We’ve heard a lot in the news lately about the Green New Deal being brought forward in the States by people like the popular Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Now there’s also a Green New Deal for Canada. But what exactly does this mean? To start, we’re all pretty clear about what needs to be done…
Category: Vancouver
New technology is my new best friend
I was reminded the other day, through personal experience, just how far technology has advanced over the past 40 years. In the late 1970s, the Kinsmen Rehabilitation Foundation installed in my home what was then a piece of cutting-edge technology. Measuring roughly 2 feet x 1 1/2 feet x 6 inches deep, it was a…
No quick fixes to sky-high property taxes
Vancouver’s commercial businesses — big and small — will soon get a break on their property taxes. City council has passed a motion to shift 2% of property taxes from commercial businesses and onto residential properties over the next three years. It will see a shift of 1% in year one, followed by 0.5% in…
PEI proves we need a war effort backing the Greens
It was an historic breakthrough Tuesday for the Green Party of Prince Edward Island — they elected eight members to the provincial legislature, the most Greens ever elected to one body in Canada. (Vancouver is lucky to have seven Greens elected, but they’re split among city council, parks board and school board.) In fact, the…
Alberta election results deliver a sense of dread
My partner Penny and I watched the Alberta election results live on Tuesday night with a sense of dread. Don’t get me wrong — I’m no fan of Rachel Notley’s advocacy for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. However, Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party will be an order of magnitude worse for folks like…
The community delivers the best solutions
The Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts will be no more in just a few short years. This has the potential to very positively reshape Northeast False Creek and Vancouver’s first neighbourhood — Strathcona. One of the biggest issues city planners and Vancouver city council will have to wrestle with when the viaducts go down is what…
ICBC changes are no laughing matter
On April 1, it was no joke when the provincial NDP’s attorney general, David Eby, introduced sweeping new rules limiting compensation for victims of motor vehicle accidents in BC. But before I get into the details, two important points. First, full disclosure: I’ve been practising law since 1984, representing the victims of motor vehicle accidents….