In the News

PROVINCE: Robertson roasted in annual Olio Festival

By Sean Sullivan, The Province | September 23, 2011

Comedians took aim at Mayor Gregor Robertson's bike lanes, environmental zeal, Happy Planet juice and good looks at a comedy roast Thursday evening.

As host Ryan Beil pointed out, a roast is about insults, taking potshots and ridiculing a person, all under the guise of honouring them.

When it came to the insults and ridicule, Robertson got off pretty easy.

"Sorry, but my meetings regarding the systemic elimination of the private automobile ran a little late," Vision Coun. Andrea Reimer deadpanned, after an 11-hour council meeting delayed the show's start.

With CUPE 15 head Mike Jackson, she was one of two "real" people taking part in the roast. Other roles were played by comedians.

While the content was friendly - there was no mention of backyard chickens or front-yard wheat fields - Reimer's dry delivery was a hit with the crowd.

On her first meetings with Robertson, years ago. "Like all young women, I needed something only Gregor could provide . . . free juice."

On his green policies: "Gregor is so green that Marc Emery tried to mail him to the United States."

And Beil, on Robertson's good looks: "It's like looking at the sun: You can't look too long or the image will be burned into your eyes."

The show was part of the annual Olio Festival, four days of independent art, music, film and comedy events held throughout Vancouver.

Many of the performers were members of the The Party, a collective of comedians who gained notoriety for the website shi*harperdid.com.

The roasters also poked fun at Robertson by playing fake voice mails purportedly hacked from his phone, including messages from the Sedin twins, Jimmy Pattison, Chad Kroeger and an irate librarian naming off dozens of overdue Hardy Boys books.

Inside jokes about Robertson's use of profanity and microphones being shut off at council were lost on most of the 200, who presumably weren't caught up on their city hall gossip, in attendance at Club Five Sixty.

? ssullivan@theprovince.com

PROVINCE: Vancouver mayor mocked and insulted in the name of comedy

By Sean Sullivan, The Province | September 23, 2011

Comedians took aim at Mayor Gregor Robertson’s bike lanes, environmental zeal, Happy Planet juice and good looks at a comedy roast Thursday evening.

As host Ryan Beil pointed out, a roast is about insults, taking potshots and ridiculing a person, all under the guise of honouring them.

When it came to the insults and ridicule, Robertson got off pretty easy.

“Sorry, but my meetings regarding the systemic elimination of the private automobile ran a little late,” Vision councillor Andrea Reimer deadpanned, after an 11-hour council meeting delayed the show’s start time.

With CUPE 15 head Mike Jackson, she was one of two “real” people taking part in the roast. Other roles were played by comedians.

While the content was friendly — there was no mention of backyard chickens or front-yard wheat fields — Reimer’s dry delivery was a hit with the crowd.

On her first meetings with Robertson, years ago. “Like all young women, I needed something only Gregor could provide ... free juice.”

On his green policies: “Gregor is so green that Marc Emery tried to mail him to the United States.”

And Beil, on Robertson’s good looks: “It’s like looking at the sun: You can’t look too long or the image will be burned into your eyes.”

The show was part of the annual Olio Festival, four days of independent art, music, film and comedy events held throughout Vancouver.

Many of the performers were members of the The Party, a collective of comedians who gained notoriety this spring for the website Shi*HarperDid.com.

The roasters also poked fun at Robertson by playing fake voice-mails purportedly hacked from his phone, including messages from the Sedin twins, Jimmy Pattison, Chad Kroeger and an irate librarian naming off dozens of overdue Hardy Boys paperbacks.

Inside jokes about Robertson’s use of profanity and microphones being shut off at council were lost on most of the 200 people in attendance at Club Five Sixty, who presumably weren’t caught up on their city hall gossip.

ssullivan@theprovince.com

twitter.com/seanpatricks

THE TYEE: Metro Vancouver looks to revive farming at regional park

By Colleen Kimmett September 13, 2011 03:30 pm

Can urban farms co-exist with the nature-lovers and wildlife that share regional parks?

This is Metro Vancouver's vision for Colony Farm Park, a former dairy farm that lies between Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. A special joint committee recommended today that its board of directors approve a draft plan to create a $5-million "sustainable food production academy" at the park.

The draft budget includes $1 million for field improvements, including drainage and irrigation; $800,000 for electricity and water systems and equipment storage; $650,000 for greenhouses, crop washing, processing and storage facilities and a temporary farmers' market site; $1.7 million for a demonstration kitchen and bird-banding laboratory (with a preference to renovate two existing buildings that already include classroom and display areas); $100,000 for a therapeutic garden; $250,00 for picnic area and pathways; and $500,000 for habitat improvements.

The 32-acres proposed for the project could also be home to incubator farms, where new farmers can lease land at a low cost as they develop their business plans and practices.

Last fall, The Tyee profiled the McVean incubator farm which lies within the Claireville Conservation area just outside Toronto. This year the Richmond Food Security Society signed a three-year lease with the City of Richmond to start an incubator farm on a on a 2.5-acre hayfield.

Elaine Golds, vice president of Burke Mountain Naturalists (one of the partner organizations that currently manages Colony Farm Park) told the Vancouver Sun today that farming in Metro Vancouver parks is a "dangerous road to go down" and expressed concern about impacts to wildlife habitat.

However, Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer, who sits on Metro's agriculture committee said Colony Farm Park is "one that is actually supposed to be managed for agriculture" and that good farming practices can actually benefit local wildlife.

Colony Park Farm was gifted to Metro Vancouver by the province when it closed the Riverview hospital. The land is entirely within the Agricultural Land Reserve and has a covenant on it that requires it to be used for certain purposes, including agriculture, said Reimer.

"There are no no-brainers in government," Reimer said. "This one comes awfully close."

Reimer said at today's committee meeting, where the plan was discussed and passed forward to council, there was "vague discomfort" at the idea of public space being used for for-profit, commercial farming enterprises.

"It's not unusual for government's to invest in economic development," said Reimer, adding, however, that "all the agriculture people were laughing at the idea of 'profit'."

Reimer stressed that the plan has been recommended in principle only. It has to be approved by the board before exploring funding sources and seeking public input on the details.

Colleen Kimmett reports for The Tyee.

METRO: Vancouver is red-hot to be the greenest

Ariana Kaknevicius | 09 September 2011

Vancouver received its ranking as the greenest city in Canada and the second greenest in North America (behind San Francisco).

Now it wants to work on improving the two categories it scored the worst in: waste and water.

Even though Vancouver did land in the top 10 in each of the nine categories, the city has set a goal of being the world’s greenest city by 2020.

And that means being the best all around.

The city’s new compost program will make a huge positive impact on reducing waste, said Andrea Reimer, lead counsellor on the Greenest City Action Team. “Thirty-five per cent of our waste is food,” said Reimer.

“We have a new program starting where two neighbourhoods will have biweekly garbage and food-scrap pickup, and if that is successful, we will work toward that happening for the whole city.”

A water conservation program was also approved in July that should make a significant impact.
Reimer is very satisfied.

“We can’t go from zero to 100 in a year,” said Reimer, “but we are on a very good timeline.” with files from the canadian press

SUN: Vancouver named greenest city in Canada

By TRACY SHERLOCK, Vancouver Sun | September 8, 2011

Vancouver is the greenest city in Canada, and ranks second only to San Francisco in North America, a newly released environmental assessment has found.

Vancouver ranks No. 1 with the fewest carbon dioxide emissions and best air quality, but was 10th in environmental governance, according to the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The index was released in the U.S. in June, and in Canada on Thursday.

Coun. Andrea Reimer, chair of the city’s planning and environment committee, said being No. 1 in Canada is a good start, but Vancouver still has a lot of room for improvement, particularly in reducing water consumption and waste production. Vancouver’s goal, as set by Mayor Gregor Robertson, is to become the greenest city in the world by 2020.

The Economist report assesses and compares 27 U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies in nine categories — CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transportation, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance.

Vancouver was the top ranked Canadian city in all categories, but one — Calgary was No. 1 in water conservation and infrastructure, while Vancouver was seventh.

Similar rankings are done for regions around the world, but the measurements are not the same, so it’s impossible to say exactly where Vancouver ranks globally.

“Probably I would hazard that Vancouver would be in the top 10-15, and are [in other standings] that I’ve seen globally, but it’s definitely water and waste that drags us down,” Reimer said. “We are one of the worst water wasters in the world and one of the highest waste generators in the world.”

Reimer said the city’s food scraps program and mattress recycling program are positive steps to reduce waste.

The report calls Vancouver’s CO2 emissions reductions and its air quality “impressive.” In both categories, Vancouver ranked first in North America, with emissions of both CO2 and particulates far lower than the averages found in the report.

The city’s lack of transparency despite its “robust environmental strategy” is cited in the one relatively low ranking in the report, which is in the category of environmental governance.

“Not all of the city’s targets have been reported, and while information is accessible and the sustainability campaign is widely known, data are not collected and provided in a unified location. The city has partnered with a private company to monitor energy-use plans to make strides to that end,” the report states.

Reimer said Vancouver has addressed the lack of transparency by hiring a monitoring and reporting planner.

“If the same survey was done today, we’d be much further ahead,” Reimer said. “We are one of the only cities in the world, let alone North America with a very clearly articulated 10-year set of targets. We now have a person in place and a plan in place.”

Last week, The Sun reported that Vancouver slipped to No. 3 on the Economist’s global livability survey due to traffic congestion, after nearly a decade at the top.

This index ranked Vancouver third in transportation, with the longest public transit system among the cities assessed.

“[Vancouver’s] performance is further helped by a high percentage of workers commuting by public transit, bicycle, or foot, at 25 per cent, compared with the average of 13 per cent,” the report states.

The report says Vancouver is one of just six of the assessed cities that is increasing the amount of locally produced and consumed energy.

“Where Vancouver shines, though, is in its sustainable energy strategy, which seeks to provide high-density neighbourhoods with financing for community renewable-energy systems, helping cover high upfront costs, while recouping the benefits through long-term lower operating expenses,” the report states.

Overall, San Francisco scored 83.8, Vancouver 81.3, and New York, which ranks third, scored 79.2. The second highest Canadian city is Toronto, ranking seventh overall with 68.4 points.

San Francisco ranks first in waste, and second in buildings, transportation and air, according to the index. The city’s top marks are a result of “one of the best energy efficient building standards, the second longest public transport network, and low levels of all pollutants measured in the index.”

tsherlock@vancouversun.com

PROVINCE: Vancouver councillor sees potential in transit-only corridor at Robson Square

By Elaine O'Connor, The Province | September 7, 2011

Could Robson Square again become a pedestrian street fair, instead of a traffic thoroughfare?

That’s what the Vancouver Public Space Network is hoping, after gathering 1,800 signatures on a petition in support of keeping the 800-block of Robson St. closed to cars.

The road opened to traffic again this week, after being closed for construction for a year and a half.

But Josh Paterson, a board member of the VPSN wants the city to create a permanent pedestrian space.

“Vancouver needs to have some kind of central gathering space. We kind of see it as the living room of the city. It’s been a place that people have always gathered, at the Art Gallery, and giving them a bit more space just seems to make it more functional,” he said.

“I think there is a difference when cars and buses are going through. When the street space is also open for pedestrians it seems people linger more.”

The VPSN launched an online and street sign-up petition that earned 1,800 signatures in favour of keeping the road closed. About 40 opposed to the plan.

If the route couldn’t be kept a pedestrian zone, a compromise would be to allow buses through but restrict access to cars and try rerouting all vehicles on the weekends, Paterson said.

“We’re also a group that really cares about transit,” he said of the proposed compromise.

Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer said making the corridor pedestrian or transit-only in future is not out of the question, but that it needs to be discussed in the coming months in the context of a larger city initiative, the Downtown Public Spaces Plan. Council had previously passed a motion last December to take a closer look at the need for public squares in the core.

“A pedestrian zone could be fabulous, if we could solve the transit corridor problem,” Reimer said.

Reimer stressed that the closure of the small stretch of Robson has been a hardship for many transit riders, as the Robson 5 and 6 had to be rerouted, creating longer walking distances for seniors who rely on the route to get to Granville St. shopping or SkyTrain stations.

“We have to be quite mindful of the transit user. Closing that stretch of Robson was not a huge impact on the car network, but had a huge impact on the ridership in the west end, which is the highest in the city and skews heavily to seniors,” she said. “We got a lot of complaints.”

eoconnor@theprovince.com

twitter.com/elainereporting

COURIER: Mayor proposes renaming street or bike lane after Jack Layton

Late NDP leader was a longtime cycling advocate

By Bob Mackin, Contributing writer | September 6, 2011

Vancouver’s mayor wants to honour late federal NDP leader Jack Layton and his foe isn’t entirely opposed.

On Monday, Gregor Robertson Tweeted: “I will be proposing we name a street or bike route for #JackLayton via our new public naming process at city hall.”

In July, Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer successfully proposed staff include citizens and stakeholders in street naming because, she said, “I can’t think of anything that is more permanent in a city than a street.”

NPA Coun. Suzanne Anton, who is running against Robertson for mayor, said it should be a matter of when and how Layton is remembered.

“Certainly Jack Layton is a very well-respected guy,” Anton told the Courier. “He ‘got’ cities and for municipal politicians that’s important. You want federal politicians who understand cities.”

Anton said it was tragic that Layton’s Aug. 22 cancer death came before he could truly enjoy the fruits of his labour as leader of the official opposition. She said it would be better for city hall to take its time and decide the appropriate memorial.

“If you’re naming your trial [bike] lane after him, that would be not a very good memorial for somebody and the Hornby lane is a trial,” she said.

Montreal-born, Toronto-resident Layton campaigned occasionally in Vancouver, but his two-wheeled influence is obvious in Robertson, who often cycles to news conferences.

Layton was first elected to Toronto city council in 1982 and chaired the civic cycling committee. Toronto journalist Laura Robinson frequently saw Layton and his wife Olivia Chow cycling to meetings and events.

“There they were, cycling in their fashionable threads and everlasting smiles, showing us all that the bicycle belongs everywhere,” Cyclist BikeList author Robinson wrote in her tribute to Layton.

Meanwhile, former Vancouver mayor, Vancouver-Point Grey lawmaker and premier Gordon Campbell is one of 14 people scheduled to receive the province’s top honour Oct. 4 from Lt. Gov. Steven Point and Premier Christy Clark.

Campbell was appointed Sept. 2 to the Order of British Columbia’s class of 2011, despite still being in office when nominations closed March 12. Clark succeeded Campbell as premier on March 14.

The Order of B.C. website says “your nominee must not currently be an elected person.”

The Provincial Symbols and Honours Act allows the Order of B.C. advisory council to make rules governing its business. The law says “a person who is an elected federal, provincial or municipal representative is not eligible to be appointed a member of the Order while that person remains in office.”

Campbell’s Sept. 2 appointment came exactly a week after voters defeated the Harmonized Sales Tax, which he imposed in 2009 and led to his 2010 downfall. He was named Canada’s new High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in August.

Despite a social media campaign calling for Campbell’s appointment to be rescinded, there is no mechanism for such public input. The Provincial Symbols and Honours Act says a member can resign or the advisory council can recommend to cabinet that a person’ membership be terminated.

The advisory council headed by Chief Justice of B.C. Lance Finch included VANOC chief executive John Furlong, who received his Order of B.C. in 2010 from Campbell and Point. Recommendations were approved by cabinet. The Order of B.C. falls under the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat, which is overseen by the Office of the Premier.

2010goldrush@gmail.com

 

STRAIGHT: Municipal auditor general proposal draws mixed reactions

Publish Date: August 10, 2011

The B.C. government’s proposal to create a municipal auditor general’s office is prompting questions among some Vancouver-area officials.

The idea of an auditor general for municipalities was proposed by B.C. Premier Christy Clark during the Liberal leadership race, and is part of her municipal agenda.

A background paper released by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) last week indicates the minister of community, sport and cultural development is surveying councils and boards on the proposed position.

The UBCM has raised questions about the cost of implementing the office. The organization’s executive also conveyed concerns about what they called a lack of consultation with UBCM and local governments on the plan when they met last month with Ida Chong, the minister of community, sport and cultural development.

According to the UBCM paper, Chong indicated that consultations are ongoing, and that the government has not yet taken a position on a municipal auditor general’s office, but identified the proposal is “a key priority” for the ministry.

The idea of an auditor general for cities drew criticism from one local municipal leader, Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan, who called the proposal an act of “political smoke and mirrors”.

“I think that in order for the government to take on that additional cost, they have to show some evidence of mismanagement on the part of municipalities, or some reason, aside from their own paranoia, that they have to take action,” Corrigan told the Straight by phone.

“If there’s any concern in the public’s mind about the managing of finances, I think it’s in regard to the provincial government’s management of finances, not local government.”

Corrigan said Burnaby already has audit procedures in place.

“We have absolutely no concern about anybody taking a look at our books,” he said. “They’re very transparent, very clear. In fact our accounting methods put the provincial government to shame.”

“If the province has got money to spend on municipalities”¦I can think of 1,000 better ways for them to spend it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Non-Partisan Association councillor Suzanne Anton, who is also a mayoral candidate in Vancouver’s civic election this fall, said a municipal auditor general’s office is “a good idea”.

“I support it if the province is paying for it,” she told the Straight by phone. “I don’t think that individual municipalities could take on having their own auditors general.”

“I do think having an auditor general in place is good governance,” she added.

Anton believes the reason the idea offends some municipalities is that “most municipalities do the right thing most of the time”.

“But there’s no question that municipal spending has risen quickly, and there’s no question that’s raising eyebrows,” she said.

Anton would also like to see a municipal auditor general review the books of regional governments.

“The big expenses are at Metro Vancouver,” she said. “Metro Vancouver’s costs go way up.”

Vision Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer said she sees value in the idea of a municipal auditor general, but questioned how the position would work in conjunction with the existing accountability measures in place in Vancouver.

Reimer noted Vancouver can’t go into debt without voter approval on the capital budget.

“As I understand it, we’re the only municipality where voters directly vote on how much we can borrow for capital, and what we can borrow for it,” she told the Straight by phone.

“I think it’s a good system—I wouldn’t want to lose that system.”

Reimer also pointed out the province already has an inspector of municipalities that has a lot of the powers a municipal auditor general might have.

“We certainly have a lot of oversight, and significantly more than the province itself,” Reimer said.

“So it’s a question mark for me how it would fit in, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea, it’s just figuring out how it works.”

Reimer also questioned whether the province would cover the cost of an external audit for municipalities.

“It’s a significant expense for municipalities, and the smaller ones a very significant expense, relative to the size of their budget,” she noted.

According to the UBCM paper, the organization’s executive will present a policy paper on the proposed auditor general position to its membership in September.

SUN: West End civic report calls for renter protection, more green space

Better protection for renters and more green space were among the recommendations of a West End civic advisory group in a report submitted to the Vancouver mayor’s office Wednesday.

The West End mayor’s advisory committee was created last year after widespread protests in the West End about the city’s rezoning efforts.

Its report, which sets out West End residents’ priorities for their neighbourhood, is based on the results of a survey filled out by about 1,000 people.

Access to rental stock and affordability came up as the most significant priority, said committee spokeswoman Michelle Fortin. “Walkability,” expansion and preservation of green space and transit options also ranked very high, she said.

Based on the survey results, the committee made 23 recommendations in its report.

These include creation of a rental protection advocate to protect tenants’ rights given the high concern over “renovictions,” building a public space asset map that identifies opportunities to increase green and open space, maintaining walkability and a diversity of services for residents, said Fortin.

“This report provides a great snapshot on community priorities from a diverse range of local perspectives, and I want to make sure it is reflected in city decisions going forward,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson in a news release.

Robertson said he will bring a motion to the next council meeting asking staff to review the report and come up with ways to implement it.

Fortin said she thinks the city is “very interested in moving this forward,” but there is more work ahead for her group.

“This is an interim report — and like all research projects has thrown up more questions than answers — though we may not continue as the mayor’s committee, we will continue to meet and work with the city and the community,” she said.

Committee co-chair Coun. Andrea Reimer said one of the motivations in setting up the committee was “to pilot a kind of process in which we involve the community and use their priorities to inform the development process.”

She said the aim was to discover a way of broadening demographic representation in planning decisions made by the city and that lessons from the project will be used in a larger process extending to other communities. Members of the committee spent several months learning about the city’s planning process.

medha@vancouversun.com

OPENFILE: The future of local?

Reported by Luke Brocki
Monday, July 25, 2011

"Local" has long been a Vancouver rallying cry, especially in food and farming circles, but a new group is now looking to expand the word's definition to include business ownership.

“The whole concept behind locally owned business is that there’s a multiplier effect,” says Amy Robinson, executive director of LoCo BC (think local companies), a not-for-profit group on a mission to connect local businesses. “Even when merchants don’t have local supply chains, they live in the community, so they’re circulating more of their [profits].”

To help those profits stay in the community, LoCo BC is looking to unite producers and merchants behind a strategy to shop locally for whatever they need to run their households and businesses, from everyday incidentals to retail, marketing and financial services.

“People really do want a way to engage in sustainability and in making the world a different place,” says Robinson. “That has environmental benefits and economic benefits, but it also really has social benefits. It’s about reconnecting to the place you live in, to something real and tangible.”

Supporting local businesses is an important precursor to lower prices of local products, she says, many of which currently cost more than their imported equivalents due to the higher costs of doing business according to Canadian environmental, labour and safety standards.

“Our goal is to get enough members together so that we can start working with different business sectors on their biggest sustainability issues and get them to localize supply chains. I want to use spending, whether it’s by consumers, businesses or governments, as the lever that it is and make sure that we’re not spending money without thinking about our values,” she says.

Robinson’s plan is part of a broader movement to create so-called living economies. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, a network of more than 22,000 independent business members across Canada and the United States, argues independent businesses are key to bringing transparency, accountability and community to the marketplace.

City of Vancouver officials are enthusiastic about the project and a stronger local economy, which is often synonymous with lower infrastructure and environmental costs.

“I, as a Vancouver taxpayer, have to pay for the costs of people having low wages and high housing prices, through tax dollars that go toward subsidizing housing, child care, social programs. The big one is environmental mitigation,” says Andrea Reimer, the city councillor responsible for the “local” portfolio.

“We have to build roads and transit systems to bring in [people and goods] from the suburbs. So the more we can close the loop and keep the money working in our community, the less of those externalized costs we have to pay and the more money there is in the community. If you spend a dollar in a local area, you are keeping that dollar working in that local area.”