As 2012 draws to a close, I find myself taking stock of this last year and getting excited about the remarkable rebuilding, energy and action within COPE. This is especially remarkable coming in the aftermath of one of COPE’s worst election outcomes: on November 18, 2011, COPE elected not one of its three candidates to…
Author: Tim Louis
A modest proposal for Translink: make the Broadway-line bid process truly competitive
Translink will soon be making its decision on building a rapid transit line along Broadway from Commercial to UBC. This week the City of Vancouver came out in favour of using underground “SkyTrain” technology. However, Translink’s own estimate put the price tag of an underground train at $3 billion, nearly three times their $1.1 billion…
If I were in charge of Translink
Translink has announced that in the new year it will raise fares by 10% to 12.5%. But these fare increases are not fair, and the rationale is not rational at all! With the cost-of-living rising faster than wages, many working people don’t have money left over for transit. The fare hikes will only push the…
Protest should be celebrated not criminalized
In a healthy society, protest is celebrated as a sign of life and fighting spirit. Whether it is Civil Rights advances in the Southern states, environmental struggles or widespread movements for social change, protest has always been a vehicle for transformation. Instead of seeing protest as a way of change, however, the state sees it…
Why I Oppose Sullivanism
The Georgia Straight recently published a cover story titled “Sullivanism versus Jane Jacobs”, detailing former NPA Mayor Sam Sullivan’s continuing efforts to push high-rise densification onto the city. In the article, Sullivan praises former Mayor Tom “Terrific” Campbell’s reign of free market ideology. The issues are clear. Do we let capitalism run roughshod over democratic processes and the…
Why are Vision representatives abandoning the city?
In the past two weeks, two prominent Vision Vancouver representatives have announced to the public that they are putting their names in the hat for the upcoming provincial election. Last Sunday the chair of the Parks Board, Constance Barnes, announced that she is running for nomination as the NDP Vancouver False Creek candidate. On Friday,…