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Bob Mackin

A New Westminster city councillor wonders why there is still so much secrecy around Mayor Patrick Johnstone’s junket to last year’s United Nations climate change conference in Dubai.

Especially when another mayor, from an even smaller community, publicly sought permission before she took the same all-expenses trip paid by an environmental lobby group to the United Arab Emirates. 

Johnstone revealed he was in Dubai in December by posting a series of photographs from the Local Climate Action Summit on his Instagram account. The list of attendees to the UN COP 28 conference also included New Westminster climate action manager Leya Behra. Councillors were not told in advance, according to Coun. Daniel Fontaine of the New West Progressives.

New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone in Dubai (Johnstone/Instagram)

Johnstone did not respond to interview requests.

Nov. 9 and Nov. 20 reports from the council in the Town of the Blue Mountains, a rural Ontario municipality with fewer than 10,000 citizens, said C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group would pay up to $31,000 for two people, including Mayor Andrea Matrosovs, to travel round-trip, stay in top hotels and receive a daily allowance during COP 28. 

The Blue Mountains report said that Megan Meaney, the executive director for ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Canada, nominated 40 mayors to attend local government-themed sessions at the event. Matrosovs received a Nov. 3 email invitation from C40 board president and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the conference president who also heads the UAE state oil company. 

Despite Johnstone saying that C40 paid for Behra and him, Fontaine said the public is still in the dark about their arrangements and what the sponsors get in return. Fontaine is planning to table a motion at the Jan. 22 council meeting to ask a majority of councillors to require Johnstone provide full details of all the benefits he received. 

“We’re encouraging all members of council to support this and to make sure the mayor is held accountable and that he has to be open and transparent around the financial circumstances around this,” Fontaine said.

C40 describes itself as a “global network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis.” New Westminster is not a C40 member. Vancouver is, but Mayor Ken Sim did not travel to Dubai. Organization funders include arms of the governments of Germany, United Kingdom and Denmark, Bloomberg Philanthropies, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, and international corporations with a presence in Canada, such as FedEx, Google, IKEA, Zurich Insurance and Novo Nordisk. 

Fontaine also noted the host country is not a democracy and has a poor human rights record. 

“It will not sit well with, I believe, the average person and voter and citizen and small business owner in the City of New Westminster, who expect that their mayor is going to be focusing on, local issues, civic issues that they have 100 percent control over,” Fontaine said. “Here we have a conglomerate of international corporations and foreign governments funding this junket, very expensive junket.”

The Blue Mountains’ report said C40 set a Feb. 16 deadline for submission of forms to reimburse the estimated $16,000 cost of round-trip flights, $11,500 for two rooms for seven nights at the Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre or The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre and a $250 per diem, per person, up to $3,500. 

The town’s integrity commissioner, Suzanne Craig, deemed the trip for Matrosovs an “acceptable arrangement” under that council’s code of conduct section about gifts and benefits for official hospitality. Craig ruled it was provided by a foreign government or conference where the member of council was speaking or attending in an official capacity. 

The Community Charter, the provincial law that regulates municipal governments in B.C., prohibits a member of a council from accepting, directly or indirectly, any gift or personal benefit. The rule does not apply to “a gift or personal benefit that is received as an incident of the protocol or social obligations that normally accompany the responsibilities of office.” But anything more than $250 must be disclosed to the appropriate city hall official “as soon as reasonably practicable.”

A person who contravenes the relevant Community Charter section is disqualified from holding office “unless the contravention was done inadvertently or because of an error in judgment made in good faith.”

The 2022-elected Johnstone, leader of the NDP-aligned Community First New West party, published a diary of his trip on his blog in late December. He wrote that it all began when he received an email invitation “from out of the blue” from C40 and ICLEI. 

“It was so out of the blue that I joked to my [executive assistant] about it – could you imagine going to Dubai? – and dismissed the invitation pretty quickly,” Johnstone wrote. 

That was followed by an invitation for a webinar on which Johnstone learned that New Westminster was among 100 other local governments to be sponsored by C40. 

“I started conversations with city staff that led us to decide it was a good opportunity for the city, and something we should participate in,” Johnstone wrote. 

Johnstone sat for two terms as a city councillor from 2014 to 2022. He had previously worked as a contaminated sites specialist for City of Richmond, City of Vancouver, the Illinois State Geological Survey and SNC-Lavalin.

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Bob Mackin A New Westminster city councillor wonders

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Bob Mackin 

The reports that justified spending millions of taxpayer dollars to cut down 160,000 trees in Stanley Park are hidden behind a paywall. 

In October, the City of Vancouver awarded a $1.9 million emergency tree removal contract to a forestry consultant. City council could rubber-stamp another $4.9 million of urgent spending when it meets on Wednesday. The Park Board claims up to a quarter of the trees in the park were killed by the Hemlock looper moth outbreak, but is refusing so far to show the science behind the logging program.

Stumps and fallen trees near Lumbermen’s Arch in Stanley Park (Bob Mackin photo)

A reporter’s Nov. 22 application under the freedom of information law for copies of the arborist’s report, tree removal plan and tree inventory resulted in a Dec. 19 invoice. The city’s Access to Information and Privacy Division demanded $450 because it claims it needs 18 hours for “locating, retrieving and producing records, and preparing them for disclosure.”

Case manager Kevin Tuerlings said in a Dec. 20 email that he would contact the Park Board “to assess if there are documents related to your request that can be provided in under three hours in order to avoid a fee.” Neither Tuerlings nor his manager, Cobi Falconer, have provided any update.

Falconer had earlier refused to release any of the records under the public interest paramount section of the law, which requires information be disclosed without delay if there is a risk of significant harm to the environment or safety of the public. 

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t release information like that to the public,” said Norm Oberson, owner of Arbutus Tree Service and a member of the Trees of Vancouver Society board. “I think they’re afraid that some qualified people get it, they look at it, and they go, ‘oh, my God, what is this?’”

City arborist Joe McLeod did not respond. Instead, he forwarded a reporter’s request to the communications department. Associate communications director Angela MacKenzie said “staff are unavailable for an interview.”

“They’re really putting up barricades, to stop you from getting information, stop the public getting information,” Oberson said. “It really seems like a politically dysfunctional system.”

The civic communications department issued a news release on Nov. 29 about closures to major arterial routes to allow crews to take down trees. Just a week later, the future of the Park Board became the focal point of civic news coverage before Christmas. 

Mayor Ken Sim announced Dec. 6 that he would ask the NDP government to amend the Vancouver Charter and abolish the elected park board as a cost-saving measure. Three of ABC’s 2022-elected commissioners oppose Sim and now sit as independents. 

On Jan. 24, city council will hear from a finance manager who filed a report dated Nov. 28 that recommends an urgent, one-time withdrawal of $4.9 million from the $80 million stabilization reserve. 

Colin Knight’s three-page report said the funds would pay for cutting and restoration work at six Stanley Park sites totalling 86 hectares. In October, $1.9 million came from the Park Board to pay for B.A. Blackwell and Associates of North Vancouver for the latest phase of cutting. 

Principal Bruce Blackwell did not respond for comment. 

Knight’s report said the risk was identified in the 2024 budget, but a line item was not included “pending the development of an action plan and identification of funding sources.”

“Mitigation and restoration with extensive tree planting and vegetation management will need to take place from 2024 until 2026 and beyond,” Knight wrote. 

It has been just over a year since the Park Board was originally briefed on the situation. McLeod and parks director Amit Gandha vowed at the Jan. 16, 2023 meeting to minimize tree-cutting. 

Crews load logged Stanley Park trees at a makeshift yard in the Prospect Point Picnic Area (Bob Mackin photo)

“On one extreme, it’s not really feasible to go and remove every single dead tree in Stanley Park, obviously for environment habitat reasons,” McLeod told the commissioners. “And we can’t retain all of the dead trees as well for habitat. So we have to find that balance.”

Said Gandha: “As trees move into the forest, targets and issues are less likely, so we want to make sure that we plan accordingly. So part of it is coming up with a proper plan because there are some legacy trees, as the looper moth infestation continues to work through it, some of these trees are not dead. What we don’t want to do is make mistakes in removing trees that will recover as well.” 

On Oct. 20, Gandha provided a four-paragraph memo to update commissioners that said 25 percent of the trees greater than 20 cm in diameter had been killed or severely defoliated and an additional 36 percent had been moderately defoliated. Gandha also said the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation were “generally supportive of the risk mitigation work.”

Park Board chair Brennan Bastyovanszky said it was an operational decision, which is why the matter did not come to a board meeting.

“They’re following proper forestry practices and they’re only removing dead trees,” Bastyovanszky said. “They’re doing it because of the high risk of fire that having that much dead wood in the forest pushes the risk of fire alike to an unacceptable level.”

Oberson said forestry management must be conducted according to the assessment handbook published by BC Parks, WorkSafeBC and the Ministry of Forests. The Wildlife Act, Species at Risk Act and Identified Wildlife Management Strategy apply. He fears that the risk of wildfire is being overstated in order to expedite tree removal. That heightens the risk of errors and misidentification — cutting healthy trees.

“It’s a wild tree native park, it’s an ecosystem that you want to protect and the dead trees are very valuable to the creatures that live in the park, birds and other insects and animals, etc., they’re an important part of the park,” Oberson said. “So usually you’re trying not to remove them unless you have to mitigate risk.”

What does the Stanley Park Ecology Society think of it all? Executive director Tricia Collingham referred a reporter to the Park Board’s communications office.

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Bob Mackin  The reports that justified spending millions

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Several hundred anti-Israel protesters chanted for a ceasefire in Gaza and waved Palestinian flags outside Vancouver’s Westin Bayshore when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared at a Liberal Party fundraiser before Christmas.

Maria Ling Xu, president of the United Global Chinese Women’s Association of Canada, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Dec. 14 Liberal fundraiser in Vancouver (WeChat)

But only dozens of party supporters showed up to the Dec. 14 event. 

The regulated fundraising event report filed with Elections Canada shows 87 attendees to “An Evening with Justin Trudeau.” It does not disclose how much the party raised, only stating that the “amount required to have been paid to attend the event, part of which was a contribution” ranged between $0 and $1,700. 

Just over a year earlier, on Dec. 2, 2022, 302 people attended the Crown Palace Banquet Hall in Surrey for a Trudeau event where the admission ranged from $500 to $1,675.

Trudeau’s Bayshore appearance was the last Liberal fundraiser during a year in which both opinion polls and fundraising heavily favoured the Pierre Poilievre-led Conservative Party. The next election is scheduled for October 2025, but could come sooner. 

Elections Canada has not released totals for the fourth quarter yet, but the Conservatives raised $23.3 million in total contributions through the end of September 2023. The Liberals brought in $9.8 million. 

An average of almost 45,000 donors per quarter sent money to the Conservatives, compared to just over 30,000 for the Liberals. 

Hamish Telford, a political science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, said that while Trudeau modernized Liberal fundraising, the governing party still operates at a disadvantage. The Conservatives, he said, carry on the grassroots populism of the Reform Party, ”which mastered the art of raising large amounts of money through small donations from their members.” 

Additionally, Trudeau’s popularity after more than eight years in power is at historic lows, motivating fiercely loyal and enthusiastic Conservatives. 

“Whereas, Liberal members are kind of dispirited and they see Justin Trudeau floundering in the polls, and they are wondering if they should be coughing up their hard earned dollars to support the captain of an apparently sinking ship,” Telford said. 

The Prime Minister’s Office referred a reporter to the party headquarters, but nobody responded.

The Dec. 14 event also featured Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, and Mary Ng, the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade of Canada. It was the first major local Liberal fundraiser with Trudeau since a trio of events on the same late summer night at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver: two that Trudeau headlined and one for Vancouver-Granville MP Taleeb Noormohamed. 

One of the Trudeau appearances drew 31 people who paid between $850 and $1,700 and the other 56 paid between $0 and $1,700. 

Noormohamed’s, which featured Treasury Board president Anita Anand, attracted 67 attendees for $300 each. 

Meanwhile, Poilievre drew 165 people for $0 to $1,700 to an Oct. 12 fundraiser at the Terminal City Club. The next night, he held a “Bring it Home” rally in the Pinnacle Hotel ballroom where the party claimed it hosted 2,000 supporters.

Trudeau has said he wants to lead the party into the next election. If he were to retire and trigger a leadership convention, Telford said it would generate both excitement and revenue. 

“So it’s not just polls that might cause Justin Trudeau to take his departure, but also this fundraising issue,” he said. 

In September, Trudeau’s government announced a judicial public inquiry into allegations that China, Russia and other foreign actors meddled in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Yet, two attendees of the Dec. 14 fundraiser have links to Lower Mainland groups associated with the Chinese consulate in Vancouver: Hilbert Yiu, former chair of the Chinese Benevolent Association, and Maria Ling Xu, president of the United Global Chinese Women’s Association of Canada.

Yiu attended Chinese national day celebrations in Beijing in 2019 to mark 70 years of Communist Party rule. The following year, he coordinated a local petition in support of a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. 

Xu, a former honorary chair of the pro-Beijing Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations, was banned from MP Joyce Murray’s WeChat group in May 2020. She had used the platform to raise funds for a potential class action lawsuit against Global News after a story about bulk personal protective equipment purchases by pro-Beijing groups in Canada and abroad.

Telford said political parties are in non-stop campaign mode while they constantly raise money. They are also under pressure to follow Elections Canada rules and regulations.

“But, perhaps they are deficient or willing to turn a blind eye to some of the political optics, unless they get caught out,” Telford said. 

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Bob Mackin  Several hundred anti-Israel protesters chanted for

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Bob Mackin 

Taiwan’s two biggest political parties won some and lost some in the Jan. 13 election, but a Department of Asian Studies professor from the University of B.C. said the biggest loser was not on the ballot.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) kept the presidency, as vice-president Lai Ching-te garnered 40 percent of the popular vote to succeed two-term president Tsai Ing-wen. But Lai’s party lost its legislature majority to the Kuomintang (KMT), which will have a 52-51 edge over the DPP in the 113-seat house. The eight members of the upstart Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and two independents hold the balance of power.

Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s new president. (Taiwan government)

“The one who will feel most upset will not be the KMT, will not be the ruling DPP party and it will not be the newly formed the TPP party, but it will be the Chinese Communist Party,” said Josephine Chiu-Duke.

China’s government, which has designs on annexing Taiwan, has always disliked the incumbent and its preference for independence, she said. 

When Lai formally becomes president in May, he will need to proceed with a “sense of humility, to try to listen to what other parties say and what other parties demand, because they represent the majority of the legislature.” 

Chiu-Duke said the nationalist KMT will need to act like a “reasonable, loyal opposition” and decide when to support or oppose a bill from the DPP. 

Canada and the U.S. recognize only the People’s Republic of China, but maintain informal ties with Taiwan. U.S. has promised to defend Taiwan if China attacks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated victorious Lai by name in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“We also congratulate the Taiwan people for participating in free and fair elections and demonstrating the strength of their democratic system,” said Blinken’s post. 

By contrast, Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly did not post a statement. Global Affairs Canada, however, greeted the result with a message to generally congratulate the people of Taiwan, but did not name Lai himself.

“Guided by the pillars of democracy, human rights and peace, Canada looks forward to advance its people-to-people, science, trade and investment ties,” said the Global Affairs statement. 

“That shows that Canada, that those people who work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they understand the delicacy of the international community,” Chiu-Duke said. “They leave the United States as the leader in the liberal democracy community to do the proper thing.”

Middle power Canada’s strategy, in a time of friction with China, is to not make relations with China worse. “I think that’s reasonable,” Chiu-Duke said. 

Andre Laliberte, a political studies professor at the University of Ottawa, said Xi Jinping and the CCP need to take time and reflect on the result.

Xi Jinping in 2018 (Xinhua)

“It’s not the majority of the population that supported the pro-independence DPP, so they can take comfort from that,” Laliberte said. “On the other hand, they should read carefully and understand that, like the vast majority of the population, even those voters for the Kuomintang, they are not interested in the ‘one country, two systems’ idea that China was proposing to Taiwanese, because they have seen in Taiwan, that it’s not working for the population of Hong Kong.”

In the wake of the election, tiny South Pacific nation Nauru announced it was switching diplomatic ties to China, leaving Taiwan with 12 partners. Laliberte said that Canada’s economic and cultural office in Taipei has a bigger footprint than many Canadian embassies in other countries.

“What is more important is actually the level of substantive relations that many countries, including Canada, the United States, most EU countries, and Japan, are having with Taiwan,” he said. 

The election outcome means that there is continuity in progress between Canada and Taiwan, who signed an investment promotion accord before Christmas.

Laliberte said China is not in a position to act upon Xi’s threats to invade Taiwan because of turmoil in the People’s Liberation Army’s chain of command. 

“Despite the pronouncements that are sometimes very bellicose, I don’t think we should expect that,” he said.

That means Lai will be under pressure to focus on domestic issues and DPP has an opportunity to seek support from likeminded politicians in the TPP on issues such as energy and housing affordability.

“At worst, what can happen is that it will be difficult for the Lai administration to govern, but at the same time, not impossible.” 

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Bob Mackin  Taiwan’s two biggest political parties won

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The Vancouver green building products startup that called itself the fastest in Canada to reach $1 billion valuation is under court-ordered protection from creditors. 

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Stephens appointed KSV Restructuring on Jan. 11 to monitor Nexii Building Solutions Inc. (NBSI), which owes creditors more than $112 million. Stephens’ order under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act bought time for NBSI to seek interim financing of up to USD$750,000 and granted a stay of proceedings against the company until at least Jan. 22, when the next hearing is scheduled, to protect NBSI and related companies and their directors and officers from legal action.

Nexii Building Products’ Squamish plant (Nexii/X)

NBSI’s Jan. 10 petition to the court said it owes senior secured lenders Powerscourt Investments XXV LP, Trinity Capital Inc. and  Horizon Technology Finance Corp USD$79 million and equipment lessors, trade creditors and landlords $6 million. Assets include equipment, accounts receivable, contracts and intellectual property worth a total book value of $69 million.

NBSI, according to the petition, requested the stay of proceedings to “implement a sales process that the petitioners believe will enable them to restructure and implement a transaction that will benefit their creditors and stakeholders, and in particular will provide greater benefit than a forced liquidation or a bankruptcy.”

NBSI markets the proprietary Nexiite panelling system, a low-carbon concrete alternative produced at its factory in Squamish for customers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Starbucks Coffee Company and AECOM.

As of Dec. 20, 2023, 142 people were employed by NBSI: 75 in Squamish, 62 in Vancouver and five in the U.S. NBSI owns various companies under the Omicron Canada Inc. umbrella who employ 160.

The affidavit from acting CEO William Tucker said several senior executives departed between August and December, including CEO Stephen Sidwell, manufacturing executive vice-president Brian Carter, investor relations vice-president Todd Buchanan and finance vice-president Bonnie Dawe. 

Tucker’s affidavit said he and Chicago-based senior executive advisor David Bryant are the current members of senior management. The Nexii website still shows Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson as the executive vice-president of strategy and partnerships.

“Nexii requires additional funding to pursue its growth and business strategy. Historically, Nexii had funded growth through equity, and some debt financing,” said Tucker’s sworn statement. “Currently, Nexii is not able to raise additional capital through equity and the senior secured lenders are not prepared to advance additional funds without a clear path to the sale of Nexii’s business.”

Tucker is also the CEO of Omicron Canada Inc., the residential designer and builder NBSI acquired in 2021. Nexii owes Omicron — which Tucker called “self-funding and profitable” — $4 million.

According to Tucker’s affidavit, NBSI raised $125 million since 2019, but costs have been high relative to revenue. It expected $14 million total revenue for 2023, a $7.1 million increase year-over-year. It has four ongoing construction projects nearing completion, expected to bring in $8.3 million, and six under contract where work has yet to begin.

The Omicron companies have 67 contracts in progress worth $150 million before costs and another $110 million worth of contracts. 

Last August, according to Tucker, Investcorp Green Limited invested $5 million in NBSI and, by November, the company had an $18 million term sheet for an investment from unnamed “strategic investors in the Middle East.”

“Unfortunately, shortly before closing, one of the investors terminated its involvement and the investment did not proceed,” said Tucker’s filing. “Losing access to these funds significantly limited the petitioners’ options.”

In September 2021, Nexii issued a news release that said it had reached “unicorn” status in less than 31 months. The same announcement heralded Procter and Gamble CEO David Taylor’s appointment to the board and promoted support from actor Michael Keaton and Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco for expansion in Pennsylvania.

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Bob Mackin The Vancouver green building products startup

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A consulting engineer’s report for a coalition of development industry groups said that the $2 billion Capital Regional District (CRD) water management plan is flawed and likely to give taxpayers sticker shock for many years to come.

Jonathan Huggett (LinkedIn)

“Everyday residential water users in Greater Victoria are not aware that the CRD plan will result in unprecedented rate increases that will greatly impact the bottom line on their municipal water bills,” said the report by Jonathan Huggett, who led the turnaround of the troubled Johnson Street Bridge replacement.

The CRD supplies drinking water for 400,000 people in the Greater Victoria area. The board passed the plan in August 2022 to meet water quality requirements set by regulator Island Health and satisfy future demand for water amid longer, hotter summers. The marquee item is the estimated $1.1 billion Goldstream water filtration plant. Huggett estimated the plant would drive half the planned 500 per cent increase in costs to water customers. 

“The fiscal management of the [CRD] plan is inadequate,” Huggett concluded. “The cost estimates are likely to be grossly understated given recent experience and a full risk management is missing.”

Huggett warned that the regional government could be going down the same path as Metro Vancouver. The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project in North Vancouver at one time was going to cost $770 million, but unofficial estimates are now approaching $4 billion. 

Gord Baird, the CRD Regional Water Supply Commission chair, said no political body likes to increase costs for residents, but called it “virtually impossible” to have detailed costs on projects prior to their design stage.

“We still stand behind the works that [engineering consultant] Stantec has provided for us,” Baird said in an interview. “But, that being said, the master plan was also a very high level roadmap, and any of these projects that are listed there on the roadmap, they would basically still be undergoing initial design assessment and public consultation on each of the plans as we move forward.”

Parliament Buildings, VIctoria, on Aug. 13, 2020 (Mackin)

Huggett said that CRD staff have skipped directly to implementation of a new development cost charge bylaw to pay for the Goldstream project, which is to be built by 2037.

“Limited public consultation was completed during the adoption of this plan by the board during the COVID lockdown period. It is not clear there is broad public awareness of this plan which would dramatically impact the cost of living to current and future residents,” Huggett wrote. “Given past public and media scrutiny of the CRD capital projects, the CRD staff must demonstrate a high standard of public consultation before embarking on a multi-billion dollar adventure.”

CRD believes engagement has been adequate, with presentations at open committee, commission and board meetings that were promoted on social media. A report to the commission in July 2022 said a public engagement website garnered 753 visits, documents were downloaded by 157 participants and 22 commented or asked questions. 

Before the board adopted the plan in August 2022, the commission approved it, with dissent only from Victoria councillor Benjamin Isitt. Minutes from the July 20, 2022 commission meeting show Isitt unsuccessfully proposed postponement of the master plan so that commissioners could read it, ensure its publication on a commission agenda and allow comment from the Malahat Nation. Baird was among the 10 commissioners who defeated Isitt’s motion.

“I couldn’t tell you about the individuals,” Baird said. “I know that I certainly did read the report and that that I’m quite comfortable with what was in there and with the master plan, and I have no concerns about that.”

Huggett conducted his report for the Urban Development Institute (Capital Region), Victoria Residential Builders Association, West Shore Developers Association and Sooke Builders Association. UDI estimated the plan would add $9,044 in development cost charges for each new single-family home and $7,914 per townhouse and duplex, which would be passed on to the buyer.

UDI executive director Kathy Whitcher said her group hopes the CRD “puts on the brakes a little bit,” does proper due diligence and invites more public engagement. 

“Two billion dollars is a big figure and I’m thinking that even half of that, if we were able to put that towards creating better transportation in the capital region, it might be a better use of money,” Whitcher said. “But I guess we’ll see how badly we need the upgrade. That will come out, I guess, with more consultation.”

The Johnson  Street Bridge was originally estimated at $63 million for completion in 2015. After Huggett’s 2014 report for City of Victoria, he was hired as project manager and the bridge finally opened in 2018 for $105 million. 

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For the week of Jan. 14, 2024:

Football. Political football. Weather. It’s all in the View from Bowen Island. 

Host Bob Mackin welcomes back Jim Mullin, host and producer of Krown Gridiron Nation on TSN and president of Football Canada. 

Plus Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines. 

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

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

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For the week of Jan. 14, 2024: Football.

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Bob Mackin

A Shaughnessy property where the remains of a missing Indigenous woman were found almost two years ago is for sale. 

Homeland Realty agent Theresa Chu listed the 15,540 square foot lot with a 33-year-old mansion at 1536 W. 36th Ave. for $9.28 million. The asking price is more than $1.7 million higher than the BC Assessment value.

Chelsea Poorman’s name painted on the sidewalk outside a Shaughnessy mansion where her remains were found (Mackin)

“This custom made luxury mansion features professional landscaping, top quality interiors which include high-ceiling, chef’s kitchen, air conditioning, radiant floor heating, home theatre room and sauna, just to name a few,” said the description of the two-storey, 10-bedroom, eight-bathroom residence.

Chu did not respond for comment. 

The property was under renovation when the Vancouver Police Department was called to investigate on April 22, 2022. VPD later confirmed on May 6, 2022, the day after the annual remembrance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, that they found the remains of a 24-year-old Cree woman who had been missing for more than 18 months.

Chelsea Poorman was a member of the Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan and last seen by her sister at a Granville and Drake apartment on Sept. 6, 2020. She was reported missing two days later. 

“Our investigation into Chelsea’s disappearance and death remains open and ongoing,” said Sgt. Steve Addison, VPD public information officer. “Though our work continues, there have been no significant findings or developments since her remains were discovered.”

Likewise, B.C. Coroners Service spokesperson Ryan Panton said the agency’s investigation remains open and had no additional information to provide. 

Land titles records show the mansion was registered in September 2014 to businessman Long Zhou and homemaker Jiayu Bu with a declared value of $7.32 million. 

City hall had issued various permits from October 2021 to June 2023 for sewer and water connection, electrical and building works. The exterior appears to be substantially the same as the spring of 2022. 

A message posted on the “Bring My Sister Chelsea Home” Facebook page said the vacant mansion had a reputation among people in the Downtown Eastside as a destination for homeless and drug users.

The mansion appears to still be unoccupied, with heavy chains locking the front door. The paving stones on the driveway, behind a locked gate, have become mossy, but are riddled with construction material and refuse.

On the sidewalk, where friends and relatives held vigils in May 2022, Poorman’s name was scrawled in pink paint.

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Bob Mackin A Shaughnessy property where the remains

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A former Conservative Party of B.C. president was the victim of a fatal car crash in Maple Ridge on Jan. 5.

The party confirmed Jan. 10 that Darryl Seres succumbed to his injuries. Seres was preparing to run in the Boundary-Similkameen riding for the upcoming provincial election, scheduled for Oct. 19.

Darryl Seres (Facebook)

“Darryl was among the first to welcome me into the Conservative Party of British Columbia,” said leader John Rustad in a statement. “His positivity was infectious and he saw the very best in people. Darryl truly believed in British Columbians’ potential and his passion for our politics was unmatched. He was a wonderful man and will be dearly missed.”

The 39-year-old Abbotsford resident was driving a Pontiac Sunfire on Friday night. Emergency crews were called to the scene of the head-on crash at the Haney Bypass near 227th Street around 7:30 p.m. Paramedics declared Seres dead at the scene, according to Ridge Meadows RCMP. The crash is under investigation. 

Seres tragically lost his father, Arpad “Bill” Seres, on Dec. 14 to a lengthy illness. He is survived by mother Lynn and brother Warren. 

Party co-executive directors Angelo Isidorou and Connor Gibson called Seres a “mentor, volunteer and friend” and announced the creation of an annual award in his name to the most-dedicated party volunteers.

Past-president Ryan Warawa, who succeeded Seres, fondly remembers camping with Seres in Osoyoos on Labour Day weekend in 2020.

“He thought that we were going into a snap election and I was like, ‘No way, Horgan’s not going to call a snap election’,” Warawa said. “Turns out he was right, because less than a month later…”

Seres garnered 2,354 votes for third place. The NDP’s Roly Russell won the seat.

Warawa said Seres was eager to run this year, as the party is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. 

“We’re finally going somewhere and so it breaks my heart that Darryl is not going to be there when we start electing multiple MLAs in the next election. We’re confident and even more engaged to fulfill and honour Darryl now.”

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Bob Mackin A former Conservative Party of B.C.

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Bob Mackin

Voters in Taiwan go to the polls Jan. 13 for the world’s first major election of 2024.

Some fear it could be the country’s last, because China’s Xi Jinping has threatened to annex Taiwan, even by force. The self-governed island is roughly the size of Vancouver Island with a population comparable to 60 per cent of Canada.

Up for grabs: the presidency and control of the 113-seat legislature.

Lai Ching-te (left) and Tsai Ing-wen in a DPP campaign ad (DPP)

The 2016-elected President Tsai Ing-wen of the centre-left Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has reached her two-term limit and hopes to pass the baton to vice-president Lai Ching-te. The DPP holds a 62-seat house majority entering the election.  

Josephine Chiu-Duke, a professor at the University of B.C.’s Department of Asian studies, said the last polls before the 10-day, pre-election blackout showed voters are concerned about the widening gap between rich and poor, the impacts of inflation and housing affordability. The DPP held a narrow lead over the Hou Yu-ih-led Kuomintang (KMT) in surveys. But a third option, the left-leaning Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) under physician and former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, has targeted younger voters. 

“His position has always been ambiguous,” Chiu-Duke said. “Sometimes It seems that he originally supported the current ruling party, but he also has friendly relations with the Beijing authorities.”

Unlike the DPP, the right-leaning KMT, also known as the Nationalist Party, prefers closer ties with China. But Chiu-Duke said the “China problem” has previously favoured the DPP. 

“Because the more China presses Taiwan to give up any idea of becoming an autonomous, independent nation-state, the more voters would cast their ballot to support the Democratic Progressive Party,” Chiu-Duke said. 

Taiwan was already expecting a barrage of misinformation and disinformation aimed at influencing the results in favour of China. On Jan. 9, China launched a rocket carrying a satellite that flew high above southern Taiwan, which sparked panic across Taiwan when the English version of the government’s broadcast text errantly called it a missile. 

“Thank God it was a false alarm,” said Margaret Liu, the president of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in B.C.

Liu was scheduled to travel Jan. 10 to Taiwan in order to cast her ballot. Taiwan does not allow remote voting and Liu said it is a crucial time in the country’s history. She said the DPP and KMT have totally different views about the economy and relations with China, and the KMT’s willingness to talk with China about closer trade ties could benefit both sides.

UBC Prof. Josephine Chiu-Duke (TaiwanFest)

“We don’t want missiles or airplanes flying around over Taiwan,” Liu said. “This is like a time bomb, and imagine, we don’t want to be another Ukraine.”

The government in Taipei has redoubled its efforts in concert with a variety of civil society organizations to monitor, fact-check and debunk any kind of fake news that could disrupt voting. The coordinated strategy intrigued a delegation of Canadian MPs that toured Taiwan last April. 

Non-governmental organization Doublethink Lab is one of the tracking groups. Its 2021 report on the 2020 presidential election found China pushed a narrative that “democracy is a failure” in order to cast it in a favourable light and belittle both Taiwan and Hong Kong. It didn’t prevent Tsai from being re-elected, but it caused concern nonetheless. 

Canada officially recognizes only the People’s Republic of China, but Ottawa and Taipei maintain informal relations. In late December, Canada and Taiwan signed a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement, which stems from Canada’s 2022 Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at reducing economic reliance on China. That deal came the month after Canada and B.C. agreed to subsidize Taiwanese-owned E-One Moli Energy’s $1 billion lithium ion plant in Maple Ridge.

Chiu-Duke said both countries are in the “liberal democracy camp” and share many of the same values and beliefs, such as respect for individual rights and the rule of law. She also said Taiwan’s world-leading microchip industry has made it the envy of others. 

Charlie Wu is the organizer of Vancouver’s annual TaiwanFest and managing director of the Asian Canadian Special Events Association. He was in Taiwan last month and said voters tend to talk of being either on the side of the U.S. and the international community or aligned with China.

TaiwanFest producer Charlie Wu of the Asian Canadian Special Events Association (Zoom)

“I think it’s going to be a close election,” Wu said. “The key decision is not just on the presidential election, it’s also legislature, which dictates whether or not the president has enough resources.”

Wu agreed with Chiu-Duke, that concerns about economic inequality will be a deciding factor for many voters. 

The tone of Taiwan’s election campaign is decidedly different from what Canadians are used to, with flashy, boisterous public events that energize the public and lead to healthy turnouts. In 2020, almost 75 percent of registered voters cast a ballot.

“In terms of festivities, it’s a lot of big rallies, and they use these rallies to send messages to their supporters. I guess, if, if anything I’ve learned, it’s getting people very engaged,” Wu said. 

Politicians are trying different strategies, capitalizing on social media with vignettes. Wu said that sometimes image overshadows policies. One such video that went viral shows Tsai, Lai and DPP vice-presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim on an upbeat road trip through Taiwan. Tsai started in the driver’s seat, but handed the keys to Lai. The Taipei Times said it symbolized “leading the nation along the road to freedom and democracy.”

“That’s something that we don’t see in Canada,” Wu said.

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Bob Mackin Voters in Taiwan go to the

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