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For the week of Oct. 5, 2025:

In time for Taiwan’s 114th National Day on Oct. 10, highlights of an Aug. 27 panel discussion after the screening of “Invisible Nation,” a documentary that features Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen (2016-2024).

The democratic island nation, the size of Vancouver Island, thrives in the shadow of Communist China, whose leader, Xi Jinping, threatens to invade. 

Featuring: Filmmaker Vanessa Hope, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office director general Angel Liu, University of British Columbia political science Prof. Yves Tiberghien and moderator Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. (Footage courtesy of TECO Vancouver.)

As usual, Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines and the Virtual Nanaimo Bar.

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For the week of Oct. 5, 2025:

Business, News, Sports

Bob Mackin

The organizers of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics faced a credit crunch just before and right after the Games, according to documents made public after a 15-year moratorium.
Details are contained in minutes of key Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) board meetings and confidential memos found by theBreaker.news in files unsealed Oct. 1 at the City of Vancouver Archives.

VANOC banker RBC sponsored the Vancouver 2010 torch relay. (RBC)

“Just in time” loan deal

VANOC struggled with the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession. As the RBC-sponsored Olympic torch relay criss-crossed Canada, the bank and VANOC were in negotiations about reinstating VANOC’s borrowing agreement to $95 million, said minutes of a Nov. 18, 2009 board meeting. A crucial meeting was scheduled in Toronto on Nov. 27, 2009.

“The key challenge is ensuring that a credit facility sufficient to meet operational needs is in place. This is not currently the case,” said VANOC chief financial officer John McLaughlin’s risk report.

A crisis was averted, albeit temporarily and with help from taxpayers. Minutes for the board’s last pre-Games meeting on Jan. 20, 2010 state “the payment guarantee requested by RBC has been delivered by the Province of B.C.”

After the Games, VANOC faced another credit crunch, solved with a credit facility on April 19, 2010 that would last until the end of the calendar year. It included a $59.5 million line of credit secured by an indemnity of $62 million from the province, in favour of RBC, at an RBC prime interest rate.

“This agreement came just in time as the facility has been utilized to make payments to suppliers and meet other obligations,” said McLaughlin’s May 17, 2010 update to the board.

Don’t say a word

McLaughlin continued: “We are asking that the existence of the indemnity and its nature be kept strictly confidential as it could prejudice our ongoing negotiations with third parties and/or encourage potential claimants or litigants who might believe there is a financial opportunity for them arising from the Province’s indemnity of RBC.”

An official Muk Muk mascot key fob outside the City of Vancouver Archives on Oct. 1, 2025. (Mackin)

IOC negotiations

McLaughlin said he and finance vice-president Carey Dillen were progressing in talks with the IOC, hoping to resolve issues by mid-June.

“Our objective was to resolve all matters except the final $57 million contribution from the IOC. The IOC has asked that this be addressed in a later meeting when our financial results are known with more certainty,” McLaughlin’s memo said.

More time to wind down

VANOC finally dissolved in July 2014, claiming it balanced an operating budget of almost $1.9 billion. That included nearly $200 million in additional subsidies from the federal and B.C. governments.

VANOC was a federally incorporated, not-for-profit beyond the reach of B.C.’s freedom of information law. Its board never held an open meeting and B.C.’s auditor general did not conduct a post-Games audit.

Bob Mackin covered the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, beginning with the domestic bid phase in 1998. He is the author of Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics.

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Bob Mackin The organizers of the Vancouver 2010

Business, News, Sports

Bob Mackin

Less than a month after the B.C. NDP government increased tax breaks, the parent company of the province’s biggest video game studio is being taken private in one of the largest buyouts in history.

The consortium of the Saudi royal family’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners and Affinity Partners is acquiring Redwood City, Calif. video game giant Electronic Arts Inc. for $55 billion. Affinity owner Jared Kushner is U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Premier David Eby touring the EA Sports studio in Burnaby on July 7. (BC Gov/Flickr)

Premier David Eby and Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey toured the EA Sports production campus in Burnaby on July 7 to announce tax credits for the video game industry would be made permanent and rise from 17.5% to 25% on Sept. 1.

Bailey is the former CEO of the Silicon Sisters video game production company.

The EA takeover was announced Sept. 29, the same day that Trump said for a second time that he would slap a 100% tariff on films made outside the United States.

Tariffs, the sequel

Trump said on his Truth Social account that he will impose a 100% tariff on “any and all movies that are made outside of the United States,” because the business of making movies had been stolen, “like candy from a baby.”

Last May, Trump said he would authorize the Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to begin the process of instituting a 100% tariff.

During Trump’s first administration, the U.S. reached a free trade deal with Canada and Mexico in 2018. That deal is up for renegotiation.

“CUSMA’s cultural exemption will continue to provide stability to the Canadian screen industries and support key policy mechanisms such as federal and provincial tax credits and government investment in Canadian content,” said the Directors Guild of Canada in 2019.

Subsidies, the sequel

Premier David Eby touring the EA Sports studio in Burnaby on July 7. (BC Gov/Flickr)

Before Christmas 2024, Eby announced the tax credit for international film and TV projects would increase from 28% to 36% beginning in 2025. Those with production costs in B.C. greater than $200 million qualify for a 2% bonus.

B.C.’s production industry was worth $2 billion in GDP in 2023.

According to Creative B.C.’s latest in-production list, among the U.S.-targeted productions lensing in B.C. are: “In Alaska,” “Animal Control,” “Carrie,” and “Air Bud Returns.”

Coming to a theatre near you on Oct. 10: the Vancouver-shot, Disney sci-fi flick “Tron:Ares.”

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Bob Mackin Less than a month after the

Business, News, Sports

Stanley Tromp

Problem gambling is on the rise among B.C. sports gamblers, according to surveys done for the B.C. Lottery Corporation, obtained by theBreaker.news under the freedom of information law.

A Player Health Tracker Report by Ipsos Research, completed in July 2024, identified sports betting as a distinct concern.

BCLC market research about sports gambling website awareness. (BCLC/FOI)

“Given that online sports bettors continue to be a higher-risk group, BCLC could benefit from maintaining targeted initiatives that tackle the specific challenges of sports betting and promote safer gambling practices, especially during major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness, and the NHL and NBA playoffs.”

A recent Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial warned that smartphone-savvy youth are particularly at risk after Canada’s 2021 legalization of single-event wagering. A flood of flashy ads starring celebrities during live sports broadcasts “influences young people to start gambling and to gamble more.” Thus, raising the potential for addiction.

Derby dreamers

The polls for BCLC found that horse racing bettors are growing more likely to believe in gambling myths, such as “chances of winning get better after a loss.” Over the past year, on the question “have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?” the number rose by 12%.

“The behaviours and beliefs of online sports bettors remain relatively stable, yet this group continues to exhibit a more at-risk profile,” the Ipsos pollsters wrote. From the 2024 fiscal year to the 2025 fiscal year, this group’s responses to the statement “I was honest with my family and/or friends about the amount of money I spent in this period,” dropped by 5%, while “I should be able to walk away from gambling at any time” fell by 10%.

For the question, “have you felt that you might have a problem with gambling?” the number rose by 8%.

From BCLC market research obtained by theBreaker.news. (BCLC/FOI)

Regarding this sports group’s beliefs, some numbers rose from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025 in response to these statements: “If I play longer, I am more likely to win” [up 6%]; “I almost won so I am due for a win” [up 10%]; “If I use special rituals, I can avoid bad luck” [up 7%].” Yet the belief in “I have a special strategy that helps me to win” declined by 3%.

Surfing the web

A BCLC “Key Performance Indicators Tracker” report from August 2024 found that “PlayNow sports bettors are increasingly using other websites to place their bets, with a significant decrease in those only betting on PlayNow quarter-over-quarter.” A later report noted: “PlayNow.com sports bettors are playing significantly less on illegal sports betting websites.”

Respondents to a Harris Poll were asked to select the website(s) that they believed offer legal sports betting in B.C. Of the 18 options, 63% correctly of respondents identified BCLC’s PlayNow. Way ahead of Ontario-licensed, but nationally marketed, Bet365 (17%), DraftKings (13%), FanDuel (8%) and PokerStars Sports (7%).

An Angus Reid Group poll said: “PlayNow is by far the most recognized site for offering legal sports gambling but there are other mentions of the popular illegal sites. Confusion persists. Proline is a niche game with only 3% of people playing it suggesting that wider spread adoption will need to be accomplished through PlayNow.”

In September 2024, just in time for NFL season, BCLC replaced SportsAction retail sports betting with the Proline sportsbook.

BCLC response

BCLC stated it continues to invest in its GameSense Advisors (both in venues and online), with a focus on sports bettors, and is starting a new online system that monitors gambling behaviours in real time.

Stanley Tromp is a longtime Vancouver journalist and author of Fallen Behind, a book on world FOI laws. www.canadafoi/author

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Stanley Tromp Problem gambling is on the rise

News, Opinion

For the week of Sept. 28, 2025:

Premier David Eby’s NDP government is running a record $11.6 billion deficit and needs revenue wherever it can find it. One source is gambling: B.C. Lottery Corporation is budgeting a $1.4 billion profit. But at what cost? 

Investigative journalist and theBreaker.news contributor Stanley Tromp obtained BCLC polling that found problem gambling is on the rise. He is Bob Mackin’s guest on this week’s edition.

Plus, the week that was in B.C. politics with Mario Canseco of Research Co. The Conservatives stand pat with leader John Rustad, even more members of the Green Party choose Gen Z Emily Lowan as their new leader and Eby went from NYC to the UBCM. Will the NDP find peace with the BCGEU?

As usual, Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines and the Virtual Nanaimo Bar.

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For the week of Sept. 28, 2025:

Business, News

Stanley Tromp

Problem gambling is on the rise in British Columbia over the past year, according to 473 pages of surveys done for the B.C. Lottery Corporation, obtained by theBreaker.news under the freedom of information law.

These include reports by Ipsos Research (with 500 respondents) and Harris Polls (1,009 people). Several pages were withheld under FOI law Section 17, to protect government economic interests.

Statistically, in the fiscal year ended March 31, versus the same period a year earlier, “significantly more players indicate that their gambling has caused financial problems, that other people have criticized their betting and that they have borrowed money or sold something to gamble,” Ipsos concluded.

Results of a BCLC poll from Ipsos about problem gambling trends. (BCLC/FOI)

One-armed bandits

Online slot machine players indicated increases in health problems due to gambling. Moreover, “gambling literacy” is dropping across the games. Slot machine and other casino players are growing more likely to believe in gambling myths, such as their “chances of winning get better after a loss.”The question was asked: “Have you bet more than you could really afford to lose?” For games in casinos, the response climbed from 44% last year to 55% in the current fiscal year, and with online games it climbed by 14%.

There were roughly similar increases in response to the questions, “have people criticized your betting?”, “have you felt guilty about the way you gamble?” and “has your gambling caused financial problems for your household?”

Can you spare a C-note?

During this period, on the question “have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?” the number rose by 11% for bingo players and by 12% for horse racing bettors. Younger casino players showed higher-risk gambling behaviours in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

On the question, “have you felt that you might have a problem with gambling?” the number rose by 12% at bingo halls, 8% for casino slots and 15% for other casino games.

Meanwhile, lottery-only players dropped over the past year, but the number of Lotto 6/49 players increased. Core players at casinos and bingo halls rose, as did core players of PlayNow online games.

Results of a BCLC poll from Ipsos about problem gambling trends. (BCLC/FOI)

Opinions about BCLC

theBreaker.news also obtained a poll by Angus Reid Group from August 2025. It found: “British Columbians view BCLC positively. However, fewer feel informed about where gambling revenue goes, and many don’t feel the organization makes on impact on their community.”

Yet there was an average 12% drop over the past year in poll respondents’ agreement to the statements: “BCLC makes positive contributions to the province of B.C.,” “I have trust and confidence in the games offered by BCLC,” and “BCLC promotes their games and products in a socially responsible way.”

“Consumer spending on gambling in B.C. has recovered from the [COVID-19] pandemic losses,” said a June 2024 economic analysis by Deloitte LLP. “However, gambling expenditures have fallen as a share of real disposable income since 2010.”

Government response

A Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General spokesperson told theBreaker.news that it is overseeing a B.C. prevalence study to obtain detailed demographics of problem gamblers. In the coming months, BCLC is also launching two targeted marketing campaigns focused on common gambling myths and higher-risk behaviours.

Stanley Tromp is a longtime Vancouver journalist and author of Fallen Behind, a book on world FOI laws. www.canadafoi/author

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Stanley Tromp Problem gambling is on the rise

Business, News, Uncategorized

Bob Mackin

B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner gave the province’s biggest university, inside Premier David Eby’s Point Grey riding, a failing grade for routinely breaking the freedom of information law.

In a review of files from 2021 to 2024, Michael Harvey found the University of British Columbia broke the law when receiving freedom of information requests, searching for records and responding to applicants. Staff also notified the communications department whenever a request came from a reporter.

“This investigation found a non-compliance rate of 90% — the highest rate of non-compliance my office has seen in 10 years of reviewing public bodies’ duty to assist,” Harvey wrote in a Sept. 25 audit report.“This is concerning not only because of UBC’s important role in education and advancing knowledge in this province, but also because of the sheer scope and scale of the university’s operations.”

Premier David Eby at a housing funding announcement at UBC in August 2024. Eby is the area MLA and a resident of the University Neighbourhood Area. (BC Gov/Flickr)

Not just a university

Moreover, Harvey wrote, UBC functions like a municipality at its main Point Grey campus, overseeing housing, restaurants, health centres, stores, libraries, movie theatres, sports fields and concert venues.

Coincidentally, UBC’s Latin motto is “Tuum Est,” or “It is yours.”

Main problem areas

“Periods of stagnation or considerable delay in processing files was a common theme,” Harvey wrote.

  • UBC failed to comply with FIPPA time limits 90% of the time.
  • UBC responded to only 8% of sampled requests within the 30-business day benchmark FIPPA establishes as the timely expectation for response.
  • Overall, UBC took an average of 100 business days to respond to requests.
  • Where UBC failed to respond within legislated time limits, UBC took an average of 74 additional business days to respond.
  • The average time UBC’s FOI team spent between receiving records and finalizing its response fluctuated between 57 days and 61 days over the three-year period.
  • UBC shared certain applicants’ names and their requests with UBC personnel who review responses prior to release, which raised concern about applicant anonymity

Recommendations for UBC after a damning audit. (OIPC)

Room for improvement

Harvey said UBC took steps during the audit to improve operations, including a new file tracking system and other software, while beginning to clear the backlog of overdue requests. UBC, he said, is committed to implementing his recommendations.

Why it matters

If a university does not comply with the FOI law, Harvey wrote, it undermines “fundamental principles of transparency, accountability and empowering people with information for the benefit of society.”

Delayed access erodes trust in the public sector at a crucial time when disinformation and misinformation are rampant.

In the 2025-2026 budget, UBC reports $2.71 billion in net operating expenses.

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Bob Mackin B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner gave

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Bob Mackin

An Ottawa lawyer for BC Ferries told a House of Commons committee studying the deal to buy four Chinese built ferries that it was “acting outside of its constitutional authority.”

In an Aug. 29 covering letter to committee clerk Philip den Ouden, lawyer Kyle Morrow of the Fasken firm said that BC Ferries was complying with the Aug. 1 production order from the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities “voluntarily, in the interests of transparency.”

“Voluntary compliance in this instance does not waive any future constitutional argument based on interjurisdictional immunity,” Morrow wrote.

Artist’s rendering of one of the four new BC Ferries to be built in China. (BC Ferries)

Why it matters

The taxpayer-owned company announced the contract with China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI) on June 10. Unions and opposition Conservatives demanded the deal — backed by a $1 billion loan from the federal Liberal government — be scrapped due to national security concerns at a time when NDP Premier David Eby is urging citizens to buy Canadian.

Not transparent

Morrow’s letter said BC Ferries “provided unredacted documents and correspondence where possible. It has redacted commercially-sensitive information where necessary. Redundant information, such as previous drafts, and irrelevant information have not been included.”

One of the documents is the same eight-page, April internal decision paper the BC Ferries freedom of information office released in July to theBreaker.news. BC Ferries censored six full pages and parts of two others to hide the reasons for hiring CMI and the names of two losing bidders.

On Sept. 4, the day after China’s Xi Jinping hosted Russian ally Vladimir Putin for a Beijing military parade, BC Ferries rejected a freedom of information request from theBreaker.news for a copy of its contract with CMI.

theBreaker.news filed complaints with the B.C. Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

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Bob Mackin An Ottawa lawyer for BC Ferries

News

Bob Mackin

During a joint investigation by four Canadian privacy commissioners, TikTok admitted that various affiliate companies and their employees in China can access personal information for business purposes.

“TikTok advised that to gain access to the personal information of individuals located outside of China, China-based employees must go through an internal approvals process overseen by individuals outside of China,” said a Sept. 23-released report. “Access may then be audited to ensure that the use of information is consistent with the purposes for which access was approved and that the access is still required for those purposes.”

Magnet for children

(TikTok/Douyin)

Federal privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne and commissioners in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec found TikTok failed to keep Canadian children off its platform and collected vast amounts of personal information, including information considered sensitive.

“The investigation uncovered that TikTok removes approximately 500,000 underage users from the platform each year,” said the report. “Where these children were engaging with the platform before being removed, TikTok was already collecting, inferring and using information about them to serve them targeted ads and recommend tailored content to them.”

Face, voice recognition

TikTok was caught using biometric information via facial and vocal analytics. It did not adequately explain to users that their data would be used to infer age and gender for the delivery of tailored ads and recommended content.

Privacy gaps

The investigation also found the company’s privacy policy was deficient.

“While TikTok requires users to expressly accept its terms and conditions and privacy policy during account sign-up, we found that such consent — vis-à-vis TikTok’s practices related to tracking, profiling, targeting and content personalization — was not valid or meaningful.”

Recommendations

The report said TikTok agreed to beef-up its age assurance and privacy policy, cease allowing advertisers to target users under-18, publish a plain language privacy summary for teens and enhance communications about use of biometrics and data processing in China.

In November 2024, the federal cabinet ordered TikTok to wind-up Canadian operations for national security reasons. However, the app was not banned from Canada and TikTok has applied for a judicial review in Federal Court.

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Bob Mackin During a joint investigation by

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Bob Mackin

The Vancouver-based international coordinator of a group that Canada and U.S. designated a terrorist entity was arrested in Greece, held overnight and deported.

That according to the left-wing International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), of which Samidoun’s Charlotte Kates is also the deputy secretary general.

IADL said Kates was refused entry at Athens International Airport on Sept. 22 under a German-imposed ban that applies across the 29 European countries in the Schengen open borders treaty.

Charlotte Kates of Samidoun on May 29 (CASI)

IADL condemned Kates’s “arbitrary detention and deportation” and called it an affront to her liberty, security and right to travel freely.

Who is Kates

Kates, originally from New Jersey, was arrested in Vancouver in 2024 for appearing at a downtown pro-Palestine rally where she praised Hamas and Hezbollah as “heroic and brave.” The B.C. Prosecution Service did not charge Kates for inciting or promoting hatred.

Also in 2024, Kates travelled to Iran, which sponsors Hamas and Hezbollah, to accept a human rights award.

What is Samidoun

Samidoun has organized, promoted and/or supported most major anti-Israel protests in Metro Vancouver since the day after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 spree of killings, rapes and kidnappings of Israeli citizens.

The U.S. government described Samidoun as a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization.”

Despite the terror designation, Samidoun has remained a federally registered not-for-profit. On Sept. 11, Industry Minister Melanie Joly directed officials to “look at any and all” options to dissolve Samidoun.

Foreign interference?

Samidoun co-sponsored a petition in early 2024 to oust B.C. Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Selina Robinson, who is Jewish, from the NDP cabinet.

Robinson called pre-1948 Israel a “crappy piece of land,” but apologized and promised to make amends with the Muslim community. Eby bowed to protests and fired Robinson from cabinet.

More trouble for Kates

In August, OneBC party leader Dallas Brodie, the MLA for Vancouver Quilchena, filed a private prosecution in B.C. Provincial Court, accusing Kates of terrorism-related offences under the Criminal Code. A hearing date is to be determined in October.

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Bob Mackin The Vancouver-based international coordinator of a

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