Green candidate Annette Reilly draws from personal experience and family background in city council bid

Good morning,

There are points in a publication’s life where you feel things are picking up momentum. Today is one of those days.

We’ve got two big stories today. Our first story is an interview with the Green candidate in the upcoming by-election. Nate has done an incredible job securing interviews with every single major by-election candidate so far. And now that ABC announced their election candidates yesterday, our hope is we can secure interviews with them as well. I’m proud that no other publication has done as many extensive candidate interviews.

And in our second story, we’ve got freelancer Kristin Lim contributing a review of a major art exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. 

All of this has only been possible because of our community contributing to our reader-funded journalism. Thanks to all your for contributing.

Let’s get into today’s stories!

— Geoff Sharpe

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Friday: 6 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️

Saturday: 7 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️

Sunday: 8 🌡️ 5 | 🌧️

Monday: 9 🌡️ 4 | 🌧️

📈 2.9%: The expected annual vacancy rate for Metro Vancouver in 2027, up from 1.6 per cent in 2024 and an expected 2.1 per cent this year. Even with the higher vacancy rates, rental prices are expected to rise to 2,758 for a two-bedroom unit. [CBC]

Written by Nate Lewis

What happened: Annette Reilly won a contested nomination to become the Vancouver Green Party’s candidate for city council in the upcoming municipal by-election this spring.  

The candidate: Reilly is an actor, director, and producer in the film and television industry, and – as a cancer survivor herself – an advocate for young people with cancer. 

Reilly was born in the early ‘80s in a farming community outside Red Deer, Alberta, moving to the Lower Mainland as a teenager in 1995 before attending the University of Victoria where she received her BA in Fine Arts. 

While Reilly is a newcomer to elected politics, she has a significant familial history in Canadian politics. Reilly’s uncle Earl Dreeshen has been an MP with the federal Conservative Party since 2008, and her cousin Devin Dreeshen has been an MLA with Alberta’s United Conservative Party since 2018. Reilly also said her grandmother was the first female councillor in Penhold County.

“Because I came from a more conservative background as far as how I was raised, politically speaking, it wasn't until I actually started voting for the Green Party that I went, ‘oh yes, this is what I'm in alignment with. This is where my heart, where my values actually stand,’” Reilly explained. 

“To me, sustainability isn't just for our planet, it's also our social sustainability. It's our economic sustainability. [And] of course, our ecological sustainability as well,” Reilly said, pointing to social justice, participatory democracy, and working collaboratively as other key values she holds that align with the Green Party.

The party: Founded in 1984, the Vancouver Greens’ core values are environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice, and grassroots democracy, according to their website.

While the Greens elected a few municipal candidates to the park and school boards in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, they weren’t successful in getting a council candidate elected until 2011. Since 2011, the party has consistently been represented at city hall by a couple of key people. 

Following Carr’s resignation from council in January, Fry was left as the Green’s only representative at city hall – and the only non-ABC councillor overall prior to Coun. Rebecca Bligh’s removal from ABC’s caucus last week. 

“A hard hitting disease”: As a new mother, Reilly was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 30. Medically cured for many years now, Reilly described how the financial, social, and emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis took a toll on her life, including on her first marriage. 

“We ended up separating, and that's when I started just kind of coming into myself. I figured out who I was. I figured out that I'm a fighter, that I'm a survivor, that I'm tenacious and resilient, and I spent a lot of energy advocating and supporting people within the young adult cancer world,” Reilly shared.

Inspiration for politics: Reilly’s older sister, Katie, was a big inspiration for Reilly to become more involved in politics. Katie was beginning a career in provincial politics in Alberta shortly before she died from pancreatic cancer in 2023.

“When she passed… that was the trigger for getting more involved,” Reilly said, adding that, based on genetic testing, both her and Katie’s cancers were found to be from environmental factors rather than family genes. “[That’s] also very much why the Green Party was a huge alignment for me,” Reilly said.  

Policy priorities: Like many candidates in this council by-election, Reilly knows that, if elected, she wouldn’t be in a powerful position to move motions or set policy.

“Any motions that I would put through, I would be discussing with people and seeking support across party lines. I want to do what's best for the city. I don't want interpersonal or political sides getting in the way [of] doing what's best for the people of Vancouver,” Reilly said 

In terms of her own policy goals, Reilly said she wants to create stronger tenancy protections city-wide and improve standards of maintenance for rental housing. “I'm a renter… unless you're a renter, you don't know the anxiety that comes with knowing that at any moment, you could be renovicted,” Reilly said. 

“We need to make sure that anyone who is being displaced by [development] is protected,” Reilly added.

Vancouver does currently have a policy to protect and relocate tenants affected by redevelopment and renovations of market rental housing but critics say one-time payouts and right of first refusal (for tenants to return to the new building at 20% less than market rate) don’t meaningfully solve issues of displacement. 

Meeting the mayor: Reilly mentioned she’s already met Mayor Ken Sim, who came outside city hall and spoke with Reilly right before the press conference announcing her candidacy. “It was interesting timing,” Reilly said. 

“As a woman in a man's world, this is not uncommon. So I took it with a grain of salt and plan on just staying true to who I am… maybe it was a little tongue-in-cheek. But either way, it was clearly not an authentic connection,” Reilly said. 

Last word: “I think my art background has given me a huge heart. Fighting cancer and working in the sometimes toxic, fast-paced, very difficult, long-hour film world, that's given me thick skin. So I have what's needed [for politics] because of my life experience,” Reilly said. 

This winter, tour iconic wine regions without leaving Vancouver. The 46th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival is a weeklong celebration of food and wine, February 22 to March 2, featuring 121 wineries representing 15 countries. The festival features 43 events, including decadent winery dinners, fun-filled wine parties, early-evening seminars, weekend lunches, and the ever-popular International Festival Tastings. 

Take a deep dive into West Coast U.S wines, the 2025 theme region, as 50 wineries from California, Oregon, and Washington travel north to share their passion for winemaking at 24 dedicated events during festival week.

All participating wineries will gather for the four International Festival Tastings, February 27-March 1. The West Coast U.S. wineries are joined by an additional 71 wineries from Europe, South America and Australasia as well as home-grown BC wines. Discover new wines, new regions, and new favourites all festival week. There’s something to please every palate.

🖐 Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC party announced their two by-election candidates, Vancouver Police Department union head Ralph Kaisers and former BC United Candidate Jamie Stein. As mentioned in the intro, we hope to bring you an interview with them soon! [CBC]

🗳 In other by-election-related news, the influential Vancouver and District Labour Council endorsed the Green and OneCity candidates. Reporter Frances Bula speculated that they did not endorse COPE because the group had pushed for only two left-leaning candidates, so as not to split the vote, which COPE did not follow, though COPE says there was no deal in place. [Twitter]

🏊 The park board will weigh whether to shorten the Vancouver Aquatic Centre’s pool from 50 metres to 25 as part of a redesign due to it reaching the end of its lifespan, and failing to meet modern seismic standards. Locals are worried about the loss of pool space without the 50-metre length option. The city only has two pools of that size, the one in the West End, and over at UBC. And there is already a huge wait for swimming programs. Park board commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky echoed those concerns, saying he wished the city would help fund the project. The initial budget was $130 million, but is now $160 million. The new design caters to a bigger group of people, with a hot tub, sauna, leisure pool and fitness centre. [CBC]

🎉 Party time? While the hospitality industry is praising Vancouver’s plan to expand drinking hours until 2 am for restaurants and 3 am for bars, they say more needs to be done to save the city’s nightlife industry. They say it’s impossible to get a liquor license, noise bylaws limit opportunities and high rents prevent new places from opening. [CTV]

❌ The seawall continues to be closed from Third Beach to Prospect Point due to slope instability, with large pieces of sandstone having fallen on the path.

While Vancouver council seeking to align the city’s building requirements with the province, to bring in single egress stairs rather than the province’s pre-existing requirement for two, city staff have come back to recommend not moving forward with the policy change due to safety issues. This is despite the fact that many countries around the Western world allow single staircases in smaller buildings. [Storeys]

🌆 Large groups in the BC event industry have sent a letter to the province requesting additional support as the industry deals with a looming crisis, due to financial challenges. Many large events in the province, and in Vancouver, were cancelled last year. The province says they are reviewing existing programs “to ensure programs remain relevant, are efficient, protect services and grow the economy.” [Urbanized]

🪧 If you are planning to visit a LifeLabs location, be aware that there will be rotating strikes throughout the province. Workers are asking for better wages and benefits to deal with the rising cost of living, as well as poor working conditions. [Vancouver Sun]

🏒 While it’s bad news for Canucks fans that Quinn Hughes is out with an injury (though he may be returning soon), it’s good news for team Canada who didn’t have to face the star defenceman at the 4 Nations tournament. [Vancouver is Awesome]

Rugby Sevens | BC Place, 777 Pacific Blvd. | Feb. 21-23, various times | Tickets various prices

Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto | Orpheum, 601 Smithe St. | Feb. 21-23, various times | Tickets $32-$95

Sci-Fi & Comic Convention | Vancouver Convention Centre| Feb. 21, 3-8 pm, Feb. 22, 10 am-7 pm, Feb. 2 | Starting at $85

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival | Various locations | Feb. 21 - March 4, various times | Tickets $28, online passes $90

Vancouver International Wine Festival | Various venues | Feb. 22 - March 2, various times | Tickets $50 & up

JCC Jewish Book Festival | Norman Rothstein Theatre, 950 W. 41st Ave. | Feb. 22-27, various times | Multiple events + prices

Brazilian Carnaval Family | Latin Plaza Hub, 68 Water St., Unit #301 | Feb. 22 12-5 pm | Tickets $15

Jerry Seinfeld Live | Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St. | Feb. 23 6:30 pm, 9:00 pm | Tickets from $80

Various Winter Farmers Markets | Kitsilano Secondary School, Riley Park | Various times on the weekend

Stanley Park Pavilion 2025 Menu Tasting | Stanley Park Pavilion, 610 Pipeline Rd. | Feb. 23, 2 pm-6 pm | Tickets $198

Chinatown Through the Lens: A Street Photography Walk | International Village Mall, 88 W. Pender St. | Feb. 23, 3 - 5 pm | Tickets $28

Written by Kristin Lim

Currently on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery is an impressive, must-see survey exhibition dedicated to artist Firelei Báez. Curated by Eva Respini, Deputy Director & Director of Curatorial Programs, the exhibition brings together over two dozen paintings, drawings, sculpture, and immersive installations, spanning the artist’s career to-date of nearly twenty years. Organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, where Respini was the Barbara Lee Chief Curator prior to joining the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2023, the exhibition marks the artist’s Canadian premier as well as an exciting feat for the gallery.  

once

Báez’s work explores the influences of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, engaging with histories of colonialism and imperialism around the Atlantic Basin and beyond. She often builds on top of found historical documents like maps and architectural drawings, adding fantastical figures or abstract bursts of colour. She draws on a diverse range of subjects, including mythology, folklore, and science fiction, to reimagine colonial histories for the present and future.

While striking and attractive from the works’ sheer monumental scale and exuberant colours, it is through slow-looking that the artist brings us into her complex, multilayered, and imaginative world.

The New York-based artist was born in the Dominican Republic to a Dominican mother and a father of Haitian descent. At age eight, Báez moved to Miami then eventually to New York, where she studied at Cooper Union’s School of Art. Much of her work is influenced by her upbringing along the border between Hispaniola’s two neighbouring countries with a history of tension largely stemming from ethnic divide. Báez explains that growing up between the Caribbean, Miami, and New York, she was very aware of race. Her work investigates race, gender, and identity, and challenges traditional representations of them. 

One of the first works you encounter is in the gallery’s rotunda. It is a sculptural installation, an archway painted in trompe l’oeuil style to emulate an architectural ruin with its patterned surface faded and peeling. Titled (once we have torn shit down, we will inevitably see more and see differently and feel a new sense of wanting and being and becoming) (2014), the work is modelled after the Palace of Sans-Souci in Milot, Haiti, built in 1813 after the Haitian Revolution for the first king of Haiti.

The artist invites viewers to walk through the sculpture, serving as a portal into the rest of the exhibition. Báez said of the work, “I wanted a space where you could be a part of the painting. You are welcome to lightly hold that sculpture as you walk through and be held by it at the same time.”  

Báez’s practice of painting directly onto historical materials such as maps, charts, architectural diagrams, and books, allows her to layer subject matter from diasporic narratives. An example of these interventions is in Man Without a Country (aka anthropophagist wading in the Artibonite River) (2014–15), an installation consisting of 225 book pages that fill an entire gallery wall. The pages are from books on engineering, cartography, and science that were deaccessioned from the library of Cooper Union, where Báez studied. Painted directly on top of the worn pages are figures, flora, patterns, and folkloric motifs, all painted delicately and intricately, with the precision of scientific drawing.

In adding to these pages, Respini suggested, “Báez underscores that history is not fixed. History is fluid. She gives multiple perspectives where sometimes history has only given a single perspective.” The artist again invites the viewer to be a part of the work, to look closely thereby leaving a bit of their breath. Báez said, “Every gesture, whether we acknowledge it or not, is adding to the future.” 

Portals are a motif throughout the exhibition. Walls have been altered so viewers walk through archways to move from room to room; other painted works, like Adjusting the Moon: (the right to non-imperative clarities): Waxing (2019-2020), are framed like an archway, as though the viewer can step right through it.

In A Drexcyen chronocommons (To win the war you fought it sideways) (2019), we do literally step into Báez’s artwork. Here Báez further extends what she does with her works on paper and canvas to an experiential installation.

As another interesting layer to the exhibition, the artist responds to the neoclassical architecture of the building itself, a former provincial courthouse. Along the Georgia Street-facing exterior, the artist has created a site-specific banner that simultaneously obscures and adds to the building’s columns. The banner, titled Truth was the bridge (or an emancipatory healing) (2024), depicts a crouching hybrid human-flora figure in vibrant orange and pink hues to the left, with elements of a map behind her, and a cresting wave on the right, crashing toward the centre.

The figure, a ciguapa, is a recurring motif throughout Báez’s work. She is a female trickster character in Dominican folk stories, whose two identifying traits are that her feet are backwards to make her traceless — if you follow her footsteps, you’re going in the wrong direction — and that she has long, lustrous hair. While stories of the ciguapa are told to children to discourage unruly behaviour, Báez embraces it as a symbol of endless possibility.

Báez’s works are deeply layered and complex with an openness that leaves viewers curious to learn more as well as contribute their own experiences and associations to the works. In a fantastic interview from July 2023, Báez says, “I'm fully capable of making a juicy, beautiful painting that is just all pleasure—and that's good,—but that only sustains for a short period of time. I'm interested in giving something that is generous enough to make it linger in your mind afterwards.”

Think you can guess today’s Vancouver Wordle? Play it here.