Nightlife meeting

Good morning, 

Nate with you today. As we lock into the new year and plan our coverage for 2026 we want to know what topics and stories readers would like to see this year. 

The FIFA World Cup and the municipal election next fall stand out as major things we’ll be covering, but let us know what else you’d like to see us focus on this year! You can send those ideas or tips to [email protected]. 

Today’s story follows up on our reporting about the enhanced inspections of Vancouver’s underground music and dance venues. 

Let’s get to it!

– Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout 

Editor’s note: In Wednesday’s story, we misidentified the group that Small Business Vancouver is partnering with for its business clinic. The group is LOCO BC, not Local BC.

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WEATHER

Friday: 8 🌡️ 6 | ☀️

Saturday: 8 🌡️ 3 | ☀️

Sunday: 8 🌡️ 2 | ☀️

Monday: 8 🌡️ 2 | ☀️

VANCOUVER BRIEF

Here are the top three Vancouver stories you need to know to start your day:

1. Decriminalization pilot ends: After three years, the B.C. government will not ask the federal government to renew the drug decriminalization pilot, which decriminalized possession for small amounts of drugs. In many ways, Vancouver and the Downtown Eastside were the epicentre of this experiment. Critics say the pilot fueled increased public disorder. Advocates say it helped reduce vulnerable people’s interactions with police, and without the pilot people will be less likely to seek help. Read more. [CTV]

2. Child care expansion: Opening new child care spaces is a challenge in Vancouver. Now, one of OneCity’s candidates seeking the nomination for mayor, William Azaroff (who Nate wrote about here), is proposing easier rules for opening child care spaces, especially designed to prevent neighbours from stopping them. City staff are expected to report on this exact issue soon, with potential bylaw changes. Read more ($). [Vancouver Sun, Vancity Lookout]

3. The long-delayed SkyTrain: UBC students took to Broadway-City Hall Station on Wednesday to mark the 18th anniversary of the promised SkyTrain to UBC. For context, that promise was made all the way back during the 2008 financial crisis. Nate wrote in November about how UBC student executives and city councillors are pushing for a clear timetable. [Daily Hive, Vancity Lookout]

Written by Geoff Sharpe. We are experimenting with this section and would love to hear your feedback if you enjoy it.

NIGHTLIFE

City has lessons to learn after heavy-handed inspections

Read the story online.

On Thursday, councillors Mike Klassen and Pete Fry, along with staff from the mayor’s office and the city, met with more than a dozen venue operators, promoters, and artists who are active in the city’s underground music and dance scene. 

The meeting was held in response to complaints about a night of coordinated inspections by city agencies in mid-December, which included four Vancouver Police (VPD) officers, three city inspectors, and one inspector from Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS). 

“I think what really came up was this particular approach on December 13 seemed disproportionate and heavy-handed,” Fry told Vancity Lookout following the meeting. 

As we reported last week, Paige Frewer at the Birdhouse described the December inspection as a raid, unlike any inspection they’d ever had before. City agencies had conducted three previous nights of coordinated inspections in 2025, but it was the final one in December that rubbed operators the wrong way.

“There were [coordinated] inspections that took place in June, September, November and December, and the only ones that seemed to create the friction were the ones that took place mid-December,” Klassen relayed to Vancity Lookout. 

One difference in the December inspection may have been the number and conduct of VPD officers. According to city staff and the VFRS, there were four police officers on the night of December 13, while VFRS stated that “inspection teams generally consisted of between 1 and 2 members per agency.” 

“Their intimidating conduct was totally unnecessary,” Frewer said of the officers’ behaviour during the December 13 inspection. When reached for comment, the VPD referred Vancity Lookout to VFRS. 

“I'm hoping that with some direct communication and discussions with staff that they'll be able to follow this up,” Klassen said. He added that he’d already spoken with officials from VFRS and the city’s permitting department who were involved in the December inspection. 

Klassen’s takeaway from those conversations mirrored the public statements made by VFRS to Vancity Lookout that the coordinated inspections were intended to “minimize the impact on operators of legitimate businesses.” 

“Something obviously happened in December … we had an outcome that probably provided us with some lessons on how to do it better,” Klassen said. The main lesson Klassen noted was the need for stronger points of communication, including the potential to establish a regular meeting with the underground nightlife community. 

Fry, who used to run his own after-hours spaces in Vancouver, said he understands the challenges for operators but recognized that, notwithstanding the recent inspections, this council has “actually done a lot more than in the past” to support alternative nightlife spaces. 

The clearest example of that support is the Arts and Culture Event License (AEL), which was expanded in 2023 to allow events of more than 250 people and to double the number of days per month, from three to six, that venues could operate.

A December 19 press release from VFRS said the coordinated inspections were focused on “high-risk, unlicensed venues,” but interviews with venue operators and data shared with Vancity Lookout by the city showed that many of venues were licensed under the AEL. 

Inspection data shows that over the course of 49 inspections between June and December 2025, nine fines were issued to venues for operating without a business license. “It was a very stigmatizing mischaracterization,” to call all these venues high-risk and unlicensed, Fry said. 

VFRS told Vancity Lookout it was consulted and involved in the 2023 changes to the AEL program, and these licenses are not classified as ‘high-risk’. 

“Our focus with this enforcement is on the venues where we suspect that the organizers may have overlooked or ignored public safety requirements,” Justin Mulcahy with VFRS told Vancity Lookout. 

“A business could have a licence but may not be in compliance with the conditions of their licence,” city staff added. “This could include overcrowding, serving alcohol without appropriate approvals, [or] not adhering to the approved safety checklist.” According to city data there were six fines issued to venues for breaching these conditions during the enhanced enforcement period. 

“Some of it is a bit of teething pains,” Klassen said with regard to the AEL changes. “How can we set up VPD so they have a better understanding of these venues that are licensed,” Klassen said, noting there’d been some confusion with event spaces with different license statuses operating near each other.

“We've had a good open dialogue with the community,” Klassen said. “We want to be a fun city, and this is one way that we can achieve that.”

Fry emphasized the importance of fire safety at music and dance events, with the risks highlighted by a tragic fire at a bar in Switzerland that killed 40 people and injured over 100 during a New Years party. That bar hadn’t had a fire inspection in five years, according to ABC News. 

“I think everybody supports fire safety, and certainly in the wake of the tragic events of New Years in Switzerland, [it] underscores the importance of life safety and compliance with the fire bylaws,” Green Party Councillor Pete Fry told Vancity Lookout.

Half of the 32 fines handed out to 12 underground venues during the enhanced enforcement period were for non-compliance with fire bylaws, with the most common fire bylaw violation, which occurred eight times, being a failure to properly maintain exits. 

“Our focus is on attaining fire code compliance and we work cooperatively with building operators to gain compliance,” VFRS said. 

Platform 9, a relatively new warehouse venue in the False Creek Flats industrial area, is a case study of how the city’s inspection program can be effective, enhancing fire safety while allowing a well-used underground space to continue operating.

Platform 9’s founder Dzhent Yetkin opened the venue in November 2024, operating without a business license for ten months. Platform 9 was fined by the city in the summer of 2025 and told to apply for an AEL, Yetkin told Vancity Lookout. 

The city approved Platform 9’s license in September and continued to inspect the venue every two to three months, fining the venue twice for fire safety issues relating to emergency exits and signage, Yetkin said. 

Yetkin said he resolved the fire safety issues that Platform 9 was fined for, and when inspectors came again on December 13 the venue passed the fire safety portion of the inspection. “The city's requirements about fire [safety] are important … We have a huge responsibility as a venue” to host people in a safe space, Yetkin said.

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THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

3.5%

The expected drop in home prices in the fourth quarter of 2026 in the Greater Vancouver area. It’s expected to be the second biggest drop among the big Canadian cities. [Urbanized]

THE AGENDA

🏞️ I’m sure many readers here will want to know that rolling reservations for Canada’s national parks are now open for select locations. You can book them here.

🥬 After 65 years of operations, the family that owns the popular and affordable Sunrise Market in the Downtown Eastside is putting the business up for sale. While the property isn’t currently up for sale, there’s concern that recent zoning changes in the area would make it an attractive opportunity for redevelopment. Read more. [The Tyee] 

🪵 The park board announced it’s begun the final phase of logging in Stanley Park, continuing the contentious multi-year effort to remove trees impacted by an insect outbreak. Tree removals will take place over the next three months and at the end of 2026, with restoration work, including tree planting, happening in the spring of 2026 and 2027. Read more. [Park board]

🏢 Council passed a motion unanimously to allow low-rise condos and secured purpose-built rentals near the Rupert and Renfrew SkyTrain station. Most of the area around there is zoned for single-family detached homes. Read more. [Urbanized]

♻️ Who said news needs ot be entirely negative? Vancouver condos and apartments are getting flexible plastic recycling, for items like plastic bags and wrappers starting Feb. 16. Expect the pink boxes to start arriving at your condo soon. Read more. [CBC]

📈Vancouver city council gave itself a 1.9 per cent wage increase. Before anyone asks about how that increase is determined, it’s tied to a bylaw passed by council back in 2016 to match any raises to the Consumer Price Index so that salaries and wages keep up with inflation. Read more. [Business in Vancouver]

❄️ The park board has approved a new snow removal policy that aligns itself more with the Vancouver city council’s policy. Don’t get too excited, though, as it’s not a “bare pavement” standard. The park board is responsible for 82 km of sidewalks. Read more. [Urbanized]

👮Vancouver man Jaxon Andre Carter, who attacked a fast-food worker for not giving a free add-on to a burger, has been charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm. Read more ($). [Vancouver Sun]

🏒 Sarah Nurse is back for the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The star forward has been out with an injury since November, and the Goldeneyes hope her return can spark a team that sits in last place in the standings and is tied for the fewest goals scored in the league. Read more. [PWHL]

WEEKEND EVENT GUIDE

90's Tribute night | The Cobalt, 917 Main St. Jan 24, 8 p.m. | 1st Tribute night of 2026!! 4 Degrees, playing the music of Tool, Them Bones rockin Alice In Chains, Big Brown Beaver slappin some Primus, Derek Lundblad honouring Chris Cornell | Learn more [Sponsored]

Friends of the Richmond Library January Mini-Sale | Richmond Public Library, Richmond | Jan 17 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Discover used books for sale at low prices | Free

Family Saturdays | Chinatown Storytelling Centre | 168 East Pender St. | Third Saturday of every month, 12-3 p.m. | Learn about Chinatown’s heritage and culture with activities | Tickets $10

Supper Club — Vo1 1 | Chambar Restaurant | Jan. 16, 7 p.m. | Live music with a multi-course tasting menu and optional wine pairing | Tickets $120

Ice Cream & Donut Run Club 5k | 3932 Fraser St. | Jan. 17, 1 p.m. | Social run event | Free

Canonfire: The Improvised Musical | KW Studios | Jan 18, 7:30 p.m. | 10 improvisers and two musicians create 75 minutes of musicals right in front of you | Tickets $25

Shrek Rave | The Pearl, Granville Street | Jan. 17, 10:30 pm | Their slogan is “it’s dumb, just have fun,” we couldn’t agree more! | Tickets $25

Kitsilano Winter Market | Kitsilano Secondary School | Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 50+ farms and proeducers selling their goods | Free

Submit your event and it could appear here and reach 30,000+ Vancouver locals.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Thai Ni Yom is Thai food done right

Crammed into a small Kitsilano storefront, away from the bustle of downtown, you’ll find an excellent example of Thai food done well.

Thai Ni Yom at 2953 W 4th Ave. Unit 2 has little social presence. It doesn’t make the “best of” lists, and there’s no recent news coverage. It doesn’t exist for anyone consuming a restaurant recommendation diet purely of vertical videos.

While the bright red storefront is unmissable, the interior has an unassuming design that could place you in any other restaurant. It feels homely and welcoming. Rather than wow with decor, the team here has put their time and energy into the food.

And it shows.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The view from Cypress Mountain really is special this time of year.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Three Vancouver museums are offering pay-what-you-can admission once a month on Sundays. [Vancouver Sun]

• The popular Festival de Bois is returning in March with a focus on fiddle music. [Straight]

• Be on the lookout for a cool new mobile coffee tricycle by Vancouver local Philip Generoso. [CityNews]

• Bruno Mars has added two new October shows in Vancouver. [Urbanized]

• We’re excited to try Published on Main’s new winter menu. [Straight]

VANCOUVER GUESSER

Well done to all of you who knew the field pictured last week was Andy Livingstone! For this week’s Guesser, can you tell me what neighbourhood this infamous operation is located in? (Hopefully you’ve never been!)