Cambie Report

The municipal becomes the provincial as two friends-of-the-pod compete in the race to replace an outgoing MLA. Mike Klassen asks the city for money for a Junos trip, Ken Sim asks a park board commissioner for forgiveness and the MST Nations are going to ask the province for everything. We also get into BIA expansion controversies, calls to make the red Vancouver sign permanent, and the history of...

Park board abolition, budget task force and naming rights, car-free gastown and more. Links Muni Ministry - Park Board MMA-2023-33456.pdf Vancouver Mayor - Park Board 2023-763 - res.pdf “ the province is not going to be surprised ” Sim says Vancouver Park Board 'not fixable' Park commissioners unlock $20K to fight Vancouver mayor's move to abolish board Vancouver-area Indigenous groups refuse to e...

Denis Agar, founder of Movement, a transit advocacy nonprofit organization, discusses the challenges and solutions for improving transit in Metro Vancouver. We cover the issues with the 49 bus route, the need for bus lanes and other transit improvements, the importance of community engagement, the funding challenges faced by TransLink, the potential of real estate development as a funding source,...

Ken Sim proposes abolishing the Park Board, shocking half of the ABC Park Board caucus who are now in open revolt. Can the right decisions be made for the pettiest of reasons? Ken Sim also saw the City Hall walls and wanted them painted...with the Rolling Stones logo. New regulations from the province dictating how cities need to implement the coming upzoning laws are giving city planners nightmar...

BC's new housing laws mean major shakeups for city councils but maybe that's a good thing since we are in a housing crisis. Plus cities try to make themselves useful in the meantime. Except Surrey and especially except Harrison Hot Springs. Links Legislation introduced to rein in short-term rentals, deliver more homes for people | BC Gov News   More small-scale, multi-unit homes coming to B.C., zo...

Social housing at Little Mountain continues to be the most aggravating story in the City of Vancouver, and it just got worse. Boyle wants red light and speed cameras in the city, but ABC wants further study. The cops are using their political capital. The Park Board is protecting golf courses. The city wants to save Britannia Community Centre but possibly eliminate the Beach Ave bike lane. Further...

Surrey sues the province, who's about to crush them with legislation. Vancouver seeks a new city planner to build the homes Ken Sim is hoping his new plan will allow, if he's not too busy filing complaints against political rivals. Burnaby allows laneway houses but misses out on federal funding as Metro Vancouver's new development fees are too high. And Port Moody council approves a new developmen...

The latest threat to neighbourhood character: Young children. Also: Paying people to speak at public hearings, selling off school board land, staffing the mayor's office, banning Hookah shops, developing Coquitlam and Burnaby. Links Vancouver graffiti for climate change action (inspiration for the song Heat Dome) Dan Fumano: How a Vancouver neighbourhood fought, and defeated, a daycare Dan Fumano:...

We can't have nice things: We can't have a spa, we can't have the polar bears, we can't have a mural, we can't have the RCMP in Surrey, we can't have temporary modular housing and we can't have water. But we can have a beer at Khatsalano. Links Vancouver mayor shotguns beer at outdoor festival | CBC.ca Councillor doesn't regret shotgunning drink with Vancouver mayor, does regret it was vodka cream...

Surrey policing drama, disqualifications, ethics issues, car-free pilots and mean girls. Links Olivia Chow requests to take office July 12, says first order of business is housing Surrey mayor threatens to call for inquiry into policing transition after Farnworth’s ultimatum Surrey mayor levels allegations of bullying and misogyny as policing debate shows no sign of ending | CBC News Surrey mayor...

A jury convened by a Coroner's Inquest has deemed the death of Myles Gray to be a homicide, seven years after he was dead following an altercation with Vancouver Police. But this is only the latest in a long history of challenges for policing in Vancouver. Meanwhile, the province has recommended Surrey continue transitioning to the Surrey Police Service and Brenda Locke refuses to read the reasons...

Ken Sim clears Hastings Street and has thoughts on housing. Brenda Locke stands by her interpretation of a meeting. Links Vancouver police, city staff begin removing encampment on East Hastings Street | CBC News City of Vancouver document calls for using police to speed up clearing DTES street camps Back on Vancouver's Hastings Street with no tent, no mattress and nowhere to go Vancouver readies '...

The Globe and Mail's exclusive claims China attempted to interfere in Vancouver's 2022 election and councillor Lenny Zhou is in the crosshairs. The Broadway Plan is up for a series of votes, ABC wants grant recipients to be nicer and a roundup of other recent news. Links China’s Vancouver consulate interfered in 2022 municipal election, according to CSIS - The Globe and Mail   Vancouver councillor...

Vancouver passes a budget that "sucks" and kills the Living Wage. Progress Vancouver admits to breaking election financing laws. And the City is clearing tents and considering a new hotel. Meanwhile, Burnaby is running an "alternative approval process" for a green waste facility, Surrey cops allege conflicts of interest and Harrison Hot Springs appeals to the Inspector of Municipalities to fix its...

Elections BC has released the financial reports from the 2022 municipal elections and we can see how efficient each party's spending was. Meanwhile, the staff report from the Climate Emergency Action Plan is pretty bleak and ABC opted to slash the climate justice charter from its further implementation. This prompted a question of whether ABC is predetermining outcomes of council votes (probably),...

Whether Gregorian or Lunar, Happy New Year. We're back to look at missing middle initiatives in Victoria and Vancouver. Plus what's hot and not for ABC. Surrey won't have an answer on policing anytime soon. And Kennedy Stewart is in the news once more. Links Victoria council adopts divisive missing middle housing program Missing Middle Housing Initiative | Have Your Say 'Plex appeal: Vancouver eye...

Motions are passing unanimously at council but marginally more controversially at Park Board. The planning department is a mess, as is policing south of the Fraser. And sculptures! Links Boyle nonprofit housing motion passes Vancouver City Council approves exploring expediting social housing up to 12 storeys   Text of the Klassen amendment   Hardwick abstained from speaking CAC motion passes   Van...

Doug McCallum is a free man, having been found not guilty of mischief. Ken Sim began his stint as Mayor of Vancouver with a trip to Qatar to watch the world cup. But he was back in time for budget debates, where he questioned the revenue generating possibilities of the library. There's lots more coming up at council, the regional boards see some shakeups and UBC and Translink want to build houses....

Everyone is on trial this week as Doug McCallum is in court, the VPD put themselves in the hotseat attempting to press the case against social spending in the DTES and council faces its first tests. Kennedy Stewart quits Twitter Witness at outgoing Surrey mayor's trial testifies she told him she would be the one 'that brought him down' | CBC News Doug McCallum foot pics Surrey Police Union says 94...

Ian and Matthew react to the results of the 2022 Vancouver municipal election and check in across the environs. 2022 Election unofficial results - chart view 53 Years Ago, Vancouver’s Very Own Fool Turned This City Upside Down | MONTECRISTO

One final look at the election with just under two days until we have the results. We dig into Surrey a bit more and then look at the other interesting races to follow. Mainstreet Poll Leger Poll Metro Vancouver’s Spiciest Local Elections | The Tyee Five-way race for mayor in Maple Ridge as nominations close In this B.C. town, big money is bulldozing democracy ⋆ The Breach How anonymous social med...

A recap of how the campaigns have gone and who we think deserves a vote in Vancouver. Link mentioned: Vancouver Police Union breaks with tradition and endorses ABC Vancouver for municipal election | CBC News

Ian's on vacation so Brent Richter from North Shore News joins Matthew to break down the state of the races in the North Vancouvers and West Vancouver.

The candidate lists are finalized and Vancouver voters once again have over a hundred names to choose from. Stewart Prest ( @StewartPrest ) calls in to discuss the implications for voters and whether this makes electoral reform a necessity. Then we get into some of the latest policy announcements, what the new council will have to do with and threats against Port Coquitlam’s mayor. Who is running...

The final nominations are in and Vancouver is about  to do its draw for the random ballot order. But some candidates, notably the entire NPA, wants to include non-Latin characters in their names . Women Transforming Cities released a report card where most candidates seemingly endorse everything , even things they previously voted against--with a few notable exceptions. The Vancouver Greens expel...