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News, Sports

Bob Mackin

Another casualty of FIFA World Cup 26: the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival will not return to Vancouver’s False Creek until 2027.

B.C. Place Stadium is one of 16 co-hosts of the tournament, with seven matches scheduled from June 13-July 7, 2026. Vancouver’s contract with FIFA, obtained by theBreaker.news, requires road closures and security barriers extending beyond B.C. Place Stadium. It also bans conflicting events around the city.

False Creek paddlers in 2017. (Mackin)

“It is causing quite a bit of disruption to our operations. Our entire year is planned around it. Our entire operations are planned around it,” said Dominic Lai, the senior development, marketing and operations director of the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society.

While it Is the society’s marquee event, the society runs regattas in other communities and it is sustained year-round by one of North America’s biggest paddling clubs. Nonetheless, Lai said it is not be immune from the federal and provincial funding crunch for community events and festivals or the general economic malaise.

Lai said the extent of the land and water closures is vague, because city hall has not provided a map. But he said he was told that club members will continue to be allowed to train in False Creek and the boathouse will remain open. Due to proximity to the Olympic Village, the boathouse was closed during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Legacy of another mega-event

Hong Kong donated the original dragon boats prior to Expo 86. Since then, the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival has become one of the city’s top summer kickoff traditions.

During the June 20-22, 2025 festival, Lai estimated an audience of 125,000 watched more than 200 teams compete, including 7,500 racers and supporters from 10 countries. He estimated as many as a quarter of participants came from the U.S. and 15% from overseas.

FIFA’s demands

The FIFA contract states that, starting seven days prior to the opening match to seven days after the last one, the city cannot allow any other major sporting event.

Also, “no other substantial cultural events (such as music concerts)” shall be allowed the day before, the day of or the day after a match, except FIFA-approved concerts or events.

City planning

Internal correspondence in February 2022 between a Sport Hosting Vancouver manager and a director of the city’s film and special events office said they were working under the assumption that Expo Boulevard would be closed for the entire period that FIFA is using B.C. Place — 30 days before the first match until a week after the last. Additionally, Pacific Boulevard would be closed on each match day and the day prior.

Beyond B.C. Place’s outer perimeter, the city must create a FIFA-determined “controlled area” where certain commercial activities are banned on each match day and the day prior.

Vancouver must ensure that airspace above and around the stadium is “free and clear of all commercial signage and/or advertising.” That is because FIFA will showcase its own sponsors.

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Bob Mackin Another casualty of FIFA World Cup

News, Sports

Bob Mackin

Two days before the Whitecaps’ first 2025 match at B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver city council approved a deal with the club’s principal owner to explore building a new stadium on city-owned land.

A heavily censored, three-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) — obtained by theBreaker.news via freedom of information — contains the signatures of Greg Kerfoot and Andrew Newman, the city’s director of real estate services. Newman’s signature appears above a line that reads: “approved by Vancouver city council on Feb. 25.

On Feb. 27, the Whitecaps blanked Deportivo Saprissa 2-0 in a CONCACAF Champions League match.

From the Whitecaps memorandum of understanding with City of Vancouver for Hastings Park. (CoV/FOI)

The heading on the title page is “Confidential for Discussion Purposes Only” for “Whitecaps FC – Hastings Park” and it is marked “non-binding.”

theBreaker.news reported April 4 — the eve of a civic by-election — that the sides had agreed to the MOU and Hastings Racecourse was the preferred location. The next day, candidates from left-wing OneCity and COPE parties won the two vacant city council seats. Candidates from Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC were the lowest-ranked of all party affiliates.

One full page and paragraphs on two others are censored, leaving the MOU reader to wonder if it contained financial terms. What is visible? A confidentiality clause.

Obtained by theBreaker.news via freedom of information.

“The parties agree to keep the contents of this (censored) confidential and not to disclose it to third parties, except with prior written consent of the other party. In expressing its consent for disclosure to a third party, that consenting party may require that the third party enter into a non-disclosure agreement with the consenting party prior to such disclosure.”

In December, the Whitecaps announced they hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer.

During Major League Soccer All-Star week in Austin, Texas, league commissioner Don Garber said July 23 that the Whitecaps “don’t have a viable stadium situation.”

The Whitecaps and BC Lions are the anchor tenants of 1983-built, 2011-renovated B.C. Place, which is undergoing $109 million in pre-FIFA World Cup 26 renovations. The Whitecaps were forced to move a home playoff game last fall to Portland due to a scheduling conflict with Supercross.

Hastings Racecourse has operated as a thoroughbred horseracing venue since 1892. Slot machines were added in 2008, but the casino has not lived up to expectations for leaseholder Great Canadian Entertainment. On June 6, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation announced it was negotiating to buy the casino and lease.

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Bob Mackin Two days before the Whitecaps’ first

News, Opinion

For the week of July 27, 2025:

What do governments of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories have in common with governments of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska? 

They are all members of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, or PNWER, and they met July 20-24 in Bellevue, Wash. for their annual summit.

Donald Trump’s trade war dominated discourse, according to Barry Penner, the former PNWER president and former B.C. cabinet minister. 

Penner is Bob Mackin’s guest on this edition of thePodcast. 

Also, on this edition, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and B.C. Premier David Eby

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

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For the week of July 27, 2025:

News

Bob Mackin

Before and after Conservative Party of B.C. leader John Rustad slammed the NDP government for allowing BC Ferries to hire a China state-owned shipbuilder, two of his rookie Richmond MLAs attended events that promote the Chinese government.

Now the caucus has quietly parted ways with two brothers working as aides for Hon Chan (Richmond Centre) and Steve Kooner (Richmond-Queensborough).

Conservative MLAs Steve Kooner (left) and Hon Chan, June 20, 2025 at the PNE. (Mackin)

Rustad’s chief of staff, Brad Zubyk, confirmed July 24 to theBreaker.news that contracts were ended with Tony Tu, a constituency worker for Chan, and William Tu, a community outreach worker for Kooner.

The moves came after a July 21 WeChat article and July 22 YouTube video by Bing Chen (Benson) Gao, who writes and livestreams under the name Huang Hebian. Gao reported that the Tu brothers are sons of a businessman from Shenyang, China named Du Rongsheng, who is also known as Herman Tu and is the subject of fraud allegations.

theBreaker.news sought comment from Kooner, Chan and William Tu. They have yet to respond.

Rustad said July 23 that he was aware of the matter and his staff was reaching out to the MLAs involved, but was unable to comment further due to it being a human resources issue.

The next morning, Zubyk said that a discussion took place with Chan, Kooner and the brothers to terminate their contracts.

“It was explained to them it may become a distraction so it would probably be best this way,” Zubyk said. “It’s my understanding the conversations went well.”

William (left) and Tony Tu. (WeChat)

Zubyk said the brothers had been in Canada for more than a decade and the decision had nothing to do with their work.

“I see no evidence that they themselves are involved in any [improper] activity,” he said.

An Instagram account said William Tu founded the Canadian Star Charitable Foundation when he was 16, went on to study at Simon Fraser University, obtain a pilot’s licence and participate in political activities.

Chan and Kooner both attended the Chinese consulate’s May 31 event marking 30 years of B.C.’s sister province relationship with Guangdong. Chan also sat at the VIP table with Consul-Gen. Yang Shu at a banquet marking 55 years of Canada-China diplomatic relations.

Kooner attended a news conference to promote the July 27 Water-Splashing Festival at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. The organizer, Canadian Community Service Association, is one of the top three local organizations aligned with the consulate.

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Bob Mackin Before and after Conservative Party of

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Bob Mackin

Internal planning documents about Vancouver co-hosting FIFA World Cup matches next June and July shed light on significant road closures near B.C. Place Stadium that will affect tens of thousands of downtown workers and residents and at least hundreds of businesses.

“When and where required, public access shall be restricted and specific traffic lanes and escorts shall be deployed to ensure efficient mobility of specific constituent groups,” said a handbook for FIFA bid cities, included in files released to theBreaker.news after a three-year freedom of information battle with Vancouver city hall. “Road closures and traffic diversions shall be implemented where necessary to assist vehicle and pedestrian flow.”

A CSA contractor’s rendering of a 2026 World Cup live site outside B.C. Place Stadium (BaAM Productions/City of Vancouver)

Roadblocks beginning early May 2026. Possibly sooner

A Feb. 28, 2022 email from Taunya Geelhoed, now the operations lead for city hall’s FIFA secretariat, to Desiree Gatten, the acting branch manager for film and special events, said they were working under the assumption that Expo Boulevard would be closed for the entire period that FIFA is using B.C. Place Stadium — 30 days before the first match until a week after the last.

Additionally, Pacific Boulevard would be closed on each match day and the day prior.

When FIFA chose Vancouver in 2022, officials hoped to attract as many as five matches, which would have meant 10 days of additional closures. In 2023, FIFA decided to expand the tournament to 104 matches, two dozen more than planned. Vancouver will host seven matches from June 13-July 7, 2026. That means 14 days of closures on Pacific Boulevard and beyond.

“We are actively working through traffic management planning and will share more details as they become available,” said a prepared statement sent by Natasha Qereshniku, the secretariat’s communications lead.

A chart in FIFA’s 2026 Hosting Requirements, obtained by theBreaker.news, shows four zones that must be erected around each host stadium, including inner and outer stadium perimeters surrounded by fences 2.5 metres in height “that shall not be easy to scale, penetrate, pull down or remove.”

The severity of fences and barriers and sophistication of venue overlay will remind Vancouverites of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

No go to casino

Additionally, the 2022 documents say the Canadian Soccer Association was “working through Concord and J.W. Marriott third-party use agreements as both areas are within the outer security perimeter/stadium footprint.” Marriott operates the two hotels at Parq casino beside Concord’s One Pacific condo towers on B.C. Place’s west side.

“Concord Pacific and J.W. Marriott are key partners, and their operational needs and integration opportunities are being addressed as part of the stadium planning process,” said Qereshniku’s statement.

In 2022, CSA’s “BC Place Neighbourhood Campus” envisioned using three of Concord’s parking lots: lot 038 Rogers Arena East, lot 039 Rogers Arena South and lot 098 Concord Pacific Place North.

Lot 039 would be used from March 1-July 31, 2026, with an entry plaza, airport-style security machines and hospitality pavilions during the tournament period. Lot 038 would host a spectator plaza and lot 098 match-day parking for FIFA pass holders.

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Bob Mackin Internal planning documents about Vancouver co-hosting

Business, News

Bob Mackin

Premier David Eby wants British Columbians to boycott American booze and trips. He fought back against President Donald Trump’s tariffs by ordering the NDP government to avoid outsourcing to American suppliers.

Why is Vancouver continuing to co-host FIFA World Cup 26, a Miami-headquartered tournament which scheduled three-quarters of matches (including the final) in U.S. stadiums?

It is a tournament that will coincide with the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. It boasts high-profile American corporate sponsors (Bank of America, Verizon, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Home Depot). Its biggest cheerleader? None other than Trump himself.

During Eby’s July 23 Zoom conference with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), Bob Mackin asked Eby about his contradiction and more. Also, see highlights of what Trump has said about FIFA and the junior 2026 partners, Canada and Mexico.

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Bob Mackin Premier David Eby wants British Columbians

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For the week of July 20, 2025:

In March 2021, a Vancouver encrypted smartphone company made worldwide headlines for the wrong reasons. 

Authorities in Europe and the U.S. shut down Sky Global and accused CEO Jean-Francois Eap and distributor Thomas Herdman of helping transnational drug traffickers and money launderers. Both men claim innocence.

Herdman, 64, spent four years in a French jail until June, but must remain in Paris, on bail, to wait for his late 2026 trial.

This week’s guest is Thomas Herdman. 

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

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.

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For the week of July 20, 2025:

News, Sports

Bob Mackin

Vancouver city hall has set aside $13.4 million to buy FIFA World Cup 26 tickets, suites and lounges from a New York company run by Donald Trump’s former manager and minority-owned by Trump’s Secretary of Education.

President Donald Trump with Chelsea at the FIFA Club World Cup Final on July 13, 2025. (The White House)

The communications lead for the city’s FIFA hosting secretariat told theBreaker.news that the host city commercial program team “plans to acquire select suites and lounge packages for resale to generate revenue to help offset event costs.”

A card distributed at a June Greater Vancouver Board of Trade event advertised regional sponsorship, suites and hospitality packages beginning at $195,000 under the Host City Supporters and Host City Champions programs.

The vendor is FIFA’s hospitality contractor is On Location Events LLC.

Risky proposition, says province

Natasha Qereshniku from city hall’s World Cup secretariat did not provide any figures on packages reserved or allotments of VIP tickets to city hall staff, contractors and elected officials. Nor did she provide cost recovery estimates.

“Details regarding the host city ticket and hospitality program are currently under development. As the program remains active, commercially sensitive information will not be disclosed.”

The B.C. government, however, mentioned the scheme in the risks and uncertainties section of the June summary that estimates gross World Cup costs as high as $624 million. “Less-than-planned net revenue from the host city commercial program due to lower market demand,” cautioned the report.

When Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, city hall spent $350,715 on 1,557 tickets.

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Bigger budget than Toronto

In March, Toronto city council approved a subcommittee recommendation to buy $10.7 million of FIFA World Cup 26 tickets, suites and lounges from On Location.

Toronto is hosting six matches next June and July, one fewer than Vancouver.

The 2022-elected Vancouver city council, under Mayor Ken Sim, has not held a FIFA World Cup 26 budget meeting in public. Its summer hiatus begins after the July 23 meeting.

In February, city council responded to Trump’s tariff threats by unanimously resolving to ask staff to find ways to buy local or buy Canadian.

Who is On Location

On Location is the same company that opened sales for high-end tickets and hospitality packages on July 14, the day after the FIFA Club World Cup, beginning at $2,500 for a ticket to a single, opening round match at B.C. Place Stadium.

A general public ticket lottery for lower-priced seats scheduled for the fall.

On Location is under the same corporate umbrella as UFC and WWE, two companies near and dear to Trump.

In February, TKO Group Holdings Inc. completed the acquisition of On Location. Before that, in December, Trump’s Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, reportedowning more than $50 million in TKO shares and receiving between $1 million and $5 million in dividends.

TKO CEO Ari Emanuel represented Trump when he hosted The Apprentice on NBC.

At the Endeavor Group in 2015, Emanuel bought the Miss Universe Organization from Trump. In 2021 and 2022, Elon Musk was on Endeavor’s board of directors.

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Bob Mackin Vancouver city hall has set aside

News, Sports

Bob Mackin

The Vancouver city hall bureaucrat in charge of the FIFA World Cup 26 host committee office billed taxpayers almost $470,000 in 2024.

Jessie Adcock made less than the highest-paid City of Vancouver employee, Police Chief Adam Palmer ($487,224), but nearly $100,000 more than city manager Paul Mochrie ($387,110).

Adcock’s pay last year was also double Premier B.C. David Eby’s annual rate ($227,112.17).

Jessie Adcock (LinkedIn)

The annual statement of financial information for 2024 shows a total $397,354 paid to Adcock’s company, Adcock Capital and Advisory Services. But Natasha Qereshniku, the communications lead for the FIFA secretariat, said that was for January to October only.

For the full year, Adcock received $469,804, because payments for November and December 2024 were made after the 2024 accounting close-out. Of the total, $2,400 was for expenses.

Adcock’s contract was originally set Jan. 8, 2024 at an hourly rate of $300 with an expectation to work an average 25 hours per week until October. “The total value of this contract is not to exceed $270,000 exclusive of applicable taxes,” said the document, obtained under freedom of information.

However, Adcock’s deal was quietly extended in July 2024 through the end of the World Cup wind-down phase in September 2026.

Who is Jessie Adcock

Adcock is a former HSBC executive who spent eight years in senior roles at City of Vancouver from 2013 to 2021, heading the technology and development and licensing departments.

She took a break in 2015 to run unsuccessfully for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in the Port Moody-Coquitlam riding, but joined the federal bureaucracy in 2022. First as CEO of the Canadian Digital Service, then as senior assistant deputy minister of the Treasury Board Secretariat and senior advisor to the chief information officer.

theBreaker.news requests to interview Adcock have been denied.

Who else

With less than a year until Vancouver is one of 16 co-hosts of the biggest World Cup in history, 29 people are working under Adcock on the project. Some of them are contractors and some of them are seconded from other civic departments.

City hall’s freedom of information office refused to provide the first names of the secretariat staff and contractors. theBreaker.news confirmed their first names through other sources, including the individuals’ social media profiles.

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Contractors:

  • Katie Brougham, venue operations manager

  • Dave Jones and Lisa Sweet, Integrated Safety and Security Unit (ISSU) co-leads

  • Alyssa Reyes, volunteer program lead

  • Erik Vu, medical advisor

Staff:

  • Alyssa Brownsmith, Fan Festival lead

  • Anthony Cavrlj, security programs manager

  • Alejandra Cerbon, senior manager of financial planning and analysis

  • Andrew Chachula, senior emergency management specialist

  • Michelle Chan, administrative assistant

  • Kevin Cho, financial analyst

  • Thomas Daley, project manager

  • Danielle Duplissie, project manager, ISSU

  • Jude Freeman, operations manager

  • Taunya Geelhoed, operations lead

  • Kenny Gemmill, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services lead

  • Rosemary Hagiwara, coordination and alignment lead

  • Ashley Hooper, engineering operations lead

  • Seldon He, financial analyst

  • Benafsha Iradia, operations manager, parallel events

  • Kirsten Jasper, manager, operational readiness

  • Shannon MacLachlan, emergency management specialist

  • Dan Maloney, project manager

  • Kevin Nguyễn, strategy lead

  • Natasha Qereshniku, communications lead

  • Sherwood Plant, transportation and mobility lead

  • Arthur Ruiz, senior marketing and digital strategist

  • David Stein, landscape architect

  • Blair Wong, accounting clerk

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Bob Mackin The Vancouver city hall bureaucrat in

News, Sports

Bob Mackin

Almost two years after Seattle city council published its FIFA World Cup 26 hosting contract, City of Vancouver has finally provided its copy to theBreaker.news.

It happened July 15, after a legal battle involving the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) and lawyers for the City of Vancouver, British Columbia government, B.C. Pavilion Corp., FIFA, Canadian Soccer Association, Vancouver International Airport and an unnamed third-party.

The OIPC adjudicator, Elizabeth Vranjkovic, ruled June 2 that the city must release the document to theBreaker.news, which applied for a copy more than three years ago. Vranjkovic decided against city hall’s claim that disclosure would cause it and FIFA financial harm.

What’s missing

Only one paragraph from the 98-page host city agreement remains censored: the second last clause in the Controlled Area section. Vranjkovic ruled that it should still be protected for reasons of security and third-party trade secrets.

Comparing a key section of Seattle and Vancouver’s FIFA contracts. (City of Seattle/City of Vancouver)

However, clause 8.3(iv)d is visible in Seattle’s contract, which states: “Controlled Area must be subject to strict traffic restrictions in order to ensure regulated and controlled access and circulation only, including the establishment of access permission systems and its enforcement through access permit controls by the relevant public authorities.”

According to FIFA, the Controlled Area “is an area (such as temporary parking areas used on Match Days, open outdoor spaces, entertainment areas or arenas) located directly adjacent to the Outer Stadium Perimeter and in which certain commercial and other activities are prohibited on Match Days and the days prior to Match Days to ensure the smooth implementation of the organization of the Matches and protect the rights of the Commercial Affiliates.”.

Why it matters

B.C. Place Stadium is one of the trickiest 2026 venues for security and transportation planners because it is wedged in Downtown Vancouver with commercial and residential towers on three sides and several pinch points for motorists and pedestrians.

By comparison, tournament final venue MetLife Stadium is surrounded by suburban parking lots, near an interstate freeway in New Jersey.

FIFA requires traffic closures in a wide area around the stadium on each of Vancouver’s seven match days and one day before each match day.

That means 14 days of closures in Vancouver, where residents await details from city hall.

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Bob Mackin Almost two years after Seattle city

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