Municipal Politics
Feds have threatened to withdraw RCMP from BC, says Bond
By September 27, 2011 04:59 pm 26 commentsAn ultimatum from the federal government may spell the end of the RCMP, said British Columbia's Solicitor General Shirley Bond. Read more…
Municipal auditor general law coming this fall, despite UBCM concerns: Chong
By September 27, 2011 03:48 pm 4 commentsThe provincial government will bring in legislation this fall to create a municipal auditor general's office, despite despite concerns raised at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention, said Ida Chong, the community, sport and cultural development minister. Read more…
Filed inRoutine HIV testing to be introduced at Vancouver hospitals
By September 23, 2011 12:15 pm 6 commentsHospitals across Vancouver will begin routine HIV testing of all patients beginning next month. Read more…
Filed inVancouver's new sex-trade strategy praised by advocacy group
By September 16, 2011 03:51 pmA new municipal strategy on the sex trade put forth yesterday by the City of Vancouver has won the tentative support of a prominent sex worker advocacy group. Read more…
Filed inA peek inside city hall's 'Stanley Cup Citizen Feedback' file
By September 15, 2011 01:31 pmIt’s one of the biggest files contained in the City of Vancouver’s Sept. 9 online dump of Freedom of Information documents related to the riot-ruined Stanley Cup fan zone. “Stanley Cup Citizen Feedback” is a 73-page compilation of comments made to the 3-1-1 hotline and via email by people around Metro Vancouver and North America. Read more…
‘You wonder why the public is upset?’ Riot revisited at City Hall
By September 7, 2011 08:57 am 3 commentsThe public finally got a chance to say something to politicians about the Stanley Cup riot on Sept. 6. "Alcohol is a legal drug. Hockey is a violent game, we allow people to drink publicly, we don't put any stops on them taking over the city," said one citizen. Read more…
Filed inVancouver Canucks riot update: 3 reports, no charges
By September 7, 2011 08:42 am 5 commentsAs sports riots go, it’s a most unusual statistics package. None charged so far and the three-month anniversary is rapidly approaching. Read more…
Filed inBroader arts initiatives may have mitigated risk of riot, says group
By September 1, 2011 03:55 pm 3 commentsAs revelations from Vancouver's riot review pour out, one local arts organization says the best defense in riot prevention may have been an army of brass instruments. Read more…
Filed inAnother Liberal MLA fired up by Metro Vancouver plan to incinerate trash
By August 16, 2011 10:45 am 1 commentsKAMLOOPS, B.C. -- A third B.C. Liberal MLA has joined growing opposition to the province's backing of a garbage incinerator in Metro Vancouver. Read more…
Filed in'Time out' for Cumberland's big culture fest
By August 2, 2011 05:16 pmThe Big Time Out festival in Cumberland, B.C. may be issued a time out this year after city council voted to hold the downtown festival away from city limits fearing a lack of security, a month before the festival is supposed to begin. Read more…
Filed inCity approves sweeping homelessness and housing strategy
By July 28, 2011 04:27 pm 2 commentsThe strategy aims to end homelessness in Vancouver by 2015 and to add over 38,000 new affordable housing units by 2021. Read more…
Filed inBoost in B.C.'s red light cameras to reduce rising traffic fatalities: province
By July 8, 2011 11:40 am 4 commentsThirty-five new red light cameras went live across B.C. today, as part of a larger effort to curb the growing number of traffic fatalities. Read more…
Filed inVANOC's Furlong to co-chair riot review
By June 28, 2011 02:18 pm 8 commentsJohn Furlong, former head of VANOC will co-chair the independent review of the lead up to the riot that followed the Stanley Cup final. Read more…
Filed in$38 million supportive housing project breaks ground in Vancouver
By June 27, 2011 05:37 pmA new supportive housing project – the eighth and largest created under a partnership of provincial and Vancouver city governments – broke ground this morning. When the $38 million building is completed in early 2013, it will accommodate 147 studio and single-bedroom units on West 2nd Avenue in the city’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. Read more…
Filed inVideo shows riot 'kissing couple' mowed down by police
By June 27, 2011 11:00 am 7 commentsA video circulating the internet and found by The Tyee on Alternet shows the moments leading up to the famous photo of Scott Jones and Alexa Thomas, widely assumed to have been kissing in the picture amidst the June 15 melee in downtown Vancouver. Read more…
Mayor, top cop finger-pointing wrong, says anarchist
By June 18, 2011 10:49 am 15 commentsMayor Gregor Robertson and Police Chief Jim Chu were quick to blame "anarchists" for the city's hockey riot. They even claimed that some of the perpetrators were also involved in unrest at the 2010 Winter Olympics and Toronto's G20 summit. Read more…
Filed inCleaning up the mess: you're invited
By June 16, 2011 02:30 am 3 commentsEven as rioters were still roaming the streets of downtown Vancouver last night, Facebookers were organizing a spontaneous post-riot clean-up for Thursday morning. Read more…
Filed inHealth care lacking for homeless BC youths
By June 14, 2011 04:30 pmWhile fewer people may live on the streets of Metro Vancouver overall, significant gaps remain in the availability of primary health care for B.C.'s homeless, according to new data presented at Vancouver's Health of the Homeless Summit on Tuesday. Read more…
Vancouver restaurants, bars rake in the cash, cities shovel it out
By June 14, 2011 09:08 am 5 commentsVANCOUVER - Restaurants and bars in downtown Vancouver have been raking in the cash during the Canucks' unprecedented run toward the Stanley Cup, but the party isn't coming cheap for the city. Read more…
Former MLA to make Saanich council announcement
By June 13, 2011 01:56 pm 1 commentsFormer New Democratic Party MLA David Cubberley appears set to jump back into municipal politics. Read more…
Filed in
The next page contains:
Canadians score high on 'better life', but not our political system
Foreign trade zone threatens Delta farmland, says MLA
Port Moody tackles suburban cycling plan
Delay on election reform shows government incompetence: NDP critic
Province says it's too late to make local election changes for 2011
Paragon gone, with defeat of mega-casino?
Sea to Sky Women's Campaign School in session May 28
Vancouver considering restricting how protesters can send a message
Municipalities can lead on living wage, say councillors
Olympic Village lawsuits inevitable, observer says
Energy savings missed when retrofits punished: Victoria mayor
Bush, Clinton to speak at Surrey Economic Summit
Seaplane operators optimistic about new terminal proposal
Reusable food-to-go cartons pioneered in Portland
Vancouver delays DTES tower proposal
Vancouver Greenest City goals revised downward
New casino worth $17M a year to Vancouver
Board approves growth plan for Metro Vancouver
Neighbourhood group wins fight against infrastructure expansion
Mayor Robertson's approval rating dips
The page after that contains:
City of Vancouver puts troubled Olympic Village into receivership
Peak oil task force recommends steps to reduce oil dependency
Metro mayors nix property tax for transit
Mayors and councillors reflected apathy of voters at UBCM: councillor
Premier's UBCM speech recalls Olympic glory
Campbell should recall Leg, James tells UBCM
UBCM recommends keeping three-year terms
North Coast town council asks BC municipalities to stand against oil tankers
UBCM opposes provincial push to harmonize environmental reviews
UBCM term limit extension headed for revote
Province considering financial help to solve corporate tax revolt
City of Surrey should put a stop to the portables, says opposition group
Local governments may use own projects to meet carbon neutral goal
Government regulations add to housing costs: minister
UBCM convention to discuss policing costs
Infamous Vancouver hotel set to return
Metro streetcar strategy starts to roll
One step closer to Quesnel lockout, says Union
Minister Coleman involved in Games liquor closures
Canaccord Capital was Vision's biggest donor
Democratic Trust
As British Columbia and other jurisdictions consider allowing online voting, can it be made secure enough that people will trust it? Will it encourage more people to vote? But if something goes wrong, will it further erode people's confidence in their democracies? And what role is the media likely to play in shaping the debate?
These are among the issues to be considered at a May 26 discussion that Fair Voting BC and PartyX are hosting at The Hive in Vancouver. I'll be on the panel, along with UBC Law's Fathima Cader and SFU computer scientist Steve Wolfman. The results and recommendations are to inform the two organizations' public positions on online voting.
Meanwhile join me and other contributors on The Hook as we bring you the latest from B.C. and across Canada.
-- Andrew MacLeod
Sign up for the Tyee's free headlines
The Hook Most Recent
BC snuffs out AirCare test program
AFN national chief Shawn Atleo to launch re-election bid
Citizens group releases video to fight undead Bill C-30
Conservative MP says he might vote against budget, then 'clarifies' his position
Genetically modified plants won't take root with councillors in Richmond, BC
The Tyee Most Recent
Death in Remand: Stacked Deck
Fewer accused given bail means strained jails and dangerous conditions that contributed to John Parker's death. Last in a reader-funded series.
'The Dictator'
Watching Sacha Baron Cohen update Charlie Chaplin in a US Cineplex.
Should You Run from that Medical Test?
Alan Cassels, author of 'Seeking Sickness' on the disease screening industry, what it really catches, when to say no, and more.
Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
Folks, this is not a referendum on whether teachers 'nurture' or 'care' enough.
Death in Remand: A Jail Crammed with Risk
Guards say North Fraser Pretrial Centre where John Parker was killed by the cellmate he feared is like other remand facilities: dangerously crowded. Fourth in a reader-funded series.