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The Vancouver neighbourhood of Marpole has become a flashpoint in the fierce debate over how to solve the city’s housing emergency. Some local residents have objected loudly to the municipal government’s announcement that 78 units of temporary modular housing are being built at the corner of 59th Avenue and Heather Street. Over 2000 people have…
My experiences of growing up in Vancouver are different from most people’s. For one thing, I am a Vancouverite, born and raised here. Also, my family has lived here for four generations. However, my family is of Chinese descent. I found it bewildering, growing up in Vancouver. I always felt as if I didn’t quite…
“When you first arrive in a town, you see streets in perspective. Rows of nondescript buildings. Everything is unknown, virgin territory. A day will come when you’ll have walked those streets, gone to the end of the perspectives, come to know those buildings, interacted with the people. Living in this city, you’ll have walked along…
For weeks now Vancouver has been covered in ads urging us to “Fight for Beauty,” promoting a so-called exhibit downtown. With bus shelters ads, google ads, youtube ads, and countless full page newspaper ads, this one of the most prominent marketing campaigns the city has seen in years. But what is really behind this supposed…
Even though I’m a Saskatchewan-born Regina resident now, whenever I visit Vancouver, I feel right at home – probably because I spent five and a half years living there. I didn’t leave because I wanted to, but because of employment opportunities. I’ve now settled back into the prairie life, which was a bit of a…
When I started to think about a working holiday visa, my main goal was to enjoy a new experience, discover a different culture and get to know life in another corner of the world. After weighing all the alternatives, I decided to burn my bridges and fly to Canada. I submitted my application and was…
Three years ago this fall, Burnaby Mountain became a flashpoint in the cross-Canada battle against the Conservative government of Stephen Harper and its aggressive pro-pipeline agenda. In late 2014, the Texas-based multinational Kinder Morgan began carrying out test drilling for their proposed Trans Mountain expansion project. This supposed “twinning” of an existing pipeline from northern…
I am originally from Malaysia – a country that prides itself on being multicultural – but I spent the majority of my childhood abroad. I have always thought that my exposure to different countries and cultures meant that I have a firm understanding of multiculturalism. Despite my international upbringing, I spent the majority of my…
One summer afternoon on a Vancouver bus, my mother looked at me wide-eyed, “A lady in transportation asked me how my day was … what do you think she wanted from me? ” she asked, a little bit embarrassed. “Nothing,” I replied. “Except knowing how your day went, I suppose.” I could only sympathize with…
On August 11, my friend and I arrived in Montreal on an overcast day. We were on an Eastern Canada road trip and Quebec was one of our major stops. Montreal is celebrating its 375th birthday. Like Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations, Montreal is offering multiple free events in honour of the anniversary. I have visited…
I cringe at eye contact, or rather, I feel deeply embarrassed when people stare at my partner and I walking side by side, hand in hand. In those eyes, confusion, unfriendliness or even aversion is written. My partner, D., is a Sri Lankan from Seattle. He has brown skin, while I’m a light-skinned Chinese living…
Like many others around the world as I write this, I am currently going through the arduous process of attaining Canadian Permanent Residency. I say arduous here, as among the many other “hoops” you are required to jump through, one of the key facets of the application was to sit an English language exam. Being…
Morning, 7 a.m., the time when the early birds start chirping and hunting for those juicy worms, the time when the sun rises above the gloomy navy sky and also the time when people of the world start their day. You can hear the clanking sound of doors opening and birds chirping to the point…
