Hey illegal Airbnb hosts in Vancouver, we’re coming for you! And spare me the sob story of “It’s my property and I can do what I want with it,” because that is moot. No, you cannot do whatever you want with your property. As much as I want to I can’t turn my fancy loft into an absinthe/opium den.

Vancouver homeowners defend turning to Airbnb. Noticeably absent in this article are the people that own 17 or 21 different units. Instead we get a sob story about some empty-nester wanting to keep his basement available in case his son ever wants to come back.

Meanwhile, in Toronto: $10,000 fine for Toronto homeowner who used agencies like Airbnb to find tenants.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand: New Zealand to ban foreign buyers snapping up existing homes.

Meanwhile in… oh, wait…it’s here! B.C. government moves to protect renters by closing fixed-term ‘loophole’

“I’m disappointed that the previous government kept saying it was really complicated … I have to say, as a human being, how disappointed I am that was the excuse that they provided, because it’s really, really not that complicated.”

Can we now get a law that says “maybe don’t burn down your mansion to avoid paying the empty homes tax”? Fire that destroyed $14 M Shaughnessy mansion deemed suspicious.

Meanwhile, South Vancouver residents protest housing units for homeless. PS, this is the only time where it is appropriate to use the term “NIMBY”. Thanks.

I’ll just leave this here: World’s witnessing a new Gilded Age as billionaires’ wealth swells to $6tn.

First we take Manhattan: The Most Unaffordable Housing Markets In North America, Charted.

Leading to the inevitable… I Left Vancouver Because Vancouver Left Me.

As one of the only people in the city under 40 with a platform for my rather pointed opinions, I felt an obligation to speak for those of us who were finding life harder and harder. I’d like to think I made some small impact in making affordability a political lightning rod. There may not be a solution to the crisis on hand as of yet, but at least the conversation has changed. At least now people don’t deny this city has a serious problem.

I guess I’m one of the other ones! I’ll probably be writing one of these essays soon, too.

Douglas Todd: ‘Visible minority’ now meaningless term in Metro Vancouver. “Why are Whites so afraid of being outnumbered? Are minorities treated badly or something?”

Meanwhile, Kelowna brewery attacked by hate groups. Can’t wait to find me a bomber of this stuff and dress up as a sexy Antifa tomorrow (which is really easy because it’s just me).

Enter the Beaverton: Homegrown Canadian racists determined to compete with flashier American racists.

Art of the day: Non-Indigenous B.C. artist defends work despite calls for authenticity. This discussion butts up against a pivotal question in indigenous art, namely that the art itself is not purely aesthetic and that it has cultural applications beyond the traditional Western idea of art. Native art is ceremonial, religious and linguistic. By appropriating these things you are not merely ‘copying’ a style, you are taking on the semiotics of a people’s entire history.

Bonus: An Acclaimed War Photographer Turns Her Lens on Canada’s Tree Planters.