The provincial NDP are proposing a new school tax on homes worth more than $3 million. The revenue projections are in the vicinity of $200 million and would largely be used for seismic upgrades for school buildings. Many of the homes that would be affected by this new tax are located in the Vancouver-Point Grey…
Author: Tim Louis
Shauna Sylvester: A Trojan horse for Vision?
Does it really appear that Vision Vancouver will not be running a mayoral candidate in this fall’s municipal election? With Vision Vancouver’s deadline for individuals seeking the party’s mayoral nomination now passed — and nobody having declared an intent — it would appear at first glance that Vision will not be running a mayoral candidate….
Vision’s falling star and no pockets to put it in
Vision Vancouver’s struggles continue to mount. Last fall’s by-election was a complete disaster for Vision Vancouver. Their candidate, Diego Cardona, came a distant fifth. Over the month that followed, all but two of Vision’s incumbent city councillors announced they would not be running for re-election in this fall’s municipal election. Then Vision Vancouver’s Mayor…
A little technology, a lot of independence
With the recent passing of world-renowned physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, there have been many very interesting interviews on CBC Radio over the last few days. One of them was Tuesday, March 20 on The Current. Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed Gary Birch, the Executive Director of the BC-based Neil Squire Society. For more than 30…
No vision for Vision in progressive alliance
On Sunday, March 11, the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) held a meeting to begin looking at what an alliance of progressive parties might look like in the upcoming October 2018 municipal election. The event was very well attended — in fact, it was the largest turnout for a COPE meeting in quite some time. Over…
Getting to first base with basic income
It’s been two weeks since the provincial budget was released. Many of you may be unaware of the fact that the new budget contained $4 million to “test the feasibility” of a guaranteed basic income for all British Columbians. The basic income movement has been around for many decades. In the 1970s, the federal government…
Calling the federal budget “progressive” doesn’t make it so
Many have suggested that Tuesday’s federal budget was a progressive one. I am not so sure. While it contained many welcome initiatives, such as improved parental leave and significant increases in funding for indigenous issues, I was very disappointed to see three critical items omitted. First on the list is a national childcare program. I…