Did you know that the City of Vancouver has no comprehensive city plan? Virtually every other major city in Canada has one — a city-wide plan that stipulates what can be built where throughout the city. To their credit, our city councillors elected in 2018 have initiated steps to create Vancouver’s comprehensive new city plan,…
The challenge: A progressive in ultra-nationalist times
I watched President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night and, like me, if you did, too, you probably were turned off big time. It was a typical Trump event — a speech filled full of false facts with a lot of reality TV gimmicks thrown in for good measure. It was anything…
The irony at Davos
The World Economic Forum annual meeting of business executives and political leaders held in Davos, Switzerland, is now underway. This year, nearly 3,000 participants from 117 countries are attending. The theme: Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World. One of the keynote speakers was Greta Thunberg who spoke on Tuesday, January 21. This is Greta’s…
Cleaning up campaign donations
Those of you familiar with my blog will recall how pleased I was when the provincial government introduced regulations governing the funding of municipal election campaigns in 2018. These new restrictions prohibited donations from unions and corporations — including developers. They also limited donations from individuals to a maximum of $1,200. However, even during the 2018…
Here’s hoping Iran/US talks resume
I was waiting on tenterhooks for President Trump’s press conference Wednesday morning. In response to the Iranian ballistic missile strike on US airbases in Iraq the day prior, would he order a retaliatory American attack? Were we going to end up with another war in the Middle East? Iran, with a population of 80 million,…
My wish for the world this holiday season
Last week, COP 25 at Madrid came to an end without an effective agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. In the meantime, the climate crisis continues to accelerate at rates higher than ever. The alarming evidence is all around us: Zambia’s famous Victoria Falls has been shrunk to a trickle by drought. In May, it…
The Sen̓áḵw project: Both exciting and concerning
On Tuesday, December 10, members of the Squamish Nation approved the development of their land at the south end of Burrard Bridge. Called Sen̓áḵw, for the name of an ancient village that was originally on this site until about 20 Squamish families were forced off and moved to North Vancouver in 1913, this development will…