ICE protests

Hootsuite and Jim Pattison Developments are getting attention from the public and politicians for their business dealings with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in the U.S.

Nate Lewis & Geoff Sharpe
January 30, 2026

Good morning,

Nate with you. Our main story today is a bit different than the news we typically bring you. Our mission and our commitment to readers is to stay laser-focused on Vancouver issues that impact residents. While keeping that mandate in our attention, today’s story highlights the small role that Vancouver is playing in broader issues south of the border.

For me, it was particularly novel and unusual to speak with someone involved in a totally different set of municipal politics down in the United States. While there was basic knowledge and conventions it wasn’t familiar with, it was also a reminder that local organizations, whether it’s government or advocacy, function in similar ways on either side of the border.

We don’t have any plans to expand our coverage beyond Vancouver, but let us know what you think of this sort of story that weaves connections at home together with bigger issues in other places.

With that, let’s get it.

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

As always, you can send your tips, leads, and story ideas to Nate at [email protected].

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WEATHER

Friday: 9 🌡️ 7 | 🌧️

Saturday: 9 🌡️ 7 | 🌧️

Sunday: 7 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️

Monday: 7 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️

PROTEST

Organizers rally against Vancouver businesses' ICE connections

Hootsuite's headquarters in Mount Pleasant / Kayleigh Burkitt

Read the story online.

Later today, Vancouverites will stage protests at two businesses with connections to the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). One of those companies is Hootsuite, a Vancouver-based tech company that provides social media services to ICE.

“HootSuite is providing social media management services to ICE at a time when ICE is escalating raids, detention and the use of force on citizens [and] innocent civilians,” in the United States, Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon told Vancity Lookout.

Ferretti-Gallon is a co-founder of Democracy Rising, a one-year-old Vancouver-based advocacy group with around 400 members that aims to protect and strengthen democracy against the growth of authoritarianism in the United States and Canada.

On Friday at 3 p.m., Democracy Rising is staging a protest outside Hootsuite’s headquarters in Mount Pleasant, calling on the company to end all contracts with ICE. Hootsuite staff have been told to work from home on Friday due to the protest, according to one employee.

On Wednesday, Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky issued a statement saying the company has “felt the concern expressed about Hootsuite’s work with ICE’s public affairs office,” given the “loss of life and the fear being felt in communities as a result of recent enforcement actions.” Novoselsky

Novoselsky went on to say that Hootsuite’s services for ICE “does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals using our tools” and that the company actively enforces those terms of service. “Our responsibility is to our customers … and to ensuring public conversation can be understood,” Novoselsky added, in defence of the contract.

As reported by the Globe and Mail, Novoselsky held a private meeting with Hootsuite employees regarding the ICE contract, saying it would not be cancelled unless the agency violated the terms of service.

“Our concern isn't whether ICE is technically complying with software terms,” Ferretti-Gallon said. “It's whether continuing to provide these services to an agency actively engaged in civil rights violations is responsible” and ethical, she said.

Hootsuite had been a registered B Corp – a certification program that requires companies to prevent and mitigate their involvement in negative human rights impacts, among other standards – since 2015. However, the company is no longer listed in the non-profit’s directory of certified businesses.

Hootsuite also promotes its positive social impact on its website, saying the company supports various causes and issues, “including equality and anti-racism, community and environmental well being, and disaster response.”

One of those partners Hootsuite has worked with is Witness Change, a US-based group that works to end human rights violations for marginalized communities through storytelling. Witness Change had not responded to Vancity Lookout’s request for comment about Hootsuite’s ICE contract by the time of publication.

There is precedent for Hootsuite to cancel this type of contract. In 2021, under former CEO Tom Keiser, Hootsuite cancelled a contract with ICE following “a broad emotional and passionate reaction” from its staff regarding the contract, according to BC Business.

Pending warehouse sale for ICE facility in Virginia sparks backlash

Some of the many people who filled the meeting chamber, atrium, and gathered outside the Hanover County offices in Virginia this week to protest the potential sale of a warehouse owned by Jim Pattison Developments to the Department of Homeland Security for use as an ICE processing centre / Skip Rowland

Hootsuite isn’t the only Vancouver-based company doing business with ICE. Jim Pattison Developments (JPD) has a pending deal to sell a warehouse it owns in Ashland, Virginia, to the Department of Homeland Security for use as an ICE processing facility. JPD is part of the Jim Pattison Group, the largest private company in Canada, which is owned by Canadian multi-billionaire Jim Pattison.

“I was obviously aghast immediately,” BC Green Party Leader Emily Lowan told Vancity Lookout about hearing news of the planned sale last week. The significant public pushback against that deal has “restored my faith in humanity and our fellow British Columbians,” Lowan said

“I think it gave people an outlet to take some ownership and to channel their outrage and dismay of what's happening for our neighbours south of the border,” she added. Another protest is planned for Friday at 5 p.m. outside the Jim Pattison Group’s corporate office in downtown Vancouver.

In response to the pending sale, Lowan is calling for British Columbians to boycott Pattison’s other businesses, including grocery stores like Save-On-Foods, Nester’s Market, and Choices Market, as well as Pattison’s car dealerships, and Pattison Media, which owns Vancouver radio stations like 93.7 JR Country and 102.7 The Peak.

In a public statement on Tuesday, Jim Pattison Developments said it did not know “the ultimate owner and intended use of the building” when it accepted an offer to sell the Virginia warehouse to a U.S. government contractor, and that the sale is “still subject to certain approvals and closing conditions.”

“We understand that the conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated,” the unsigned statement added, saying JPD is “committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations.”

UFCW 1518, a union representing 28,000 grocery and food workers in B.C., many of them who work at Pattison Group stores, has raised concerns about the warehouse sale. In a letter addressed to the Jim Pattison Group, union president Patrick Johnson wrote, “we believe that there is a responsibility to consider the broader social and moral implications of this sale and any future sales to the Department of Homeland Security. We urge you to decline any involvement that would contribute to the ongoing attack on human rights.”

However, Johnson also said a boycott could hurt employees who have no control over JPD’s business decisions, according to The Tyee. “[Pattison] could stop the sale, he could give workers a raise, and end the boycott today. The question is one of will,” Lowan said.

Lowan thinks the provincial government should make it clear to the Pattison Group that it should halt the warehouse sale, but recognized that the province doesn’t have “an immediate legal or formal route” to block a sale between a private company and a foreign government.

Niki Sharma, the province’s Attorney General and a BC NDP MLA for Vancouver-Hastings, did comment on the sale on Tuesday, saying B.C. business leaders should “think about their role in what is unfolding,” in the US with ICE, according to CBC.

“It's in our recent memory where Canada felt this existential sovereignty threat,” from the United States, “when Trump threatened to annex Canada and make us the 51st state,” Lowan said.

“I think it's really important in these moments that we feel fiercely that love and solidarity across this border with people that are geographically fairly close to us. There is a reality that that violence could come to Canada,” Lowan said.

Katie Sitterson was one of about 1,000 people, she estimated, who showed up for a municipal meeting in Hanover County, Virginia, on Wednesday, where the potential ICE facility was being discussed.

The County’s Board of Supervisors, similar to a city council, issued a statement at the meeting that it “opposes” the proposed purchase of the warehouse by the federal government due to land use concerns, but noted that federal operations are exempt from its authority.

“It's basically a nightmare, like every day,” Sitterson said of the situation right now in the U.S.

Sitterson is a stay-at-home mom living in Virginia who had never been to a protest prior to a year ago she told Vancity Lookout. Now, Sitterson is regularly engaged in planning protests and organizing, involving her friends and family in actions she says can inspire hope.

“Anytime [Canadians] push back … we’re super appreciative,” Sitterson said, fighting back tears.

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THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

One million

That’s the number of dog visits per year at Pacific Spirit Regional Park, near UBC, a popular area for off-leash dog walking. New changes will reduce the number of off-leash dog paths in the park by 10 per cent. [Vancouver Sun]

THE AGENDA

Busses navigate the side street detour along 8th Avenue between Main and Quebec streets / Nate Lewis

🚍 The Broadway detour on 8th Avenue between Main and Quebec streets is causing serious traffic congestion, and transit advocacy groups are calling for the detour to only be used by buses. The province says it has no plans to make the detour transit-only. Read more. [CityNews]

🗳️ The new Vancouver Liberals, led by Mayor Ken Sim’s former chief of staff, announced that the current chair of the Vancouver School Board Victoria Jung will run for a city council seat with them in the next election. Jung was also formerly part of Ken Sim’s ABC Party. Read more. [Urbanized]

📈 B.C. Parks fees are changing. And by changing, we mean increasing. There will be a $20 surcharge for people from out of province, along with the most popular parks seeing fee increases of over $13 per night, with an average fee around $43 in the high season. See the fee changes here. [BC Gov]

❌ The B.C. Filipino community is speaking out about door-to-door scammers claiming to be raising money for people in the Philippines. Read more. [CBC]

👍 The Seawall around Stanley Park opened ahead of schedule so enjoy your walks, runs and cycles! [Park board]

🏗️ The 1100 block of Granville Street is getting a new redevelopment application for a 35-story mixed-use tower, including rental housing, a hotel, retail and a restaurant. Read more. [Urbanized]

🏒 The Vancouver Goldeneyes lost 4-1 to the Minnesota Frost, and now sit in sixth place in the standings going into the Olympic break. The Goldeneyes have eight players headed to Italy to represent their countries, with five on Team Canada. Read more. [TSN]

WEEKEND EVENT GUIDE

HOLD ON LET GO Festival | Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Avenue | Feb. 3-7 | An annual festival of contemporary performance work by Vancouver and Canadian artists | Learn more

Orpheus | Vancouver Playhour | Jan. 30-31 | Dance performance immersive performance of image and movementTickets $25+

Legends of Georgia | Centennial Theatre | Jan. 30, 7 p.m. | Ancient stories and timeless beauty of Georgian music and dance | Tickets $30+

Light Up North Van! Bike Parade | Grand Blvd, 15th Street E North Vancouver | Jan. 31, 5 p.m. | Cheerful community bike ride | Free

Fireside Chat with National Team Coach Jesse Marsch | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts | Jan. 31, 2:15 p.m. | Exclusive discussion with Canadian men’s soccer head coach | Tickets $42

International Guitar Night 2026 | Massey Theatre, New Westminster | Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m. | Featuring award-winning guitarists, singing and flamenco dancing | Tickets $32+

Tragically Hip Tribute Band | Wildeye Brewing, North Vancouver | Feb. 1, 7 p.m, | Just as it sounds, come see your favourites preformed | Tickets $22

Chowder Cup 2026 | Heritage Hall | Feb. 5, 6:30 p.m. | An evening celebrating B.C. seafood, with eight chefs presenting their chowder recipes | Tickets $104

3rd Annual Chinatown Cocktail Showdown | Feb. 6, 5:30 p.m. | Iconic Chinatown bars serve Lunar-inspired drinks, with guests voting on their favourite | Tickets $105

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival | Various locations | Until Feb. 8 | Performance lineup with a variety of shows | Various prices

BIG BANG Festival | The Roundhouse | Feb. 15, 12 p.m. | Music, food trucks and more, a festival for younger audiences | Free entry, some special events $5

Family Fun Day at Coal Harbour Community Centre | Feb. 16 | Games, crafts, bouncy castle, baby playtime and more for families all day

Want to see your event here? Submit them to our event calendar.

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VANCOUVER BRIEF

Councillors use esoteric rule to approve rezoning against staff recommendation

What happened: The contentious rezoning proposal for a primarily residential tower on a Mount Pleasant site zoned for industrial use has been unanimously approved by city council, despite a staff recommendation to reject it, and an urban planning expert’s assessment that doing so would be “reckless and short-sighted,” according to the Vancouver Sun.

We wrote about the proposal just over a week ago, highlighting that the city might use an esoteric flexibility clause to bypass Metro Vancouver’s authority over this type of land use change. Turns out that’s exactly what council chose to do, saying the city’s approach to industrial zoning needs to be modernized given the changing nature of industry.

Councillors stressed this was a unique one-off situation and other developers shouldn’t expect the same treatment. Ironically, council directed staff “to not recommend further use of the municipal flexibility clause,” despite the fact that staff had neither made that recommendation nor listed it as an alternative option in this case.

Looking ahead: The risk with this decision is that it comes without comprehensive planning, which is currently underway, and could drive speculation and price out industrial uses in these areas as developers buy up property in hopes the city will allow them to build more profitable residential buildings.

FOOD

Folietta is an Italian love letter to neighbourhood dining

Folietta.

Written by Sarah Harowitz.

When I exit the washroom at new Italian restaurant Folietta and head back into the dining room, the first thing that strikes me is the noise.

It’s not often these days that I’m in a restaurant with a palpable energy. Sure, I’ve been in plenty of busy spots around town, but none with this kind of buzz. It’s not just loud music and lively conversations: there is a spark—an aliveness—that only comes around when a restaurant has truly hit the mark.

Read the review and subscribe instantly to our free restaurant review newsletter

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Nate Lewis

Vancouver-based musician Tarun Nayar, also known as Modern Biology, played his plant-based music at the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park this week in an immersive and relaxing performance unlike any show I’ve ever experienced 🌿

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Anyone who’s enjoyed Music Waste and wants to get involved can apply for a variety of volunteer roles with the local festival. Deadline is today! [Instagram]
The Time Out Market is adding some impressive local restaurants to its already strong offerings. [Vancouver is Awesome]
Is West Vancouver one of the most livable medium-sized cities in Canada? [Globe and Mail]
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VANCOUVER GUESSER