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News, Opinion

For the week of Dec. 8, 2024:

Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on Canadian goods if Justin Trudeau doesn’t beef-up border security. 

Twenty-seven years ago, Jean Chretien’s Liberal government defunded the Ports Canada Police. It is no coincidence that transnational organized crime has flourished. 

The former head of the RCMP in Western Canada says the time is now to bring back a dedicated ports police force. 

Bob Mackin’s guest is Peter German, now chair of the Vancouver Anti-Corruption Institute and author of the Policing Our Ports report for the City of Delta. 

Plus Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines.

CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

Support theBreaker.news for as low as $2 a month on Patreon. Find out how. Click here.

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For the week of Dec. 8, 2024:

News

More details of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s motion to make Vancouver “Bitcoin-friendly,” like Seoul, South Korea, Zug, Switzerland and El Salvador.

Bob Mackin
Mayor Ken Sim wants Vancouver city hall staff to consider accepting Bitcoin payments for taxes and fees and for the city to invest some of its financial reserves in Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and currency fluctuations.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim (Mackin)

“It would be irresponsible for the City of Vancouver to not look at the merits of adding Bitcoin to the City’s strategic assets to preserve the city’s financial stability,” Sim wrote in his lengthy motion to the Dec. 11 meeting.

What Sim doesn’t mention is what appears on his 2024 Statement of Disclosure: his investments in Purpose Bitcoin ETF, the “world’s first Bitcoin exchange traded fund”; Coinbase Global cryptocurrency exchange platform; and Bitcoin miner MGT Capital.

The final report of B.C.’s public inquiry into money laundering warned that cryptocurrency is a crime magnet in need of provincial regulation.

Following are highlights of what Commissioner Austin Cullen wrote in his June 2022 report to the NDP cabinet.

Popularity

Bitcoin is the most popular and well-known cryptocurrency. Although more than 7,700 cryptocurrencies exist, over 62% of cryptocurrency transactions are done in bitcoin. Its popularity is due mostly to its accessibility: it was the first widely accepted and used cryptocurrency and is the most widely featured, accepted, and exchanged, rendering it more accessible for new users. People sometimes use the term “Bitcoin” when generically referring to cryptocurrency, and much of the focus in the evidence before me was on Bitcoin rather than cryptocurrencies generally.

Oversight needed

Cryptocurrency is a new and rapidly evolving technology that is already being exploited for money laundering and other forms of criminality. Because of its newness, many – including government, regulators, and law enforcement – lack the expertise to investigate crime that makes use of it. These features make cryptocurrency vulnerable to exploitation by money launderers.

The regulation of cryptocurrency is very new – the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act has only captured it since 2020. That is a good first step. But given the significant risks in this sector, the Province should also regulate virtual asset service providers. The Province will need to determine who is best suited to do this, whether it be B.C. Financial Services Authority, the B.C. Securities Commission, or another body. It is crucial for government, regulators, and law enforcement to develop in-house expertise on cryptocurrency.

Justice Austin Cullen (Mackin)

Crime categories

It is convenient to consider crime involving cryptocurrencies in four broad categories. First, and of most obvious importance to this Commission, is the use of cryptocurrency in money laundering. Second, cryptocurrency has been used to engage in financial transactions and activities associated with the commission of crimes such as scams, ransomware, and activities on the dark web. Third, cryptocurrency can be used to support terrorist activity. Finally, crimes occur on the cryptocurrency platform itself, such as theft or fraud.

Not so bad

However, it is important to keep in mind that there are many legitimate users of cryptocurrency and that, by some estimates, the criminality associated with virtual assets appears to be a fairly low percentage. Regulation must strike a careful balance to take care not to stifle innovation in this area or penalize legitimate users, while also addressing key risks that arise.

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More details of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s

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Briefly: A $37 million budget, but no public consultation before July’s announcement of Memorial South and Killarney parks for FIFA World Cup 26 training.

Bob Mackin

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation voted unanimously behind closed doors in October 2023 to turn Memorial South and Killarney parks into FIFA World Cup 26 training sites for $37 million.

Civic officials conducted no public consultation and they kept the decision secret until July 16. The public announcement was supposed to happen during 2024’s first quarter.

From a report to the Oct. 30, 2023, closed-door Park Board meeting (Park Board)

That is according to heavily censored, confidential reports and in camera meeting minutes the board decided to release ahead of the Park Board’s Dec. 9 meeting. At that meeting, staff want commissioners to approve $25 million in early works contracts at the two parks with Canadian Turner Construction Co. Ltd.

The Park Board originally shortlisted Memorial South, Trillium, Empire Fields and Jericho parks before the NDP government called time out on the bid in March 2018.

When B.C. re-entered the picture in 2021, Killarney, Strathcona, Empire Fields and Jericho West became the proposed training sites.

FIFA named Vancouver one of the 16 North American host cities in June 2022. Four months later, civic officials told a visiting FIFA delegation that they preferred Killarney and Strathcona. FIFA gave the city until mid-December 2022 to reconsider. So 2018 candidate Memorial South replaced Strathcona.

Commissioners voted unanimously on Oct. 30, 2023 to approve Memorial South Park. Comm. Tom Digby abstained. A staff report said neither parks meet tournament standards and would need “extensive and accelerated” upgrades, including natural and synthetic turf hybrid pitches with irrigation and high mast field lighting

To get the fields ready for June and July 2026, large portions of both parks are scheduled to close to the public in January 2025 and not reopen until fall 2026.

FIFA will get exclusive use 14 days prior to the start of the tournament until the last match, for a total 45 days. Flat, day-rate rental fees were censored from the documents.

Park Board also agreed behind closed doors last Jan. 22 to hire VDZ+A Consulting Inc. for a three-year, $2.4 million design services contract.

Training site requirements include exclusivity, quality of pitch, ancillary facilities and privacy. FIFA will not allow the public to watch the visiting stars practice.

“Privacy is important,” said a March 7, 2022 in camera presentation. “The field of play shall not be visible in main parts from any public or private buildings in the surroundings of the training site. Additionally, a security perimeter fence with 100% view obstructing scrim will be installed.”

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Briefly: A $37 million budget, but no

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Briefly: FIFA confidentiality took precedence over taxpayers for 2026 bid. 

Bob Mackin

Civic bureaucrats in Vancouver got cold feet in spring 2022 and nixed a public meeting about the city’s bid to host FIFA World Cup 26 matches.An affidavit by a city hall manager, opposing theBreaker.news appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner, said secrecy was paramount.

“Staff contemplated a public meeting on March 30, 2022 but this meeting did not go ahead as planned due to concerns about disclosure of highly sensitive and confidential information and particulars pertaining to the agreements with FIFA and the participation agreement with the province,” said the affidavit, sworn Oct. 11 by Michelle Collens, the senior director of the Sport Hosting Vancouver office.

Taunya Geelhoed (left) and Michelle Collens of Sport Hosting Vancouver at B.C. Place Stadium in 2022. (taunyag/x)

The Collens affidavit said the city was in possession of “proprietary and technical information with commercial or financial value” during bid negotiations with FIFA, the Canadian Soccer Association, B.C. NDP government, B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) and Vancouver International Airport Authority.

In her affidavit, Collens revealed the existence of three, key closed-door meetings (and corresponding secret reports) on March 7, 2022 by the Park Board and March 10 and 29, 2022 by city council.

“In particular, the deliberations of the Park Board included matters relating to the training sites that are within the Park Board’s jurisdiction,” Collens swore.

At the March 7 meeting, park commissioners also discussed budgetary concerns, financial and legal obligations, impacts to park users and training site rental fees.

The March 10 closed-door city council meeting included talk about implications of being a host city, roles and responsibilities, financial analysis and security planning. Almost three weeks later, council members discussed approval of a participation agreement with the province, which controls B.C. Place Stadium through PavCo.

FIFA named Vancouver one of the 16 North American host cities in June 2022 and last February it announced seven matches at B.C. Place Stadium between June 13 and July 7, 2026. Despite the blanket confidentiality clause in FIFA’s host city agreement and stadium use agreement, there is a broad exception for when “disclosure is required by relevant laws or court orders.” One of those laws is B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

In July, the city announced that it chose — without any public consultation — Memorial South and Killarney parks to host training in June and July 2026 for teams drawn to play at B.C. Place. Large portions of both parks are scheduled to close to the public from January 2025 to fall 2026.

Staff recommend commissioners vote Dec. 9 to hire Canadian Turner Construction Co. Ltd. on two contracts totalling $25 million for early works at the parks in 2025.

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Briefly: FIFA confidentiality took precedence over taxpayers

News

Briefly: Park board staff recommend Canadian Turner Construction Co. Ltd. for early works at Killarney and Memorial South parks.

Bob Mackin

The cost to taxpayers for transforming two Vancouver community parks into temporary training sites for FIFA World Cup 26 is more than $25 million.

Large portions of Killarney and Memorial South parks are scheduled to close from January 2025 until fall 2026 and host World Cup teams drawn to play at B.C. Place Stadium in June and July 2026.

A staff report to the Dec. 9 meeting of Vancouver Park Board commissioners recommends approval of two contracts with Canadian Turner Construction Co. Ltd. for early works.

The Memorial South Park cricket oval, running track, playground and field house are scheduled to be closed to the public and transformed into a temporary FIFA World Cup 26 training site. (Mackin)

Early works include excavation of peat at Killarney and hauling off-site for disposal, grading for the natural grass pitches, parking lot and temporary facilities, ordering items like high mast field lights, service connections and upgrades, and operations compound preparations. The work is scheduled to be finished next December.

The Nov. 29 staff report said the cost for Killarney is $16.25 million and $8.75 million at Memorial South Park, based on estimates of $12.7 million for Killarney and $6.9 million for Memorial South, plus a “price volatility premium and 15% contingency.”

“The cost estimate is a placeholder amount recommended to ensure that adequate funding is in place to award these contracts at council and Park Board in December in light of industry pricing volatility,” said the report.

Friends of Memorial South Park has more than 1,760 supporters for its “Our park, not FIFA’s field” petition on Change.org. The group’s Cindy Heinrichs said she was blown away by the staff report.

“I find it interesting that this report is dated November 29, the day before the information session [at John Oliver secondary] — the first and only opportunity for the community to learn about what’s planned for the park — but not one word was said about the cost,” Heinrichs said. “And this is a week before the Park Board will vote on whether to allocate this money with a start date in January. Why was this not done months ago?”

The report said the Park Board received eight requests for expressions of interest to a March 12 tender call, but only two respondents were shortlisted for the June 7 request for proposals. The unsuccessful bidder is not named. The next step will be procurement for site works in the first quarter of 2025. The report does not include that cost estimate.

Without any public consultation, the city announced July 16 that the two sites were promised to FIFA.

“The site selection process, decision, and agreements for the locations have confidentiality requirements,” the Park Board staff report said.

Also at the Dec. 9 meeting, Comm. Tom Digby (Green Party) is hoping to table a motion for staff to explore alternate sites in purpose-built soccer facilities in Burnaby and at the University of B.C.

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Briefly: Park board staff recommend Canadian Turner

News

Briefly: After almost 74 years, Surrey RCMP ceded command to the new municipal force on Nov. 29. The watch commander summarizes his last night in the position.
Bob Mackin
On Nov. 29 at midnight, Surrey Police Service (SPS) took over command from the Surrey RCMP.

It is an expensive and controversial work in progress.

On Nov. 29, theBreaker.news readers exclusively heard a clip from the first dispatch by SPS Chief Norm Lipinski.

A source has provided theBreaker.news with an end-of-shift executive summary by RCMP S. Sgt. Tyner Gillies, the last watch commander in the 73-and-a-half year history of the Surrey RCMP (and a published author).

We had a very manageable night, with 164 dispatched files for 47 roadable constable cars. We had no scenes to take over and no files of any particular exigence throughout the night.

Surrey Police Service Chief Norm Lipinski and members of his senior leadership team attended the [operational communications centre] just before midnight to make a [police of jurisdiction] announcement over the air as the bell tolled and the calendar turned to the 29th.

I spoke with my SPS counterpart, Inspector Aman Nasser, as he was in the detachment for the POJ announcement. He had no issues to discuss.

As this shift winds down, and the sun sets on the Surrey RCMP municipal detachment, I am filled with deep wells of emotion.

In the 21 years I’ve worked in Surrey detachment, I’ve seen some dynamic changes. We changed from a district system to a watch system. We built the annex and centralized frontline in the main detachment, and then took over west main. The detachment compliment went from 505 regular members to almost 800. The good days have been good, and the bad days sometimes got really bad. But, throughout my service, one emotion has overridden all the others.

Pride.

I am proud of my time here and the things I have accomplished, the lessons I have learned. I am proud of the members I have worked with and the friendships I have made. We have fought and bled together, we have stood fast in the face of violence and hate. We never relented or let anyone get the best of us. Our mettle has been measured, weighed and found to be plenty. I am proud of the senior leadership team, especially Asst. Comm. Edwards, who, at all times, operated with dignity and integrity, even in the face of maligning comments and half-truths designed to undermine us.

We survived COVID, the defund the police movement, and the peaks and valleys of the policing transition. We are Mounties. We are Red Serge Strong. We are the last of the Queen’s cowboys. No police agency on the planet does it better than us, and we will continue to serve, to strive, to fight and to win.

“There are things that go bump in the night. We are the ones who bump back.”

It has been one of my life’s greatest honours to serve here, and I am very proud to be the last watch commander to ever stand vigil over this detachment.

On behalf of myself, and Insp. Sub Wong, we love you.

10-35

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Briefly: After almost 74 years, Surrey RCMP

News, Opinion

For the week of Dec. 1, 2024:

North Vancouver dad Vince Verlaan is back from Peru, where he went to seek justice for his late son, Camden Verlaan.

Vince (left) and Camden Verlaan.

The 20-year-old from Roberts Creek, B.C. was volunteering at a dog rescue kennel and learning to surf in a coastal town, but was electrocuted in a freak accident on a waterfront sidewalk in March 2023. 

Vince Verlaan is on a quest to hold two power companies criminally and civilly accountable for negligence. He is Bob Mackin’s guest on this edition of thePodcast. 

Plus Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines.

CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

Support theBreaker.news for as low as $2 a month on Patreon. Find out how. Click here.

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For the week of Dec. 1, 2024:

News

Briefly: Neighbours finally have their say about Memorial South Park closure for a 2026 World Cup training site at Nov. 30 John Oliver gym drop-in session. 

Bob Mackin 

Memorial South Park neighbours got their first chance to tell civic officials what they think about the surprise July announcement to close the heart of the South Vancouver park for nearly two years.

Feedback from attendees of the Nov. 30 FIFA 26 information session at John Oliver secondary (Mackin)

Rather than a town hall about the temporary training facility for FIFA World Cup 26, they got an information walk-through in the John Oliver secondary gymnasium on Nov. 30 with managers, posters and pamphlets.

Attendees were invited to leave their thoughts on sticky notes and attach them to a poster near the exit.

Just before the scheduled 2 p.m. end of the three-hour opening, theBreaker.news counted 115 messages. The prevailing mood was on the skeptical-to-opposed end of the spectrum. Such as:

  • We need the track not a new soccer field. Event will be for rich people only.
  • How/who chose South Memorial? Does this comply with Vancouver Charter?
  • Too little info too late.
  • It should stop ASAP.
  • Force this through?Ask for forgiveness after?
  • Tickets from FIFA to close residents to buy good will.
  • This info session is late in the process. There should have been more consultation prior.
  • Such waste of space, energy, water, money. I do not agree!
  • Where are we going to go? #Followthemoney
  • Community compensation for running clubs.

Outside the gym, Friends of Memorial South Park had their own display, to collect messages for the World Cup-boosting Mayor Ken Sim.

The Park Board plan includes transplanting four trees and chopping down 11 others (seven younger trees that an arborist says are dead and four older trees that are in the way of the temporary training facility).

Vancouver Park Board Comm. Tom Digby hopes his fellow commissioners will consider a motion at the Dec. 9 meeting to postpone tree removal until staff report back on what, if any, efforts have been made to secure an alternative, soccer-specific site for World Cup team training in June and July 2026.

Digby’s motion suggests Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium, Christine Sinclair Community Centre and Simon Fraser University or the University of B.C. are viable alternatives to Memorial South Park and Killarney Park.

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Briefly: Neighbours finally have their say about

Business, News

Briefly: RCMP help needed for two more years as new force hires recruits. Chief Lipinski signs-on at midnight. 

Bob Mackin

After 73 and-a-half years, Surrey is under local police command again.

At midnight Nov. 29, the Surrey RCMP ceased to be the police of jurisdiction in British Columbia’s second most-populous city. The Surrey Police Service (SPS) era began.

theBreaker.news has obtained an audio clip of Chief Norm Lipinski signing-on. A source said that Lipinski’s comments extended to nearly seven minutes and took precedence over all other radio communication.

For the time being, SPS will patrol Whalley and Newton while it continues to recruit officers. The RCMP, under its provincial contract, will police the rest of Surrey. The transition, which began under 2018-elected mayor Doug McCallum, could take until 2026 or 2027 to be complete.

Mayor Brenda Locke defeated McCallum in 2022 on a promise to keep the RCMP. Surrey lost a court challenge and the NDP government agreed to pay $250 million to enable the transition. theBreaker.news revealed secret elements of the pre-election deal, including the silencing of Locke.

The RCMP began policing Surrey on May 1, 1951, after voters decided to phase out the 1887-founded Surrey Police Force. Voters were not given a say this time around.

CLICK AND LISTEN TO THE SURREY POLICE CHIEF’S FIRST DISPATCH

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Briefly: RCMP help needed for two more

Business, News

Briefly: Chak Au exits meeting after disclosing gig with Remedios and Company. The former B.C. NDP candidate is seeking a Conservative nomination. 

Bob Mackin

A longtime Richmond city councillor, who is seeking the Conservative nomination in the Richmond Centre-Marpole federal riding, revealed that he is working for a Vancouver law firm.

At the start of a Nov. 25 special meeting, which was called to decided the fate of a cosmetic store’s business licence, Coun. Chak Au told Mayor Malcolm Brodie he had to leave.

Lawyer Anthony Remedios (left) and Richmond Coun. Chak Au at a September 2022 BC Liberal Party event (Remedios.Lawyer)

“I could have a perceived conflict of interest because I’m a consultant of Remedios and Company,” Au said. “I don’t want to be seen as having a conflict, so I will excuse myself from the meeting.”

Remedios and Company represents the owners of Tokyo Beauty and Healthcare in Aberdeen Centre, Nagoya Trading Ltd. Health Canada has issued five warnings about Tokyo Beauty. One of which was for selling Pabron Gold A Granules Cold Medication, a product containing an opioid.

Neither Au nor Remedios and Company principal Anthony Remedios have responded for comment.

In 2023, Au received $99,735 in salary and benefits from Richmond taxpayers. He also racked up $11,856 in expenses.

On Aug. 25, 2017, Remedios was among 22 guests invited to an Au-arranged lunchwith Premier John Horgan. Earlier in 2017, Au ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in the provincial election riding of Richmond-South Centre. Elections BC’s database shows two $500 donations to the NDP from Remedios and Company in September 2017.

Remedios and Company’s website says it specializes in Trans-Pacific investment and immigration: “We act for multinationals, banks, mining companies, solar companies, pharmaceutical companies, financial firms, private investors from Asia, real estate developers, etc.”

The Remedios and Company website also includes a photo of Remedios and Au at a September 2022 BC Liberal event in Richmond and at a July 2023 meeting in Richmond city hall with Vietnam’s Consul General Nguyen Quang Truong.

During the Nov. 25 council meeting, Remedios and Company articled student Matthew Remedios said that Tokyo Beauty has made “extraordinary efforts to ensure full compliance with all applicable regulations.”

“These efforts underscore a sincere commitment to maintaining the highest regulatory standards and ensuring the safety and well-being of its customers,” Matthew Remedios said.

Council members voted unanimously to cancel the Aberdeen Centre store’s licence. Tokyo Beauty operates two other locations in Richmond.

WATCH: Richmond Coun. Chak Au reveals he works for a law firm.

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Briefly: Chak Au exits meeting after disclosing

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