Why the park board could soon be a thing of the past

Good morning,

A personal note — I’ve read through all the responses to the year-end survey and to say I’m floored would be an understatement. There was so much great feedback, along with some kind words that I almost teared up reading. Starting a local news outlet scary — but I can safely say it’s going better than I ever imaged after one year, all thanks to all of you.

Today is a big day for Vancouver’s park board, which we break down. Plus some good news related to drug treatment and what’s happening in Vancouver’s art scene.

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

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

WEATHER

Wednesday: 9 🌡️ 5 | 🌧️

Thursday: 7 🌡️  3 | 🌧️

Friday: 4 🌡️ -1 | ❄️/ 🌧️

CITY HALL

Goodbye park board?

What happened: Park board commissioner Tom Digby took to Twitter to claim that Ken Sim was planning to shut down the board, claiming that it was because Sim didn’t get his choice of chair. It was quickly followed up by breaking news that Sim indeed planned to change the park board, according to Global. 

It’s unclear how far the changes will go, but the announcement is slated for 10 am this morning. But according to sources speaking to Global, the core focus of the changes would be to put accountability into the hands of council rather than park board commissioners.

Zoom out: Ken Sim’s ABC Party had originally promised to get rid of the board during the 2022 municipal election and was his first campaign promise, according to CBC. He had originally said he would ask the provincial government to bring the board under the management of council. He eventually backtracked on that promise. 

• Changes like this require the province to approve it since it’s govrerned by the Vancouver Charter, which is a provincial statute. 

Context: Vancouver is the only city in North America with a separate elected park board. Usually, they’re part of a city’s department. The park board currently sets its own budget, like the city. 

• The park board has presented a number of challenges to Sim. ABC had originally promised to re-establish the Stanley Park bike lane in the spring 2024, but had to backtrack after they couldn’t rebuild it in time.

What it means: We will have to wait and see the exact details of the plan. But it’s certainly an odd situation for Vancouver to have such a different governing structure than other municipalities when it comes to parks. There will likely be opposition, but if the NDP agrees, there’s not much that can be done to stop it. Maybe this partially explains the lack of pushback from the mayor over the province’s aggressive housing policies?

For a look at questions that will hopefully be answered tomorrow, read CBC reporter Justin McElroy’s thread below:

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🏠 3,369: The number of new home listings in November, up 9.8 percent from last year, but still down 2.8 percent from the 10-year average. The average home price is $1,185,100, up four percent from last year. [CTV]

📈 $81 million: The amount that BC’s speculation and vacancy tax brought in last year, with 80 percent collected from foreign owners. [Vancouver Sun]

✈️ $40 million: How much YVR is spending to prepare for bad winter conditions this year. Last year many flights were grounded due to snow and stormy weather. [CTV]

HEALTHCARE

New model offers improved access for drug recovery

I know there’s a lot of negative news in this newsletter. But we’ve got some positive news related to healthcare.

What happened: A new model for taking in patients seeking addiction care is yielding positive results, reducing the wait times that some patients experience that are many weeks long, according to the Globe and Mail. 

Background: Patients seeking help with their addictions normally face a complex intake process, where there are multiple points of entry. They are then placed on a waiting list for weeks at a time as they wait for beds to open up. The province announced $586 million in new spending back in September 2020 for treating substance abuse issues, according to CBC. 

• There were a total of 3,260 publicly-funded beds. But the province does not track wait lists for substance abuse beds, or what happens to people after they use them, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

The program: Dubbed the Road to Recovery, 94 people have been treated at St. Paul’s Hospital in the last three months. The intake is seamless, with detox, transition and treatment beds all available together, according to Global, to treat people when they actually need help. The program launched with 34 detox and transition treatment beds, with more planned in the coming years. 

• The province is spending $23.7 million on the program. It ensures those who are at the most risk can get a detox bed immediately. 

The program also continues to follow up with people after they leave the program, as part of a five-year study to see if users improve their lives afterwards. 

• Problems persist: One expert noted that the program does have problems. Users' drug tolerance, after they take the program, will be lowered for street supply, since they’re mixed with other drugs, according to Global.

What it means: The toxic drug supply is killing people at a record pace. These types of programs, that rethink existing approaches, are going to be critical. Most importantly, it will expand the existing capacity to deal with users who want help, though much more needs to be done.

SPONSORED BY CHARTR

The data behind the headlines

Behind every big headline or emerging theme, there's the data that underpins the story. When we want to understand the numbers behind a topic – the deeper context that we can't get just from reading news – we turn to our friends at Chartr.

Their free visual newsletter is packed with snackable charts and easy-to-remember insights on business, tech, entertainment and society – in less than a 5 minute read.

Join 300,000+ professionals and get the data, anecdotes and visuals you need to understand today's world and take your office small talk to the next level. Sign up with 1-click here* or subscribe on their site.

*Chartr’s Privacy Policy.

DREAM HOME

Look, this may not be the most beautiful home we’ve included here. But it’s got a spacious kitchen, three bedrooms and over 1,000 square feet of space, in a great neighborhood near Hastings and Nanaimo. 

But what really stands out is the price. It’s definitely one of the more affordable three-bedrooms on the market. Plus it allows pets! 

See much it’ll set you back. 

THE AGENDA

🌧️ The recent rain was bad, even for Vancouver. A total of 49.8 mm fell, beating the previous city record of 35.4 in 2004. Some highways throughout the Lower Mainland were impacted. [Vancouver Sun]

🏗️ Some stakeholders are raising concerns about the province’s blanket transit-oriented development changes, including the displacement of renters. An interesting statistic is that one in three renters live within transit-oriented development areas. [Business in Vancouver]

🪧 Metro Vancouver workers who went on strike will receive a three to 4.5 percent pay increase over the next three years. Workers also got a 4.5 percent inflationary support payment adjustment. [Richmond News]

💰 Does the BC carbon tax worsen affordability? A new study says no, with food increasing by 0.3 percent and, if the tax were to be removed, prices would only improve by 0.6 percent. [CityNews]

🚓 Someone filmed a video of a Vancouver Police Department car going the wrong way at a high-speed downtown, almost causing a crash. The cruiser did not have it’s lights on. The driver who almost got in a crash has filed a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. [CityNews]

💉 A new drug testing site has been launched by drug activist Dana Larsen on West Broadway, and is legally approved by Vancouver Coastal Health. [CTV]

🏒 The increased cap space for 2024/25 season is good news for the Canucks. That plus expiring contracts means the team will have around $33 million in additional space that can be spent on player contracts in the 2024 offseason. [Canucks Army]

🔥 Vancouver firefighters have responded to over 70,000 incidents this year, and the organization is worried about burnout amongst its members. [Global]

MEME OF THE DAY

This one has been floating around online. It’s too funny not to share!

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Dine Out Vancouver has released its list of events, with options like Dumpling Fest, sea foraging and distillery tours. [Dine Out Vancouver]

• A reminder that if you’re visiting Mount Seymour this winter, you’ll need a parking pass before you arrive. [Vancouver Sun]

• The Union Gospel Mission is providing self-portraits for unhoused people, including professional hair and makeup. [CBC]

• There’s a new speakeasy opening soon in Gastown called Arcana Spirit Lounge which is also pretending to be a 24-hour pet psychic spot. Fun! [Dished]

• There’s a new way to get from Vancouver to Montreal — Porter Airlines has a new direct flight launching in 2024. [Business in Vancouver]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

GAME TIME

Apologies to everyone who took the trivia poll yesterday. It was my first time using the new feature in our newsletter and I setup the answer wrong. The answer was in fact atmospheric river!

Today’s Vancouver Guesser harkens back to the summer when you could spend your time outside. Can you guess which park this is? Reply with your answer and your name to be mentioned in the newsletter.