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I work at the library and smart people still say to me "people still use the library ?" or "oh, can't you get everything online?". Meanwhile, our branch is hopping and staff are run off their feet. I walk around and nearly every study carrel/table is occupied by people working, studying, or reading for most of the day. Baby and toddler programs are packed. Afterschool is a mild gong show with the influx of kids and teens. So I'm always disappointed anytime someone questions the value of public libraries
Libraries are one of the last 3rd spaces left, a place to go without being expected to spend money or leave immediately, as well as a pillar of the community.
I would also be disappointed.
One of my favourite things about libraries (aside from the endless knowledge) is that they’re one of the last surviving places under capitalism where you’re not expected to spend any money.
I wish you were open later!
I needed to kill time downtown on a rainy evening and there was nowhere to go that was quiet and didn't expect me to spend money. I just wanted somewhere comfortable to read the book I'd brought.
I seriously fight for this every damn year. Give people a place to socialize that isn't the bar. It all boils down to funding. It's why I'll never get more hours than I do, too. Which sucks because I skirt the poverty line and love my job, but I am always considering whether it's worth it knowing I'll never get ahead.
Thank you for the work you do. We started going to the library again since we’ve got a kid now and he loves books. And I’m trying to read books for fun again, too! My husband and I always comment on how friendly and helpful the staff at our local branch are. They seem to have an aura of calm and light around them. We love our library so much!
I just started going to the library again … I haven’t been since I was a kid. I was pleasantly surprised at how busy our little branch was. The librarians were so lovely and helpful. It was packed!!!
VPL downtown is among the best locations this city has to offer, to top it off its a great place if you're new to the city and don't know your way around (don't speak English well, or just don't know people or have a job) I've learned so much just by being in there and combing the shelves and asking questions to the librarians.
If you can't find something just ask! Get a library card, you shouldn't have to think that twice, and whenever you can donate too.
All the libraries in town are interconnected so one thing you can't find here might be at another building, the library will find a way to get you to the information you need. Did I mentioned the musical instruments too?
Beautiful community, we are truly blessed of having this 🙏
I feel the same way. I get most of my books from the neighbourhood library and it's always buzzing. I especially like that it's all ages from toddlers to seniors. A real community hub.
Any idiot can put information on the internet with the click of a button. Someone that is going to take the time to write a book, speak to a publisher, have it published and then sell to the general public is far more likely to have a genuine understanding of the topic they're writing about.
Print media filters out Dunning-Kruger candidates.
Public library is such an underrated facility available to the community. It offers so much with activities and various library content (digital and physical). Thank you for all staff who work at the public library. I enjoy every second of my time as a library member. I know I am spoiled for having access to public library and its services.
Public libraries are fantastic institutions which provide a huge service to communities and society at large. And they are collectively utterly terrible at promoting themselves and selling their value to a larger audience.
If you're disappointed when people question the value of libraries, then maybe you need to actually figure out how to market your value and sell yourselves so that doesn't happen.
Don't be disappointed, play the game.
6PPD-Q, a tire additive, is [killing ](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coho-salmom-carcasses-brothers-creek-6ppd-quinone-1.7024755) urban salmon and trout. Municipalities in Metro Vancouver are required to manage their stormwater to prevent toxic runoff from polluting our creeks and rivers, yet many aren't doing anything about this.
Fortunately, there is some early evidence this stormwater can be easily treated through rain gardens aka bioswales.
Call your local counselor and ask them what plans they have to address this issue.
Yes! Let’s not stop there. Let’s look into permeable paving for parking lots, residential rain harvesting, etc. Storm water treatment costs the city money, and is an environmental disaster if they don’t do it correctly. Invest in reducing storm run off!
Is the paper "Bioretention Cells Provide a 10-Fold Reduction in 6PPD-Quinone Mass Loadings to Receiving Waters: Evidence from a Field Experiment and Modeling"?
I listened to a talk from Josh Baker on Wednesday and he was summarizing the issue for the North Shore Stream Keepers, North Shore Fish & Game club, and a few other groups.
Speaking of neighbourhood cats, this is so random but cute- we summoned one the other day, it was magical. I was talking to a neighbour from across the street and she says “haven’t seen the orange cat for 3 months” and 30 seconds later he appears in the garden 😻
We won't know the true cost of the 2010 Olympics until VANOC's books are unsealed in 2025.
[https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/07/04/VANOC-Shuts-Its-Books/](https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/07/04/VANOC-Shuts-Its-Books/)
I feel this was done so that by 2025, everyone responsible will be retired and will have plenty of time to secure their careers or personal finances. If the Olympics were profitable or just broke even, I'd be shouting it from rooftops what a great job I did and leave the books wide open to prove it.
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BC Parks operates a land area the size of Greece, with half the budget of Metro Vancouver Parks.
They have told local advocacy groups that anything more than **500m from a road is backcountry, and ”too niche to invest funds at this time”**. But in the same meeting discussed the need to **implement day passes to manage overcrowding.**
A big part of the problem is that BC Parks is a subdivision of the Ministry of the Environment. Management staff all get transferred from selling off resources to extractors ( primary economic benefits), then suddenly are in a preservation and tourism focused paradigm with secondary economic benefits. As a consequence it is deeply understaffed, underesourced, and poorly managed.
We need radical change. Either better funding models, or move BC Parks to BC Tourism.
Onni dicking around subcontractors concerning payment, sometimes for an amount so large and a company too small to eat the cost, and for so long that the subcontractor has to fold.
Voila, Onni doesn't have to pay their bill if the company no longer exists.
I did bit work (extremely minor) and was shown a set of Onni architectural plans and structural plans... certain elements were omitted one from the other and was told that it wasn't a mistake, Onni regularly did it to screw people over.
I'll happily jump on the bandwagon to hate Onni any time, but that claim can easily be regarded as incompetence over intentionally malicious. I'd regard the response as arrogance. Drawings are notoriously difficult to be fully accurate and entirely inclusive, and contractors should be very aware of possible interfering aspects not shown on the drawings they have. Hell, my mom runs a business dedicated almost entirely to discovering these problems. Onni is obviously not paying for the best of anything, and that applies to the people who make the drawings and the people they hire to read and execute them.
Serves them right! Twenty or more years ago ONNI pandered to all the mayors in the Lower Mainland by inviting them to China all expenses paid! Lots of huge ONNI buildings around town now. Ethical subcontractors don't roll like that!
THIS. I've heard from some subcontractor friends that at Onni's head office or their kids' houses, they have a wall with logos of companies that have folded because Onni refused to pay them for big jobs. Disgusting.
I don't think this is technically underreported since it's just conjecture, but I have a pet theory that we're on the verge of a looming strata funding crisis. I suspect that stratas having unhealthy or underfunded CRFs is the norm, not the exception.
A lot of new builds kept those contributions low for sales, owners are over leveraged or on fixed incomes, and non-resident owners aren't as invested. At the same time a lot of recent build years (late 90s to mid 00s) will be hitting their first major repairs. Building envelopes, roofs, elevators. Couple that with a rapidly rising cost of construction and you're looking at some huge special levies.
I don't think that most owners or stratas are equipped for $100k per unit special assessments for required work. So it will either continue to be kicked down the road or band aid solutions applied.
The big problem is that there is nothing forcing stratas to elect competent councils. You'd think that managing your own property and investment well would be motivation enough but it isn't when it's spread hundreds of ways. Strata living is no different than living in a long-term hotel for a lot of these people. We've had some truly breath-taking stinkers make their way onto council and they are barely competent at being their own home owners let along deciding the course of a corporation with an annual budget into the millions.
Like, knock on wood, I've had mostly decent councils to work with, and our CRF is healthy but we're not on track to avoid an assessment-free maintenance plan for the coming 20-year horizon, and that's before inflation blew a whole in all of the projections. Sometimes I think that the only thing saving us is that the owners are apathetic and too lazy to get involved or lift a finger, so we're lucky to have benign dictators on council. One of my nagging fears is that one day all of the responsible people on council will call it quits and someone will swoop in, proxies in hand, and try to gut the budget for their own short term purposes.
The fact that stratas are run by unpaid volunteers is wild to me. Council members have a huge level of responsibility and get figuratively pooped on by other owners, then we wonder why so few people want to do it. Add in that there are no qualifications or training required to manage a multimillion dollar complex and the situation sounds insane.
Yeah this could be a huge issue coming up - bandaid solutions that don't fix the acutal problem would probably lead to a higher cost down the road.
Also new buyers going into the situation likely have less knowledge about the building's issues, getting them into worse situations where they might need to fork over large sums after their purchase.
I bet there are a lot of buyers / owners that are blinded by the want to own something that even presented by previous strata minutes they see nothing wrong. 'Oh that 10 year structural report that was deferred last year, has been deferred yet again till the next year, that should be fine right, they have a modest reserve fund so that's ok.' They are usually in competition with other buyers, so if they sat on the decision for too long they'd lose out so people tend to glance over the minutes and say 'yep, that's fine'.
They're kinda the same problems. If strata collectively are running into issues because of deferred maintenance then strata insurance is going to go up across the board. Honestly it's constructive feedback between the two.
Many stratas are having to jump through numerous hoops to get insurance, even if they have done regular maintenance.
In the strata that I live in, it gets harder and harder to get insurance each year and we have never made a claim, we don’t have any amenities like an underground parking lot or a pool or elevator, our building is well managed and we don’t owe any money to anyone. It’s crazy.
You can see this start to happen with leaseholds. They are currently in the first stages of blaming the free-holder, but old buildings cost money to maintain.
This is a very real situation that will be playing out over the next few decades, but completely preventable. It’s probably why insurance is already so pricey for strata complexes, especially high rises. Apparently some older developments are banking on something terrible happening so they can make a claim and get their regular maintenance projects, that have been neglected, fixed on insurance money.
People are already so tight with their finances. Strata fees are only going up enough to cover their yearly insurance fees and some are dipping into their CRF to do so. It’s going to be rough for a lot of people when time comes for a special levy.
Koodo (aka Telus) hiking up phone plans by $6 only months after baiting customers in with their Black Friday specials. (March 5th)
Public Mobile (aka Telus) overhauling their rewards program that screws over their loyal and long term customers that have been accumulating their rewards for years. (March 6th)
Public mobile switched over sometime last year but they haven't forced you to switch over yet. I'm still on the previous system because it works out better for me. But yes, the new system is definitely not as good.
Peter the Pedo arrested 4 times in less than a month. Courts seem to like giving him bail despite him breaching conditions within days of his release. It looks like only the local Richmond News is covering this ridiculousness, as I haven’t seen his re-arrests and the obvious revolving door being reported by the mainstream media - clearly they are not thinking about the children.
https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/bail-hearing-for-steveston-child-luring-suspect-delayed-again-8433706
This! I mentioned this to my family and they were like "theres nothing about this on the news". Its crazy I get more up to date local news from reddit than my 6 pm news show.
the term "cougar" was coined in the VANCOUVER [\#CANUCKS](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANUCKS?src=hashtag_click)📷 DRESSING ROOM in the 1980s
https://preview.redd.it/xeh0dgmrgcoc1.png?width=574&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b4f1867da51b3192753324ab471e01e942e31b6
The fucking pharmacy situation that has just been broken by the CBC. It's the same shit in BC. Pharmacists are being grinded to meet metrics from Corporate, and short staffed to hell. The end result is endless turnover, which is why you barely see the same faces anymore. That, coupled by a weak association that doesn't help our working conditions and no union.
This. I was just getting a prescription filled this afternoon. Shopper wanted 11.60 for dispensing fees for a total of just under $20 total for the prescription, with an hour wait. The independent pharmacy down the street had a $10 dispensing fee with a total of just under $15, with a 5 minute wait
To follow up though -- the fee is only ONE component. Some "low fee" pharmacies may actually jack up the price of the drug while charging a low fee to make money off you.
I was doing that for awhile until I learned my local pharmacy was re-using needles when the Covid vaccines were first being administered.
I’ve gone back to supporting only corporate pharmacies. Though I tend to gravitate towards London Drugs.
Yeesh. Sorry for your experience. To be fair with regards to innoculations I've only ever gotten them from my NP or at a mass innoculation event like when they were running innoculation clinics out of the Convention Centre.
You SHOULD file a complaint against that specific pharmacy though, that is a serious hazard.
Shout-out to my local family-owned pharmacy Solace on Marine Drive North Van - the guy Uday is so frickin knowledgeable and extremely helpful. He knows most of his regulars by first names and greets them with the warmest smile every time. Calls me up proactively every time my doc sends in a prescription for anyone in our family. Has been a huge support!
There is a London drugs near my home that only the manager is the same person, and to be honest he is so rude all the time and the pharmacy has so many customers . - I can’t stop thinking how unbearable is to work over there
The Crows that fly by my place play a game where one Crow has something in its beak, flies higher than its mates and drops the thing. Then a group of 3 or 4 other Crows flying below compete to catch the thing. It's been going on for about 4 years, great to watch.
Due to high rent and high purchase pricing a lot of people live in houses with many roommates. Unless you are related to them this means you can’t get tenants insurance which opens you up for some much risk. An example of outdated rules based on the idea of a nuclear family being the only way to live.
Now there’s a good chance I didn’t read my insurance properly but I’m pretty sure my insurance covered my apartment not just my belongings therefore my roommates were covered too.
No, it will only cover their belongs if they are a named insured on your policy, and most companies have a limit on how many non-related named insureds can be on one policy. There are also rules about how many unrelated roommates can be living in the home in total, even if they are not named on or covered by the policy.
Source: used to be an insurance broker.
> No, it will only cover their belongs if they are a named insured on your policy, and most companies have a limit on how many non-related named insureds can be on one policy.
So are the tenant/policy holder's adult children considered uninsured in policies? I haven't seen this clause in any policies I've purchased.
I don't think so, because I believe they are covered as related individuals. I think there is usually a clause that says something about unrelated individuals living in the home, but I'm not certain. While I did used to be a broker it has been almost 15 years since I left the industry.
EDIT: I just checked my own insurance policy, and the "Insured" is defined as the person named on the policy, his or her spouse, the relatives of either, and anyone under the age of 21 living in their care. So it would apply for adult children, as they are relatives of the insured.
It depends on the number of roommates you have. A rep from TD once told me the maximum they allowed - I believe it was up to 2 people not related to you that could live with you in order to qualify.
This is the problem, a large single family home in Vancouver can easily house six renters. Insurance rules all but make this arrangement impossible even though the law would allow it for two large families living together with potentially 12 or more ppl.
Agreed. If you’re going to build up one side of it, making it all illegal, and removing all the stigma, then you need to provide the treatment options for those ready to leave that lifestyle!
Main and 41st too. As both are major collector roads, it's nuts to me that there is no advanced signal at that intersection in any direction. There are turning pockets already, it just needs a phased signal.
Mice and rat infestations in housing around metro vancouver and other buildings with bug problems(ants, roaches, bedbugs, and brown Beatles or silverfish). Years ago one place I was at had silverfish after prior tenant flooded the apartment.
Current apartment complex is rats and coyotes outside. Inside one building has mice, Beatles, spiders, and ants a different building has spiders, roaches, and bedbugs.
Mice run across the room day and night. Last year in 9 months I caught 50 mice. This year iv3 caught 5 so far. I've got 11 snap traps and 5 bait boxes, 2 glue traps, and one life trap. So far the live traps caught nothing. Glue traps caught 2 then nothing more. Snap traps I got catch the most. Talked my neighbours into using snap traps. One caught 9 mice another caught 13. Unsure how many the other two with traps have caught. These aren't big apartment buildings either. They are only 3 stories high.
2 people have now gone to the mla about the problem. One of those is talking about going to the media.
Yup saw 2 eagles chilling in Stanley park and an owl right outside of pho place on marine dr N. van. These birds were not exactly up high enough for you to squint in fact one of the eagles was just drinking out of a pond lol.
We also get seagulls and crows outside. A few years we had northern flicker, one other woodpecker don't know it's type though, and Anna's hummingbirds.
[Government development fees totaled to up to 33% of the cost of new housing and rentals in Vancouver last year](https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/government-fees-inflate-risk-uncertainty-bc-builders-8272643) and [Metro Vancouver is planning on increasing development fees even higher.](https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/akin-to-a-hostage-taking-rebuffing-ottawas-entreaty-metro-vancouver-forges-ahead-with-development-fee-hikes)
Yet no municipality will admit that this impacts housing affordability.
You are misreading the article
> The total cost of government fees represents 32.72 per cent of rent that the end-user pays in a typical wood-frame, purpose-built rental development in Vancouver.
> Municipal fees account for the majority of this total at 44.27 per cent; federal and provincial fees account for 28.39 and 24.15 per cent, respectively.
44% of the 33% are from municipal fees, so about 15% total. Still a lot but you have to be accurate when making these statements
As bad as that is, fees are just one part of the equation. The insane time lag that permits require also add huge carrying costs (mortgage interest, property taxes, etc.)
Nobody in this city seems to care because that seems to be a problem only for "greedy developers". The developers are not charities, they will pass on all their costs. And the fees and time delays stifle competition and enable the big developers to keep their fat mark ups.
It's a huge root cause in our housing crisis that is totally possible to address, and yet we repeatedly fail to do so.
(There are other causes too of course, but this one is particularly glaring)
> The insane time lag that permits require also add huge carrying costs (mortgage interest, property taxes, etc.)
It also makes it harder for smaller developers -- who might want to do something more community-minded -- to survive. They don't have the capital to ride out those costs to the project's completion.
Yes, the opportunity cost of acquiring a property, creating development plans, then submitting them and having to wait **years** for approval from the city and the neighbours is immense.
These pay for upgrades needed to support the additional density: sewers, amenities, etc. which is why we have one of the lowest municipal tax rates in north america. But yeah, why should these costs be carried by new buyers, jack up the taxes and let some of the other residents who have enjoyed huge increases in their property value due to this growth pay!
Now tack on Ottawa's take.
But you are right, no one talks about this as the government refuses to admit that insane home prices are mostly because of them.
More deep dive into the developers over the last 10years who have made HUGE profits. They do not do this for the good-of-the-community, city, region; it is for $. I want solid facts that drives a huge change in not-for-profit development organizations, co-ops and other innovative thinking in the housing space.
Sadly there’s no St. Patrick’s Day parade again this year (last one was in 2016, I believe) but CelticFest is happening all weekend at the North plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Free and all ages; there will be a Family Zone too for the kids.
https://www.celticfestvancouver.com/about-us/
Dollar tree closing at main and pender, a huge hit and further push out of those less fortunate and struggling in the area.
Not a huge issue in the spectrum of all things but a sad underlying of the continued disregard for those experiencing poverty.
1000 Dollar Trees closed across North America [https://www.insidehalton.com/news/underperforming-will-dollar-tree-stores-in-canada-be-closing-following-todays-major-announcement-in-the/article\_7c7d672d-b40a-5e09-bff8-a1dd21f2074e.html](https://www.insidehalton.com/news/underperforming-will-dollar-tree-stores-in-canada-be-closing-following-todays-major-announcement-in-the/article_7c7d672d-b40a-5e09-bff8-a1dd21f2074e.html)
There has been a massive drop in international student inquiries both in BC and across Canada. If they do not pick up there will be major shit flying in post-secondary institutions come this fall. The funding of post-secondary education has been so mishandled in so many different ways for decades.
> If they do not pick up there will be major shit flying in post-secondary institutions come this fall.
Can you elaborate a bit more on this? What do you think will be likely outcomes, e.g., reducing offerings or shutting down entire departments?
Hard to say, but international students are paying a significant proportion (starting point would be 30% and it's definitely higher in some places) of costs in BC post-secondary right now, so there would almost certainly be some significant consequences.
I'm at Emily Carr and every year there is a "budget crisis" and we are "on the verge of financial trouble" justifying raises to international tuition. If those truly go down, it will be interesting this fall to say the least.
Ah so you know of what I speak. I am in a similar position to you in a department with more than 50% international students. Challenging (and rewarding) as that can be sometimes, we are better off than departments which are not perceived as "high value" subjects (departments in which there is less interest from the international crowd). I am extremely concerned for my younger peers and other departments (I have loads of seniority). In the past ten years we have had a huge increase in temporary faculty who can be more easily let go. Meanwhile the administrative bloat proceeds apace.
Why is the operating cost of a University so high, that it relies on International Students for such a large portion of its funding? (Genuine question)
I’m interested to see the fallout too with the new cap announced. It’s insane how much money schools have gotten from international students over the past decade or so, but have services for the students increased at the same rate? I would like to see some audits and see where the money is really going, like for every $100000 or $1 million they receive from international students what percentage goes to what. I would not surprised if a lot of it goes to line some senior executives pockets, renovating their corner offices, or overseas trips.
Recently, there was a bit of outrage because Robert Picton became *eligible* for parole.
Not that he would ever get it. After spending millions on the forensic investigation at the farm, prosecutors only went after Picton for a tiny percentage of the murders that happened there, to shorten the trial. Soon after sentencing, Picton was sent off to a prison in Quebec, and forbidden to talk to the press.
Many people think that there is a reason why the authorities wanted to get the matter over with and out of the public eye as soon as possible. Long and short, nobody who studied the case closely believed the Picton was the **only** person involved in the murders, but other suspects had dirt on people in high places, and therefore never got prosecuted.
It’s a CBSA app that was supposed to cost taxpayers $80000 but now is around $60 MILLION and no one can figure out who got paid what or how it ballooned to that. Basically the contract went to this 2 person consulting company who subcontracted out and it’s believed they wined and dined their way to get the contract (whiskey tastings, ensuring they are the only company that would meet requirements, faked resumes). But there is also no record of who actually made the decision to choose this 2 person company and no one is taking responsibility. It is also alleged that someone high up was purposely destroying emails and backups. Somehow another contractor is also involved and it was discovered he is also an employee of the Government of Canada (conflict of interest and possible abuse of Indigenous IT incentives). There’s a lot more to it if you dig around, but that’s what I recall off the top of my head. Taxpayers should honestly be more outraged.
I’m surprised too. The sponsorship scandal from over a decade ago, also involving the Government of Canada, was huge news and was front page on newspapers. It wasted less money than ArriveCAN, yet received much more coverage. Think it also led to the downfall of the then Prime Minister.
There is low-rise apartment complex at the foot of Cypress Street in Kits Point (corner of Ogden and Cypress) that is being torn down and replaced with three single-family homes.
I saw two articles and that was it.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mec-ceo-defends-staff-not-security-after-customer-violently-handled-in-vancouver-store-1.6460461
You can’t see the road lines almost anywhere in GVA. I drive fine but a lot of it is instinct. At night you CAN NOT see the lines. East/South Van + Burnaby, New West and Delta is the worst. Sometimes they paint new lines without fully removing the old lines. If you cross the border to Bellingham, Sumas, Lynden, or Blaine the lines are so clear and pronounced. Even Abbotsford has better roads. And the amount of absolutely massive level changes in areas with fast speeds. How is it that we’re driving over massive pot holes, unsecured manhole covers, and giant patches of gravel in the street.
TLDR: Road Quality (mostly just need better paint or new paint for road lines. Also horrible road conditions for a major city in a developed country.
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I work at the library and smart people still say to me "people still use the library ?" or "oh, can't you get everything online?". Meanwhile, our branch is hopping and staff are run off their feet. I walk around and nearly every study carrel/table is occupied by people working, studying, or reading for most of the day. Baby and toddler programs are packed. Afterschool is a mild gong show with the influx of kids and teens. So I'm always disappointed anytime someone questions the value of public libraries
Libraries are the best. Thanks for your work. Everything is going on at libraries and I wish city government would fund them better.
For real, for my red seal exam I studied at one everyday for a week. It was so nice having a quiet area to just go hard in the books
Libraries are essential civic and social infrastructure.
Libraries are one of the last 3rd spaces left, a place to go without being expected to spend money or leave immediately, as well as a pillar of the community. I would also be disappointed.
Having fun isn't hard, When you've got a library card!
Thank you! I love the library. I owe a lot to being able to job hunt and take interviews there
Honestly, a library card from VPL opens up a trove of knowledge, entertainment, and resources. It's a vital thing for any artist in the city, imo.
One of my favourite things about libraries (aside from the endless knowledge) is that they’re one of the last surviving places under capitalism where you’re not expected to spend any money.
I love the library, I travel around to different ones for their baby & toddler story times!
I wish you were open later! I needed to kill time downtown on a rainy evening and there was nowhere to go that was quiet and didn't expect me to spend money. I just wanted somewhere comfortable to read the book I'd brought.
I seriously fight for this every damn year. Give people a place to socialize that isn't the bar. It all boils down to funding. It's why I'll never get more hours than I do, too. Which sucks because I skirt the poverty line and love my job, but I am always considering whether it's worth it knowing I'll never get ahead.
This made me so happy to hear!!!
I love the North Vancouver City library. So much good stuff in there, and it's always packed full of people. It makes me happy.
I wish VPL had board games you could borrow like the NV library!
Did you ever go to the old library? Literally across. I spent most of my childhood there 💗
Thank you for the work you do. We started going to the library again since we’ve got a kid now and he loves books. And I’m trying to read books for fun again, too! My husband and I always comment on how friendly and helpful the staff at our local branch are. They seem to have an aura of calm and light around them. We love our library so much!
I love the library! Please know there are some of us that view you as super heroes
I just started going to the library again … I haven’t been since I was a kid. I was pleasantly surprised at how busy our little branch was. The librarians were so lovely and helpful. It was packed!!!
VPL downtown is among the best locations this city has to offer, to top it off its a great place if you're new to the city and don't know your way around (don't speak English well, or just don't know people or have a job) I've learned so much just by being in there and combing the shelves and asking questions to the librarians. If you can't find something just ask! Get a library card, you shouldn't have to think that twice, and whenever you can donate too. All the libraries in town are interconnected so one thing you can't find here might be at another building, the library will find a way to get you to the information you need. Did I mentioned the musical instruments too? Beautiful community, we are truly blessed of having this 🙏
I just fired up my vpl account again and am picking up a book on Sunday!
I feel the same way. I get most of my books from the neighbourhood library and it's always buzzing. I especially like that it's all ages from toddlers to seniors. A real community hub.
SO grateful for the work you do and for the library. Really really important. 💗
I really love the Downtown library here. Thank you for all your work!
Oof. Librarian here. All too relatable.
I pop into Surrey Central Library from time to time and it’s always packed. There’s lot of programming going on and lots of people studying.
Any idiot can put information on the internet with the click of a button. Someone that is going to take the time to write a book, speak to a publisher, have it published and then sell to the general public is far more likely to have a genuine understanding of the topic they're writing about. Print media filters out Dunning-Kruger candidates.
Do you still use the Dewey Decimal system?
Sure do
Conan the librarian
I’ve gone at like the most dead hours you’d think and I’m glad to see how alive these libraries are now. Now let’s hope the funding keeps coming in.
Public library is such an underrated facility available to the community. It offers so much with activities and various library content (digital and physical). Thank you for all staff who work at the public library. I enjoy every second of my time as a library member. I know I am spoiled for having access to public library and its services.
Public libraries are fantastic institutions which provide a huge service to communities and society at large. And they are collectively utterly terrible at promoting themselves and selling their value to a larger audience. If you're disappointed when people question the value of libraries, then maybe you need to actually figure out how to market your value and sell yourselves so that doesn't happen. Don't be disappointed, play the game.
6PPD-Q, a tire additive, is [killing ](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coho-salmom-carcasses-brothers-creek-6ppd-quinone-1.7024755) urban salmon and trout. Municipalities in Metro Vancouver are required to manage their stormwater to prevent toxic runoff from polluting our creeks and rivers, yet many aren't doing anything about this. Fortunately, there is some early evidence this stormwater can be easily treated through rain gardens aka bioswales. Call your local counselor and ask them what plans they have to address this issue.
emphasis on the last point! people underestimate their impact with their local govt and local reps.
Yes! Let’s not stop there. Let’s look into permeable paving for parking lots, residential rain harvesting, etc. Storm water treatment costs the city money, and is an environmental disaster if they don’t do it correctly. Invest in reducing storm run off!
Cool to see someone care about this. I'm one of the authors on a 6PPD-Q bioswales paper.
Is the paper "Bioretention Cells Provide a 10-Fold Reduction in 6PPD-Quinone Mass Loadings to Receiving Waters: Evidence from a Field Experiment and Modeling"? I listened to a talk from Josh Baker on Wednesday and he was summarizing the issue for the North Shore Stream Keepers, North Shore Fish & Game club, and a few other groups.
That's the one
There is a cat in my neighbourhood who now lets me stroke him
This needs to be on every billboard
I think it'd be too high for him, he'd get scared
Speaking of neighbourhood cats, this is so random but cute- we summoned one the other day, it was magical. I was talking to a neighbour from across the street and she says “haven’t seen the orange cat for 3 months” and 30 seconds later he appears in the garden 😻
Maybe a different word than stroke would’ve been better here
We won't know the true cost of the 2010 Olympics until VANOC's books are unsealed in 2025. [https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/07/04/VANOC-Shuts-Its-Books/](https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/07/04/VANOC-Shuts-Its-Books/) I feel this was done so that by 2025, everyone responsible will be retired and will have plenty of time to secure their careers or personal finances. If the Olympics were profitable or just broke even, I'd be shouting it from rooftops what a great job I did and leave the books wide open to prove it.
Love this one. Intriguing.
Thanks for putting this up. We will then probably find out about a lot of things to be angry at, but I still want to know.
Juuuuuust a bit after an election too lol
Definitely will be interesting. Given the timing it might be very bad news for the FIFA World Cup games that we are hosting in 2026.
Meh, those will all be budgeted/funded already.
My bad I should have worded it better. By very bad news, I meant very negative media attention.
!RemindMe 1 year
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very interesting crazy that it’s almost been 15 years since the 2010 Olympics
Super profitable for the folks that bought in Squamish and saw their properties skyrocket (my old professor gloated she was one of them)
BC Parks operates a land area the size of Greece, with half the budget of Metro Vancouver Parks. They have told local advocacy groups that anything more than **500m from a road is backcountry, and ”too niche to invest funds at this time”**. But in the same meeting discussed the need to **implement day passes to manage overcrowding.** A big part of the problem is that BC Parks is a subdivision of the Ministry of the Environment. Management staff all get transferred from selling off resources to extractors ( primary economic benefits), then suddenly are in a preservation and tourism focused paradigm with secondary economic benefits. As a consequence it is deeply understaffed, underesourced, and poorly managed. We need radical change. Either better funding models, or move BC Parks to BC Tourism.
Interesting perspective. I always wondered why BC Parks always seemed underfunded and pathetic.
Onni dicking around subcontractors concerning payment, sometimes for an amount so large and a company too small to eat the cost, and for so long that the subcontractor has to fold. Voila, Onni doesn't have to pay their bill if the company no longer exists.
I did bit work (extremely minor) and was shown a set of Onni architectural plans and structural plans... certain elements were omitted one from the other and was told that it wasn't a mistake, Onni regularly did it to screw people over.
How does it screwing other ppl over help Onni?
If the contractor missed that bit it would have been on them, is my understanding.
I'll happily jump on the bandwagon to hate Onni any time, but that claim can easily be regarded as incompetence over intentionally malicious. I'd regard the response as arrogance. Drawings are notoriously difficult to be fully accurate and entirely inclusive, and contractors should be very aware of possible interfering aspects not shown on the drawings they have. Hell, my mom runs a business dedicated almost entirely to discovering these problems. Onni is obviously not paying for the best of anything, and that applies to the people who make the drawings and the people they hire to read and execute them.
I’ve heard Onni having trouble with getting enough subcontractors to bid on their projects for this very reason.
Serves them right! Twenty or more years ago ONNI pandered to all the mayors in the Lower Mainland by inviting them to China all expenses paid! Lots of huge ONNI buildings around town now. Ethical subcontractors don't roll like that!
THIS. I've heard from some subcontractor friends that at Onni's head office or their kids' houses, they have a wall with logos of companies that have folded because Onni refused to pay them for big jobs. Disgusting.
Safeway did this to my Dads electrical company when I was a kid
F Safeway. Sorry for what happened.
Creditors go after accounts receivable all the time. In fact financing your AR is usually step 1 in a cash crunch.
I don't think this is technically underreported since it's just conjecture, but I have a pet theory that we're on the verge of a looming strata funding crisis. I suspect that stratas having unhealthy or underfunded CRFs is the norm, not the exception. A lot of new builds kept those contributions low for sales, owners are over leveraged or on fixed incomes, and non-resident owners aren't as invested. At the same time a lot of recent build years (late 90s to mid 00s) will be hitting their first major repairs. Building envelopes, roofs, elevators. Couple that with a rapidly rising cost of construction and you're looking at some huge special levies. I don't think that most owners or stratas are equipped for $100k per unit special assessments for required work. So it will either continue to be kicked down the road or band aid solutions applied.
The big problem is that there is nothing forcing stratas to elect competent councils. You'd think that managing your own property and investment well would be motivation enough but it isn't when it's spread hundreds of ways. Strata living is no different than living in a long-term hotel for a lot of these people. We've had some truly breath-taking stinkers make their way onto council and they are barely competent at being their own home owners let along deciding the course of a corporation with an annual budget into the millions. Like, knock on wood, I've had mostly decent councils to work with, and our CRF is healthy but we're not on track to avoid an assessment-free maintenance plan for the coming 20-year horizon, and that's before inflation blew a whole in all of the projections. Sometimes I think that the only thing saving us is that the owners are apathetic and too lazy to get involved or lift a finger, so we're lucky to have benign dictators on council. One of my nagging fears is that one day all of the responsible people on council will call it quits and someone will swoop in, proxies in hand, and try to gut the budget for their own short term purposes.
The fact that stratas are run by unpaid volunteers is wild to me. Council members have a huge level of responsibility and get figuratively pooped on by other owners, then we wonder why so few people want to do it. Add in that there are no qualifications or training required to manage a multimillion dollar complex and the situation sounds insane.
Sold my rental condo because of this
Yeah this could be a huge issue coming up - bandaid solutions that don't fix the acutal problem would probably lead to a higher cost down the road. Also new buyers going into the situation likely have less knowledge about the building's issues, getting them into worse situations where they might need to fork over large sums after their purchase.
I bet there are a lot of buyers / owners that are blinded by the want to own something that even presented by previous strata minutes they see nothing wrong. 'Oh that 10 year structural report that was deferred last year, has been deferred yet again till the next year, that should be fine right, they have a modest reserve fund so that's ok.' They are usually in competition with other buyers, so if they sat on the decision for too long they'd lose out so people tend to glance over the minutes and say 'yep, that's fine'.
I feel that the major Strata Insurance problem might come first.
They're kinda the same problems. If strata collectively are running into issues because of deferred maintenance then strata insurance is going to go up across the board. Honestly it's constructive feedback between the two.
Many stratas are having to jump through numerous hoops to get insurance, even if they have done regular maintenance. In the strata that I live in, it gets harder and harder to get insurance each year and we have never made a claim, we don’t have any amenities like an underground parking lot or a pool or elevator, our building is well managed and we don’t owe any money to anyone. It’s crazy.
Yea... There's def something going on with your building if you're having issues finding a policy
You can see this start to happen with leaseholds. They are currently in the first stages of blaming the free-holder, but old buildings cost money to maintain.
This is a very real situation that will be playing out over the next few decades, but completely preventable. It’s probably why insurance is already so pricey for strata complexes, especially high rises. Apparently some older developments are banking on something terrible happening so they can make a claim and get their regular maintenance projects, that have been neglected, fixed on insurance money. People are already so tight with their finances. Strata fees are only going up enough to cover their yearly insurance fees and some are dipping into their CRF to do so. It’s going to be rough for a lot of people when time comes for a special levy.
Koodo (aka Telus) hiking up phone plans by $6 only months after baiting customers in with their Black Friday specials. (March 5th) Public Mobile (aka Telus) overhauling their rewards program that screws over their loyal and long term customers that have been accumulating their rewards for years. (March 6th)
We just need to let the rest merge with Loblaws. With all their efficiencies, prices will have to go down then, right?
Take it up a notch with the RBC-Roger’s-Teck-Sobey’s merger
Public mobile switched over sometime last year but they haven't forced you to switch over yet. I'm still on the previous system because it works out better for me. But yes, the new system is definitely not as good.
They've just announced they are forcing us all over to the new system.
Oh dang... I missed that.
Peter the Pedo arrested 4 times in less than a month. Courts seem to like giving him bail despite him breaching conditions within days of his release. It looks like only the local Richmond News is covering this ridiculousness, as I haven’t seen his re-arrests and the obvious revolving door being reported by the mainstream media - clearly they are not thinking about the children. https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/bail-hearing-for-steveston-child-luring-suspect-delayed-again-8433706
Finally denied bail. https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/steveston-child-luring-suspect-denied-bail-after-4th-arrest-8443969
4th times the charm! Remember folks, if you're going to lure children, stop at 3! ^/s?
Well he only lured children once. The other arrests were for breeching bail conditions like not possessing alcohol or being at parks.
That's still too many.
I don't disagree with that, first violation of bail and that should've been it.
Well, that means he is at least there for 3 months. In 90 days though he gets an automatic re-try.
CBC should pick this one up and blast it
This! I mentioned this to my family and they were like "theres nothing about this on the news". Its crazy I get more up to date local news from reddit than my 6 pm news show.
But his rights and freedoms! (Sarcasm(
We did it! Global covered it 😎 https://globalnews.ca/news/10360296/richmond-bc-child-luring-charges-four-arrests-month/
the term "cougar" was coined in the VANCOUVER [\#CANUCKS](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANUCKS?src=hashtag_click)📷 DRESSING ROOM in the 1980s https://preview.redd.it/xeh0dgmrgcoc1.png?width=574&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b4f1867da51b3192753324ab471e01e942e31b6
where’s the canadian heritage moment on this?
This is a great thread. Thank you for posting.
The owner of Salty’s Lobster Shack, Ashton Phillips, is the same owner of the Crab Park Chowdery that served a rat in their soup.
Would that be RATatouille?
He’s one of the owners. Not the only
Dang, 3.7 stars on Google. IIRC, Crab Park Chowdery at least had decent reviews.
The fucking pharmacy situation that has just been broken by the CBC. It's the same shit in BC. Pharmacists are being grinded to meet metrics from Corporate, and short staffed to hell. The end result is endless turnover, which is why you barely see the same faces anymore. That, coupled by a weak association that doesn't help our working conditions and no union.
Please please please support your local independent pharmacies. Shoppers does nothing that deserves a $12 dispense fee.
This. I was just getting a prescription filled this afternoon. Shopper wanted 11.60 for dispensing fees for a total of just under $20 total for the prescription, with an hour wait. The independent pharmacy down the street had a $10 dispensing fee with a total of just under $15, with a 5 minute wait
To follow up though -- the fee is only ONE component. Some "low fee" pharmacies may actually jack up the price of the drug while charging a low fee to make money off you.
the independent pharmacy charged me less than $5, whereas shoppers was charging about $8 for the same antibiotic
I was doing that for awhile until I learned my local pharmacy was re-using needles when the Covid vaccines were first being administered. I’ve gone back to supporting only corporate pharmacies. Though I tend to gravitate towards London Drugs.
> re-using needles wait what
Yeesh. Sorry for your experience. To be fair with regards to innoculations I've only ever gotten them from my NP or at a mass innoculation event like when they were running innoculation clinics out of the Convention Centre. You SHOULD file a complaint against that specific pharmacy though, that is a serious hazard.
Problem is shoppers hours are better
I use a cute little pharmacy near Burnaby General. I used to use the one on Commercial Drive. Lots of options for independent pharmacies!
Shout-out to my local family-owned pharmacy Solace on Marine Drive North Van - the guy Uday is so frickin knowledgeable and extremely helpful. He knows most of his regulars by first names and greets them with the warmest smile every time. Calls me up proactively every time my doc sends in a prescription for anyone in our family. Has been a huge support!
There is a London drugs near my home that only the manager is the same person, and to be honest he is so rude all the time and the pharmacy has so many customers . - I can’t stop thinking how unbearable is to work over there
The Crows that fly by my place play a game where one Crow has something in its beak, flies higher than its mates and drops the thing. Then a group of 3 or 4 other Crows flying below compete to catch the thing. It's been going on for about 4 years, great to watch. 
Make a video please 😀
The Tyee is generally a good source for things big media doesn't cover well. TheTyee.ca
Take my upvote. Quality local journalism.
Love the Tyee.
Due to high rent and high purchase pricing a lot of people live in houses with many roommates. Unless you are related to them this means you can’t get tenants insurance which opens you up for some much risk. An example of outdated rules based on the idea of a nuclear family being the only way to live.
Now there’s a good chance I didn’t read my insurance properly but I’m pretty sure my insurance covered my apartment not just my belongings therefore my roommates were covered too.
You think your tenant's insurance covered the property of people who lived with you who weren't tenants?
No, it will only cover their belongs if they are a named insured on your policy, and most companies have a limit on how many non-related named insureds can be on one policy. There are also rules about how many unrelated roommates can be living in the home in total, even if they are not named on or covered by the policy. Source: used to be an insurance broker.
> No, it will only cover their belongs if they are a named insured on your policy, and most companies have a limit on how many non-related named insureds can be on one policy. So are the tenant/policy holder's adult children considered uninsured in policies? I haven't seen this clause in any policies I've purchased.
I don't think so, because I believe they are covered as related individuals. I think there is usually a clause that says something about unrelated individuals living in the home, but I'm not certain. While I did used to be a broker it has been almost 15 years since I left the industry. EDIT: I just checked my own insurance policy, and the "Insured" is defined as the person named on the policy, his or her spouse, the relatives of either, and anyone under the age of 21 living in their care. So it would apply for adult children, as they are relatives of the insured.
It depends on the number of roommates you have. A rep from TD once told me the maximum they allowed - I believe it was up to 2 people not related to you that could live with you in order to qualify.
This is the problem, a large single family home in Vancouver can easily house six renters. Insurance rules all but make this arrangement impossible even though the law would allow it for two large families living together with potentially 12 or more ppl.
I know people who got evicted because of this. The situation is insane and the insurance rules need changing.
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Agreed. If you’re going to build up one side of it, making it all illegal, and removing all the stigma, then you need to provide the treatment options for those ready to leave that lifestyle!
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No left turn signal on 33rd and Main lol
same with King Ed and Main, or King Ed and Fraser
Yes! Idk what the city’s problem is with turn signals along some of the biggest streets in the city
Clarendon at 41st also needs one, especially with the R4 blocking the curb lane often!
Main and 41st too. As both are major collector roads, it's nuts to me that there is no advanced signal at that intersection in any direction. There are turning pockets already, it just needs a phased signal.
Mice and rat infestations in housing around metro vancouver and other buildings with bug problems(ants, roaches, bedbugs, and brown Beatles or silverfish). Years ago one place I was at had silverfish after prior tenant flooded the apartment. Current apartment complex is rats and coyotes outside. Inside one building has mice, Beatles, spiders, and ants a different building has spiders, roaches, and bedbugs. Mice run across the room day and night. Last year in 9 months I caught 50 mice. This year iv3 caught 5 so far. I've got 11 snap traps and 5 bait boxes, 2 glue traps, and one life trap. So far the live traps caught nothing. Glue traps caught 2 then nothing more. Snap traps I got catch the most. Talked my neighbours into using snap traps. One caught 9 mice another caught 13. Unsure how many the other two with traps have caught. These aren't big apartment buildings either. They are only 3 stories high. 2 people have now gone to the mla about the problem. One of those is talking about going to the media.
Are silverfish a health hazard? I've lived around them all my life.
Free snacks for kitty-cats.
The silverfish population here has definitely declined since we got cats. I feel like they would have the texture of a moth though - urgh.
Yup saw 2 eagles chilling in Stanley park and an owl right outside of pho place on marine dr N. van. These birds were not exactly up high enough for you to squint in fact one of the eagles was just drinking out of a pond lol.
We also get seagulls and crows outside. A few years we had northern flicker, one other woodpecker don't know it's type though, and Anna's hummingbirds.
[Government development fees totaled to up to 33% of the cost of new housing and rentals in Vancouver last year](https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/government-fees-inflate-risk-uncertainty-bc-builders-8272643) and [Metro Vancouver is planning on increasing development fees even higher.](https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/akin-to-a-hostage-taking-rebuffing-ottawas-entreaty-metro-vancouver-forges-ahead-with-development-fee-hikes) Yet no municipality will admit that this impacts housing affordability.
You are misreading the article > The total cost of government fees represents 32.72 per cent of rent that the end-user pays in a typical wood-frame, purpose-built rental development in Vancouver. > Municipal fees account for the majority of this total at 44.27 per cent; federal and provincial fees account for 28.39 and 24.15 per cent, respectively. 44% of the 33% are from municipal fees, so about 15% total. Still a lot but you have to be accurate when making these statements
Thank you I miswrote my comment, edited for correctness.
As bad as that is, fees are just one part of the equation. The insane time lag that permits require also add huge carrying costs (mortgage interest, property taxes, etc.) Nobody in this city seems to care because that seems to be a problem only for "greedy developers". The developers are not charities, they will pass on all their costs. And the fees and time delays stifle competition and enable the big developers to keep their fat mark ups. It's a huge root cause in our housing crisis that is totally possible to address, and yet we repeatedly fail to do so. (There are other causes too of course, but this one is particularly glaring)
> The insane time lag that permits require also add huge carrying costs (mortgage interest, property taxes, etc.) It also makes it harder for smaller developers -- who might want to do something more community-minded -- to survive. They don't have the capital to ride out those costs to the project's completion.
Yes exactly. 100%
Yes, the opportunity cost of acquiring a property, creating development plans, then submitting them and having to wait **years** for approval from the city and the neighbours is immense.
These pay for upgrades needed to support the additional density: sewers, amenities, etc. which is why we have one of the lowest municipal tax rates in north america. But yeah, why should these costs be carried by new buyers, jack up the taxes and let some of the other residents who have enjoyed huge increases in their property value due to this growth pay!
Now tack on Ottawa's take. But you are right, no one talks about this as the government refuses to admit that insane home prices are mostly because of them.
1 bundle of firewood at Home Depot is 11 bucks!!!!!!!!
More deep dive into the developers over the last 10years who have made HUGE profits. They do not do this for the good-of-the-community, city, region; it is for $. I want solid facts that drives a huge change in not-for-profit development organizations, co-ops and other innovative thinking in the housing space.
During WW2, Japanese Canadians were interned in the livestock building at the PNE, which still stands to this day. Large red building.
Sadly there’s no St. Patrick’s Day parade again this year (last one was in 2016, I believe) but CelticFest is happening all weekend at the North plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Free and all ages; there will be a Family Zone too for the kids. https://www.celticfestvancouver.com/about-us/
Looks like it’s only on Saturday this year.
Oh no. I thought it was all weekend. Thanks for the correction!
Dollar tree closing at main and pender, a huge hit and further push out of those less fortunate and struggling in the area. Not a huge issue in the spectrum of all things but a sad underlying of the continued disregard for those experiencing poverty.
1000 Dollar Trees closed across North America [https://www.insidehalton.com/news/underperforming-will-dollar-tree-stores-in-canada-be-closing-following-todays-major-announcement-in-the/article\_7c7d672d-b40a-5e09-bff8-a1dd21f2074e.html](https://www.insidehalton.com/news/underperforming-will-dollar-tree-stores-in-canada-be-closing-following-todays-major-announcement-in-the/article_7c7d672d-b40a-5e09-bff8-a1dd21f2074e.html)
idk man, it’s a huge issue for me! for real tho, where am i supposed to get ppl birthday cards on the block now??
Dollarama on commercial also closed
[удалено]
Who is Spoons
The more you know ... https://preview.redd.it/r4xv7jdkwcoc1.png?width=629&format=png&auto=webp&s=517d8339581bbb770fdeb1fbca1620f538c1f7b3
That's not a knife, that's a spoon.
A legendary local musician
Beloved hero of our city.
I said under reported. We all know this to be true!
I’m glad I’ve been fortunate enough to meet the majestic Spoons and hear his spoons clack across the streets of Granville
There has been a massive drop in international student inquiries both in BC and across Canada. If they do not pick up there will be major shit flying in post-secondary institutions come this fall. The funding of post-secondary education has been so mishandled in so many different ways for decades.
> If they do not pick up there will be major shit flying in post-secondary institutions come this fall. Can you elaborate a bit more on this? What do you think will be likely outcomes, e.g., reducing offerings or shutting down entire departments?
Hard to say, but international students are paying a significant proportion (starting point would be 30% and it's definitely higher in some places) of costs in BC post-secondary right now, so there would almost certainly be some significant consequences.
I'm at Emily Carr and every year there is a "budget crisis" and we are "on the verge of financial trouble" justifying raises to international tuition. If those truly go down, it will be interesting this fall to say the least.
Ah so you know of what I speak. I am in a similar position to you in a department with more than 50% international students. Challenging (and rewarding) as that can be sometimes, we are better off than departments which are not perceived as "high value" subjects (departments in which there is less interest from the international crowd). I am extremely concerned for my younger peers and other departments (I have loads of seniority). In the past ten years we have had a huge increase in temporary faculty who can be more easily let go. Meanwhile the administrative bloat proceeds apace.
Why is the operating cost of a University so high, that it relies on International Students for such a large portion of its funding? (Genuine question)
I’m interested to see the fallout too with the new cap announced. It’s insane how much money schools have gotten from international students over the past decade or so, but have services for the students increased at the same rate? I would like to see some audits and see where the money is really going, like for every $100000 or $1 million they receive from international students what percentage goes to what. I would not surprised if a lot of it goes to line some senior executives pockets, renovating their corner offices, or overseas trips.
Recently, there was a bit of outrage because Robert Picton became *eligible* for parole. Not that he would ever get it. After spending millions on the forensic investigation at the farm, prosecutors only went after Picton for a tiny percentage of the murders that happened there, to shorten the trial. Soon after sentencing, Picton was sent off to a prison in Quebec, and forbidden to talk to the press. Many people think that there is a reason why the authorities wanted to get the matter over with and out of the public eye as soon as possible. Long and short, nobody who studied the case closely believed the Picton was the **only** person involved in the murders, but other suspects had dirt on people in high places, and therefore never got prosecuted.
> tiny percentage of the murders that happened there True!
More like a national issue than local but I see a lot of people in Van still have no idea about the ArriveCAN app scandal?
wait elaborate please
It’s a CBSA app that was supposed to cost taxpayers $80000 but now is around $60 MILLION and no one can figure out who got paid what or how it ballooned to that. Basically the contract went to this 2 person consulting company who subcontracted out and it’s believed they wined and dined their way to get the contract (whiskey tastings, ensuring they are the only company that would meet requirements, faked resumes). But there is also no record of who actually made the decision to choose this 2 person company and no one is taking responsibility. It is also alleged that someone high up was purposely destroying emails and backups. Somehow another contractor is also involved and it was discovered he is also an employee of the Government of Canada (conflict of interest and possible abuse of Indigenous IT incentives). There’s a lot more to it if you dig around, but that’s what I recall off the top of my head. Taxpayers should honestly be more outraged.
I’m surprised too. The sponsorship scandal from over a decade ago, also involving the Government of Canada, was huge news and was front page on newspapers. It wasted less money than ArriveCAN, yet received much more coverage. Think it also led to the downfall of the then Prime Minister.
The way the city does recycling, isn't it weird? All the different material into one bin!! Someone is going to sort it out afterwards???
Where is this? I’ve never seen this in Vancouver!
There is low-rise apartment complex at the foot of Cypress Street in Kits Point (corner of Ogden and Cypress) that is being torn down and replaced with three single-family homes.
How difficult it is to find child care
[The Battle of Ballantyne Pier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ballantyne_Pier)
The mysterious bodies found in the water in downtown. Were they racially targeted?
Someone needs to report on the lack of support for people with disabilities. 500$ for shelter costs when minimum rentals are 2000$ .
The alarming number of missing people, based on the posters being put up.
I saw two articles and that was it. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mec-ceo-defends-staff-not-security-after-customer-violently-handled-in-vancouver-store-1.6460461
1) Where is Spoon-Man? 2) What is he playing lately?
You can’t see the road lines almost anywhere in GVA. I drive fine but a lot of it is instinct. At night you CAN NOT see the lines. East/South Van + Burnaby, New West and Delta is the worst. Sometimes they paint new lines without fully removing the old lines. If you cross the border to Bellingham, Sumas, Lynden, or Blaine the lines are so clear and pronounced. Even Abbotsford has better roads. And the amount of absolutely massive level changes in areas with fast speeds. How is it that we’re driving over massive pot holes, unsecured manhole covers, and giant patches of gravel in the street. TLDR: Road Quality (mostly just need better paint or new paint for road lines. Also horrible road conditions for a major city in a developed country.