Why Joffre Lake is closed

Good morning,

After almost two weeks of running our membership drive, a total of 125 people have joined as Insider members. Local journalism is only possible because of people stepping up to contribute.

Those resources are helping expand the newsletter into more exclusive stories, pay for food at restaurants to do real restaurant reviews (not clickbait summaries) and allow me to devote more time to the newsletter.

So, a big thank you again to everyone who joined!

Today’s newsletter we’ve got:

• 🚶A breakdown of the situation at Joffre Lake

• 🏠A story from last month about upzoning

• 🎨Upcoming events and the latest arts news

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

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

WEATHER

Monday: 25 🌡️ 61 | ⛅

Tuesday: 18 🌡️ 14 | 🌧

Wednesday: 20 🌡️ 14 | 🌧

NATURE

Why Joffre Lake is closed

What happened: Confusion abounds for hikers as the local First Nations asserted their Title and Rights to their territory, shutting down the popular Joffre Park until Sept. 30 according to CTV.

Líl̓wat Nation and N'Quatqua First Nation are using that time to harvest and gather resources. BC Parks is notifying people that their permits for the area are cancelled. BC Parks has also stationed officials at the park entrance to turn people away.

• The numbers: The number of people visiting the park has skyrocketed, making it one of B.C.’s top attractions, with 196,000 visitors in 2019, up 220 percent since 2010 according to Global.

Why the controversy: The shutdown was not coordinated with the province. The groups shut it down after they were unable to come to an agreement with the provincial government, according to the Vancouver Sun. The group asserted their rights under a number of different legal grounds, including both provincial government rules, court decisions and international declarations.

What’s next: The province is in discussions with the First Nations, but there is no indication their timeline will change.

Thought-bubble: Beyond just this issue, the popularity of Joffre Lake raises questions about the sustainability of the B.C. government’s approach to nature tourism. Are the volume of visitors in these areas truly sustainable? Why hasn’t the government invested in building out more popular spots to ease visitor volume in places like Joffre Lake?

Other park news: Lions Bay Council voted to close access through the municipality to Tunnel Bluffs, the Lions, Mt. Harvey and Unnecessary Mountain, all extremely popular hiking trails. Around 60 people signed a petition asking city council to act, over concerns about fire crews not being able to act if there are any fires in the area, according to Lions Bay Watershed. The mountains are in park land, so are still accessible through other areas.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🐕 50%: That’s how much the BC SPCA is discounting off the cost of pet adoption. The idea is to spur more adoptions to make room for animals impacted by the wildfires. [Vancouver is Awesome]

⛴️40%: The percentage of BC Ferries sailings cancelled because of staff shortages in 2022. Overall, BC Ferries said 1.6 percent of sailings were cancelled. [CBC]

⛽️ $2.13: Gas was as high as this price this weekend, to the highest prices of the year so far. [Global]

ARCHIVE

Does little ol’ Victoria offer a cautionary tale for upzoning?

With a slower news day over the weekend, we’re sharing a story from our archive. Enjoy!

You’re probably wondering, hey Geoff, this is a Vancouver newsletter, not Victoria, why write this story? Well dear readers, Victoria’s much-hyped recent housing policy, which Vancouver is also contemplating, is proving to be much less effective than originally envisioned.

What happened: Earlier this year, Victoria city council passed a law to allow up to six units on a single-family lot, with the goal of increasing the housing supply, similar to a policy in Auckland, New Zealand. The total number of applications to upzone properties? Zero, according to the Vancouver Sun.

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NEW JOBS

Find your dream job in Vancouver:

• Communications manager at Emily Carr University

• Executive assistant to the vice-president at the Port of Vancouver

• Manager, communications and brand experience at BC Sports Hall of Fame

• Director, corporate and commercial at WorkSafeBC

• Head of sales and distribution at Harbour Air

Local jobs are selected by the Lookout team and are not paid ads, unless specifically noted.

THE AGENDA

👎️ The air quality this weekend was the 7th worst in the world, with an air quality advisory in place over the weekend. The smoke arrived from the fires in the interior. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🚗 The man who struck and killed Suranjan and Suparna Das faces six charges including impaired driving causing death. The two who were killed had deep connections in Vancouver’s Bangladeshi community. [CBC]

🪧 Hollywood North unions rallied outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Friday to stand in solidarity with striking actors and writers. The industry in B.C. generates $3.6 billion annually, along with 40,517 full time employees. [Vancouver Sun]

📱 Remember that cringe ad for a $2,000 SRO video? A TikTok user has created a viral response video criticizing gentrification in the Downtown Eastside. You can watch it here. [CBC]

⚽️ The Vancouver School Board’s plan to sell part of the Graham Bruce sports field is facing opposition from local families and students. VSB says staff will meet with the Parent Advisory Committee in September. [Global]

👮 A man has been convicted for assault with a weapon after it was deemed to be hate-related. [Global]

🦟 You may have noticed more mosquitoes than usual this time of year. The culprit? Mosquitoes require rain in order to hatch, which happened later in the season than normal due to the minimal rain earlier in the summer [CTV]

📖 Former mayor Kennedy Stewart shared some stories from his new book, including the fractured relationship between himself and then-premier John Horgan. He also had harsh words to say about new Mayor Ken Sim. [CTV]

🆘 Police are asking for help to find a man who stole $10,000 worth of goods from a rock and gem store in Vancouver. [iHeartRadio]

EVENTS

VIFF Back to the 80s | VIFF | All week | Movies this week include sex, lies and videotape, The Princess Bridge, Hairspray, The Thing and Do the Right Thing | Tickets $15

DTC Showdown | BCIT Downtown Campus | 555 Seymour Street | Today, 6 pm | A fun event featuring DTC experts, with $25,000 in prizes, plus food and drink | Tickets $54

Supper al Fresco | Granville and 13th Avenue | This Tuesday, 5:30 pm-8:30 pm | Get a curated takeout menu with dessert and drink, and participating restaurants include Sushi Master, Mazahr Lebanese Kitchen, Impostori Trattoria and more | Tickets $43

Vancouver Civic Theatre: Sunset Cinema — West Side Story | Queen Elizabeth Theatre outdoor plaza | This Wednesday, 8 pm | Come check out the Westside story outside, and be sure to arrive early to get a great spot | Free to attend

Record-Setting Outdoor Naloxone Training, Overdose Awareness Day | 600 Eighth Street, New Westminister | This Thursday, 8:30 am | Come set an unofficial world record for the largest Naloxone training session | Free

A Culinary Adventure in Vancouver | Location provided after booking | This Thursday, 1 pm-4 pm | Join a 3-hour five-course tasting event | Tickets $149

Mt. Pleasant Street Art and Mural Tour | This Sunday, 11 am | Free public tour of mural art throughout the neighbourhood, including the different types of art like abstract, surrealism and more | Free

Lullaby To Broadway Musical Theatre Concert | 100 Newport Drive, Port Moody | This Thursday-Sunday, 7 pm | A musical concert in three acts celebrating the best songs from Broadway | Tickets $37

Dusk Pro Wrestling - Blue Moonc | Newmont Stage at BMO Theatre Centre | This Saturday, 6 pm | Nothing better than a weekend with amateur wrestling featuring old and new participants | Tickets $22

SPORTS

🏒 VIP fans are about to get a better experience at Canucks games, with special seats behind the player’s benches and a new restaurant. The cost? It could be around $75,000 per seat! [Daily Hive]

⚽ The Whitecaps won 3-2 against the Portland Timbers, a key game as they make a push toward the playoffs. The team is seventh in the Western Conference standings. [The Province]

🏈 The Lions lost 13-30 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday. Previous to that loss, the Lions had won six straight home games. The Lions are now 7-4 and second in the West behind the Blue Bombers. [CFL]

⚾️ Vancouver lost 1-2 on Friday, won 9-8 Saturday and lost 8-5 on Sunday against the Spokane Indians. The team is now 73-46 for the season

SURVEY

Thanks to everyone who completed the survey asking about bureaucracy at city hall.

Readers were split 49 percent each between those who agreed there was too much bureaucracy at city hall and those who said it could be improved, but processes are important.

Here’s what some readers said:

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Popular Chinese restaurant Din Tai Fung, with 170 locations around the world, is opening up a spot in downtown Vancouver at 1132 Alberni St. [Dished]

• “Intrigue is the juice concentrate of The Economist and Foreign Affairs magazine, without all the pulp people just don’t have the patience for.” That’s what people are saying about the newsletter International Intrigue. Cut the pulp and sign up today.*

• Look, we all hate Canada geese. But this video is still very cute.

• Craving Japanese? Here are seven of the best spots. I can attest that Tom Sushi is extremely good, even as takeout. [Indie88]

• Reddit users compiled a list of the best places to take a “Welcome to Vancouver” photo. Some of these I hadn’t heard of! [Reddit]

• Dolce Amore has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for their business after a fire forced them to close. You can donate here. [Vancouver is Awesome]

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Thanks to Reddit user aristhought for sharing this comparison between different levels of air quality in Vancouver. The one on the left is AQI 30 versus AQI 120+ on the right. Anything over 101 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups and 151 is unhealthy for everyone.

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who guessed Friday’s Vancouver Worlde, the answer was FERRY.

Can you guess today’s Vancouver Wordle? Play it now.