worked out just fine. If we just stayed on that time all year round, it’s unlikely to cause any ill effects. Kamloops resident Tara Holmes founded Stop the Time Change BC with Bob Dieno five years ago.

tracy.sherlock@gmail.com

Brace yourselves. It’s time to spring forward this weekend, which means we will all lose a precious hour of sleep. On the plus side, it also means it will no longer get dark out before we eat dinner and we can all look forward to those long, lazy summer nights. If we get really lucky, it might even be the last time B.C. ever has to change the clocks. Premier John Horgan told CTV that B.C. should expect some news on this in the next couple of months, now that our neighbours to the south are considering the change. California voters overwhelmingly supported a bill last fall to stick to summer time all year round. Their decision still has a couple of more hurdles to jump, suchas getting approved by their federal congress, but the proposal was popular with voters, garnering nearly 60 percent support. Several Washington State senators also introduced

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Next year could be the last time B.C. residents spring forward. Saskatchewan is currently the lone Canadian province to remain within one time zone all year round. PHOTO iSTOCK

She says momentum is growing, and feels positive that next March’s spring forward might be the last one. “We should have a provincial referendum,” Holmes said. “It’s not going away. If anything, there are way more people getting involved now and sending emails.” Holmes got involved

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when she learned about the increase in accidents when it’s dark for the commute home. Her children had recently started driving and she worried for their safety. “I worry when we fall back, because when you fall back you get sudden darkness,” Holmes said. “When I heard about all of the

ICBC claims that increase after the fall back, I thought, ‘I don’t want it to be my kid who hits a pedestrian.’” Some people say if we stay on summer time all year, school children will have to walk to school in the dark in the depths of winter. But Holmes said research shows it’s actually more dangerous for them to be walking home in the dark after school, if they’ve stayed late for a sports game or to play with friends. Drivers are more alert in the morning and there is less crime. “Criminals are not at work ﬁrst thing in the morning — they’re sleeping,” Holmes said. “Criminals are doing their work in the dark between 3 and 6 [p.m.]” The Union of B.C. Municipalities has been pushing to end the time change for several years and the B.C. Chamber of Commerce is also supportive. Many Canadian provinces and American states are considering staying on one time zone and, of course, Saskatchewan, Hawaii and Arizona already do that.

The European Union is pushing to end the time change as well, though Brexit might complicate things. “Considering the health and safety implications, sooner or later someone is going to start it and then everyone else will follow,” Holmes said. “I just wish Mr. Horgan would be a leader on this one and would take the initiative.” Horgan didn’t respond to a request for comment, but he told Global News that British Columbians really care about this issue. “I have received tens of thousands of emails from British Columbians who want to stay on Daylight Saving time. I said last week that as long as our neighbours, trading partners are changing their clocks, we should too,” said Horgan. Holmes is conﬁdent the time change will end soon. “We’re getting closer,” she said. “I really have a feeling that a year from now we may be in the throes of giving it a try.” That change can’t come soon enough.

T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Inbox letters@vancourier.com LETTERS

Talk about compassion Re: “Doctors call for ‘heroin compassion clubs’ to reduce overdose deaths,” Feb. 28. The B.C. overdose rate is unacceptable and requires drastic measures; heroin compassion clubs are not the solution. 2017 saw 1,487 people die, while 2018 saw 1,489. Continuously perpetuating this addiction cycle is absurd. Compassion is great, but how is this venture compassionate? The compassionate approach is one where people who are stuck in the grips of addiction are offered a viable way out. Addicts are not suffering from a terminal illness, nor are they palliative care patients. These are humans stuck in a seemingly never-ending rut. They can claim all day that the restrictions on who could buy would be strict, but how is that even enforceable? These clubs will lower barriers, but how will they distinguish between the experimenter and addict? Very few people are against increasing quality of life through prescriptions. These clubs have nothing to do with prescriptions and would cost the user money, thereby overlooking associated societal issues. Let’s start the reasons this won’t work with drug potency. Just hearing the word fentanyl makes the average person uncomfortable, but this substance is entrenched. Addicts seek the strongest possible high and fentanyl provides that, however unfortunate that may be. Overdose is the last thing on their mind. The black market is a well-oiled machine. We don’t really believe people want to drive and line up when they can just call a dial-a-dope drug dealer, do we? The end users who are dying from these overdoses value time and their ability to be discreet. Unless this model undercuts in both price and convenience, it won’t catch on. Do we want cocaine, crack, methamphetamine and fake pharmaceuticals to be available at these clubs? They all contain fentanyl and cause overdoses. For this model to work, it’s an all-ornothing type of thing. I don’t think your average British Columbian has an appetite for something that drastic. The legitimacy that a project like this offers drugs is dangerous. Perception matters; heroin is bad and does ruin lives. The societal impact of addiction is

too often forgotten. It costs society money and the people suffer. Addicts are trapped in the cycle, struggling to support themselves and unable to see a way out. Instead of accepting widespread addiction and facilitating continued use, let’s offer a real solution. British Columbia has fallen grossly short on providing inpatient rehab and evidence-based treatment. The success stories and long sobriety achieved are plentiful. When shown a way out, people often take advantage of it. Access to treatment ought to be a fundamental right of every British Columbian. Roughly $45,000 per year is what an addict costs society at present, how about us paying up front for rehab? The yearly expense could become a one-time cost. Addicts get their life back and society gets a taxpaying contributor. The wait time for a governmentfunded bed is often multiple months long. Lower and middle-class families are asked to take on debt to pay. This is unacceptable and has to stop. Proven treatment ought to be available for people suffering from addiction, just like it is for people suffering from any other disease. The British Columbian life-expectancy has declined for the ﬁrst time in many decades because of this crisis. When people get into recovery they get their lives back and look forward to being honest, hardworking members of society. Families are reunited. It’s high time for us to pay for a solution that might actually have a lasting impact. Let’s take a progressive view — enough of being reactionary. This is a health crisis and the Ministry of Health needs to step up. Stacy Wilson and Tristan Elliott, Executive director and communications coordinator,Together We Can Addiction Recovery and Education Society

Canucks coach, Mayor Stewart separated at birth? Hmm… Re: “Did you know Vancouver has a new Indigenous relations manager?” 12th and Cambie, Jan. 31. Thanks to Mike Howell for letting us know the mayor’s elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top! And has anyone else noticed the uncanny resemblance between Mayor Stewart and Canucks coach Travis Green? Gerry Polman, Vancouver

Michelle Bhatti

Michael Kissinger

mbhatti@vancourier.com

mkissinger@vancourier.com

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

Community VANCOUVER SHAKEDOWN

Robson Street’s last independent shops say goodbye Grant Lawrence

grantlawrence12@gmail.com

The last row of “mom and pop” shops along Vancouver’s famous Robson Street will be closing its doors this summer, and in doing so, will mark the end of an independent retail era. Between Granville and Seymour streets, on Robson’s south side, you’ll ﬁnd a one-storey 1914 building that still houses Simon’s Bike Shop, India Gate Restaurant and Time Frame Gallery. All three independent businesses have been in their current locations for more than 30 years. Newer tenants on the block include Red Burrito and Vancity Weed. Recently, they were all served eviction notices for July 31, 2019, citing a demolition clause in their lease agreements. Simon Coutts has owned and operated Simon’s Bike Shop at 608 Robson St. for an amazing 33 years, opening in 1986. He is one of downtown Vancouver’s last standing true retail characters, always shooting from the hip and quick with a story or a quip. He loves to talk. Some of his customers over the years have included Robin Williams, Matthew Broderick and Pierce Brosnan. Coutts could apparently match wits with all of them. He isn’t surprised at being served notice and, even though the development

Simon Coutts has owned and operated Simon’s Bike Shop at 608 Robson St. since 1986. PHOTO GRANT LAWRENCE

application has yet to be approved by the city, Coutts considers it a done deal. “It’s going to happen,” Coutts told me from his perch behind the counter of the bike shop. “It only makes sense. This is an old building. Progress happens, and this property is worth so much money.” The property at 600 Robson was assessed at $28.7 million in 2018, more than three times its assessed value in 2015, according to BC Assessment. The shopkeepers say the land is rumoured to have sold for almost double the assessed value. A few doors down from Simon’s Bike Shop, the familyowned India Gate Restaurant

has been serving the theatre, concert and downtown business crowds for a remarkable 41 years. The Gupta family opened their doors on Feb. 1, 1978. They were informed of their upcoming 2019 renoviction by mail. “We’re sad, we’re disappointed,” co-owner Gurmeet Gupta told me after the lunch rush last week. “We’ve served three generations of customers here. Parents, grandparents, kids.” Gupta’s father, the charming Rachhpal Gupta, opened the restaurant with his wife after moving here from India. At 74, he still works the lunch rush alongside his son. “This is our second

home,” Gupta senior told me with a warm smile. “The rent has always been reasonable here.” Longtime property owner Murray Goldman recently sold the 600 block of Robson to Bonnis Properties, which plans to build a 13-storey ofﬁce tower on the site, with roughly half the retail space along Robson Street there currently is now. Time Frame Gallery ﬁrst opened its doors on the corner of Robson and Seymour in 1977, making it the oldest shop on the block. New owner Christie Scott bought the business less than two years ago, and had no idea then that the building would be sold

shortly after she signed a three-year lease. “As the new owner, I barely got up and running. Now I have the added challenge of moving this whole thing.” Scott pays $17,000 a month in rent for her 2,000-square-foot space. “We have to sell a lot of greeting cards and picture frames to make that, let alone pay the staff,” Scott told me with a sigh. I asked all three business owners if they expected to be given ﬁrst right of refusal for the new retail spaces that comes with the tower. “I have not been offered anything,” Scott told me. “They couldn’t care less, I don’t think. Apparently longevity — this shop being here for over 40 years — doesn’t count for much. This corner will probably become a Starbucks under another tower.” Coutts agreed, and suggested the rent they all pay now is far cheaper than even directly across the street at newly opened eateries such as Meat and Bread. “They’re probably paying double what we are,” Coutts said. Bonnis Properties was contacted for comment, but did not respond by deadline. The Guptas remember a time when Robson Street was ﬁlled with interesting little shops for blocks. Further along Robson, before it became a fashion district,

the area was known as Robsonstrasse, a primarily European neighbourhood ﬁlled with schnitzel houses, delis, bakeries, international magazine shops and independent bookstores. “With us leaving, everything on Robson will be corporate or a chain,” Gupta junior told me. “With new towers come much higher rents. But there’s never been so many empty store fronts along Robson, especially in the fashion district, and they’re the ones who should be able to afford it.” Once evicted, the Guptas say they’ll likely close the doors on India Gate for good after four successful decades in the neighbourhood. Coutts and Scott hope to ﬁnd new locations. Scott has scouted Davie Street for Time Frame Gallery, aiming for a smaller space. Coutts has his eye on Library Square. Both feel it’s important to stay in the downtown core, as challenging as that may be in 2019. “Alright, yes, it is a bit sad to be leaving,” Coutts eventually admitted. “I’ve been here for so long, and I’m the last bike shop in the downtown core. But I’ll negotiate, I’ll relocate and I’ll still be downtown. I’ll be OK. I’ve sold bikes for a living to all walks of life for over 30 years. It’s an enjoyable thing to do. Do I look stressed to you?”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

Feature

Is modular housing the solution to end Hundreds of volunteers to participate next week in city’s annual homeless count Mike Howell

mhowell@vancourier.com

It’s an anniversary city ofﬁcials will not be celebrating next week. For the 10th consecutive year, hundreds of volunteers will take to the streets and shelters March 12 and 13 to count the number of people who do not have a home in Vancouver. Last year, 2,181 people were recorded as homeless — 1,522 in some form of shelter and 659 on the street. It was an all-time high for Vancouver, with previous Metro Vancouverled counts showing the city’s homeless population was once at 1,364 in 2005. So what will the population be this year? If the number of temporary modular housing units opened across the city since last year’s homeless count is used to answer the question, then the easy math would suggest Vancouver will see a decrease in its homeless population. Only the 78-unit complex in Marpole was open during last year’s count. Since then, nine more modular

housing buildings opened across the city, including in Fairview Slopes, RenfrewCollingwood and the Downtown Eastside. The most recent one — Nora Hendrix Place at Union and Gore streets — opened Sunday. Some units in the buildings still have to be tenanted, but about 500 people are now living at the 10 sites. When all of the units are occupied, that will mean 606 people will be housed. Not every tenant — who range in age from 20 to 89 — came directly from the street, but the city contends 80 per cent were either in a shelter or living outside before moving into a suite. So that accounts for about 400 of the 500 tenants. The remaining 20 per cent were at risk of becoming homeless or living in precarious housing situations, according to Abi Bond, the city’s managing director of homelessness services and affordable housing programs. The breakdown suggests fewer people will be on the street and in shelters this time around. But that’s the easy math. What complicates an answer to the equation of whether Vancouver’s homeless population has decreased since last year are two sobering data points. The ﬁrst one is that 78 per cent of people surveyed in the March 2018 count said they last paid rent in Vancouver prior to becom-

ing homeless, dispelling a long-held myth that the city’s population is being fueled by migration from other cities and provinces. The second point is that 52 per cent of people surveyed said they had been homeless for one year or less. That has been a reoccurring trend. The reasons vary, but the drivers of homelessness, as identiﬁed in city reports, have included expensive rents, low vacancies, job loss, people living with mental health and addiction issues, and lack of housing for people leaving hospitals, jails and foster care. Some single-roomoccupancy hotels have also closed, such as the Regent and Balmoral, while others have seen substantial rent increases. Those are factors Mayor Kennedy Stewart is keenly aware of, and it is why he could not provide a prediction on what this year’s count will reveal, although he pointed to the opening of the modular housing buildings in his response to the question. “All our hopes are really pinned on the temporary modular housing,” said Stewart, who plans to participate in next week’s count. “I’m hoping that makes a difference.”

‘Stepping stones’

It has made a difference for Mitchell Lagimodiere, who lives in a suite at a modular housing building on Kaslo Street near

the 29th Avenue SkyTrain station. It’s called Sarah Ross House. The 56-yearold self-described jack of all trades was not counted in last year’s count. Why? “I was hiding,” he said. “They couldn’t find me.” Lagimodiere may be familiar to media watchers as the guy who built a bunker into the side of a hill in a ravine near Lakewood Street and 12th Avenue. He lived in the fortified space, complete with a bed, lighting and venting for about seven months. He even rigged up a DVD player. His large collection of tools took up much of the space. A combination of a police incident involving a friend and media attention ended his days in the bunker. He found a spot in a shelter at East First and Commercial Drive, which connected him with people who arranged for a suite at the Sarah Ross House. Lagimodiere was grateful for the room. It was a bonus, he said, that it wasn’t in the Downtown Eastside. He moved in last August. “I had a bad drug habit when I was younger, and to go downtown would be just asking to get back into it,” he said, sitting at a table in the building’s common room while an episode of The Simpsons played on the television. “There’s no way I’ll go back down there.” His room has a bed, small kitchen and washroom. He’s filled it with his tools.

He’s got a lock on his door, which, he said, gives him peace of mind. He also has access to laundry and a computer room. If he doesn’t cook himself, he can get a meal prepared in the building’s community kitchen. Atira Women’s Resource Society, the non-proﬁt that manages the 52-suite building, ensures tenants have access to support services such as health care, counselling and help with income assistance. Harm reduction supplies are available near the front door. Movie nights, bingo nights and a women’s sharing circle are some of the programs available. Tenants can volunteer in the kitchen and management is currently developing a life skills program. The cost for Lagimodiere to live there is $375 per month, a sum that is paid for with the income assistance he receives from the provincial government. For all he has, his new surroundings took some getting used to. “I just couldn’t come inside,” said Lagimodiere, who is originally from Winnipeg but moved west to Vancouver as a young boy with his mother to escape being recruited into gangs. “It took a while to adjust. I actually didn’t sleep here for the ﬁrst month. I found it real uneasy. I’d spend the day here and then turn around and go sleep outside.” Having a place to live has allowed him to reconnect with some of his 12 children.

He believes one of his sons from Prince George will be in town to celebrate his birthday later this month. In the past few months, he said, he’s also been thinking about returning to Vancouver Community College to improve his limited literacy skills; up until three years ago, Lagimodiere said, he couldn’t read or write. For now, he spends his days doing odd jobs around Sarah Ross House. He recently built some gravel walkways with fellow tenants and friends. He’s also built shelves for tenants, including Kelli Lubbers, who was in hospital during last year’s homeless count. Lubbers, 40, had been living in a single-room-occupancy hotel in the Downtown Eastside until she contracted an infection, which she blamed on the condition of the hotel. She learned about Sarah Ross House through the building’s manager. “This deﬁnitely helps with my stepping stones,” said Lubbers, who noted she was once certiﬁed as a “Red Seal” chef. “My next goal is to get clean [from using drugs]. I don’t use very much, I use actually very little but I can’t get rid of it. And I really need to. I don’t know how I’m going to go about doing that, yet.” Since Lubbers moved in, she got a pit bull puppy she named Bubba, which played at her feet for a portion of her interview with the Courier. “I’m much more stable, way more relaxed,” she

T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Feature

Mitchell Lagimodiere is a tenant at the Sarah Ross House modular housing building on Kaslo Street. Housing Minister Selina Robinson, Mayor Kennedy Stewart and Abi Bond of the city’s homelessness services department were reluctant to predict whether next week’s homeless count will see a decrease in the number of people living on the street. PHOTOS DAN TOULGOET

Vancouver’s homelessness crisis? said of her life at Sarah Ross House. Lagimodiere feels the same. “I love it — it’s great,” he said. “I feel at home here now. I got friends out there right now who would kill to get in here.”

$66 million for 606 modular homes

The mayor wants to get more people into housing, but he’s not promising what his predecessor, Gregor Robertson, did — to set a deadline to put an end to the number of people living on the street. “I was a boy scout for a long time and the motto is ‘I’ll promise to do my best,’ and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” said Stewart, noting he’s met with politicians in Victoria and Ottawa to press for more funding for modular and permanent housing in Vancouver. As Robertson acknowledged in not meeting his goal to end “street homelessness” in 2015, any reductions to homelessness have to be done with millions of dollars of commitment from the provincial and federal governments. Robertson, who served 10 years as mayor, believed the governments of Christy Clark in Victoria and Stephen Harper in Ottawa would address the homelessness crisis and help him meet his goal. That didn’t happen, he said, and the homeless population increased from 1,576 in 2008

to 2,181 last year. During the provincial Liberals’ time in government, they funded 13 supportive housing buildings, bought and renovated more than 20 Downtown Eastside hotels and provided funding to operate shelters and offered rent supplements for lowincome people. Still, the homeless population increased in Vancouver and throughout the region. Then-housing minister Rich Coleman would repeatedly tell reporters the Liberal government had invested more in housing than any jurisdiction in Canada. The provincial Liberals and Harper’s Conservatives lost both elections as Robertson was winding down his last term. In leaving ofﬁce last fall, Robertson argued the newly elected NDP-led provincial government and the Liberal-led federal government were more aligned with the city and region’s push to build housing for homeless people. He pointed to the $66 million for the 606 modular homes in Vancouver and the federal government’s $40-billion, 10-year national housing strategy announced in 2017 to reduce chronic homelessness by 50 per cent in Canada. That is an alignment Stewart — a former NDP MP — has also referred to when discussing homelessness, noting the provincial government’s recent budget

forecast called for another 200 modular housing units province-wide this year. “The province is the reason we have the first 600 units of [modular] housing, but I’m glad that they’ve made more available and I’m going to take as many as they’ll give me,” the mayor said. But while Stewart and Abi Bond of the city’s homelessness services department say funding for modular housing is crucial, it’s the drivers of homelessness that they say need to simultaneously be addressed by the provincial and federal governments. “As long as we still find people entering homelessness in that way, we’re going to see the homeless numbers affected,” said Bond, referring to people living with mental health and addictions and other factors related to poverty that leave people on the street. “We need big system changes in order to prevent that from happening. And we need more investment in supportive housing, not just in Vancouver but across the region, as well.” Added Bond: “If new people are becoming homeless every day, every year, then we need a system that’s going to pick them up quickly and re-house them as fast as possible. But right now, our shelters are full to kind of bursting and we don’t have sufficient supportive housing options for people in the year that they’ve become home-

less. So unless we can start to do that, I think we will see continued pressure on our system.”

All types of housing for all types of people

Housing Minister Selina Robinson and Social Development Minister Shane Simpson are troubled by Vancouver’s homeless crisis, as they are about people living on the street and in shelters in the rest of the province. In separate interviews last week, both ministers rattled off a list of initiatives the NDP-led provincial government has taken since elected in 2017 to address homelessness. Some of that list included modular housing, investments in mental health and addictions services, increases to income assistance, the move to set up a rent bank, keeping the allowable rent increase at 2.5 per cent and making post-secondary education free for young people leaving foster care. The government, however, did not open any new stand-alone permanent housing for homeless people in Vancouver since last year’s homeless count. Only 52 units of the 198-unit Olivia Skye building at 41 East Hastings — which opened in March 2018 — rent to single women at the provincial welfare rate of $375 per month. In addition, the government paid $12.5 million for the Jubilee Rooms near

Main and Hastings, which opened in June 2018. But that purchase was done to accommodate nearly 80 tenants evicted from the Regent Hotel, which the city closed because of its dilapidated state. Both ministers would not predict whether Vancouver’s homeless population would decrease this year but said they were hopeful progress had been made since last year’s count. Robinson, who was in Vancouver March 3 to open the 52-unit Nora Hendrix Place at Union and Gore streets, said her ministry continues to work with municipalities to bring housing to their communities, noting homelessness is a B.C.-wide problem. She provided some examples of progress — one in the Whalley area of Surrey, where people were moved off a notorious strip and into modular housing, and another in Smithers, which she said will close its shelter because of the construction of modular housing in the northern community. “As a town, they are very excited that they don’t need their shelter anymore,” Robinson said. But, she said, the government is not solely focused on modular housing to reduce homelessness. She pointed to the government’s 30-point housing plan, saying addressing homelessness has to include providing all types of housing for all types of people.

“We recognize it’s not any one thing,” Robinson said. “We need affordable rental, we need seniors housing, we need housing for families, we need to address what’s going on for renters — the fixed-term lease loophole. Fixing all of those pieces is about preventing homelessness.” The drivers of homelessness that Bond referred to are expected to be a focus of the provincial government’s poverty reduction strategy, which Simpson said he will reveal in a couple of weeks. “We know much of [being homeless] is linked to poverty — the connections, obviously, are very strong,” he said, noting the plan involves input and action from a range of government ministries. “If the issue of poverty reduction rests with my ministry alone, it’s not going to succeed. It has to be bigger than that, or we’re not going to have a lot of success.” In the meantime, Vancouver’s homeless count will go ahead next week for its 10th consecutive year. The data, so far, has shown no significant signs that an 11th or 12th count will not be necessary. “Obviously, we hope we’re going to see some progress,” said Simpson, the MLA for VancouverHastings. “That would be great. But there’s still going to be significant numbers of people out there who are struggling with homelessness. That’s a for sure.”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

UBC Dentistry is screening patients 12 years of age and older who require

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Development Permit Board Meeting: March 18 The Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel will meet: Monday, March 18, 2019 at 3 pm Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue Ground Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room to consider the following development permit application: 3591 West 19th Avenue (Dunbar and 19th Ave) To develop on this site a new mixed-use building consisting of six retail spaces on the ground ﬂoor and 28 dwelling units from the second to fourth ﬂoor, with vehicle access from the lane. TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM: 604-873-7770 or kathy.cermeno@vancouver.ca Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

Arts & Entertainment

Courier nominated for six B.C. Community Newspaper awards

Arts and business writing, multimedia and feature video among Ma Murray nominations

Courier Staff vancourier.com

Vancouver Courier writers, photographers and videographers nabbed six nominations for the prestigious 2019 BCYCNA Ma Murray Awards. The B.C. Yukon Community Newspaper Association celebrates excellence amongst its member newspapers and has hosted the Ma Murray Awards for almost a century. The winners will be announced at a gala held at the River Rock Casino Resort, April 27. Among the nominees, Vancouver Shakedown columnist Grant Lawrence’s story “Meet the renowned sculptors shaping Canadian culture from East Vancouver studio,” is nominated in the Arts & Culture Writing category. John Kurucz’s feature on small businesses struggling amid Vancouver’s tax and

property crunch is nominated for Business Writing. Editor Michael Kissinger’s video on the odorous corpse ﬂower, which bloomed to great fanfare at the Bloedel Conservatory, is nominated in the Breaking News Video category. And his video on tapestry artist Sola Fiedler is nominated for best Feature Video. The Courier also received two nominations for best Multimedia Feature Story. One for Mike Howell, Michael Kissinger and Dan Toulgoet’s “No Fixed Address,” which examined Vancouver’s growing homeless population living in vehicles. The other for John Kurucz, Dan Toulgoet and Michael Kissinger’s music-ﬁlled preview of the Vancouver Guitar Festival. The full list of nominees can be found at bccommunitynews.com.

Mike Howell, Michael Kissinger and Dan Toulgoet’s “No Fixed Address,” which examined Vancouver’s growing homeless population living in vehicles, is nominated for best Multimedia Feature Story at the BCYCNA Ma Murray Awards. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

THE GROWLER: DRINK THIS

Naramata Nut Brown by Cannery Brewing Rob Mangelsdorf

editor@thegrowler.ca

Since we said goodbye to Flagship February, I thought it would be a good idea to get into the spirit of things and crack open a classic this week. What’s Flagship February, you ask? Basically, the idea is that for one month, we, the beer drinking public, try to focus on perennial flagship beers instead of the latest hype can of the moment. Experimental one-off beers that you’ve never tried before are nice, but you know what’s nicer? A beer that’s taken years to refine and perfect. Look at Belgium. The classic Belgian breweries don’t release dozens of new beers every month. They have two, maybe three different beers, and that’s it. And those beers are perfect. They’ve been refined over the course of decades, even centuries in some cases. Of course they’re going to be amazing. But with sales of flagship beers flagging, if we don’t support them, we could lose them. The idea started out as a tweet by Canadian beer writer Stephen Baumont and soon led to a global campaign. “A lot of beer drinkers

Far from being a mere clone of an English brown ale, Cannery has put its own characteristically West Coast spin on it.

have developed a sort of ADD with respect to the beers they drink, so going for a glass of beer at the bar or pub becomes less a pleasant distraction and more a relentless search for what’s new and exciting,” Baumont told Forbes.com last month. “In this mad rush towards the unusual and unknown, we tend to forget the great, familiar and stillwonderful beers that guided us all along the path to the craft beer renaissance.” So, with that in mind, I thought I’d revisit one of my all-time favourite go-to beers: Cannery Brewing’s Naramata Nut Brown Ale. Naramata Nut Brown has been around since shortly after Cannery opened 18 years ago in Penticton. And, after all that time, it should come as no surprise that

they have this beer absolutely dialed in. Almost two decades later, it’s still one of a few beers I will always instinctively order should I see it on a menu. The beer itself is wonderfully rich and nutty (there’s no actual nuts in it, by the way), with notes of toast and jam, dried fruit and burnt sugar. The malt character is complex and ﬂavourful, and the body silky smooth. It would be perfectly at home in some country pub in Northern England. But far from being a mere clone of an English brown ale, Cannery has put its own characteristically West Coast spin on it. Firstly, at 5.5 per cent ABV, it’s higher in alcohol than you’d expect to ﬁnd in Ol’ Blighty. Secondly, the hop character is also slightly more

pronounced than traditional examples, and here it does a wonderful job of balancing the sweetness and drying out the ﬁnish, enticing you to take another sip. The end result is as “moreish” a pint as has ever been brewed in this province. But please don’t drink this beer straight out of the fridge: let it warm up for 15 minutes or so ﬁrst. If you serve it ice cold you will miss out on all the lovely malt complexity So don’t forget the classics. These are the beers that got us here, and it would be a shame to lose them.

Naramata Nut Brown by Cannery Brewing 5.5 per cent ABV • 25 IBUS • 650 mL bottles and 6 x 355 mL cans

Appearance: Brilliant deep, dark brown with a persistent, sturdy tan head. Aroma: Molasses, caramel, nuts, toast, dried fruit. Flavour: Nutty, smooth, caramel, molasses, toast, dried fruit, roasted barley, mild hop bitterness. Body/Finish: Silky, creamy, medium bodied with a semidry finish. Pairs with: Toast and jam, Cornish pasty, ploughman’s lunch and a solid eight hours spent sidled up to the bar at your favourite pub (which the English refer to as “Tuesday”).

T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Arts & Entertainment

Syrian food, free pancakes and light-based art installations are among this week’s event highlights.

Yaletown lights up with a cornucopia of colour And four other reasons Vancouver is awesome this week Lindsay William-Ross

lindsay@vancouverisawesome.com

Illuminate Yaletown

This dazzling festival will feature lightbased art installations that utilize advanced video and lighting technology that is both cutting edge and power smart. Yaletown will be lit in an array of colours at precisely 6:06 p.m. when the sun sets on the city. Bonus: hit up select restaurants in the area for special Illuminate cocktails. Friday, March 8 from 6 to 10 p.m. Yaletown yaletowninfo.com

Savour Our Neighbourhood

The Mount Pleasant Family Centre Society invites you to join in on the Savour Our Neighbourhood 2019 festival. This sixth annual fundraising event celebrates the food and beverage artisans of Mount Pleasant. The evening is hosted by Vancouver storyteller Jo Dworshak and features comedian Charlie Demers. Savour our Neighbourhood 2019 will be catered by Tayybeh, an award-winning local

food company and social enterprise that supports newly arrived Syrian women. Thursday, March 7 Heritage Hall, 3102 Main St. www.evenbrite.ca

Biggest Dog Meet-Up

Who let the dogs out? Vancouver’s biggest dog meet-up of the year takes place this weekend and promises to delight canine aficionados from far and wide. This is a casual gathering for anyone who loves dogs, but you don’t have to have — or bring — a dog to attend. There are no booths or activities, it’s just a free meetup for all of Vancouver’s dog lovers to enjoy. Sunday, March 10 from noon to 3 p.m. Trout Lake Farmers Market, 2100 East 13th Ave. facebook.com

p.m. This is the sixth year IHOP has done this event in Canada, which doubles as a massive fundraiser Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Tuesday, March 12 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. IHOP, 950 West Broadway ihop.com

Free Pancake Day at IHOP

To mark National Pancake Day, breakfast restaurant chain IHOP will be giving away free short stacks of buttermilk pancakes across the U.S. and Canada, including right here in Vancouver, from 7 a.m. to 7

For more events, go to

East Side Beer Fest

Liberty Wine Merchants proudly presents the seventh annual East Side Beer Fest tasting event. This event is in support of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, which helps provide food for 27,500 people

Co-presented by the Vancouver International Children’s Festival and The BlueShore at CapU

Will’s Jams

Bobs & Lolo

Fire Hall #1 | 900 Heatley Ave.

Fire Hall #15 | 3003 E 22nd Ave.

February 10th, 2pm

in need each week. All proceeds from ticket sales and draw prizes directly support the food bank. The evening will feature craft beers from B.C. and around the world, along with a silent auction and door prizes. Wednesday, March 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac St. www.facebook.com

GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY! www.riverrock.com

CHEECH & CHONG MARCH 16

March 10th, 2pm

LIVE AT THE RIVER ROCK SHOW THEATRE

Upcoming Shows

Jim Byrnes April 14th, 2pm

STAY THE NIGHT

Fire Hall #18 | 1375 W 38th Ave.

FREE Family Concert Series! Please bring donations for the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund

REGISTRATION REQUIRED - SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

childrensfestival.ca/firehall Timothy C Kerr Family Foundation

Book an overnight hotel package at 1.866.748.3718

March 30

April 12

André-Philippe Gagnon

Australia’s Thunder from Down Under

May 31

June 21

Bob Saget

Shaggy Wah Gwaan?! Tour

8:00pm

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

ARTS

PREVIEW SPRING 2019

Seven must-see highlights of With temperatures warming and the winter months melting away, Vancouver’s arts community stirs from its hibernation just in time for spring. From Japanese dance ensembles and hip hop politics to opera festivals and movie marathons, there’s no excuse for staying indoors wrapped in a blanket any longer. Here are seven mustsee arts events bringing some warmth to Vancouver stages and audiences.

Vancouver International Dance Festival

It’s hard to get your groove back when you’ve never really lost it. That’s how it is for this year’s Vancouver International Dance Festival, which unleashes a diverse and dynamic roster of internationally celebrated artists and local favourites for three weeks of performances, workshops and a host of dance activities, including Japan-based butoh ensemble Dairakudakan. Until March 30 at various venues, vidf.ca.

Hot Brown Honey

Hot Brown Honey, courtesy of Australia’s Briefs Factory, returns for another hot and sticky serving of hiphop, politics and female empowerment. March 15 to 30 at the York Theatre, thecultch.com.

Vancouver Chamber Choir

After 48 years as Vancouver Chamber Choir’s artistic director and conductor, Jon Washburn is calling it a day. But not before waving his baton at three ﬁnal Vancouver concerts. Music Sea to Sea: the Farewell Tour kicks of March 15 at Shaughnessy Heights United Church, followed by Music for a Very Good Friday April 19 at the Orpheum, and Youth and Music 2019: Music’s Future, May 10 at Shaughnessy Heights United Church. vancouverchamberchoir.com

Top: Hip hop and empowerment get sticky when Hot Brown Honey returns to the York Theatre. Bottom: Weezer and the Pixies play Rogers Arena April 7.

Western Gold Theatre proudly presents an Anna Hagan directed production

MYSTERY AT

GREENFINGERS

Japan-based butoh ensemble Dairakudakan performs at the Vancouver International Dance Festival.

by J.B. Priestley nd

March 22 to 24 , 2019

Fri/Sat 7:30 pm, Sat/Sun 2:00 pm

Tickets@ 604.363.5734

green.BrownpPaperTickets.com

WesternGoldTheatre.org

Pal Studio Theatre 581 (Ardero St (Coal Harbour) Hear one of Canada’s largest male choirs celebrate it’s Celtic Heritage with songs from Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Christ Church Cathedral 690 Burrard Street, Vancouver

Saturday March 16, 7:30 pm Tickets

celticfestvwmc.bpt.me Phone:1 800 838 3006 Event 4072161

Premium $40 Adults $30 Senior $28 Student $15 PAY WHAT You CAN! SAT MARCH 7:30 AT THE DOOR

Small ticketing fee by Brown Paper tickets Tickets at door pending availability

PHOTO: DEREK STEVENS

DISCOVER DANCE! SERIES

South Asian Arts Experience the exuberance and dynamic rhythms of bhangra!

Thursday, March 14, 12 noon + 6pm

Scotiabank Dance Centre 677 Davie Street (at Granville), Vancouver

Tickets $13-$22 Tickets Tonight 604.684.2787 | ticketstonight.ca Information: 604.606.6400 | thedancecentre.ca

T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

the spring arts season The Cinematheque’s 24 Hour Movie Marathon

Do your eyeballs have the stamina and endurance to take in 24 consecutive hours of essential cinema? “A carefully crafted, super-secret lineup of ﬁlms will be served” consisting of “a medley of forgotten gems, arthouse hits and WTF curios from the four corners of our spinning globe.” There’ll be prizes, complimentary craft beer, treats and more. Blankets, pillows and good hygiene recommended for this 19-plus event. Tickets are $60. March 30, 10 a.m. to March 31, 10 a.m. thecinematheque.ca

Weezer and the Pixies

It’s the ’90s all over again. Sure, alt-rock heroes Weezer and the Pixies have both seen better days despite releasing new music when most of their fans remain deeply rooted in the bands’ back catalogues. But at least they’re trying. And probably still pretty rockin’ in concert.

ARTS

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PREVIEW SPRING 2019

April 7 at Rogers Arena, ticketmaster.ca

Morrissey

There is a light that never goes out: former frontman of the Smiths and loveable malcontent Morrissey has broken his 15-year boycott of Canada “in protest against the barbaric slaughter of baby seals.” Moz returns to our veganfriendly shores in support of an upcoming covers album, California Son. April 14 at the Orpheum Theatre ticketmaster.ca.

Vancouver Opera Festival

Fairy tales and fables is the theme of this year’s the Vancouver Opera Festival, which includes performances of Charles Gounod’s Faust and Gioachino Rossini’s masterpiece La Cenerentola (Cinderella) among other sumptuous offerings. April 27 to May 5 vancouveropera.ca

After 48 years as Vancouver Chamber Choir’s artistic director and conductor, Jon Washburn goes out with a bang… and three hometown concerts.

8pm Friday, April 19, 2019 | The Orpheum Vancouver Chamber Choir & Orchestra Pacifica Singers Vancouver Youth Choir Jon Washburn, conductor Jon Washburn draws all his soloists, choirs, alumni and orchestra together for a wonderful evening of music to celebrate the passage of his 48 years as leader of the Vancouver Chamber Choir. The music is resplendent - J.S. Bach’s marvellous Missa brevis in G minor, Tarik O'Regan’s mystic and evocative Solitude Trilogy, a premiere performance of Jon Washburn’s Two Canadian Folksongs and a celebratory massed performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ glorious Five Mystical Songs.

1.855.985.ARTS (2787) vancouverchamberchoir.com

Top: This charming man, Morrissey plays the Orpheum after boycotting Canada for the past 15 years. Bottom: Vancouver Opera Festival presents Faust from April 27 to May 5.

8pm Friday, March 15, 2019 Shaughnessy Heights United Church 1550 West 33rd Avenue at Connaught Drive

Vancouver Chamber Choir | Jon Washburn, conductor The Farewell Tour will be performed across Canada and features our all-time Top Ten List (by number of performances over the last 48 years) including Bach’s Lobet den Herrn, Debussy’s Trois chansons, and Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia. There’s also music by Kodály, Raminsh, Schafer, Foster, and McKennitt. This concert marks Jon Washburn’s 92nd domestic or foreign tour with the Vancouver Chamber Choir!

1.855.985.ARTS (2787) vancouverchamberchoir.com

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

Pass It to Bulis

The hockey blog that knows who needs the puck

Canucks likely to miss playoffs for fourthstraight season for the ﬁrst time since 2000 Mike Keenan era wasn’t pretty, but it set up the Canucks for future success

• I’m dropping the gloves with the subsection of Canucks fans who harassed former Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen with hateful messages online, leading to him deleting his social media accounts. • Along with that, I’m dropping the gloves with Jim Benning, whose speculation into the motivations of Dahlen’s trade request helped fuel those hateful fans.

Backhand Sauce Daniel Wagner

Barring a miracle, the Canucks are about to miss the playoffs for the fourth season in a row. It will be only the third time in franchise history they’ve missed the post-season in four straight years. The first time the Canucks missed four consecutive post-seasons was forgivable: it was their first four seasons in the league. Sure, the Vegas Golden Knights went straight to the Stanley Cup Final in their first NHL season, but most expansion teams have to go through a few more growing pains. When the Canucks finally made the playoffs in their fifth year by winning the newly formed Smythe Division, it was a big moment. The only other time the Canucks missed the playoffs in four straight seasons was during the late ’90s, in the dark days of Mark Messier and Mike Keenan. Nobody looks back fondly at that era of the Canucks, except to point out how underrated Alexander Mogilny was at the time. Keenan oversaw the dismantling of the beloved team that went to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals when he was essentially in charge of hockey operations between when Pat Quinn was fired as GM of the Canucks and Brian Burke was hired. In those eight months, he traded Trevor Linden, Kirk McLean, Martin Gelinas, Gino Odjick and Dave Babych among others. While Keenan wasn’t the GM when Pavel Bure was traded, he was still head coach. Bure has said he had no issue with Iron Mike’s infamously confrontational coaching style, but it’s hard to imagine that it helped placate his issues with Canucks management, particularly when Keenan traded away Odjick, his closest friend on the team. While Keenan’s ruthless approach didn’t win him any fans in Vancouver, it did something else: set up the Canucks for future success. The Linden and Bure trades, in particular, helped lay the foundation for the West Coast Express-era of the Canucks and, indirectly,

Stick-taps & Glove-drops

Big Numbers • 1 According to analytics site HockeyViz.com, the Canucks currently have a one per cent chance of making the playoffs. So you’re telling me there’s a chance! • 9,925 The salary cap hit of the Canucks’ current fourth line of Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, and Tyler Motte is $9.925 million. Eriksson and Beagle combine for $9 million of that total and are signed for three more years after this season.

Loui Eriksson’s contract, which pays him $36 million over six years, is an anchor that will pull the Canucks down for years to come. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

gave the Canucks the Sedin twins. The Linden trade returned a young Todd Bertuzzi, along with defenceman Bryan McCabe, and a third-round pick that turned out to be Jarkko Ruutu, a key agitator for the West Coast Express-era Canucks. Among other assets, Bure brought back Ed Jovanovski, who had three 40+ point seasons for the Canucks. The addition of Jovanovski likely made it easier for Brian Burke to move McCabe and a ﬁrst-round pick in 2000 to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth overall pick in 1999, one of a series of moves that gave the Canucks the second and third overall picks in 1999 to select Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Fans hated the Keenan era of the Canucks. Attendance plummeted as the team sunk to the NHL’s basement, while simultaneously shipping out fan-favourite players. Most Canucks fans aren’t anywhere near as irate with Jim Benning, even as he’s presided over four-straight losing seasons. Benning is certainly a lot more likeable than Iron Mike and he allowed the Sedins to exit on their own terms, culminating in a fantastic

ﬁnal home game last season. The question is whether Benning has set up the Canucks for future success as much as Keenan did. Keenan trading Linden was an unpopular move, but in the long term, it was the right move. Benning, on the other hand, has resisted moving veteran players for future assets for multiple reasons: to insulate young players, provide leadership, or simply because the team has no one to replace them. Benning is already the ﬁrst Canucks GM to miss the playoffs in three-straight seasons and keep his job, largely on the strength of his drafting, which has brought players like Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser into the fold. Whether he keeps his job for much longer will depend on his ability to build around the players he drafted. Ultimately, he may regret hanging on to veteran players for too long.

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

www.bettermeals.com 604.299.1877

March 17, 11am – 4pm

BETTER MEALS

Choices Cambie location 3493 Cambie St., Vancouver

Viva Skincare Analysis With Jessie Gill, viva Organic Skincare Want to get to know your skin on the inside out? Viva’s Skincare Analysis machine can measure dark spots, pores, wrinkles, skin texture, and UV photography that measure UV damage. Register with the Wellness Dept. in-store to book your time. /Choices_Markets

home delivered meals since 1993

Loui Eriksson. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Where to recycle? Check the BC RECYCLEPEDIA 604-RECYCLE (732-9253) 1-800-667-4321 RECYCLING COUNCIL OF B.C. MEMBER

FOLLOW TWEET. REPLY. SHARE.

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T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

A21

Super Valu LEAN GROUND BEEF

BONELESS BLADE STEAK OR ROAST CLUB PACK

6.59 kg

ASPARAGUS OR GREENHOUSE SWEET PEPPERS RED, YELLOW OR ORANGE PRODUCT OF MEXICO

$ 49lb

CLUB PACK

13.21 kg

CAULIFLOWER

2 for 5

PRODUCT OF U.S.A.

$ 29

99 ea

PC® SALSA

2.84 kg

PC® SOFT DRINKS

SELECTED VARIETIES 650 ML

SELECTED VARIETIES

NAVEL ORANGES

PRODUCT OF U.S.A.

5.49 kg

QUE PASA TORTILLA CHIPS

SELECTED VARIETIES 2L

99 ea

¢ ea

PRICES IN EFFECT MARCH 8TH – MARCH 14TH, 2019

Super Valu

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L O C A L LY

O W N E D

A N D

O P E R A T E D

A22

THE VANCOUVER COURIER THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019

Your Community

MARKETPLACE Book your ad ONLINE:

vancourier.adperfect.com Visit the online MARKETPLACE:

classiﬁeds.vancourier.com

Or call to place your ad at

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SPROTTSHAW.COM

COMMUNITY

ANNOUNCEMENTS

AUCTIONS

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5'1) ! .10&8) ! 4060(#*0# #1(0,'8) )2/% " )#68 5+3I>B+GD !+>)9 ,8D JE,.D .+46<H4 5I1B+GD !+>)9 ,;D JE,.D .+460H4 &87/2"38 $"7- 44<4= %0!-"-0!- #"> (1/++/."!-: *( ;',/2 <<5 )66 &/31."> <9 -& 5/::=72 2$& (*@*'#*@ (*@(&7 F"#'A5 (*!:C *@' ("@- "#'A5 %/@' "(&'##'$%! ?< * 1.&+-)/ ,# !').$-') * "02 ') %-$( Little Mountain−Riley Park Conversation An invitation to our House for neighbourhood conversation. We welcome all who eat, live, work, and play in Little Mountain−Riley Park. Share your ideas: −What matters in our community? −How can we create a better sense of community? neighbourhoodconversation−lmnh.eventbrite.ca

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ART & COLLECTIBLES 1($(,%*- 2,%#+*+&,)#$ /'% "%,+) 0*,)$ ,# ."!

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'05AIOA7 'FMIF0AM '97I09 HG(. '58890>OAM %0OE9< BA72 #7)5= J.& 6-.QH4(6 ? ,;8= :(2..

BURIAL PLOTS

%9 D7G @0; &NJ;0;/J;< &N ?;>7R&N) &NF7"F;<= 5";@/; >7NJ@>J #;// Q>!;NC&; @J J(; O@>&9&> O@0$&N/7N1/ M;/;@0>( ,;NJ0; @J K.+P:HHPLLK+ 970 R70; &N970R@J&7N2

Forest Lawn Burial Plots Garden of Tribute Phase 2 Close to path; 2 double deep, adjacent long crypt, upright marker ok. New plots sell for $26,000, Will Sell Both for $48,000. 604-996-3007 or email: blccalder@hotmail.ca

>*( $>A"&A&#$ !A>'; *#'327? 1#- '-$ ,+1#-% '9#$ !>/4! ?#'86% '8# 5-.52#$ 2+ )'825&5)'2# 5- ?+97082 620$? =; &35-5& .56526<: (+970826 )8+.5$#$ "8## +" &+62 '-$ 95"2 &'8$6 '6 8#10-#8'25+-: %GB) 4,CGB1894G,- <H=.E66.F6@H GB 0G:73B9D?93+0532/D/8

EMPLOYMENT

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

WANTED Old Books Wanted. also: Photos Postcards, Letters, Paintings. no text books or encyclopedias. I pay cash. 604-737-0530

EDUCATION

Available Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10am until 6pm Has experience working with Alzheimer’s or dementia Enjoys working with the elderly Has a caring heart and patience Speaks and understands English fluently Has a cell phone and is comfortable with text and/or email Must live in Vancouver area & able to work in Kitsilano area Have residency or a valid work permit An active driver’s license and/or car is a PLUS!

Looking for a rewarding career with flexible hours? Join the Home Instead Senior Care team! We are hiring CAREGivers to provide companionship, home helper, and personal care services. Training provided, no experience needed. Call 604.428.9977

Call 604.428.9977

FOOD/BEVERAGE HELP

FOOD SERVICE BC’s largest High School Cafeteria Company

MARCH 10 LEGAL

with over 60 locations is now interviewing for • Food Prep • Cooks • Team Leaders

• Counter Attendants • Cashiers

Starting now at a local school near you, 4-8 hour shifts available during the school day. If you would enjoy Summers, Christmas & Spring Break Off e-mail: jobs@canuelcaterers.ca fax: 604-503-0951

BUSINESS SERVICES

MARKETPLACE

Due to space restrictions, there is no puzzle this issue.

CAREGiver Required with Alzheimer’s Experience

,,,!'#-)$+.*"(#%$!*#&

SAY NO to FAKE NEWS! 63% of Canadians can’t tell the difference between real and fake news. Support reliable LOCAL journalism. Join the list www.news papersmatter.ca

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

FOR SALE - MISC SAWMILLS from only $4,397 Make money & save money with your own band mill - Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE Info & DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com/400OT 1-800-567-0404 Ext:400OT STEEL BUILDING SALE...”REALLY BIG SALEExtra Winter Discount on NOW!!” 20X21 $5,726. 25X25 $6,370. 30X31 $8,818. 32X33 $8,995. 35X35 $12,464. One end wall included. Pioneer Steel 1-855-212-7036. www.pioneersteel.ca

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BUSINESS SERVICES

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#"7%":!@=) -)(*0 +*#/()' '4?? &48BE39 A3/45) 0.+22.>0+.>626 3, 8BEBA ;E 4A B98-9AB9C./48BE39.13<D(' $,-- %#,(#/!"$0 &.%)(' FINANCIAL SERVICES TROUBLE WALKING? Hip or Knee Replacement, or other conditions causing restrictions in daily activities? $2,000 tax credit. $40,000 refund cheque/rebates. Disability Tax Credit. 1-844-453-5372

PERSONALS GENTLEMEN! Attractive, discreet European lady offers companionship. 604-451-0175

**SWEDISH MASSAGE** 604-739-3998 Broadway & Oak St.

LEGAL SERVICES )("&%$,.& *#&! +'M8I81 ,7I?P L H4L-4J) O?"7 KI2; A?7=5FE81; *' L C5F1 6. A@ %5P+ A"7222)6(HJ/ 4L K?"P *5?I #FPPL#5N8N?:8 D"PP >8 05P: 57 ,31"P 4; GB46; ?I4B<BB ?N ?I -JB4 O?"7 KI188I; A?7=5FE81; *'; F7P800 C5F1 0I51?&8 :8>I "7 I$8 ?N5F7I 5+ 9H;4BB2BB I5 K"&7?P @?18$5F0"7& !I:2 "0 3?":2 $53 8)+4/((0+,7. "70.044( 9%1* &:2-&6!-:##' CRIMINAL RECORD? Why suffer Employment/Licensing loss? Travel/Business opportunities? Be embarrassed? Think: Criminal Pardon. US Entry Waiver. Record Purge. File Destruction. Free Consultation 1-800-347-2540, accesslegalmjf.com

&1,))!.$%)(*'+/,*"/-#(&-0 classiﬁeds.vancourier.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

REAL ESTATE

APARTMENTS / CONDOS-FOR SALE

HOME SERVICES ELECTRICAL

EXCAVATING

LAWN & GARDEN

LIC. ELECTRICIAN 778-322-0934

New West • Queens Ave PENTHOUSE. MILLION $ VIEW. 2 BR, 2 Bath. Only $568k. Do Not Miss! 604-786-7977

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RENTALS

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A LIC’D. Electrician #30582 Rewiring & reno, appliance/ plumbing, rotor rooter 778998-9026, 604-255-9026

#1 A-CERTIFIED Licensed

Electrician, Res/Comm New or old wiring. Reasonable rates. Lic #22774 604-879-9394

PAINTING/ WALLPAPER

RUBBISH REMOVAL

6#!).2613!#-03$*

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APARTMENTS/ CONDOS FOR RENT

#1 Backhoes & Excavators Trenchless Waterlines Bobcats & Dump Truck & All Material Deliveries Drainage; Video Inspection, Landscaping, Stump/Rock/Cement/Oil Tank & Demos, Paving, Pool/Dirt Removal, Paver Stones, Jackhammer, Water/Sewer, Line/Sumps, Slinger Avail, Concrete Cutting, Hand Excavating. Basements Made Dry Claudio’s Backhoe Service

Winter Clean-up Chafer Beetle Repair • Tree Prune & Hedge Trim • Power Wash & Gutters • Concrete & Repairs

B G::@F -:G 2BB08 ? ;:!DF !=3 ;:C:<G 4(/)C)=+ A "G)@ /6DG!1 $G);/ )=;CF (C:9/G5!C/ $G/@)<@ ,<!C)D3 7!)=D. 53 1"-6!5/ #)$,+ 7(4 ,% 2(*'+.$.0& *FE <F !>:<D :<G &!@)=!D/ 'C::G)=+ A %!)5 #/G9);/F.

%/( 5+4/ 54,47 ''"5"7,54,/4 %/(54475&7"7

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*"+). '-!& "(#$,+%"!#$

Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour this Sunday, March 10th!

PATIOS

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METRO VAN PATIO COVER & ALUMINUM

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HOME SERVICES

CONCRETE *%&*!)") $#)*(+'($" $/64?#+-8 (5/,4?#<8 &#0/; '>9;346 *11541#048 %4);,4 " %49+#:/=1 %4#3;=#!+4 %#0437 .2 <53 4>945/4=:4 "'% (%!! !$#&

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West Coast Cedar Installations New, Repaired, Rebuilt since 1991. Fences & Decks. 604-788-6458 cedarinstall@hotmail.com

FLOORING INSTALLATION REFINISHING, Sanding. Free est, great prices. Satisfaction guar.604-518-7508

'%,$1..$ (2.., &#"04+840: 75)4/'& 2 6%4/+/+3 8+&%4-84%/*+ "'55 $&%/,4%5& *#093,/ '%,$1..$ (2..,+ ;-!67);6)55! !!!(05+%#'914'.!**.(0*, Golden Hardwood & Laminate & Tiles. Prof install, refinishing, sanding & repairs. 778-858-7263

GUTTERS

DRAINAGE

Ken’s Power Washing Plus SPRING SPECIALS

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604.782.4322

To advertise call

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TAKE A LOAD D OFF elp in the Home Find help Services section Place your ad online

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HANDYPERSON

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"%$#&"! " ,( " 0)/, $.(),

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EAST WEST MOVERS 24/7. Reasonable. Reliable. James • 604-786-7977

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PLUMBING

• SD ENTERPRISES • •Landscaping •Power Raking •Lawn Care •Gardening • Pruning • Clean-up •CEDAR FENCING Call Terry • 604-726-1931

OIL TANK REMOVAL

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2'4*+ */1.,$*.(10 '."-

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ROOFING MCNABB ROOFING

ALL Roofing & Repairs. Insured • WCB 40+ yrs exp • Free Est’s

+$#"! )##'%& *,(! *-'! &, )'(!$ %# +"$%#'$$ ')24*"1*%*-. *- 423"($ 0*!2(.1"'' 1"/*-"&2' "-3 &+(4, +-#

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

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MCR Mastercraft Roofing Right the 1st time! Repairs, reroofing, garage, decks. Hart 322-5517

classiﬁeds.vancourier.com

RENOS & HOME IMPROVEMENT

PAINTING/ WALLPAPER

BC’s Best Painters in Town! PAINTING (25+ yrs exp) BBB Int/Ext. Top Quality Paint & Workmanship. Interior: 3 Coats & Repairs for $250ea room. 778-545-0098 604-377-5423

%>03 ,/ :0831 '<503)0940

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

WEEKLY SPECIALS MEATS

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Boneless Pork Butt Steaks

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1.00

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2.00

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9.88/EA

4/$

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

2019

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER T H U R SDAY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 1 9

KENDRA’S STORY Weeks after she caught a bad case of the flu, Kendra continued to feel listless. At ﬁrst, it was chalked up as an illness the 12 year old just couldn’t shake. As time went on, however, Kendra started to bruise easily and often became light-headed. Bloodwork and a biopsy at BC Children’s Hospital revealed she had acute myeloid

leukemia—a cancer that starts in the bone marrow. Kendra was immediately admitted and endured several months of intensive chemotherapy. But the treatment wasn’t working. Her only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant. After the procedure, Kendra developed serious complications—including a

persistent cough and unusual rash. It was caused by Graft vs. Host Disease, a life-threatening complication where cells from the donor attack a patient’s tissue. Kendra had to undergo another surgery and is currently on medication to treat her symptoms. Today, her cancer is in remission and she continues to visit BC Children’s for monthly check-ups.

HERE’S A SNAPSHOT OF HOW YOUR LOTTERY PURCHASE HELPS

More than 85,000 kids rely on life-saving care at BC Children’s Hospital every year.

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Together, we can help more kids get back to being kids. Learn more at bcchf.ca