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- Questions are being raised about what can be done about regional climate change issues
Questions are being raised about what can be done about regional climate change issues
Plus, everything you need to know about the floods in Vancouver
Good morning!
I was on Vancouver Island this weekend celebrating the life of my grandmother who passed away last month. She was a big part of my life when I was a kid. It’s a timely reminder that life is shorter than you think, treasure those moments with family and don’t neglect the people in your life.
Today we’re covering issues around sewers and the volume of rain over the weekend, another interview with a local bookstore, and what’s coming up in Vancouver’s art scene.
Let’s dive in.
— Geoff Sharpe, Lookout managing editor

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WEATHER
Wednesday: 11 🌡️ 6 | 🌤️
Thursday: 11 🌡️ 4 | ☁️
Friday: 13 🌡️ 9 | ☁️
ENVIRONMENT
Questions are being raised about what can be done about regional climate change issues
What happened: The rainfall and flooding this weekend illustrated a problem facing the region when it comes to building critical infrastructure like sewers, and how the region is unprepared for bigger storm events.
The problem: The volume of rain coming down this weekend was unprecedented. The region's infrastructure is designed around historical averages of rainfall, and lately those averages have been far more varied than in the past, according to the Vancouver Sun. At one point there was 85 millimetres of rain that fell within six hours on Saturday.
Sewers: The volume of rain in such a short time caused pump stations to be unable to handle the volume of water coming down, according to CityNews and work is continuing to fix them. Deputy General Manager of Operations at Metro Vancouver Mani Deo said there wasn’t much that could’ve been done to prevent rainwater from causing pump station overflows.
There were 27 overflows in the sanitary sewer system around the region. As of yesterday morning, there were still five locations overflowing, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Regional response: Daniel Fontaine, a councillor in New Westminster, is calling on for a regional coordination of events like this, according to Global News. He told the news outlet that the response to the atmospheric river is based on “a 1970s model.” Regional issues are dealt with by 21 different municipalities rather than together. He noted that Metro Vancouver is the coordinating body for earthquakes, but this isn’t done for weather-related or climate-change events.
Other problems: The sewage pipes have an age problem that is only getting worse. An analysis by the Vancouver Sun showed that seven per cent of the 2,000 km of sewer pipes are “past the upper limit of what is generally considered the typical lifespan of sewer pipes.”
The worst areas are Kitsilano, Shaughnessy and Kerrisdale, with 20.5 km, 16.4 km and 14.8 km of pipes that are over 100 years old. When pipes surpass 100 years, they start to have bigger problems. Unfortunately, the city’s capital plan has only allocated funding for 30-45 km of sewer pipes. You can find an interactive map here of the aging pipes.
That doesn’t mean money isn’t already allocated to sewer and water mains — around 30 per cent is allocated, the largest line item in the city.
What it means: The need for a more coordinated response to issues that are cross-jurisdictional makes a lot of sense. It’s why Metro Vancouver exists and already deals with things like wastewater treatment. But Metro Vancouver is dealing with it’s own headaches over expensive trips and mismanagement of the multi-billion dollar North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant. It may be tough to convince elected officials to hand even more power over to Metro Vancouver.
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VANCOUVER NUMBERS
🖼️ 500: The number of artists across Vancouver participating in the Eastside Culture Crawl inside 55 different art buildings. The popular art event takes place from Nov. 14 to 17, and is one of my favourite events of the year. [Vancouver is Awesome]
💉 369,774: The number of vaccinations last week in BC. It’s flu season, so that means it’s time to get a shot. [CTV]
COMMUNITY PROFILE
Massy Books
You know what’s great about living in a city? Access to so many wonderful locally owned businesses. Over the next weeks we’ll be highlighting some of them. The first in our series are local bookstores.
What is your name?
Patricia Massy, I am the owner and founder of Massy Books at 229 E Georgia St. I am Nêhiyaw & Métis and a member of the As'in'î'wa'chî Ni'yaw Nation.
How long has your bookstore been around?
I started Massy Books in February 2015 as an online venture while I was going to school and then opened my first brick-and-mortar in 2017.
What is unique about your bookstore and what sort of books do you focus on?
We are so unique! One of only a handful of Indigenous-owned bookstores in Canada, we specialize in selling books by typically over-excluded authors and artists. We're active in the community, donating (Massy Books and my personal donations) over $200,000 in our lifetime to various causes, organizations, etc.
What do you love about the Vancouver neighbourhood your business is in?
I love our neighbours! We have one of the best streets in Chinatown, in my opinion - incredible food establishments, grocery stores, the best tea shop in Vancouver (Treasure Green Tea) and various grassroots organizations that aim to make change in our world.
What's something you've been reading lately you think Vancouver book lovers might enjoy?
A book I would recommend that I think everyone should read is Tanya Talaga's book "The Knowing" which retells the story of Canada through an Indigenous lens. It's deeply personal, well-researched and incredibly well-written. Required reading for all Canadians!
Here’s what one reader said about Massy Books
Super nice, good selection, plus a weird bookcase door that opens up to a whole other room of kids books, which is rad. 12/10 would recommend.
HOME OF THE WEEK

I am a big fan of duplexes. When you look at a city like Toronto, those tend to be much more prevalent. And in places like Montreal, triplexes and multi-level units dominate.
So I found this building way out in Vancouver Fraserview very interesting. It’s a duplex with *gasp* five bedrooms, 1,846 square feet of space and an extra-legal suite. Plus it has air conditioning, heated floors and a big kitchen.
House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.
THE AGENDA
🔥 Four units in a Vancouver highrise near Alberni and Nicola Street were impacted by a fire, 20 storeys above ground, on Monday afternoon. Units were heavily damaged, including water damage on the floors below. No one was injured, and an investigation is underway. [CityNews]
💰️ The Park Board approved a small fee increase on admissions and permits at VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory, Stanley Park Train, Burrard Marina, and special event permits, to pay for improvements to those places. It would increase certain fees by 3 per cent, from between $1 to $2 in January next year. That could invest in projects like upgrading water systems at the Burrard Marina. [City of Vancouver]
✋ While Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Party majority on council has mostly voted together, that could change in an upcoming vote. Coun. Rebecca Bligh has indicated she could vote against a motion that previously overturned a four-year-old policy that ended natural gas for hot water and heating in newly built buildings. This could kill the policy, given the vote was 7-6, with Bligh previously voting in favour. ABC councillors Lisa Dominato and Peter Meiszner voted against the motion. [Vancouver Sun]
📈 An organization is trying to help small businesses with commercial rent affordability as costs continue to rise in Vancouver and around the province. LOCO BC seeks to support groups, through innovative models, tools and policy changes, to ensure cities can keep supporting small, independent businesses. [Business in Vancouver]
🗳️ Could Christy Clark be the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada? Trudeau shows no indication of stepping down, but reports are surfacing that the former Premier of BC is preparing a run in case Trudeau does resign. [CityNews]
❌ The Seawall continues to be closed from Third Beach to Prospect Point because of the weekend’s storm. [Park Board]
🌉 The Granville Bridge Hemlock on-ramp will be closed on weekday nights from 9 pm-7 am for around four weeks due to construction. [City of Vancouver]
🍁 A reminder that leaf collection started last weekend. Leaves can be put into green bins and paper bags. Each area has its own collection dates, which you can see here. [City of Vancouver]
ARTS
Music
Hollywood Theatre has a packed lineup this week with performers Forest Blakk, JJ Wilde, Destroy Boys and some Halloween shows the following week.
You can find musicians Charles Wesley Godwin and Suki Waterhouse at the Commodore Ballroom this and next week.
Movies
The Clutch is hosting the Vancouver Black Independent Film Festival, a three-day event featuring the theme “We Reel Cool: Black Music in Film”, focusing on black music’s influence on movies. Full schedule here.
Cinematheque is hosting the European Union Film Festival Nov. 14-28, with films from all 27 European Union countries. Learn more.
The Rio is showing a movie I’ve seen at least 10 times, Shaun of the Dead. Keeping with the spooky season, you can catch Rocky Horror Picture Show, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, cult favourite Carrie, and many more.
Art
You can catch three Indigenous artists’ augmented reality art installations at Le Magasin Alley in Gastown. It sounds like a really unique experience.
Māori artist Lisa Reihana is showcasing her panoramic video and sound work “In Pursuit of Venus [infected]” at the Museum of Anthropology, integrating hand-painted landscapes with live-action characters and a densely layered soundtrack. It’s on until Jan. 5.
The Vancouver Art Gallery invest people to attend an event on Nov. 2, with food and drink, for a preview of artist Firelei Báez, one of the most exciting painters of her generation. Get tickets here.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Here’s a shot of a fire that occurred on Monday morning.
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
I have only been to six restaurants that topped the Annual Chinese Restaurant Awards. Here’s the list that won.
This playful French restaurant is exactly what you want a neighbourhood restaurant to be. [Vancity Lookout]
ReBoot was a favourite show of mine as a kid. Turns out it was filmed in Vancouver, and now there’s a documentary about it.
VANCOUVER GUESSER

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