Perhaps one silver lining of this summer’s grand opening of the Trump Vancouver luxury tower will be to refocus the housing affordability discussion that’s currently generating a lot more heat than light. The bloviating con man and presumptive Republican presidential nominee has partnered to build Trump Vancouver with Holborn Group, a development firm and a…

The end of the school year is supposed to be a time of celebration and relaxation for students, families, and educators. It’s time to unplug and go play outside or hit the beach, at least for a few weeks. This year, however, these rites of summer for Vancouver parents, kids, and teachers will be disrupted…

This was going to be another column about Vancouver’s affordability crisis, but that will have to wait. Early Sunday morning, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history took place in Orlando, Florida, leaving over 50 dead and many more injured. The location of this massacre was Pulse, a popular gay nightclub. The target was the…

There are those in downtown Vancouver and Victoria who would have us say no. They just say no to LNG. They say no to everything. They say no to workers. They say no to jobs. They say no to small business…” – Premier Christy Clark, April 20, 2016. These lines were delivered by the premier…

I thought maybe the Globe and Mail was pulling an April Fools’ joke. On the front page, above the fold, their headline read, ‘Clark promises fundraising transparency.’ Turns out the story is legit, although the new measures the B.C. premier is proposing are underwhelming. To set the context of that headline, let’s review. Christy Clark…

The Lower Mainland’s crisis of affordable housing will be a major issue in the next provincial election in British Columbia, which is scheduled for May 2017. This is a big deal, and a most welcome development. After years of simmering rage, and heated discussion at the municipal level, the debate about Vancouver’s out of control…

In the right conditions, a single spark can start a roaring fire. The BC Liberals’ decision to take away free bus passes from people with disabilities might just be that spark in British Columbia. The government’s move was spectacularly insensitive. It must not be allowed to stand. Already the issue has sparked protests at the…

Are you a renter in Vancouver struggling to make ends meet each month? Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberals could care less. That bleak message came through loud and clear in this year’s provincial budget, which was introduced last week in the legislature. Vancouver is in crisis. The real estate market is out of control.…

The BC Liberals suffered a blow in by-elections last week, losing a riding they had previously held in Coquitlam Burke Mountain. The NDP’s Jodie Wickens picked up that seat in the Legislature, winning a close race that included a strong showing from the Green Party’s Joey Keithley. The NDP also easily retained their traditional stronghold…

Long overdue by-elections are finally taking places to fill two vacant seats in B.C.’s legislature. For a couple of months, opposition MLAs have been calling on Premier Christy Clark to hurry up and call the interim elections in the ridings of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, where MLAs had resigned earlier in 2015 to run…

After four moves in the last four years, my family begins 2016 confident we’ve finally found a place to call home in Vancouver. It’s been a constant search to find decent sized and relatively affordable rental housing in this city. Settled at last, it’s a relief to know we can at least plan for the…