A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

On Negotiating With Slumlords and Powerful British Columbians Afraid of Losing Power

The condescension of the elites never ceases to amaze… Rob Shaw: Proportional representation debate off to a sad, misleading start. “Pity the ordinary British Columbian trying to understand B.C.’s debate on proportional representation as ballots begin to arrive in the mail”.  This guy thinks you’re too dumb to vote yes or no. I guess it’s not surprising seeing as this is coming from the paper that endorsed Stephen Harper.

Former NDP premier Glen Clark votes No on electoral reform. Oh weird, the CEO of the Jim Pattison Group and the guy who gained power despite losing the popular vote is for First Past the Post. It almost seems like the powerful are scared of losing power…

Indeed: Want a good reason to support Pro Rep? Look at who’s telling you not to.

The fact is that the interests of citizens and political insiders are not aligned on this issue. Giving voters more power and more choice through Pro Rep isn’t good for those who currently benefit from the distortions of First Past the Post. Opponents have launched ads featuring goose-stepping soldiers, suggesting Nazis are going to pop out from every hedge if we change our voting system. Fearmongering about the alternatives on the ballot is the approach they’ve chosen to take.

I had to google that ad and it’s as bad as you think: This BC Attack Ad Bashing Proportional Representation is So Bad, They ‘Briefly’ Pulled It Off The Air.

It’s not confusing. It doesn’t elect extremists, First Past the Post does. And no, proportional representation would not turn Canada into a dystopian hellhole.

But don’t listen to me. Listen to this cutie: Dan Mangan Votes Yes to Pro Rep.

As Dan says, you just have to vote Yes. You can leave the second question blank. You can also take this handy quiz to see which system best reflects your values: BC 2018 Referendum Wizard.

Our current system is just so antiquated. To wit:

Meanwhile: Nanaimo mayoral candidate who lost by 20,000 votes denied a recount.

Councillor-elect vows to fix outgoing Vancouver mayor’s broken housing promise at 58 West Hastings. I love this subtle shade: “The housing component of 58 West Hastings is deemed in its entirety as ‘social housing’ because the city has changed the definition of social housing”.

More good news. 127-year-old building in Downtown Eastside to be replaced with social housing. Some history c/o Rider Cooey:

The planks and timbers would have been cut at Hastings Mill before 1890, when 439 Powell was built, according to John Atkin’s research. It was built as the “Russ House Hotel” by an Irishman, Caleb Goodmurphy. In 1906 the Uchida family bought it and ran it for 36 years as a boarding house and reading room for the Issei community that flourished around Oppenheimer Park and Powell Street. It had shops at street-level, as well as the medical clinic of Matsaburo Uchida. The extended Uchida family lived in a grand Victorian house on Yale Street overlooking Burrard Inlet [still there]. The house and 439 Powell were both confiscated by the governments of Vancouver, BC, and Canada in 1942 and sold off.

Vancouver pauses effort to expropriate Sahota-owned hotels amid settlement negotiations. Probably for the best as expropriation would take a long time and the building would sit empty.

Bonus: The death of small businesses in big cities, explained.

There are 3 comments

  1. The NDP Melanie Mark is urging people to support the initiative. But when asked, she was completely unable to explain of how any of the 3 pro-rep systems would work if implemented.

    “I’m not an expert in this field.”
    She is the Minister of Advanced Education and has a degree in political science.

    That’s called Dis-proportionate Mis-representation.

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