Capilano River spill has Squamish First Nation worried

Plus, more late night drinking spots and why it's so hard to build in Vancouver

Author

Geoff Sharpe
March 13, 2023

Good morning,

If you had plans to visit Capilano River this week, don’t. We’ve got a breakdown of a bad-looking spill that’s leaving a lot of questions, how rental prices compare in Metro Vancouver and some good news about the Canucks.

Onwards.

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WEATHER

Monday: 9 🌡️ 3 | 🌧

Tuesday: 9 🌡️ 3 | 🌧

Wednesday: 9 🌡️ 2 | 🌧

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Parks open: Parks Canada is opening up reservations this morning. Make sure to set up your account ASAP before the 8 am booking start time. Here’s a helpful list of bookable parks. [Global]

Bye-bye winter: This week’s weather is set to improve dramatically. Expect temperatures to rise up to 15 C on Friday. Could this be the first beach day? [Vancouver is Awesome]

Except not inland: If you’re planning to drive into the interior, you may want to think again. As of Sunday, heavy snowfall was expected along the Coquihalla Highway, and “ Highway 1 between Eagle Pass and Rogers Pass, and Highway 3 between Paulson Summit and Kootenay Pass.” [Global]

AFFORDABILITY

No you aren’t imagining it, rent is much higher

If you’ve looked on Craigslist or any other rental site lately, you might think rent prices have skyrocketed. Turns out, you aren’t wrong.

What happened: Rental prices have risen 19 percent from March 2022, with the average one-bedroom unit in Metro Vancouver now costing $2,208 according to a new report by liv.rent, as reported by Urbanized.

  • In March of last year, the average one-bedroom rental was $1,856.

In Vancouver: It’s not pretty. Really, really not pretty. The average one-bedroom in Vancouver will set you back $2,587. The average two-bedroom is $3,552 and a three-bedroom is an astonishing $4,816

Zoom out: Vancouver continues to be the most expensive in the region in Metro Vancouver for a one-bedroom. The next closest is West Vancouver at $2,584 — only $3 less — and North Vancouver at $2,431. If your city has Vancouver in the title, it’s expensive!

There are some big variations by neighbourhood, with Renfrew-Collingwood coming in at $1,996 for a one-bedroom and downtown at $2,895.

Liv.Rent

  • Congrats to Vancouver, we’re number one… at being the most expensive rental city in Canada, according to Global.

The housing market: Thinking about buying to escape rental prices? Maybe hold off. RBC expects housing prices to fall a total of 15 percent, with about half left to go, according to Urbanized. In B.C., prices are expected to fall 16 percent in total.

The recovery is expected to be slow this year. But the real problem according to the RBC report? Homebuilding is not happening fast enough to meet expected demand, with 270,000 units needed by 2025 to accommodate only new growth, nevermind existing demand.

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

🚗 50%: The percentage of residents who prefer to commute by driving in Vancouver. The city also scored highly for a good commute, with 81 percent saying they enjoy it. The biggest reason for a bad commute? Traffic at 76 percent. [Urbanized]

👩‍🏫 3rd: A new study ranks Vancouver at this spot for the best student city in Canada. Kingston and Montreal both placed higher. Burnaby ranked 15th, Surrey 17th and Victoria 20th. [Castanet]

ENVIRONMENT

Little details available on Capilano River sewage spill

What happened: A sewage leak was discovered on Monday, spilling into the Capilano River near Fullerton Avenue in West Vancouver, according to Global. The Squamish First Nation was notified about the incident on Friday.

Authorities are testing the water to determine the exact damage and an investigation as to the cause of the leak is ongoing. The source of the leak was a “private property outfall pipe.”

What we know: It’s unclear how long the sewage has been leaking into the river and it is unknown how much of the material is in the river. People are advised to stay away from the water:

Why it matters: While tests have yet to determine the potential impact, Squamish First Nation reported black clouds in the water and an unbearable smell. The area is used by the Squamish First Nation as well as the public, such as Ambleside Beach.

  • Over the past weeks, salmon fry were released into the river and their path is expected to cross the sewage leak.

The person or company responsible for the spill will be legally responsible for the costs, according to Daily Hive.

JOBS

Discover your new dream job in Vancouver.

THE AGENDA

🏒 Sorry to my Ottawa Lookout colleague Robert, but congrats to the Canucks on their 5-2 win. With that win the Canucks are playing .750 hockey, taking 15 out of 20 points in the last 10 games. Experts say part of the reason is coach Tocchet’s approach to defence which has dramatically improved… [Sportsnet]

 📄 The team also signed forward Phillip Di Giuseppe to a two-year contract. Di Giuseppe split his time between Vancouver and the AHL. [NHL]

⚠️​​ The Hyatt Hotel is being accused of racism by the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres after an encounter with a security guard and a member needing to use the washroom. The Hyatt has denied the accusations and says the staff member acted appropriately. The organization is seeking a different venue for the event. [Vancouver Sun]

🏢 High-profile property company Coromandel Properties, which was seeking credit protection after filing for insolvency, has reached an agreement with lenders. The company owns a number of development properties throughout the city. [Urbanized]

🔥 ​​A fire at 5 am in an East Vancouver residential building on Saturday resulted in three people, including a child, being taken to the hospital to be treated for burns. The cause is under investigation but was believed to be accidental, according to Vancouver Fire Rescue Service. [CTV]

💰 The fallout continues from Vancouver council’s decision to end their living wage policy. Because of the move, Living Wage for Families BC says some businesses have decided to cancel their own living wage policies. [CTV]

⚽ It’s not a great start for the Vancouver Whitecaps’ MLS season. They lost to both Real Salt Lake and San Jose Earthquakes, and on Saturday they tied FC Dallas. Their next game is Saturday against LA Galaxy. Currently, the Whitecaps are 11th out of 14th in the Western Conference standings. [Global]

EVENTS THIS WEEK

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon | VIFF | Various times this week | Relive the historical masterpiece with memorable fight scenes. A true masterpiece | Tickets $15.

CelticFest Vancouver | Various locations | Until March 18 | Celebrate Celtic heritage with music, dance, film and food, as well as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade | Free.

BC Beer anf Beverage Festival | TRADEX Trade and Exhibition Centre, Abbotsford | March 17, 5 pm-8 pm | Music and beer, what’s not to love? | Tickets starting at $29.

BC Home + Garden Show | BC Place | March 16-19 | Designed to improve and inspire you home improvement, culinary and garden skills | Tickets $11-$16.

Monster Jam | Pacific Coliseum | March 17-19, 7 pm and 1 pm | Monster trucks are teatring it up this weekend. See just how big these trucks are | Tickets.

Bite of Burnaby | Through Burnaby | Till March 31 | A culinary festival showing off the best the city has to offer, with set meals costing between $10-$60+. See restaurants.

GOOD NEWS MONDAY

Start your day off with some good news:

Afghan refugee Freshta Siddiqui was reunited with her dog after more than a year apart. The dog was sent ahead to stay with foster homes. They arrived in December and were recently finally reunited. As a dog owner, this video really got to me! [CBC]

VANCOUVER FAVOURITES

Last week we asked for your favourite bakeries. You can read the entire list here.

This week we’re delving into a favourite food that tends to be hotly debated. Everyone has their own opinion about’s what is the best spot. And those who love a place won’t hesitate to let you. So we want to know: what’s your favourite Vancouver pizza joint?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Today’s photo of the day from Reddit user 888anon has sparked a big discussion online about whether people actually like this building. Here’s what a few people had to say:

“My daughter thinks it looks like a Minecraft creeper that just exploded or what a house looks like after a creeper explodes it.” - DavieStBaconStan

“Looks like some bad guys evil lair. I’m gonna let Bruce know a new bad guy is in town.” - Flipside68

“Window washers gonna have a hard time.” - saucytopcheddar

Thoughts?

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who guessed the correct Wordle on Friday. The answer was LIQUOR

Today’s quiz is an easy one - how much did rent rise in the past year in Metro Vancouver?

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