On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, thinking about the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, along with hundreds of thousands of dissidents, LGBT, Roma, people with disabilities. Reflecting on those horrors, the statement "never again" and the systems that enable genocide today and ongoing.

Last week after posting here on bsky - i went on to Jill Bennets CKNW show to talk about the London Drugs at Woodwards the current and historic context and what the future could look like. Pretty reasonable please give it a listen: open.spotify.com/episode/7nmN...?

The closure of London Drugs at Hastings/Abbot is a loss for the neighbourhood. Yes, safety/security issues are a challenge for this and any operator, but there is more to consider in this story: the outsized location relied on a market that doesn't exist. History🧵 vancouversun.com/news/london-...

While voting as an ABC block, Cllr Zhou - quoted in the article -- professed to be solidly "pro housing," but his voting record suggests he's "solidly" voted against new supportive housing, rentals in Shaughnessy, and now, social housing city-wide #notallhousing

Important reckoning. Sadly, this is a broken record / broken system where supposedly well intentioned child apprehensions often result in real harm to the kids and parent(s) and very little accountability. I know and have worked with many of the people involved in this story 🙌🏽 gratitude and respect.

Today, as Trump awarded new "FIFA Peace Prize" his militarized ICE agents are targeting football-loving racialized migrants Wednesday, I ask Vancouver to affirm our commitment to Sanctuary City: Access Without Fear as part of our FIFA Human Rights Plan. Please council.vancouver.ca/20251210/doc...

Another timely call out of this serial tormentor that landlords over many renters in our city. Plan A is quite literally one of the worst, and keeps successfully gaming the system. thetyee.ca/News/2025/12...

'Twas weeks before Christmas And staff at the City Checked stockings for pink slips Such a Holiday pity... "'Tis best for our budget!" laughed our malevolent hero "More layoffs to come, 'cause Zero Means Zero!" www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Zero Means Zero Meets FIFA Staff report Dec 9 recommends terminating 10/11 Advisory Committees. As the World Cup looms and we've yet to see a Human Rights Plan, volunteer-led citizens advisories are scrapped. Eliminating Committees saves $160,000 @ department targeted by #zeromeanszero cuts

Budget silver lining? Disappointing to hear the Celebration of Lights are being cancelled. BUT on the upside, this does free up over $1m of in-kind policing City of Vancouver contributes, perhaps we can refund some of the cuts to community services? #zeromeanszero www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This is absolutely horrific. 36 dead, 279 missing in Hong Kong highrise complex fire. This photo from CBC captures the anguish many of us are feeling for our friends and family across the Pacific in our spiritual (not official) sister city. www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

LIVE Budget Engineering fees set to go up across the board for everything was severed to provide relief for patio permits (a nice $300,000 nod to consider small business) but when I suggested it could be offset by increasing Street and Traffic By-law Fines specific to road safety, ABC rejected 😒

TODAY: Budget day at City Hall

Toxic rhetoric online isn't new, but when political leaders indulge violent language directed at local elected colleagues, it's a failure at most basic level of democracy. Politicians have a moral obligation to call our (not hug out) their supporters when they cross that line. Do better. ⬇️thread

Ken Sim's comments on EarlyEd were delusional: His defense of "thorough budget presentation" suggested councillors were afforded multiple rounds of questions. In fact, critical councillors were given only two 5min blocks for questions and answers on 90 slide, 23p, $2.4b budget before ABC cut us off

THANK YOU Vancouver! On doctor’s orders I’m reclined and elevating my leg after a torn calf muscle. But rest assured I’m gratefully watching/listening to the various Vancouverites speaking out against the cuts to staff and services behind ABC’s opaque #zeromeanszero 2026 austerity budget

Vancouver has spent decades building up a now well-earned reputation for leadership on environmental sustainability. Apparently, the mayor and ABC majority don't see the value in it. Hard to imagine a better way to damage the city's brand.

There’s still time to let council know what you think of the proposed 2026 “zero means zero” budget Budget presentation and speakers begin Nov 12, more info and deadline below council.vancouver.ca/20251112/spe...

Vancouver's 'zero means zero' budget will mean slashing 400 jobs “These aren’t surgical cuts. These are chainsaw cuts. We haven’t gotten the details of where these cuts are going to really land and what it’s going to mean for services that Vancouverites rely on" vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...

Today at City Council

By sea, land, and air we wish you a happy Halloween! @ptfry.bsky.social @lucymaloney.bsky.social

Worst is not that Montague hasn't lived or paid taxes in our city his entire term, or that he lives over 400km away, or even his horrible decisions when he does show up. Worse, as other Canadians suffer & boycott, BM was on leave from his taxpayer-funded job to leisure in the US for a month.

Can confirm from an internal email earlier this month, All Souls Night was canceled "after careful assessment, and considering current budget constraints" On behalf of councillors who rejected ABC's priorities, sorry we couldn't stop damage Sim's #zeromeanszero cuts are inflicting on our city

With no comment from ABC Councillors: Motion to extend votes to youth FAILS at ABC's hand. Despite ample evidence, a real imperative for youth engagement, and a clear path to enact. While they are at it ABC vote down safety for trick or treaters and SRA protections against predatory speculation.

You might have heard about the mayor’s new “zero means zero” austerity budget and the defeat yesterday of his scheme to sell off public land to build for profit housing to raise revenue for “council priorities”. Part of his imperative to run the city like a business I explain…

Unfortunately, what could have been a painless, benign improvement to code of conduct w/ sanctions even in the case of a conflicted council majority (would not have applied to recent transgressions) was rejected by ABC in favour of watered down tokenism. Future councils can still skate around rules.

Inside joke at #vanpoli Zero means zero

Reckless. Feckless. After squandering his first 3 years on bitcoin, unelecting Park Board, and record tax increases. Sim's promised zero budget means big cuts (likely ~$100m) First up, Equity. More to come. “a desperate act in the last year of his term,”

Since neither the Integrity Commissioner nor Council can mete punishment or sanction for ABC’s transgressions (underscoring futility of huge taxpayer-funded legal bill), the Province are promising to step in and my colleagues and I resolve to strengthen Code vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...

Nate Lewis at Vancity Lookout did a great round-up and confirmed ABC’s insinuation that my complaint will cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, is actually for the mayor et al legal fees to refute and block their investigation and indictment www.vancitylookout.com/p/abc-party-...

I break down the breakdown of integrity at City Hall, why there was an investigation, and what it means that the Integrity Commissioner has ruled Ken Sim and ABC have broken the Code of Conduct #vancouver #vanpoli

"One stranger attack is too many. Obviously, we want to ensure public safety is paramount for everyone who visits, lives and works in Vancouver, but we don’t need unnecessary fear-mongering to drive political agendas, and ultimately scare people away from our city." www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Transparency: If *as the mayor's office is suggesting* the departure of previous and hiring of new city manager was "made by a vote of Council following all established procedures" --then release any agendas, minutes and votes to debunk "baseless suggestions" vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...

Zavarise livetweeting Vancouver mayor's cringe comments at his bitcoin bit this weekend, but this one belies the fundamental problem with Sim's administration: a disregard for rules and legal principles of local government, which he dismisses as bureaucracy that must get out of his way

Sim says bitcoin mining is great for environment.

Obviously, the mayor spends a lot of time hustling crypto: as reported extensively, he’s using his literal and figurative office to promote digital lucre over a multitude of videos and conferences in the last year - how much are taxpayers spending on mayor's hobby? www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Left my digital radio on streaming last night, and thought Lisa Christiansen had taken over the Early Edition from @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social when I woke up to back-to-back Ozzy/Sabbath 🦇 I was, like: Sweet, Leave it off snooze youtu.be/4DZBaW1nSNE?...

Vancouver was well served by City Manager Paul Mochrie, a skilled, thoughtful professional. I wish him the absolute best. I've no insight or agreement on Sim and Mochrie conversation that "mutually agreed that it was the right time for a leadership change" - but it's a big loss for CofV. #vanpoli

My motion at council today. Time to pull the plug on garburators. It's not just the cost borne by taxpayers for clogged sewers or wastewater treatment of otherwise divert-able organics; in multi unit buildings in-sink disposals can result expensive blockages & floods. www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Today, Vancouver finally set to approve bylaw for 30km/h speed limits on local residential streets. Six years since this resolution passed at Council/UBCM; passed again unanimously in 2024; building on work of local/global #VisionZero, active transportation advocates... Slow, safe, stoked. 😀

Not knocking VPD But we need clarity in chain of command. We need to know that authorizations from the police office are not coming out from the back room of the mayor's office, but they're coming through the appropriate channels, and there's appropriate accountability www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The legislated oversight board for the Vancouver Police only found out about the DTES street sweep operation Task Force Barrage and its $5m price tag after Sim and ABC caucus announced it in a public media event. Legal? This seems inconsistent w/ 27 & 28 of the Police Act. Heckuva scoop here.

Yesterday, ABC's resolution to suspend Integrity Commissioner & investigations was declared out of order under section 8.7(f) of our Procedure Bylaw, nearly a year after it was introduced. I suggested it was "frivolous" --specifics of suspension period subject to independent review weren't met. 1/3🧵

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Day of Music : free concerts at the 100 year old Orpheum Theatre and adjacent annex today. A delight to introduce the Maestro Otto Tausk and the VSO this morning for rehearsal at the jewel of Vancouver’s Civic Thestres

What if we prioritized public toilets & drop-in spaces over costly decampments, sweeps & street flushing? My May 21 resolution asks Council to rethink our approach to street disorder, with drop-ins and public toilets. #VanPoli 🧵 1/6 🔗 council.vancouver.ca/20250521/doc...

BC’s Police Act demands accountability of local governments in BC to maintain public confidence in law enforcement - but three months into DTES street sweeps promoted by the mayor, and no-one is accepting responsibility for initiating the operation or expense. www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

When staff recommended City's budget sunset funding school meal programs for Vancouver kids it was under assumption that senior governments would fill the gap. That didn't happen, so today, Cllr Bligh & I ask council to reinstate funding. Hungry Kids Can't Learn b/g vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...

On today’s Council agenda: I’ll introduce my motion (co-submitted w/ Cllr Fry) to restore school food funding recently cut. No child should go hungry at school. This is about protecting health, supporting learning, and standing up for equity. Let’s fix this. #VanPoli Link below 👇🏻

Vancouver: Last night's violent and tragic event at the LapuLapu festival is incomprehensible. We embrace the community in care, and with support and resources to those affected. 24 hour crisis centre has been set up at Douglas Park Community Cntr, 801 w 22nd. ❤️pagpapala pinoy

Unlike other Metro cities, Vancouver lacks a budget for stray cat control. VOKRA, the volunteer org doing this work, is struggling. My Wed motion calls for city support for animal services. council.vancouver.ca/20250416/doc... Meet Leonard, now 20-yr-old stray kitten we adopted via VOKRA. 😻